OMG: Fed up Italian prime minister SMACKS DOWN Trump on world stage

So, we have a brand-new, and of course, completely unnecessary, completely. unforced diplomatic disaster thanks to. Trump. Just days ago, Trump went on. Italian television and claimed that. Giorgia Meloni, one of the most. aggressively pro-Trump heads of state on. the planet, begged him for a photo at. the G7 summit. He said that she wanted. the photo so badly that he, quote, felt. sorry for her. Here's the full quote. "She's probably happy I talked to her. I. didn't have to talk to her. She begged. me to take a picture with her. She. wanted a picture with me so badly. I.

wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry. for her.". Well, it doesn't seem like Meloni. enjoyed that reporting or his comment. because she decided to issue her own. response in her own words. Now, obviously, her response was in Italian, but I've dubbed it into English here. >> So, uh some things deserve an immediate. response. Donald Trump's statements are. completely made up. I am frankly. stunned. I do not know why the President. of the United States behaves this way. with his own allies. It is not the first. time this has happened, after all. I can.

only say it is a pity he does not show. the same resolve with the enemies of the. West, with the enemies of the United. States, with leaders toward whom he is. instead much more accommodating. But, there is one thing he must. remember. I and Italy never beg. >> It got so bad that Italy's own foreign. minister then scrapped a planned trip to. Washington in protest, saying Trump's. comments, quote, "offend all of Italy.". And look, that's not some random. backbencher. That is a sitting cabinet. member of one of America's closest NATO.

allies canceling a diplomatic visit over. a fight about a photo. Why? Because. Trump wanted to feel important. I want. you to, uh, sit with that for a second. because again, Giorgia Meloni is not. some, uh, enemy of Trump. She showed up. to his inauguration as the only European. leader in the entire room. She spent. years as basically his favorite ally on. the continent, the one that Republicans. point to as proof that Donald Trump and. the European right get along just fine. and even she apparently has hit her. limit.

Also, here's some B-roll footage of. their interaction at the G7. This is. absolutely unscientific, but judging. from her body language alone, does this. strike you as somebody who is begging. Donald Trump for anything? Because it. certainly looks to me like there is one. person in complete control of this. conversation, and it's not the tired old. fat guy for whom staying awake is an. accomplishment. Just a quick note here. to say that if you appreciate my work, which is and always will be 100% free, a. small ask is if you could please. pre-order my new book, The Day After,

which explores how Democrats must. finally wield power if they're fortunate. enough to get it back. I'll also be on. tour in DC, New York, and LA mid-July. You can grab tickets to the tour, and. you can pre-order the book at the same. link, which I'll put on the screen and. in the post description of this video. You can also find them at. briantylercohen.com/book. Again, I'll never paywall a single piece. of content, but this is the one time. that I'll ask for some support for a. book that I really think meets this. moment. Thanks so much. But, here's the. part that actually matters, because this. isn't really about a photo. This is a.

pattern. Meloni said it herself that. Trump treats America's actual enemies. with more patience than he treats the. leaders of democracies, our allies. And. she's right. Go down the list. He has. praised Vladimir Putin's strength while. Putin wages a war of annihilation in. Ukraine. He's gushed about Kim Jong Un, a man who runs literal concentration. camps. He's flattered Xi Jinping in. China. But, then you take a look at how. he's treated the allies. Trudeau got. nicknamed Governor and threatened with.

annexation talk about Canada. Denmark, who is a NATO ally for 75 years, got. told that Donald Trump might take. Greenland by force regardless of what. they want. Zelensky got ambushed in the. Oval Office on live TV by Donald Trump. and J.D. Vance. And now Meloni, one of. his last European cheerleaders, gets. accused of groveling for a selfie? Why? Because dictators don't challenge him, democracies do. Putin doesn't have a. free press asking hard questions. Kim.

