On the heels of the G7 in France, U.S. President Trump and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni have been engaged in a geopolitical spat.

The core of the issue centers on Italy’s refusal to allow the U.S. military to conduct flight operations for the conflict against Iran from U.S. airbases in Italy.   President Trump, Vice-President Vance, Secretary of State Rubio and Secretary Hegseth have all remarked on their disappointment with Italy and Spain that has led to a full review of U.S. NATO operations in Europe.

The issue became personal at the G7 when President Trump ignored Meloni’s repeated attempts to repair the friction. President Trump was no longer tolerating the two-faced approach. Actions speak louder than words.

Understanding, a very specific image sensitivity Prime Minister Meloni carries, President Trump stated, “Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France. 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 (But so did NATO, for that matter!). She wouldn’t even let us use Italy’s landing strips or runways, a great logistical inconvenience, and this despite the fact the U.S. contributes hundreds of Billions of Dollars a year to protect Italy, and other “so-called” NATO Allies. 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

Meloni then hit back with: “these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.  As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has 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,” Meloni said in a post on Instagram. She added that “in any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.” {source}

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President Donald Trump unveils the new Air Force One airliner which will carry all U.S. Presidents around the globe.

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President Donald Trump gives an extensive interview to Axios on current events, the comparison between Term 1 and Term 2, and the issues surrounding the ceasefire agreement with Iran.

The conversation centers on Iran, where Trump defends the military campaign, the deal that followed and his decision to stop short of further escalation. He also discusses the Strait of Hormuz, Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu, Cuba, Venezuela, artificial intelligence, Anthropic, China’s AI race and how he thinks about maintaining power in the final stretch of his presidency.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 – Welcome to The Axios Show
0:11 – The one big thing: power
1:37 – “I’m the boss” and the G7
3:36 – What Trump sees in world leaders
4:05 – Trump on Xi Jinping and China
6:11 – Venezuela, military power and oil
7:19 – Trump on Modi, Pakistan and global leadership

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While Karoline Leavitt continues her maternity leave, Vice-President JD Vance will take another turn at the podium for a White House briefing on the first day of President Trump’s return from the G7 in France.

The majority of the questions are likely to surround the topic of an agreement with Iran that halts U.S. military hostilities. The current political government of Israel and those who support it are very upset. The anticipated start time is 11:00am.

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President Trump is navigating a narrow path through a minefield of foreign and domestic opposition to his preferred trade position on the USMCA. Ironically, or not, on the issue of ending the USMCA we likely have more allies in the labor unions and Bernie Bros than we do amid the congressional republicans.

President Trump was asked again today about his position on the USMCA against the backdrop of a hot-mic moment when Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was telling him about caps on Chinese EVs coming into Canada. [Prompted]

“I would rather not have the USMCA. The primary reason I wanted it was because there was no way out of NAFTA, which was the worst trade agreement ever made — like, ever — and they had no termination… I would prefer not having an agreement, but I’m open to doing it.”

Several desperate Canadian trade watchers have framed President Trump’s “that’s good” response to Carney as if Trump was approving of the Chinese EV deal.  Again, folks are just not looking at Trump’s position through the correct lens.

Trump doesn’t care about the issue. Trump is ambivalent to the issue. It’s the same mindset Trump has carried throughout all questions and comments since the questions were first raised.

The reason for Trump’s ambivalence about the granular, sectoral questions is simply because in the big picture of Trump’s outlook, he doesn’t plan on staying in a trilateral trade deal.  Any bilateral trade deal Canada makes with a trade partner is perfectly okay, because Canada is not going to be connected to the USA in a trilateral obligation.

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At the conclusion of the G7 assembly in France, President Trump is scheduled to hold a very consequential press conference. The anticipated start time is 11:00am ET; however, the timing is estimated with ongoing events.  Livestream Links below:

UPDATE: VIDEO ADDED

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President Trump delivers remarks during a bilateral discussion with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani the Emir of Qatar. As previously noted, the G7 is no longer an assembly of the industrial nations. The G7 has morphed into a meeting of multiple nations unattached to the original intent.

The primary discussion surrounded the current deal with Iran for a cessation of hostilities.

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Earlier today, President Donald Trump signed the Secure America Act in the Oval Office. The bill provides $70 billion for immigration enforcement, including $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol, and $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs.  WATCH:

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The appearance of Senator Rand Paul and House Speaker Mike Johnson together is rather interesting, considering the current internal dynamics behind the FISA (702) issue that puts them on opposite sides – with President Trump in the curious middle.

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As President Donald Trump was returning to the White House after attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York City, he paused to deliver an impromptu press conference to the traveling press pool.

President Trump was traveling with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.  President Trump and Secretary Burgum delivered remarks about the restoration of the Washington DC memorials and ongoing revitalization efforts.  EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin recapped the game. WATCH:

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Here’s the full interview between President Trump and NBC’s Kirsten Welker. The video and transcript:

[Transcript] – KIRSTEN WELKER:President Trump, welcome back to Meet the Press.

PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Thank you.

KRISTEN WELKER: Thank you so much for being here. We are going to talk about your visit, why you’re here in Wisconsin. But I’d like to start off by talking about the major issue that you are focused on every day which is Iran. Sunday will mark 100 days since the first strikes. Your secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said that the war had concluded. And yet, just this week, Iran attacked U.S. allies in the region, calling it retaliation for a set of U.S. air strikes. Is the United States at war with Iran?

PRES. DONALD TRUMP: Well, they’ve been largely decapitated. And I call it a military exercise because people would rather have it called that. It’s not a big war for us. It’s not. We have the most powerful military in the world. I built it, frankly. I built it in my first four years. And I’m using it a little bit in my second four years. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone. They might’ve built it up a little bit over the last four weeks during this little ceasefire that we did at the request of some very good people, very, very fine people from — actually from numerous places, as you know. You know, there are a lot of people involved. But from Pakistan in particular, the field marshal and the prime minister. And we’re very close to having a deal. And if we don’t have a deal, we’ll do it one way or the other. Either way, we win.

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