Trump mocks Meloni on social media as dispute escalates ahead of NATO summit in Ankara

Behind the protocol, however, lie substantive disagreements. Trump has demanded that NATO allies raise their defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product by 2035 – a target that Italy, currently budgeting roughly 2.8 percent of GDP on security after years at around 1.5 percent, will struggle to meet credibly. Italian diplomats say they understand the pressure but cannot promise the kind of headline number Washington is asking for, particularly with public finances under strain.

Analysts in Washington and Brussels have questioned whether some of the increases Italy has reported are more cosmetic than concrete. According to the facts reviewed for this article, "etliche der Ausgabensteigerungen sind eher kosmetischer Natur" and include infrastructure items such as "den Bau von Straßen, die auch von Militärfahrzeugen befahren werden können". Italy's ambassador to NATO faced criticism at home and abroad for what one United States official publicly described as "kreative Buchführung" when Rome tried to count a planned suspension bridge over the Strait of Messina among its security expenditures.

The defense spending dispute behind the personal barbs

The immediate trigger for the renewed sniping appears to be Meloni's own remarks about the upcoming summit. She had observed that the Ankara meeting should not "zu einer Trump-Show" werden – a comment that, according to reports circulated in recent days, may have contributed to provoking the American president. Trump has long bristled at any suggestion that NATO proceedings be shaped around his personal preferences, even as allies privately worry that previous gatherings have tilted in that direction.

The dispute is not entirely new. Roughly two weeks ago, in an interview with an Italian private television station, Trump had already claimed that Meloni had "angebettelt" him for a joint photograph during the Group of Seven meeting in the French town of Évian. The allegation – that Meloni had begged the American president for a joint photo opportunity – struck many European observers as an extraordinary public slight to a sitting head of government.

Meloni moved quickly to reject the suggestion. She dismissed Trump's account as "frei erfunden" and "völlig erfunden", adding pointedly that "Ich und Italien betteln nie". Several Italian ministers, ahead of the United States national holiday on 4 July, had already signaled that Rome was weighing how to handle a relationship that appears to be turning sour after months of unusually warm rapport between the two leaders.

A summer of slights, from Évian to Ankara

Trump's latest intervention has opened a fresh front. The phrase "RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED" carries legal overtones that go beyond standard political ribbing. As one Italian official noted, "Bei einer 'restraining order', die Trump für Meloni fordert, handelt es sich im englischen Sprachgebrauch eine gerichtliche Auflage oder einstweilige Verfügung." The implication, observers said, is that Trump wants Meloni kept at arm's length – or wants to suggest to his domestic audience that she has become an irritant to be managed.

Despite the public friction, Italian officials said they were still working toward a calmer baseline. Meloni herself, speaking at an event roughly two weeks ago, said she believed that bilateral cooperation with the United States should "zur Normalität zurückkehren". That aspiration, however, looks increasingly difficult in the run-up to Tuesday's NATO gathering, where leaders will need to demonstrate unity on defense spending and on support for Ukraine.

The Ankara summit will be closely watched for any sign of a reconciliation between Trump and Meloni – or, conversely, any sign that the dispute has hardened into something more lasting. European allies, wary of transatlantic turbulence in an already volatile security environment, are likely to press both sides privately to avoid an open rupture. Publicly, Rome has so far preferred the language of dignity over confrontation. "Ich und Italien betteln nie," Meloni concluded, in a sentence that now reads less like reassurance than like a warning.

Why "restraining order" struck a nerve

The episode also underscores the unusual way in which this White House conducts its diplomacy – through social media posts, late-night messages and television interviews, often without the conventional diplomatic guardrails. Allies from Tokyo to Berlin have learned to read each presidential post for hidden meanings; Italian diplomats are now doing the same, watching the @realDonaldTrump account for the next twist in the saga ahead of Ankara.