Trump scares the s..t out of me: PM

The Coalition has accused Anthony Albanese of making ‘grossly irresponsible’ comments about Donald Trump after footage emerged of the Prime Minister saying he ‘scares the s..t out of me”.

The Coalition has accused Anthony Albanese of making “grossly irresponsible” comments about Donald Trump after footage emerged of the Prime Minister saying he “scares the shit out of me”.

Mr Albanese made the remarks in 2017 while he was opposition transport and infrastructure spokesman. The comments have sparked fresh concerns about Labor’s ability to maintain ties with the US in the event of a Republican win on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).

“We have an alliance with the US, we’ve got to deal with him (Trump), but that doesn’t mean that you’re uncritical about it,” Mr Albanese told a Q&A at Splendour in the Grass in July 2017, six months into Mr Trump’s first administration.

“He (Mr Trump) scares the shit 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.”

It comes amid fresh concerns raised by Greens leader Adam Bandt about the prospect of Mr Trump winning the US presidential election. Mr Bandt said Australia should review its alliance with the US if Mr Trump won.

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said Mr Albanese joined a long list of “ill-disciplined” Labor MPs who had made “reckless” comments about Mr Trump.

“There’s a 50-50 chance (former) president Trump will be elected to a second term this week – it’s grossly irresponsible for our Prime Minister to have made such reckless comments about our most important ally,” Senator Paterson said.

“Anthony Albanese joins a long list of ill-disciplined Labor MPs who have made gratuitous comments about Mr Trump that were never in our national interest. The PM must explain how he would work with a second Trump administration given these comments.”

Senator James Paterson in Parliament House. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Mr Albanese’s comments about Mr Trump risked Australia’s relationship with the US.

“Australians will need Anthony Albanese to demonstrate that he can work with whoever wins the US election, as Labor and Liberal governments have previously done with Republican and Democratic administrations,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Our alliance is too important to allow any personal opinions to impede the building of a strong, honest and effective relationship between leaders.”

The video emerged after Mr Bandt questioned whether Australia should review its ties with the US if Mr Trump were re-elected.

“I’ve been very critical of Donald Trump; I think Donald Trump is dangerous. I think he’s dangerous for the climate, dangerous for women, dangerous for people and dangerous for democracy,” Mr Bandt told Sky News.

Asked if he thought Australia should end the US alliance, Mr Bandt said: “If Donald Trump gets elected, we should be prepared to review our relationship with the US”.

“It’s an important relationship, and it’s a strong relationship, but it should be one where Australia should be able to make decisions in what’s in its own best interests,” he said.

“Donald Trump would be very erratic as a president and will be making decisions about what he perceives to be in the United States’ best interest.

“I’m actually very concerned about all the moves this government and previous governments have taken to join Australia at the hip (to the US), including outsourcing decisions about defence and about our foreign policy to the United States at a time when Donald Trump could become president.”

The Australian has approached Mr Albanese’s office for comment.