Trump's ambassador plans superyacht 'diplomacy' in Venice; locals bristle

President Donald Trump's billionaire ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, has announced plans for an extended cruise aboard the Boardwalk, a €450 million mega-yacht, which the Daily Beast reports he intends to use as a floating platform for diplomatic engagement along the Italian coast. The vessel, which features six decks and multiple luxury suites, is scheduled to visit Venice as part of what Fertitta has dubbed "coastal diplomacy"—a weeks-long tour that has already drawn sharp criticism from Italian officials and prompted plans for public protests in the Venetian lagoon.

The timing and optics of the visit have inflamed tensions between Rome and Washington that have been mounting since Meloni's recent public break with Trump over what she termed his "constant, unprovoked attacks" on Italy. According to the Daily Beast, the ambassador's plan to "flaunt" the superyacht has infuriated members of the Italian government, and Venice—a city already wrestling with the environmental and social costs of mass tourism and cruise ship traffic—now faces the prospect of a high-profile symbol of American wealth anchoring in its waters.