Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met US President Donald Trump at a reception for world leaders in New York on Tuesday night, hours after confirming a formal meeting in Washington DC next month. The encounter took place at the US president's welcome reception for the UN General Assembly, where Albanese posted a selfie with Trump on Instagram, captioning it: 'Good to chat with President Donald Trump at US welcome reception for world leaders attending United Nations General Assembly hosted by @potus and @flotus.'
The White House confirmed the pair's meeting for 20 October, marking Albanese's third trip to the US in six months. The formal sit-down was arranged after Albanese was initially left off Trump's schedule in New York. During the reception, Albanese was accompanied by his partner, Jodie Haydon, and discussed the upcoming meeting with Trump.
At the October meeting, Albanese and Trump are expected to discuss the Aukus nuclear submarine deal, Trump's demands for Australia to increase defence spending to 3.5% of GDP, and US trade tariffs. The news came after Trump used his UN speech to dismiss moves by allies, including Australia, to recognise Palestinian statehood, instead calling for the return of hostages taken by Hamas in the 7 October attacks.
Albanese responded to Trump's address, saying it was 'a great privilege' to hear his views. Trump's speech also criticised international climate change efforts as a 'scam' and mocked carbon footprint measuring as a 'hoax'. He warned countries against moving away from 'green energy', calling climate change 'the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world'.
Trump also criticised UN member states for not doing enough to support his peace efforts, questioning the UN's purpose. On migration, he warned countries were being 'ruined' by newly arrived populations, claiming some in the UK were seeking sharia law. Despite the UN's 80th anniversary, Trump's 57-minute speech included insults towards the organisation and his predecessors.
