President Donald Trump continued his increasingly personal feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni over the weekend, posting a series of images on Truth Social that mocked the conservative European leader and suggested she was obsessed with him.
Among the posts was a photo of Meloni appearing to look toward Trump with the caption, “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED,” implying the Italian prime minister was acting like a stalker.
The post was part of a flurry of images Trump shared Sunday, including photos of himself delivering speeches at Mount Rushmore, a digitally altered image of him arm wrestling the late wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, a throwback photograph featuring Marla Maples and Macaulay Culkin, and an image depicting former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama boarding Air Force One. That edited image showed “BLM,” Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes We Can,” and Arabic writing spray-painted across the aircraft.
Trump’s latest jab at Meloni comes weeks after a once-friendly relationship between the two leaders deteriorated into an unusually public exchange of insults following the American-led military campaign against Iran.
Last month, Trump criticized Italy and several other NATO allies for what he described as insufficient support during the conflict. He specifically accused Italy of refusing to allow the United States to use its military airfields and runways, calling the decision “a great logistical inconvenience.”
Trump also claimed he intentionally declined to take a photo with Meloni during the G7 Summit, asserting she was now trying to repair the relationship for political gain.
“She wants to be friends again in order to get her ‘numbers up,'” Trump wrote at the time. “No thanks!!!”
Meloni forcefully rejected Trump’s accusations, calling them “unprovoked” and “senseless.”
“My popularity depends on my ability to defend Italy’s national interest, and that is exactly what I have always done,” she said. “That is also what I did regarding the American military bases in Italy. Their use is governed by agreements that we have always respected, and that cannot be violated as long as I am Prime Minister.”
She added that Italy remains “a sovereign nation” before delivering a pointed response to Trump’s remarks about her political standing.
“In any case, my popularity is none of your concern,” Meloni said. “I suggest you focus on yours.”
During his previous campaign, Trump frequently praised Meloni and her conservative leadership, at one point calling her a “beautiful young woman” during a speech. Acknowledging that such a compliment could be politically risky, Trump joked that he was willing to “roll the dice” anyway.
Meloni, leader of the conservative Brothers of Italy party, had often been viewed as one of the European leaders most ideologically aligned with Trump on issues such as immigration, national sovereignty and opposition to progressive social policies.
The recent breakdown in relations appears to stem largely from disagreements over the Iran War and Trump’s broader frustration with NATO allies. In recent weeks, the president has repeatedly criticized European nations for what he argues is an unequal sharing of military responsibilities, accusing allies of relying too heavily on American resources while failing to provide comparable support during international crises.
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