September 24, 2025 • 15 mins
It's often said that "when America sneezes, the world catches a cold," and never has that felt more true than now.
We explore why Australians and those around the world are so utterly obsessed with US politics and the actions of President Donald Trump, and whether we can ever truly tune out from the American-ness.
And in headlines today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is spruiking Australia's world-first social media age ban during a jam-packed final day at the United Nations General Assembly; Australian opposition leader Sussan Ley has been accused of going rogue after it was revealed she had written to US Republicans vowing to reverse Labor’s pledge to support Palestinian statehood; The former CEO of the Wiggles has launched legal action against the company saying he believes he was dismissed without reasonable basis for complaining about blue Wiggle Anthony Field hiring his friends and family; Harry Potter and Little Women star Emma Watson has spoken publicly for the first time since she was banned from driving for 6 months for speeding
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Hosts: Taylah Strano & Claire Murphy
Guest: Amelia Lester
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mumma Mea acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hey, I'm Taylor Strano. This is Mumma Mer's twice daily
news podcast, The Quickie. Hey, quick question for you, Why
are we also obsessed with America? From every eyebrow raising
to potentially dangerous thing the US President sees. Australians and
those around the world can't seem to get enough of
what Donald Trump is doing or saying like him or otherwise.
(00:43):
We can't deny the impact the US and Trump has
on the rest of the world. But is it as
simple as hitting the mute button to drown out the
American ness before we get there? He's Claire Murphy with
the latest from the Quickie Newsroom for Thursday, September twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Thanks Taylor. Prime Minister Anthony Alberonizi is spooking Australia's world
first social media age band during a jam packed final
day the United Nations General Assembly. Mister Albinizi is trying
to build an inter national coalition to clamp down on
children's access to apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat,
joined by parents who've campaigned for the toughest social media laws.
(01:19):
The PM said that the globe is looking at this
and this isn't something that's confined to just Australia. Europe
is considering introducing similar laws to bar children under sixteen
from social media, but Australia's age restrictions could cause friction
with the US, where many major online platforms are based.
The issue could be discussed when mister Albanezi sits down
with US President Donald Trump in a face to face
(01:41):
meeting at the White House next month. The Oval Office
talks were officially announced after the PM briefly met Trump
at a reception for world leaders on Wednesday, with a
pair posed for a selfie. Australian Opposition leader Susan Lee
has been accused of going rogue after it was revealed
she'd written to US Republicans vowing to reverse Labour's pledge
to support Palestinian statehood. In the letter, Misslee claimed the
(02:03):
decision wasn't supported by the majority of Australians, telling nine News,
the Prime Minister has got this all wrong. He's talking big,
delivering nothing and letting Australians down. She said he's claiming
that unilateral recognition of Palestine will somehow help the hostages
be released or deliver peace to that troubled region, going
on to say that we all want the water end,
(02:24):
but recognition has to come at the end of a
peace process. Foreign Minister Pennywong responded to the comments, saying
we are Australia's strongest when our country speaks with one voice,
saying it's a pity that Susan Lee does not, saying
it's possible to back Australia and still be in effective opposition.
Miss Lee's move followed twenty five senior congressional Republicans writing
to Prime Minister Anthony Albernizi and the leaders of France,
(02:46):
the UK and Canada threatening punitive measures for recognizing Palestine.
The former CEO of The Wiggles has launched legal action
against the companies, saying he believes he was dismissed without
reasonable basis for complaining about Blue Wiggle Anthony Field hiring
his friends and family. Luke O'Neill has launched legal action
against the group Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field and its general
(03:07):
counsel Matthew Salgo in the federal court, seeking damages and penalties.
Mister O'Neill claims Field, the sole original Wiggles still performing
in the group, questioned his confidence and undermined him in
front of more than a dozen staff at a meeting
in February. The Wiggles alleged the former CEO was fired
because his overall performance was not satisfactory and necessary trust
(03:28):
in him had been lost. O'Neil says he's owed more
than the eighty six thousand dollar bonus he received in
July and is seeking to get the full bonus amounts
in addition to compensation and penalties, but the Wiggles maintained
they were not required to pay the former CEO any bonus,
either whilst an employee or on the termination of his employment.
