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Donald Trump backed the AUKUS submarine deal during a private meeting with former Prime Minister Scott Morrison in New York overnight.
The two met at Trump Tower just hours after the former president of the United States was in court in his hush money case.
Morrison defended Trump in a post on social media, describing the legal challenges facing Trump as “stacked.”
“I had the pleasure of meeting former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night at his private residence in New York,” Morrison posted on X, with a photo of herself standing next to the presumptive Republican nominee at Trump Tower in New York.
“It was good to catch up again, especially given the pile he’s currently facing in the US.
“It was also a good opportunity to discuss AUKUS, which received a warm reception.”
Morrison is visiting the US on business and is also promoting his new book, Plans for Your Goodness: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness, which he will present at the Australian Embassy in Washington on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEDT) alongside Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd.
Morrison, US President Joe Biden and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the AUKUS agreement in 2021 as part of a strategy to contain China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
The AUKUS pact was announced by Morrison alongside Biden and then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021 as part of a wider strategy to counter China’s economic and military advances in the Indo-Pacific.
Under the agreement, the Royal Australian Navy will acquire a fleet of nuclear but non-nuclear submarines under the agreement.
Trump has long been skeptical of global defense alliances, but his apparent support for AUKUS should ease concerns about its future if the Republican front-runner is re-elected to the White House.
Meanwhile, Biden and Trump have accepted an invitation from CNN for a June 27 debate, a historic early showdown ahead of November’s US election that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign.
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