Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has thrown his support behind Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, after the former prime minister was publicly rebuked by Donald Trump during a high-profile meeting at the White House.
The awkward moment unfolded when Mr Trump was reminded of past comments Mr Rudd had made about him – including calling the former president “destructive” and “a traitor to the West” – remarks that have since been deleted.
“I don’t like you either. I don’t. And I probably never will,” Mr Trump said, turning to Mr Rudd during the meeting, drawing laughter from the room.
The exchange briefly soured an otherwise warm encounter between Mr Trump and Mr Albanese, which resulted in an $8.5 billion critical minerals deal and fresh assurances that Australia would receive nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact.
Speaking on the Today show, Albanese downplayed the tension, describing the meeting as “warm” and “productive” despite the headline-making clash. He confirmed Rudd had apologised privately to Trump after the cameras stopped rolling.
“(Trump) said, ‘he looks like a good guy, is he a nice guy?’, and I said, ‘he is a nice guy’ … and he said, ‘oh well, all is forgiven’,” the Prime Minister recounted.
Albanese also made clear that Rudd would continue in his ambassadorial post, praising his diplomatic performance in Washington and dismissing opposition calls for his removal.
“Ambassadors don’t meet leaders. I don’t meet ambassadors and neither does President Trump,” he said. “But Kevin Rudd has met every single member of Congress, I think. And he is well-liked on the Hill and he gets things done.”
The Prime Minister described Trump’s remarks as “pretty light-hearted”, insisting the episode should not overshadow the broader success of the meeting.
“It says something about how important we place our relationship with the US that we appointed a former prime minister as ambassador,” Mr Albanese said.
Despite Trump’s fiery aside, the White House talks marked a significant diplomatic milestone, cementing new economic ties and reaffirming Australia’s central role in the AUKUS security alliance.
Images: Instagram, X (Formerly Twitter)