Harry Potter and Little Women star Emma Watson has spoken
(03:50):
publicly for the first time since she was banned from
driving for six months for speeding. She spoke on the
On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty, explaining how she'd had
to have her shame go everywhere that she fielded calls,
telling her it was being covered on international news sites
and at home on the BBC. Watson was barred from
driving and had to pay a fine after she racked
up too many demerit points on her license for speeding.
(04:13):
She told Shetdy that she'd already taken up cycling, which
was a bonus for when she could no longer drive,
but explained how she'd essentially been driven everywhere while working
on film sets, and when she transitioned to driving herself
full time, she says she clearly lacked the skills to
do so.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Thanks Claire. Next, unpacking our obsession with America. When America's
need says the world catches a cold. It's a nineteenth
century sentiment attributed to Austrian diplomat Clemens von Mettenik, who
at the time was describing the interconnectedness between France and Europe.
(04:49):
Later evolved to capture America's centering global presence, and in
twenty twenty five, it's never been truer. For most of us.
We grew up with Hollywood, the Zaro looking glass through
which we inform our opinions of what America is like
big cars, bright lights, the land of the Free, but
after shaking off to picture of the modern American family
(05:11):
like in The Simpsons or The Hustle and bustle of
places like New York City. Thanks to Carry Bradshaw and
her gaggle of girlfriends, We're still completely and utterly obsessed
with the United States, for better or for worse. Now,
on his second term as president, businessman turn reality TV
host turn leader of the free world, Donald Trump has
garnered even more attention than ever before. From our long
(05:35):
press conferences that end in a diatribe about whichever journalist
dares to question the president's policies, to social media rants
and empty promises of world peace, we just simply cannot
look away or stop reporting on it. It is very
much Trump's world, and we are just in fact living
in it. But why is that? Why do we continue
(05:55):
to tune into every waking moment of when the United
States President opens his mouth? And for those of us
who say they just don't care and aren't concerned with
or flat out reject the importance of Trump's America? Is
it actually that simple? Can we just turn off America
as always? A US correspondent, Amelia Lester, has a thing
or two to say on the matter. Amelia, why are
(06:18):
we so obsessed.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
With the US?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
I think we're obsessed with Donald Trump rather than the US.
The fact is that every morning in Australia we wake
up to more things he's said that feel completely incomprehensible
and unprecedented, and he's just a master of capturing our attention.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Is it a matter then, of even if we wanted to,
we couldn't look away. Are we at a point now
where we are just so deeply meshed with what the
US news cycle is that even if we wanted to
turn it off, it.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Wouldn't make a difference, Not even the US news cycle, Taylor,
We're just inside Donald Trump's head.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Let's just take Russia and Ukraine as an example.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Like unfortunately, every time he meets with someone, he comes
away thinking a different thing, and then he announces a
policy shift. We can't turn away from these policy shifts.
They are consequential, but the problem is that they changed
on his mood.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I want to talk more about Ukraine specifically in a moment.
But it's interesting you say there that we're obsessed with
Trump specifically, because I was thinking about this topic. There
were two very distinct cults of personality going on for me,
at least, the first one being the cult of personality
that is America and American culture. We see it on
our televisions, we see it in the films that we consume,
even trickling down to things like the food trends that
(07:33):
we like, music, travel, so on and so forth. But
then there is the Trump cult of personality, or just
the Trump cult maybe is a better way to describe it.
When those two things collided, like you said, it's become
almost impossible to look away. Do you think that if
someone like Kamala Harris had won the election, would we
still be paying this close attention.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Well, we don't even need to play with hypotheticals.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Cast your mind back one year ago, which had a
different president in office, and I don't think you were
talking about President Biden on the show every day. This
is so true, it's hard to remember. But the US
basically got back to being a normal country for four years.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And look, the US remains really important.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
It's the third biggest country in the world population wise,
which I think sometimes I forget.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
It's a very big country. It's also a very rich country.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
It's the biggest donor to the UN, for instance, so
what the US thinks about the UN matters, and has
the biggest military in the world. But it's true also
that Trump himself dominates the news cycle in a way
that the world's last remaining superpower does not.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Okay, I'm glad to bring the UN up because currently
the United Nations General Assembly is taking place in the US.
