The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, met with the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, in a surprise visit where there were many topics on the table, including the arrest in Iran of the Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, according to Italian media.
During their visit, Meloni and Trump shared a dinner and watched a documentary about the American judicial system, in a meeting where the president-elect praised her as “an excellent ally” who “truly conquered Europe,” according to the local press. During the meeting, Donald Trump expressed his pleasure at the meeting: “It’s very exciting, I’m here with a fantastic woman, the Italian prime minister,” according to Italian public television RAI, citing American journalists present at Trump’s residence. .
According to observers, Meloni aspires to become one of the leaders of reference for Trump in Europe, and before her, only the Argentine president, Javier Milei, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Hungarian prime minister, Víktor Orban, were invited to join him at Mar-a-Lago. Approximately five hours after her arrival, the Italian prime minister returned to Rome.
According to the American media, Trump and Meloni attended the screening of the documentary “Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice.” The Italian ultra leader mentioned to Trump the case of Cecilia Sala, an Italian reporter detained by Iran last month, and for whom the Italian prime minister pressured the president-elect of the United States to give his approval to the steps that Italy takes for her release. This case, pending resolution, strained relations between Rome and Tehran, and is linked to the arrest in Italy of the Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini, detained since December 16 due to an extradition request from the United States, which accuses him of terrorism and collaboration with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
In their meeting, Trump and Meloni addressed other issues such as the gas supply, the war in Ukraine, the open conflict in the Middle East or the issue of tariffs that Trump could impose. Also at the meeting were Florida Senator Marco Rubio, appointed Secretary of State by Trump, Florida Congressman Mike Waltz, appointed national security adviser, and Scott Bessent, appointed Secretary of the Treasury.
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