Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull struggled to answer whether he would describe President Trump as a “genius,” a term the president has used in reference to his own intellect.
“Well, I wouldn’t… Look, I wouldn’t… I certainly wouldn’t tell him he isn’t,” Turnbull told Australian local media in an interview that aired Sunday.
In a #60Mins online exclusive, Prime Minister @TurnbullMalcolm says US President @realDonaldTrump is a genius: https://t.co/UG7Gx4vk44 pic.twitter.com/RgyK8kn1PH
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) February 18, 2018
Despite the stumble, Turnbull, who is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Friday, said he and the president enjoyed a cordial relationship, adding they shared mutual friends from their previous lives in the business world.
“I get on very well with Donald Trump,” he said. “Well, you can see when we’re together we get on well.”
The meeting is Trump’s second with Turnbull, outside of international summits, after the now infamous telephone call following the president’s inauguration in January 2017 in which they fought over an Obama-era refugee swap agreement.
Their first public appearance together besides at forums was at a New York event in May marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.
Turnbull also said he didn’t bother worrying about what Trump could say about him online.
“It’s always possible,” he said, when asked whether he could be criticized via tweet. “But he’s certainly revolutionized presidential use of social media.”
