House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told reporters Thursday that he values Australia as a U.S. ally after reports surfaced that President Donald Trump had a testy phone call with the Australian Prime Minister and hung up early.
“I don’t think Australia should be worried about it’s relationship with our new president or our country for that matter,” Ryan said. “I know your country well, I’ve met with your leaders continuously over the last number of years.”
Ryan added that Australia was a “very important, essential ally.”
That is where Ryan stopped, however, because he said he typically doesn’t respond to the “tweet of the hour.”
According to the Washington Post, Trump upbraided Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a deal between Australia and the United States to receive from refugees from Australia. Trump also condemned the deal in a Tweet Thursday morning.
Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 2, 2017
Reports of Trump’s call with the Australian prime minister had sparked some concern on Capitol Hill. On Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) went as far as speaking with the Australian ambassador to the U.S. to ensure him that the U.S. remained a key ally.
