Video: Italy's Meloni Rolls Eyes At NATO Summit, Checks Imaginary Watch Waiting For Biden

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni showed visible frustration on Thursday morning as she and other world leaders waited for US President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to start the third day of the NATO Summit.

While speaking with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Meloni dramatically rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling while gesturing to her wrist to indicate she was not wearing a watch. According to the New York Post, this happened as the clock ticked past the scheduled 10 am start time.

A third person in the group checked the time on his phone, prompting Meloni to roll her eyes and scowl again before noticing the cameras were focused on her. The Italian Prime Minister’s reaction was noted by onlookers, including a Financial Times reporter, who remarked on her “top eye-rolling form” in a post on social media platform X.

Biden and Stoltenberg eventually opened the day’s sessions at around 10:40 a.m., about 40 minutes after the scheduled start. Biden had left the White House nearly 20 minutes past the planned beginning of the event. The White House rescheduled Biden’s solo press conference, previously set for earlier in the day, to 6:30 p.m.

This delay is not an isolated incident. Biden also kept Meloni waiting at the G7 meeting in Italy’s Puglia region last month. During that event, he awkwardly saluted Meloni as she greeted him onstage. Meloni, in a light-hearted moment, reportedly told Biden, “You shouldn’t leave a woman waiting like this.”

At the G7, Meloni later guided Biden back to a skydiving demonstration after he wandered off and missed part of the event, turning away from his fellow leaders to speak with an officer packing a parachute.