Rubio, Vance and other Republican advisors know that the alternative to the Italian prime minister is a broad pro-China camp. Because the Meloni-Trump relationship must be healed
No. The new clash between Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni cannot be reduced to a simple personal squabble. The roots of friction are indeed structural.
First, the Pentagon is angered by what it sees as Italy’s lack of help in the Iranian conflict in Washington. On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth branded as “shameful” the fact that some NATO allies have denied the US the use of military bases. “These allies have endangered America’s sons and daughters by denying them predictable access to bases and air corridors that should never have been questioned,” he thundered.
Coincidentally, this is one of the criticisms that Trump leveled at Meloni in his post yesterday on Truth. For its part, the Italian government, in addition to citing respect for the treaties, underlined that Rome had not been consulted before the Israeli-American attack on Iran. A second front of friction most likely concerns the fact that the negotiations between Rome and Starlink have stalled. Starlink is owned by SpaceX which, despite being a private company, boasts close ties with the Pentagon.
In short, the issue is more complex than a personal spat between two leaders. In fact, there are structural knots, which must be well understood also in consideration of a possible mending. Furthermore, it is no mystery that, in the current American administration, there are two figures who enjoy excellent relations with Meloni: JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Both, we can swear, will not feel at ease in these hours, while the clash between the US president and the tenant of Palazzo Chigi continues.
The situation is even more interesting in light of the fact that the vice president and the secretary of state are considered eligible candidates for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. It follows that, if one or the other were to win the next elections for the White House, they would predictably aim to relaunch the alliance with Meloni and, more generally, with the Italian center-right, especially if it were to remain in government after 2027.
Vance considers our executive potentially an ally on multiple fronts: just think of the fight against illegal immigration. Rubio, on the other hand, represents the least hostile figure towards NATO in the current US administration. For him, recovering the relationship with Meloni would mean creating, within the Atlantic Alliance, a bloc closer to Washington’s line. Finally, remembering well the pro-Chinese line that was implemented by the Giallorossi government, both Vance and Rubio would see the Italian center-right as a possible ally against Beijing.
But that’s not all. Beyond the American administration, an influential conservative think tank, such as the Heritage Foundation, could also be rooting for a mending between Washington and Rome. For years, this prominent think tank has been working to create a conservative political network that strengthens transatlantic relations. Not only has he always shown appreciation for Meloni but, in the past, he has also focused heavily on Viktor Orbán. The recent electoral defeat of the former Hungarian prime minister could therefore push Heritage even more to work towards a recomposition of relations between Palazzo Chigi and the White House.
Moreover, this think tank also knows well that the alternative to the centre-right, in Italy, is a “wide field” which, if it were to reach the government, would open the doors to China, promoting a very different line from Meloni who, in 2023, left the New Silk Road. «President Trump and Prime Minister Meloni should make peace. But it is up to President Trump to initiate this dialogue. Prime Minister Meloni rightly observed that this administration has often failed in managing alliances. And this is a dangerous problem, given the threats from China, Russia and Iran to the free world,” Mary Kissel, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former adviser to Mike Pompeo, told Truth.
In short, there are supporters of a mending in Washington. And they will probably leverage the common interests between the two litigants to try to bring them closer together. Trump, by breaking with the tenant of Palazzo Chigi, deprives himself of a fundamental support within the EU both to stem France’s anti-American maneuvers and, above all, to hinder the rapprochement – sponsored both by Paris and Madrid – of Brussels towards Beijing.
Not to mention that, to demand the use of the bases, the US president would have had to consult the allies before the military attack on the Islamic Republic. The Italian government, for its part, cannot ignore how its international strength, in these four years, has been largely due to the close ties that Meloni has intelligently woven with the USA: first with Joe Biden and then with Trump. It’s true: special relationships must not be of subjection but of equals.
However, precisely because they are potentially high-yielding, they also involve risk-taking. And this is especially true today, in a geopolitical context that is becoming increasingly dangerous. If you are excessively risk averse, the danger is that of compromising a diplomatic network woven with patience and foresight, making those who have always worked against you happy. And it is therefore precisely from this issue that a possible mending between Palazzo Chigi and the White House could arise.
