A high-stakes meeting meant to strengthen US-Australia ties ended in presidential fury — after Donald Trump discovered one of his guests once called him a “village idiot.” What should have been a routine diplomatic success quickly turned into an uncomfortable spectacle at the White House on October 20. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had just signed an $8.5 billion deal on rare earth minerals — a strategic agreement designed to reduce reliance on China and deepen Indo-Pacific cooperation — when the mood in the Cabinet Room suddenly shifted. Moments after the signing, Trump was asked by a Sky News Australia journalist whether he was aware that Kevin Rudd, Australia’s ambassador to Washington and a former prime minister, had spent years publicly

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