President Trump on Monday praised Italy’s populist Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte for striking a hard line on immigration and used his visit to the White House to reiterate a threat to shut down the federal government over border-control funding. Trump and Conte, who was installed last month to lead an anti-establishment coalition government, expressed camaraderie on a range of issues, billing themselves as kindred spirits in their bids to upset the status quo. During a joint news conference, Trump said he is the “most closely aligned” with Conte over any of the other five leaders in the Group of Seven nations, which include U.S. allies France, Germany and Britain. “We’re both outsiders to politics — can you believe it?” Trump said, standing next to Conte in the East Room. “Like the United States, Italy is under enormous strain as the result of illegal immigration, and they fought it hard.

Source: Washington Post July 30, 2018 17:12 UTC