Listen To Story Above
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid an unexpected visit to Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, meeting with President-elect Donald Trump ahead of President Biden’s scheduled trip to Italy next week.
During the gathering, Trump expressed his enthusiasm for hosting the Italian leader, introducing her to key members of his incoming administration, including Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.
Be brutally honest: What’s your reaction to the outrage on the left from those who say it was disrespectful for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to meet with President-elect Donald Trump yesterday in Florida ahead of President Biden’s visit to Rome? pic.twitter.com/FTKANnmRtv
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 5, 2025
“This is very exciting,” Trump beamed as he walked through the grand ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. “I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. She’s really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we’re just having dinner tonight.”
The evening’s activities included a screening of a documentary about legal challenges faced by Trump’s allies following the 2020 election. The film, “The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice,” explores the experiences of conservative attorney John Eastman.
The two leaders had previously encountered each other at the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening in Paris last December. Trump had shared his impressions with The Post, stating, “I was with her a lot. She’s a real live wire, I will tell you. She’s great.”
Meloni, who ascended to power in Italy in late 2022, has established herself as a prominent conservative figure in European politics. While maintaining silence during her Mar-a-Lago visit, her presence signals potential strengthening ties between Italy and the incoming Trump administration.
The visit adds to Trump’s recent meetings with world leaders at his Florida residence, including Argentina’s Javier Milei, Canada’s Justin Trudeau, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. Like Trump, Meloni has experienced her own disagreements with European establishment figures.
The timing of Meloni’s visit precedes President Biden’s final overseas journey to Italy and the Vatican, scheduled for January 9-12. The meeting also highlights the growing relationship between Trump and various international leaders since his recent election victory, including encounters with France’s Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
