Support for Italian Giorgia Meloni leads Nebraska punter to delete tweet and issue apology

A Nebraska punter was forced to apologize on Tuesday after expressing favorable support for Italy’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Brian Buschini, a sophomore from Montana, tweeted something about Meloni without « knowing the background » of the politician. He said a headline he read sounded like she was supporting family values.

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« I want to take the time to apologize for a tweet I posted yesterday, » his statement read. “I saw a headline of a speech given by the new Italian Prime Minister which seemed to support Christianity and family values. I unfortunately tweeted about it without knowing the background or history of this politician or the movement in which she is involved. In no way do I support fascism (sic) or racism in any form. I apologize for posting without understanding the reality of what I was posting. »

Buschini deleted the original tweet. It wasn’t exactly clear what he tweeted.

Meloni, a member of the Brothers of Italy party, saw one of his 2019 speeches go viral ahead of his weekend election win, OutKick noted.

Cornhuskers punter Brian Buschini kicks against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Memorial Stadium on September 10, 2022 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
(Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

“Why is family an enemy? Why is family so scary? There is one answer to all of these questions. Because it defines us. defines is now an enemy to those who would have us no longer have an identity and simply be perfect consumer slaves,” she said in the speech.

« And so they attack national identity, they attack religious identity, they attack gender identity, they attack family identity. I cannot define myself as Italian, Christian, woman, mother. No. I must be citizen X, gender X, parent 1, Parent 2 I must be a number Because when I’m just a number, when I have no identity or roots, then I’ll be the perfect a slave at the mercy of financial speculators, the perfect consumer.

Meloni has been described as a « far-right » politician due to her affiliation with the Italian Brotherhood Party, which is believed to have neo-fascist roots. The party will have to form a coalition with its main allies, the leader of the anti-migrant league Matteo Salvini and the former conservative Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to obtain a solid majority in Parliament.

The leader of the Brothers of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, speaks to the media at her party’s electoral headquarters in Rome early Monday, September 26, 2022.
(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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However, building a viable ruling coalition in Italy could take weeks. Nearly 51 million Italians were eligible to vote on Sunday. Despite Europe’s many crises, many voters told pollsters they felt estranged from politics. Italy has had three coalition governments since the last election, each led by someone who did not stand for election.

Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.