Meloni, Privately Startled by Trump, Avoids Criticism of US
- Premier, entourage taken aback by magnitude of Trump attacks
- Italian PM warned on trade at Washington CPAC speech Saturday
Giorgia Meloni has looked to position herself as one of the main “Trump whisperers” in Europe.
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been quiet lately, even as the US threatens to upend the foreign policy orthodoxy she’s espoused by turning on Europe as well as Ukraine.
Meloni and her entourage in Palazzo Chigi, the seat of executive power in Rome, have privately been staggered by the magnitude of attacks on long-established tenets of foreign affairs by US President Donald Trump and his new administration, according to people with knowledge of their thinking. A representative for the Italian government declined to comment.