(CN) — Amid a massive break in Transatlantic relations, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Thursday sought to build bridges with U.S. President Donald Trump during a trip to the White House on Thursday.
Meloni’s trip to Washington was the first by a European leader since Trump stunned the world on April 2 by launching a global trade war through tariffs.
He later delayed most tariffs for 90 days, but the European Union still faces 20% tariffs unless a deal can be reached. In the meantime, the bloc has been hit with an across-the-board 10% tariff by the U.S. and by duties on steel, aluminum and automobiles. The EU initially responded with its own tariffs on many U.S. goods, though paused them after Trump ordered a delay. The EU is considering tough measures, including against U.S. technology giants, should the trade war escalate.
“I’m sure we can make a deal, and I’m here to help with that,” Meloni told reporters before she had lunch with Trump in the Cabinet Room.
Sitting across from Meloni, Trump expressed confidence a deal could be struck.
“There will be a trade deal, 100%,” he said. “They want to make one very much, and we are going to make a trade deal. I fully expect it. But it’ll be a fair deal.”
Regardless, a comprehensive U.S.-EU trade deal remains highly unlikely any time soon due to huge disagreements and reluctance on the part of Europeans to allow U.S. goods with lower environmental and health standards into the EU market.
Still, in Brussels, the hope was that Meloni could lay the foundations for an EU-wide deal to avoid crippling tariffs. Trump has long expressed admiration for Meloni, Europe’s most successful far-right leader who shares many of his views.
In Europe, there also was apprehension that Trump might seek to split her off from the rest of the EU by offering special favors to Italy. Italy has a large trade surplus with the U.S. and America is its third largest export market.
Ukraine too weighed heavily on the meeting, with Meloni facing pressure to back the Trump administration’s dramatic break with former President Joe Biden’s full-throated support of Kyiv.
Trump has insisted he can bring the war in Ukraine to an end, but he’s been accused by European and Ukrainians leaders of taking Russia’s side by wanting to force Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow and give up its quest to join NATO.
Since Trump’s reelection last November, Meloni too has shifted away from Kyiv, for example by resisting plans by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to send troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
With Trump turning his back on Ukraine, European leaders are seeking to replace the U.S. as Ukraine’s chief military backer and insist Kyiv must not be forced into a weak position in ceasefire talks with Russia. In its bid to back Kyiv militarily and fend off Russia’s threat, the bloc has taken steps toward a major rearmament led by Germany.
In recent weeks, Starmer and Macron have held a series of summits and talks with European allies over their troop deployment plans and provided Kyiv with more military and financial packages.
On Thursday, Macron held talks over Ukraine with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy to Russia. Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week.
Thursday marked the end of a 30-day period in which Putin pledged to Trump that Russia would not attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure as the first step in a wider ceasefire. But the prospects of a more lasting ceasefire appear very dim with Russia stepping up its attacks on Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showing no willingness to back down from his demand that Russia must not be allowed to occupy Ukrainian territories, including Crimea.
After lunch on Thursday, Meloni and Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office. Trump insisted ceasefire talks were progressing.
“We’ll see what we can do. And I think we’re getting close, but we’ll let you know very soon,” he said. “We want the death, the killing to stop.”
Trump also said Ukraine was expected to sign a minerals deal with the U.S. next week. The deal would give the U.S. a major stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources.
But the proposal has become a source of division inside Ukraine with critics accusing the U.S. of seeking to exploit the war-torn country. Trump argues the deal would serve as compensation for American support to Kyiv and ensure the U.S. has a commercial interest in protecting Ukraine from Russia in the future. Before accepting a permanent ceasefire, Zelenskyy has asked the U.S. for military protection, but Trump has refused that.
In the Oval Office, Trump was asked about his repeated statements blaming Zelenskyy for starting the war.
Trump said he didn’t hold Zelenskyy responsible but added that he was “not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started.”
“So, I’m not happy with him, and I’m not happy with anybody involved,” Trump said. “I’m not blaming him, but what I am saying is that I wouldn’t say he’s done the greatest job. I’m not a big fan.”
Trump also criticized Europe and took particular aim at the bloc’s immigration policies, which he sees as too lenient.
“I’m not a big fan of Europe and what they’ve done with immigration at all, and I think they’re going to get smart, because Europe is being very badly hurt by what they’ve done with immigration,” he said.
On immigration, he praised Meloni. She has taken a very harsh stance on immigration and opened up centers in Albania where she wants to send asylum seekers for processing. So far, Italian courts have blocked her government’s plans.
Meloni told reporters that Trump accepted an invitation to visit Rome “in the near future” and she said it could be a chance for him to meet other European leaders.
“The goal for me is to make the West great again,” Meloni said.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.