Washington: United States President Donald Trump has praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese following his re-election but ducked questions about whether he was partly responsible for the Coalition’s electoral rout.
“Albanese I’m very friendly with,” Trump told this masthead at the White House on Sunday evening local time (Monday morning AEST). “I don’t know anything about the election other than the man that won, he’s very good.”
President Donald Trump returns to the White House on Sunday.Credit: AP
Asked about Albanese’s description of Trump’s tariffs as “not the act of a friend”, and whether they would soon speak again about trade, Trump said: “I can only say that he’s been very, very nice to me, very respectful to me.
“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.”
He said he did not know whether he had an impact on the election result. Some analysts have suggested the Coalition’s declining popularity could be partly attributed to an association with the US president and his conservative policies.
Trump made the comments as he disembarked his Marine One helicopter at the White House after returning from his weekend home in Florida.
He gave no indication of whether he would speak to Albanese to congratulate him on his win, though that is customary.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Bar Italia, in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt, on Sunday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
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