We all hold out hope that Donald Trump really is a stable genius who can spin straw into gold. He’s done it before, and chances are good that he will do it again, either with the war in Iran or some other seemingly impossible issue.
But assuming that’s true, it’s still pretty clear that you can’t say that Trump has had a very good week. Some of his biggest fans have turned on him; he is being ridiculed by more people than usual; and hosts on Fox News and News Nation are trashing what he hopes will be his signature accomplishment.
A microcosm of his current troubles, may they be as short-lived as possible, is his current unnecessary spat with Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
‘”The grave and offensive words of President Trump… offend the whole of Italy,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been due to visit the US on June 21 and 22, said on X.’ https://t.co/rUas7Gj1RP
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) June 19, 2026
BREAKING. All hell breaks loose between Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni. 🇮🇹 🇺🇸
Trump told La7 tv that apparently “Meloni begged to have a picture with me at the G7, I felt sorry for her”.
Meloni’s scathing response: “I am shocked by Trump’s utterly fabricated words. I am sorry he doesn’t show the same determination against the enemies of the West. And bear in mind: me and Italy never beg”.
Apparently, Trump and Meloni had a spat at the G7 meeting, and Trump was asked about it because nobody could hear what was being said, and the body language was…interesting. It sure looked like Meloni was ripping Trump a new one, and that Trump was not enjoying the experience.
I’m married to a beautiful Italian-American spitfire who could be Prime Minister Meloni’s sister. I know that posture well. This conversation was not a pleasant one for our President.pic.twitter.com/N2UKHPQL76
— Bruce Crossing (@SenatorCrossing) June 19, 2026
Trump’s explanation for the interaction? She was begging him for a picture. And he felt sorry for her.
Trump and Meloni were seen in close conversation at the G7 summit at Evian-les-Bains in eastern France this week, and the Italian leader later told reporters their relationship was unchanged and there had been “no recriminations”.
However, Trump has since given a phone interview with Italy’s La7 TV channel in which he alleged: “She begged me to take a photo with her; I felt sorry for her.”
The two leaders were filmed several times at Evian, including while they appeared engrossed in conversation on a small sofa, with Meloni smiling as they talked.
“She’s probably happy I spoke to her,” he said. La7 did not produce Trump’s original words in English, but voiced them over in Italian.
Meloni reacted in total disbelief, saying she was “frankly stunned”, in a brief address to her seven million followers on Instagram.
“I don’t know why the US president behaves this way towards allies,” she said, adding it was not the first time it had happened.
“I can only say it is regrettable he does not show the same determination towards the enemies of the West and towards the enemies of the US – [enemies] whose leaders he instead appears to be far more accommodating with.”
“But there is one thing he needs to remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
You may recall that, at the beginning of the Iran war, Meloni was unhappy with Trump and initially denied the use of Italian airbases. That rightfully strained relationships with the United States, and no doubt there were quite unpleasant conversations at the time.
But more recently, it seemed that Trump and Meloni were much more on the same page, and at times during the G7 meeting they seemed to have warm interactions.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on X called Trump’s words “grave and offensive” and said he was cancelling a visit to the US planned for June 21 and 22.
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said the comments were a “painful injury” to Italy-US ties, while Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said “these jokes do not benefit anyone”.
At the end of the G7 summit in Evian on Wednesday, Meloni had spoken of a “very positive climate” and “no friction” between Trump and other world leaders present.
But she also said she and Trump both had “quite strong characters”. She was seen several times with the US president at the summit including a meeting on a sofa after which he appeared to pat her shoulder.
Meloni has tried to position herself as a bridge between Europe and the Trump administration, but the relationship came under strain during the Middle East war.
Meloni said “very positive climate.” Trump apparently didn’t see it that way. And now everybody in Italy is ticked off at Trump something fierce, as they see this as a personal attack.
For the first time, it seems, all those predictions of a MAGA split have more than a little truth in them. Trump’s normally united supporters are yelling at each other about the Memorandum of Understanding, and Trump haters are loving it. One hopes that those divisions will be temporary.
It’s pretty clear his cabinet and political teams are at each other’s throats, and the jokes about the signing ceremony at Versailles are vicious.
All in all, it’s been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week for Trump.
Of course, a week does not a presidency make.
That was the lesson from the classic children’s book I ripped the title of this post from, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day.” A long series of disasters befalls our protagonist, and he is tempted to give up and move to Australia, but his mother assures him that it’s just part of life. Sometimes things suck.
Well, things suck right now. But this is just one week. Let’s hope for a better one to come.
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