Trump and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni huddle at Mar-a-Lago, screen ‘lawfare’ documentary
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 Bidenās 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.
āThis is very exciting,ā Trump beamed as he walked through the grand ballroom at Mar-a-Lago.
āIām here with a fantastic woman, the prime minister of Italy. Sheās really taken Europe by storm, and everyone else, and weāre just having dinner tonight.ā
The pair, along with some of Trumpās administration, picks later screened a documentary decrying ālawfareā against Trumpās allies who attempted to reverse the 2020 election results.
The documentary, titled āThe Eastman Dilemma: Lawfare or Justiceā features insights from John Eastman, a conservative attorney who hatched plans to challenge Trumpās 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.
āI was with her a lot,ā Trump previously told The Post about that trip to France. āSheās a real live wire, I will tell you. Sheās great.ā
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, heās met with Argentina PresidentĀ Javier Milei, the first major world leader to meet him at Mar-a-Lago since his victory; Canadian Prime MinisterĀ Justin Trudeau, who visited him after Trump issued a tariff threat; and Hungarian Prime MinisterĀ Viktor OrbĆ”n, 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 Meloniās 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.
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