Donald Trump has criticised the ABC’s Americas Editor during an extraordinary exchange at the White House, telling him “you’re hurting Australia” and he would tell Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about it.<\/p>\n
Washington-based journalist John Lyons had asked the US president several questions about his business dealings, including: “Is it appropriate, President Trump, that a president in office should be engaged in so much business activity?”<\/p>\n
“Well, I’m really not,” Mr Trump said. “My kids are running the business. You know what the activity \u2014 where are you from?”<\/p>\n
When Lyons told Mr Trump he was from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr Trump replied: “Oh, the Australian \u2014 you’re hurting Australia.<\/p>\n
“In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“You know, your leader is coming over to see me very soon. I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”<\/p>\n
Mr Albanese is set to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly next week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He and Mr Trump have not met since their respective election wins, though Mr Trump’s comments suggest a meeting is planned. The ABC has sought clarification about the meeting plans from the White House.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration later continued the criticism online, using an official White House account to label Lyons a “foreign fake news loser” alongside a Fox News clip of the exchange.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the exchange, Lyons asked Mr Trump how much wealthier he was now than when he returned to the White House.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump responded: “Well, I don’t know if the deals I made, for the most part \u2014 other than what my kids are doing, you know, they’re running my business \u2014 but most of the deals that I’ve made were made before.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
He then spoke about a new ballroom planned for the White House, which he said he would pay for personally.<\/p>\n
Lyons’ questions were part of an investigation by the ABC’s Four Corners program into Mr Trump’s business activities since his return to the presidency.<\/p>\n
Several US media investigations have found Mr Trump’s wealth has significantly increased during his time in office. Last week, business publication Forbes published its annual list of America’s richest people<\/a>, which estimated Mr Trump’s wealth had grown from $US4.3 billion ($6.4 billion) to $US7.3 billion ($10.9 billion) in a year.<\/p>\n When Lyons attempted to ask a follow-up question, Mr Trump told him: “Quiet.”<\/p>\n Efforts to meet<\/p>\n The Australian Government has been trying to lock in a bilateral meeting between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump for months.<\/p>\n