Former Australian prime minister and current ambassador to the United States in Washington Kevin Rudd has deleted tweets critical of President-elect Donald Trump after he won the presidential election.
Rudd had described Trump in a 2020 post as “the most destructive president in history,” according to reporting from NDTV.
He served as Australia’s 26th prime minister from 2007 to 2010 as head of their Labor Party, and was re-elected in 2013 after a brief stint as Australia’s foreign minister.
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The comments were made when Rudd had served as Chair of the Asia Society Policy Institute, which was described by Columbia University World Leaders Forum as “dedicated to using second track diplomacy to assist governments and businesses in resolving policy challenges within Asia, and between Asia and the West.”
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during the unveiling of his official portrait by Ralph Heimans, at Parliament House in Canberra. August 10th, 2023. (Alex Ellinghausen / The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty Images)
According to a statement shared with Fox News Digital from Ambassador Rudd’s office, “In his previous role as the head of an independent US-based think tank, Mr. Rudd was a regular commentator on American politics. 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 commentaries from his personal website and social media channels.”
“This has been done to eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued as reflecting his positions as Ambassador and, by extension, the views of the Australian Government. Ambassador Rudd looks forward to working with President Trump and his team to continue strengthening the US-Australia alliance,” the statement concluded.
Ambassador Rudd has since shared several posts congratulating President-elect Trump on social media site X, including one where he claimed he called him personally.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. Americans cast their ballots today in the presidential race between Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as multiple state elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In his post from November 6, Rudd wrote “Good to speak this morning with President Trump to personally congratulate him on his election victory. We talked about the importance of the Alliance, and the strength of the Australia-US relationship in security, AUKUS, trade and investment. I look forward to working together in the interests of both our countries.”
The AUKUS agreement is a trilateral union between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom established in 2021 to promote security in the Indo-Pacific region.
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The office of Ambassador Kevin Rudd provided no further comment to Fox News Digital’s inquiry.
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