Trump Discusses China Threat With Ex-Australian Prime Minister: Morrison
The previous president has held a string of comparable conferences with different present and former world leaders.
The Chinese language Communist Celebration’s (CCP) continued aggressions within the Indo-Pacific have been a current matter of dialog between former President Donald Trump and former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the latter has revealed.
In a Might 15 social media put up, Mr. Morrison stated he was “happy to fulfill with” President Trump the night time earlier than at Trump Tower in New York.
“It was good to catch up once more, particularly given the pile-on he’s at present coping with within the U.S.,” he stated, referencing the 4 prison indictments and different civil lawsuits the previous president is at present keeping off.
Mr. Morrison went on to say that they’d mentioned AUKUS—the trilateral safety partnership between Australia, the UK, and the USA—and “the persevering with assertions of China within the Indo-Pacific and the threats towards Taiwan.”
“These have been points we mentioned repeatedly once we have been each in workplace,” he stated. “As soon as once more, the previous President confirmed his true appreciation of the worth he locations on the Australia-U.S. alliance and the shared position of supporting what our buddy, Shinzo Abe, referred to as a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Mr. Abe, the longest-serving Japanese prime minister in historical past, was assassinated on July 8, 2022.
Mr. Morrison shared a photograph of himself and President Trump from their reported assembly alongside the replace.
The Epoch Occasions has contacted the Trump marketing campaign for remark.
His go to additionally marks the most recent in a collection of personal conferences President Trump has just lately held with each present and former world leaders.
Final month, the previous president met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, British International Secretary David Cameron, and former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. He additionally reportedly spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the telephone.
The high-profile conferences come amid the forty fifth president’s bid to defeat incumbent President Joe Biden and reclaim the White Home this November.
By assembly with President Trump, some overseas leaders might be signaling who they suppose will emerge victorious from that dust-up.
However requested if he thought his go to with the presumptive GOP nominee may antagonize the Biden administration, President Duda rejected the concept.
“I’m not afraid as a result of presidents meet with their colleagues, particularly those that used to carry the president’s workplace of their international locations. This can be a regular observe; there’s nothing particular about it,” he informed reporters forward of the April 17 assembly.
“The presidents additionally meet totally different politicians throughout their overseas visits. It’s regular that when two international locations have good relationships, they need to have good relations with totally different sides of the political scene.”
That view was echoed by U.S. State Division spokesman Matthew Miller, who stated there was nothing uncommon about overseas leaders assembly with a presidential nominee.
“We now have seen over the course of years of American elections the place overseas governments interact with the nominees of main events right here, simply as American diplomats and American leaders usually interact with overseas opposition leaders,” he stated.
The previous president maintains that the prison prosecutions he’s going through are all a part of a scheme directed by President Biden to thwart his presidential bid.
The president and different administration officers have denied these allegations.
Naveen Athrappully, Janice Hisle, and Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.