Trump taunts Meloni with fresh photo salvo as NATO summit puts allies face-to-face

President Donald Trump escalated his public feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, further fueling a rift between the two leaders in the lead up to the NATO summit in Turkey this week. 

"RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED," Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday alongside a photo of Meloni looking at him.

Trump landed in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday for the NATO summit, where Meloni is also in attendance. The two leaders have long had a warmer relationship than Trump has shared with many other U.S. allies, with Meloni notably the only European leader to attend his 2025 presidential inauguration.

A spat began in June, however, after Trump said Meloni "begged" him to take a photo at the G7. Meloni pushed back on the claim. 

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"Trump's statements against Meloni speak for themselves," Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday while at a Sky TG24 event. "We are convinced that transatlantic relations go far beyond individual statements."

The latest exchange followed an earlier flashpoint at the G7 in June, when Trump mocked Meloni’s interest in taking a photo with him. 

"She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her," Trump said at the time to La7 TV channel. "She's probably happy I talked to her. I didn't have to talk to her."

Meloni fired back: "I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence."

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"There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg," she added.

While there is no U.S.-Italy bilateral meeting scheduled in Turkey this week, Trump and Meloni may rub shoulders at the NATO leaders' dinner, plenary sessions, and leaders' gatherings.

There have been looming tensions between the two leaders after Meloni distanced herself from the U.S. amid mounting domestic and political pressure over the widening Middle East conflict.

Trump also criticized Meloni for failing to assist the U.S. without letting U.S. forces use Italy's landing strips and runways, calling it "a great logistical inconvenience."

"She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!)," he wrote.

Italy remains a key U.S. security hub in Europe, hosting nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops across six bases as of the end of 2025.

A spokesperson for Meloni declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment.