- US President Trump said his relationship with Italian PM Meloni soured over Iran war involvement
- Trump criticised Meloni for refusing to engage in military actions in the Strait of Hormuz
- He later stated he 'likes' Meloni and described her as a 'nice' person
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he 'likes' Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but the relationship between the two leaders "soured" after she refused to be involved in the Iran war.
During a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, when a reporter asked Trump to clarify his social media post regarding the 'restraining order' post on Meloni, the US President said, "We had a bad relationship. It became a little bad because she refused to help us."
He added, "She refused to get involved with the Hormuz Strait. Or you could also say just Iran. She refused to get involved."
🇺🇸🇮🇹 BREAKING: Trump on Italian PM Giorgia Meloni:
— NATO NEWS (@NATO307287741) July 7, 2026
"I think she is a nice person, actually."
"Our relationship became a little strained because she refused to help us with Iran.
It soured things a bit, but I still like her." pic.twitter.com/49L6IlXxTT
Trump said that Meloni made a "mistake" by not getting involved in any military operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
"You know, they get a lot of their oil from them. We don't get any of it. We have a lot of oil," Trump stated.
But later on in the interview, he said that he likes her and that she is a "nice person, actually".
The pair fell out late last month after Trump claimed in remarks to an Italian TV channel that Meloni had "begged" him for a photo together at the G7 summit, and he only agreed because he "felt sorry for her".
Meloni angrily denied the claim, calling it "made up", prompting Trump to double down, with his remarks opening an unusually personal rift with one of Europe's most prominent right-wing leaders.
The spat prompted an undiplomatic back-and-forth which dragged on until Sunday when he published a doctored image on his Truth Social platform showing Meloni looking at him as if adoringly in a post accompanied by the words "Restraining Order Needed".
Trump has been highly critical of European NATO countries ahead of the Ankara meeting, with allies seeking to showcase growing defence spending in the hope of placating him.
"I was very disappointed with NATO," Trump said, sitting next to Erdogan at the Turkish leader's vast presidential palace.
"Frankly, if it (the summit) weren't held in Turkey, where my friend happens to be a very strong leader, a very strong person, it's possible that I wouldn't have attended."
The two-day summit will showcase military projects worth billions of dollars aimed at persuading Trump they are making a stronger Europe for a stronger NATO.
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