Italy’s Meloni unloads on Trump as fracture grows over G7 incident

Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni's war of words over a factually contested photo op at the G-7 exploded on Saturday, with the one-time friends blasting each other in angry terms on social media.Why it matters: Even as Trump lavishes praise on American adversaries like China's Xi Jinping, close allies are increasingly willing to split with him. Catch up quick: The controversy erupted earlier this week when Trump claimed Meloni begged him for a photo together at the global gathering in France.Meloni was quick to deny she'd ever made such a request.Trump took to Truth Social Saturday morning to again insist she'd begged for a picture in an effort to improve her poll numbers, and to accuse her of being ungrateful for American support. "[S]he wants to be friends again in order to get her 'numbers up.' No thanks!!!" Trump wrote.Driving the news: Meloni blasted Trump in an Instagram post just minutes later. "President Trump, these constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless," she wrote."As for my popularity, being your friend certainly has not helped it, nor does it depend on my relationship with you." The Italian press sided with their prime minister; one newspaper insulted Trump in vulgar terms on its front page Saturday.Between the lines: The U.S.-Italy relationship has grown strained in recent months over the war in Iran.Italy at one point denied U.S. aircraft permission to land at its bases. Meloni, in her Instagram post, defended that decision as a matter of protecting Italian sovereignty."In any case, my popularity is none of your concern. I suggest you focus on yours," she wrote. The bottom line: At a fraught moment for international relations, the U.S. has another brewing diplomatic crisis on its hands.