Anthony Albanese refuses to answer question over previous comment made about Donald Trump

Anthony Albanese was left looking like a deer in headlights when a bold question about Donald Trump stopped him in his tracks.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese found himself under heavy fire on Tuesday as he faced relentless questions over his relationship with US President Donald Trump.

The Prime Minister was pushed by reporters on relations with the US while he was at an event promoting Labor’s $8.5b fund for Medicare bulk-billing at the Flinders Medical Centre in the Adelaide.

Mr Albanese had reportedly failed to land a third phone call with the controversial US leader as Australia braces for the impact of fresh tariffs, which prompted a change in tack from Medicare to the precarious state of the Australian economy under the new US administration.

One reporter brought up old comments from the Labor leader where he admitted that Donald Trump “scared the sh*t out of him”.

In 2017, Mr Albanese was sitting on a panel at Splendour in the Grass while serving as Labor’s transport and infrastructure spokesman when he let slip his real thoughts on the US billionaire.

Asked how he would “deal with Trump” at the time, Mr Albanese replied: “With trepidation.”

“Well, you’ve got to deal with who is elected,” he said, six months into Mr Trump’s administration.

“We have an alliance with the US, we’ve got to deal with him, but that doesn’t mean that you’re uncritical about it.

“He (Trump) scares the sh*t out of me and I think it’s of some concern the leader of the free world thinks that you can conduct politics through 140 characters on Twitter overnight.”

The reporter tried to extract something personal out of Mr Albanese by reminding him of those comments but was immediately swerved.

“Prime Minister, you’ve previously said that Donald Trump ‘scares the sh*t out of you’, are you still frightened about those things?” the reporter asked.

Anthony Albanese was left looking like a deer in headlights when a bold question about Donald Trump stopped him in his tracks.

Mr Albanese refused to answer the question and simply said he had a “constructive relationship” with Mr Trump.

The reporter doubled down and pushed him for specifics, but Mr Albanese refused to bite and repeated his words again.

The Prime Minister insisted he had made Australia’s arguments for tariff exemptions known in two previous phone calls with Mr Trump.

“What happens is that phone calls come together when things are agreed,” he said.

“When we spoke about tariffs in Australia, I put the position very strongly to him, one-on-one.

“I didn’t pitch up the theoretical free and fair trade versus tariffs, because he has a clear position on that one. It’s one I don’t agree with, but it is one that he took to an election and he is pursuing,” he said.

“We have different positions on Australia’s position. I put to him that the United States has an interest in that relationship with Australia, because it has two for one.”

Mr Trump’s impending announcement of sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” is due Wednesday, ominously dubbed “Liberation Day” by the White House.

The move follows the recent imposition of a 25 per cert levy on steel and aluminium imports, a prelude to the anticipated broader trade offensive.

The US Trade Representative’s latest grievance list casts a shadow over Australian exports, citing prohibitions on imported meat and fruit products, as well as restrictions affecting streaming services and social media companies, placing Canberra squarely in Washington’s crosshairs.

The US Trade Representative’s 2025 report has also raised tensions by putting a spotlight on Australia’s prohibitions on importing uncooked American beef, pork, and poultry products, as well as apples and pears.

Concerns have also been raised about Australia’s plans to impose local content requirements on streaming services like Netflix and the implementation of the News Media Bargaining Code, which mandates that digital media giants compensate news organisations for content. Those grievances have set the stage for a potential escalation in trade hostilities.

Mr Trump’s impending announcement of sweeping ‘reciprocal tariffs’ is due Wednesday, ominously dubbed ‘Liberation Day’ by the White House. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)

The timing of trade tensions is causing headaches for Albanese, who is fighting tooth and nail to argue his case with the Australian public before the nation heads to the polls in May.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton agreed the PBS, biodiversity requirements on beef, poultry and pork imports and the News Media Bargaining Code should be off the table.

He gave the Prime Minister’s credit for standing up for Australia’s interests but used the opportunity to implore to Australians to vote for the Coalition.

“I agree with the Prime Minister’s permission and I will stand up for our country’s interests everyday if I’m given the honour of being prime minister of this country,” he said.

“I’m not going to compromise in relations to issues of national significance to us.”

However Mr Dutton could not be moved to blame President Trump if Australia is slammed with tariffs.

“The President of the United States is going to stand up for America, I’m going to stand up for Australia,” he said.