Trump will hold a press conference with the Italian Prime Minister: NPR

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte shakes hands with President Trump on June 8, 2018 in La Malbaie, Canada, at the G7 summit.

Leon Neal / Getty Images

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Leon Neal / Getty Images

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte shakes hands with President Trump on June 8, 2018 in La Malbaie, Canada, at the G-7 Summit

Leon Neal / Getty Images

President Trump holds a joint press conference at the White House on Monday with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The president will likely be questioned about his threat to close the government if Congress fails to finance his border wall, as well as the criminal trial of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, which begins Tuesday in Virginia.

On a Sunday he said: "I would be ready to" close "the government if the Democrats do not give us the voices for border security." Republicans, who hold majorities in both the House and the Senate, have not been able to pass the immigration changes that the president wants. And GOP leaders in Congress are reluctant to close the government this fall, just weeks before the mid-term elections.

The trial of Manafort is also a subject of questions at the president's press conference, although the charges against Manafort do not allow the trial. does not directly involve Trump. Manafort, who led the Trump campaign for five months in 2016, is accused of bank fraud and filing false tax returns. He reportedly headed tens of millions of dollars in offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes on the money he made work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.

The judge in the case has previously suggested that prosecutors prosecute Manafort in the hope that it will provide detrimental information about Trump. Manafort is also facing a second trial in Washington, DC

Monday's press conference follows a White House meeting that Trump is hosting with the Italian Prime Minister. Conte shares Trump's populist tendencies as well as his skepticism about immigration. Conte was the only G-7 leader to accept Trump's call to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to the diplomatic club – an idea quickly rejected by the other G-7 countries

while Trump and Conte are potential allies, Italy has failed to increase its defense spending to levels that the president wants. Last year, Italy spent about 1.35% of its overall economy on defense, about the same level as Germany.

Trump could also use the press conference to announce positive economic news. Last week, the Commerce Department reported that the US economy had grown by 4.1% annually between April and June. This is the fastest pace in almost four years, although it is unclear whether this marks the beginning of a sustained acceleration of growth or simply a temporary "sugar spike" of reductions in sales. 39 taxes and increased government spending.