Trump trolls Meloni: “A restraining order is needed”. No response from Palazzo Chigi

Donald Trump published a new direct attack on Giorgia Meloni late on 5 July on his Truth Social platform. The post features a photo taken at the G7 summit in Evian showing the US president and the Italian prime minister together, captioned “a restraining order is necessary”, a reference to the U.S. legal measure by which a judge orders one person to keep their distance from another.

The message came on the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, scheduled for July 7 and 8, where Trump and Meloni are expected to cross paths again following weeks of public sparring in June.

Because Meloni now wants a stronger EU, Trump has started fantasising about Restraining her.
What is wrong with him? https://t.co/8cI7kbGpSl pic.twitter.com/9HqSxzyQsB
— NXT EU (@NXT4EU) July 5, 2026

Palazzo Chigi did not respond to the post. Government sources said the prime minister was focused on preparing dossiers for the Atlantic Alliance summit in Turkey.

Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, speaking live on Sky Tg24 Live In, played down the episode: “I had no reaction, the fundamental thing is to maintain relations with a key ally such as the United States”. Crosetto added: “People come and go, but relations with allies must remain, I didn’t think about it and looked at something else”.

Opposition reactions

Five Star Movement Senate group leader Luca Pirondini used harsh language toward both Trump and the government’s foreign policy approach: “Trump keeps bullying Giorgia Meloni. It is the bitter outcome of someone who, instead of putting national interests first, spent two years saying yes unconditionally, even nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize and rushing to Washington to try to carve out a privileged place in his system of personal relationships”. According to Pirondini, “when this government goes home, Italy will be able to turn the page, moving from subservience to credibility”.

Democratic Party foreign affairs group leader in the Senate, Alessandro Alfieri, was also critical, arguing that Meloni “has isolated herself and failed” and is now trying to get out of the corner “by increasing Italian debt and buying weapons from the United States” instead of working on a European defence plan. Alfieri traced the roots of the crisis to an earlier political choice: Italy, he said, should have joined other European partners in seeking a rebalancing of security spending, rather than signing on to NATO’s 5 percent of GDP target, which he estimates would eventually cost around 80 billion euros a year.

Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala, also a guest on Sky Tg24 Live In, struck a different but similarly critical note toward the government’s earlier approach: “It seems to me that Trump operates on a different level and in different ways, I think Giorgia Meloni is right to ignore him”. Sala nonetheless criticized the premier’s past conduct: “Meloni was too close and too accommodating in an early phase with Trump”, adding that he attributes the outcome of the referendum partly to this. Azione leader Carlo Calenda took the opposite stance, expressing “full solidarity with the prime minister” and calling Trump “a cheap, contemptible bully”.

Origins of the dispute

Tensions between the two leaders date back to June, when Trump told Italian broadcaster La7 that Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the G7 in Evian, saying he agreed because he felt sorry for her. Meloni rejected the claims as fabricated, saying “Italy does not beg” from anyone.

Trump-Meloni clash breaks into the open

The deterioration in relations between Rome and Washington dates back to April, when Trump repeatedly criticised Pope Leo XIV, accusing him of endangering Catholics over positions Trump considered too soft on Iran’s nuclear programme. Meloni came to the pontiff’s defence, first cautiously and then with a sharper statement, straining a relationship with the American president that had been positive up to that point.

Trump attacks Meloni: “I thought she had courage”

Two foreign policy disputes remain in the background: Italy’s refusal, in early April, to authorize the use of the Sigonella base for the transit of US military aircraft bound for the Middle East amid the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and Meloni’s public defence of Pope Leo XIV after Trump criticized the pontiff.

The Atlantic Alliance summit takes starts tomorrow in the Turkish capital, chaired by Secretary General Mark Rutte, with 32 heads of state and government attending, including Trump himself. The meeting will be the first direct encounter between the two leaders since the recent escalation.

The article in Italian by EUalive’s partner FocusEurope.it can be found here.

Caption: (L-R) European Council President Antonio Costa, US President Donald Trump, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi prepare for a group picture at Hotel Royal during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, 16 June 2026. The 52nd G7 Summit takes place in Evian-les-Bains from 15 to 17 June 2026. EPA/YONHAP