The White House on Thursday tacitly acknowledged that during a conversation between President Trump and Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the two disagreed when the discussion turned to the issue of refugees.
Boris Epshteyn, assistant communications director and special assistant to the president, said in an interview with “Examining Politics” that it’s impossible for the U.S. and its allies to agree on everything, and that Trump is willing to show tough love to America’s friends, even if it ruffles some feathers.
“I don’t think we should be believing unnamed sources and any sort of purported leaks at any time — any of those can not be trusted,” Epshteyn said, during a conversation with the Washington Examiner’s weekly podcast. “But what the president has been clear on is that, allies can have conversations which are not just about how wonderful the weather is. Right? They can be conversations about specific issues; there could be at some point, a needed [re]alignment or a need to discuss a situation in which there may not be perfect agreement on. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Australia is among Washington’s oldest and closest allies. Under former President Barack Obama, the U.S. agreed to accept from the country about 1,200 Middle Eastern refugees from Australia.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Trump, during a phone call that was a part of his round of get-acquainted conversations with world leaders, informed Turnbull that he didn’t like the deal and could alter it. The call became testy, according to the Post, and the president abruptly ended it. Epshteyn said that the media should rely on information issued by official White House channels, but declined to disavow the Post’s story.
Epshteyn said that the media should rely on information issued by official White House channels, but declined to disavow the Post’s story.
Trump said during the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday that Americans shouldn’t worry about tough phone calls; other countries are taking advantage of the U.S. and he intends to do something about it. The argument between Trump and Turnbull was concerning to some in Washington, including some Republicans, because Australia works so closely with the U.S. on intelligence gathering and is right next door to China.
Epshteyn joined “Examining Politics” for wide-ranging discussion of life in the White House and the Trump administration’s approach to dealing with the media. The president doesn’t hesitate to criticize reporters by name, and his staff has been equally tough on media outlets and reporters it feels have not been fair.
Critics have suggested that criticizing reporters by name could have unforeseen consequences, should Trump supporters decide to support the president by taking matters into their own hands. Epshteyn waved off that concern but said it’s never Trump’s intention to put a bullseye on a specific reporter.
“The president of the United States never intends to put any members of the media in a negative spotlight, or, absolutely, not in harm’s way,” Epshteyn said. “It’s a give and take, it’s a discussion, and members of the media are, of course, are public figures. They go on TV and in print — their names are out there, so, president of the Unites States is not putting anything out there that’s not in public view.”
“The president is an American citizen, and he has the right to criticize the media when he thinks that they’re being unfair,” he added.
“Examining Politics” is available on PodcastOne.com, iTunes, and at the Examiner’s website.
