SYDNEY: Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull drew chuckles Tuesday as he impersonated Donald Trump, urging the nation’s political leaders contesting a general election next month to “stand up” to the US president.
Turnbull, who was Australian prime minister when Trump first took office in 2017, briefly adopted a nasal American accent as he mimicked the US commander-in-chief during a speech.
Political hopefuls contesting Australia’s May 3 general election should not be scared of angering Trump, Turnbull said.
“That’s the challenge for our leaders — they’ve got to be able to stand up,“ he began.
“If that means they get a brickbat or a Truth Social post saying ‘You’re weak and ineffectual. You don’t know anything about China’,“ Turnbull added, aping Trump’s characteristic cadence.
“If you’re spooked by that you shouldn’t be in the job,“ Turnbull finished while drawing laughs from the crowd.
Former conservative leader Turnbull took a swipe at Trump earlier this year, deriding his return to office as “chaotic” and “erratic”.
Trump returned serve on his Truth Social platform, saying Turnbull was “a weak and ineffective leader” who “never understood what was going on in China”.
The pair’s relationship appeared ill-fated from the beginning.
Turnbull was among the many leaders who phoned the US president after his shock election victory in 2016.
But Trump reportedly later dismissed that call as “the worst by far”.
Then-press secretary Sean Spicer then butchered Turnbull’s name twice in a press conference, mistakenly referring to him as “Mr Trumble”.
