If Trump wants to be a bully on the world stage, he needs victims; and a bully is only as good as his reputation — so his victims must be humiliated by the telling of their humiliation, either in a tweet or, as in this case, a background briefing to The Washington Post.

Infuriating for Turnbull, it didn't have to be Australia. The Trump team could have just as easily slipped the name of any other leader into their account of how tough the new president is.