Over the course of his second term, President Donald Trump has had few friends among world leaders, but he and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni backed one another largely due to their shared far-right positions. Now, after that relationship was badly strained by a claim he made about Meloni at the recent G7 summit that she says was a lie, he appears to have burned that bridge once and for all with his latest “sexist insult,” leaving him more isolated on the world stage than ever.
This is according to the iPaper’s latest report on the just-ended NATO summit in Turkey, the build-up to which “was dominated by Trump’s latest clash” with Meloni “after he shared an edited social media post with a photo of her appearing to look at him with adoration and the message ‘restraining order needed.’”
This was the “last straw” for Meloni, who has barely had time to react to Trump’s previous offense. As the iPaper explains, “Last month, she responded to Trump’s claim that she ‘begged’ him for a photo to improve her political standing by calling it ‘completely made up’ and adding: ‘I am stunned that he behaves this way towards allies.’” “Neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she posted to Instagram, adding, “My popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
At the time, a number of world leaders and figures blasted Trump’s insult. Belgium’s defence minister, Theo Francken, said, “Of course we need [Trump] as an ally, but don’t touch Meloni. She’s the queen of the centre-right in Europe. She’s the alpha. Leave her alone.” And veteran U.S. diplomat and ambassador, Daniel Fried, said that Trump’s post was a “gratuitous insult… that is going to p—— off a lot of other Europeans who are going to find their dim views of Trump confirmed. It does damage for no discernible good.”
Trump’s attack may actually benefit Meloni, “who lost a referendum on constitutional reform in March partly because ‘she was seen as too Trump-friendly in a country where Italians hate Trump,’ said Sébastien Maillard of the Europe Programme at Chatham House. ‘She will be facing elections next year and Trump distancing from her is politically not so bad for her.’” Maillard explained that “leaders are learning that standing up to Trump is popular with their publics — polls show he is disliked and distrusted across the continent — and they are increasingly willing to do so.”
This incident reflects a wider trend of Trump’s willingness to insult his fellow right-wing ideological allies. According to the iPaper, “Jordan Bardella, president of the far-right National Rally (RN) party in France, recently described Trump as ‘erratic’ and ‘unsteady,’ while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) criticized the attack on Iran. Both were previously staunch supporters.” As Maillard explained, “There’s an inherent contradiction in being a MAGA supporter and a nationalist in Europe, because then you side with someone who is always bullying your nation.”
According to Georgios Samaras, professor of public policy and specialist on US politics at King’s College London, Trump has been “losing influence” over allies who are increasingly willing to defy him. “We’re dealing with a bully, and you cannot deal with bullies by staying neutral,” he said. “Meloni is showing the way, and that is an interesting development.”
For her part, at the NATO conference — the first time she’s met with Trump since his G7 insult — Meloni said simply that she maintains ‘cordial relations’ with the American president. But according to analysts, as Trump’s allies have dwindled, Europeans have begun to consider “what happens after Trump.” As Astrid Brodénof the Swedish Institute of International Affairs noted, U.S. allies sense “blood in the water, and a post-Trump future on the horizon.”