Albanese misses meeting with Trump during New York visit

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did not secure a one-on-one meeting with President Donald Trump during his visit to New York, according to a White House schedule released ahead of Trump’s engagements. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outlined a tightly packed itinerary for Trump that left no formal slot for a discussion with the Australian leader.

Trump is set to meet United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and the leaders of Ukraine, Argentina and the European Union, before participating in a multilateral session with Gulf and regional partners including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Türkiye, Pakistan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Albanese, who has voiced support for Australia’s alliance priorities and Western partners, said he would still seek a chance to speak with Trump at a reception for world leaders on Wednesday night hosted by the president and First Lady Melania Trump. "I'll be talking with him there," Albanese told Channel Seven this week.

The snub comes as Trump has criticized Australia for recognizing a Palestinian state at the United Nations. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president disagrees with that decision, arguing it does not help secure the release of hostages and calling the move a misstep amid ongoing Gaza tensions. "The president has been very clear: he disagrees with this decision," Leavitt said, stressing that Trump views it as insufficient action from allies.

Questions have also swirled about whether Australia’s ambassador to Washington, Kevin Rudd, is the right fit for the post given his outspoken criticism of Trump. Trump has called Rudd "nasty" and suggested he would not last long if he were to return to the White House. In the Australian leaders’ calendar, Albanese and Trump were previously slated to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June, but Trump cut his trip short to address the Middle East crisis.

Tuesday’s schedule reflects the broader focus of the trip: a cluster of high-profile diplomacy and multilateral talks amid a volatile regional backdrop, with the United States prioritizing engagements with the UN, European partners and regional powers. Albanese’s team has framed the visit as an opportunity to reaffirm Australia’s role in international forums while navigating sensitivities over Middle East policy and Australia’s own strategic alignments.