Meloni tells Trump she wants to “make the West great again”.

Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni met with US president Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss US tariffs on EU imports amid efforts to ease trade tensions.

The talks focused primarily on trade and the broader relationship between the US and the EU, with Meloni seeking to act as a bridge between the two blocs.

Meloni's flying visit to Washington marked the first time a European leader has met with Trump since his recent announcement of 20 per cent import tariffs, subsequently paused for 90 days, on EU goods.

The meeting between the two leaders was viewed as largely positive, with Trump saying that the right-wing Italian premier was “doing a fantastic job” and had “taken Europe by storm”.

"There will be a trade deal, 100 per cent, but it will be a fair deal", Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he was "in no rush", with Meloni saying that she was "sure" they could reach an agreement.

When the new US tariffs on EU goods were first announced earlier this month, Meloni criticised the move as "wrong", claiming it did "not benefit either side".

Lavorare insieme per costruire un Occidente più forte.

Oggi a Washington ho incontrato il Presidente pic.twitter.com/VU3qNsUe5X

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) April 17, 2025

Despite not coming away with any tangible commitments on tariffs, Meloni wrote on X that the "fair and constructive discussion" had focused on "strategic issues: from security to defence, from the fight against illegal immigration to trade relations."

During her meeting with Trump, the Italian leader stated that her aim was to "make the West great again", speaking passionately about "western nationalism" and "the fight against the woke ideology".

Meloni, who was the only EU leader to attend Trump's inauguration in January, also confirmed that the US president had accepted her invitation to visit Rome in the near future and that he would consider meeting EU representatives while in the Italian capital.

Following the meeting, Meloni returned to Rome where she will meet US vice president JD Vance for talks on Friday, in a further boost to her credentials as the so-called "Trump whisperer".