Italian PM Meloni to Trump: We Can ‘Make the West Great Again’

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on April 17, 2025, marking her as the first European leader to hold face-to-face talks with Trump since he announced and then partially suspended 20% tariffs on European exports. The convivial meeting focused on trade, tariffs, defense, NATO, and the war in Ukraine, with both leaders expressing optimism about resolving EU-US trade tensions.

Trump praised Meloni, calling her a “friend” and “fantastic leader,” while Meloni emphasized shared goals like countering “woke and DEI ideology” and making “the West great again.”

Meloni also committed to increasing Italy’s NATO defense spending, currently at 1.49% of GDP, toward the 2% target, addressing Trump’s demands. The meeting was a triumph.

The media wanted a headline about a tariff war with the EU and Trump.

Instead, Giorgia Meloni delivered a masterclass in diplomacy—and invited him to Italy.

A reporter tried to stir up tension:

“The retaliatory tariffs that the European Commission passed and then suspended, are they still on the table if you cannot make a deal with President Trump?”

Meloni didn’t blink:

“I am sure I can make a deal.”

She wasn’t there to posture—or speak for Brussels.

“I’m here to help on that. I cannot, look, deal in the name of the European Union.”

Then she made her move.

“My goal would be, invite President Trump to pay a visit to Italy and understand if there’s a possibility when he comes to organize also such a meeting with Europe.”

Her strategy was simple: talk straight, drop the drama, and find common ground.

“I think the best way is that we simply speak frankly about the needs that every one of us has, and find ourselves in the middle for——that’s useful for all.”

When asked about her political identity, she didn’t back down.

“Somebody calls me such a ‘Western nationalism,’ I don’t know if it is the right words, but I’m sure that together we are stronger.”

And she closed with a message that couldn’t be clearer:

“And I have to find a way——I’m here to find the best way to make us both stronger on both sides of the Atlantic.”

Italian PM Meloni to Trump: We Can ‘Make the West Great Again’

Italy’s populist prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, told President Donald Trump on Thursday that she believes, together, they can “make the West great again.”

Meloni visited Trump at the White House on Thursday, where the leaders shared a bilateral lunch and meeting. Speaking with the press in the Oval Office after the meeting, Meloni told Trump her aim is to restore greatness to Western civilization.

“I know that when I speak about [the] West mainly, I don’t speak about a geographical space. I speak about the civilization, and I want to make that civilization stronger,” she told Trump. “So I think even if we have some problems, okay, between the two shores of the Atlantic, it is the time that we try to sit down and find solutions.”

Meloni thanked Trump for accepting an invitation for “an official visit to Rome in the near future, and consider a possibility in that location to meet also with Europe.”

“The goal for me is to make the West great again, and I think we can do it together,” she added.

“We can,” Trump responded with a smirk.

Meloni also detailed a number of bilateral topics she and Trump discussed during their meeting, including those related to economics, defense, space, and energy, noting that Italy will increase liquified natur

WATCH: Italian PM Meloni to Trump: We Can ‘Make the West Great Again’

Trump heaped praise on Meloni at the top of the press gaggle, saying she is “doing a fantastic job.”

“I would say that she has taken Europe by storm and highly respected,” Trump said. “Everybody loves her and respects her, and I can’t say that about many people. And she’s become a friend, and we really have a great relationship between Italy and ourselves.”

The meeting comes as Trump and the European Union paused newly announced tariffs on each other for 90 days as trade negotiations unfold.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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