Opinion
At last, Donald Trump has finally said something that all Australians (minus one) can agree on!
Donald Trump has declared Kevin Rudd “not the brightest bulb” and suggested the former Labor prime minister wouldn’t be welcome in Washington as ambassador under a second Trump presidency.
In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, to be aired in Australia by Sky News, the former president said he had heard Mr Rudd, who last year succeeded Arthur Sinodinos as the government’s man in the US capital, was “a little bit nasty”
Then the Donald pulled out one of the biggest put-downs in his personal arsenal.
“He won’t be there long if that’s the case … I don’t know much about him,” Mr Trump told Mr Farage during the interview.
Coming from Trump, that’s a very particular jibe. The implication, of course, is that Trump knows everyone who’s worth knowing. If he doesn’t know them, then…
More pointedly, the affair raises the whole issue of who on Earth thought Rudd was ever going to be diplomat material. KRudd, as he was quickly dubbed by Australians, is not exactly known for his ability to get along with people. Like Anthony Albanese, Rudd thought he could safely sneer at someone they cosily assumed they’d never have to work with.
Mr Rudd has unleashed on Mr Trump repeatedly in public, calling him a “a traitor to the West” and guilty of “rancid treachery” over his role in as recently as February 2022.
Yet, here we are, with Trump certain to clinch the Republican nomination for November. Rudd’s words, like Albanese’s, will likely come back to bite him. Trump neither forgets nor forgives a slight easily.
“If he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long,” Mr Trump, who is all but certain to become the Republican party’s nominee for president, added.
Mr Trump’s remarks were the first time he has commented publicly on Mr Rudd and could signal a rocky path for Canberra-Washington relations should Mr Trump be re-elected president in November.
On the plus side, Rudd is such a tiny, if annoying, bug that Trump probably won’t even be bothered squashing him.
Joe Hockey, who developed a good relationship with Mr Trump as Australia’s ambassador, and Mr Sinodinos both told The Australian in January that Mr Rudd was likely to survive a Trump presidency.
“I think if Donald Trump is elected, on day one he will have a long list of people that he will want to seek vengeance against. And Kevin Rudd is not one of them,” Mr Hockey told The Australian in January.
The Australian
But, Labor will insist on handing out cosy sinecures to their old boys. His colleagues can’t be blamed, perhaps, for wanting him as far away from Australia as possible. Unfortunately, it’s as likely to work out in the national interest as well as allowing former PMs to get on the payroll of CCP-owned companies.
For their part, the opposition are showing the sort of diplomacy Rudd and Albanese could take a lesson from.
Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley says she wants to see Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd “do well” in his role given he represents the country’s national interest in the US […]
“I’m going to follow my usual practice, which is not to comment on US domestic politics. But I do want to say this, Kevin Rudd is our ambassador, so we want him to do well because he represents Australia’s national interest in the US,” Ms Ley said.
“I think members of the Albanese Government might reflect, however, that commenting on another country’s domestic political situation is not a good idea. Clare O’Neil, the Home Affairs Minister, also made commentary about the US and certain personnel and it’s just not very smart. So I think they would be reflecting on that today.
The Australian
Unfortunately, “not very smart” is Labor’s middle name.