Italian ministers on Monday played down US President Donald Trump's latest attack on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, posted on social media ahead of this week's NATO summit in Turkey. Trump had shared a doctored image on his Truth Social platform on Sunday showing Meloni gazing up at him, captioned "Restraining Order Needed."
Meloni did not respond to the post herself. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Sky TG24 he had no reaction to it, saying, "People come and go but relations must endure." Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was confident transatlantic ties extend well beyond individual remarks.
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Latest In A Running Spat
Trump had targeted Meloni last month as well, claiming after the G7 Summit that she had "begged" him for a photo opportunity and that he agreed only out of sympathy for her—a version of events Meloni rejected. Opposition politician Carlo Calenda, who heads the Azione party, was less measured in his response, calling Trump a bully on X and voicing support for Meloni.
Meloni, once among Trump's most vocal European supporters and the only European leader to attend his 2025 inauguration, has in recent months offered rare public criticism of the US president
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The exchange comes as NATO leaders prepare to meet in Ankara, with allies hoping to avoid friction by highlighting increased defence spending. Trump had pushed member countries a year ago to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, and NATO chief Mark Rutte previewed that pitch at the White House last week, presenting figures on European spending increases since Trump first took office in 2017.
Some gaps remain, however, with a few countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovenia, expected to fall short of the 2% benchmark this year. The summit also comes against the backdrop of a fragile Iran situation, with Trump still said to be unhappy over how some European allies restricted use of their bases by American forces during the conflict.
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