Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will fly to the US on 20 October to meet with President Trump. Photo: Anthony Albanese Facebook.
It’s now confirmed that the long-awaited and much-anticipated first meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump will not happen after all during this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Despite Trump telling the ABC’s John Lyons last week – while chastising him for asking a perfectly reasonable question – that Albo was “coming over to see me” this week, Trump’s UN itinerary made no mention of a formal meeting between the two. This only left a brief meet and greet during a break in proceedings or at a social function as the only possibility that he would get in front of Trump.
It has now been confirmed that the PM will fly to the US on 20 October to meet with Trump at the White House.
Back home, the Federal Opposition’s continual bleating about the PM not having met Trump yet, and that it reflects poorly on the PM and on Australia has been exhausting.
In a joint statement earlier this week, Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash and Shadow Defence Minister Angus Taylor said the Coalition was hopeful that Albanese would “finally secure a bilateral meeting” with Trump this week.
“The United States is Australia’s number one investment and security partner,” they said.
“Despite this, it has been 317 days since Mr Trump was elected and Mr Albanese has still not met him face to face.
“When this leader-to-leader meeting is finally confirmed, it will be a critical opportunity to advocate for Australia’s national interest and the further strengthening of our alliance with the United States.”
But we all saw how Trump and his sycophantic cohort treated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his February visit to the White House, and how the President often goes off on tangential rants during meetings with other leaders about subjects that often have little or nothing to do with the meetings.
Vision of world leaders such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – whom no-one could accuse of being on the progressive side of politics – French President Emanuel Macron, EU President Ursula von der Leyen, and more recently, King Charles rolling their eyes or smirking during a Trump rant speaks volumes on how he’s regarded on the world stage.
And then there was his United Nations speech on Tuesday which, by most reports, was borderline unhinged!
So, is it really an imperative for Albo to meet with Trump? Apart from a photo op and maybe to give the Opposition one less thing to talk about, I would suggest there’s little to be gained by the Prime Minister joining the conga line of leaders queueing to fawn over Trump.
It’s unlikely the President will have been briefed to any great detail on subjects that are of substantive interest to Australia such as AUKUS, trade tariffs, the Quad and other regional security issues, Israel/Palestine, Ukraine/Russia, medication subsidies, and climate change.
But even if Trump was briefed and prepared, there is little the two leaders would seem to agree on politically.
Trump is essentially a climate change denier, he appears to have little regard for human rights or free speech, he continues to stymie efforts by the UN to force a halt to Israel’s occupation of Gaza, and he associates himself with many other policies that were once considered extreme.
If Albo continues to just smile and wave during a formal meeting and photo op, it will be at best mildly humiliating, especially if he is admonished by Trump for recognising Palestine, or for pushing back on tariffs, or for not spending enough on defence.
But if he stands his ground on these or any other points of difference, he risks being shouted down like Zelenskyy was. While this may make him look strong in the moment, it could further complicate the relationship if the thin-skinned President decides to double-down on policies that could hurt Australia.
As Allan Behm, the Australia Institute Special Advisor in International Affairs said in a recent podcast, “I suspect at the moment the best outcome for Albanese would be to say, ‘Look, I don’t think I really need a meeting with the President of the United States at this stage’, because the outcome will be determined more by the quality of the Big Macs and the Diet Coke than it will be by substantive matters.”
Trump’s America is not the same America with which Australia has enjoyed a long and deep relationship for more than a century. Whether Trump’s second term is just a four-year ‘blip’, or America and the relationship has been irrevocably changed forever, remains to be seen.
But for now, Australia can’t and shouldn’t view the relationship with the US as business as usual.
