Opposition Leader Bill Shorten denies he has endangered Australia's alliance with the US by suggesting Donald Trump could be difficult to deal with as president.
Mr Shorten insisted Labor was supportive of strong US ties and said it was a matter for American voters who they elected.
But he noted Mr Trump had gone on the record saying he wished dictators Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi were still around.
The Republican had also labelled Mexicans killers and rapists.
"The guy thinks differently to most Australians," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier scolded Mr Shorten for weighing into the US presidential race.
"It's a democracy. They have their own election, we should respect whomever they choose as a president," she said.
Ms Bishop called on Mr Shorten to explain exactly what would be difficult about Mr Trump.
She also insisted the US alliance was the bedrock of Australia's security and defence policies and slammed Greens leader Richard Di Natale who raised doubts over its the merits.
"Indeed the anti-Americanism we heard from Richard Di Natale is deeply concerning," she said.
Deputy Opposition Leader and Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek also weighed in on a potential Trump presidency, using the term "quirky" to describe the presumptive Republican nominee.
"I do note that Bill Shorten said yesterday he thought a Trump presidency would complicate our relationship," she told an audience in western Sydney on Wednesday.
"I think I'll just leave it there."
Unlike Mr Shorten's endorsement of a Clinton presidency, Ms Plibersek refused to comment on her preference.
"It's not for us to tell them who they should elect as president," she said following a speech at the Whitlam Institute at the University of Western Sydney.
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