Jong-un doesn't have an opposition. party. Xi Jinping doesn't have courts. that can rule against him. These are men. who answer to no one, and everything. about how Donald Trump talks about. power, his envy of leaders who never. have to leave office, his habit of. treating any check on his authority as a. personal betrayal, tells you that he. wants membership in that club, the. autocrat club. The club where men never. get challenged. Allies by definition. push back sometimes. They have their own. elections, they have their own uh. publics, they have their own interests,

and the second any of them act like an. independent country instead of a. subordinate, Trump treats it as personal. disloyalty. And here's the irony, the part that. always catches up with him. The moment. he actually needs those allies, they're. obviously nowhere to be found. Look at. what just happened with the Strait of. Hormuz during Donald Trump's war with. Iran. After the US went to war with. Iran, and Tehran effectively shut down. that waterway that carries roughly a. fifth of the world's oil and gas. shipments, Trump turned around and. demanded that NATO allies send ships to.

help reopen it. >> We built the greatest military in the. world, and we protect people, and if we. need their mine boats, or if we need. uh anything, any piece of apparatus that. they may have because of a situation. that they have, uh they should be. jumping to help us. Numerous countries. have told me they're on the way. Uh some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't. Some are countries that. we've helped for many, many years.

Uh we've protected them. from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. >> Yeah, but they didn't let these. scientists come in and. protect our air. because it is near China. It's. It's the place which they get their. energy. And they should come and they should. help us protect it. You could make the. case that. maybe we shouldn't even be there at all. because we don't need it. We have a lot. of oil. We have the number one.

production anywhere in the world by a. lot still. We double at least double. Now, I think. it's much higher than that. But we do it. It's almost like we do it. for a hobby. But we also do it for some very good. allies. We are talking to other. countries about working with us for the. police things. But police said with us. and we'll help work militarily with. As far as I'm concerned, we've. essentially defeated Iran. >> And yet, despite Trump's demands, he.

didn't exactly get what he wanted. According to Reuters, Germany, Spain, and Italy were among allies that ruled. out participating in any mission in the. Gulf, at least for now. The German. Defense Minister said, quote, "This is. not our war. We have not started it. The. conflict has nothing to do with NATO, and Germany has no plans to be drawn. into it." Spain said it would not do. anything that could escalate the. conflict, while Italian Deputy Prime. Minister said that sending military. ships to a war zone would be interpreted. as joining the conflict. Quote, "Italy. is not at war with anyone, and sending.

military ships in a war zone would mean. entering the war." This is the trap. Trump keeps walking into. He spends. years insulting and threatening and. undermining the very countries whose. military, economic, and diplomatic. support he might one day need, and then. acts genuinely shocked when those. countries don't sprint to bail him out. You can't joke about annexing Canada and. then expect Canada to show up when. you're in a crisis. You can't threaten. to take Greenland by force and then ask. Denmark for ships. You can't call Meloni.

a beggar on Italian television and then. expect Rome to pick up the phone. Alliances run on trust, and trust is the. one thing Trump is never bothered to. build with anyone who isn't a dictator. or an autocrat. He wants the loyalty of. the allies combined with the freedom of. the autocrats. Total deference, zero. accountability. But that's not how. democracies work, thank God. So, when. his wars and his tariffs and his ego. come due, he's going to keep finding the. same thing waiting for him, an empty. room and a long list of allies who.

remember exactly how they were treated. by him. >> [music]. >> Before you go, I'm very excited to. announce that I've written a new book. titled The Day After: How to wield power. in a post-Trump world. The book explores. what is, in my opinion, the single most. important theme that we're dealing with. in politics today and moving forward, power. Specifically, how Republicans. abuse it and how Democrats refuse to. wield it. This book explains how we got. here and more importantly, how we should. finally wield power if we're fortunate. enough to get it back. It is the.

blueprint for progressives who want to. do far more than just restore the status. quo. Please pre-order today by visiting. the link in the episode description or. go to brianlyercohen.com/book. You can grab yours from any of the major. retailers like Amazon or Barnes & Noble. or find an independent bookstore closest. to you that's also listed on that. website. Thanks so much for supporting. independent media.