‘Kevin Works His Guts Out’: Albanese Backs Rudd After Calls for His Sacking

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has praised Ambassador to the U.S. Kevin Rudd in the wake of criticism delivered by President Donald Trump.

Albanese spoke publicly following his whirlwind trip to the U.S., which included his much-anticipated first meeting with the re-elected president.

“Thank you Kevin, and thank you for what you do,” he said.

“Outstanding. If there’s a harder worker ambassador, then please let me know and get them care, because Kevin works his guts out and he seems to know everyone in the U.S. system.”

Albanese said his meeting with Trump was “terrific” and “couldn’t have gone better.”

“He’s a friend of Australia,” he told the Today show.

The meeting helped facilitate an agreement between Australia and the United States to mine, process, and supply rare earths and critical minerals, with $13 billion (US$8.5 billion) in combined funding over the next six months.

The agreement caused shares to rise on the Australian Stock Exchange, with Northern Minerals up 9 percent and Arafura Rare Earths and Alcoa Corporation up 8 percent.

During a post-meeting media conference, Trump was asked his thoughts on Rudd once calling him a “traitor to the West.”

Albanese pointed out Rudd was sitting at the table, to which Trump addressed Rudd by saying, “I don’t like you either and I probably never will.”

The comments drew a laugh from the Australian delegation, and Rudd later apologised to the president off-camera.

Trump told him all was forgiven.

“It was pretty light-hearted,” Albanese told Nine, “and President Trump said, you know, all is forgiven—he volunteered that.”

Albanese and Rudd also met with members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)

Coalition Push to Oust Rudd

The comments come after the Coalition made a push to remove the former Australian leader from his ambassador role.

“When the ambassador is the punchline of the joke and the prime minister is actually laughing at him, I think it tells you all we need to know about the fact it’s probably not reasonable he continue in the role,” Opposition Leader Sussan Ley told Sky News Australia.

“I don’t believe he should stay in that role and to see the prime minister actually laughing at his own ambassador in the room when the president made a joke, I think it’s untenable.”

Albanese’s public support for Rudd came after Ley had openly called on the Australian leader to either “back or sack” his ambassador to the United States.

On the morning of Oct. 22, Rudd simply posted on X: “The U.S.-Australia relationship has never been stronger.”