Donald Trump will support AUKUS deal if returned to White House: ‘It’ll be a bedrock of defence’

Donald Trump’s last National Security Adviser has heaped praise on AUKUS and said it would find a lot of support in the next US Administration if the former President is re-elected in November.

Robert O’Brien was the fourth National Security Adviser to work for Trump and served in the role between 2019 until 2021.

US sources say it is possible that he would be appointed to work in a Trump White House again, likely in the same role, should Trump beat Kamala Harris when Americans go to the polls in just 67 days.

Asked by The Nightly if AUKUS would enjoy the same level of support by the Republicans, as it has under Joe Biden who claims authorship of the ambitious scheme to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, he lavished the project with praise.

“AUKUS is great,” he said, speaking at an event hosted by the London think-tank Policy Exchange.

“It’ll find a lot of support in the Trump Administration.

“It’ll be a bedrock of defence and peace and security in the Indo-Pacific for many years to come whether it’s a Democrat or Republican President — it makes sense.”

His comments are the strongest to date from Trump proxies in support of the program, which will see Australia initially purchase three Virginia-class boats from the United States with the option to buy two more from the early 2030s.

And they directly repudiate doubts cast on AUKUS by one of his potential rivals for any Trump Administration job Elbridge Colby who told this masthead earlier this year that he would not have signed off on the idea had he been National Security Adviser.

Colby has since moderated some of his comments but is part of a growing chorus sounding doubts about the plan for Australia to buy US boats and then co-design a new generation fighter submarine called SSN-AUKUS.

Other critics include former Labor and Liberal Prime Ministers Paul Keating and Malcolm Turnbull who both argue that acquiring the submarines from the United States compromises Australia’s sovereignty and makes the country too dependent on the United States for its national security.

Mr Keating also argues that basing UK and US submarines out of HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, near Perth, makes Australia a target for China.

Mr Turnbull, whose government signed the original deal to acquire diesel-electric boats from France, is also doubtful that the United States will ultimately sign off on granting Australia the boats because the Navy’s production is already behind schedule.

AUKUS was announced in 2021 by Turnbull’s successor Scott Morrison, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and outgoing US President Joe Biden meaning after the US election, all of AUKUS’ original authors will have finished their terms.

Biden has repeatedly claimed credit for drawing up the deal but Mr O’Brien said this would not matter to any incoming Republican administration.

“I don’t think there’s any pride of authorship issue on AUKUS,” he said.

“We’re not like the Democrats — the Democrats came in and anything that Trump did they rescinded. Whether it was good or bad.”

Earlier this year Mr Morrison visited Trump and emerged from the meeting saying the former President had given the defence technology transfer agreement a “warm reception”.

Mr O’Brien praised Morrison’s work but at the same time lamented that the biggest concern with Aukus was in the way in which the deal was announced, essentially humiliating the French on the world stage.

“Australia has some wonderful Advocates, like Scott Morrison, who are advocating for AUKUS,” he said.

“We were probably a little too harsh with the French when we signed up AUKUS,” he said

“But aside from the rollout, I think it’s a great strategic initiative.

“It’ll be great for Australian national security and American national security so I think that’s something that will be embraced and be stronger long into the future.”