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’
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.
