PROVIDENCE, R.I. >> Former British Prime Minister David Cameron jokes he doesn’t have to listen to U.S. President Donald Trump’s wiretapped conversations anymore.

Cameron addressed 2,000 people at Rhode Island’s Brown University on Monday. The Providence Journal reports Cameron says he’s optimistic shared American and British values of freedom, equality and justice will prevail over nationalism and isolation.

Cameron resigned last year after failing to persuade Britons to remain in the European Union in a June referendum. Britain announced Monday it formally begins its exit March 29.

Cameron said not having to hear Trump’s wiretaps is an advantage of leaving office, then dead-panned: “Just to be clear, that’s a joke.”

His quip referenced unsubstantiated White House suggestions British intelligence helped Democratic former President Barack Obama spy on the Republican Trump.

The FBI’s director has knocked down Trump’s wiretapping claim.