Trump calls for 'restraining order' against Meloni in new attack

 ROME – American President Donald Trump launched another attack Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on social media ahead of a NATO meeting in Ankara later this week, saying that he needs a “restraining order” against her.

 Trump shared a photo of Meloni looking at him with the caption “restraining order needed” on his Truth social media, the latest in a series of back-and-forth between the two leaders. 

 Meloni and Trump had previously shared a close relationship, however it deteriorated following Italy’s refusal to join the USA’s side in the war with Iran. It worsened further after Meloni defended Pope Leo XIV against Trump's criticism of the pontiff for being "weak on crime" after the pope's condemnation of the war in Iran. 

 The public spat first started in early June after a G7 summit, in which Trump claimed Meloni “begged” him for a photo as ‘proof’ that the relationship between the two countries was mended, in turn to improve her approval rating in Italy. Meloni, in return, called Trump’s attacks “completely fabricated” and added that “neither I nor Italy ever beg.”

 Meloni has not responded to the latest attacks.