FAR-RIGHT Vox leader Santiago Abascal has criticised Donald Trump over a social media post suggesting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ‘needed a restraining order.’
Abascal, normally a vocal supporter of Trump, said the US president was treating Meloni not as an ‘ally’ but as a ‘vassal.’
The remarks add to a growing rift among far-right leaders after Trump claimed last month that Meloni had ‘begged’ him for a photo at the G7 summit in France.
The US president further escalated tensions on Monday by posting an AI-generated image of Meloni ogling him, which he captioned: “Restraining order needed.”
Abascal told broadcaster TeleCinco on Tuesday that Trump had made a ‘mistake,’ describing Meloni as a ‘friend and ally’ whom he ‘respects and supports.’
“It would be much better if allies treated one another as allies rather than as vassals,” the Spanish MP said.
He added: “It’s completely unacceptable that Meloni is being subjected to this kind of attack.”
Meloni has not responded to Trump’s latest post, which is understood to refer to their imminent meeting at the 7-8 July Nato summit in Turkey.
It will be the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since their spat in June.
Meloni previously denied Trump’s claim that she had ‘begged’ him for a photograph, accusing him instead of pandering to the enemies of the West.
The pair have since descended into a bitter war of words, culminating in Trump’s Truth Social post on Monday.
The exchange has laid bare widening strains between Trump and several of Washington’s European allies, particularly over their refusal to allow bases on the continent to be used for the war against Iran.
It also piles pressure on Nato leaders ahead of this week’s summit in Turkey, as uncertainty mounts over the future of the US military presence in Europe.
Alessandro Marrone, head of the defence and security programme at Rome’s Institute for International Affairs, said: “It shows once again the unpredictability of Trump and how much personal feelings and perceptions shape US foreign and defence policy in this administration.”
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