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Ahead of President Donald Trump’s official visit with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, senior Trump administration officials said they see her as a “valuable interlocutor” with the European Union — including on trade, immigration and efforts to end the Ukraine war.
“President Trump won’t simply focus on how Italy’s marketplace can be opened up, but also how they can help us with the rest of Europe,” a senior Trump administration official said on a call previewing the visit.
Another senior official said the visit would also focus on “Meloni’s role as a key force in Europe and a voice that largely sees eye-to-eye with the president on a lot of issues like immigration and the need to end the war in Ukraine.”
“We certainly see her as a valuable interlocutor with the EU,” that official continued.
Trump and the right-wing Meloni fall on similar ideological lines and have a positive relationship — the president has praised Meloni publicly, and she was the only European leader invited to Trump’s second inauguration.
But the strength of their rapport may be tested today, as Meloni is expected to push Trump on trade and tariffs.
The second official said Trump is “taking this very seriously” and that the White House is “ready to make deals.”
In addition to trade, the senior officials said that the two leaders are expected to discuss defense, shipping, and Italy’s role in the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor (IMEC). They also want to discuss ways to increase space cooperation and Italy’s interest in unleashing “American energy exports to the rest of the world.”
The officials said that the meeting has long been in the “queue” and wasn’t scheduled in direct reaction the Trump’s tariffs.
The prospects for a number of global economies have turned sour because of the trade war instigated by President Donald Trump, according to the chief of the International Monetary Fund.
A new IMF report, which will be released next week, will include “notable markdowns” in economic growth forecasts, Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said in a speech today, joining a chorus of warnings from economists and business leaders about economic damage from Trump’s tariffs.
The IMF does not see a recession — that is, a protracted economic contraction — but its report will include “markups to the inflation forecasts for some countries.”
Georgieva said countries were being tested by “the reboot of the global trading system.”
“Financial markets volatility is up. And trade policy uncertainty is literally off the charts,” she said.
That uncertainty is costly, according to the IMF chief.
“The cost of one item can be affected by tariffs in dozens of countries,” Georgieva said. “In a world of bilateral tariff rates, each of which may be moving up or down, planning becomes difficult.”
The result is businesses postponing investments and consumers saving more as a precaution, Georgieva said. Such actions drain economies of key sources of growth.
“The longer uncertainty persists, the larger the cost,” she said.
China is taking the trade war to a new battleground: America’s TikTok feeds.
Chinese suppliers have been flooding American social media this week, urging users to outflank President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on Beijing by buying directly from their factories.
It’s highly improbable that these are real suppliers for brands like Lululemon and Chanel, multiple experts told CNN. Legitimate manufacturers usually sign non-disclosure agreements, so it’s unlikely that these creators are selling the real thing.
But the videos are highlighting not only the anxiety that the tariffs are causing consumers, they also reveal how much shoppers rely on China.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
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@cnnChinese suppliers have been flooding American social media this week, urging users to avoid President Donald Trump’s latest tariffs on Beijing by buying directly from their factories, but some luxury companies have warned against misinformation and counterfeit goods. #china #manufacturers #tiktok #cnn #news
President Donald Trump projected optimism today about his recent and upcoming trade talks with several countries, including Mexico and Japan, and stated that China is among those who want to meet with his administration.
“Had a very productive call with the President of Mexico yesterday. Likewise, I met with the highest level Japanese Trade Representatives. It was a very productive meeting. Every Nation, including China, wants to meet! Today, Italy!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
As CNN’s Steven Jiang reported Wednesday, China is open to trade negotiations with the United States but any talks should be based on “respect” and greater “consistency and reciprocity” from the Trump administration, according to a person familiar with the Chinese government’s thinking.
Mexico and Canada were exempt from the reciprocal tariffs, which Trump eventually paused, as he negotiates tailored trade agreements with countries.
However, the two nations are still subject to 25% tariffs outside of the US-Mexico trade agreement.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is visiting the White House later today.
The European Central Bank (ECB) cut its main interest rate to 2.25% from 2.5% today as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs loom large over the region’s economy.
The ECB sets the cost of borrowing for the 20 countries that use the euro. The cut, which was widely expected, is the seventh in the past year.
Inflation in the eurozone has tumbled from the record high reached in late 2022 to 2.2% year-over-year in March, coming within touching distance of the central bank’s 2% target.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s tariffs threaten to dampen economic growth around the world.
Last month, the ECB said the tariffs announced by that point had increased uncertainty over trade policy, leading it to pencil in lower growth in Europe for this year and next.
“The implementation of further tariffs by the US administration and the associated uncertainty pose risks to the economic outlook for the euro area,” the bank added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s message was delivered to President Donald Trump by the US president’s foreign envoy ahead of the Ukraine talks taking place in Paris, the Kremlin said Thursday.
Asked about Moscow’s expectations from the upcoming talks between the Ukrainian delegation and US representatives in France, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he hoped they will focus on finding a peaceful settlement.
“Our president recently had a very lengthy conversation with Mr. Witkoff. We know that the content of this conversation was reported to Trump,” Peskov told reporters.
