Giorgia Meloni was in Mar-a-Lago for barely five hours and every moment had to count. With so many leaders vying for Donald Trump’s attention, hers was a win. But after dinner with the president elect,

US President-elect Donald Trump hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for talks at his Florida base, the latest sign of the two leaders’ deepening bond and the Italian’s leveraging of her hard-right credentials to position Rome for the incoming administration.

Meloni follows Argentina President Javier Milei, who became the first world leader to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his Election Day victory in November.