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US President-elect Donald Trump met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 4, 2025. — Reuters
ANKARA: Donald Trump appeared to put an end to the diplomatic spat with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as he arrived in Ankara for an important NATO summit.
The disagreement started late last month after Trump claimed in an interview with an Italian TV channel that Meloni had “begged” him for a photo together at the G7 summit, and he only agreed because he “felt sorry for her.” Meloni swiftly denied the allegation, calling it “fabricated,” which led Trump to double down, sparking a personal feud with one of Europe’s leading right-wing leaders.
This conflict escalated into an unprofessional back-and-forth that continued until Sunday, when Trump posted an altered image on his Truth Social platform. The picture showed Meloni looking at him with admiration, accompanied by the caption, “Restraining Order Needed.”
By Tuesday, Trump seemed to adopt a more friendly approach. “I think she’s a nice person, actually,” he stated during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“Our relationship was strained, folks. It got a little worse because she refused to help us… She declined to get involved with the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, expressing disappointment over Europe’s hesitation to support US and Israeli efforts in the Iran conflict.
“I like her. I think she’s a good person, but she made a mistake… she just wasn’t there for us, and I wasn’t happy about that,” Trump added.
Leading up to the Ankara meeting, Trump has heavily criticized European NATO members, with allies trying to highlight increased defense spending to win his favor.
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