Trump Calls Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a "Fantastic Woman" During Mar-a-Lago Visit
US President-elect Donald Trump warmly praised Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as a “fantastic woman” during her visit to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. Meloni, who took office in October 2022, is a member of the right-wing Brothers of Italy party and has forged ties with Trump’s incoming administration, particularly through his ally Elon Musk.
Trump told the crowd, “This is very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. She’s really taken Europe by storm.” As European countries like France and Germany face political challenges, Meloni’s stable coalition and conservative credentials position her as a natural ally for Trump.
During the visit, Trump and Meloni were joined by key figures from his transition team, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), who have been nominated for secretary of state and national security advisor, respectively. While no details were disclosed about the conversation, it is likely that Meloni is seeking to strengthen ties with the President-elect ahead of his January 20 inauguration.
One potential topic of discussion could be the detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran. Sala, a reporter for Il Foglio, was arrested in Tehran last month for allegedly violating Iranian laws. The Italian government is working to secure her release.
In a sign of growing rapport between Meloni and Trump’s camp, cybersecurity expert Andrea Stroppa, an ally of Musk, posted a humorous AI-generated image on X (formerly Twitter) of Meloni standing alongside Trump and Musk, all dressed in attire resembling ancient Roman style.
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Meloni is also scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden in Rome this week. Biden will express gratitude for her leadership of the G7 and discuss global challenges.
Her visit to Florida follows a dinner with Trump and Musk during the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris last month, an event that Trump later described positively.
Though politically aligned in many ways, Trump and Meloni have differing views on certain global issues. Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky a dozen times since Russia’s invasion, while Musk's stance on the conflict has been more controversial.
Meloni's friendship with Musk deepened in 2023 when he headlined her Brothers of Italy political convention. Other world leaders who have visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago include Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.