(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 9 - US President-elect Donald Trump described Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as "a real live wire" and said meeting her at the reopening of the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was "great" in an interview to the New York Post.
    Trump, 78, told the Post after his meet-and-greet with Meloni that the Italian premier had "a lot of energy".
    "I was with her a lot", Trump also said of the Italian premier, telling the publication that they dined together on Saturday night during a 60-member world leader reception.
    "We get along great", Trump was also quoted as saying by the New York Post.
    The Republican added that the group of world leaders at the reopening of the Parisian landmark five years after it was gutted by fire was a "similar group" from four years ago when he was last in the White House and he hoped they could "straighten out the world a little bit", the publication said.
    After meeting with Trump, Meloni said she had had "pleasant" talks with the US president-elect and Elon Musk at a dinner in Paris Saturday night hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron after the grand reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral..
    "It was a pleasant opportunity for dialogue this evening at the Elysée with Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk", said Meloni, who is friendly with both men, on her Facebook page.
    The meetings took place during the dinner offered to the heads of state and government present in Paris to participate in the reopening of Notre-Dame, by Macron at the Elysée Palace.
    On September 23 Musk presented Meloni with the 'Global Citizen Award 2024 from Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council, praising her as "someone who is even more beautiful inside than outside" and saying she had done "an incredible job" as prime minister "with record growth and employment" during a ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan.
    Tesla, X and SpaceX owner Musk, who has been appointed by Trump to head a newly created government efficiency agency, added that Meloni "is someone who is authentic, honest, truthful".
    Thanking Musk for his "precious genius", Meloni delivered a passionate defence of Western values.
    After feverish social media speculation over pictures of the pair enjoying each other's company, Musk denied suggestions they might be having an affair.
    The Economist weekly has said that Meloni could be a conduit between Trump and the EU due to her friendly ties to the billionaire property developer and reality star turned politician.
    Meloni was elected Italy's first female prime minister in 2022 after Trump left the White House. (ANSA).