Italian Prime Minister Meloni meets with Trump at his Florida resort

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Florida to meet with President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday (January 4), as the key European leader sought to buttress ties with Trump before his inauguration on January 20. Photographs released by the Italian government showed Meloni and Trump speaking to each other. In another photograph they are flanked by U.S. businessman and billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who Trump said in December he would nominate to be his administration's ambassador to Italy, and Marco Rubio, Trump's nominee for secretary of state. While no details of their meeting have been disclosed, Meloni had planned to speak with Trump about Russia's war in Ukraine, trade issues, the Middle East and the plight of an Italian journalist detained in Tehran, according to Italian media reports. Meloni is seen as a potentially strong partner for Trump given her conservative credentials and the stability of the right-wing coalition she heads in Italy. She has also forged a close relationship with billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, a close Trump ally who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help him win the election. (Production: Leila Dougab)