What was supposed to be the Gaza International Peace Summit, a high-stakes gathering to end a war, ended up looking more like a Mediterranean episode of Love Island: Leaders Edition in Sharm El Sheikh.
While aides drafted ceasefire clauses, the real drama unfolded in the margins: Erdoğan tried to save a smoker’s soul, Trump rediscovered chivalry, and Meloni chain-smiled her way through the chaos.
Erdoğan’s crusade goes up in smoke
Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, never one to resist moralising, spotted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni with a cigarette and pounced faster than a tax inspector on a new entrepreneur.
“You look great. But I have to make you stop smoking,” he declared, as if issuing a fatwa on Marlboro Lights.
Before Meloni could exhale, Emmanuel Macron, always the class clown of continental politics, jumped in with Gallic precision: “It’s impossible!”
Meloni, unfazed and unfiltered, fired back: “I know, but if I quit, I might kill somebody.”
Diplomatic circles cheered. Feminists nodded. The anti-smoking campaign gasped.
Erdoğan’s anti-tobacco mission may have met its match in a woman who leads Italy, wrangles coalition politics, and still finds time for a smoke break.
Meanwhile, in TrumpLand...
Across the hall, Donald Trump was doing what he does best: hijacking a solemn moment for a soundbite.
During his speech, he veered from ceasefires to compliments faster than you can say Truth Social.
“I’m not allowed to say it because it’s the end of your career if you do, but she’s a beautiful young woman,” he told the summit audience, pointing at Meloni.
Some gasped. Others smirked. Trump grinned, basking in the attention.
“If you use the word ‘beautiful’ in America, you’re finished – but I’ll take my chances.”
Meloni, visibly amused and slightly horrified, smiled through it, the way you smile when your uncle makes a toast that’s one Chardonnay too long.
Trump doubled down later, posting on Truth Social about her new book I Am Giorgia, calling her “great” and “an inspiration to all.” Meloni thanked him on Instagram, because in modern diplomacy, nothing’s official until it’s been liked and reposted.
Summit of subtext
By the time the cameras stopped rolling, Gaza had a ceasefire, but the summit had a subplot: Erdoğan wants Meloni to quit smoking, Trump wants her to keep smiling, and Macron wants the world to know he still has comedic timing.
The peace talks may have been about ending a war, but the side show revealed another truth: global diplomacy now runs on ego, optics, and carefully curated viral moments.
The verdict
Erdoğan tried to ban a habit.
Trump tried to compliment a leader.
Macron tried to be funny.
And Giorgia Meloni? She just lit another cigarette—and became the most talked-about person at a peace summit.