June 22, 2026
The Italian PM is NOT Backing Down From Trump: “Being Your Friend Certainly Has Not Helped”
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RSS Feed Perhaps we should’ve seen this one coming. After Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called President Trump a liar for saying she begged to have a photo with him, Trump doubled down and fired back over the weekend. Trump suggested Meloni was trying to be friends with him to get her “numbers up.” Meloni responded on social media with a message for Trump, calling his constant, unprovoked attacks, senseless. Meloni is on a long and growing list of European and world leaders who have found themselves in a public war of words with our President.
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00:00:02
Speaker 1: Hey the folks, it is Monday, June twenty second, and hey, why don't you mind your own damn business, So says the Prime Minister of Italy to President Donald J. Trump, and an escalating war of words. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. This is a US ally that there is right now, Robes, we call it a war of words, but it is having some diplomatic implications. But we thought there's going to be a one and done, but it's a it's still going.
00:00:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, because we were waiting for President Trump to respond to the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney, who essentially called him a liar, we knew it was coming. We didn't know when. We didn't know how strong he would hit back. And yep, he delivered over the.
00:00:49
Speaker 1: Weekend, right on time. He didn't make us wait at all. We knew this was coming the back and forth started. This is someone Robes that, yes, of course you as ally, but this leader of Italy, Georgia Maloney, is someone who was seen as maybe his best friend in Europe.
00:01:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, she's a right winger as well.
00:01:12
Speaker 2: She came to his inauguration, the only European leader to come to his inauguration in twenty twenty five. So yes, he has been losing at least the respect or perhaps the public regard of many European leaders, and she was the one that he had at least some sort of seeming.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: Friendship with that appears to be no.
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Longer the Trump whisperer. They even called her for her ability to navigate, to stay close to him to deal with her own politics in her own country. Wow, okay, so this is all falling apart robes over an allegation about a damn photo, and he was the one initially last week after the G seven doing an interview said that she begged, begged for a photo that prompted her robe to put out a video response in which she essentially called him I always say. Essentially she said, you are lying. This is a fabricated story.
00:02:11
Speaker 3: You are making this up.
00:02:12
Speaker 2: And then she ended it with one of my favorite lines ever, that she wanted to remind the president that neither I nor Italy ever begged. And you could just hear women everywhere clapping and Italians for sure.
00:02:27
Speaker 1: Yes, so you had a world leader standing up to a bully, which is some exactly what some people who called him and say what needs to be done, so we thought it was done. After that, there was some back and forth. Several members of the Italian government did come to her defense, and even one it was the foreign minister.
00:02:46
Speaker 2: He canceled his trip which was scheduled for this week. He was supposed to come to the United States, and he made a very grand statement saying, based on Trump's treatment of their prime minister, he was effectively canceling his diploma trip to the United States.
00:03:01
Speaker 1: That raises us to another level, not just the misunderstanding back and forth, a war of words. Now we have a real friendship that is fractured. So okay, Roes, this could have maybe just blown over. He said his thing, she said her thing. We'll get back to business later.
00:03:21
Speaker 3: Uh uh No, you know who you're dealing with, President Trump.
00:03:24
Speaker 2: He doesn't let anything go and he always has to have the last words.
00:03:29
Speaker 3: So let's just see how much further he'll take this.
00:03:32
Speaker 2: But yes, after we saw the Italian Prime minister release her video the following day, Trump doubled down on true social You know, she said I never would bag. I didn't beg he said, nah ah. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney asked over and over for a picture with me during the G seven meeting in France.
00:03:55
Speaker 1: Can I stop right there? Is it possible that's true? Is it possible that's true? And he had a characterization that he knew would set her off, that he knew would make her look bad. Did he take something? Maybe she did say, hey, let's grab a picture. Hey, you know what, this would be good. Let's just get a picture and make sure it looked good. Maybe she did on a couple of days.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: I was even thinking maybe a photographer asked to get a picture of them together and he looked at her because they had had some public differences of opinion on Iran.
00:04:21
Speaker 3: That's putting it mildly, but.
00:04:22
Speaker 2: Maybe she said, let's just come on, let's just take the photo.
00:04:25
Speaker 3: I could see something like that having happened.
00:04:27
Speaker 2: But look, you even had the Foreign Minister and other Italian officials say Georgio Maloney.
