Trump Clashes with Australian Journalist Over Business Dealings

US President Donald Trump clashed with an Australian journalist on Tuesday after being questioned about his business interests while in office, accusing the reporter of “hurting Australia.”

John Lyons of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) asked Trump how much wealthier he had become since returning to the White House in January. Trump responded that his children managed the family businesses, adding: “In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me.”

Trump went on to say he would raise the matter with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whom he is due to meet during the UN General Assembly in New York next week. “You set a very bad tone,” he told Lyons, before silencing him with a finger to his lips and turning to another reporter.

The tense exchange comes as US-Australia relations face strain. The Trump administration is reviewing Aukus, the £176bn ($239bn; A$368bn) submarine pact with the UK and Australia, and earlier this year imposed a 10% tariff on all Australian exports — a move Albanese described as “not the act of a friend.”

Lyons later told ABC the suggestion his question damaged relations was “absurd,” calling it a fair and legitimate enquiry. The broadcaster confirmed the questions were part of a Four Corners investigation into Trump’s business dealings since his return to office.

Shortly after, an official White House social media account shared a clip of the exchange, captioned: Trump “smacks down a rude foreign Fake News loser.”