Critical minerals deal: Former leaders praise Anthony Albanese for 10 out of 10 meeting with Donald Trump
Malcolm Turnbull has led the praise for Anthony Albanese ranking his meeting with Donald Trump “10 out of 10”.
The former prime minister was among current and former politicians to congratulate Mr Albanese on his diplomatic success in Washington.
“Trump lavished Anthony Albanese with praise and Albanese lavished back without appearing sycophantic,” Mr Turnbull said in an opinion piece after the meeting.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“He maintained his dignity with charm and good humour. It was definitely a 10/10 in diplomatic and political terms.”
Fellow ex-Liberal PM Scott Morrison also echoed Mr Turnbull’s praise but labelled the US commitment to AUKUS “not surprising”, adding its importance was “rightly acknowledged”.
“AUKUS has now been confirmed by 2 US Presidents, 3 UK PMs and 2 Australian PMs. This is all very welcome, together with the announcement on critical minerals and rare earths,” Mr Morrison said.
“The alliance is strong and vital to Australian and US national interests and stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
Former Labor leader Kim Beazley said he believed Mr Albanese would be “delirious”. “I think he’d be very happy indeed,” he said.
Mr Beazley said while there was anxiety with how the Trump administration viewed Australia, the meeting showed the US President was “totally happy” with “where we all sit on that relationship”.
Former US Ambassador Arthur Sinodinos said despite the focus on Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd’s past comments, both sides handled it well.
Mr Sinodinos said Mr Trump was in “gracious mode” and Mr Albanese “handled the meeting well”.
“He was courteous, he was civil, and he was nice without being obsequious. So, I think it worked,” Mr Sinodinos told Sky.
Former WA Premier Colin Barnett described Mr Rudd’s previous comments about Trump as “very stupid” but claimed “too much has been made” of them.
“I had a lot to do with Kevin over the years. He’s an interesting person, somewhat volatile,” Mr Barnett told Sky News.
“I think too much has been made of some of the comments he made. I mean, they were very stupid comments.”
He said Mr Rudd should exit the role when his term expires.
“I think his term runs out sometime in the first half of next year. I think he should just finish his term and then (have) a different ambassador appointed to the United States,” Mr Barnett said.
