Penny Wong and the Trump effect
One of the most significant diplomatic meetings for Australia since Labor returned to power was overshadowed today by Donald Trump's off-hand comments about Kevin Rudd.
Foreign minister Penny Wong’s get together with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the main committee room of Parliament House in Canberra today was one of the most important diplomatic meetings on Australian soil since the Albanese government came to power. Yet it was almost completely overshadowed, at least in local media coverage, by two other developments.
The first was former prime minister Paul Keating’s decision to accept his own meeting with Wang in Sydney on Thursday, despite being one of the harshest critics of Wong’s management of the China relationship. The second was Donald Trump's comments, in response to a leading question from former UK politician Nigel Farage, describing Kevin Rudd as a “little bit nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”. Trump said Rudd won’t remain ambassador to the US if his “hostile" language continues — presumably only if the former Republican president returns to power.
Major Australian news websites across the ideological spectrum were today emblazoned with Trump’s comments about Rudd. The issue also made it into Question Time, and Wong was forced to guarantee that the former prime minister will stay in the job if Trump is elected in November.
As Capital Brief unpacked last month, Rudd has launched a diplomatic onslaught by meeting numerous people in Trump's orbit, and the Australian government has grown increasingly confident that he can remain in the job under a possible Trump presidency.
