Musk Calls Italy’s Meloni ‘Authentic, Honest’ at Awards Gala

Italian prime minister, billionaire share views on migration
Meloni, in New York for UN forum, gets Global Citizen Award

Elon Musk, center, with Giorgia Meloni during the Global Citizen Awards dinner in New York on Sept. 23. Photographer: Michelle Farsi/AP Photo

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By Donato Paolo Mancini, Cailley LaPara, and Daniele Lepido

September 24, 2024 at 3:32 AM UTC

Updated on

September 24, 2024 at 7:17 AM UTC

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Elon Musk offered effusive praise for Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in brief remarks at an awards ceremony in New York, the latest sign of coziness between a billionaire who’s trying to get Donald Trump elected and a European leader with roots in the hard right but who has fully embraced Atlanticism.

Musk, bestowing an Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award on Meloni, said it was an honor to present the accolade to “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than she was on the outside.”