Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken on Tuesday warned President Donald Trump to stop his attacks on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, reminding the MAGA leader that he isn’t the boss in Europe, where Meloni is “the alpha.”Francken told Politico during an interview that the European Union will also still need the U.S. to defend the continent for up to another decade and that European leaders thus shouldn’t make enemies of Trump — while warning the president to watch himself.“Of course we need him as an ally, but don’t touch Meloni,” Francken, a member of Belgium’s conservative nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, told Politico. “She’s the queen of center-right in Europe. She’s the alpha. Leave her alone.”Trump on Sunday reignited his feud with Meloni by sharing a photo taken during the recent G7 summit in France that shows the Italian prime minister, who is about a foot shorter, looking up at Trump — and superimposed text reading, “RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED.”The MAGA chief described Meloni as “a beautiful young woman” last year only to launch an apparent vendetta against her in June, claiming Meloni had “begged” him for a photo at the G7 and that he only obliged because he “felt sorry for her.”Meloni later said in a video on social media that his story was “completely fabricated.”Francken on Tuesday wagered Europe is still “five to 10 years” away from reaching the kind of military capabilities necessary to defend the continent without help from the U.S. and urged Europeans “to keep Americans on board” as an ally in the interim.U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had "begged" him for a photo and said he "felt sorry for her."Left: Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press; Right: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesHis plea arrives as EU nations are ramping up defense budgets amid Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine and related fears of further encroachment by President Vladimir Putin — and after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of U.S. military spending in Europe.Francken on Tuesday appeared to decry the president’s feud with Meloni as a childish distraction, telling Politico, “I love her, she’s conservative, she is totally on the same line … and then you’re going to have a fight on what? On a picture!”Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled his trip to the United States in June as a result of what he called “serious and offensive” behavior from Trump, who had also told NBC News at the time that Meloni was “a big fan” of his and is “doing poorly in Italy.”Footage of the duo conversing at the G7 seemed to show no signs of Meloni “begging.” While she told Trump in her social media response at the time, “Italy and I do not beg,” Francken appeared to ask both sides to turn down the temperature.He said, “We need the Americans, be diplomatic, listen to what they say, try to be gentle.”