Donald Trump has savaged Malcolm Turnbull as a weak leader after the ex-Prime Minister told Daily Mail that can’t rely on the US to defend us against China.
The US commander-in-chief has used his Truth Social platform to attack Mr Turnbull, who was in power during his first term in the White House.
‘Malcolm Turnbull, the former Prime Minister of who was always leading that wonderful country from “behind,” never understood what was going on in China, nor did he have the capacity to do so,’ President Trump said.
‘I always thought he was a weak and ineffective leader and, obviously ns agreed with me.’
President Trump’s character attack on Truth Social was posted after Mr Turnbull warned Daily Mail the US may not defend militarily in the event of China attacking our shores.
‘You cannot assume anything about Donald Trump – it’s part of his brand to be unpredictable,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘Yes, he’s very transactional. I would hope that the United States would always come to our aid under the ANZUS treaty if we were attacked in the Pacific.
‘But Mr Trump has made it very clear, it’s part of his brand, part of his style, to be less predictable and he has certainly been prepared to take on allies.’
Asked to respond to the attack, Mr Turnbull told Nine Newspapers: ‘I’m a quivering leaf.’
The NATO treaty requires all its signatory nations, including the US, UK, Germany, Canada and France, to react militarily if any of its 32-member countries are invaded.
But under the 1951 ANZUS treaty, Americans are only required to consult if another country attacks us, but not necessarily send in troops.
‘Mr Trump is deliberately unpredictable – that’s his style. We cannot assume that the US would come to our aid,’ Mr Turnbull told Daily Mail .
‘The obligation in the event of one party being attacked is to consult – there is no obligation to act.’
In 2018 Mr Turnbull banned Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from installing the National Broadband Network, shortly before he resigned as PM and was replaced by Scott Morrison.
This was a policy the first Trump administration later adopted.
The Trump administration is unlikely to give a reprieve from 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium when they come into force on March 12.
Mr Turnbull was able to secure tariff exemptions in 2018 on n steel and aluminium exports, based on the argument that the U.S. had a trade surplus with where n bought more goods and services from the Americans than they bought from us.
President Trump’s attack on Mr Turnbull also followed a Bloomberg TV interview with a China-focused program in Sydney that was broadcast on Monday afternoon.
‘The big risk to us is not so much tariffs on n exports, like steel and aluminium, but rather a slowdown in the global economy, in particular the Chinese economy which is the destination for much of our exports,’ he said.
Mr Turnbull also slammed President Trump for abandoning traditional allies like Europe.
‘Trump does not subscribe to the same values that we in the past have shared with America,’ he said.