00:04:32
Speaker 3: Would never ever ask anyone for a photo. Basically, have you met her?
00:04:37
Speaker 1: So?
00:04:37
Speaker 3: I don't know her personally. I don't know her personality. I don't know her at all.
00:04:41
Speaker 2: But they seemed to say, this is a woman who doesn't want or ask for pictures.
00:04:47
Speaker 3: Period.
00:04:47
Speaker 1: You try to remember who it was, one of the member. It was the tweet that we shared. It was hilarious that I can't imagine her begging for a picture, even under threat. Exactly it is exactly, and so they were dismissive. It's ridiculous. So I'm just I stopped you on his first line because what if that is true? But he still chose to characterize it a certain way.
00:05:08
Speaker 2: Yes and so yes, over and over asking him for a picture. Then he went on to say this, She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a country that truly loves and protects Italy when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon.
00:05:28
Speaker 3: But so did NATO for that matter.
00:05:30
Speaker 2: She wouldn't even let us use Italy's landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience. And this despite the fact the US contributes hundreds of billions of dollars a year to protect Italy and others so called NATO allies.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: What does that mean? So called NATO allys. So he is saying that.
00:05:48
Speaker 1: You all aren't really our friends.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: Members of NATO are not actually our allies? Why, President Trump. Then he goes on to say, now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her numbers up. No thanks, President DJT.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: Okay, So there are arguments robes of what he's arguing. It's the opposite. He is saying she's not doing well there because she turned down supporting the US. Many will tell you she's not doing well there because of her closeness correct to the United States and particularly Trump.
00:06:26
Speaker 3: Correct.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: Look, President Trump, I think everyone knows this. It struggles with his approval ratings here in this country, but certainly overseas and specifically in Europe, those numbers are even lower. So yes, any European leader who finds himself aligned with President Trump is most likely not going to benefit politically from that affiliation.
00:06:50
Speaker 1: Okay, so you said, as you were about to go and read this, he said, President Trump, you know he always has to get the last word. It's amazing she won't let him have it in this situation. She is not letting him have the last word just yet.
00:07:05
Speaker 2: Look, who knows that this will end up blowing up in her face? But I do think it's pretty awesome because we don't see many people will see some leaders stand up to him once, but then they back down because it's just not worth it, in fact, throwing him, hey, can we bring you to Versailles. It's almost as if they just try to stroke his ego and compliment him and offer him planes and trips and presents, and they're literally killing him with kindness because they're feeding the ego, trying to.
00:07:31
Speaker 3: Take the path at least resistance.
00:07:32
Speaker 1: They're managing him.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: They are managing him. That is absolutely what we see happening. But I do. I am I'm here for it.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: I am watching the Italian Prime Minister do the opposite and hold her ground and say nah, okay.
00:07:48
Speaker 3: So Trump puts that on True Social.
00:07:50
Speaker 2: She goes onto her Instagram, she posts his true Social above it. Below it, she actually writes a letter to President Trump on her end Instagram page and the caption is, this is my reply to Donald Trump's latest post concerning me. I won't dwell on the matter any further, though, because I still believe in Western unity and I don't think this spectacle is worthy of our shared responsibility.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: Hey man, that's a that's a pretty good leadership line.
00:08:15
Speaker 2: That is a great line, and I do appreciate the fact. So what it sounds like this is her last word on the matter, but she wanted to have a final word if Trump wants to say something else. I think she's basically said, it isn't worthy of my response. She's already kind of in a way, I love it, anticipated him responding and already saying, here's my response to.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: His response, It's not worth it. I kind of love that.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: Okay, it depends on what he says. She again, she has not seemed to me the type to let something go at this point.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: Right, and you know what I kind of say. Finally, So here was her letter, her very public letter on Instagram, President Trump, These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless. As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, Nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy's national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done. That is also what I did regarding the American military basis in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected and that cannot be violated. As long as I am Prime Minister, Italy remains a sovereign nation. In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.
00:09:31
Speaker 1: Okay, the last two lines, I know you liked, but it probably could have come out. But I love that because that does sound personal. That does sound like a clapback, and it is and it was, and it's not that harsh, and it's very much deserved. Fine, I get it, but that was the one thing where she crossed a little more outside of the diplomatic line. But Rob, it's much tamer than most of the stuff he puts out there.
