US President Donald Trump has lashed out at an Australian reporter during a heated exchange at the White House, telling the journalist he was “hurting Australia” and that he would tell Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about it in their next visit.
ABC journalist John Lyons was on the White House lawn as Trump took questions ahead of his visit to the United Kingdom when Lyons asked the president questions regarding his business dealings.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Donald Trump threatens Aussie reporter in angry spray.
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“Is it appropriate, President Trump, that a president in office should be engaged in so much business activity?” Lyons said.
Trump said he was “really not” engaged with the businesses because “my kids are running the business”.
The president went on to ask the Washington-based journalist where he was from.
“In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me,” Trump said.
“You know, your leader is coming over to see me very soon.
“I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”
When the journalist attempted to ask the president another question, Trump cut him off, telling him “quiet”.
The ABC reported that Lyon’s questions were part of a Four Corners investigation into Trump’s business activities since his re-election.
Australian politicians have defended the journalist, with minister Clare O’Neil telling Sunrise that it is a journalist’s job to “keep politicians accountable”.
“Donald Trump got asked some of those tough questions, and it’s something that we see every day in the Australian media,” she said.
“The journalists are there to try to keep politicians accountable, and they’re entitled to ask difficult questions.”
Albanese and Trump have yet to meet since their re-elections, however a meeting looks likely to happen next week with the prime minister set to travel to New York to visit the United Nations General Assembly.
Trump praised Albanese as a “good man” after the two leaders held their fourth one-on-one phone call earlier in September.
The prime minister described his call with Trump as “really warm”.
A face-to-face meeting between the two leaders had been planned on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June but was cancelled after Trump returned to the US early to deal with the Iran-Israel conflict.
- With AAP
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