Scott Morrison ramps up his rhetoric on Donald Trump

Scott Morrison has made a thinly veiled swipe at outgoing US President Donald Trump over the ­recent deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.

Scott Morrison and Donald Trump in Ohio in 2019. Picture: AFP

Scott Morrison has made a thinly veiled swipe at outgoing US President Donald Trump over the ­recent deadly insurrection by his supporters at the US Capitol.

The Prime Minister on Monday ramped up his criticism and called out “things that were said” to incite the violent riots on the US Congress, without directly naming Mr Trump.

Mr Morrison, who had previously declined to comment on Mr Trump’s role in whipping up the crowd, told 2GB the US was going through a “very terrible time” and he was looking forward to the country “uniting and moving on”.

“The things that were said that had encouraged others to come to the Capitol and engage in that way were incredibly disappointing, very disappointing, and the outcomes were terrible,” he said.

“But I think what’s more important now is not for me to provide lectures to anybody.”

As rioters descended on the US Capitol on January 6, Mr Morrison joined other world leaders in condemning the violence, but stopped short of directly calling out Mr Trump’s role, declaring “it is not for me to offer commentary on world leaders”.

When pressed whether Mr Trump, who has falsely claimed the November election was marred by widespread voter fraud, held some responsibility for undermining democracy and inciting some of the chaotic scenes, Mr Morrison said he would not comment.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese pushed harder, directly accusing the President of stoking the violence and describing it as an “effective insurrection”.

“There is no doubt that both the words and actions of Donald Trump have encouraged this activity. It is a real concern,” he said.

Mr Morrison on Monday also defended claims that he was “close friends” with Mr Trump, declaring he had worked with the President as was customary between the two allies.

Mr Morrison reiterated the importance of the bilateral relationship and confirmed the government had been doing a lot of work “behind the scenes”.