SYDNEY: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese rejected on Sunday questions about whether Australia’s ambassador in Washington was becoming a problem, after local media reported fresh remarks made about Kevin Rudd by US President Donald Trump.
Labor leader Albanese is a supporter of Rudd, a former Labor prime minister, who called Trump in 2020 “the most destructive president in history,” later deleting the comment from social media when he was appointed ambassador.
Albanese, who this week signed a critical minerals deal with the US at a summit in Washington, has endorsed Rudd as doing a “fantastic job” as envoy, describing comments by Trump at the summit that he does not like the ambassador as “light-hearted.”
On Sunday local media reported that Trump, on Friday night Washington time, said of Rudd: “I think he said a long time ago something bad. You know, when they say bad about me, I don’t forget.”
Asked on Australia’s Seven Network television if Rudd’s role was becoming a problem, Albanese said: “No, it’s not.”
