‘What does that mean?’ AUKUS alliance safe despite Trump stumble
Anthony Albanese has downplayed suggestions the AUKUS alliance was under threat after Donald Trump appeared to not know what it was.
Australian politicians, including Prime Minister Albanese, are playing down an apparent bungle that appeared to reveal US President Donald Trump doesn’t know anything about the AUKUS defence pact.
When asked by a British reporter ahead of a meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House whether the two leaders would be discussing AUKUS, Mr Trump responded “what does that mean?”
Under the deal, Australia will spend up to $368 billion to obtain nuclear submarines through a partnership with the US and Britain.
After being prompted about what AUKUS was, Trump said the submarine deal would be discussed and that “we’ve had a very good relationship with Australia”.
Later on Friday, Albanese said there were a “lot of acronyms” in politics, and pointed out that Trump also spoke positively about the US’s “really important and positive relationship” with Australia.
“There’s a lot of acronyms in this business and we all get thrown at them from time to time,” he said.
“Donald Trump … [also] wanted to speak about the really important and positive relationship with Australia.
US President Donald Trump met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Image: Carl Court/Pool via AP
Earlier, Employment Minister Murray Watt dismissed concern about the US president not knowing immediately what AUKUS was.
“I wouldn’t make too much about a president with a very full plate not remembering one acronym. I think all of us go through that sort of thing at different times,” he told ABC Radio on Friday.
“You’ll see there that he was able to say very quickly about the strength of the relationship with Australia and the fact that AUKUS will be something he’ll be discussing with the British prime minister.”
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Australia paid the US almost $800 million in February as part of the first payment of the AUKUS deal.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the Australian alliance with the US was still strong.
“Not everyone you know gets the acronyms, and all the rest of it, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the president strongly supports the alliance between our three countries and strongly supports AUKUS,” he told Nine’s Today program.
“He stated that previously and the submarine deal … will underpin the national security of our country for the next century.”
