Kevin Rudd emerges after anti-Trump videos surface

Kevin Rudd has opened up about the US-Australia relationship after a warning from a senior Trump adviser and calls for him to resign.

Kevin Rudd has issued a statement about the “close and special friendship” between Australia and the US.

The message comes as Dr Rudd has faced an onslaught of calls for him to resign from his post as Australia’s Ambassador to the US, and a warning from a senior advisor in Donald Trump’s team.

“Australia and the United States share a close and special friendship. It’s a bond that has strengthened across generations and across the political aisle in both countries,” he said in a statement, shared on social media platform X.

“And it will continue to prosper in the years ahead.”

Australia and the United States share a close and special friendship.

It’s a bond that has strengthened across generations and across the political aisle in both countries.

And it will continue to prosper in the years ahead.

Last night I hosted our annual Friends of Australia… pic.twitter.com/u98BgVCP9u

— Kevin Rudd AC (@AmboRudd) November 14, 2024

Photos from the annual Friends of Australia Caucus Dinner at the Embassy showed Dr Rudd rubbing shoulders with Congressman Andy Barr, Senator Pete Ricketts, Congresswoman Susie Lee, Congressman Joe Courtney, Congressman James Moylan and fellow Australian Joe Hockey.

The US-Australia relationship is going from strength to strength.

It was a pleasure to host the annual Friends of Australia Caucus Dinner at the Embassy. pic.twitter.com/2g6EG2qw54

— Kevin Rudd AC (@AmboRudd) November 15, 2024

It comes after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended Dr Rudd, saying he was “doing a good job”.

“That’s been recognised across the political spectrum in Australia by people from Tony Abbott to Malcolm Turnbull to Peter Dutton and obviously the Australian Government,“ he said on Friday.

Earlier, a new video of Dr Rudd exclaiming about the “American predisposition to episodic craziness” came to light.

Kevin Rudd in the newly-resurfaced video in which he mocks Donald Trump’s intelligence.

The footage shows Dr Rudd giving a lecture in Switzerland for the Asia Society in 2022.

“Never take a backwards step in saying we’re allies with the United States,” Dr Rudd told the audience.

“For all the American predisposition to episodic craziness … Look at Trump: how did that happen? That was a walk on the wild side for all of us.”

The lecture was delivered just nine months before Dr Rudd was appointed as Australia’s ambassador to America.

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Dan Scavino, a senior adviser to the President-elect, issued a sharp message for Dr Rudd as calls intensified for Canberra’s top diplomat to step down.

He reposted Dr Rudd’s recent social media post of congratulations to Mr Trump with an image of sand running out in an hourglass.

Mr Scavino was later named by Mr Trump as his deputy chief of staff in his new administration, and was described in a statement as “one of President Trump’s longest serving and most trusted aides”.

It came after former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Mr Trump would “not forget” Dr Rudd’s attacks, who called him a “village idiot” and the “most destructive” president in history”.

Dan Scavino. Picture: Getty Images/AFP

Dan Scavino’s post on X.

Labor leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, have continued to back Mr Rudd as ambassador.

“Kevin is doing a great job as our ambassador and that is our focus … He could not be doing a better job in terms of representing Australia’s interests,” Mr Marles told Sky News.

Labor has maintained the US cannot dictate to the Australian government as Mr Marles emphasised the Australia-US alliance transcended individuals.

“It’s transcended politics in both of our countries for many decades, and we are confident about the place of the alliance under a future President Trump,” he said.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton refused to confirm on Wednesday if he would keep Dr Rudd on as ambassador if he won the next election.

Mr Dutton said his “objective was to put Australia first” when he was asked about Dr Rudd’s precarious grip on the plum Washington job.

Mr Spicer heaped further pressure on Dr Rudd, who is less than two years into his four-year appointment.

“Donald Trump doesn’t forget these comments,” Mr Spicer told Sky News.

Mr Spicer drew a parallel between Dr Rudd’s remarks and Mr Trump’s move to deny senior US Republican figures Nikki Haley and Mike Pompeo roles in his new administration.

“You saw how he kind of thanked Ambassador Haley and Secretary Pompeo for their previous service and said they will not be utilised in this next administration,” Mr Spicer said.

“It’s just a further sign that Donald Trump may say the polite things to you in public, but he will not forget.”

Kevin Rudd deleted past tweets he'd posted about Donald Trump. Picture: Twitter/X

Sean Spicer. Picture: Getty Images

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Dr Rudd with fanfare in December 2022, saying he would be a “major asset”.

The former Prime Minister is an expert on China, having earned a doctorate from Britain’s prestigious Oxford University for his 420-page thesis on Chinese president Xi Jinping.

However, Dr Rudd has been perceived by some as a liability, with Mr Albanese forced to defend him twice in less than a week over his attacks on Mr Trump.

Liberal Party powerbroker Michael Kroger said Dr Rudd was now compromised if he stayed in his role.

“No other ambassadors will want him at their events and Republican politicians will not meet him,” he said.

Mr Kroger said it was up to Dr Rudd to resign, with Mr Albanese unlikely to want to lose face by calling him back.

Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. Picture: Twitter/X

He said that Dr Rudd had failed to read the mood in the United States before Mr Trump won in a landslide over last-minute Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.

Mr Dutton was pressed on his views about Dr Rudd on Wednesday, saying it was important he “worked under our country’s name”.

“My responsibility, my objective is to make sure that we put Australia first and that we get the best possible outcome for our country, and we can do that if we’ve got a good relationship between the ambassador, our highest ranked official in the United States, or whatever country it might be, and the government,” he told ABC Radio.

Dr Rudd has reportedly approached former Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison for advice about how to deal with the Trump administration.

“Kevin Rudd has that role, he has a term to finish and then, following that term, that’s an issue for the government of the day to decide,” Mr Dutton said.

Originally published as Kevin Rudd emerges after anti-Trump videos surface