Italian PM meets with Trump ahead of inauguration

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Her trip comes days before she is to meet U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to Rome from Thursday to Jan. 12.

While no details of their meeting have been disclosed, Meloni had planned to talk with Trump about the Russia and Ukraine conflict, trade issues, the Middle East, and the plight of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran, according to Italian media reports, which Meloni’s office declined to comment on.

The Italian PM is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she heads in Italy. She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help him win the election.

Meloni became the latest in the handful of foreign leaders who have visited Trump in Florida since the Nov. 5 election. He has met with Argentinian President Javier Milei, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is set to travel to Rome to meet with Meloni, as well as Pope Francis. The White House says this meeting will “highlight the strength of the U.S.-Italy relationship” and feature Biden thanking the prime minister “for her strong leadership of the G7 over the past year.”