Meloni in Washington: Why Did Trump Choose Italy’s Leader Over Macron?

At a pivotal political moment reshaping transatlantic relations, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in Washington on April 17, 2025, sidestepping her traditional European allies.

Meloni became the first European leader to visit the United States following President Donald Trump's imposition of new tariffs, a move rich in symbolism that went beyond diplomatic protocol.

Her appearance at the White House seemed to mirror Trump’s ideological leanings, signaling a shift toward rebuilding foreign alliances on populist and nationalist grounds, diverging from the liberal Western tradition embodied by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Meloni’s visit also came amid deepening, though often unspoken, tensions between Washington and Paris, fueled by disagreements over defense policy, the response to the war in Ukraine, economic security strategies, and influence within Europe.

Trump, on the other hand, appears to see in Meloni a potential ally who shares his views on immigration, national identity, and reducing reliance on multilateral institutions such as NATO.

But key questions remain: Does Meloni’s visit signal the beginning of a new alliance that cuts across traditional European divisions? Was it a deliberate snub to France, or simply a matter of scheduling?

More importantly, is Trump laying the groundwork for a new transatlantic axis, one that begins in Rome and deliberately leaves out Paris?

A Strong Relationship

Ahead of her trip to Washington, Giorgia Meloni announced that Italian companies would invest $10 billion in the United States.

This came despite the Trump administration imposing 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, and car imports from the European Union, a bloc of 27 countries, as well as broader tariffs on nearly all other goods, under Trump’s strategy to target nations with high duties on American products.

“There will be a trade deal, 100%,” Trump said during the meeting with Meloni, “but it will be a fair deal,” while she said she was “sure” they could reach an agreement, later adding that her aim was to “make the West great again.”

According to the BBC, the atmosphere in the Oval Office during Meloni’s visit was warm and welcoming. Trump has a strong personal rapport with the Italian Prime Minister, who hopes to serve as a bridge between the EU and the U.S.

Signals of Alignment

Prior to Meloni’s visit, Trump had launched harsh criticisms at the EU over trade, going as far as to claim that the Brussels-based bloc was founded to hurt the United States.

In response, Meloni sought to defuse tensions, with her team describing the visit as a mission of “economic peace.”

While Trump did not lift the tariffs during their meeting, Meloni felt she had achieved a diplomatic win by securing his agreement to visit Rome, a move she said would give him the opportunity to meet other European leaders.

If carried out, this would make Rome Trump’s first European destination in a second term, bypassing traditional power centers like London, Paris, and Berlin.

Meloni would return to Europe with greater clout, seen as the leader who could sway Trump.

During the visit, Meloni made a point of aligning herself with Trump, endorsing his stance on what she called “woke ideology” and supporting his campaign against illegal immigration.

Trump, in turn, showered her with praise, from complimenting her leadership to admiring her “beautiful” Italian language. He also applauded Meloni for taking a tough stance on immigration and said he wished more people were like her.

Macron’s Invitation

In sharp contrast to Meloni’s approach, French President Emmanuel Macron has long stood at odds with Donald Trump, both during Trump’s first term and now, once again, in his current administration.

Back in 2018, during a visit to Paris to mark the centenary of the end of World War I, Trump openly mocked Macron on X, ridiculing his views on populism, his proposal for a European army, and France’s tariffs on American wine.

At the time, Trump mocked Macron by pointing to France’s wine industry and contrasting it with what he called America’s “great wine,” while also taking a jab at Macron’s low approval ratings.

That past friction continues to shape their current relationship. On April 19, 2025, just as Meloni returned from the White House, Macron invited foreign researchers, recently dismissed under Trump’s policies, to come work in France.

In a direct challenge to Trump’s agenda, Macron is aiming to attract American scientists impacted by federal budget cuts to universities and research institutions.

Without naming the U.S., Macron’s message came amid widespread layoffs of scientists, driven by Trump’s deep cuts to research funding and his broader conflict with Ivy League universities.

Just a day earlier, officials had confirmed that several researchers fleeing Trump’s budget-slashing plans would soon begin working at a French university.

