Historian says Italy can use US rift to get closer to China and BRICS

Around 20 June 2026, a dispute between Trump and Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni over a G7 photo escalated. Trump said Meloni asked 'over and over' for a photo with him, and Meloni replied: 'Neither I nor Italy ever beg', calling his attacks 'senseless'. Trump said she 'wants to be friends again' after Italy refused to help the US amid the Iran war, and said her ratings were falling. Meloni told him to 'focus on your own popularity', and Italy's top diplomat cancelled a US trip, the Washington Post reported.

TASS reported a historian, Cardini, saying the rift with the US gives Italy a chance to move closer to China and BRICS. Bloomberg said the spat shows Meloni's readiness to risk a bigger fight.