The first meeting of Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull has taken place in New York, albeit three hours later than scheduled.
Trump reportedly personally called Turnbull to explain the delay to their meeting which was due to his first big win at Congress.
The POTUS spoke of his “love” of Australia and said he and our Prime Minister “Get along great. Always do.”
The pair touched upon the now-infamous January phone call. It was widely reported Trump berated Turnbull for the commitment he’d made with Obama for the US to take 1,250 refugees from Nauru.
The president said the refugee deal issue “has been worked out for a long time”, so looks like he’ll be honouring the deal.
Trump said the testy phone call was “a little bit of fake news”. “We had a good telephone call,” he said.
“We had a great call!” Turnbull piped in.
“You guys exaggerated that call. That was an exaggeration,” Trump told the media. “We had a great call. I mean, we’re not babies.”
“Young at heart, Donald,” Turnbull jokingly interjected.
Of course Trump couldn’t resist talking about fake news and social media in great detail (watch below).
Turnbull and Trump then attended a gala dinner commemorating the 75th anniversary of the battle of the Coral Sea at the museum, Lucy Turnbull and Melania Trump joining their respective husbands.
The POTUS also said he would “absolutely” visit Australia:
“That will happen. One of the great, great places. One of the most beautiful places on earth,” he said.
“I have so many friends there. I will be there. We will be there absolutely.”
Earlier: Trump snubs Turnbull by making him wait
Donald Trump has delayed his meeting with Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull in New York by three hours.
Trump was busy celebrating his healthcare bill win in Washington – he’s managed to pass a bill which will dismantle Obamacare i.e universal healthcare.
He hosted a lengthy press conference to announce the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, one of Obama’s biggest legacies.
Trump has now arrived in New York. He’s due to meet Turnbull at 7:15pm local time (9:15am AEST).
The original meeting was scheduled for 4:20pm.
It comes three months after Trump threw his proverbial toys out of the pram when he spoke to Malcolm Turnbull on the phone.
Political sources told The Washington Post that the first phone call between the two world leaders was anything but diplomatic, with Trump laying into the PM over the refugee deal between Australia and then-US president, Barack Obama.
The president was allegedly furious with Turnbull, accusing Australia of trying to export “the next Boston bombers” in the refugee deal with America, which involves a commitment for the US to take 1,250 refugees from Nauru.
He reportedly called it the worst deal ever” and he also slammed it publicly on Twitter, calling it “dumb”.
During the conversation, Trump reportedly informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day and that “This was the worst call by far.”
More on their first face-to-face meeting as we get it.