00:09:57
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, she crossed perhaps a diplomatic line. He crashed through it like the Hulk through a cement wall. I mean, let's just be honest.
00:10:07
Speaker 1: It's just where he lives. That wall came down a while ago, didn't.
00:10:11
Speaker 3: It certainly didn't.
00:10:12
Speaker 2: Speaking of that when we come back, Maloney is just the latest in a long list of European quote unquote allies who have, well, let's just say, recently made some very public statements against Trump. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ, where over the weekend it has escalated.
00:10:43
Speaker 3: Italy versus Trump.
00:10:45
Speaker 2: That's at least how it feels. But yes, Prime Minister Georgia Maloney responded to Trump's response and said she won't be talking any further because it wouldn't be worthy of another response.
00:10:57
Speaker 3: But look, she.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: Has plenty of company these days, and she's you could argue she's joined the rest of Europe because if you think about it, and this is just in the past few months, the spats that President Trump has had with leaders from France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Mexico and the UK. And we haven't even begun to talk about this morning where people have been upset because the President decided to leak cares not leak, but get ahead of Kiers Starmer's own statement of resigning as Prime minister by telling the world that he was resigning as prime minister.
00:11:32
Speaker 3: It's almost like he wanted to beat him to it.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: That's just why sometimes I just like President Trumpy won't get out of his own way. That it's that's so much he's done that I don't have a problem with. I just have a problem with how he goes about doing it.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, like why does he need to say, see, I knew it it's almost like a know it all who wants to get on the record really quick. But also that wasn't his news to tell that.
00:11:59
Speaker 3: That just pisses off the entire UK.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: It's just another one of those things. I just to think about how he goes about, even the reflecting pool controversy. If a president says, I'd like to clean the pool, Oh listen, great idea. I'm on board. But Robes, you're doing ai images of other presidents swimming in sludge. You're making such a big expect the way he's going about doing this something worthy is the problem, not what he's doing, it's how he's doing it.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: So true, that's exactly the way to put it.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: And I was just I was looking back. It's just something French president Emmanuel Macrone. Do you remember he was upset with Macron about the whole Irani things. So he starts alluding to that video. You remember when Emmanuel mccrone's wife, Bridget Macron, appeared to shove her husband on the plane. Oh yeah, that was crazy, right, So he says this, Oh, Macrone's wife treats him extremely badly, and that he was still recovering from the right to the jaw So Macrone throws back at Trump, your comments weren't elegant and they weren't up to par, and then he said you were iron War is not a show, and urged Trump to be more careful about his comments. And honestly, Mcrone sounds a lot like Iran. When you want to be serious, you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before. I didn't even know Macrone said that, but I actually laughed out loud because that's exactly what we're seeing happening in real time. Taco Tuesday, whatever you want to call it. But I love Macron just landed his plane. When you want to be serious, you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before. The French have a way of putting things, don't they.
00:13:40
Speaker 1: But some of these leaders, they're almost saying it in a clever and they're saying it in a comedic way that points out the ridiculousness of what's happening. Yes, you said this yesterday, you said this today. That's basic stuff. I don't mind that so much.
00:13:54
Speaker 2: No, I know, And they're not being mean, they're just pointing out the obvious.
00:13:58
Speaker 1: Is it becoming and is it going to become the thing to do is to take on Trump. It becomes the cool thing to do now. We see it in this country all the time. It's usually democrats. Gavin Newsom, the governor of Pritzker and Illinois, and some governors and mayors even that. Almost it's like a badge of honor to take on the president as a Democrat. It gets you some attention, might even get you to raise some money. Oh my god, if he tweets about you and gives you a nickname as a Democrat, you're probably gonna raise some money. We get that here, but robes. If it becomes in vogue for world leaders and allies to go nope, no more, mister president.
00:14:36
Speaker 2: Well, at a certain point, I think we're almost there, if not already there. And I do appreciate Maloney's original statement when she was responding to Trump saying she was begging for a photo, she made this point. She said, why do you treat your allies like adversaries and then you treat your known adversaries, despots and tyrannical rulers as your friends, like you give them more respect than you do your alleged out lies and I think that's where the world is right now, and they're seeing this guy is willing to go in and take out people.
00:15:06
Speaker 3: And disrupt an upend.
