President Donald Trump praised Italy’s tough immigration policies on Monday during a meeting at the White House with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
“I know he’s taken a very firm stance on the border, a stance few countries have taken, and, frankly, he’s doing the right thing, in my opinion,” Trump said during his White House meeting with Conte. “A lot of other countries in Europe should be doing it also.”
The president spoke briefly to reporters in the Oval Office prior to a press conference with the prime minister later in the afternoon.
“He’s a man who’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said.
Trump has recognized Conte as a fellow populist, praising his election and his promise to prioritize government action for Italian citizens first.
The two leaders met in June at the G7 summit in Canada.