According to several European diplomats, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was reportedly “shocked” and “concerned” about Trump’s mental state after meeting with him.
According to multiple European diplomats who spoke with POLITICO and were briefed on informal talks at an emergency European Union summit in Brussels, Fico expressed shock following a January 17 meeting with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Fico reportedly described Trump’s psychological state as concerning and used the word “dangerous” to characterize the U.S. president’s demeanor during the private discussion, leaving his European counterparts unsettled.
These comment contrast with Fico’s public statements regarding the meeting with President Trump. He called the invitation to Mar-a-Lago a sign of “high respect and trust” and that they agreed that the EU was in “deep crisis.” Fico also called the conversation “deep and informal.”
However, Fico has forcefully denied the account. In a post on the social media platform X, the Slovak premier called the POLITICO report a “lie,” asserting that he never made such comments to other world leaders and did not engage in informal conversations at the Brussels event about his U.S. visit.
I STRONGLY REJECT THE LIES OF THE HATEFUL, PRO-BRUSSELS LIBERAL PORTAL POLITICO.
It is a sad look at the liberal and progressive political and media world. The abuse of criminal law to destroy opponents, the rejection of different opinions, boundless media lies, and attempts to…
— Robert Fico 🇸🇰 (@RobertFicoSVK) January 28, 2026
“No one heard anything, no one saw anything, there are no witnesses, but nothing prevented the POLITICO portal from coming up with lies,” Fico wrote. The Slovak leader also accused the publication of trying to undermine Slovakia’s relationships with countries around the world, including the United States.
In February 2025, the Slovak prime minister was a featured speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the United States, where he publicly endorsed Trump’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and said the president was providing a “great service to Europe” by challenging existing political orthodoxies.
The White House has also pushed back against the claims reported by POLITICO. A spokesperson for the White House, Anna Kelly, said, “This is absolutely total fake news from anonymous European diplomats who are trying to be relevant. The meeting at Mar-a-Lago was positive and productive.”
The United States has found itself at odds with Europe since the Trump administration began aggressively pursuing annexing the Nordic island nation of Greenland as part of the U.S. An anonymous official within the White House described the meeting between Fico and Trump as “pleasant” and “normal.”
However, another European diplomat told POLITICO that the Slovakian prime minister seemed to be ‘traumatized’ by his meeting with Trump and that Fico said that the U.S. president seemed “out of his mind.”
