Meloni’s message for Trump comes at time of strained relations between the two leaders.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Sunday expressed her full solidarity with US president Donald Trump following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC the previous evening.
Trump and vice president JD Vance were rushed off the stage after shots were fired during the event. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, was detained and taken into custody.
Trump and all cabinet members present were confirmed safe. The incident took place at the Washington Hilton – the same hotel where former US president Ronald Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination in March 1981.
Meloni’s message
Writing on social media on Sunday morning, Meloni said she wished to express her “full solidarity and most sincere closeness” to President Trump, First Lady Melania, Vice President Vance, and all those present at the dinner.
“No political hatred can find space in our democracies” – Meloni wrote – “We will not allow fanaticism to poison the places of free debate and information. The defence of the culture of confrontation must remain the insurmountable bulwark against every intolerant drift, to safeguard the values that found our Nations.”
Strained relations
The message of solidarity comes at a strained moment in the relationship between the two leaders.
Meloni, long considered one of Trump’s closest European allies, had been expected to serve as Europe’s bridge to Washington following Trump’s return to power 15 months ago, however the relationship has deteriorated markedly in recent weeks.
When asked in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera whether the two had spoken recently, Trump replied: “No, not in a long time.”
The rift sharpened after Trump decried Meloni as “unacceptable” following her public criticism of his attacks on Pope Leo XIV, adding: “I’m shocked by her. I thought she had courage.”
Italy has also refused to participate in the US-Israel war on Iran, and last month declined to authorise US bombers to land at a key air base in Sicily.
Photo credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / Shutterstock.com
