Trump says Australia should participate because ‘we always say yes to them’
Washington: US President Donald Trump said he was surprised Australia said “no” to his request to help with the war in Iran and called on Canberra to “get involved”.
Asked what he wanted Australia to do, Trump said: “They should be involved… I’m a little surprised they said ‘No’ because we always tell them yes.”
It was not immediately clear what Trump meant when he said he rejected Australia’s request for assistance.
The President was answering a question from Sky News Australia as he boarded a US military helicopter to leave the White House for Florida. He did not respond to further shouted questions.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles had previously said that there was no request from Washington for Australia to send a warship to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Albanian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
More to come
Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
