Key Points
- Donald Trump told reporter his questions are "hurting Australia" during tense clash.
- The US president has vowed to raise issue with Anthony Albanese at upcoming UN meetings.
- The ABC's John Lyons had pressed Trump on his business ties.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the Australian journalist who clashed with United States President Donald Trump was "just doing his job", as the reporter spoke out about the experience.
During a tense exchange on the lawn of the White House on Wednesday morning (AEST), Trump told the ABC's Americas editor John Lyons he was "hurting Australia".
"In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now," the president said.
"And they want to get along with me. 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."
Chalmers on Wednesday afternoon said he respected the ABC and its independence "and that extends to not second-guessing the questions asked legitimately by journalists at press conferences."
"Journalists have a job to do and as far as I can tell, that journalist was just doing his job in Washington DC," Chalmers said. "I don’t second-guess the decisions taken – the questions asked by journalists whether it is in DC or elsewhere."
Earlier while speaking to Radio National Breakfast, Lyons said Trump was in a "pretty feisty mood" and joked he would have to "brace himself" for when the US president "tells on me" to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
"I don't know what the prime minister will do, but I've certainly now got to go through that," he said.
The blow-up erupted when Lyons asked if it was appropriate for a US president to be engaged in significant business activities while in office.
"That was the point at which he lashed out," Lyons said.
"It's certainly not a typical day at the office to be given a serve by the most powerful man in the world at the moment."
Lyons said he had been researching Trump's business dealings, including his links to cryptocurrency, as part of an upcoming Four Corners program.
The journalist said he thought the exchange said a lot about Trump's relationship with the media.
"He's sort of at war at the moment with large parts of the media, that plays very well with his MAGA base," he said.
"He was in a pretty feisty mood."
Albanese is preparing to travel to New York in the coming days for the United Nations General Assembly meeting, where a face-to-face with Trump on the sidelines is a possibility.
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.
The UN's "high-level week" starts in New York on 22 September.
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
