Former Australian prime minister and current ambassador to the United States in Washington Kevin Rudd recently made headlines for deleting tweets critical of President-elect Donald Trump following his victory in the presidential election. Rudd, who previously served as Australia's 26th prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and was re-elected in 2013, had described Trump as 'the most destructive president in history' in a 2020 post.
At the time of his critical comments, Rudd was serving as the Chair of the Asia Society Policy Institute, an organization dedicated to using second track diplomacy to address policy challenges within Asia and between Asia and the West.
In a statement released from Ambassador Rudd's office, it was explained that his past commentaries on American politics were removed from his personal website and social media platforms out of respect for the office of the President of the United States. The statement clarified that this action was taken to prevent any misinterpretation of his personal views as reflecting the official positions of the Australian Government.
The statement further expressed Ambassador Rudd's commitment to working with President Trump and his administration to strengthen the alliance between the United States and Australia.
