Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Donald Trump's Florida golf club on Saturday, during which the US president-elect praised the far-right leader for “really taking Europe by storm.”
The two were photographed in the grand ballroom of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club.
The five-hour visit came just days before Meloni welcomed Joe Biden to Rome in what is expected to be the last foreign trip of his presidential term.
“This is very exciting,” Trump told a group gathered at Mar-a-Lago, according to a report by Media Pool. “I'm here with an amazing woman, the Prime Minister of Italy. She has really taken Europe by storm.”
Leading members of a future Trump administration, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, were in attendance to welcome Meloni to Florida and call her a “great ally,” according to The Wall Street Journal's Alex Leary. “He is a very strong leader.”
The group then watched the premiere of Eastman's Dilemma: Law or Justice, a documentary about former Trump lawyer John Eastman's efforts to keep Trump in power after the 2020 US presidential election. .
Although no formal agenda was announced, the New York Times reported that Meloni grilled the case of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who is being held in solitary confinement in Iran. Salah was arrested in December on suspicion of violating Islamic law at the request of the United States, who arrested a Swiss-Iranian businessman and suspected arms trafficker with ties to the Iranian regime at Milan's Malpensa airport. This appears to be retaliation for his arrest. Italy is actively seeking Sara's immediate release from Tehran's notorious Evin prison.
Other topics reportedly include the Ukraine war, gas supplies and possible new US tariffs on EU goods.
This will be Meloni's second meeting with Trump since Trump won the US presidential election in November. President Trump called the Italian leader a “real danger” during a meeting in Paris in early December to prepare for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Meloni, who heads the far-right Italian Brotherhood party, was an outspoken supporter of President Trump until he took office in October 2022, praising Trump's brand of politics as a model for Italy and attending Trump's political rallies. He attended regularly. But she also has a good relationship with Biden and is well-versed in boosting Italy's Atlanticist credentials.
Observers say Meloni's strong relationship with Trump's billionaire Elon Musk, in addition to their shared views on issues ranging from immigration to abortion, could make her the US president-elect's main interlocutor in Europe. states that it is possible.
Biden will arrive in Rome on Thursday for a four-day visit that will include meetings with Meloni and Pope Francis.
