Kevin Rudd in ‘traitor Donald Trump’ U-turn
Australia’s US ambassador says he could work with a re-elected Donald Trump, who he attacked last year as a ‘traitor’.
Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, says he could work with a re-elected Donald Trump – who he attacked last year as a “traitor” – if the “good burghers” of the United States put the Republican frontrunner back in the White House.
Dr Rudd, who is in Canberra for the unveiling of his prime ministerial portrait on Thursday, said he had worked “comfortably and seamlessly” with congressional Republicans and with former members of the Trump administration since his arrival in Washington in March.
“Our job as the Australian Embassy in Washington is to work with both sides of the aisle,” Dr Rudd said.
“What the good burghers of the United States choose to do in their own electoral process is a matter for them.”
The former Labor prime minister said he was confident Republicans would support the transfer of nuclear submarines to Australia, despite the party’s threat to scuttle the deal unless Joe Biden boosts funding for domestic sub construction.
Dr Rudd added that the business of congress was a “complex process of sausage making” that would ultimately “end up with a sausage”.
“This actually is normal. This is what happens when legislation goes through the United States congress,” Dr Rudd said.
His comments came after the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, ruled out language to authorise the nuclear submarine transfer in the nation’s annual defence policy bill.
Senator Wicker said the Biden administration needed to “be sure we have enough submarines for our own security needs before we endorse that pillar of the (AUKUS) agreement”.
The prospect of a Trump victory in November next year is seen as a risk to the AUKUS plan, given his unpredictability even when dealing with allies.
Dr Rudd made clear in February last year – before he knew he would become ambassador to the US – what he thought of Mr Trump, describing the ex-president as a “traitor to the West” and accusing him of “rancid treachery”.
Dr Rudd said he was using his position as ambassador to lobby the Biden administration on behalf of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who the US is trying to extradite to face charges over the leaking of hundreds of thousands of classified documents.
He said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent declaration in Australia that Mr Assange’s actions “risked very serious harm to our national security” were unsurprising.
“That’s to be anticipated from the administration, reflecting their concerns about the history of the case. We in Australia have our own concerns that we continue to reflect,” Dr Rudd said.
The ambassador on Wednesday released a new report by The Tech Council of Australia, Microsoft and LinkedIn revealing US technology workers are crucial to the growth of Australia’s tech ecosystem.
It found 4000 US tech alumni transitioned to Australia each year, delivering a $2.2bn annual contribution to the economy.
One in five Australian tech graduates are employed by an American firm, and half of Australia’s successful start-ups are started or scaled with US tech-experienced talent.
Donald Trump is a traitor to the West. Murdoch was Trump’s biggest backer. And Murdoch’s Fox Television backs Putin too. What rancid treachery. https://t.co/HyrvRaj1rY
— Office of Kevin Rudd, 26th PM of Australia (@MrKRudd) February 27, 2022
Not quite as bad as Gough but it’s close
The Albanese government provides no rationale or narrative for its disconnected actions. Everything is spin. We’ve seldom seen a government this poor in such critical fields at such a dangerous time.
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