President-elect Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni dined together at Mar-a-Lago Saturday during a surprise visit in advance of President Biden’s final overseas trip to Italy Thursday,
Trump, 78, lavished praise on the conservative Italian leader and introduced her to key incoming administration officials such as Secretary of State designee Marco Rubio.
“This is very exciting,” Trump beamed as he walked through the grand ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
“I’m here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. She’s really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and we’re just having dinner tonight.”
The pair, along with some of Trump’s administration, picks later screened a documentary decrying “lawfare” against Trump’s allies who attempted to reverse the 2020 election results.
The documentary, titled “The Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justice” features insights from John Eastman, a conservative attorney who hatched plans to challenge Trump’s election loss and was later hit with an indictment as well as a push for disbarment.
Trump and Meloni, 47, previously rubbed elbows during their visit to the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in December.
“I was with her a lot,” Trump previously told The Post about that trip to France. “She’s a real live wire, I will tell you. She’s great.”
Meloni roared to power in Italy in late 2022 and has quickly made a name for herself as one of the foremost conservative leaders in Europe. The Biden administration has also viewed her as a key ally on Ukraine.
The Italian prime minister, who has spoken limited English in the past, did not address the press during her trek to Mar-a-Lago.
After winning the presidency last year, Trump has fielded a slew of world leaders who have come down to Mar-a-Lago to meet with him ahead of Inauguration Day.
Thus far, he’s met with Argentina President Javier Milei, the first major world leader to meet him at Mar-a-Lago since his victory; Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited him after Trump issued a tariff threat; and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has long been friendly with him.
With her surprise trip to Mar-a-Lago, Meloni is seemingly angling for Italy to become one of the top European partners for the incoming Trump administration.
She has also fostered a close rapport with tech magnate Elon Musk, who is now a top Trump confidant.
Trump has at times clashed with European leaders and berated them for not paying more of their fair share to NATO, among other grievances.
Neither side gave a significant breakdown of the agenda during Meloni’s visit.
Trump has also run into an assortment of world leaders outside of Mar-a-Lago since his election win, including French President Emanuel Macron, whom he greeted with another one of his muscular handshakes; and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The trio had met during the Notre Dame trip.
On Thursday, Biden is set to make his final overseas trip as commander-in-chief during his forthcoming visit to Italy as well as the Vatican from Jan. 9 to 12.
