Donald Trump made a show of closing the Nato summit in Ankara with an uncharacteristic message of love and unity, after cutting an isolated figure among world leaders.
“There was tremendous love in that room,” he said of the final session on Wednesday, in jarring contrast with how he entered the summit, when he attacked European leaders for failing to support his war with Iran, restated his intention to take over Greenland and announced he would sever ties with Spain.
The US President’s insults led to some frosty treatment at the event in Turkey, which resulted in a joint statement that included pledges of funding for Ukraine and affirmation of the Article 5 mutual defence pact.
The build-up to the event was dominated by Trump’s latest clash with Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia 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”.
UPDATE: President Trump posted a picture with Italin PM Meloni."Restraining order needed" pic.twitter.com/XUnbpcktGU
— Donald J Trump Posts TruthSocial (@TruthTrumpPost) July 6, 2026Meloni said at the summit only that she has “cordial relations” with Trump, but she has been willing to challenge the volatile American leader. 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,” Italy’s prime minister said in a video she posted online that quickly went viral. “My popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours.”
The US President’s jibe against Meloni was noted by fellow leaders, adding to growing tensions between the US and Europe, which are costing Trump allies and influence.
Belgium’s defence minister, Theo Francken, a member of the nationalist party New Flemish Alliance, made clear where his sympathies lay. “Of course we need [Trump] as an ally, but don’t touch Meloni,” he told Politico. “She’s the queen of the centre-right in Europe. She’s the alpha. Leave her alone.”
Veteran US diplomat and ambassador, Daniel Fried, told The i Paper that Trump’s post was a “gratuitous insult…that is going to piss off a lot of other Europeans who are going to find their dim views of Trump confirmed. It does damage for no discernible good.”
The attack may have proved advantageous for the Italian prime minister, 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”, 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.”
Analysts and former officials say leaders across Europe are increasingly willing to defy the US President as the clock ticks down on his term.
They are learning that standing up to Trump is popular with their publics – his popularity is plummeting across the continent – and they are increasingly willing to do so, Maillard believes, noting the broad rejection of his plans for Greenland and the war with Iran.
The President insulting a fellow right-wing nationalist leader in Meloni also reflects a wider trend of alienating ideological allies, noted Maillard.
Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally party in France, recently described Trump as “erratic” and “unsteady”, while the hard-right Alternative for Germany party criticised the attack on Iran. Both were previously staunch supporters.
“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,” said Maillard.
Trump poses for an awkward ‘family photo’ with other Nato leaders at this week’s summit in Ankara, Turkey (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)Trump’s attacks on Meloni have also highlighted the President’s record of misogyny that is another point of tension with allies. He has made sexist comments throughout his business and political careers, including lewd attacks on Kamala Harris and insulting the appearance of then-opponent Ted Cruz’s wife.
One of his top officials, Lindsey Graham, reportedly addressed Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, as “Little lady” this year in a discussion over Greenland. In Ankara, she responded to Trump’s renewed threats by insisting the territory was “not for sale”.
“The way Trump talks about women is a signal of this deeper shift in the way the Maga movement is taking the US away from European values,” suggests Maillard.
Dr Georgios Samaras, a professor of public policy and specialist on US politics at King’s College London, said European leaders are becoming braver about responding to insults. “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.”
Samaras suggests growing defiance towards Trump is a sign of his “losing influence” over allies.
Right-wing nationalists such as Jordan Bardella of France’s National Rally have criticised Trump (Photo: Benoit Tessier/Reuters)European countries, including the UK, are increasingly emphasising the need for self-reliance and reducing dependence on the US at a time when its role as a security guarantor is in question, having cut support for Ukraine, and failed to fulfil weapons orders.
Continental leaders are building up domestic defence industries as part of what Maillard calls a “de-risking strategy to be less vulnerable” to US decisions.
Reducing military dependence on the US is likely to be a slow and gradual process, the analyst added. But it would come with a loss of influence and soft power for Washington, which could affect the US’ ability to rely on allies for broad diplomatic and economic cooperation in international affairs.
In the shorter term, analysts point to a quiet policy among European leaders of maintaining relations with the US but seeking distance from Trump as his behaviour grows more erratic and his term runs down.
Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto said after Trump’s attack on Meloni that “people come and go but relations must endure”.
Astrid Broden, of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, wrote that US allies sense “blood in the water, and a post-Trump future on the horizon”.
Fried noted that the Trump administration is “approaching very difficult midterm elections, and Europeans are right to start thinking about what happens after Trump”.
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