UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Anthony Albanese at the G7 … but the meeting with the US president was a no-go. Photo: Anthony Albanese Facebook
Anthony Albanese and his Cabinet are downplaying the snub the Prime Minister got from the US president at the G7, but after all the hype in the lead-up to the planned bilateral chat, it’s an embarrassing turn of events for the Federal Government.
Donald Trump left the G7 Summit in Canada immediately after the leaders’ dinner on Tuesday (Australian time) and gave no prior notice that he wouldn’t be meeting the Prime Minister.
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said he was returning to Washington “to attend to many important matters” and took to social media to explain the early exit.
“President Trump had a great day at the G7, even signing a major trade deal with the United Kingdom and Prime Minister Keir Starmer,” she wrote on Twitter/X.
“Much was accomplished, but because of what’s going on in the Middle East, President Trump will be leaving tonight after dinner with Heads of State.”
Moments before that Tweet went out, Mr Albanese was telling reporters how much he was looking forward to meeting with the President.
“I look forward to the meeting and I look forward to it taking place,” the Prime Minister said.
Once he got the real word, however, the PM has since played it down.
His office says it is “understandable” given the current developments in the Middle East, and that the Australian Government is also “very concerned” about these developments.
Defence Minister and Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles also used the term “completely understandable” to describe the US President’s return to Washington sooner than expected.
“This is essentially the American President needing to deal with what is obviously playing out in the world today,” Mr Marles said.
“We feel very confident about where the relationship is going with the Trump Administration.
“We understand the circumstances of this moment, and I’m sure that in the not-too-distant future, you’ll see a meeting between the two leaders.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers also showed no signs of surprise when asked about it.
“This was always a chance of happening given what’s happening around the world, particularly in the Middle East,” Dr Chalmers said.
“I don’t think it’s especially surprising. I do think it’s understandable given the events that are unfolding in a really dangerous part of the world.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong also came to the PM’s defence.
“We were amongst a number of countries whose bilateral meetings were not able to proceed because of world events,” she said.
“And in particular, regional events in the Middle East required Trump’s attention. We understand that.”
But while Opposition Leader Sussan Ley agrees the situation might be understandable, she says the Prime Minister should have been trying harder sooner to secure a meeting with Mr Trump.
Not relying solely on an international summit would have been a better plan to pursue, she suggested
And failing to meet with the President is Australia’s loss.
“Given the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, this decision is understandable but to the detriment of Australia,” Ms Ley said.
“This was an important opportunity for the Prime Minister to seek assurances on AUKUS and protect Australia from tariffs.
“The Prime Minister should have been more proactive in seeking to strengthen this relationship — Australia’s most important — and we encourage him to change his approach to advance our national interest.”
During a later photo shoot later in the day, Mr Trump was asked about his early departure from the summit.
“I have to be back as soon as I can,” he said.
“You probably see what I see and I have to be back as soon as I can.”
The early exit meant Mr Trump had to also cancel meetings with some other leaders attending the summit, some of whom, however, he had met with before.
The President appeared to express his support for AUKUS when asked about it during a joint press conference with Mr Starmer.
The US has initiated a review of the trilateral submarine agreement.
This morning’s meeting (Australian time) would have been Mr Albanese’s first face-to-face meeting with the President, although they have had three phone calls together.
There is no word yet on when the meeting might be rescheduled.