France and Germany Face New Challenges

Paris was also one of the first European capitals to reject Trump’s tariff hikes.

On April 5, 2025, French Prime Minister François Bayrou warned that the U.S. tariffs were undermining France’s efforts to close its budget deficit.

He cautioned that the measures could lead to massive job losses, economic slowdown, and stalled investments.

Bayrou went so far as to call Trump’s decision a “global earthquake,” predicting that Americans themselves would be its first victims.

Germany’s Deutsche Welle reported on January 21, 2025, that relations between Washington and the two largest European capitals, Paris and Berlin, were unlikely to run smoothly under Trump’s new term.

The report said that although Germany and France are the main engines of Europe, they both face major financial and political instability.

As the EU’s two largest countries by population and economic power, France and Germany now face a lack of stable governance, a situation that could make it even harder for their current leaders to forge a unified approach toward Trump’s policies.

‘We Will Not Duck and Hide’

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described Trump’s second term as a “challenge for Europe.”

French President Emmanuel Macron echoed that sentiment, saying Europe must stand up for its economic interests.

“President Trump has already made or announced a number of decisions. We will of course analyze them closely together with our European partners,” Scholz told a press conference in Paris, speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Our position is clear. Europe is a big economic power with around 450 million citizens. We are strong, we stand together. Europe will not duck and hide, but will be a constructive and self-confident partner,” he stressed.

Still, European capitals have not spoken with one voice on how to deal with Trump and the growing tensions. Rome and Madrid, in particular, have taken a more conciliatory tone.

On April 6, 2025, the finance ministers of Italy and Spain warned against an aggressive response to Trump’s tariffs during a joint meeting in Cernobbio, near Italy’s Lake Como.

Their remarks highlighted the internal divisions within the European Union over how to handle the latest U.S. trade measures.

Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti called for restraint, while his Spanish counterpart Carlos Cuerpo, who also oversees trade, cautioned against escalation.

Both ministers stressed that a tit-for-tat response would lead to “a lose-lose situation,” marking a clear contrast with the more assertive stance taken by France and Germany.

‘The Trumpian Vision’

Commenting on Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Washington and the underlying tensions between the U.S. and France, international relations scholar Ahmed Ragheb told Al-Estiklal: “Trump’s vision of America’s European allies is not based solely on economic or security calculations. It stems from a deeper perception of the role European leaders play in shaping his foreign policy.”

He added, “In this context, Trump’s support for a right-wing leader like Meloni isn’t just a passing tactic, but part of a broader project to empower populist movements that challenge the legacy of the liberal European elite.”

“The decision to have Meloni inaugurate European relations with the White House was no coincidence — it came at a time of mounting political and economic disputes between Washington and Paris,” Ragheb said.

He argued that Meloni’s visit reflects a shift in American political attitudes under Trump, from coordination with liberal elites to outreach toward nationalist and populist leaders in Europe.

“The overlap between Trump and Meloni is clear: shared positions on immigration, skepticism toward EU institutions, nationalist rhetoric, and the belief in sovereignty above all,” he said.

Ragheb noted that what binds the two leaders goes beyond day-to-day policy: it’s an ideological alignment over what European politics should look like in the so-called post-globalization era.

As for France being sidelined, Ragheb explained that it “can’t be understood apart from the broader context of U.S.-French tensions — whether over Africa, energy, or even the Iran nuclear deal.”

He continued, “The Italian visit sends an implicit message that Trump’s Washington no longer sees Paris as the primary ally in Europe, and that the European right now has a growing voice in transatlantic Trump-era politics.”

Ragheb concluded: “Trump doesn’t seem to be acting out of political pragmatism alone. His support for a figure like Meloni fits into a broader strategy to elevate nationalist and populist forces in Europe, as an alternative to the liberal alliance that has dominated since the end of the Cold War.”

He predicted that the ultimate goal is to forge a Western populist right-wing axis that can counterbalance globalist powers and institutions—institutions both Trump and his administration fundamentally reject.