Australian prime minister laments ‘things said’ to encourage Capitol Hill crowd but says it is not his job to educate anyone.
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has suggested comments by Donald Trump that encouraged an insurrectionist mob to storm the US Capitol were “incredibly disappointing” and led to a “terrible” outcome.
Morrison’s First Briefing Post Holiday
In his first media briefing since returning from a week-long holiday, Morrison distanced himself from the outgoing US president, noting that the two were not friends before he became prime minister.
Morrison on Monday also dropped suggestions that deaths among “too old” people who took the Pfizer vaccine in Norway could affect Australia’s vaccine campaign.
In early January, Morrison said he hoped a peaceful transfer of power in the US as he condemned rioters for “terribly distressing” acts of violence in storming the Capitol building.
But the Liberal leader stopped short of criticising Trump for encouraging the crowd to travel to Washington DC, and for later describing them as “very nice people”. His reluctance to admonish Trump earned Morrison a rebuke from his predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull, who said his response was “tepid”.
Morrison-Trump Relations
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack has lashed out at Trump, who last week described the president’s refusal to accept his election defeat and inciting tweets as “unfortunate”.
On Monday, Morrison told 2GB that he had spoken to President-elect Joe Biden “soon” after the election and that Australia had acted “behind the scenes” to engage with countries with similar views on change in the US.
“The United States is facing a very difficult time right now – but [we] expect the country to come together and move forward from these terrible months, especially in the last few weeks,” Morrison said.
He distanced himself from Trump, saying he had “worked closely” with him as prime minister but opposed the proposal that they were friends, realizing he did not know Trump before he became prime minister.
Morrison described events in the US as “deeply distressing” and recent “actions” as “very disappointing”.
Pressed if he thought Trump’s actions were disappointing, he said: “I’ve echoed the comments of other leaders about those things. I think it was very disappointing that things were allowed to get to that stage.
Morrison said it was not his job to “give speeches or lectures to anyone” but it was important for Americans to come together after “their president” and continue as a close friend of Australia. “We look forward to working with President Biden and his entire team.”
During a trip to the US in 2019, Morrison attended a Trump conference in Wapakoneta, Ohio, and praised Trump’s most important political issues, expressing the view that the two were “sharing similar views”.
In December, Trump rewarded Morrison, and the prime minister accepted, a legion of merit, America’s highest military honour.
