Meloni Says She Wants to 'Make the West Great Again'

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was dubbed a "Trump whisperer" after a January visit to Mar-a-Lago and she appeared to live up to that reputation in her Thursday visit to the White House. There was no announcement of a trade deal, but both leaders sounded optimistic, the BBC reports. President Trump praised Meloni, the only European leader who attended his inauguration, for "doing a fantastic job," saying she had "taken Europe by storm." Meloni sought to portray the US and Europe as natural allies, saying her goal was to "make the West great again," reports the AP. She also said she supports Trump's "fight against 'woke' and DEI ideology that would like to erase our history."

Meloni, leader of the right-wing populist Brothers of Italy party, was seen as the European Union's best hope of persuading Trump to drop his 20% tariffs on imports from the bloc, which have been paused for 90 days. She said she was "in Washington to make a deal," CNN reports. Trump said he believes there is a "100%" chance of a deal on EU tariffs, though the US is "in no rush" because "tariffs are making us rich." "We're going to have very little problem making a deal with Europe or anybody else, because we have something that everybody wants," he said. The leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine and plans for Italy to increase its defense spending, the AP reports.

Before the meeting, Meloni denied that she would seek special trade deals for Italy. Analysts noted that "anything that looks like a bilateral trade deal will be considered illegal by the EU and cause her more headaches than the US tariffs themselves," the Washington Post reports. Trump accepted Meloni's invitation to visit Rome, though no date was set. The BBC reports that Meloni is returning to Italy to meet with Vice President JD Vance on Friday. He will be in Italy from April 18 to April 21 ahead of a visit to India. (More Giorgia Meloni stories.)