What was supposed to be a moment of diplomacy turned icy when Donald Trump discovered that one of the leaders present had previously called him names.
The uncomfortable exchange unfolded during Trump’s Washington meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, immediately after the two leaders signed an agreement on rare earth minerals.
The 79-year-old president claimed to have no idea that Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the United States and former prime minister, had criticized him while working with the independent think tank the Asia Society years earlier. Huge lie!
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In 2020, Rudd described Trump as “the most destructive president in history.” According to the Daily Mail, when a journalist from Sky News Australia asked about Rudd’s past comments, the president initially claimed ignorance.
“I don’t know anything about him. If he said something bad, maybe he’d like to apologize,” Trump responded.
Then he turned to Albanese with growing suspicion: “Did an ambassador say something bad about me? Don’t tell me. Where is he? Is he still working for you?”
Albanese, laughing nervously, pointed across the table to Rudd, who bravely had raised his hand.
Trump then demanded confirmation: “Did you say bad?”
Before Rudd could finish explaining with “Before I took this position, Mr. President,” Trump cut him off. “I don’t like you either, and I probably never will,” the president declared.
The confrontation left the room shocked and ironically Rudd had tried to prevent exactly this kind of situation.
After Trump’s election victory in November 2024, Rudd scrubbed his personal website and social media channels of all critical comments about the incoming president. In a statement, Rudd said he wanted to “eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his positions as Ambassador and, by extension, the views of the Australian Government,” according to NDTV.
Despite those precautions, the past caught up with him in the most uncomfortable way.
Daily Beast readers weighed in with one noting, “Trump doesn’t like to hear the truth.”
President Trump welcomes Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) to the White House. pic.twitter.com/RsddzkRUw4
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 20, 2025
Another applauded Rudd’s comments, writing, “The ambassador deserves a Presidential Medal of Honor with Oak Leaf clusters.”
A third chimed in, “No! No! Give him a Nobel! We all know how donnie taco epstein would LOVE that!” a dig at the president’s obsession with the award given to President Barack Obama in 2009, which a little over a week ago again was not awarded to Trump.
When the story reached Threads, reactions continued.
“Sorry donny .. everyone hates you,” one person said, as another added, “Does he realize how many people think that?” Another person focused on the reaction in the room, “The look on everyone’s faces said it all.”
Rudd is not the only person on Trump’s enemies list.
The White House confrontation represents just one front in Trump’s ongoing battles with critics.
The president has pursued aggressive retaliation against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully sued him for inflating his net worth and asset values.
After a Virginia grand jury indicted James on charges totaling just under $20,000 related to a property purchase, she spoke out forcefully. “This is nothing more than a continuation of the President’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James stated. “These charges are baseless, and the President’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.”
Trump had previously fired U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert after he declined to indict former FBI director James Comey following an investigation that found no evidence of wrongdoing. The hastily appointed successor to Siebert, Lindsey Halligan, secured an indictment against Comey days before the statute of limitations on the charges was set to expire last month.
The president also targeted Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries with a deepfake video posted to Truth Social that mocked both Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The artificial intelligence-generated clip drew widespread condemnation as lawmakers faced a midnight budget deadline with no deal in sight.
Perhaps most disturbing was Trump’s response to nationwide No Kings demonstrations protesting authoritarian tendencies in his administration.
The president posted a video depicting himself wearing a crown, piloting a fighter jet labeled “King Trump,” and dropping what appeared to be excrement onto demonstrators in New York City. The grotesque imagery specifically targeted footage from the New York demonstration, incorporating real clips of left-wing influencer Harry Sisson. The AI-generated sequence showed the brown liquid pouring onto Sisson and scores of other marchers in Manhattan streets.
Kenny Loggins said his hit “Danger Zone” was used without permission in the video, adding, “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used to divide us,” according to NPR.
Whether confronting diplomats who tried to erase their past criticism, prosecuting political opponents, or targeting protesters with crude imagery, Trump’s pattern of retaliation continues generating both outrage and mockery.
And as it seems, no foe is safe.
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