Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called for calm on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump took another public jab at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, once one of his closest allies in Europe.
The latest flare-up began last month, when Meloni accused Trump of inventing a story about her. Trump had told an Italian TV channel that Meloni “begged” him for a photo together at a G7 summit in France. Meloni pushed back publicly, denying his version of events.
Both leaders are set to attend a NATO summit in Turkey this week. Ahead of that meeting, Trump revived the dispute by posting a photo on Truth Social showing Meloni looking up at him, captioned “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED.”
Meloni has not responded to the post.
Crosetto downplayed the incident when asked about it on Italy’s Sky TV. “I did not have any reaction (to the post), the fundamental thing is to maintain relations with a key ally like the USA,” he said. “People come and go but relationships remain.”
Not everyone in Italian politics took the same approach. Carlo Calenda, leader of the small Azione party, criticized Trump directly on X, calling him “a despicable, cheap bully” and voicing support for Meloni.
A friendship turned rocky
Meloni was once among Trump’s most enthusiastic backers in Europe. She was the only European leader to attend his inauguration in 2025, a gesture that set her apart from other heads of state on the continent who kept their distance from the incoming administration.
The relationship began to fray this year. Meloni criticized Trump after he attacked Pope Leo for condemning the Iran conflict. Her criticism prompted a sharp response from Trump, who accused her of lacking courage.
The photo dispute last month marked a further escalation. Trump’s claim that Meloni had begged for a picture with him struck many in Italy as an odd and unnecessary jab at a leader who had gone out of her way to build a working relationship with him. Meloni’s rejection of his account signaled that she was no longer willing to let such comments pass without pushback.
Trump’s latest post, timed just before the NATO summit, suggests the tension has not cooled. Posting the image with a caption mocking Meloni’s body language adds a personal dimension to what had already become a public disagreement between the two governments.
Rome tries to keep the relationship intact
Crosetto’s comments reflect an approach many in Meloni’s government appear to be taking: treat the public friction as noise and keep the broader alliance with Washington on track. Italy has leaned on its relationship with the U.S. on security and economic matters, and officials in Rome have shown little appetite for turning a personal spat into a diplomatic rift.
That instinct puts Crosetto and Meloni’s government at odds with opposition figures like Calenda, who see Trump’s repeated jabs as deserving a direct response rather than silence.
The NATO summit in Turkey will bring Trump and Meloni into the same room this week, giving both leaders a chance to address the tension in person or continue to let it sit unresolved in public view. Neither has signaled how they plan to handle the encounter.
Meloni’s rise as one of Trump’s favored European counterparts made her an unusual figure among EU leaders, many of whom kept a cooler distance from the U.S. president after his return to office. Her willingness to attend his inauguration and align with him on several policy fronts made the recent friction notable, marking a shift from what had been one of the more cooperative transatlantic relationships in Europe.
Whether the dispute affects cooperation between Rome and Washington beyond the personal exchanges remains to be seen. For now, Italian officials appear intent on separating the public back-and-forth from the substance of the relationship itself.
