President Donald Trump appeared to underline his frosty rapport with Italy’s prime minister as he walked directly past her without offering a look or greeting.
Trump and Giorgia Meloni seemed to exchange a mutual snub as world leaders assembled for the customary NATO family photograph in Ankara, Turkey.
The pair, once viewed as closely aligned political allies, stood out as Meloni appeared to behave as though the US president were not there, holding a controlled, tight smile.
Body language analyst Judi James suggested the prime minister’s fixed expression pointed to a deliberate and strategic stand-off.
James noted that “Meloni might still be stinging from Trump’s claims after their last meeting because her very emphatic ‘ignore’ ritual of the US version of the Sun King here suggests a desire to reset the power balance a little.”
As the moment played out, the tension between the two leaders became increasingly difficult to overlook.
The analyst added that “it would be impossible to miss Trump’s alpha shuffle into the NATO line-up for the ‘family’ photo but Meloni seems to studiously turn her head away as he arrives, meaning there is no need for any acknowledgment ritual between them.”
What might have looked like a simple missed greeting instead ended with a quiet but pointed gesture of distance.
James notes that ‘there’s even a little toss of the head from Meloni to announce the moment has passed as he has walked by and she turns her head back again after what might have felt like a rewarding moment of ‘ignore.’
Once inseparable political soulmates, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and President Donald Trump now appear to have an icy relationship
European Council president Antonio Costa, Trump, South Korean president Lee Jae Myung, Meloni and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month
The theater in Ankara marks a new low point for the leaders, whose relationship has been on a steep downward trajectory since they clashed at the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month.
The open hostilities kicked off when Trump took to an Italian news outlet to mock the prime minister, claiming she had ‘begged’ him for a photo together.
The President boasted: ‘She wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her.’
He then added an extra twist of the knife, sneering: ‘She might be happy that I talked to her, I didn’t have to talk to her.’
Humiliated on the world stage, a furious Meloni hit back with a blistering video response. Declaring herself ‘astonished’ by Trump’s ‘completely made-up’ claims, she fired back with a fierce defense of her nation, barking: ‘Neither I nor Italy ever beg.’
Meloni confessed she was baffled by why the President would choose to publicly savage a Western ally, especially given their past friendship, before sighing: ‘It’s not the first time it’s happened, after all.’
She then accused Trump of going soft on America’s actual adversaries while knifing long-standing allies in the back.
‘I can only say that it’s unfortunate that he doesn’t have the same determination toward the enemies of the West, toward the enemies of the United States, toward leaders with whom he appears much more accommodating,’ Meloni blasted.
The President triggered fresh diplomatic drama on Wednesday after marching straight past the Italian leader without offering a greeting or a glance her way
Once inseparable political soulmates, a defiant Giorgia Meloni stares firmly at the ground alongside Donald Trump at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey
Trump shared a picture of Meloni smiling at him with the words ‘restraining order needed’ branded atop in a post to his Truth Social account
Trump refused to let her have the last word. The next day, he went on a Truth Social rampage to double down on his claims.
‘Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked, over and over, for a picture with me during the G-7 meeting in France,’ he wrote. ‘
‘She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon.’
The bad blood traces back to a high-stakes military standoff in March, when Italy banned US warplanes from landing at the Sigonella air base in Sicily ahead of operations in the Middle East, according to Politico. The defiance left him reeling.
Trump launched a blistering assault on Meloni, accusing her of cowardice and abandoning both America and NATO in their hour of need. Taking the feud to the brink, Trump threatened the ultimate nuclear option: pulling US troops out of Italy altogether. He raged that Rome ‘has not been of any help to us’ in the conflict with Iran.
Meloni refused to take the bait quietly, later turning the tables by blasting the President for lashing out at the Pope over his condemnation of the war. As Trump continued to swipe at her polling numbers and foreign policy stance, the Italian prime minister snapped on Instagram, savaging his behavior in a series of direct hits.
Meloni rolling her eyes at French President Emmanuel Macron at last year’s G7 summit
President Trump, Meloni and Macron at Hotel Royal during the G7 summit in France last month
Trump greets Meloni during a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh in October last year. Now, less than a year later, their friendship lies in tatters
Trump and Meloni seemed happy in each other’s company at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, last month, despite his comments that she ‘begged’ him for a photo
Trump and Meloni gave each other the ultimate brush-off as leaders gathered for the traditional NATO family photo in the Turkish capital
Meloni fired back that ‘these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless.’ She added: ‘As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you.’
She also fiercely defended her decision to block the US aircraft, insisting that Rome had done nothing wrong and was sticking to the rulebook. ‘As for the use of military bases in Italy, there are agreements that we have always respected,’ she wrote.
In a sharp final jab, Meloni told Trump that her approval ratings were absolutely none of his business.
It is a stunning collapse for a duo who once enjoyed a close alliance.
Meloni was previously seen as the ultimate bridge between the White House and Europe’s conservative right. Proving her fierce loyalty, she was famously the only European leader to attend Trump’s inauguration last year.
