Washington: US President Donald Trump accused an ABC journalist of “hurting Australia” by asking questions about his personal business dealings in an intense, on-camera clash that comes just days before Trump is set to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
At a doorstop with reporters at the White House, the ABC’s Americas editor John Lyons began by asking Trump how much wealthier he was now than when he returned to the Oval Office in January.
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “Other than what my kids were doing … mostly the deals that I’ve made were made before [taking office]. This is what I’ve done for a life. I’ve built buildings.”
Trump went on to promote the ballroom he has commissioned at the White House, saying it would be the greatest in the world, and he would foot the bill himself.
Lyons asked whether it was appropriate for a sitting president to be engaged in so much business activity.
“I’m really not, my kids are running the business,” Trump said. He then asked Lyons where he was from.
“I’m from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Four Corners program,” Lyons replied.
Trump said: “Oh, the Australian – you’re hurting Australia. In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now. And they want to get along with me. You know, your leader is coming over to see me very soon. I’m going to tell him about you, you set a very bad tone.”
Trump speaks with reporters at the White House before leaving for the UK.Credit: AP
Lyons attempted to ask another question about a $US2 billion ($3 billion) deal between the United Arab Emirates’ ruling family and World Liberty Financial, a crypto company set up by the Trumps and the family of Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
The president moved on to another reporter, pointed a finger at Lyons and told him: “Quiet.”
An official White House account later posted a clip of the interaction with the caption: “[Trump] smacks down a rude foreign Fake News loser (many such cases).”
Contacted for comment, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told this masthead: “President Trump is right – it is unbecoming of the great people of Australia for such a nasty, anti-Trump activist to pose as a reporter in order to ask dumb questions that have been answered time and time again.”
John Lyons, then the executive editor of ABC News, during an AFP raid on the broadcaster’s headquarters in 2019.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Lyons declined to comment, but said on air that it was “absurd” for the president to suggest that two or three legitimate questions should harm relations between the two countries.
“If our job as journalists is to hold truth to power, then surely asking legitimate questions – politely – to the President of the United States should be acceptable. But in this day and age in America now, it’s not,” he said.
The ABC’s director of news Justin Stevens said: “John Lyons is a highly awarded journalist and one of the most experienced and respected reporters in Australia. His job is to ask questions. He has the ABC’s full support.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is days away from landing in the United States and will meet President Donald Trump.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
A veteran journalist who has held senior print and television roles at the ABC, Nine and News Corp – and is a former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald – Lyons was working on an ABC Four Corners investigation into the business activities of Trump and his family since returning to office.
The intense exchange, and Trump’s threat to the bilateral relationship, comes just days before Albanese is due to arrive in the US for the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly and a long-awaited meeting with Trump, which the president seemed to confirm in his remarks.
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Both sides have indicated schedules are still in play. Trump will now travel to Arizona on Sunday for the funeral of assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and the president’s diary in New York is still being finalised.
While details have not been announced, Albanese told Perth radio on Monday: “We’ll see each other in New York. He [Trump] is hosting a reception on Tuesday night of next week. As well, we’ll see each other at various forums that are taking place between now and the end of the year. It’s summit season.”
The altercation came as Trump lodged an extraordinary $US15 billion lawsuit against The New York Times over a litany of grievances, including its endorsement of Democrat Kamala Harris for the presidency last year.
Filed in a Florida court, the lawsuit accuses the newspaper of spreading false and defamatory content about the president, while failing to recognise that by winning last year’s election, “President Trump secured the greatest personal and political achievement in American history”.
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Trump is suing the Times and four of its journalists over various stories that have appeared in the newspaper.
A spokesman for the paper said the lawsuit had no merit and was designed to deter journalism. “It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting,” he said.
“We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favour and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
During the same doorstop overnight, Trump also threatened the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News America, Jon Karl, after Karl questioned the president about Attorney-General Pam Bondi’s vow to set law enforcement upon proponents of “hate speech”.
“She’ll probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly, it’s hate,” Trump told Karl. “You have a lot of hate in your heart … We want everything to be fair, it hasn’t been fair, and the radical left has done tremendous damage to the country. But we’re fixing it.”
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