{"text":[[{"start":7.4,"text":"US President Donald Trump escalated a feud with erstwhile ally Giorgia Meloni, posting an image of her captioned “restraining order needed” ahead of a Nato summit where they will meet for the first time since their bitter war of words."}],[{"start":21.3,"text":"Trump’s latest dig at the Italian prime minister — with whom he had forged a warm bond before their recent dramatic fallout — came via Truth Social, as he posted an image of himself with Meloni smiling and gazing up at him, seemingly enchanted."}],[{"start":36.45,"text":"The social media meme — suggesting Trump needed legal protection from a predatory Meloni — is an oblique reference to his claim that Meloni had “begged him” for a photo opportunity at last month’s G7 summit in France to boost her flagging popularity."}],[{"start":51.5,"text":"Meloni strenuously denied Trump’s claim of “begging” for a photo in a video counterattack, accusing the president of pandering to the enemies of the west. In a subsequent round of social media salvos, they attacked each other about their respective popularity among domestic voters."}],[{"start":69.45,"text":"Meloni has not responded to Trump’s latest post and her office declined to comment. Defence minister Guido Crosetto told national television on Monday that Italy was determined to “maintain stable relations with the United States. People come and go, but relationships endure.”"}],[{"start":87.35,"text":"Trump’s fresh insult to Meloni highlights his continuing resentment towards her and other Nato allies over their reluctance to allow US military bases in Europe to be used for the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran."}],[{"start":100.69999999999999,"text":"It also bodes poorly for this week’s Nato summit in Ankara, which takes place amid fears of the prospects for a chaotic US drawdown of forces from Europe."}],[{"start":110.79999999999998,"text":"“It shows once again the unpredictability of Trump and how much personal feelings and perceptions shape US foreign and defence policy in this administration,” said Alessandro Marrone, head of the defence and security programme at Rome’s Institute for International Affairs."}],[{"start":127.19999999999999,"text":"Ahead of the summit, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has tried to make the economic case for Trump to remain engaged in the military alliance, emphasising that Europe’s rearmament drive is spurring US jobs and growth."}],[{"start":140.35,"text":"In a separate interview with Fox News last month, Rutte also tried to counter Trump’s claim that Italy had not supported strikes on Iran. He said planes had flown more than 500 sorties from US bases in Italy in support of the operation. "}],[{"start":154.25,"text":"Rutte’s claim sparked a domestic political furore in Italy — where both Trump and the US bombing of Iran are highly unpopular — and Rome disputed Rutte’s account of the nature of the flights, insisting they only offered routine logistical support as required by their bilateral treaties governing use of the bases."}],[{"start":173.85,"text":"Italy remains one of Europe’s defence spending laggards. Meloni’s government has balked at utilising its €14.9bn allocation of low-cost EU loans to increase its security spending, ahead of a general election year in which borrowing more to spend on defence would be highly controversial. "}],[{"start":191.9,"text":"Meloni’s reluctance to step up defence funding has caused friction with Crosetto, who has warned about the need to recognise the changing international scenario. He has also denied that Italy faces any trade-off between military spending and social services."}],[{"start":208,"text":"Speaking at a public forum Sunday, before Trump’s latest salvo against Meloni, Crosetto downplayed the recent war of words between Italy’s leader and the US president."}],[{"start":219.05,"text":"“Trump has his own way of doing politics — of pressuring his allies,” the defence minister said. “It’s a way of getting his allies to react.”"}],[{"start":228.15,"text":"Since last month’s fight between Trump and Meloni, billionaire businessman Tilman Fertitta, a friend of Trump and the US ambassador to Italy, and the Italian government have sought to restore calm. "}],[{"start":240.25,"text":"Fertitta has insisted that Italian and US relations remain “excellent”, portraying the spat as a mere “disagreement” among friends."}],[{"start":248.6,"text":"Meloni has made clear to her staff that she did not want the fight to sour the relationship with Rome’s most important ally."}],[{"start":256,"text":"Additional reporting by Giuliana Ricozzi"}],[{"start":265.85,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783388037_6219.mp3"}