Did Trump call Italy’s president “President Mozzarella” and say both nations allies since Ancient Rome? Fact Check
Claim : US President Trump called Italian President Sergio Mattarella, “President Mozzarella” and said the U.S. and Italy have been “allies since Ancient Rome” which left the translator shocked.
Conclusion : The claim is false. US President Donald Trump pronounced Italian President Sergio Mattarella correctly and he referenced shared heritage, not alliance.
Rating : Misrepresentation — 
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Some social media have claimed that US President Donald Trump had mispronounced Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s name and gave vague comments about the US-Italy alliance. Verified X user ‘AloofBond’ shared similar claim with the caption: “The look of the White House Italian translator as Trump says President Mozzarella for the Italian President and says U.S. and Italy have been allies since Ancient Rome.” View the post below:
👀 The look of the White House Italian translator as Trump says President Mozzarella for the Italian President and says U.S. and Italy have been allies since Ancient Rome. pic.twitter.com/oJUV9M7MPS
— Mad Zen (@AloofBond) October 22, 2025
Another verified X user ‘ricew123’ shared a similar claim highlighting how this is “historical blunder so ridiculous the translator nearly short-circuited trying to keep a straight face……” This post gained more than 67,000 views and 1,500 likes which can be seen here.
FACT CHECK
DigitEYE India looked into this claim and found it to be false. The hoax, which originally appeared six years ago, has resurfaced alleging that Donald Trump referred to Italian President Sergio Mattarella as “President Mozzarella.” Official transcripts confirm that Trump pronounced Mattarella’s name correctly and spoke about shared U.S.–Italy heritage, not any ancient alliance. The supposed “translator reactions” circulating online are also taken from unrelated moments.
Our investigation began with a keyword search for “Trump–Italian President Sergio Mattarella meeting,” which led us to the October 16, 2019 transcript. Both the full transcript and the Youtube video from the White House Archives show Trump addressing President Mattarella properly. At times he also used “Mr. President,” but there is no instance of the fabricated term “Mozzarella,” indicating the pizza topping butter.
We then reviewed Trump’s remarks about the U.S.–Italy relationship. The transcript shows Trump saying: “The United States and Italy are bound together by a shared cultural and political heritage dating back thousands of years to Ancient Rome.” This line appears in the video from around the 0:40 mark. While Italy was only unified in the 19th century, 1861, with full unification completed in 1870, Trump was clearly referring to Rome’s influence on Western civilization, not to any ancient military alliance.
Finally, we examined the claim regarding President Mattarella’s alleged reaction. The clip being shared is taken from a different interaction on the same day during the Oval Office meeting, which is visible in the official footage.
Several unrelated moments were cut and misrepresented to create the misleading narrative. From approximately 15:50 onward, Trump discusses topics including the World Trade Organization, China’s economic rise, Italy as a major trade partner, and negotiations with the European Union.
The Italian interpreter begins translating around 17:50 and finishes at 19:15. The reaction used in the viral post actually occurs at 19:22, when a reporter asks a question about a ceasefire, not in response to any “President Mozzarella” remark as seen here.
Another circulated image comes from around the 29:00 mark, when Trump talks about the United States’ economic strength. Here too, the interpreter is neither mocking nor surprised; she is simply listening carefully and taking notes as seen View that moment below –
Thus, the claim is Misrepresentation.
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