After months of criticism for failing to land a meeting with Trump, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s first face-to-face at the White House this week was hailed a success after the signing of a landmark $8.5 billion deal.
The visit went without a hitch until one reporter asked Trump whether Rudd’s disparaging past comments about him had at all contributed to why it took nine months into his second term as president to finally meet with Albanese.
That set off Trump, who said he would never like Rudd.
According to Liberal frontbencher-turned-backbencher Andrew Hastie, the exchange was “theatre” and “good TV”.
“That was theatre,” he told 2GB.
“(Trump) does really good reality television and trolling the Australian ambassador was good TV, but in the end, Kevin Rudd copped it on the chin for the country, and we move forward.”
Hastie brushed off the moment, saying “we don’t need to relive the humiliation” and praised Rudd for his efforts in pushing the minerals deal over the line.
“Kevin Rudd got the job done in the end. He got the minerals deal and he got a seat at the table with President Trump and the prime minister,” he said.
“Frankly, he made some unwise comments prior to becoming the ambassador, and we all make unwise comments.
“And he sat there, and he was humiliated by Donald Trump.”
Trump claimed not to even know who Rudd was, and asked the Australian ambassador to the US sitting across from him if he had said anything bad about him.
“Before I took this position, Mr President,” Rudd replied.
Trump then proceeded to say, “I don’t like you either, and I probably never will”, which prompted laughter from the room full of journalists and officials, including Albanese.
Albanese downplayed the exchange following the meeting, and Trump reportedly accepted an off-camera apology from Rudd.
Hastie has joined the growing voices of Coalition members backing Rudd and deviating from Opposition Leader Sussan Ley’s criticisms, in which she said his position as ambassador was “untenable” due to his past comments about Trump.
It was a remark she was forced to later backtrack.
Liberal Senator Jane Hume and Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie have also commended Rudd.
“The work clearly has been done on critical minerals and rare earths by Kevin Rudd personally, and I think that he should be acknowledged for that good work,” Hume told Sky News.
“That would have taken months of painstaking negotiation to get the deal done. So credit where it’s due,” McKenzie told Today.