00:15:10
Speaker 2: Basically our world order in order to prove a point. And so look again, if you regard him as a bully, which it appears most of these world leaders do, they've tried to back down. They've they've said one thing and then back down. But now we're watching Maloney fire back. I'm curious if this does perhaps create a new way of operating or responding to the president.
00:15:37
Speaker 1: Ah, it's needed, and I think they would feel better robes if they had company, right, if they all got together and pushed back, or if they all started to see another leader getting increased approval numbers numbers in their own country by taking on the president and pushing back. This might this might start a trend. Yes, because even though the other ones you mentioned, this is a pretty high profile one with the Italian Prime minister.
00:16:06
Speaker 2: Yes, and the fact that she's a woman, and the fact that he has had some very recent and disturbing back and forth with female reporters here in this country, female politicians in this country.
00:16:17
Speaker 3: I do think that even takes it to a whole other level.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: And you piss off women not just here in America but around the world when you see how he regards and treats and disrespects women constantly.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's one thing, and I'm not downplaying the doing it to a reporter, which is awful, but Rome's it does rise to another level. You won't even respect a woman who is the leader of a leading country of the world that does hit differently for a lot of people.
00:16:44
Speaker 2: Yes, and look, Italians, they have rallied around Georgia Maloney And I don't even know what her recent numbers are, but I have a feeling this is only going to increase her popularity. So, speaking of her popularity, this war with Trump, I believe she knows what she's doing. Yes, that video was her standing up for herself, but that video also, I imagine, got a lot of women cheering in Italy for their prime minister that maybe weren't before.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: And look, it might be very much calculated, very much so. Broh. She didn't ask for a fight.
00:17:20
Speaker 3: That is a very good point. She did not manufacture this, She didn't create it.
00:17:24
Speaker 2: This was Trump being Trump, and she made a decision to respond how she did, and like I said, I'm here for it.
00:17:32
Speaker 3: And we'll continue to watch.
00:17:34
Speaker 2: We'll see if Trump wants to follow up on Maloney's latest Instagram post, but we will be watching and we will share any.
00:17:42
Speaker 3: New developments with you in the meantime, though, thank you for listening to us, everybody. I'm Amy Roboch alongside TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: Hey the folks, it is Monday, June twenty second, and hey, why don't you mind your own damn business, So says the Prime Minister of Italy to President Donald J. Trump, and an escalating war of words. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. This is a US ally that there is right now, Robes, we call it a war of words, but it is having some diplomatic implications. But we thought there's going to be a one and done, but it's a it's still going.
00:00:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, because we were waiting for President Trump to respond to the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney, who essentially called him a liar, we knew it was coming. We didn't know when. We didn't know how strong he would hit back. And yep, he delivered over the.
00:00:49
Speaker 1: Weekend, right on time. He didn't make us wait at all. We knew this was coming the back and forth started. This is someone Robes that, yes, of course you as ally, but this leader of Italy, Georgia Maloney, is someone who was seen as maybe his best friend in Europe.
00:01:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, she's a right winger as well.
00:01:12
Speaker 2: She came to his inauguration, the only European leader to come to his inauguration in twenty twenty five. So yes, he has been losing at least the respect or perhaps the public regard of many European leaders, and she was the one that he had at least some sort of seeming.
00:01:32
Speaker 3: Friendship with that appears to be no.
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Longer the Trump whisperer. They even called her for her ability to navigate, to stay close to him to deal with her own politics in her own country. Wow, okay, so this is all falling apart robes over an allegation about a damn photo, and he was the one initially last week after the G seven doing an interview said that she begged, begged for a photo that prompted her robe to put out a video response in which she essentially called him I always say. Essentially she said, you are lying. This is a fabricated story.
00:02:11
Speaker 3: You are making this up.
00:02:12
Speaker 2: And then she ended it with one of my favorite lines ever, that she wanted to remind the president that neither I nor Italy ever begged. And you could just hear women everywhere clapping and Italians for sure.
00:02:27
Speaker 1: Yes, so you had a world leader standing up to a bully, which is some exactly what some people who called him and say what needs to be done, so we thought it was done. After that, there was some back and forth. Several members of the Italian government did come to her defense, and even one it was the foreign minister.
00:02:46
Speaker 2: He canceled his trip which was scheduled for this week. He was supposed to come to the United States, and he made a very grand statement saying, based on Trump's treatment of their prime minister, he was effectively canceling his diploma trip to the United States.
