Donald Trump escalated his feud with Giorgia Meloni. The US president posted a bizarre meme mocking the Italian prime minister on Truth Social. The post added to the public spat that began last month and has grown increasingly personal between the two once-friendly populist leaders.
Donald Trump posted a meme about Giorgia Meloni
Trump shared an edited photo of Meloni on Truth Social on Sunday. It showed the Italian PM appearing to gaze upward at him, with the caption “Restraining order needed.” The post implied that Meloni is obsessed with the 80-year-old.
This is an addition to the dispute that began last month, when Donald Trump suggested Giorgia Meloni was desperate for a photo with him during the G7 summit in France. “She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her,” Trump said. “She begged me to take a picture with her. She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.”
Meloni pushed back soon after in a video posted on social media; she called Trump’s claims “completely made-up” and said she was “astonished” by them. The prime minister also questioned why Trump treats allies this way while showing more patience toward adversaries. “There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she said.
Trump responded with more criticism, claiming Meloni was “doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity.” He also criticized Italy’s response to his actions regarding Iran. Meloni answered on Instagram, defending her record on national interests. “In any case, my popularity is none of your concern,” she wrote. “I suggest you focus on yours.”
The unraveling was unexpected given the previous warmth between the two leaders. Both rode populist waves to power and once traded public compliments freely. What replaced it is a feud conducted through memes, video rebuttals, and competing claims of desperation and dishonesty.
