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https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2067730/trump-unbelievably-disappointed-australia-refugee
World/ United States & Canada

Trump ‘unbelievably disappointed’ by Australia refugee deal, but White House says it’s still on

White House spokesman says Trump is ‘extremely upset’ by refugee deal discussed in terse phone call with Australian PM ‘Trumble’

In this file photo, men shave, brush their teeth and prepare for the day at an Australian-run refugee camp on the Island of Nauru. In a deal struck with the Obama administration, Australia hopes to send about 1,200 such detainees to the US. Photo: AP

The White House has suggested that an Obama administration refugee deal with Australia would still proceed, even as President Donald Trump was said to be “unbelievably disappointed” in the agreement.

Asked whether the deal would continue, Trump himself said on Thursday it would be respected, but “we’ll see what happens”. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer indicated the deal remained in place.

Watch: Trump says “don’t worry” about the tough phone calls

Top White House officials tried to clean up the diplomatic mess , with chief of staff Reince Priebus and chief strategist Steve Bannon meeting with Joe Hockey, the Australian ambassador to the US.

The agreement to allow mostly Muslim refugees to resettle in the United States was a source of friction during a recent phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to an administration official. The call ended after less than 30 minutes, well earlier than scheduled, though the official disputed reports that Trump hung up on the prime minister.

The US official was not authorised to publicly discuss the conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Trump-Turnbull phone call is a huge story in Australian media. Graphic: The Washington Post
The Trump-Turnbull phone call is a huge story in Australian media. Graphic: The Washington Post

The Obama administration agreed to resettle about 1,200 refugees from among about 1,600 asylum-seekers, most of whom are on island camps on the Pacific nations of Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Australia has refused to accept them and instead pays for them to be housed on the impoverished islands.

In turn, Australia would take Central American detainees being held at US-funded refugee camps in Costa Rica, in what would effectively amount to a refugee swap.

The White House suggested Thursday that the agreement would continue, with spokesman Sean Spicer saying at a press conference that any of the refugees who come to the United States would undergo “extreme vetting,” but provided no details. He blasted the Obama administration for striking the agreement in the first place, saying the new president was “extremely upset” to have inherited the deal.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull comments on a deal with the United States accepting refugees from Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AP
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull comments on a deal with the United States accepting refugees from Australia at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AP

Spicer repeatedly mispronounced Turnbull’s name, calling him “Trunbull” and “Trumble”.

Trump, appearing moments later an event with Harley-Davidson executives, said that he has to “respect” actions of the previous administration. “But you can also say, ‘Why are we doing this?’” he said.

The White House’s tough rhetoric and the contentious call between Trump and Turnbull raised the prospect of a rift with Australia, one of America’s closest allies and intelligence partners.

After Thursday’s meeting with Hockey, the White House said Bannon and Priebus conveyed Trump’s “deep admiration” for the Australian people.

Republican Senator John McCain said he reached out to the ambassador Thursday to express “unwavering support for the US-Australia alliance.”
US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (centre) and Senior Counsellor to the President Steve Bannon (right), listen as US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office on January 28. Photo: EPA
US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn (centre) and Senior Counsellor to the President Steve Bannon (right), listen as US President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull in the Oval Office on January 28. Photo: EPA

Rhode Island Sentor Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said he also spoke with Hockey to reiterate America’s “deep and abiding commitment to Australia.”

Details of Trump’s call were first reported by The Washington Post, which said the president called the refugee agreement “the worst deal ever” and accused Turnbull of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers” — a reference to brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who were born in Kyrgyzstan. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a US citizen; Tamerlan Tsarnaev, killed in a shootout with police several days after the April 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon, had sought citizenship but had not had his application granted.

Trump, in a speech Thursday, appeared to acknowledge the tense phone call, as well as tough talk in an earlier call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

“Believe me. When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it. Just don’t worry about it,” he said at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. “They’re tough. We have to be tough. It’s time we’re going to be a little tough folks. We’re being taken advantage of by every nation in the world virtually.”

“I can assure you the relationship is very strong,” Turnbull said. “The fact we received the assurance that we did, the fact that it was confirmed, the very extensive engagement we have with the new administration underlines the closeness of the alliance. But as Australians know me very well: I stand up for Australia in every forum — public or private.”

The Trump-Turnbull call took place a day after Trump signed an executive order suspending the admission of refugees. During the call, Trump complained that he was “going to get killed” politically by the refugee deal with Australia, according to the Post, citing anonymous officials.

“I don’t want these people,” Trump reportedly said. Trump also told Turnbull that he had spoken to four world leaders that day - including Russian President Vladimir Putin - and that: “This is the worst call by far.”

Trump told Turnbull that it was “my intention” to honour the agreement, a phrase designed to leave the president wriggle room to back out of the deal, the newspaper reported.

There have been mixed messages from Washington all week on the state of the agreement.

A White House statement sent to Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday said: “The president is still considering whether or not he will move forward with this deal at this time.”

The State Department said in a statement later that the United States would honour the agreement “out of respect for close ties to our Australian ally and friend.”

“President Trump’s decision to honour the refugee agreement has not changed and spokesman Spicer’s comments stand,” the State Department said.