Trump Officials Regretted Postponed PM Meeting
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- Jul 2
- 2 min read
The Trump administration has said it regrets postponing a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese — but still hasn’t locked in a new date, leaving things a little up in the air.
The much-anticipated face-to-face between Albanese and President Donald Trump was supposed to happen on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada in mid-June. But that fell through when Trump left early to oversee U.S. strikes on Iran.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, who’s currently in Washington for Quad talks with the U.S., Japan, and India, privately discussed the missed meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to Wong, Rubio expressed regret about the cancellation.
“He expressed his regret for the fact that the meeting had to be rescheduled and I obviously said we completely understood,” Wong told. “I think the world understood the president had a fair bit to do ahead of what was occurring in the Middle East.”
Since the G7, Albanese skipped the NATO Summit in The Hague, where Trump was actually present — so the two still haven’t had the chance to connect. And as of now, there’s still no confirmed date for when that meeting might happen.
Wong didn’t give anything away when asked if a new meeting was locked in:
“We are working together on rescheduling the meeting. We’re both looking forward to the president and the prime minister meeting.”
Meanwhile, top Australian ministers — including Wong, Deputy PM and Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers — have all made trips to the U.S. recently, reinforcing Australia’s continued engagement with Washington despite the delay.
But the lack of a confirmed meeting has started to raise concerns, especially with a few big issues straining the relationship:
The U.S. is pressuring Australia to raise its defence spending to 3.5% of GDP.
Trump has ordered a review of AUKUS — the trilateral security pact between the U.S., U.K., and Australia — a deal Albanese continues to defend.
And then there’s the ongoing issue of 50% tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium, which remains a sticking point in trade talks.
Wong, trying to keep things optimistic, said the review of AUKUS is “normal practice for a new administration” and downplayed concerns over the alliance.
Despite the tension, she reiterated that the U.S. remains Australia’s “closest ally and principal strategic partner.”
“We will continue to work together to further our important economic and security partnership and advance our mutual interests,” she said in a statement.
So while the missed meeting has raised eyebrows, both sides are playing it cool — at least publicly — and say they’re working toward getting Albanese and Trump in the same room. Eventually.
More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.
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