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July 12, 2025
DFAT Claims of sensitivity around POTUS encounter
IT WAS January 2025, and Donald Trump was days away from his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.
On Australian soil, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had already moved to election footing, travelling to key electorates in what was seen as an unofficial start to the campaign.
But the looming inauguration - and Mr Albanese's decision not to attend, instead sending Foreign Minister Penny Wong - sparked fierce criticism from the opposition.
The Coalition argued the government had not moved quickly enough to forge a relationship with the President-elect, and suggested US ambassador Kevin Rudd - who had previously made disparaging remarks about Mr Trump - might not be up to the task.
When Mr Albanese was asked about the topic on ABC radio on January 17, he batted away concerns, saying he was "confident" in Ambassador Rudd, who had "been in direct contact" with Mr Trump, which had been "very positive".
When pressed for further details and asked, "Did he actually go to Mar-a-Lago?" the Prime Minister deflected.
"Oh look, I'll leave that detail to go through to the keeper. What we'll do is, what we do is we engage diplomatically."
Now, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has cleared things up - but it's unclear why it took so long.
In February, Coalition frontbencher James Paterson asked DFAT officials a string of questions at estimates, including where and when the meeting took place, whether it was a prescheduled, sit-down meeting, who organised it, whether any photographs were taken, whether there was a read-out from the meeting, and how long it went for.
"We will take it on notice," Senator Wong, DFAT secretary Jan Adams and deputy secretary Elly Lawson each said, an aggregate 14 times.
The department has now answered the questions in writing, confirming that Mr Rudd and Mr Trump had a "pull-aside meeting" in the dining room of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 11.
"A diplomatic cable was produced," the response said. "Ambassador Rudd has professional relationships with and has met with a range of senior administration officials."
Senator Paterson seized on the update to attack the government on Friday, saying the response - months after the meeting and the federal election, and with Australia awaiting Mr Trump's decision on a potential tariff exemption - left further questions unanswered.
"The Albanese government's sensitivity about Kevin Rudd's encounter with President Trump at a Florida golf course is bizarre and raises further questions," he told The Canberra Times.
"How long did this supposed meeting go for? Was it prearranged, or was the President ambushed? What was discussed? Did it go well? And has the ambassador been able to secure a single meeting at the White House since? At a critical time in our most important relationship, the government must come clean about what happened at the Trump International Golf Course."
The Prime Minister hit back, saying he had already addressed the issue.
"The Opposition needs to decide whether they are going to continue undermining our national interest or whether they'll join Team Australia," he said on Friday."
"What we need from them is less hyperventilation and more concentration on what Australia's national interest is."
Mr Albanese had a meeting scheduled with Mr Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Leaders' Summit last month, but it was cancelled after the President left early following Israel's attack on Iran.
Senator Paterson told Channel 7's Sunrise on Friday morning it was "certainly in Australia's national interest that the Prime Minister meet the President, and we have been urging him to do so for seven months now, and he's ignored our advice".
"And it's hopefully good news that Kevin Rudd met with him in January, but actually, we don't know," he said.
Comment has been sought from DFAT and the Prime Minister's office.