‘America-first steel’: Donald Trump spin doctor reveals the US always planned to hit Australian allies in tariff blitz | Samantha Maiden

Just before Donald Trump’s 27-year-old press secretary’s own tariff turmoil hit the headlines she gave away where Australia really stood, writes Samantha Maiden.

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 that the Trump White House does business, it was decidedly loose.

“He considered it, and considered it. There will be no exemptions,” Ms Leavitt 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.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s attempt at a tariff explanation became its own headline. 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.

Of course, it is American consumers that 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 affect 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.

Trade Minister Don Farrell holds a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“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 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, the US Trade Representative.

It’s not entirely clear exactly when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese learned it.

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.”

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.

Mr Trump is refusing Mr Albanese’s request for a follow-up phone call over the decision.

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump. Picture: Andrew Harnik /Getty Images via AFP

But asked why he had not had another call with Mr Trump after confirmation there would be no tariff reprieve, 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.

“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 former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s blow-up have on the entire affair?

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

Probably not much, although the Labor Party did suggest it was “unhelpful”.

Mr Turnbull begs to differ, suggesting that “sucking up” to the US President is not the answer.

“We need to have an honest conversation about this – the gaslighting has to stop,” he said.

“Ominously, former Australian Defence Force chief Admiral Chris Barrie has said this is the harshest wake-up call since the Fall of Singapore. We sleep through it at our peril.”

Originally published as ‘America-first steel’: Donald Trump spin doctor reveals the US always planned to hit Australian allies in tariff blitz | Samantha Maiden