Overview
- Giorgia Meloni told the New York Times she thought relations with President Donald Trump would be easier, said she has not spoken with him for several weeks, and declined to confirm whether they will speak after the summer break.
- She insisted that Italy will not base its foreign strategy on personal friendships and said the unity of Western countries remains a very important priority for Rome.
- Meloni said she and President Trump appeared to converge on issues such as stricter immigration controls and opposition to what she called “la cultura woke,” but that those apparent alignments produced different results than she expected.
- On domestic politics she framed her program as a “revolution of pride,” defended her compact, identity-focused slogan as tapping a broad emotional response, and stressed personal authenticity as a political rule.
- She rejected calls to change her honorific to a feminine form, arguing that true equality means being free to hold high office rather than altering titles, and used the international interview to speak to both foreign audiences and domestic supporters.