On July 7th local time, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that Italy will no longer respond to the provocative statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump, in order to avoid further escalating tensions among allies.
According to Reuters in the UK on the 7th, NATO leaders were preparing to hold a summit in Turkey that day. Both Trump and Italian Prime Minister Meloni were scheduled to attend. However, Trump had previously claimed in an interview with an Italian television station that Meloni had "begged" him to take a photo with her at the G7 summit held in France. Meloni dismissed Trump's claims as "fabricated stories" last month.
Trump posted a photo of Melonni looking up at him on social media.
And just before the two were about to attend the NATO summit together, Trump stirred up this controversy again on July 5. He posted a photo on his own social media platform “Real Soccer”, in which Meron was looking up at him, along with the caption “A restraining order is needed”.
Regarding this, Tania responded in an interview with the Italian newspaper 'Il Messaggero' on the 7th, saying that Trump only 'speaks on his own behalf'. 'We are dealing with a US president who likes to provoke others, especially on social media. We have decided not to respond to these statements, in order to avoid exacerbating disputes among our allies.'
However, Tania also seems unwilling to completely anger the United States, stating that Italy “is and will continue to be a friend of the United States, and the United States is also a strategic partner of Europe.”
Meloni was a staunch supporter of Trump. After Trump was re-elected in 2025, she was the only European leader to attend his inauguration ceremony. However, due to Trump’s criticism of Pope Leo XIV for condemning the US-Iran conflict, Meloni criticized Trump. Subsequently, Trump responded harshly, accusing Meloni of being “lacking courage”.
