Sussan Ley has walked back her calls for Kevin Rudd to be sacked as Australia’s ambassador to the US, after earlier saying his position was “untenable” after comments from the US president.

The former Australian prime minister sat across from Donald Trump on Tuesday as he inked a deal on critical minerals with Anthony Albanese in a bid to break China’s stronghold on the market.

Trump appeared to joke that he doesn’t like Rudd, and “probably never will”, after a reporter asked about the ambassador’s 2020 comments describing him as “the most destructive president in history”.

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Rudd reportedly apologised to Trump after the press conference, and Trump responded “all is forgiven”.

Ley had said on Tuesday she didn’t believe Rudd should stay in the role after

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