Former ambassador calls Trump’s criticism of Rudd a “badge of honour” for him

Washington: Former Australian ambassador Geoff Raby told Bloomberg Television on Friday that Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to the US, would wear former President Donald Trump as a “badge of honour.”
Although he didn’t know much about Rudd, the other former prime minister, Trump said last week that he had “heard he was a little bit nasty” and “not the brightest bulb.” Additionally, the presumed Republican contender issued a warning, saying that Rudd would not remain Australia’s ambassador in Washington for long if he was “at all hostile” towards him.

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, with Kevin Rudd, president of the Asia Society. Bloomberg Media Group, a branch of Bloomberg LP, the corporation that owns Bloomberg News, is in charge of organising the New Economy Forum. Photographer: Bloomberg/Ore Huiying
In an interview with Daybreak Asia, Raby, who served as Australia’s ambassador to China from 2007 to 2010 during Rudd’s first time in office, said that the former prime minister wouldn’t be alarmed by Trump’s comments.
“Trump is merely the nominee,” he said. “We’ll see how it all turns out. However, based on my knowledge of Kevin over the years, I believe that Kevin would likely take pride in the recent remarks made by the presumed Republican candidate.
Before accepting the ambassadorship, Rudd made many sharply critical statements about Trump in his political commentary on the US. In a social media post from February 2022, he referred to the outgoing president as a “traitor to the West.” Two years before, during Trump’s White House tenure, Rudd dubbed him the “most destructive president in history.”
Rudd’s status as ambassador has been upheld by the Australian government in the wake of the former president’s remarks. In the case of a second Trump presidency, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Rudd would stay in his position.
She said, “He will be able to work closely with whomever is elected by the American people because of his experience and skills.”