Giuseppe Conte never campaigned for office or ran in Italy's election, but that didn't stop U.S. President Donald Trump from congratulating him on his "tremendous victory."

Trump's repeated references to Conte's victory were just a small part of a strange news conference at the White House on Monday, in which the American president seemed to enjoy the rare opportunity to appear alongside a world leader with even less diplomatic experience than him.

Conte was actually appointed as a compromise candidate by the two parties that came out on top in the election, the anti-establishment 5Star Movement and the far-right League.

In contrast to other European leaders — including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte — who have used their press conferences with Trump to highlight policy disagreements, Conte cheered along as Trump claimed major triumphs, from the G7 in Quebec, to a trip to NATO headquarters to a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.

Conte heaped praise on Trump for providing "positions and stances which are expressed with clarity," proclaimed Italy as Washington's new "privileged interlocutor" in Europe, and said he was personally prepared to spread the gospel of Trump, particularly on the issue of NATO spending.

“The European Union has totally taken advantage of the United States” — Donald Trump

"I will be, personally, the carrier of the message, and I'll try and make the others understand these positions, as well," Conte said.

Trump opened the news conference with a bizarre description of the March Italian election results, in which no party finished with enough votes to govern on its own and ultimately the 5Stars and the League formed an uneasy coalition, choosing Conte, a little-known law professor, to serve as a technocratic head of government.

"I want to begin by congratulating you once again on your tremendous victory in Italy," Trump declared. "It was something that all the world was watching and it excited the people all across Italy and, I can tell you, all across the United States as well. Congratulations."

"In your election," Trump continued, "the Italian nation has reaffirmed the great traditions of sovereignty, law, and accountability that stretch all the way back to Ancient Rome."

Many viewers, including many Italians, were more confused than excited. But Trump seemed to embrace the Italian government's hardline views on immigration expressed most vocally by Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the League who is widely perceived as the most powerful politician in Italy.

"Like the United States, Italy is currently under enormous strain as a result of illegal immigration and they fought it hard," Trump said. "And the prime minister, frankly, is with us today because of illegal immigration. Italy got tired of it. They didn't want it any longer."

Trump's comments on immigration also provided a backdrop for his renewed threat to force a government shutdown in the United States if Democrats in Congress do not agree to finance some of his immigration priorities, including construction of a wall along the border with Mexico.

Conte offered no rebuttal to Trump’s comments and instead used every opportunity during the question-and-answer session to praise the American president. It was a striking contrast from Rutte, who interrupted Trump during his own joint appearance at the White House earlier this month to push back against the president on the issue of tariffs.

Win after win after win

Trump claimed victory in each of his international appearances. "We had a very good G7 meeting. That's where Giuseppe and I became friends," he said of the summit in Quebec, which he left early and then angrily repudiated the leaders' conclusions in a series of tweets while flying to Singapore. Still, Trump said: "It was a great meeting."

And he said he had — single-handledly — saved NATO at a leaders' summit in Brussels this month. "I went to NATO, and NATO was essentially going out of business, because people weren’t paying," Trump said.

In claiming victory at NATO, Trump insisted again that "hundreds of billions of dollars more money will be paid into NATO, the coffers of NATO," though he still does not seem to realize — or want to acknowledge — that whatever money comes in, it does not go to NATO but rather is spent by each allied nation on its own defense.

Helsinki, too, was a success, according to the president. "Of course, the fake news didn’t cover it that way," Trump said, "but I had a great meeting with President Putin of Russia."

At the same time, Trump repeated many of his recent complaints about unfair trade practices by the EU, and especially by Germany, which he once again criticized for spending billions to buy natural gas from Russia but not spending enough on its own defense.

Trump also gave a slightly new account of his recent meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, suggesting that he had threatened to impose tariffs on European cars and that this prompted concessions from Juncker.

"Jean-Claude and I had a fantastic meeting last week," Trump said. "We were having a hard time, and then I did mention tariffs on cars, and we got along very well. Very well. I think they're going to treat us very fairly, and we're going to treat them fairly."

Still, the old gripes were aired. "As you know, it's been a one-way street," Trump said. "The European Union has totally taken advantage of the United States. We can't let that happen. Not fair to the United States."

Injecting another bizarre element to the news conference, Trump declared Italy, which has struggled financially, as poised for economic success thanks to Conte's leadership. "I recommend investment in Italy. It's a great place with great people," he said. Later, gesturing to Conte, Trump said, "he knows how to sell.

Trump added: "Italy makes great product and I think it's going to do very well economically."