LATIKA M BOURKE: Penny Wong’s harsh comments on Donald Trump surface ahead of president-elect’s inauguration

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is being urged to use her visit to the US to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration to state whether she still believes the President-elect is someone “prepared to trash alliances and partnerships for personal political interest.”

The newly unearthed comments, made by Senator Wong in 2021, are the latest in a string of unflattering remarks made by key figures in the Albanese government, including the Prime Minister, to be unearthed.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the foreign minister needed to explain whether she still stood by her remarks when meeting counterparts in Washington DC in a week’s time.

Senator Wong made the comments in a series of interviews during her time as Labor’s foreign spokeswoman, mostly when likening former Coalition prime minister Scott Morrison to Mr Trump.

In one instance in 2021, she told ABC Radio Adelaide: “You know, we’ve seen somebody - a leader - in recent times who was prepared to trash alliances and partnerships for personal political interest and his name was Donald Trump.

Ms Wong also said that President Trump’s first “unpredictable” term contributed to a “decline in US influence and power” and was a time when the US withdrew “from its place in the world much more than was in Australia and the world’s interests.”

She also said that while it was not her role to gossip, the staff churn in Trump’s first White House provided “a lot of material for late-night shows” and said that“it would be preferable if there was perhaps less turnover and perhaps a bit more stability.”

The Albanese Labor government is hailing Senator Wong’s January 20 inauguration invitation as a major coup for Australia. She will attend alongside former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is serving as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States.

It’s understood the foreign minister is likely to meet incoming National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and her counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which is being read as a sign that Mr Rudd’s past tweets about Mr Trump have not affected his ability to access the incoming Administration.

Cabinet Minister Murray Watt told Sky News on Monday that normally invitations were restricted to ambassadors.

“It’s always encouraging to see the US reach out to Australia in the kind of way that they have here,” he said.

“Ever since Donald Trump won the election recently, we’ve made clear that we’re keen to work with him and his Administration.

“So, I think it’s great that Penny Wong, as the Foreign Minister, has been invited to attend and I think she’ll acquit herself very well in representing our country.”

Mr Rudd announced on the morning after Mr Trump’s re-election that he was deleting from his social media comments that he had made during his time as head of the Asia Society that were critical of Mr Trump.

That statement infuriated his critics and left even his supporters bewildered that he had not done so before and chosen the morning of Mr Trump’s re-election to draw attention to his own goal.

Mr Trump’s adviser Dan Scavino Jnr responded menacingly, posting on X a GIF of an hourglass running out of time, suggesting Mr Rudd might have difficulty with the new Administration.

Prime Minister Albanese in the past has also been critical of Mr Trump, saying that: “He scares the shit out of me.”

Opposition leader Peter Dutton told The Nightly that any contact between the foreign minister and incoming counterparts was important, and would serve as a vital opportunity to set the record straight.

“Penny Wong said some pretty derogatory remarks in the past about President Trump,” Mr Dutton said.

“As we know, Ambassador Rudd has as well.

“So presumably that will form part of the discussions that they have in Washington to explain whether or not that view has changed.”

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Minister said Australians should be “confident in our ability to work together to deliver on our interests.”

‘The Foreign Minister looks forward to visiting Washington next week for day one of the Trump Administration, pursuing shared interests with his new team,’ the spokeswoman said.

Mr Dutton said the difference between Labor and Trump on Israel was the bigger issue.

“I’ve had the opportunity to work with four US administrations, back to the Obama Administration and we were able to form very functioning, productive relationships,” he said.

“It was the reason we were able to do the deal on AUKUS with the US and the UK.

“But I think Penny Wong has been completely at odds with the US over a number of issues in recent months with regard to the Middle East as well.

“So, there’s a lot of repair work and I think the damage that Penny Wong has done to a number of relationships should be the focus of repair work over the balance of this term.”

Ms Wong previously lambasted the former Turnbull government for taking longer than five months to arrange a meeting between the leaders, meaning Mr Albanese has until June to meet Mr Trump to meet the foreign minister’s own standard, presuming Labor wins the election, which could be held any time between February and May.

In opposition, she said it was vital that the government stand up for “Australian values” when they were put at risk by decisions made by Mr Trump.