The PM’s transactional strategy trumps the president

August 19, 2026 — 5:00am

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had a tough five weeks in trying to manage “melongate”. He may well heed the advice of James Massola, chief political commentator of this masthead, to forge a “strategic retreat” when a nasty issue undercuts the PM’s standing and authority. But that is not the case when it comes to how the PM deals with President Donald Trump. Albanese has deliberately decided that it is in Australia’s interests to pursue and lock in granular transactional engagements that will not only continue 100 years of mateship (coined by Joe Hockey, a former ambassador to the US) and the 74-year-old ANZUS alliance, but will also keep Australia out of harm’s way on Trump’s chessboard.

Trump has inflicted significant pain on Australia with his vicious wielding of punitive tariffs with virtually every nation the United States does business with. Trump has shredded the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement – a pact that spurred economic growth in both countries. Trump’s Iran war compounds the damage to Australia’s economy.

As Trump has exercised his America First agenda across the globe, he has........

© The Sydney Morning Herald