On Friday, Vice President JD Vance met with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome for a second round of tariff talks. The White House also suggested that a U.S.-European summit would be considered when President Donald Trump visited.
“I’ve been missing you,” Meloni jokingly told Vance as he entered the courtyard of Chigi Palace, the prime minister’s office.
The two had met just one day before in the Oval Office. Trump praised the Italian leader’s crackdown on immigration, but refused to compromise on his tariff plans, which have increased tensions between the European Union and the United States as well as stoked recession fears.
Meloni and the White House stated on Friday that Trump will visit Italy “very soon”.
The statement stated, “There is also consideration of holding, on such an occasion, a conference between the U.S.A. and Europe.”
Meloni is a bridge that connects the Trump administration with Europe. She was the only EU leader who attended Trump’s inauguration. She is ideologically aligned with Trump as the leader of a far-right party on issues such as reducing migration and promoting traditional values. Meloni has been a strong supporter of Ukraine. However, the U.S. and Italy have differed over this. Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on imports from the EU put pressure on Meloni.
Meloni expressed her hope that the second day’s talks would strengthen an old friendship.
She said, “We think that Italy can be a very important partner for the United States of America in Europe and the Mediterranean.” “Our relationship is one of privilege, and I am proud to be a part of it.”
Trump was prompted by a bond market panic to temporarily reduce his tariffs. He suspended his 20% import taxes for the EU and charged a 10% baseline instead. Meloni was by Trump’s side as he said Thursday that he wasn’t in a rush to make any trade agreements.
Vance reaffirmed that the U.S. and Italy are friends, and Meloni was informed by Vance of some “interesting developments” in Russia-Ukraine talks. He said that “big trade negotiations” will continue.
Vance, like Trump, seemed dazzled by Meloni’s Italian, even though he had no idea what she was saying.
He said, “Of course, she could’ve called me a jerk and I wouldn’t know. But it would’ve been in the most beautiful language possible, so I wouldn’t get offended.”
Vance, who converted to Catholicism, attended Good Friday services in St. Peter’s Basilica with his wife, three children, and other family members on Friday afternoon. He was also scheduled to meet with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, over the weekend.
Pope Francis did not meet with anyone and was absent from the solemn Good Friday services, which were presided over by a Vatican Cardinal. Pope Francis, 88, has drastically reduced his work schedule while recovering from a near-fatal case of double pneumonia. His participation in Easter services this weekend is uncertain.
Vance wrote on X: “I am grateful for my job every day, but especially today when I was forced to travel to Rome during Good Friday as part of my official duties.” “I wish Christians around the globe, but especially those in the U.S.A., a blessed Good Friday.”
The Vatican marks Good Friday by holding a Latin-filled mass in St. Peter’s, and a torchlit procession through the Colosseum at night.
Francis and Vance are at odds over the Trump administration’s plans for the mass deportation of migrants.
Francis warned that the deportation plan of the Obama administration would strip migrants of their dignity just days before his hospitalization in February. Francis, in a letter addressed to the U.S. Bishops, also responded directly to Vance for claiming that Catholic doctrine justified these policies.
Vance acknowledged Francis’ criticism, but said that he would defend his views.
