Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini reached out to former U.S. President Donald Trump Wednesday in a phone call aimed at bolstering Italy-U.S. relations in view of the November presidential election.
The conversation, captured in a video shared on social media by the right-wing League leader, highlighted the strong personal relationship between the two leaders, who had already met in person in Philadelphia in 2016 during a Republican rally.
Salvini, whose phone call to Trump was made possible through the intermediary of former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, described the exchange as “cordial and constructive”.
“I expressed sympathy for him over his judicial vicissitudes, which remind many Italians of the troubles of Silvio Berlusconi, who for 30 years some believe was persecuted by a certain type of justice,” Salvini told at the Foreign Press Room in Rome. “Trump replied thanking me. We have been in touch and I count on having a mission to the United States soon, in the summer, to reinforce the friendship between Italy and the United States,” the minister concluded, adding that Trump “will not be stopped by investigations.”
I recently received an email from President @realDonaldTrump thanking me for my support, followed by a warm phone conversation with him in the presence of our friend @VivekGRamaswamy.
I am honored to have been a supporter since he launched his first presidential campaign in 2015,… pic.twitter.com/QmR81hMVlo— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) June 5, 2024
