Why Australia being off conversation list on Trump day one was not a bad thing

Australia did not rate a mention on day one of Donald Trump’s second term – and that is not a bad thing.

ANALYSIS: Australia did not rate a mention in Washington DC on day one of Donald Trump’s second term. And that, as his first moments back in the Oval Office reminded us, is not a bad thing.

While the President sparred with reporters, officials back in Canberra were likely holding their collective breath. Was he about to end AUKUS? Hit us with tariffs? Make a territorial play for the Northern Territory to shore up Pine Gap?

In the end, Australia was not a topic of conversation, although perhaps Mr Trump was referring to America’s allies down under when his tariff plan was raised. While he said universal tariffs remained a live option, he pointed out that there was a small number of countries who were not ripping off the US – his way of saying they had trade deficits.

Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th US President in the US Capitol Rotunda in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump did not name them, but Australia is on that list, and our longstanding trade deficit is precisely the Albanese government’s argument to protect our exports to the US.

So perhaps that was a glimmer of good news. Nevertheless, Mr Trump’s off-the-cuff riff would have jolted our diplomats right back to his first term, when his views on issues of paramount geopolitical importance were regularly shaped by the last person in the room with him, and then often immediately disclosed if he was asked in public.

Australia’s alliance with the US traditionally has two pillars: trade and defence.

On the first, as mentioned, Anthony Albanese and his team will have to be on their toes to spare our exports from tariffs.

On the second, while Mr Trump’s personal views on AUKUS remain a mystery, his top officials have reassuringly offered their strong backing for the pact.

US President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump arrive for the inauguration ceremony where Donald Trump will sworn in as the 47th US President. Picture: Melina Mara/Pool/AFP

With Joe Biden, the Prime Minister added a third pillar to the pact: climate and clean energy. That one is in trouble now. Just as he did eight years ago, the President immediately withdrew the US from the Paris accord, up-ending the global push to reduce emissions.

Mr Trump can barely make a speech without complaining about windmills killing whales. He might have a “perfect friendship” with Mr Albanese, as he says, but they won’t be bonding over renewables.

Originally published as Why Australia being off conversation list on Trump day one was not a bad thing