The former chief strategist for President Donald Trump during his first term, Steve Bannon, has launched a direct attack on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her government.
“She used to be fantastic but now she has become a complete globalist. She played the EU game because she needed the money, and the NATO game as well,” the US media mogul told the Italian daily La Repubblica on January 30.
“Frankly, I don’t think anything she says is relevant, because she has no economic or military resources to back it up. I no longer take her seriously, and no one in the US does,” he said.
According to the President’s former right-hand man, whom Trump sacked seven months into his first term, Meloni is less appreciated in Washington than she might appear to be in the European media.
Sources close to Bannon suggest this is because she has consistently set herself up as a “bridge” between the US and the European Union, while remaining a dependable ally for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen but delivering little for Trump.
The interview comes at a time when several Italian media outlets are turning their attention to Bannon following an exclusive report by Brussels Signal revealing his intention to reopen a “gladiator school” or training centre for cadres of the global MAGA movement in Italy.
Since leaving the White House, Bannon has remained a significant figure within the MAGA movement. He plays a central role in the America First faction, which places US interests at the heart of policy. The faction opposes the more neo-conservative wing, which is traditionally supportive of Israel — particularly its current government — and of US backing for Ukraine.
His primary platform is the show Bannon’s War Room, broadcast by right-wing streaming, cable and satellite TV channel Real America’s Voice. That is the same network that carried a show starring US activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated in September last year.
Trump has also appeared on the programme. “They are in regular contact,” said Benjamin Harnwell, a close associate of Bannon who manages his European interests from his base in Italy, in an interview with Brussels Signal. “Although Steve never discusses his private conversations with the President with me,” he added.
According to Harnwell, Bannon and Meloni were close for many years but the relationship ended when Meloni became Prime Minister.
“Beyond appearances, not everyone in Washington views Giorgia Meloni favourably,” he said. “She is increasingly seen as a generic Christian Democrat — that is, a pro-European, pro-institutional globalist.
“This is not what the present [US] administration is looking for in its allies, as the recent US National Security Strategy made clear,” Harwnell said,
“I get why the Prime Minister is promoting herself as a ‘bridge’ between the US and the EU — but I really don’t think President Trump needs a bridge to Europe.
“And if he did, that person would more likely be [Hungary PM] Viktor Orbán, who went out of his way to remain loyal to Donald Trump when the latter was out of power and written off politically — which is something Giorgia Meloni famously never did.
“Also, Giorgia Meloni sought to win [former US president Joe] Biden’s affections by quite unnecessarily aligning Italy with his geopolitical agenda,” he added.
Much has changed since 2018, when Bannon frequently travelled to Italy to support Meloni, who at the time led a party polling at around 4 per cent. Having just left the White House, he had begun identifying emerging political movements and publicly described her as a future prime minister, praising what he said was her charisma and political potential.
Meloni invited Bannon to Italy, appeared with him at public events and actively promoted his presence. According to Harnwell, this support was crucial to her early credibility, given Washington’s importance to the Italian political class.
As Meloni’s political influence grew, though, her reliance on Bannon’s backing gradually diminished.
The definitive rupture came in September 2022, when Meloni was elected Prime Minister. “That day for me marked the end. From that moment, the two-way communications were over,” Harnwell said.
Further strain has been caused by the controversial gladiator school project, which continues to attract media attention.
On February 11, a court hearing will take place between Bannon and Harnwell’s foundation, the Dignitatis Humanae Institute, and the Italian Ministry of Culture, which had annulled the lease to manage the complex intended to host the school.
Although the annulment was done under a left-wing administration, the ministry is now led by Alessandro Giuli, an intellectual close to Meloni. Despite this change, her government is rigorously resisting Bannon’s group from returning to the site.
In the interview with La Repubblica, Bannon did not mince his words. Asked about the controversy in Italy over the presence of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the upcoming Winter Olympics later in February, he lashed out at the country.
“The US provides massive security support [for the Olympics]. If you don’t want it, we’ll pull it back — after all, you freeload off us,” he said.
“We shouldn’t even send ICE, the FBI or DHS, and then you wouldn’t have protection from all the bad actors and terrorists you let in. Fine, it saves us money.
“In fact, let’s withdraw the team from the Games — I couldn’t care less. Quote me literally: F*ck you,” Bannon concluded.
