Tajani says Italy-US ties hold after midterms and Meloni is not MAGA

Tajani distances Italy and Meloni from MAGA

Antonio Tajani, Italy's deputy premier and foreign minister, told Il Messaggero that he has never been a Trump supporter and that Giorgia Meloni is not one either. He described the Italian government as conservative and said he himself is a Berlusconian. Tajani argued that having relations with Republicans does not make someone a Trumpian, and he said Meloni had told Trump no many times.

“We have never been Trumpian. Meloni is not a MAGA supporter either, heaven forbid.”

Tajani added that, judging by Trump's reaction, Trump did not take Meloni's refusals well. Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that he made these remarks outside the Forza Italia headquarters in San Lorenzo in Lucina, in Rome.

Italy's line after the midterm vote

The midterm elections were held on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. According to ANSA, Trump's Republican Party lost control of Congress to the Democrats. Tajani said the outcome does not change the position of the Italian government, which he described as a centre-right coalition. He added that he had worked with the same commitment with both Marco Rubio and Joe Biden.

“We always respect the will of the American people, no matter what.”

Tajani said Italy is a strategic partner of the United States and would stay loyal whoever governs in Washington and whatever the balance in Congress. Il Fatto Quotidiano quoted him saying that the US vote had never shaped the balance in Italy. He also said that the European People's Party's reference in America is the Republican Party. Tajani recalled that he had cancelled a visit to the United States over Trump's remarks about the prime minister.

Reactions and the red cap photo

Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that social media users had already begun mocking the minister. The Five Star Movement joked that the government might now say it never proposed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. The outlet also noted a photo of Tajani wearing a red MAGA cap, taken in Washington on 19 February 2026 at the opening meeting of Trump's Board of Peace for Gaza. Angelo Bonelli, a deputy for Avs and co-spokesperson of Europa Verde, said Italians have a good memory and that photos exist.

Il Fatto Quotidiano also reported that Meloni had taken time and sidestepped reporters' questions on the vote.

Background from the sources

Digi24, citing ANSA, reported that Meloni told the New York Times in August that she had believed working with Trump would be easier, given shared views on immigration and so-called woke culture. Digi24 said the relationship went differently, including after a June exchange in which Trump criticised her for lacking support in the war against Iran. Meloni was the only leader from an EU member state who attended Trump's inauguration last year, according to the same report. After the NATO summit in July she said she had no regrets about Trump, and she wanted Western unity preserved. ANSA noted that Meloni and Trump had very friendly relations until they fell out over the Iran war.

“Being allies means being friends who look each other in the eye, with a straight back and head held high.”

Tajani's remarks ended the day's debate in Italy without any change in government policy, and the government's position remains that the alliance with Washington stands regardless of the outcome of the US vote.