Australia’s ambassador purges critical tweets after Trump win

Australia’s ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd speaks via a videolink during the Financial Review Asia Summit in Melbourne on September 3, 2024. Agence France-Presse

SYDNEY — Australia’s high-profile ambassador to Washington — former center-left prime minister Kevin Rudd — has deleted a series of withering social media posts about Donald Trump, following the Republican’s election victory.

Australia’s foreign affairs department confirmed Rudd had deleted posts on social media platform X that had described Trump as “destructive” and a “traitor to the West”.

A department official told a parliamentary hearing Thursday that Rudd had deleted the tweets to “eliminate the possibility of such comments being misconstrued”.

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“Ambassador Rudd looks forward to working with President Trump and his team to continue strengthening the US-Australia alliance,” the official said.