00:03:01
Speaker 1: That raises us to another level, not just the misunderstanding back and forth, a war of words. Now we have a real friendship that is fractured. So okay, Roes, this could have maybe just blown over. He said his thing, she said her thing. We'll get back to business later.
00:03:21
Speaker 3: Uh uh No, you know who you're dealing with, President Trump.
00:03:24
Speaker 2: He doesn't let anything go and he always has to have the last words.
00:03:29
Speaker 3: So let's just see how much further he'll take this.
00:03:32
Speaker 2: But yes, after we saw the Italian Prime minister release her video the following day, Trump doubled down on true social You know, she said I never would bag. I didn't beg he said, nah ah. Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney asked over and over for a picture with me during the G seven meeting in France.
00:03:55
Speaker 1: Can I stop right there? Is it possible that's true? Is it possible that's true? And he had a characterization that he knew would set her off, that he knew would make her look bad. Did he take something? Maybe she did say, hey, let's grab a picture. Hey, you know what, this would be good. Let's just get a picture and make sure it looked good. Maybe she did on a couple of days.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: I was even thinking maybe a photographer asked to get a picture of them together and he looked at her because they had had some public differences of opinion on Iran.
00:04:21
Speaker 3: That's putting it mildly, but.
00:04:22
Speaker 2: Maybe she said, let's just come on, let's just take the photo.
00:04:25
Speaker 3: I could see something like that having happened.
00:04:27
Speaker 2: But look, you even had the Foreign Minister and other Italian officials say Georgio Maloney.
00:04:32
Speaker 3: Would never ever ask anyone for a photo. Basically, have you met her?
00:04:37
Speaker 1: So?
00:04:37
Speaker 3: I don't know her personally. I don't know her personality. I don't know her at all.
00:04:41
Speaker 2: But they seemed to say, this is a woman who doesn't want or ask for pictures.
00:04:47
Speaker 3: Period.
00:04:47
Speaker 1: You try to remember who it was, one of the member. It was the tweet that we shared. It was hilarious that I can't imagine her begging for a picture, even under threat. Exactly it is exactly, and so they were dismissive. It's ridiculous. So I'm just I stopped you on his first line because what if that is true? But he still chose to characterize it a certain way.
00:05:08
Speaker 2: Yes and so yes, over and over asking him for a picture. Then he went on to say this, She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a country that truly loves and protects Italy when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a nuclear weapon.
00:05:28
Speaker 3: But so did NATO for that matter.
00:05:30
Speaker 2: She wouldn't even let us use Italy's landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience. And this despite the fact the US contributes hundreds of billions of dollars a year to protect Italy and others so called NATO allies.
00:05:44
Speaker 3: What does that mean? So called NATO allys. So he is saying that.
00:05:48
Speaker 1: You all aren't really our friends.
00:05:50
Speaker 2: Members of NATO are not actually our allies? Why, President Trump. Then he goes on to say, now, after the United States defeated Iran militarily, she wants to be friends again in order to get her numbers up. No thanks, President DJT.
00:06:08
Speaker 1: Okay, So there are arguments robes of what he's arguing. It's the opposite. He is saying she's not doing well there because she turned down supporting the US. Many will tell you she's not doing well there because of her closeness correct to the United States and particularly Trump.
00:06:26
Speaker 3: Correct.
00:06:26
Speaker 2: Look, President Trump, I think everyone knows this. It struggles with his approval ratings here in this country, but certainly overseas and specifically in Europe, those numbers are even lower. So yes, any European leader who finds himself aligned with President Trump is most likely not going to benefit politically from that affiliation.
00:06:50
Speaker 1: Okay, so you said, as you were about to go and read this, he said, President Trump, you know he always has to get the last word. It's amazing she won't let him have it in this situation. She is not letting him have the last word just yet.
00:07:05
Speaker 2: Look, who knows that this will end up blowing up in her face? But I do think it's pretty awesome because we don't see many people will see some leaders stand up to him once, but then they back down because it's just not worth it, in fact, throwing him, hey, can we bring you to Versailles. It's almost as if they just try to stroke his ego and compliment him and offer him planes and trips and presents, and they're literally killing him with kindness because they're feeding the ego, trying to.
00:07:31
Speaker 3: Take the path at least resistance.
00:07:32
Speaker 1: They're managing him.
