Wake-up call to our starry-eyed leaders
BOB CARR
The Australian
12:00AM February 3, 2017
We know where we stand. Donald Trumps angry dismissal of Malcolm Turnbull is a damned healthy thing for gallant, gullible little Australia. It clears the air.
So much, for example, for the silly view that the Trump administration is an opportunity for Australia to get closer to the US, as if the election of a loudmouth nationalist to the White House was an invitation for us to become an even more rusted-on ally, signing up to send our forces into whatever conflict the new President chooses to dream up ...
A senior administration official acknowledged the conversation had been hostile and charged but to add insult to injury quickly added that Trumps calls with other foreign leaders, including those of Japan, France and Russia, had been productive and pleasant. That is, in contrast with the conversation with Prime Minister Turnbull. That a White House spokesman declined to deny the report confirms The Washington Posts story.
No US presidenthas spoken to an Australian prime minister like this, not even Richard Nixon in his White House meeting with Gough Whitlam ...
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/trumps-wakeup-call-to-our-starryeyed-leaders/news-story/a2b975d55fff8aeb0804ebbb2bf14f9d