Italy's anti-immigrant Northern League party leader Matteo Salvini on Tuesday came out in support of Republican candidate Donald Trump as the next president of the United States.
Salvini praised Trump’s candidacy on Twitter and published a photograph of himself with the New York tycoon, saying he would choose the “legality and security” of a Trump presidency over the "disastrous do-goodism" of Angela Merkel and Barack Obama.
"Hello from the United States. Go, Donald GO!" Salvini posted on his Facebook page after a 20-minute meeting with Trump at a rally in Philadelphia.
In an accompanying photo, Salvini and Trump could be seen smiling and giving the thumbs-up. Trump reportedly responded to Salvini’s robust support for his candidacy by saying he hoped the Northern League leader would be the next prime minister of Italy.
Salvini and Trump's meeting focused on immigration, an issue that links Trump with far-right parties in Europe that want to tighten border controls to halt the flow of refugees and migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East into Europe, where over one million arrived last year.
The Northern League is Italy's third-most popular party, garnering the support of around 14 percent of voters, according to an average of opinion polls compiled by the Termometro Politico website.
In meeting Trump, Salvini has scored a coup of sorts compared with other European far-right politicians. Trump reportedly shunned a Washington meeting in March with a group of members of the European parliament linked to French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
