Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended Kevin Rudd in his role as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States in the face of recent explosive comments made by Donald Trump.
In a rowdy back and forth in Wednesday's Question Time sitting, the PM threw his support behind the under fire ambassador, after being asked by the Opposition if his posting would be withdrawn in the wake of him being labelled as"nasty" and"not the brightest bulb" by the former US president.
He argued Labor had never called into question similar political appointees to ambassadorship in the United States such as former Liberal treasurer Joe Hockey and Arthur Sinodinos. “He won’t be here long if that’s the case,” he said, upon being told Mr Rudd had called him a “destructive president” and a “traitor to the West” in his past term as US president.Mr Rudd’s continuation in the ambassadorial role could hang in the balance with the return of a Trump presidency, in a potential mirrored outcome to the fate of a United Kingdom ambassador posted to the US in 2019.
Kevin Rudd was appointed Australia's Ambassador to the United States by the Albanese government in March 2023. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images “Now, if Ambassador Rudd has been so reckless as to trash-talk a former president of the United States, who’s made it clear that he was going to run again, then I think that shows a lack of judgement on the ambassador’s part.
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