Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed Australia's ambassador to the US, former prime minister Kevin Rudd, after the latter's tense exchange with Donald Trump in a landmark meeting yesterday.
Albanese told Today this morning that it was a "warm meeting" conducted across several hours, which ended in an $8.5 billion critical minerals deal as well as Trump's vocal backing for the AUKUS agreement.
"He's a friend of Australia," Albanese said.
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However, the meeting hit a sour note when Trump was asked about since-deleted comments Rudd made online prior to his ambassadorial appointment, in which the former PM said Trump was "destructive" and "a traitor to the West".
"I don't like you, and I probably never will," Trump said to Rudd at yesterday's meeting, prompting laughter.
Albanese confirmed reports Rudd had apologised to Trump for the comments once the cameras were off.
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"(Trump) said, 'he looks like a good guy, is he a nice guy?', I said 'he is a nice guy' ... and he said, 'oh well, all is forgiven'," Albanese said.
He said Rudd would fulfil his four-year term as ambassador, praising his "magnificent" work on Capitol Hill and slamming the federal opposition for demanding his removal.
"Ambassadors don't meet leaders. I don't meet ambassadors and neither does President Trump," Albanese said.
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"But Kevin Rudd has met every single member of Congress, I think. And he is well-liked on the Hill and he gets things done."
He said Trump's rebuke was "pretty light-hearted".
"It says something about how important we place our relationship with the US that we appointed a former prime minister (as ambassador)," Albanese said.
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