Sky News host Peta Credlin accuses Anthony Albanese of being 'scared of a face-off' with US President Donald Trump
Mr Albanese has returned to Canberra ahead of the official opening of the 48th parliament this week following his six-day visit to China where met with President Xi Jinping.
The Prime Minister has told The Australian he now has his sights set on nailing down a long-awaited face-to-face talk with President Trump, amid claims the US-Australia relationship is on rocky ground.
Mr Albanese hinted a meeting with President Trump would likely take place an at upcoming leaders' forum - such as the Quad meeting in India later this year.
"There'll be multiple meetings between now and the end of the year. Australia and the US are both members of a range of international gatherings," Mr Albanese told the publication.
During her editorial on Monday night, Credlin savaged the idea of a meeting with the US President taking place on the periphery of an international event rather than in Washington DC.
"The PM is still insisting that he'll meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of some other meeting rather than meet him at the White House," the Sky News host said.
"So after, what, a six-day visit to China he's hoping for ... six minutes in a corridor or in the bathroom at some international talk fest?
"Honestly, that shows a weak PM who's scared of a face-off with a US President accustomed to speaking his mind.
"A PM who hopes if he does it this way, he perhaps can avoid media scrutiny of what's said in the room."
Mr Albanese is set to travel to various high-level summits in 2025 including the UN General Assembly in New York in September, which has been perceived as another opportunity for the Prime Minister to meet with President Trump.
The two leaders had planned to hold talks at the G7 Summit in Canada in June, but the President abruptly left the forum to return to Washington amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Mr Albanese copped heat for his move to prioritise a second official visit to China before he books in a face-to-face meeting with President Trump in the United States.
Former home affairs boss Mike Pezzullo recently suggested Mr Albanese should have even cut his China visit short to fly past the US to see the President on his journey back to Australia.
Mr Albanese was also accused of indulging in the optics of his China trip, which included visiting a panda breeding centre and hiking The Great Wall, rather than pressing President Xi on more serious foreign policy issues.
However, the Prime Minister told The Australian his decision to walk The Great Wall of China and tour a panda centre came down to him wanting to show "respect".
Regarding his US counterpart, Mr Albanese said he would demonstrate his respect in other ways such as by "engaging in a clear, forward manner, saying what we can do, what we can't do".
"It's the way that I engage and build relationships," he said.
The Prime Minister stressed the United States is Australia's "most important alliance", but noted the Trump administration's "America First" policy has led to a different position on tariffs.
"So part of engaging is recognising that and dealing with it in our national interest, in the best way we can," Mr Albanese said.
However, Credlin claimed the issues around the Australia-US alliance have been triggered by the Albanese government's "obvious discomfort with the Trump administration".
"Plainly, Anthony Albanese, full of his Beijing bravado, thinks he can remake the US alliance despite what the ANZUS Treaty might say on the matter," she said.
The Sky News host continued: "If that includes that we can't increase defence spending much beyond two per cent of GDP, well then our alliance with the US is on life-support at best."
Earlier this year, the United States called on Australia to boost defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP, with the level currently sitting at two per cent.
In 1951, Australia also signed the ANZUS Treaty, a security pact with New Zealand and the United States, which focuses on the Pacific region.
In terms of the AUKUS submarine deal, there are concerns the pact could be under threat as it undergoes a under review by the Pentagon.
Credlin called on Liberal Party to step up and press the government on national security, as well as other domestic issues including the childcare crisis and debate on net zero.
"The best way for the Libs to regain their standing with voters is for them to give the Australian people that they're not getting from the current government," she said.
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