Donald Trump posted a doctored image of himself with Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, bearing the caption “Restraining order needed” – the latest escalation in a transatlantic feud that threatens to overshadow this week’s Nato summit in Ankara.
The US president’s post on Truth Social drew an immediate response from Rome. Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto told Sky TG24: “People come and go but relations must endure.” Foreign minister Antonio Tajani said he was “sure that transatlantic relations go well beyond individual comments.”
“Trump posts doctored image of Meloni with 'restraining order' caption as Nato allies brace for summit tensions.”
It is unclear what the restraining order comment refers to, but tensions have been building since late June, when Trump claimed Meloni had “begged” him for a picture together to boost her ratings. She rejected that, calling it “senseless” and suggesting the president focus on his own approval ratings instead.
Underlying the personal animosity is a deeper rift. Relations between the two – once seen as close allies – have deteriorated after the economic fallout from the US-Israeli war in Iran and Meloni’s refusal to let US aircraft bound for the Middle East use an 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”.
The spat has triggered a wave of social media support for Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party remains the country’s most popular political force. A YouTrend survey in June put the party on 28.6% of voting intentions, though a YouGov poll in April found only 35% of Italians viewed Meloni favourably, with 57% unfavourably.
As Nato leaders gather in Ankara on Tuesday, European allies are pulling out all the stops to prevent a Trump blow-up. “There’s no alternative how to approach him but to be diplomatic and not to extremely offend him and saying that we’re stepping up,” said Belgian defence minister Theo Francken. A senior Nato diplomat summed up the strategy: “It’s all about Trump management.”
The aim is to keep the agenda consensual, focusing on defence spending increases. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte recently presented Trump with a chart headlined “The Trump trillion”, showing allies spent an extra $139bn on defence since 2025. A White House official described the president’s mood as “a combination of optimism but also a level of being perturbed” over Iran.
Yet the volatile ceasefire in Iran, and Trump’s anger over allies not doing enough to support Washington’s war effort, could still derail the summit. “If this conflict flares up again – which can’t be ruled out – and then Trump again puts out statements that Europeans should step up … then that topic would of course overshadow everything else,” said Gerlinde Niehus, a security expert and longtime Nato official.
For now, the alliance is banking on money and diplomacy to keep Trump onside – and praying for no surprises.
