An unexpected cheese gift sounds wonderful,celtic eroticism but it's not good in all cases, apparently.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Rome, Italy, on Tuesday to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte as part of his four-country European tour. During the obligatory photo op portion, an Italian reporter named Alice Martinelli approached Pompeo and handed him a large hunk of Parmigiano Reggiano.
In the CSPAN clip below, Martinelli can be seen telling Pompeo repeatedly that the cheese is made "with our hearts every day." (I believe it; the cheese is probably really good.) She also requests that he pass the cheese on to Trump.
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Pompeo, who it should be noted is embroiled in quite a mess back home, smiles awkwardly throughout. Conte does not appear thrilled by the moment, and after a brief exchange with Martinelli, he has her escorted away. He also takes the cheese from Pompeo and hands it to an aide, probably never to be seen again.
The strange gesture was presumably related to Trump's punitive cheese tariffs, which threaten to increase the costs of — among other products — European cheese, olives, and champagne. You know, all the things you like.
Remarkably, this is not Pompeo's first cheese-related debacle. In November of last year, he banned a Bloomberg reporter from his plane for reporting that he ate processed cheese on a trip to North Korea. That makes Tuesday's incident all the more unfortunate — he probably could have used some of the good stuff.