President Barack Obama, with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, speaks during a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 18. | AP Photo Italian prime minister takes a swipe at Trump during White House visit

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Tuesday morning took a swipe at Donald Trump during his visit to the White House, saying the future of the world is about building bridges, “not walls.”

“Together, we are facing the challenge to give the name to a new era together,” Renzi said, referencing Amerigo Vespucci whose legacy is left in the name of the continent. “My personal opinion is that the name of future has to be freedom. The name of the future has to be education not intolerance, sustainability not distraction, trust not hate, bridge[s] not walls. The name of the future has to be growth not austerity. In the time of fear, we have to give answer with the audacity of hope, not only in the United States.”


Renzi, who spoke in front of the White House with President Barack Obama by his side, went further than just name dropping Obama’s campaign tome, “The Audacity of Hope,” though. The 41-year-old Italian leader said history will remember the nation’s 44th president kindly and gushed about Obama’s record.

“Under your leadership, a country hit by crisis started growing again,” Renzi said. “Day after day, you have made changes that improve lives, help the environment and create opportunities for poor people. I think there are a lot of people who think politics is only about screaming and fighting each other, creating hate and division. You are different, Mr. President. We are different.”

A former mayor of the Renaissance hub of Florence, Renzi, who became prime minister in 2014, has enlisted the help of Obama’s 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina to help him sell a constitutional amendment referendum to the Italian people. As reported, Messina is being paid approximately 400,000 euros for his services.