We've seen this week Donald Trump gave his address. It
lasted for just over an hour, and in that hour
he managed to touch on a lot of topics.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Would you be playing it in full on the quickie?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We don't have time. We are the quickie, not the longie,
And even if we were, I'm not sure that's a
content choice we would choose to make. One of the
things that I want to quickly address with you is
something that he touched on in the address was the
topic of climate change. Now, if you're thinking Donald Trump
the climate activist, you would be wrong. He specifically called
out climate change as one of the greatest con jobs
(09:13):
in the world, and addressing members directly at the UN,
he said that if you don't get away from this
green scam, your country is going to fail. That is,
for lack of any better words, he has drawn very
clearly how he feels about climate change in the past,
but addressing the UN, Amelia, why is that so important.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, because it's worth remembering his long deny climate change.
He pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement
when he was last in office, and then he did
it again this time when he got in. But what's
different this time There's two things. He really dwelled on
the subject in a way that he hasn't in the past,
and also the timing of it. It's a day before
global leaders meet to talk about getting new climate targets
(09:52):
on board, and less than two months before the next
big climate talks begin in Brazil. So the timing is
really inauspicious because what he says the world, as we've
discussed listens to the way he dwelled on it was
also I think shocking even for people who closely follow
these issues.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Following that logic, then when the usays jump, the rest
of the world says how high should we be worried?
Then that there will be other countries that will inevitably
turn their back on things like net zero. We've seen
even here in Australia there are whispers of that within
our own Liberal party.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Yeah. Geopolitically, what I want to explain to listeners is
that when the US steps out of the arena on
climate change. It gives permission to lots of countries on
the fence to do the same thing. One example is China.
China up until recently was very much leading the world
in terms of getting its emissions down and being very
active in terms of fighting climate change. When the US
(10:42):
speaks so openly about how it doesn't believe in climate change,
it's a hoax, it's a scam. It provides a permission
structure for China and other countries to say, well, if
the US doesn't care about it, I don't care about
it either. And one really concrete example of this is
that Trump is flirting with leaving the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change. This is such a foundational document. It
was signed by George H. W. Bush back in nineteen
(11:04):
ninety two, so it was not controversial, but it was
really the basis of everything that UN did on climate change.
And if the US leaves this it will not be
able to re enter under another president.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Something else that's been happening while the General Assembly is
going on is, of course a lot of sideline talks.
We saw this week Trump met again with Ukrainian leader
Voladimir Zelenski. He also this week on his truth Social platform,
made some comments about the Ukraine Russia war, something that
he has inserted himself into. He said that he's going
to be the broker of peace. He'll get this war
(11:36):
over and done with, not in the amount of time
that he originally had promised, mind you. On truth Social
this week, he posted that the Ukraine could get back
the original borders from where they started when this war
all kicked off. Now that is with support from people
like Europe and NATO due to pressures on Russia's economy.
Now that's actually a bit of a backflip, because last
time we caught up to talk about Ukraine, Trump had
(11:58):
said that Zelensky would need to concede some land in
order to get this conflict over and done with. Why
is he going back and forth on how exactly this
war will resolve.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, I just want to pull you up on something, Taylor.
When he posts on truth social, he truths. That's the sorry,
thank you so a tweet. It's not a post, it's
it's the truth. Truth Okay, So he truthed after he
met with Zelenski. So again we're seeing this effect whereby
whoever Trump last spoke to is the person whose sympathies
resides with So basically he truths that Ukraine can get
(12:29):
back its original borders.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
And yeah, that was a big shift.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Clearly, he and Zelensky hit it off this time in
New York, and he also spoke about how the Russian
economy is a mess and said that Ukraine could even
go further than the borders that it started this twenty
twenty two or when Russia launched its full scale invasion.
