America’s three blunt words after Aussie tariff bombshell

Two Australian reporters in the White House blindsided by Donald Trump’s tariff bombshell got a frank reason by the president’s 27-year-old press secretary.

US President Donald Trump’s 27-year-old press secretary Karoline Leavitt dropped the big news on two Australian reporters in her White House office around 5am Australian time.

After a press conference at the White House, Australian reporters Michael Koziol and Carrington Clarke wandered up the stairs to her office to try and find out what was going on with the US threat to impose trade tariffs.

In a sign of the intriguing way the Trump White House does business, it was decidedly loose.

“He considered it, and considered against it. There will be no exemptions,” she said.

The conversation was entirely verbal and she explained the refusal to exempt Australia was “American-first steel”.

“And if they want to be exempted, they should consider moving steel manufacturing here,” she added.

As is customary in the Elon Musk era, the news dropped onto his platform X via the news reports from those reporters who rushed to file shortly before 5.30am.

Ms Leavitt said Australia could only be exempted from Mr Trump’s tariffs if it moved steel manufacturing to the US, indicating a strong nationalist approach. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Earlier, Ms Leavitt had got into a heated back-and-forth with an Associated Press reporter where she had boldly tried to argue that slapping tariffs – taxes – on imports would be a “tax cut” for the American people.

“He’s actually not implementing tax hikes,” she said.

“Tariffs are a tax hike on foreign countries that have been ripping us off. Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people.”

The reporter responded by stating, “I’m sorry, have you ever paid a tariff? Because I have. They don’t get charged on foreign companies. They get charged on the importers.”

Ms Leavitt responded by saying it was “insulting” that he was testing her knowledge of economics.

During a heated exchange, Ms Leavitt argued tariffs would benefit American consumers by acting as a tax cut, a claim challenged by an Associated Press reporter. Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP

Of course, American consumers will pay the price of the US President’s tariff decision.

If Americans want to buy Australian steel and aluminium it will be more expensive.

Undeniably it will also hurt Australian exporters too, because it’s likely to impact demand.

Just two hours earlier, Trade Minister Don Farrell had learned the news at 3.30am.

He believes no exemptions were the United States’ plan all along.

“Today is a very bad day for our relationship with the United States,” he said.

“This is not the right way allies should treat one another.”

Australia’s ambassador Kevin Rudd got the news in a face-to-face meeting with the Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative.

Anthony Albanese on the phone with Donald Trump in February.

It’s not entirely clear exactly when Anthony Albanese learned the news.

Asked for the timeline of events, Mr Albanese told 3AW: “This morning when we were notified, we continued to argue our case even after there was a public reporting,” he confirmed.

What is clear is that the Trump tariff circus will now haunt the Prime Minister all the way to the election.

It’s an intriguing thought that if Mr Albanese had proceeded with his plan to call the election last Sunday the tariff decision would have blown up the third day of the campaign.

US President Donald Trump is currently refusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s request for a follow-up phone call regarding the tariff decision.

The incident raises questions about the lasting impact of former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s negative comments about Trump on current US-Australian relations.

The Prime Minister first spoke to Mr Trump about the tariff threat in February when he revealed he had a “very constructive” phone call with the US President, with Mr Trump agreeing to consider an exemption to tariffs.

But he asked why he had not had another call with Mr Trump after confirmation there would be no tariff reprieve, and Mr Albanese revealed it was not for want of trying.

Asked if he had tried to organise a second call with Mr Trump on tariffs, Mr Albanese revealed he had asked to do so.

“Look, we will continue to engage in all vehicles we have continued to put in a request for another discussion with President Trump,” he said.

Mr Albanese slammed Mr Trump’s big call on tariffs as “unjustified” and an act of “self-harm” as he revealed he would not engage in a game of tit-for-tat trade action.

And how much impact did Malcolm Turnbull’s blow-up have on the entire affair? 

Remember, he called President Trump a bully, thin-skinned and basically every other word under the sun.