Trump discovers a related spirit in Europe in Meloni

18. April 2025

WOM

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Washington - it only took two sentences for Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday in the oval office that signaled her host that she has a soul-related politician is.

"We share another struggle, namely the fight against wokenism and the dei ideology that would like to erase our history", explained in English and used some of President Donald Trump Estimated keywords to describe their struggle against what they consider as superior progressive ideals.

Giorgia Melonis ascent

It was a blunt attempt to make it clear from the start that she was not the kind of European leader who had received Trump in this room in the past two months. Meloni, populist, conservative and a sharp political strategist, has attracted Trump's attention and his consultants. It was the only European leaders who took part in his inauguration in January. In addition, she maintains friendships with his most powerful consultant, the billionaire Elon Musk, and has accepted a similar anti-migrant attitude that Trump helped to go to the White House.

common goals and challenges

like the President El Salvadors, Nayib Bukele-another ally with similar thinking , Who visited the White House this week -Meloni knew exactly what she had to say to emphasize her Maga relevance. "My goal is to make the West big again," she said. "And I think we can achieve this together."

It is another question whether this is also Trump's ambition. Europe is hardly a priority for Trump. As far as he looks - in relation to trade and the war in Ukraine - he has expressed himself extremely critically and indicated that the continent has affected the United States in recent decades.

a strong alliance

Nevertheless, the presence of a leader in Rome, who shares his aversion to liberal ideals, means a welcome opening for Trump, especially at a time when transatlantic relationships are tense. In contrast to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who, despite repeated attempts since Trump's taking office, could not secure a meeting with him, Meloni is a national leader who was chosen partly due to her right -wing extremist platform.

While the officials in Joe Biden's administration were pleasantly surprised by Meloni's unshakable support for Ukraine and praised their commitment to the group of the seven leading industrialized nations, Trump is not particularly perceived by Trump to his immediate predecessor - something that some of Trump's advisors indicated has hindered the Leyen's attempts to bring Trump closer.

expectations of the visit

Before her visit, a Trump consultant Meloni declared a bridge for Europe, which could act as a mediator for the rest of the continent. "We definitely see them as a valuable interlocutor for the EU," said the official. Meloni himself said before arriving in Washington that she was aware of the expectations of her visit. "I know what I represent and I know what I defend," she said, joking that she feels "zero" under the pressure of the high missions.

publicly there was hardly any more what Meloni could have wanted in terms of praise from Trump. "Everyone likes them and respects them," Trump remarked at the beginning of her meeting. "I can't say that from many people."

The challenges in diplomacy

Although this may be exaggerated - her opponents in Italy accuse her of falling both Washington and Brussels - Meloni's ability to maintain relationships with both European leaders and Trump is a remarkable success in his eyes. In contrast to France Emmanuel Macron, Great Britain Keir Karrmer or Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who ended in a chaotic disaster during his Oval Office visit in February, Meloni was not in the White House to convince or help him to correct his views on European financial support. <

When Trump began to criticize Zelensky during her meeting on Thursday and described himself as the "not particularly big fan" of the Ukrainian president, Meloni decided not to intervene. And while she described the Russian President Vladimir Putin in an answer to a question in Italian as L’Invasore - the invasor - she cut off her interpreter in the middle of the sentence before the statement could be read in English.

trade relationships and defense spending

Before her trip to Washington,

Meloni coordinated closely from the Leyen, according to European official, and maintains close relationships with her counterparts in Paris, London and Berlin. But her power to obtain an exception to the 20% tariffs that Trump has threatened to the EU is limited; Any new trade agreements would have to be negotiated between Washington and the EU officials in Brussels.

So far, these officials have received little clarity about what Trump hoped for from a new agreement, and it was not obvious that Meloni left Washington with new knowledge. Nevertheless, Trump was optimistic that a trade agreement could be achieved - "there will be 100% a trade agreement," he noticed, while he sat down for lunch - which at least gave a glimmer of hope to avoid a transatlantic trade war.

In terms of trade and defense, Melonis does not exactly meet what Trump expects from Europe. The commercial surplus with the United States is around $ 45 billion because the Americans buy Chianti, Parmesan and Gucci bags. Italy currently only spends around 1.5% of its economic output for defense, far below the target of 2%.

defined by NATO

Usually both areas that Trump would appeal to an angry would be, but in the White House he left these disruptive factors outside and only treated Meloni with respect. "I would say that she conquered Europe in a storm," he enthused.

He even had her invited to visit Rome to meet other Europeans.