Trump agreed to exempt, for now, Canada and Mexico and held out the possibility of later excluding allies such as Australia.

Trump "emphatically" promised to exempt Australian steel and aluminium from US tariffs during a meeting with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last year

The Trump administration sent mixed signals Sunday about its new aluminum and steel tariffs, saying that any exceptions for allies are unlikely but also leaving room for an unpredictable president to change his mind.

Turnbull arrived in Washington Wednesday evening for his four-day visit to the United States, anchored by a one-on-one Oval Office meeting with Trump on Friday.

The United States has been without an ambassador in Australia since September 2016 and Mr Fischer said the long wait was now "beyond acceptable" and bordering on a "diplomatic insult".

“Hey Don. We have an unusual idea,” WikiLeaks wrote on October 21, 2016. “Leak us one or more of your father’s tax returns.” ... “If we publish them it will dramatically improve the perception of our impartiality,” WikiLeaks explained. “That means that the vast amount of stuff that we are publishing on Clinton will have much higher impact, because it won’t be perceived as coming from a ‘pro-Trump’ ‘pro-Russia’ source.”

"America is really a great nation and the Americans are a great people if they can endure so many people with such a low level of political culture."

If newfound Kiwi Barnaby Joyce—whose father was born in New Zealand and who has now been confirmed to be a citizen by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs—loses his seat, he may take the whole government down with him: The Liberal-National coalition holds the government by a one-vote majority.

maybe "local milk people" is what Trump calls cows

"But the fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall – I have to."

“We’re winning in the real polls,” he continued, to gales of laughter from the audience. “You know, the online polls.” He added, “They are so easy to win. I have this Russian guy.”

In one moment, Trump jovially denied the presence of tensions in his now-infamous January phone call with Turnbull, accusing the media of “fake news.” In another, he copped to the tense exchange, calling it “testy.”

"I shouldn't say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia, because you have better health care than we do," Trump continued.

"President Trump has made it clear that we'll honor the agreement — that doesn't mean we admire the agreement"

Pence arrived in Sydney on Friday for what experts called a “reassurance mission”

But the lesson of the fall of Singapore must surely be that Australia can not trust its survival wholly to a foreign power. Even a close ally. Yesterday Britain, today America.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer can't seem to get anyone's name right. Enter your name below to see what he would call you.

Trump said that media reports of what appeared to be angry exchanges between him and the two foreign leaders had been mischaracterized, and insisted that he had “positive” relations with both countries and their leaders.

Trump seems to believe that chaos and unpredictability are good in and of themselves because they can keep US adversaries trying to guess what Washington will do next.

“In short, Australia is one of America’s oldest friends and staunchest allies. We are united by ties of family and friendship, mutual interests and common values, and shared sacrifice in wartime.”

Donald Trump is sowing diplomatic chaos around the world just two weeks into his presidency, as he feuds with world leaders and defends an unpredictable style that has alarmed friends and foes alike.

The flare-up — and conflicting characterizations of the call from Mr. Trump and Mr. Turnbull — threatened to do lasting damage to relations between the two countries and could drive Canberra closer to China