A day after news broke that Donald Trump had accused Australia’s prime minister of trying to export the “next Boston bomber” to the US — in a deal forged by the Obama administration — the president explained, “I love Australia as a country, but we had a problem.”
Trump had the heated phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, and was reportedly furious over a deal calling for the US to take in more than 1,200 refugees from Australia.
The president called it a “dumb deal” in a tweet Wednesday.
On Thursday, he elaborated: “Previous administration does something you have to respect that but you can also say, why are we doing this? We have wonderful allies and we’re going to keep it that way, but we need to be treated fairly.”
Meanwhile, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called the Aussies on Thursday to express his support for the longtime ally, asking Australian Ambassador Joe Hockey to “convey to the people of Australia” that the US remains “committed to the safer, freer, and better world that Australia does far more than its fair share to protect and promote.”