US President Donald Trump took a new jab at Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of the NATO Summit in Türkiye.
Ahead of a potential upcoming meeting with the Italian PM in Ankara, Trump once again revived a feud that began after the G7 Summit in France.
Restoring orders
Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, the US president on Sunday, July 5, posted a picture with Meloni with a caption, “Restraining order needed,” referring to their exchange of allegations last month after the G7 Summit.
The 80-year-old did not explain what he meant by the “restraining order," but tension between the two heads of state, who were once the closest allies, escalated after the Republican president claimed that Meloni “begged” him for a picture together at G7, a claim that was denied by the Italian PM with a fiery statement.
Following Trump’s post, Italy’s most influential daily, Corriere della Sera, reported the government has decided not to react “to this provocation” this time.
Trump, Meloni, and the G7 Summit picture drama
Trump last week claimed that Meloni repeatedly asked for a photograph with him during the recent G7 Summit, saying she asked "over and over" for a picture.
She rejected the allegation as "completely fabricated," adding, "Italy and I never beg."
Meloni told Italy's Rete 4 television, “I am not anti-American today; I was not kneeling yesterday. I am a person who believes that the West is stronger united, who believes that Italy is stronger in a united West, and who has worked and continues to work for this.”
“After that, however, solid relationships are also based on frankness, and I am a frank person," she added.
Trump-Meloni relationship
Trump and Meloni were once the closest ally, she was the only European leader invited to his second-term inauguration, but their relationship deteriorated after the US-Iran launched a war in Iran.
Meloni also subsequently refused to let the US aircraft bound for the Middle East use its air base in Sicily.
The pair also sparred over Pope Leo XIV, with Meloni defending the pontiff after Trump deemed him "weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy."