00:07:33
Speaker 3: They are managing him. That is absolutely what we see happening. But I do. I am I'm here for it.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: I am watching the Italian Prime Minister do the opposite and hold her ground and say nah, okay.
00:07:48
Speaker 3: So Trump puts that on True Social.
00:07:50
Speaker 2: She goes onto her Instagram, she posts his true Social above it. Below it, she actually writes a letter to President Trump on her end Instagram page and the caption is, this is my reply to Donald Trump's latest post concerning me. I won't dwell on the matter any further, though, because I still believe in Western unity and I don't think this spectacle is worthy of our shared responsibility.
00:08:13
Speaker 1: Hey man, that's a that's a pretty good leadership line.
00:08:15
Speaker 2: That is a great line, and I do appreciate the fact. So what it sounds like this is her last word on the matter, but she wanted to have a final word if Trump wants to say something else. I think she's basically said, it isn't worthy of my response. She's already kind of in a way, I love it, anticipated him responding and already saying, here's my response to.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: His response, It's not worth it. I kind of love that.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: Okay, it depends on what he says. She again, she has not seemed to me the type to let something go at this point.
00:08:45
Speaker 2: Right, and you know what I kind of say. Finally, So here was her letter, her very public letter on Instagram, President Trump, These constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless. As for my popularity, being your friend has certainly not helped it, Nor does it depend on my relationship with you. My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy's national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done. That is also what I did regarding the American military basis in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected and that cannot be violated. As long as I am Prime Minister, Italy remains a sovereign nation. In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.
00:09:31
Speaker 1: Okay, the last two lines, I know you liked, but it probably could have come out. But I love that because that does sound personal. That does sound like a clapback, and it is and it was, and it's not that harsh, and it's very much deserved. Fine, I get it, but that was the one thing where she crossed a little more outside of the diplomatic line. But Rob, it's much tamer than most of the stuff he puts out there.
00:09:57
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, she crossed perhaps a diplomatic line. He crashed through it like the Hulk through a cement wall. I mean, let's just be honest.
00:10:07
Speaker 1: It's just where he lives. That wall came down a while ago, didn't.
00:10:11
Speaker 3: It certainly didn't.
00:10:12
Speaker 2: Speaking of that when we come back, Maloney is just the latest in a long list of European quote unquote allies who have, well, let's just say, recently made some very public statements against Trump. And welcome back everyone to this episode of Amy and TJ, where over the weekend it has escalated.
00:10:43
Speaker 3: Italy versus Trump.
00:10:45
Speaker 2: That's at least how it feels. But yes, Prime Minister Georgia Maloney responded to Trump's response and said she won't be talking any further because it wouldn't be worthy of another response.
00:10:57
Speaker 3: But look, she.
00:10:58
Speaker 2: Has plenty of company these days, and she's you could argue she's joined the rest of Europe because if you think about it, and this is just in the past few months, the spats that President Trump has had with leaders from France, Germany, Spain, Canada, Mexico and the UK. And we haven't even begun to talk about this morning where people have been upset because the President decided to leak cares not leak, but get ahead of Kiers Starmer's own statement of resigning as Prime minister by telling the world that he was resigning as prime minister.
00:11:32
Speaker 3: It's almost like he wanted to beat him to it.
00:11:34
Speaker 1: That's just why sometimes I just like President Trumpy won't get out of his own way. That it's that's so much he's done that I don't have a problem with. I just have a problem with how he goes about doing it.
00:11:49
Speaker 2: Yeah, like why does he need to say, see, I knew it it's almost like a know it all who wants to get on the record really quick. But also that wasn't his news to tell that.
00:11:59
Speaker 3: That just pisses off the entire UK.
00:12:02
Speaker 1: It's just another one of those things. I just to think about how he goes about, even the reflecting pool controversy. If a president says, I'd like to clean the pool, Oh listen, great idea. I'm on board. But Robes, you're doing ai images of other presidents swimming in sludge. You're making such a big expect the way he's going about doing this something worthy is the problem, not what he's doing, it's how he's doing it.
