Barely 48 hours before the duo meet again, US President Donald Trump posted a meme mocking the Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. On Sunday, taking to Truth Social, the US president shared a meme adding another chapter to the ongoing dispute between the two leaders. Trump has earlier in an interview following the G7 summit claimed that ‘Meloni begged him for a photo’.
Posting an image of Meloni smiling and looking upwards towards Trump- the picture was captioned- “Restraining order needed.” No legal filing exists. The post is a taunt, but it lands as NATO diplomats finalise a declaration meant to steady an alliance Trump has threatened to quit. It appeared during a stream of more than 100 posts published by Trump on his social media handle on 4th of July. The holiday posts besides mocking the Italian PM also had doctored images of Barack and Michelle Obama boarding Air Force One. The Meloni meme was followed by another post attacking the European Union over immigration, in which he claimed Europe risked becoming ‘Third World’ because of its policies.
The dispute erupted on June 19, where Trump told an Italian broadcaster that their PM ‘begged’ him for a selfie at the G7 Summit in Evian, France. To which the Italian government strongly reprimanded and cancelled it latest envoy to US and PM Meloni also came out dismissing the claims, calling them ‘completely fabricated’ saying that ‘Italy and I never beg’. Trump later claimed that she was seeking his friendship to lift her poll numbers. Replying to his comments Meloni said that her popularity ‘is none of your concern’ and suggested he focus on his own.
The remarks come at a time when the Ankara Summit due July 7 is barely away. The Ankara summit was designed as a show of unity which reaffirms an ‘ironclad commitment’ to collective defence under Article 5 and pledges roughly $80 billion (£60 billion) in military aid to Ukraine for 2026, according to the summit text. Trumps remarks have cast a doubt on the US commitment to NATOs mutual defence pact. While it might seem normal, it is not just a verbal spat. NATO underwrites American security commitments in Europe, and Italy hosts key US military installations whose use, Meloni has pointedly noted, is governed by bilateral agreements- that a huge deal which could be consumed by a personal feud.