Donald Trump has once again attacked Giorgia Meloni on the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara. The President of the United States has published an image on his social network Truth Social alongside the Italian Prime Minister with a mocking message: “A restraining order is needed.”
The phrase comes after weeks of open clash between two leaders who until recently boasted of harmony within the international far-right. For months, Meloni was Trump's main European ally, the far-right leader who most tried to present herself as a bridge between Washington and Brussels. Now she appears to have become the target of the Republican's public jokes.
The image used by Trump comes from the last G7 in France. The crisis between the two already began there, after the US president claimed that Meloni had “begged” him to take a photo with him and that he agreed because he felt “pity” for her. The Italian then responded with a phrase that directly hit national pride: “Neither I nor Italy ever beg.”
Rome tries not to fuel the fight
The Italian government has this time chosen not to respond directly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, has avoided falling into the provocation and has defended that the relationship between Italy and the United States goes beyond Trump's comments. The Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, has also called for preserving the transatlantic relationship.
The directive in Rome is clear: weather the blow and not open another battle before the summit. Meloni will travel to Ankara with the added pressure of having to meet Trump just hours after a mockery that has made headlines in Italy and given ammunition to the opposition.
The attack also touches a delicate nerve for the Prime Minister. For a long time, Meloni sold her closeness to Trump as a diplomatic advantage for Italy. That link is now starting to weigh on her at home, especially after their differences over Iran, over the role of US bases on Italian territory, and over the increase in military spending.
NATO arrives with Trump pressuring Europe
The Ankara summit will be held on July 7 and 8 with all allies once again attentive to Trump. The US president arrives determined to demand more military spending from Europe and to continue pushing the goal of 5% of GDP in defense by 2035, a figure that strains several European governments due to its budgetary impact.
Italy is among the countries with the most difficulties in selling this internal shift. The Meloni Executive defends that it will increase spending, but tries to do so without opening a social crisis or giving the opposition a flank due to cuts in health, education or salaries. Trump's pressure complicates that balance.
The clash with Meloni also shows the US president's new treatment of his partners. He no longer distinguishes much between ideological allies and political adversaries. He has lashed out at Italy, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Spain for not aligning with his demands on defense or for distancing themselves from his offensive against Iran.
For Meloni, the blow is especially uncomfortable. Her international project was based on appearing as Trump's privileged interlocutor in Europe. This Tuesday she will have to sit at the same summit with the president who has just ridiculed her in public.
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