US President Donald Trump has described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a friend and praised his election win, before also admitting he had “no idea” who ran against him.
Key Takeaways
- US President Donald Trump has praised Anthony Albanese’s weekend election win, but says he had “no idea” who the new Prime Minister’s opponent was.
- Trump told the SMH he was “very friendly” with Australia’s Prime Minister.
- Prime Minister Albanese confirmed he had a call with the US President, saying it was a “warm discussion”.
Key Background
US President Donald Trump says that Australia’s re-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is “very good”, while admitting he didn’t know who opposition leader Peter Dutton was.
“I can only say that he’s been very, very nice to me, very respectful to me,” Trump said.
“I have no idea who the other person is that ran against him, and, you know, we [Albanese and I] have had a very good relationship.”
Albanese confirmed he’d spoken with Trump in his first press conference post-win, saying the leaders spoke about AUKUS and Trump’s US tariffs.
Crucial quote
“I won’t go into all of the personal comments that he [Trump] made but it was very generous in his personal warmth and praise towards myself,” Albanese said of the call. “He was fully aware of the outcome and he expressed the desire to continue to work with me in the future.”
Big numbers
10% – The tariff Trump imposed on Australian goods entering into the US. Albanese, who asked for an exemption but was denied, has said this figure is “unwarranted”, though the country has fared relatively well compared to China, which is facing tariffs of up to 145%.
$150 billion – that’s the estimated total value of US imports impacted by Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, covering raw materials and consumer products such as sporting goods and electronics, according to Bloomberg.
What to watch
Albanese said he’d be heading to Indonesia first to meet with President Prabowo, adding that the relationship there is “important”. He’d also accepted an invitation from newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, to attend the G7 Summit in June.
Tangent
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, who tried to mirror Trump’s election campaign with his Trumpet of Patriots party, failed to win a single seat at the 2025 federal election, despite splashing $60 million on ads. Palmer, who’s worth an estimated $3.4 billion, said he didn’t mind too much, adding that he earns more than that [$60 million] “every couple of months”.
