Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni paid a whirlwind visit to Donald Trump’s golf club in Florida on Saturday, during which the US president-elect congratulated 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 comes days before Meloni welcomes Joe Biden to Rome in what is expected to be the final foreign trip of his presidency.
“It’s very exciting,” Trump told a group gathered at Mar-a-Lago, according to a media report. “I am here with a fantastic woman, the Italian Prime Minister. She really took Europe by storm.”
Potential members of the incoming Trump administration were present, including Marco Rubio, the nominee for secretary of state, who welcomed Meloni to Florida and described her as a “great ally, a strong leader,” according to the reporter Wall Street Journal’s Alex Leary.
The group then watched the premiere of The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice, a documentary about former Trump lawyer John Eastman’s efforts to keep him in power after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
No official agenda was announced, but the New York Times reported that Meloni pressed the case of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist held in solitary confinement in Iran. Sala’s arrest in December for violating Islamic law was reportedly in retaliation for the arrest, at the request of the United States, of a Swiss-Iranian businessman and suspected arms trafficker with ties to the Iranian regime at Malpensa airport in Milan. Italy is aggressively pushing for Sala’s immediate release from Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.
Other topics reportedly discussed include the war in Ukraine, gas supplies and possible new US customs duties on European products.
This is the second time Meloni has met with Trump since his victory in the US election in November. Trump called the Italian leader “a real common thread” when they met in Paris in early December for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Before taking power in October 2022, Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, was an explicit supporter of Trump, praising his policies as a model for Italy and regularly attending his political rallies. But she also knew how to establish good relations with Biden and strengthen Italy’s Atlanticist reputation.
Observers said shared views on issues ranging from immigration to abortion, as well as Meloni’s close relationship with Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk, could lead to her becoming the main interlocutor of the American president-elect in Europe.
Biden is scheduled to arrive in Rome on Thursday for a four-day visit that will include a meeting with Meloni and Pope Francis.
theguardian