Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese sign critical minerals deal in chummy first White House meeting
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has walked away from his long-awaited White House meeting with an $8.5 billion critical minerals deal and some effusive praise from US President Donald Trump.
In a 35-minute sitdown, Trump referred to his visitor repeatedly as a friend and seemed to throw his support behind the AUKUS deal but declined to budge on Australia's tariff levels and took a swipe at former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who was also in the room.
After multiple attempts to meet in person over the past months, Albanese and Trump shook hands outside the White House on Monday morning (early Tuesday AEDT) and sat down in the cabinet room surrounded by Trump's top secretaries.
Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump meet at the White House. (X/@AlboMP)
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