Politicians from both sides in Australia have weighed in today on US President Donald Trump’s apparent stumble when he said he did not know what AUKUS was.
Trump was hosting visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House when the pair were asked by a reporter whether they’d be discussing AUKUS, under which Australia will acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
“What does that mean?” Trump replied.
After being told by the British journalist about the defence agreement involving the three nations, the US president said “we’ve had a very good relationship with Australia”.
Since Trump took office last month, the future of the AUKUS alliance, which Australia will spend $368 billion on to acquire a fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines by the 2030s has been under scrutiny.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told Today this morning he was sure the US president supports AUKUS, putting the slip down to confusion over acronyms.
“Not everyone, you know, gets the acronyms, and all the rest of it, but there’s no doubt in my mind that the president strongly supports the alliance between our three countries and strongly supports AUKUS.”
“He stated (his support) previously and the submarine deal, which we negotiated when we were in government when I was defence minister, will underpin the national security of our country for the next century. And it’s an important relationship.”
Senior government frontbencher Murray Watt also said he was unfazed about Trump’s slip-up.
“Obviously, President Trump has got a lot on his plate and lots to remember. And you’ll see that very quickly he was able to make the point about the strength of the relationship between Australia and the US,” Watt said.
“We’ve already seen both the Secretary of State and Secretary for Defence in the US talk about president Trump’s support for the AUKUS arrangements, so that’s what really matters, rather than whether someone remembers an acronym in the middle of a meeting.”
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent played a straight bat when 9News’ Jonathan Kearsley in Washington asked him if the president knows what AUKUS is.
Bessent replied: “I think we’re going to have to limit the questions to Americans who he can understand.”
Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Trump was well aware of the AUKUS alliance.
He was speaking as the Australian government made a $US500 million ($798 million) payment to Washington as part of the AUKUS deal.
One American politician said on Thursday that Trump should have been better briefed by his aides about the importance of AUKUS.
Congressman Joe Courtney, a Democrat who represents a district of Connecticut where the US Navy submarines are made, said on X the deal was vital for American jobs.
“POTUS talk to your Secretary of Defense who just received a $500M check from Australia as part of the AUKUS agreement. A great deal for America.”
The AUKUS pact was signed by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden to counter China’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
Australia, the US and Britain signed the AUKUS pact nearly four years ago, with the aim of maintaining a “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
Under the deal, Australia would purchase three Virginia-class submarines from the US and build five of a new AUKUS-class submarine in cooperation with Britain.
But there have been concerns over the US’s ability to produce nuclear-powered submarines for its own military needs, aside from its deal with Australia.
