Australia thinks of itself as an international player. Trump delivered a reality check
Calgary: Donald Trump's decision to leave the G7 summit in Canada a day early and skip meetings with world leaders, including Anthony Albanese, is a blow to the Australian prime minister.
It's also a reminder that while Australia does get to sit at the top table of international diplomacy, sometimes, we are still, at most, a middle-ranking power.
Trump's decision is not a personal snub of the Australian prime minister.
The US president was also set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They are all likely to miss out on one-on-one meetings.
But the cancellation matters to Australia because this is a transactional president who relies heavily on personal relationships and seemingly likes nothing more than doing deals face-to-face.
Albanese knows this, which is why he was keen to get the first meeting done and kick-start that personal, leader-to-leader relationship.
The cancellation means that question marks will continue to hang over the future of the AUKUS submarine deal, which is currently under review, for at least another month.
It means Albanese will not be able to make his case in person for the deal to continue or to outline Australia's increased defence spending commitments which still fall short of the 3.5 per cent of GDP Washington wants Canberra to spend. For Australian manufacturers, it means Trump's 50 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium will remain in place.
In a piece of exquisite timing, Trump's reason for leaving early was announced by press secretary Karoline Leavitt on X while Albanese was holding a press conference about the much-hyped meeting.
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