President Donald Trump used to have a decent relationship with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But he appeared to ruin that. The tension between the two world leaders escalated after Trump claimed that Meloni “begged” for a photo with him, and she accused him of totally making things up. Instead of trying to repair the blunder, Trump made the situation even worse by sharing a belittling meme.
Amid their apparent falling out, Meloni has said that she has no regrets, but she and Trump appeared to ignore each other at the NATO summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
In June, Trump tried to say that he “felt sorry for” Meloni.
The two of them chatted at the G7 Summit in France, and things appeared to be OK between them. But then, a few days later, Trump claimed that Meloni “begged” him to take a photo with her. “She wanted a picture with me so badly,” he said. “I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
It’s not hard to understand why this comment bothered Meloni. She called Trump’s story “completely fabricated” and said, “Italy and I do not beg.”
In a Truth Social rant, Trump wrote that Meloni is “doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity.” She addressed the rant in a post on June 20, calling him out for his “constant, unprovoked attacks.”
In her post, she pointed out that her previously friendly relationship with the United States president didn’t exactly make people like her more. She wrote, “As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.” Meloni concluded the post with, “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
Trump also shared an offensive meme about Meloni.
Q: Can you clarify with you meant with your social media post with respect to Prime Minister Meloni, the restraining order?
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 7, 2026
TRUMP: Oh, I don't know. I think she's a nice person, actually. I didn't put a heavy press on her. I think she made a mistake. She just wasn't there for… pic.twitter.com/xhiUQo6gLY
Of course, anyone could have predicted that this would only make things worse. And yet, here we are. Just before the NATO summit, Trump shared an image that showed Meloni looking up at him. The text on the meme read, “Restraining order needed.”
When questioned about the Truth Social post, Trump said, “Oh, I don’t know. I think she’s a nice person, actually. I didn’t put a heavy press on her. I think she made a mistake. She just wasn’t there for us, and I wasn’t happy about that.”
At the NATO summit, they seemed to avoid each other.
Meloni refuses to so much as look at Trump as he walks by her pic.twitter.com/YQjWye35Ie
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 8, 2026
Clips circulating on social media show Trump walking right past Meloni without making eye contact. She did not appear to look at him either. Journalist Aaron Rupar shared a clip on X and captioned it with, “Meloni refuses to so much as look at Trump as he walks by her.”
In response, someone commented, “Gurl, same.” Another person said, “Kinda looks like she’s laughing at him.”
Even though photos and videos made it look like she was possibly trying her best to avoid him, people started speculating about what Trump might try to say afterwards. “Trump is going to post about how she lusted for him and begged him to show her his 50 inch waist,” one person joked in the comments.
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