Turnbull reignites Trump tit for tat despite trade worries
Malcolm Turnbull has made his third anti-Donald Trump foray in 24 hours, as Australia tries to clinch an exemption from trade tariffs.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull isnât backing down, insisting Australians shouldnât be scared of offending US President Donald Trumpâs âhuge egoâ, despite suggestions his criticism could jeopardise tariff negotiations.
âSurely we should be free to speak the truth,â Turnbull told ABC radio on Tuesday.
âOr are we going to muzzle ourselves for fear of offending Mr Trump?
âWhat every nation needs to do is to stand up to him, because otherwise itâs a slippery slope.â
Trump criticised Turnbull, who negotiated an exemption during the Presidentâs first term, with Americaâs 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports due to take effect on Wednesday.
The spray happened on the social media platform Truth Social, which is owned by Trump Media, on Monday afternoon (AEDT). It followed Turnbull giving a critical interview to the Bloomberg news service, branding Trump as rude, erratic and playing into Chinaâs hands.
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Turnbull lost the prime ministership in a Liberal leadership spill and was not voted out by the public.
He returned fire on Monday night, telling ABC TV that Australia had to be realistic about Trumpâs impact and warning China would take advantage of his âerraticâ behaviour.
On ABC radio on Tuesday morning, he re-iterated and added to his comments.
âHeâs a bully, he seeks to achieve dominance and he gets dominance by intimidating people,â Turnbull said.
âI talk about these issues and write about them all the time, so Iâve got no idea why Donald Trump suddenly decided to respond on the way he did.
âYouâd think heâd have better things to do late at night than writing abusive posts about Australian former politicians.â
Asked by Radio National host Sally Sara about the timing of his comments, Turnbull took aim at the ABC.
âIâm a little bit concerned by the way you raise this, too, because [7.30Â host] Sarah Ferguson did the same thing last night,â he said.
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âIt troubles me ⌠both of you are distinguished journalists on the ABC. Are you suggesting that we should engage in self-censorship in Australia for fear of offending the huge ego of Donald Trump?â
Turnbull said âevery week is a good week to tell the truthâ.
âYou know, the markets are being roiled, the world is being roiled,â he said.
âTrump has essentially switched sides and is now favouring (Russian leader Vladimir) Putin in the Ukraine conflict, right around the world. I mean, maybe you should send a memo to Mark Carney, the new Prime Minister of Canada, and ask him whether he shouldnât have criticised Donald Trump for trying to bankrupt his own country.â
Turnbull has previously said Trump is unpredictable and could not be trusted to take military action if Australia, long touted as a trusted and important US ally, was attacked.
With the US tariffs due to come into effect on Wednesday, it is still unclear whether Australia will be exempt.
Australia has argued it should be because it imports more from the US than it exports â the same argument Turnbull used successfully when he was PM during Trumpâs first term.
But Turnbull said the chances of another exemption were âvery, very lowâ as the administration regretted its previous exclusions.
âI think this time there will be no exemptions, and they will apply right across the board,â he said.
The federal government has downplayed Turnbullâs comments.
âMalcolm Turnbull is not a member of the government,â minister Amanda Rishworth told the Today show.
âOur government is absolutely focused on making sure that we are standing up for Australian exporters.â
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said while he didnât agree with Trumpâs analysis of Turnbullâs term, the focus should remain on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
âThe most important aspect now is not the tit-for-tat,â he told Sevenâs Sunrise program on Tuesday.
âThe Prime Minister needs to, frankly, roll his sleeves up and get this deal done so that workersâ jobs and the economic activity can be preserved.â
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