The US president has joked that he ought to file a restraining order against the Italian prime minister<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump has suggested that he may need a restraining order against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reviving a public feud between the two leaders.
\nThe Italian prime minister last month dismissed Trump\u2019s claim that she had desperately been seeking a photo opportunity with him during a G7 summit in France. Meloni argued that appearing too friendly with the US president could damage a politician\u2019s popularity, contrary to what he believes.
\nOn Sunday, Trump shared an image on Truth Social showing Meloni looking up at him with an admiring expression. The caption read: \u201cRestraining order needed.\u201d The two leaders are due to meet this week in Ankara at a NATO leaders\u2019 summit. The joke, however, does not appear to have originated with Trump.<\/p>\n
I MIGHT NEED A RESTRAINING ORDER!!!\ud83d\ude0e\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23 pic.twitter.com\/Lm8wfb3wpv\u2014 il Donaldo Trumpo (@PapiTrumpo) June 21, 2026 <\/p>\n
Relations between Trump and Meloni deteriorated after Italy declined to directly back the US-Israeli war with Iran. Meloni also criticized Trump\u2019s remarks about Pope Leo XIV, after the US president described the American-born pontiff as \u201cweak on crime\u201d and \u201cungrateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Europe is \u2018Third World\u2019 \u2013 Trump<\/p>\n
The dispute following the G7 summit disrupted a planned US visit by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been expected to attend a US-Italian business forum in Miami on June 21. Behind the scenes, however, both governments appear to be trying to ease tensions.
\nTajani and other Italian ministers attended a celebration of the 250th anniversary of US independence hosted by the US Embassy in Rome. Speaking at the event, Tajani said that \u201cthe friendship between Italy and the United States is stronger than any controversy.\u201d
\nUS Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta also struck a conciliatory tone in a recent interview with local media, saying Meloni \u201chas done an excellent job\u201d as prime minister and has helped Italy \u201cbecome a global leader.\u201d
\nTrump\u2019s latest post has drawn criticism in Italy. Carlo Calenda, a former economic development minister who now leads the liberal Azione party, called the US president \u201ca despicable two-bit bully\u201d and voiced support for Meloni.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US president has joked that he ought to file a restraining order against the Italian prime minister US President Donald Trump has suggested that he may need a restraining…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t