Kevin Rudd's history of disparaging Donald Trump has been thrust back into the limelight, as the Australian government denies a diplomatic firestorm is looming.
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Old comments made by Mr Rudd resurfaced this week, prompting the Republican presidential nominee to threaten to push the US ambassador out if re-elected.
In an interview this week with Nigel Farage on GB News, Mr Trump was quizzed on how he would work with Mr Rudd – who had previously labeled the former president “destructive” and a “traitor to the west” – if re-elected.
Mr Trump hit back, describing Mr Rudd as “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”, and suggested the ambassador “won't be there long” if he wins this year's presidential race.
It made waves in the US and in Australia, with the federal opposition calling into question Mr Rudd's viability during parliament.
Mr Rudd, who joined a number of US-based think tanks after leaving politics before becoming a diplomat, has not commented on the interview publicly, but the Australian government has backed him in.
A dossier of historical comments made by Mr Rudd about Mr Trump aired on Sky News' Sharri on Thursday, revealing a number of times the former prime minister disparaged Mr Trump.
At an address to the Oxford Union in 2017, early on in Mr Trump's first term as president, Mr Rudd described Mr Trump as a “problem” for Australia, and the world more broadly.
“Trump at present represents a political liability for both sides of Australian politics,” Mr Rudd said.
“This guy is a problem. “He is an objective problem, for the world, for the region, for my country.”