Biden invites Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to DC — despite calling her a threat to democracy

WASHINGTON — President Biden on Monday invited Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to visit the White House — despite previously calling her ascent cause to doubt whether democracy can “be sustained in the 21st century.”

Biden spoke with Meloni on the phone after spending nearly 24 hours in Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the Friday one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Meloni, who leads NATO’s sixth most-populous nation, was about to embark on her own trip to Kyiv on Monday evening in a show of support ahead of a feared new Russian offensive.

“President Biden spoke with Italian Prime Minister Meloni tonight on the phone following the President’s trip to Ukraine and ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit to Ukraine,” the White House said.

“The two leaders discussed their ongoing close coordination on support to Ukraine, including security, economic, and humanitarian assistance. President Biden looks forward to welcoming her to Washington D.C. when their schedules align.”

A White House invite isn’t automatic for major allies. For example, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who took office on Oct. 25, just three days after Meloni, hasn’t yet booked a trip to DC, despite the longstanding “special relationship” between the world’s largest English-speaking countries.

Meloni’s right-wing populist party Brothers of Italy won the country’s parliamentary election on Sept. 25 — prompting Biden to describe her win as a threat to global democracy.

“I’ve met with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping over 78 hours, 68 of which are in person, over the last 10 years. And he makes the case straight up that democracies can’t be sustained in the 21st century. You just saw what’s happened in Italy in that election,” Biden told reporters Sept. 28 — three days after Meloni’s triumph.

“You’re seeing what’s happening around the world. And the reason I bother to say that is we can’t be sanguine about what’s happening here either,” Biden went on. “I don’t want to exaggerate it, but I don’t want to understate it.”

Biden went on to say that in the US, Democrats must win gubernatorial races because the contests will determine “how we count the votes, whether or not it’s transparent, and a whole range of things.”

At the time of her win, critics denounced Meloni as likely to be the most right-wing leader of Italy since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Biden’s rhetoric toward Meloni softened as the 46-year-old prime minister broke with prominent fellow conservatives in Italy by strongly supporting the Ukrainian government — over the objections of longtime former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who said Zelesnky provoked last year’s Russian invasion.

The US president previously spoke with Meloni on the phone in October and met with her in-person in November at the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.