Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emerged from his first face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump in a buoyant mood, joking he would use Trump's praise in election advertisements. The meeting, which took place in Washington, defied critics' expectations of a diplomatic disaster.
Trump lavished praise on Albanese, calling him a 'great prime minister' and Australia an 'amazing ally'. He waved away concerns over defence spending, climate action, and Palestinian recognition, and endorsed the Aukus nuclear submarine deal, calling for it to move faster. A major critical minerals agreement was also signed.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley criticised the meeting, noting that Albanese failed to secure further reductions in US tariffs, and that Ambassador Kevin Rudd was ineffective because Trump did not recognise his face. However, Trump later said 'all is forgiven' regarding Rudd's previous comments.
Albanese faced criticism from the Coalition for not arranging the meeting sooner, but Trump's warm reception appeared to neutralise those attacks. Questions remain over the Aukus deal, with US Navy Secretary John Phelan calling for 'clarification' on ambiguities, though Trump dismissed these as 'minor details'.
