Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, at the pre-summit dinner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at the Royal Palace of the Hague, broke bread and talked turkey with President Trump, outlining a roadmap toward a more peaceful and prosperous tomorrow.

The seating arrangement was no accident, however. For POTUS 47 and the Italian premier share a worldview and a no-nonsense pragmatic approach to governance. Yet Signora Meloni is not a Trump whisperer.

Whereas Mr. Trump thrives on visceral out-of-the box policy-making, Signora Meloni engages in action-oriented, problem-solving diplomacy. Both are unabashed patriots, a truism that irritates the global left. Mr. Trump trumpets the red, white, and blue. Prime Minister Meloni bleeds the tricolore.

Their fealty to God, country, and, yes, peacemaking makes for the best possible allied dynamic. The two allies’ discussion spanned the geopolitical spectrum, encompassing military spending, tariffs, the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Middle East, and the future of Western civilization.

Plus incroyable à dire, President Macron was not privy to the conversation. On more than a few occasions — and most recently in an address to the Italian senate — Signora Meloni has invoked the ancient Roman dictum regarding war and peace: Si vis pacem, para bellum. “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

Apparently, Mr. Trump has fully embraced this adage. His unexpected blow against Iran was a proverbial knockout punch that even the New York Times called a “complex and highly synchronized military operation.” The plan’s masterful bit of misdirection involved fighter jets and two fleets of B-2s flying in opposite directions.

Following his successful degradation of Tehran’s nuclear capability, POTUS 47 managed to craft a cease-fire between Israel and Iran — borrowing a page from the Italian premier’s playbook of peace-through-strength diplomacy.

Unlike President George W. Bush, Mr. Trump has avoided the quagmire of a forever war with a large and volatile Middle Eastern nation. Like Signora Meloni, Mr. Trump believes that the resolution of even the most horrific of global conflicts requires the ability to talk to one’s friends and foes.

Rectify, then trust but verify.

Although she has increased her calls for de-escalation vis-à-vis Israel and the Gaza Strip, Signora Meloni has rebuked Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, for his statement regarding the Jewish state: “We do not trade with a genocidal state.”

Signora Meloni recently defended the German chancellor’s right to assert, as Friedrich Merz did, that Israel is doing the West’s “dirty work” in the Middle East. Spain’s premier also broke with his NATO allies, adamantly refusing to raise Madrid’s military spending to 5 percent by 2035 — invoking the ire of his peers and POTUS 47.

Mr. Sanchez, with his Socialist party drowning in a sea of corruption scandals, is no doubt playing to his far-left base. While Mr. Sanchez’s actions weaken NATO, Signora Meloni’s work strengthens the alliance and bolsters Italy’s role as the linchpin of the Mediterranean and a key global power.

At the recent 2025 India Dialogue hosted by the Istituto Affari Internazionali colloquy at Rome, Signora Meloni demonstrated her geopolitical vision. Like Mr. Trump, the premier understands that New Delhi matters. India is strategically — and increasingly — vital to Rome and the entire European Union. India provides Europe with a like-minded manufacturing and trading alternative to Communist China.

As Decode39 reported: “Italy is well-positioned to serve as a key landing point for the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor,” with “Trieste connected to Central Europe and the Three Seas Initiative.”

In Mr. Trump’s parlance, Signora Meloni thinks “bigly,” linking the West to the Indo Pacific, Central Asia, and Africa.

When it comes to high-tech partnerships and infrastructure revitalization throughout Africa, Signora Meloni’s Mattei Plan is a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. When it comes to a steadfast, effective and indispensably loyal ally, America has no greater friend and partner than the Magic Boot.