Turnbull says commitment to resettle refugees has been ‘confirmed several times’ as US and Australian commentators fear for future of alliance

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This article is more than 3 years old

The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has described Donald Trump as a “very big personality” after a bruising public spat over the US-Australia refugee resettlement deal.

Joe Hockey, the Australian ambassador in Washington, was called into the White House to see Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and chief of staff, Reince Preibus, for what was described as a “productive meeting”.

“They conveyed the president’s deep admiration for the Australian people,” a White House spokesman said.

The moves come after further statements from Trump and the White House spokesman, Sean Spicer, overnight that Trump is “unbelievably disappointed” with the deal and is entitled to review it and question why the Obama administration had agreed to it. But Spicer and Trump did not close the door on the deal.



On Friday morning Australian time, Turnbull told 2SM Radio in Sydney that as prime minister he had to stand his ground and make his case for Australian interests, but he had done so privately.

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Turnbull again denied that Trump had hung up on him during the pair’s 25-minute weekend phone call, saying it was a “frank discussion” that had ended “courteously”.

Asked if Trump was a brash character, Turnbull replied: “I’ll leave others to comment on him but he’s clearly a very big personality.”

Turnbull said Trump had given him a commitment to the refugee resettlement deal which had been “confirmed several times since”.

Trump thanked Turnbull on Twitter for “telling the truth about our very civil conversation that fake news media lied about”.

On Thursday the deal for the US to take up to 1,250 refugees from Australia’s offshore detention facilities on Manus Island and Nauru was thrown into doubt by Trump labelling it a “dumb deal” and questioning why the US was taking “thousands of illegal immigrants”.

Spicer said the refugees would be subject to an “extreme vetting” process to ensure they came with “peaceful intentions” and did not pose a threat to US security, indicating that the resettlement deal had not been scrapped despite the president’s outrage. Australian officials remain concerned it could be scrapped entirely or made effectively meaningless by the vetting process.

Spicer attempted to smooth over a report in the Washington Post that the phone call between Trump and Turnbull had been “the worst” of a round Trump had made, describing it as “cordial”.

Australian government ministers have tried to frame the spat as the prime minister standing up to Trump in a show of strength.

The defence industry minister, Christopher Pyne, told Channel Nine the refugee resettlement agreement was “not a deal Donald Trump would have done if he had been president at the time and he obviously doesn’t like the deal”.

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But he added a “deal is a deal” and Turnbull had stood up for Australia’s interests in ensuring that the US follows through on its commitment.

Australia’s opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said Trump “needs to show greater respect to Australia and the Australian alliance than he seems to be displaying”.

“On this one, I have some sympathy for [Turnbull] because quite bluntly I don’t think you can run the American-Australian alliance by Twitter,” he said.

Experts in US-Australian relations have warned Trump’s concern may lead to fewer refugees reaching the US, increased demands from Trump and a decline in the US-Australia alliance.

The response in the US to Trump’s handling of the refugee deal focused on the wisdom of picking fights with a staunch US ally. Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, tweeted:

Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) I made a Top 100 Possible Trump Administration Foreign Crises list & I gotta admit "Rupturing US-Australia Relations" was NOT on there.

Another Democrat, congressman Ted Leiu from California, wrote:

Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) As Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee-and as an American-I find this unhinged behavior by @POTUS to PM Turnbull embarrassing & shocking https://t.co/TY3VrrZ9qZ

Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) Dear Australia: The majority of Americans who don't support Trump want to say we are sorry. We will make it up to you in 4 years or less. https://t.co/K4FZvTkc80

Other commentators shared their surprise:

James Joyner (@DrJJoyner) Amazing. We could invade literally any country in the world tomorrow and the Aussies would be good for two brigades. No questions asked. https://t.co/pVnENVPfrt

Eric Geller (@ericgeller) Australia is one of our closest allies and a member of the Five Eyes surveillance community. Gotta wonder what the other three are thinking.

United States Studies Centre senior fellow at the University of Sydney, Tom Switzer, told ABC News Breakfast the emphasis on “extreme vetting” may indicate a “good chunk” of the 1,250 refugees may not resettle in the US.

Switzer said Trump took a “transactional” approach, suggesting he may ask for more from the Turnbull government in return for sticking with the resettlement deal.

“This controversy, although it might be resolved for now, may be a harbinger for the next four years,” he warned. “One thing that distinguishes Donald Trump from his post-world war two predecessors is that he places little faith in the US alliance system.”

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The Republican Speaker of the house, Paul Ryan, sought to reassure Australia it should not be worried about its relationship with the US. “I know your country well, I’ve met with your leaders continuously over the last number of years,” he said.



“So no, Australia is a very important essential ally, [and] it is going to continue to be [one].”

The Democratic minority leader of the house, Nancy Pelosi, said the US-Australian relationship was strong and she would contact Hockey to express support. “I’m hoping that the later characterisations of the call are really what stands between our two countries,” she said.

The senior Republican John McCain, a former presidential candidate, also called Hockey to reaffirm the alliance. “This in my view was an unnecessary and frankly harmful open dispute over an issue which is not nearly as important as the US-Australian cooperation and working together,” he said.

In a statement issued by his office, McCain said:

On 4 July 1918, American and Australian soldiers fought side-by-side at the Battle of Hamel. In the century that followed, our two nations struggled and sacrificed together in World War I and World War II, Korea and Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Those of us who took part in the conflict remember well the service of more than 50,000 Australians in the Vietnam War, including more than 500 that gave their lives. Today, Australia is hosting increased deployments of US aircraft, more regular port visits by US warships, and critical training for US marines at Robertson Barracks in Darwin. This deepening cooperation is a reminder that from maintaining security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region to combatting radical Islamist terrorism, the US Australia relationship is more important than ever. In short, Australia is one of America’s oldest friends and staunchest allies. We are united by ties of family and friendship, mutual interests and common values, and shared sacrifice in wartime. In that spirit, I called Australia’s ambassador to the United States this morning to express my unwavering support for the US.-Australia alliance. I asked Ambassador Hockey to convey to the people of Australia that their American brothers and sisters value our historic alliance, honor the sacrifice of the Australians who have served and are serving by our side, and remain committed to the safer, freer, and better world that Australia does far more than its fair share to protect and promote.

Kevin Rudd, the former Australian prime minister, told CNN: “The US-Australia relationship is big enough, old enough and ugly enough to cope with this snafu.”



Kim Beazley, a former Labor leader and Australian ambassador to Washington, told ABC radio: “Everybody who thinks that simply because we’re allies the conversations we have on the various issues we have between us are necessarily are all sweetness and light is somebody who knows nothing about the relationship.”

But Peter Jennings, director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, warned:

“Ordinarily you’d say that was very unexpected, but I just think we’ve got to be prepared for any contingency under the new presidency.”

In Australia some used Trump’s anger at the deal to question why Australia didn’t resettle its own refugees:

Chris Crouch (@thecrouchpotato) Here's a crazy idea, why doesn't Australia take the refugees