Meloni is the leader of the far-right party Brothers of Italy and shares several values with Trump. They have met twice since he was elected President of the USA in November. Trump praised her as a "fantastic woman" when she visited him at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago.
Foreign leaders are not usually invited to American presidential inaugurations, but Trump has invited several European far-right politicians, including Éric Zemmour from France, Briton Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, as well as two leading figures from the German AFD. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has also been invited, but has stated that he will not be coming to Washington.
