When Anthony Albanese makes his slightly trepidatious return to the White House this week, he will find the Trump Administration 2.0 has bedazzled the Oval Office.
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, many of the rooms have been updated with lavish gold embellishments.
It’s the physical embodiment of his declaration that his return marks a “golden age of America”, the president excitedly posting on his Truth Social page that visiting foreign leaders would “freak out” when they see the renovations in person.
The prime minister will be hoping his arrival in Washington DC armed with some sizeable precious metals of his own, will catch the president’s eye.
The promise of raw critical minerals to feed a supply chain to rival China’s production line is considered the most attractive offering.
Despite hints the next down payment on the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine deal could be hand-delivered during this trip too, that’s unlikely but it is expected to be handed over by the end of this year.
That same West Wing room where the prime minister was deep in quiet conversation with former Democratic president Joe Biden in 2023 will take on a starkly different tempo as the US and Australian press cram in.
In 2023, Albanese and Biden held a joint press conference on the verdant lawns of the Rose Garden, with pre-arranged journalists on each side to ask a question.
The prime minister even called time himself and wrapped the event up, as the pair joked comfortably.
“Australia and America stand ready to do the hard work, the historic work, to tackle the challenges we face,” then US president Joe Biden said after meeting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2023. Source: AP / Evan Vucci
Now, the Rose Garden has been paved over to avoid stiletto heels sinking into the lawn during parties, and the questions will be thrown across the room by reporters inside the Oval Office trying to secure answers to key defence, trade and tariff questions.
There is little chance the Australian prime minister will be calling many of the shots; if history is any guide, it will be Trump-led and could end up being prime-time.
What Australia is offering Trump can help boost the US economy in the face of China’s stranglehold on the critical minerals that are powering new technology and bolster regional security in the Indo-Pacific as China builds its military arsenal.
It’s a solid pitch to help the president achieve his lofty ambitions, in the face of tough economic realities for the American people.
In the end, steadying an alliance that dates back over 100 years will all come down to how these two very different personalities from opposite sides of the political spectrum are able to gel.
The optics in the room will be forensically scrutinised.
Donald Trump’s purchase of gold-plated coasters emblazoned with his name for the Oval Office was announced earlier this year, with a White House spokesperson saying the Republican president had personally paid for them. Source: Getty / Chip Somodevilla
If Albanese is offered a drink while he’s taking part in this first one-on-one discussion with the president, he will likely rest the glass on a TRUMP-branded golden coaster.
How emphatically the prime minister intends to put his own stamp on these talks is still to be revealed.
