A Bridge to Nowhere? Giorgia Meloni and her Balancing Act Between the United States and Europe

Following the G7 meeting in France in June, US President Donald Trump claimed that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni "begged" to take a picture with him during the summit.¹ Such a public rebuke is only one of a string of episodes evi­dencing a serious rift between the two leaders. The out­come is surprising given that the political and personal relation­ship between Meloni and Trump has, until recent­ly, appeared to be rather idyllic.² Placing the issue within the broader context of Italy's balancing act be­tween the United States and Europe, this PRIF Spot­light aims to un­cover how this rift emerged and explore its potential impli­cations for Meloni, Trump, and the future of Euro­pean foreign and defence policy coo­peration.