Support For Australian Journalist After Clash With Donald Trump

Politicians and media figures are speaking out after US President Donald Trump lashed out at an Australian journalist during a press conference on Tuesday.

Trump accused ABC Americas editor John Lyons of “hurting Australia” by asking about his business dealings while in office, and threatened to tell Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about his questioning.

“In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me,” Trump said.

“You know, your leader is coming over to see me very soon. I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”

When Lyons attempted to ask another question, Trump pointed his finger at him and sharply said “quiet”.

An official White House social media account shared a video of the moment, dubbing the veteran  journalist a “foreign fake news loser”.

Senator calls on Albanese to “defend” Lyons

Lyons has been praised by members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), who said they rejected the president’s attack.

“Given John’s track record of holding the powerful to account, we know he won’t be intimidated,” they said in a statement.

“ABC journalists have an obligation to our audience to ask tough questions of political leaders right around the world. They should not face threats for doing their job. Attempts like this to falsely discredit journalists are a significant and growing threat to press freedom.”

The union joins multiple parliamentarians asserting Lyons’ rights to ask questions, with Housing Minister Clare O’Neil saying, “Australian journalists ask really tough questions… That’s a part of the really strong democracy we have here in Australia, and I think Donald Trump got asked some of those tough questions.”

“It’s something that we experience every day in the Australian media. So I think the journalists are there to try to keep politicians accountable, and they’re entitled to ask difficult questions.”

Greens senator David Shoebridge called for Albanese to stand up for Lyons when the pair meet, writing on X, “If Trump doesn’t raise his threatening abuse of Australian journalist @TheLyonsDen when he meets Albanese, then Albanese must. And he must defend Lyons. This ugly authoritarian behaviour by Trump proves how far our two country’s values are diverging.”

Trump’s threat to dob on Lyons to Albanese appears to confirm a rumoured meeting between the pair, who haven’t met since their respective election wins. Albanese had hoped to meet Trump some time during his trip to New York for the UN General Assembly next week.

Lyon’s questions are a part of an investigation by ABC’s Four Corners program into Trump’s business activities since beginning his second term, with US media investigations finding his wealth has increased during his time in office.

“Our job as journalists is to ask questions that the average person would be interested in,” Lyons told the ABC on Wednesday morning. “I think the average person in Australia would be interested in how is a president becoming so wealthy in office.”