00:12:29
Speaker 3: So true, that's exactly the way to put it.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: And I was just I was looking back. It's just something French president Emmanuel Macrone. Do you remember he was upset with Macron about the whole Irani things. So he starts alluding to that video. You remember when Emmanuel mccrone's wife, Bridget Macron, appeared to shove her husband on the plane. Oh yeah, that was crazy, right, So he says this, Oh, Macrone's wife treats him extremely badly, and that he was still recovering from the right to the jaw So Macrone throws back at Trump, your comments weren't elegant and they weren't up to par, and then he said you were iron War is not a show, and urged Trump to be more careful about his comments. And honestly, Mcrone sounds a lot like Iran. When you want to be serious, you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before. I didn't even know Macrone said that, but I actually laughed out loud because that's exactly what we're seeing happening in real time. Taco Tuesday, whatever you want to call it. But I love Macron just landed his plane. When you want to be serious, you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before. The French have a way of putting things, don't they.
00:13:40
Speaker 1: But some of these leaders, they're almost saying it in a clever and they're saying it in a comedic way that points out the ridiculousness of what's happening. Yes, you said this yesterday, you said this today. That's basic stuff. I don't mind that so much.
00:13:54
Speaker 2: No, I know, And they're not being mean, they're just pointing out the obvious.
00:13:58
Speaker 1: Is it becoming and is it going to become the thing to do is to take on Trump. It becomes the cool thing to do now. We see it in this country all the time. It's usually democrats. Gavin Newsom, the governor of Pritzker and Illinois, and some governors and mayors even that. Almost it's like a badge of honor to take on the president as a Democrat. It gets you some attention, might even get you to raise some money. Oh my god, if he tweets about you and gives you a nickname as a Democrat, you're probably gonna raise some money. We get that here, but robes. If it becomes in vogue for world leaders and allies to go nope, no more, mister president.
00:14:36
Speaker 2: Well, at a certain point, I think we're almost there, if not already there. And I do appreciate Maloney's original statement when she was responding to Trump saying she was begging for a photo, she made this point. She said, why do you treat your allies like adversaries and then you treat your known adversaries, despots and tyrannical rulers as your friends, like you give them more respect than you do your alleged out lies and I think that's where the world is right now, and they're seeing this guy is willing to go in and take out people.
00:15:06
Speaker 3: And disrupt an upend.
00:15:10
Speaker 2: Basically our world order in order to prove a point. And so look again, if you regard him as a bully, which it appears most of these world leaders do, they've tried to back down. They've they've said one thing and then back down. But now we're watching Maloney fire back. I'm curious if this does perhaps create a new way of operating or responding to the president.
00:15:37
Speaker 1: Ah, it's needed, and I think they would feel better robes if they had company, right, if they all got together and pushed back, or if they all started to see another leader getting increased approval numbers numbers in their own country by taking on the president and pushing back. This might this might start a trend. Yes, because even though the other ones you mentioned, this is a pretty high profile one with the Italian Prime minister.
00:16:06
Speaker 2: Yes, and the fact that she's a woman, and the fact that he has had some very recent and disturbing back and forth with female reporters here in this country, female politicians in this country.
00:16:17
Speaker 3: I do think that even takes it to a whole other level.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: And you piss off women not just here in America but around the world when you see how he regards and treats and disrespects women constantly.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's one thing, and I'm not downplaying the doing it to a reporter, which is awful, but Rome's it does rise to another level. You won't even respect a woman who is the leader of a leading country of the world that does hit differently for a lot of people.
00:16:44
Speaker 2: Yes, and look, Italians, they have rallied around Georgia Maloney And I don't even know what her recent numbers are, but I have a feeling this is only going to increase her popularity. So, speaking of her popularity, this war with Trump, I believe she knows what she's doing. Yes, that video was her standing up for herself, but that video also, I imagine, got a lot of women cheering in Italy for their prime minister that maybe weren't before.
00:17:13
Speaker 1: And look, it might be very much calculated, very much so. Broh. She didn't ask for a fight.
00:17:20
Speaker 3: That is a very good point. She did not manufacture this, She didn't create it.
00:17:24
Speaker 2: This was Trump being Trump, and she made a decision to respond how she did, and like I said, I'm here for it.
00:17:32
Speaker 3: And we'll continue to watch.
00:17:34
Speaker 2: We'll see if Trump wants to follow up on Maloney's latest Instagram post, but we will be watching and we will share any.
00:17:42
Speaker 3: New developments with you in the meantime, though, thank you for listening to us, everybody. I'm Amy Roboch alongside TJ. Holmes. We'll talk to you soon.