Former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull says leaders must stand up to bullies after being lashed by Donald Trump
Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said leaders should ânot give in to bulliesâ after he was lashed by Donald Trump in a late-night social media post.
Taking to Truth Social platform just before midnight Sunday night in Washington DC, the US president said Turnbull led Australia from âbehindâ and did not understand China.
âMalcolm Turnbull, the former Prime Minister of Australia who was always leading that wonderful country from âbehindâ never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so. I always thought he was a weak and ineffective leader and, obviously, Australianâs [sic] agreed with me!!!â
The post appears to be in response to an interview by Turnbull with Bloomberg in which he said Trumpâs chaotic leadership style would benefit China, to the detriment of the US.
âPresident Xi will aim to be the exact opposite of Trump: where Trump is chaotic, he will be consistent. Where Trump is rude and abusive, heâll be respectful. Where Trump is erratic, he will be consistent.â
Turnbull said the world was seeing an âundilutedâ version of Trump in his second term, and that his capricious behaviour would be seen as advantageous for Chinaâs president, Xi Jinping, in international relations.
For countries forced to choose between âChina on the one hand, and Trump on the otherâ, many would âfind China a more attractive partnerâ.
Contacted by the Guardian, Turnbull said his commentary on Bloomberg âspeaks for itselfâ.
âHis [Trumpâs] post proves that my comments hit the mark,â the former prime minister said.
Speaking to Sarah Ferguson on ABCâs 7.30 on Monday night, Turnbull described Trumpâs comments as ârude and abusiveâ and doubled down on comments the US president was driving countries closer to China.
âIf Trump abuses them, seeks to bully them, puts crippling tariffs on them, they will naturally edge closer to China,â the former prime minister said.
But Turnbull also argued that being âsycophanticâ towards Trump would not get a desired outcome for leaders around the world either.
âThe reality is – if you suck up to bullies, whether it is … global affairs, or in the playground, you just get more bullying.
âI mean, are we just going to become just a conga line of sycophants creeping through the White House, paying homage to this guy and telling him heâs a genius? Itâs ludicrous!â
Turnbull also said he believed Trump regretted offering Turnbullâs government an exemption on steel tariffs in 2018 âbecause then he had to give somebody else an exemption and … and before too long, too many countries had an exemptionâ.
Turnbull said he believed America would not grant the exemption this time.
âAnd you know, there has been an attempt to set Albanese up to fail on something that he was most unlikely to succeed in,â he said.
Speaking on ABC RN Breakfast on Tuesday morning, Turnbull said Australia should be âfree to speak the truthâ about Trump, rubbishing suggestions it was unwise to criticise the US president as the government scrambles to secure an exemption to the steel and aluminium tariffs, due to be imposed on Thursday.
âAre you suggesting that we should engage in self-censorship in Australia for fear of offending the huge ego of Donald Trump? Turnbull replied when asked if it was ârecklessâ to publicly criticise Trump as the tariffs loom over Australia.
âIs that really the state that weâve got to? Surely we should be free to speak the truth. Or are we going to muzzle ourselves for fear of offending Mr Trump?â
Trump and Turnbull have history. The pair shared an acrimonious phone call in 2017 over the US-Australia refugee swap deal, which had been negotiated by Trumpâs predecessor, Barack Obama.
Trump said it was a bad deal and accepting it would make him look like a âdopeâ.
âI have had it. I have been making these calls all day and this is the most unpleasant call all day. Putin was a pleasant call. This is ridiculous,â Trump said shortly before the call ended.
But at other times, the pair have appeared friendly. Turnbull has said previously Trump would mention Kerry Packer every time they met, even during a meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Turnbull was prime minister from 2015 to 2018. He did not lose office at an election but rather through an internal Liberal party spill, when he lost the leadership to Scott Morrison.
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