At a moment when the transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe has been severely disrupted by US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, the arrival of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House could help to improve relations considerably.
Of all the major European leaders, the right-of-centre Meloni is the one politician who appears to have developed a personal accord with the US leader.
Trump’s admiration for Meloni was reflected in his decision to invite her to his inauguration in January, while other key European leaders, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, were conspicuously absent from the guest list. Prior to the inauguration, Meloni had previously visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, with Trump describing her as a “fantastic woman” following their meeting.
On other occasions, Trump has described her as “a real live wire”, someone he could work with “to straighten out the world a little bit”. It has been suggested that Trump’s favourable opinion of Meloni was helped by positive reports on her record he received from Elon Musk, with whom the Italian prime minister has met on several occasions and whom she has called “a brilliant man”.
The mutual respect that clearly exists between Trump and Meloni has led to her being dubbed Trump’s “whisperer” in Europe, raising hopes that she can help to repair Europe’s relations with the US, where other European leaders have failed.
While other European leaders, such as UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, have visited the White House since Trump began his second term of president, neither of them appear to have made much impression in terms of persuading the US leader to adopt a more emollient tone in his dealings with his European allies.
Hard to sway
In both instances, Starmer and Macron sought to persuade Trump to show more consideration towards European concerns on vital issues such as the Ukraine conflict and trade ties between the US and Europe. But, as recent events have highlighted, Trump appears to have paid scant attention to their arguments, instead opting to pursue his own “America First” policy on these and other issues.
On Ukraine, Trump has caused dismay in Europe with his insistence on seeking to end the conflict by opening direct negotiations with Moscow without fully involving either Ukraine or Europe in the discussions.
Trump’s go-it-alone attitude, moreover, has been compounded by his decision to implement a wide range of tariffs against Europe, a move that has caused both anger at his unilateral action and turmoil in European financial markets.
In an attempt to ease tensions, Trump has agreed to a 90-day pause in the implementation of some of the more punitive tariffs, such as the 20% levy against goods imported to the US from the European Union, which have temporarily been reduced to 10%.
Europeans weigh options
Even so, Trump’s uncompromising trade policies have prompted many European leaders to question whether they should continue to maintain their long-standing trade ties with the US, or instead look to develop new arrangements with rival powers such as China.
With relations between the US and Europe going through one of the most difficult challenges they have faced in decades, expectations are understandably running high that Meloni’s visit to Washington to meet with Trump will help to ease tensions.
