Influence and Ignorance: A short history of snubbed Aussie PMs

21/06/2025 16 min
Influence and Ignorance: A short history of snubbed Aussie PMs

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Episode Synopsis


Today, the weekend newspapers should have been full of Prime Minister Albanese's anticipated first meeting with President Trump. Instead, we saw a rash of headlines about how the Australian prime minister was snubbed.It's not the first time the press have seized upon the perceived slighting of an Aussie PM. Jimmy Carter called Malcolm Fraser John. Richard Nixon reportedly had to ask William McMahon how to pronounce his surname. When he announced the AUKUS defence pact, Joe Biden seemed to struggle to recall Scott Morrison's name. But is there another story to tell?