Politics

Trump lets fly about Turnbull phone call again

Feb 04, 2017

The drama continues as they two leaders battle out the refugee deal.

It seems the drama surrounding prime minister Malcolm Trunbull’s, sorry Turnbull’s, phone call with Donald Trump isn’t over yet.

Just days ago, the US president was reported to have slammed his chat with our PM as “the worst call by far” and later called the refugee deal “dumb”.

Last night though, Trump sent out a tweet to his millions of social media followers saying he was thankful to Turnbull for speaking the truth about their call and blasted media that had reported otherwise.

“Thank you to Prime Minister of Australia for telling the truth about our very civil conversation that FAKE NEWS media lied about. Very nice!” he wrote on his Twitter page.

Thank you to Prime Minister of Australia for telling the truth about our very civil conversation that FAKE NEWS media lied about. Very nice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017

The turnabout comes after Trump reportedly ended his call with Turnbull 35 minutes early and accused Australia of trying to “export the next Boston bomber”.

After years of enjoying a cushy relationship as allies, it appears our friendship with the US is heading into rocky territory.

Trump has already issued an executive order banning immigration from a number of Muslim countries and instating what he calls “extreme vetting” for all immigrants.

Even if Trump eventually decides to honour the deal to take 1250 refugees from Manus Island and Nauru, there is no guarantee they will make it through the vetting process.

While the spat has angered some Aussies, others say Trump is only doing what he promised and putting security and national interest above all else.

While his opponents have been horrified by his actions since he took office, there’s no denying his supporters are thrilled.

But what about poor old us? Australia has given a lot to the US over the past decade and more, namely through our commitment to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Don’t we deserve to reap the benefits of the relationship? Or should we just have to deal with the idea that America might not be willing to play nice anymore?