Opposition leader Sussan Ley says Kevin Rudd’s position as ambassador to the United States is “untenable”, following a tense exchange with US President Donald Trump, as she criticised Anthony Albanese’s inability to secure tariff exemptions.
Trump lavished praise on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during their first bilateral meeting in the White House on Tuesday morning, with the pair announcing a multi-billion dollar rare and critical minerals deal and an ongoing committment to the AUKUS submarine deal.
However, Rudd was caught in Trump’s crossfire, with the US President declaring “I don’t like you either” in response to a question about disparaging comments the former prime minister made about Trump on social media a few years ago.
After the meeting ended, Rudd was overheard apologising to Trump off-camera, with the US president reportedly replying “all is forgiven”.
Despite the apology Ley doubled down, suggesting that Rudd was to blame for the “almost a year” it has taken to secure a meeting between Trump and Albanese.
“The president didn’t appear to know the ambassador, and after sledging him in the way he did, then, for the prime minister to actually laugh at that sledge, in front of everyone at that table, shows me that the relationship is not where it needs to be,” she told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“This isn’t about the individual. This is about the relationship and it’s about Australia’s national interest.”
Ley said the relationship with the US was “vital”, urging Albanese to “back him or sack him”.
Wong defends Rudd and tariff ‘failure’
While Ley admitted to being “pleased to see assurances around AUKUS”, she highlighted that Australia hasn’t secured exemptions to Trump’s tarriffs.
“So the failures in the relationship appear to mean that we don’t have the deal on tariffs that Australians would expect,” she said.
Trump defended his tariffs decision, stating Australia is subject to “very low” tariffs, including a baseline 10 per cent rate and 50 per cent on steel and aluminium.
Donald Trump was asked by a reporter about Australia’s US ambassador Kevin Rudd’s past criticism of him in social media posts. Source: Getty / Anna Moneymaker
Foreign Minister Penny Wong rejected criticisms of both Rudd and the meeting, attributing the government’s “calm, mature approach” to delivering “great success”.
“Australia is in the best possible position that we could be under the tariff regime that President Trump’s administration has put into place,” Wong told ABC Radio.
While Wong agreed with Trump that they remain “relatively” low, she clarified “Australia will continue to engage with the United States in relation to tariffs”.
She said Trump’s comments on Rudd were “clearly tongue-in-cheek”, adding that the ambassador had done an “extremely good job” in securing the meeting and his work on the minerals deal and AUKUS.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has hailed the meeting between Trump and Albanese a “great success”. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Greens senator Nick McKim was unhappy to see the AUKUS agreement proceed, arguing it should be “terminated”.
“If the prime minister was going to act in Australia’s best interests, he would have informed President Trump that actually this [is a] $350 billion waste of money on nuclear submarines,” he told Channel Nine’s Today show on Tuesday.
“It’s unfortunate he didn’t do that.”
Trump said the deal, announced in 2021 under the Biden administration, was “moving along rapidly”, assuring Australia was “getting” the submarines.
