Trump's victory means old tweets and statements are coming back to haunt Anthony Albanese

By Brett Worthington.1/3.

Really long but Very Funny!

The wind was whipping around the prime minister's Parliament House courtyard as Anthony Albanese glanced down to check the time.

Having called a press conference to announce children under 16 would be banned from social media, it was as if his mind was elsewhere.

Within the hour he'd be on the phone with Donald Trump, a man he'd years earlier described as scaring "the shit out of me".

Making sharp comments can often feel good in the moment, but they don't come without consequences.

As Albanese was addressing the media in Canberra,his prime ministerial predecessor Kevin Rudd was on the other side of the globe frantically deleting social media posts.

Years earlier Rudd had let rip about Trump in a series of tweets, the highlights of which including calling him "the most destructive president in history", "a traitor to the West" and a man who "drags America and democracy through the mud".

The tweets remained online as Rudd became Australia's ambassador to the US, quietly ticking down like a time bomb edging ever closer to exploding as Trump re-sought the presidency.

"Out of respect for the office of President of the United States, and following the election of President Trump, Ambassador Rudd has now removed these past commentariesfrom his personal website and social media channels," Rudd's private office said in a statement.

"This has been done to eliminate the possibility of suchcomments being misconstruedas reflecting his positions as Ambassador and, by extension, the views of the Australian Government."

Though the tweets might have gone, their consequences haven't. Try as Rudd might to have ingratiated himself with Trump's inner circle, some ofTrump's closest political allies have made no secret of their thoughts on Australia's ambassador.

"He is trying to worm his way back into the good graces. He's been very critical of president Trump in the past," Steve Bannon offered earlier this year.

There would be no shortage of irony in Rudd losing his job because of comments about a man for whom shame and consequences never seem to scathe his pursuits.

Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong fell over themselves to reinforce their support for Rudd staying in Washington, insisting, as Wong did, that the Australian-US alliance was "bigger than the past comments of any one individual".

At his first national Labor conference as opposition leader, Rudd famously offered this introduction: "My name is Kevin, I'm from Queensland and I'm here to help."

If he's unable to open doors in Trump's America, his ability to helpas ambassador will have the clock ticking on his ability to stay in that job.

'We were f*d': The varied reactions to Trump's victory

As the results started rolling in on Wednesday, senators were locked away in their thrice-a-year grilling of ministers and public servants.

Try as they might to focus on senate estimates, eyes were firmly locked on the far-away election.

For Labor politicians, there was a churning feeling in their stomachs as what they had hoped wouldn't happen turned likely.

Aside from what it would mean for Australia-US relations, the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact and trade, some were trying to come to terms with what the result said about the world.

Repulsed with what they were seeing, some quietly did the maths that voters will twice determine the federal government here before Trump's second term ends.

Across the aisle and away from the senate estimates hearing rooms, reports emerged of celebrations happening behind closed Liberal MP doors.

Not everyone in the party was celebrating though. "We were f****d either way," one Liberal remarked.

While certainly no fans of Democrat Kamala Harris, seniorLiberal hardheads are anxious that Trump's victory will reignite appetites for a debate on abortionwithin their party.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton tried to get ahead of it when he addressed his party on Tuesday. He warned the debate over abortion in Queensland cost the LNP votes at the recent election and didn't need to be readdressed federally.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-07/us-election-albanese-rudd-respond-donald-trump-victory/104571768

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Senate leader Simon Birmingham went further and saidhe'd actively support Labor efforts to remove a bill being put forwardby his Coalition colleagues Matt Canavan and Alex Antic,seeking to require medical professionals to provide healthcare to fetuses "born alive" after a late-term abortion.

The 'many unknowns' Australia faces with Trump in charge

Even before the election outcome,Treasury boss Steven Kennedy warned Trump's threat to apply tariffs up to 20 per cent on all imported goods could hurt Australia's economywith higher inflation and lower growth, especially if imposed quickly.

By Thursday, Reserve Bank Bank governor Michelle Bullock offered what could otherwise be summed up with a shrug emoji when pushed on what Trump's election might mean for Australia's economy.

The RBA hasn't modelled Trump's policies, it seems, because he's an unpredictable figure.

Even if Australia manages tariff exemptions, officials are warning thatany affect on China would have flow-on consequences Down Under.

"There's so many unknowns here. He [Trump] said he will do these things. We don't know. So, basically we have to look at what that might imply at first pass," Bullock told estimates.

"It might not imply a hell of a lot for us."

Investigations and mea culpas revealed in estimates

As distracted as senators might have been with the US election, estimates still brought with it a series of developments.

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt told a hearing he'd be open to extending CFMEU whistleblower protectionsafter the ABC revealed construction sector insiders fear speaking out against the union.

His comments came as federal police confirmed it was carrying out a new investigation targeting criminality within the scandal-plagued union.

In another hearing, the opaque department tasked with overseeing Parliament House, which was recently subject to a National Anti-Corruption Commission raid, was unable to say when its boss would return from paid leave.

The acting boss of the Department of Parliamentary Services also confirmed she hadordered an investigation into the more than $315,000 retirement payment made to her predecessor to leave the public service.

Fresh from claiming she'd never received any complimentary airline upgrades, Nationals frontbencher Bridget McKenzie was forced to issue what could generously be described as a whoops-a-daisy update to her disclosures, admitting to having failed to disclose 16 upgrades.

Or as a Liberal dubbed it: "She shot herself in the foot."

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The High Court too was in on the action this week, again reminding the government that courts issue punishments, not politicians. It did so exactly a year to the day since its landmark NZYQ ruling dismantled a central pillar of Australia's immigration detention regime.

The court ruled the government's requirement that the former detainees wear ankle bracelets and live under curfew was a punitive punishment and unlawful.

The ruling prompted Immigration Minister Tony Burke to rush into force new regulations to allow ankle monitors and curfews. He's also seeking to bolster the powers to deport members of the NZYQ cohort.

Albanese's tough job as incumbent PM

There is little about this moment globally that suggests there are rewards for being an incumbent government.

Governments are being turfed and those not yet up for re-election are struggling to keep their heads above water.

Regardless, the PM is desperately seeking to reassert his control over the political discourse — be it with a plan to wipe billions from student debt, or seeking National Cabinet support to set a minimum age for social media.

He told colleagues on Tuesday that the looming election would be shaped around three frames: What Labor's done, what it will do next and the risk the election poses to voters.

But if there's anything Donald Trump's first term taught the world, it's that in a single post on social media he can up-end the world order, leaving governments to scramble to respond.

If it's repeated, those gusts in Albanese's courtyard are far from the only headwinds he'll face in the months ahead.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-07/us-election-albanese-rudd-respond-donald-trump-victory/104571768