United States President Donald Trump says he does not forget when people "say bad" about him, casting doubt on his forgiveness of Kevin Rudd.
Rudd, Australia's ambassador to the US, was caught in an awkward exchange with the US president on Tuesday over derogatory online comments he made about Trump before he was appointed by Albanese to the diplomatic post.
Rudd tried to apologise for the now-deleted social media comments, but was quickly cut off by Trump, who said "I don't like you either".
After the meeting concluded, Rudd was overheard apologising to Trump off-camera, with the US president reportedly replying "all is forgiven".
However, as he was leaving the White House for Asia on Friday night (Saturday afternoon AEDT), Trump indicated he did not forget his critics.
During a meeting at the White House, Rudd was caught in an awkward exchange with the US president over derogatory online comments he made before he was appointed as ambassador about Trump. Source: Getty / Anna Moneymaker
"I think he said a long time ago something bad.
"When they say bad about me, I don't forget."
Trump's dressing-down of Rudd sparked fierce criticism from Opposition leader Sussan Ley, who said Rudd's position as ambassador was "untenable".
However, hours later, she watered down her language and refused to repeat the calls for Rudd to be sacked.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended Rudd, saying he was an "outstanding representative" of Australia who "works his guts out" in Washington.
Trump flags new Australian ambassador
On Friday night, Trump was also asked why he had not yet picked a new US ambassador to Australia, a role which has been vacant since Caroline Kennedy left in November 2024.
Trump said he had "one or two people" in mind but did not reveal who they were.
"Your leader [Anthony Albanese] was just here, and he's a great guy, and I'm going to make sure we have somebody that he likes," he said
"Here's the good news, everybody wants to be ambassador to Australia."
