Donald Trump hints at Anthony Albanese meet in US in angry tirade at ABC journo

Donald Trump has threatened to dob in veteran ABC journalist John Lyons to Anthony Albanese during an angry exchange, in which the US President revealed he is likely to meet the Australian Prime Minister next week.

Mr Trump was speaking to reporters on the White House’s South Lawn before boarding Marine One on Tuesday morning ahead of his State visit to the UK.

Responding to a question asked by John Lyons, a Four Corners journalist about whether a sitting president should be engaged in so much business activity, Mr Trump became angry.

“Well, I’m really not,” the President of the United States said.

“My kids are running the business. I’m here.”

He then ceased answering the question and rounded on the journalist who had asked it.

“But you are also …. you know what the activity, where are you from?” the President asked.

“I’m from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Four Corners program,” the journalist responded.

“Well, the Australia’s,” he began.

“You’re hurting Australia, right?

“In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now and they wanna get along with me.

“You know, your, your, your leader is coming over to see me very soon.

“I’m gonna tell him about you.

“You set a very bad tone.”

While Mr Trump’s fury at the Australian reporter will dominate headlines, it will come as some relief to Canberra that a meeting with the US President appears to have been secured.

Mr Albanese will travel to the United States later in the week for the United Nations General Assembly.

Asked on Tuesday on Nine if he had pinned down the President, Mr Albanese said: “We’ll see what happens there, but I’m looking forward to going to New York.”

Asked if that meant no, Mr Albanese said he was eager to raise his social media ban policy on the global stage.

“No, I’m looking forward to going to New York to address the United Nations,” he said.

“We’ve got some really important events there as well, including on our social media ban for under 16s.

“That, of course, is receiving a lot of global coverage now and the decision by the European Union to follow Australia’s leadership there is very significant indeed.”

Mr Albanese has failed in his quest to obtain a face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump since the President’s political resurrection in last November’s presidential election.

While other leaders, including left-wing figures like the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canada’s leader Mark Carney and the centrist French President Emmanuel Macron have all visited the White House and enjoyed smooth visits, Mr Albanese has shunned such a meeting on Australia’s behalf.

Their first bilateral was set to take place in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada.

But the President snubbed a planned meeting with Mr Albanese and other leaders to return home to plan his Administration’s on Iran’s nuclear sites.

Mr Trump has imposed tariffs on Australian goods and steel, but Australia is unlikely to gain any concessions from these duties.

But the mood music is sounding better for AUKUS, the plan to buy nuclear-powered submarines from China, with reports in the US media that the deal is set to be given the green light following Pentagon official Elbridge Colby’s ‘America First’ review into AUKUS.

Mr Trump and Mr Albanese have spoken four times since the inauguration in January.