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US President Donald Trump says he is “very friendly” with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who was re-elected over the weekend in a landslide victory.<\/p>\n “We have had a very good relationship,” Trump told the Sydney Morning Herald at the White House on Sunday, in his first remarks about the Australian election.<\/p>\n But the US president was less familiar with the other electoral candidate.<\/p>\n “I have no idea who the other person is that ran against him,” he said of conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton<\/a>, who many saw as Australia’s equivalent to Trump. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the lead-up to the election, Dutton and his Liberal National Coalition initially seemed to have an advantage over Albanese, who had to deal with public dissatisfaction over the government’s handling of issues like housing <\/a>and healthcare<\/a>.<\/p>\n But on Saturday, Albanese defied the so-called “incumbency curse” and made a surprising comeback to secure a comfortable majority for a second term. <\/p>\n The global uncertainty created by Trump’s sweeping tariffs has been cited as a reason for a swing towards Albanese’s centre-left Labor party. <\/p>\n “Albanese, I’m very friendly with,” Trump said on Sunday. “I don’t know anything about the election other than… the man that won is very good. He’s a friend of mine.”<\/p>\n