“We would expect further demonstrations of orientation on the search for a peaceful settlement by Europeans and Ukrainians,” he said accusing Europe of focusing on continuing the war.
President Donald Trump tore into Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday, citing reports of how the European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again and urging him to lower US rates now.
“The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete “mess!” Trump posted on Truth Social early Thursday morning.
Trump is slated to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later today.
“Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!” Trump continued.
On Wednesday, after Powell warned that the effects of Trump’s tariffs “remain highly uncertain,” stocks took a drop.
Trump appointed Powell in 2018 and former President Joe Biden reappointed him to another four-year term.
Keep in mind: There are legal barriers for Trump, and any other president, to remove or fire a Fed chair. It requires what America’s central bank refers to as “for cause.”
Ultimately, the Supreme Court could have the final say on what merits a “for cause” firing of a Fed chair. But while that fight, which would probably be lengthy, plays out, Powell would likely still get to stay in his job until his term ends.
CNN’s Auzinea Bacon contributed reporting to this post.
Russia pounded several regions of Ukraine overnight into Thursday, hours ahead of a summit in Paris where Ukrainian officials are set to meet with a top delegation from the United States.
At least five people were killed and 66 others were injured in the strikes, which spanned from Sumy in the northeast to Kherson region in the south.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia used two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and at least 75 Shahed-type drones. It said its air defenses had shot down 25 of these Shahed drones and at least 30 “dummy” drones – drones that do not carry an explosive warhead but that are meant to overwhelm air defenses – had crashed “without negative consequences.”
In the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, at least three people were killed – including a child – and 30 others were injured, according to Serhiy Lysak, head of the region’s military administration.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine endured a “difficult night” of strikes launched by Russia.
“It was a difficult night in Dnipro – a strike by Russian drones,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, saying Moscow had struck “ordinary houses, ordinary civilian infrastructure.”
A 17-year-old girl called Veronika was among the three people killed in the strike on Dnipro, Zelensky said.
“Every defense package for Ukraine from our partners, every form of support from the world for our resilience is literally about protecting lives. Russia uses every day and every night to kill. We must put pressure on the killers and help lives to end this war and guarantee a lasting peace,” Zelensky said.
Lysak said a dozen apartment buildings, a dozen private homes, a school and other buildings were damaged in the “massive” drone attack.
Despite US President Donald Trump’s claims that he could bring the war in Ukraine to a swift end, Russia has stepped up its strikes in recent weeks.
Former President Joe Biden lauded Harvard University for its firm stance against demands for policy changes by the Trump administration during a private seminar Wednesday at the Harvard Kennedy School, student newspaper The Harvard Crimson reported.
Speaking to a small group of students, Biden commended the university’s response as a powerful example of leadership during its escalating standoff with Washington.
“Harvard stepped up in a way no one else has,” Biden said, according to two students at the off-the-record event, the Crimson reported. “You should be really thankful.”
When asked by a Crimson reporter if Harvard should pursue legal action against the federal government, Biden reiterated his support for the university’s approach but stopped short of advocating a lawsuit. “I think Harvard should just do what it’s doing — lifting everybody up,” he told the Crimson.
A Harvard Kennedy School spokesperson declined the Crimson’s request comment on Biden’s remarks. A spokesperson for Biden also declined to comment, according to the newspaper.
The seminar was scheduled weeks before a funding standoff between Harvard and the Trump administration began.
After rejecting demands from the administration, including ending its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and turning over information on international students, the university is facing the potential loss of its tax-exempt status and a $2.2 billion funding freeze — a financial blow that has prompted disruptions and sparked concerns over staffing and ongoing projects.
Biden’s visit to Harvard marks a rare public appearance since he left office in January. On Tuesday, he made his first public remarks at a conference of disability advocates in Chicago.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, defense minister and a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Paris early Thursday to meet US officials in a European summit on ending the war in Ukraine — the highest-level talks in weeks.
“We are working on critical issues for the security of Ukraine and all of Europe,” Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky’s office, wrote on X. Yermak said meetings are scheduled with the representatives of the US “currently present in France.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff are set to take part in Thursday’s talks.
Yermak said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will meet representatives from the “coalition of the willing” — a band of countries stepping in to support Ukraine’s war effort while the US winds down its military footprint in Europe.
The summit has been billed as Europe’s chance to gauge the Trump administration’s thinking on the war, following its direct negotiations with Moscow that have sidelined both Brussels and Kyiv.
Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg last week — his third meeting with the Russian president this year.
On the ground: Russia pounded several regions of Ukraine overnight into Thursday, hours ahead of the summit.
The strikes killed at least five people and wounded 66 others, and spanned from Sumy in the northeast to Kherson region in the south.
In the southern Dnipropetrovsk region, at least three people were killed – including a child – and 30 others were injured, according to Serhiy Lysak, head of the region’s military administration.
The Trump administration continues to test how far it can push its compliance with court orders it disagrees with.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his order to halt the use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to a Salvadoran mega-prison.
Here’s the latest on the immigration crackdown:
