Anthony Albanese has said he is ‘looking forward’ to working with Donald Trump and has already congratulated the US President-elect after he was asked if he would apologise over past comments where he was critical of him.
The Prime Minister was recorded saying Trump ‘scares the s*** out of me’ while he was shadow minister for transport and infrastructure in 2017 and insisted Australia should deal with him with ‘trepidation’.
Sunrise host Nat Barr suggested Mr Albanese may need to apologise after Trump was voted in as president of the United States on Wednesday night with Mr Albanese further probed on the matter by reporters on Thursday morning.
‘No, I look forward to working with President Trump,’ he insisted.
‘I’ve demonstrated, I think, my ability to work with world leaders and to develop relationships with them, which are positive.
‘And I think that I’ve demonstrated in the two-and-a-half years that I’ve had the honour of being Prime Minister.’
Mr Albanese reportedly spoke to Trump over the phone a short time after the press conference, where he congratulated him on his victory.
Anthony Albanese has said he is ‘looking forward’ to working with Donald Trump after he was asked if he would apologise over past comments
Sunrise host Nat Barr suggested Mr Albanese may need to apologise after Trump was voted in as president of the United States on Wednesday night
In 2020, Mr Albanese described Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump as a ‘triumph of hope over fear’.
Mr Albanese insisted he was not worried about any potential impact of a Trump presidency on Australian trade.
‘Australia is a supporter of trade. We are a trading nation and we will and continue to be advocates for free and fair trading,’ he said.
The Prime Minister was also quizzed about the wisdom of having former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as Australia’s ambassador to the US given his many critical comments about Trump.
Mr Rudd has previously described Trump as ‘nuts’, a ‘traitor to the West’ and ‘the most destructive president in history’.
In an interview with UK political figure Nigel Farage earlier this year, Trump described Rudd as ‘nasty’.
‘I don’t know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty,’ Trump said.
‘I hear he’s not the brightest bulb, but I don’t know much about him. If he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long.’
Australia’s ambassador to the US, Mr Rudd (pictured, red tie) has previously described Trump as ‘nuts’, a ‘traitor to the West’ and ‘the most destructive president in history’
But Mr Albanese sought to downplay any suggestion that Rudd will struggle to work with the Trump administration.
‘Kevin Rudd is doing a terrific job as Australia’s ambassador to the United States,’ Mr Albanese told reporters.
‘And it says a lot about how important we regard the relationship with the United States that we appointed a former Prime Minister.’
Since being appointed as US ambassador last April, Rudd has been actively working on relationships with both Republicans and Democrats.
‘In terms of the ability of the Australian government to manage the relationship with whoever wins the next election, Republican or Democrat, we are well equipped for that task,’ Mr Rudd told News Corp earlier.
But many political commentators believe Rudd’s time in Washington is limited and he will not survive a second Trump presidency.
More to come.
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