US President Donald Trump launched a new verbal attack on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ANSA reported, BTA reported.
Trump shared a photo of her looking at him on his social network Truth Social, with the caption “A restraining order is needed“. He did this yesterday - just days before the NATO summit in Ankara.
Trump and Meloni maintained friendly relations until he quarreled with her over Italy's refusal to help the United States in the war with Iran, the Associated Press notes.
So far, the Italian Prime Minister has not responded to the US president's new verbal attack on her.
However, the leader of the Italian centrist party "Actio" Carlo Calenda stood up for Meloni, calling Trump a "pathetic and petty hooligan."
Trump caused a scandal by saying that Meloni "begged" him to take a photo together at the G-7 summit last month. She responded that the story was fabricated and criticized the American leader for treating his allies badly while being soft on opponents of the West.
The US president continued his criticism, saying that Meloni only wanted to reconcile with him to boost her public support in Italy. In response, she described his words as “nonsense”, stated that her relationship with him had not affected her ratings, and stressed that her popularity was a matter that did not concern him.
Meloni added that she did not intend to comment further on this dispute.
This new statement by Trump could also cause tension at the upcoming NATO summit tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in the Turkish capital Ankara, the AP notes.
In addition, the US president's comments prompted Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to cancel his planned trip to Washington, and Meloni described Trump's version as “completely fabricated“, and said: “Italy and I never pray to anyone.“