Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday night, just weeks after the pair met in Paris for the Notre Dame reopening ceremony that saw the president-elect courting world leaders in what was a previous of his administration taking office in a little over two weeks.
According to CNN, Trump will host Meloni, a popular right-wing foreign leader, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
Video of the meeting shows Trump standing next to Meloni and his nominee for U.S. secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL).
The meeting comes as Meloni is viewed as a key figure in forging a strong relationship between Europe and the United States. While her and Trump share similar political views, Meloni is a strong backer of Ukraine amid its war with Russia, a stance that is at odds with parts of the incoming Trump administration.
Trump has previously said he would end the war in Ukraine in one day, largely without releasing any policy proposals backing up such a claim. In an interview with Time magazine in December, Trump said he wants to reach an "agreement," but without abandoning Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, sees Trump as "decisive" in reaching any sort of agreement ending the nearly three-year conflict, saying he is "capable" of helping Ukraine "stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."
Regardless of the potential policy differences, Meloni and Trump thus far appear to have a close relationship. After a meeting in Paris, France, earlier in December, Trump reportedly called Meloni a "real live wire" and said they "got along great."
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A week later, when asked by media to comment on the Italian prime minister, Trump praised her as a "fantastic leader and person" and signaled that he would work with her when he enters the White House on Jan. 20. Meloni reposted the comments, calling them "kind words."
Meloni is also close with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has played a large role in the Trump transition efforts and who has been tapped to co-chair the newly created Department of Government Efficiency with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. In 2023, Musk was the star guest of a conference for Meloni's Brothers of Italy party.
