By Charlotte McIntyre,Editor
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By CHARLOTTE MCINTYRE, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: 01:18 BST, 17 September 2025 | Updated: 02:08 BST, 17 September 2025
Donald Trump has let slip he’s set to meet Anthony Albanese as he clashed with an Australian reporter – who had some stern words for the president after the exchange.
The US President was speaking to reporters outside the White House when he took aim at ABC’s Americas editor John Lyons after being asked about his business dealings.
Trump criticised the journalist in an awkward exchange in which he told Lyons he would tell the Australian Prime Minister about him.
Lyons asked Trump ‘how much wealthier’ he was since being re-elected president, to which Trump said he did not know and that his kids were ‘running my business.’
‘But most of the deals that I’ve made were made before, and that’s what I’ve done for a life – I built buildings like I’m building a building here,’ he said, before speaking out about ordering the construction of a new White House ballroom that he insisted would ‘know your socks off.’
Lyons then asked: ‘Is it appropriate, President Trump, that a president in office should be engaged in so much business activity?’
‘Well, I’m really not,’ Trump replied.
‘My kids are running the business. You know what the activity — where are you from?’
Lyons told the president he worked for the ABC.
US President Donald Trump criticised an Australian journalist after being asked about his business dealings in a press conference at the White House
Trump told ABC Americas editor John Lyons (pictured) he would be ‘telling’ Anthony Albanese about him
‘Oh, the Australian – you’re hurting Australia,’ he said.
‘In my opinion, you are hurting Australia very much right now, and they want to get along with me.
‘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.’
As Lyons attempted a follow-up question, Trump snapped back: ‘Quiet.’
The Washington-based reporter was previously the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and an executive producer of Nine’s Sunday show.
He was also an associate editor at The Australian before joining ABC.
After the exchange, Lyons took to air and declared Trump was undertaking a ‘war on the media’.
‘If our job as journalists is to hold truth to power, then surely asking legitimate questions politely to the President of the United States should be acceptable,’ Lyons said.
‘But in this day and age in America now, it’s not.
‘We can see even yesterday Donald Trump announced he is suing The New York Times to the tune of $15 billion.’
Trump and Albanese have yet to meet since winning their respective elections
Lyons was asked by his ABC colleagues if he expected to be invited into the White House following the on-air clash.
He said he hoped he would before stating that his questions were ‘fair’ and were not asked in an ‘abusive fashion’.
‘If we’ve reached the point where asking those sorts of questions prevents you from going into the White House then I think it’s a very dark day,’ he added.
The Trump administration continued to slam Lyons online following the heated exchange.
An official White House account shared a Fox News clip from the press conference on social media.
‘Trump smacks down a rude foreign Fake News loser,’ the caption read.
The office of California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, also tweeted the clip in defence of the Australian journalist.
‘Why is Donald Trump threatening journalists? Our allies deserve respect, not intimidation,’ he wrote.
Albanese is set to travel to New York next week for the UN General Assembly.
The two leaders have not met since their respective election wins.
The Australian Prime Minister’s proposed one-on-one meeting with Trump was abandoned earlier this year after the US President departed the G7 summit early.
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Trump takes another swipe at ABC Australia journalist: ‘Rude foreign Fake News loser’
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