Donald Trump reignited tensions with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by sharing a doctored image on Truth Social showing Meloni with an altered facial expression suggesting admiration, captioned "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED," shortly before the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey [1, 2, 3, 4].

The doctored image stems from genuine footage at the G7 summit earlier this year but digitally altered Meloni’s expression to appear enamoured with Trump [1, 3]. The post followed Trump's claim at the G7 that Meloni "begged" him repeatedly for a photo, which Meloni and the Italian government called fabricated. Meloni responded, saying, "Italy and I never beg," and described the claim as "completely fabricated" [2, 3, 4]. Trump said, "She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn't have taken it, but I felt sorry for her" [4].

Relations have been strained in recent weeks amid Italy’s refusal to allow U.S. military aircraft carrying weapons for the Iran conflict to land at a Sicilian base without parliamentary approval. Italy hosts nearly 13,000 U.S. troops, and the dispute added friction to their diplomatic ties [1, 3, 4].

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled a planned visit to the U.S. following the dispute. Tajani said, "Trump's statements against Meloni speak for themselves. We are convinced that transatlantic relations go far beyond individual statements" [2, 3, 4]. Meanwhile, Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said he had "no reaction" to Trump’s post, emphasizing that "the fundamental goal is to maintain relations with a key ally like America" [2].

Trump arrived in Ankara on August 4 for the NATO summit, where Meloni is also attending. No bilateral meeting between the two is scheduled, but they may interact during summit events [4].

Meloni has reiterated her commitment to Western unity, saying, "I am not anti-American today; I was not kneeling yesterday. I am a person who believes that the West is stronger united, who believes that Italy is stronger in a united West, and has worked and continues to work for this" [3].