Trump jokes with Meloni at G7 after private talks ease Iran war rift

A moment of levity

On Tuesday, after the morning session, cameras captured a jovial exchange. European Council President António Costa approached Meloni while she stood near Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and asked, "Are you friends again?" Meloni replied, "We have always been friends." Trump then interjected with a grin, "I was abandoned." Meloni laughed and responded, "No, you were not."

We have always been friends.

I was abandoned.

The diplomatic groundwork

The banter followed a private meeting the previous evening that Italian diplomatic sources described as a "clarification" discussion, held "without jokes or barbs." Meloni used the occasion to restate the need for Western unity "in this moment of great international crisis," a principle both sides acknowledged. The sources said there will be further bilateral talks during the summit.

It was a useful exchange.

Roots of the rift

Meloni had once been Trump's closest European ally, the only EU leader at his inauguration last year. The relationship soured after Italy withheld use of the Sigonella air base in Sicily for US operations in the Iran war, and later when Meloni publicly defended Pope Leo XIV following Trump's criticism of the pontiff as "weak on crime." In April, Trump told Corriere della Sera that Meloni "has changed" and that he was "shocked" by her lack of courage.

A broader easing

The thaw coincides with reports of an imminent US–Iran memorandum of understanding, seen as a first step toward ending the Strait of Hormuz war that had strained the transatlantic alliance. The summit in Evian, where leaders are tackling global economic and political issues, offered a stage for mending ties.