Trump hails 'fantastic' Meloni as Italian PM makes surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago

NEWS WIRES

5 January 2025 at 7:56 am·1-min read

A handout from Giorgia Meloni’s office shows the Italian prime minister alongside president-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has paid an unofficial visit to Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida residence, aiming to boost ties with the US president-elect. The two attended the screening of a documentary underscoring the hurdles some conservative lawyers claim they face in the legal system.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a surprise trip to Florida to meet with Donald Trump late on Saturday, as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with the president-elect before his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort welcomed Meloni with applause after an introduction by the president-elect, according to videos shared on social media by reporters and others.

“This is very exciting. I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy,” Trump told the Mar-a-Lago crowd, according to a media pool report. “She’s really taken Europe by storm.”

Meloni is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she has led in Italy since late 2022.

She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help him win the election.

One of the biggest challenges facing Meloni is the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Iran on Dec. 19.

(Reuters)

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