Trump meets 20+ world leaders, but Anthony Albanese is left in the dark
More than 20 world leaders have met with US President Donald Trump since his inauguration in January. Anthony Albanese is not one of them.
NSW
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The Prime Minister has been accused of “deliberately” avoiding US President Donald Trump, as Australian officials seek updates on the major AUKUS deal while bracing for impact on looming export tariffs from the United States.
While Anthony Albanese is yet to secure a meeting with the White House, the leaders of more than 20 countries have already held official talks with the US President.
That includes the West African nations of Senegal, Liberia and Mauritania, plus Gabon and Guinea-Bissau which are both populated by just 2 million people.
Mr Trump has also held talks during his second term with the leaders of El Salvador, South Africa, Canada, Norway, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, the European Union, Ukraine, France, Italy, India, Japan and Jordan.
He also found time for a round of golf with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and managed to engage in two separate meetings with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Some leaders who have met Mr Trump have been able to secure vital trade deals, including Japan agreeing to invest $550 billion in the US economy in exchange for a flat 15 per cent tariff on all its exports.
The European Union has committed to buying $750bn in US energy and make new investments totalling $600bn by the year 2028. As a result, the EU will avoid a threatened 30 per cent tariff for a flat rate of just 15 per cent.
Australia, meanwhile, is in the dark over a Pentagon-led review into the $368bn AUKUS submarine pact, while Foreign Affairs officials remain unclear on the tariffs which will be imposed on exports in a matter of days.
The Trump administration has also announced new Ambassadors for more than 50 countries, including New Zealand, while our posting in Canberra remains vacant.
A senior US-based political source with knowledge of the White House’s operations has told this masthead it was “crazy” Mr Albanese had not yet secured a meeting with the leader of the free world.
“Look at the diary and the list of presidents and prime ministers who have been to the Oval Office.
“Tiny African nations having lunch with him. Keir Starmer and Great Britain has seen him twice.
“Seriously – why hasn’t Albo gone out of his way to make an arrangement? It is crazy” the source said.
Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the failing situation was no longer acceptable.
“It has been nearly 270 days since Trump won the US election and Anthony Albanese still has not met him. That is not just a delay. It looks like a deliberate decision” Ms Ley said.
“The pace of decisions out of Washington is accelerating. With global volatility rising, the Prime Minister cannot afford to sit back and hope for a quick chat on the sidelines of a summit.”
The White House was approached for comment.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister declined to answer specific questions, instead referring to Mr Albanese’s recent comments on Australia’s relationship with America.
Earlier this month when asked why he hadn’t secured a meeting with President Trump, Mr Albanese told the ABC: “We’re engaging. I’m available for a meeting.”
When quizzed about what tariff the nation would receive, the Prime Minister told reporters “we continue to argue our position, which is that these tariffs are unjustified, they’re an act of economic self-harm and that if we have reciprocal tariffs on Australia, then that rate should be zero. We’ll continue to advocate for Australia’s position.”
While he was opposition leader in January 2021, Mr Albanese took aim at then-prime minister Scott Morrison for being too close to Mr Trump, who was about to finish his first term in the Oval Office.
Mr Albanese accused Mr Morrison of “remaining afraid of the far-right extremist fringe-dwellers who make up the bedrock of his personal support - and who he cultivates through the avatars of Trumpists and conspiracy theorists like (former MPs) Craig Kelly and George Christensen.”
Mr Albanese, who recently returned from a week-long diplomatic trip to China, has previously confirmed he spoke on the phone with Mr Trump following his election victory earlier this year, while Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd also met the President in Florida in January.
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