Trump calls Turnbull 'weak' as Albanese government braces for bad news on tariff exemption

[Social Media]

 

Donald Trump has lashed Malcolm Turnbull as a "weak and ineffective leader" in an extraordinary personal attack on the last Australian prime minister to obtain a tariff exemption from the United States in 2018.

 

The outburst from Mr Trump appeared to be in response to an interview Mr Turnbull gave to Bloomberg Australia in which he described the US president as "chaotic, rude, abusive and erratic" and warned his poor treatment of allies would ultimately benefit China, at a time when the two major powers are vying for influence.

 

"Malcolm Turnbull, the former prime minister of Australia who was always leading that wonderful country from 'behind', never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so," Mr Trump wrote in a late-night post on social media platform Truth Social.

 

"I always thought he was a weak and ineffective leader and, obviously, Australians agreed with me!" Mr Turnbull later doubled down on his critique of Mr Trump, telling the ABC's 7.30 it was up to the leaders of friendly countries, like Australia, to stand up to the US president and to be frank with voters about the fact that the world had changed.

 

He also said the idea of allies having to "suck up" to Mr Trump or join "the conga line of sycophants creeping through the White House" to avoid punishing tariffs was ludicrous. "The impact that Trump is having on the world, on the Western alliance, on markets, on our economies — I mean, these are matters that we have to talk about," he told 7.30.

 

"We cannot continue this bipartisan gas-lighting that is going on at the moment." Mr Trump and Mr Turnbull famously clashed in 2017 over a refugee resettlement deal Australia had signed with Trump's predecessor Barack Obama.

 

But this latest skirmish comes at a highly sensitive time for the Albanese government as it seeks to secure a carve-out from a mooted 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium tariffs, due to take effect on March 12. In a phone call with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last month, Mr Trump promised to give "great consideration" to Australia's request for an exemption and at the time, cited the fact that the US has a trade surplus with Australia.

 

Trade Minister Don Farrell has indicated the government is emphasising the point "extremely forcefully": that Australia buys $70 billion worth of goods from the US, while the US buys $30 billion in good from Australia. However, as the tariff deadline looms, the government is growing increasingly pessimistic about its chances.

 

Based on a report by ABC News  2025-03-11