Overview

• During his address in Sharm el-Sheikh, President Donald Trump referred to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as “a beautiful young woman.”
• He acknowledged the political risk of such comments, asked Meloni if being called beautiful bothered her, and later praised her as “incredible” and a successful, respected politician in Italy.
• Meloni was the only woman among roughly 30 heads of state and government attending the high-level gathering.
• The comment drew notice at the event, with no reported response from Meloni and no indication of changes to the summit’s diplomatic agenda.
• Coverage situates the episode within Trump’s history of sexist remarks and notes a New York court’s finding last year that he was liable for sexual abuse and defamation of E. Jean Carroll, resulting in damages.