For years, a rumor has circulated online that U.S. President Donald Trump once claimed that Italy and the United States have been allies since Ancient Rome. As alleged proof, social media users pointed to an image supposedly showing a translator's reaction to Trump's comments.
One Facebook post (archived), for example, stated: "Trump said that the United States and Italy have been allies since the time of Ancient Rome. The translator's reaction is priceless!"
Numerous social media accounts have spread the claim over years, on platforms such as X, LinkedIn, Threads, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
In short, Trump did not claim that the United States and Italy have been allies since ancient Rome. He remarked that the two countries have a "shared cultural and political heritage" dating back back thousands of years. As such, we have rated this claim as false.
We previously debunked this rumor back in 2019, 2024 and 2025, highlighting that such an assertion would obviously be incorrect, as the United States was not founded as an independent nation until 1776, and Italy did not achieve unification until the 19th century, becoming a republic only in the 1940s.
Context of Trump's remarks
The claim originated from a speech Trump gave during a joint press conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Oct. 16, 2019. During the event, Trump made the following statement: "The United States and Italy are bound together by a shared cultural and political heritage dating back thousands of years, to ancient Rome."
Right after that, Trump stated: "Over the centuries the Italian people have blessed our civilization with magnificent work of art, science, philosophy, architecture, music." He continued: "On Monday we pay tribute to the Italian explorer who led a voyage of discovery to the New World, a gentleman known as Christopher Columbus. And to me it will always be called Columbus Day. Some people don't like that, I do."
Therefore, Trump stated that the United States and Italy share a political and cultural heritage dating back thousands of years, but did not claim they had been allied for that long. Trump's use of the phrase "dating back thousands of years" seems to have caused confusion, leading some to misinterpret his remarks.
The influence of the Roman Republic on the formation and principles of the American Republic is well-documented, making Trump's point historically accurate.
Viral pics of Italian interpreter
Moreover, the images shared in posts spreading the false claim, allegedly showing "the translator's reaction," were not taken during Trump's misinterpreted comments about Italy. Instead, they were captured that same day in a different location — at the Oval Office of the White House.
For instance, one photo appeared to be a screenshot from the video titled "OVAL OFFICE: President Trump FULL Meeting With Italian President" shared on Oct. 16, 2019, by LiveNOW from FOX YouTube channel:
The image circulating in 2025 appeared to be a digitally enhanced remake of an older collage, with noticeably smoother textures and exaggerated facial features, as shown in the image below:
(X user @OlenaRohoza, Facebook page Sarcasm)
Below you can see a photograph of the scene we accessed via Getty Images:
(Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 16: U.S. President Donald Trump meets with President Sergio Mattarella of Italy in the Oval Office of the White House October 16, 2019 in Washington, DC. President Trump is holding talks with President Mattarella on bilateral issues including "common security challenges and shared economic prosperity." (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Shortly after the event, Mattarella's interpreter, Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann, sparked controversy with many social media users speculating about her expressions.
In October 2019, we debunked an adjacent rumor claiming that Trump called Italy's president "Mozzarella."