Some people think that's making reference to Crimea, which was
invaded and annexed by Russia in twenty fourteen, though Trump
(12:52):
didn't specifically mention that.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Now, of course, when we talk Russia Ukraine, one of
the other big things here is when were these three men,
and talking of course about the US President Donald Trump,
the Ukrainian leader of Voldemia Zelensky, and the Russian leader
of Vladimir Putin, When will the three of them get
in a room, Because so far we've seen various confidations
of those meetings of leaders. The one that's probably the
most integral is the three of them that still has
(13:15):
not happened. Jenimlia, we were told that there was somebody
working very hard on schedules to make it happen. We
yet to see it come to fruition.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I don't think it's a scheduling issue.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
I think that Putin has made very clear he's been
given ample opportunities to meet with Zelensky. Zelensky went to
Turkey to meet with him, Putin didn't show up. I
think it's on a scheduling issue. I think Putin thinks
that if he sits down with Zelensky, he is essentially
legitimizing Zelenski as the leader of territory that he believes,
or that he asserts belongs to Russia.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Okay, so that is a will they won't they that
is still to be determined. Now a will they won't
they that we can actually report is at this stage confirmed.
Is the meeting between US President Donald Trump Australian Prime
Minister Anthony Albanezi. White House official confirmed that the two
leaders will meet on October twenty. What will the focus
(14:04):
of this meeting be? Like, take your pick, right.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yeah, And one fact that I find astonishing is that
October tiah twenty is almost exactly two years since the
last time Anthony Albanzi was at the White House. There
was a state dinner held by President Biden for him
on October the twenty third, twenty twenty three. There will
not be a state dinner this time, mark my words.
There's not going to be a red carpet rolled out.
It seems very clear that Trump is only very grudgingly
(14:27):
thinking about Australia at all.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, so there's no likelihood of Trump coming down Under
anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Then no.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
And by the way, I think there was truth to
this idea that it wasn't necessarily a good thing for
Alberanezi to meet with Trump. Earlier we spoke on the
show about the fact that Australia got the lowest tariffs
out of any country in the world. I think because
Trump forgot about Australia. So I'm not sure what ALBANIZI
will want to put in front of Trump here and
remind him about.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
It's almost like Trump saying, I've given you the easy
way out here, I've given you the least amount of
tariffs that what else do you people want? Is kind
of the feeling that I get from when Trump thinks
about Australia, if at all he thinks about us.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
One thing that did happen, which is on Australian's radars
is that the E three visa, which is sometimes referred
to as a thank you for a rack visa, that
was given by the Bush administration to Australia as a
very special non immigrant visa class that enables Australians to
work in the US, that recently was sort of lumped
in with a bunch of other visas as requiring a
(15:27):
much more hectic procedure to get it. And that made
me a little bit worried for Australians in the US
because it does mean that they are thinking about that
special visa class.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Thanks so much for taking some time to feed your
mind with us today. The quickie is produced by me
Taylor Strano and Clare Murphy
You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Mumma Mea acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters
that this podcast is recorded on.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hey, I'm Taylor Strano. This is Mumma Mer's twice daily
news podcast, The Quickie. Hey, quick question for you, Why
are we also obsessed with America? From every eyebrow raising
to potentially dangerous thing the US President sees. Australians and
those around the world can't seem to get enough of
what Donald Trump is doing or saying like him or otherwise.
(00:43):
We can't deny the impact the US and Trump has
on the rest of the world. But is it as
simple as hitting the mute button to drown out the
American ness before we get there? He's Claire Murphy with
the latest from the Quickie Newsroom for Thursday, September twenty five.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Thanks Taylor. Prime Minister Anthony Alberonizi is spooking Australia's world
first social media age band during a jam packed final
day the United Nations General Assembly. Mister Albinizi is trying
to build an inter national coalition to clamp down on
children's access to apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat,
joined by parents who've campaigned for the toughest social media laws.
(01:19):
The PM said that the globe is looking at this
and this isn't something that's confined to just Australia. Europe
is considering introducing similar laws to bar children under sixteen
from social media, but Australia's age restrictions could cause friction
with the US, where many major online platforms are based.
The issue could be discussed when mister Albanezi sits down
with US President Donald Trump in a face to face
(01:41):
meeting at the White House next month. The Oval Office
talks were officially announced after the PM briefly met Trump
at a reception for world leaders on Wednesday, with a
pair posed for a selfie. Australian Opposition leader Susan Lee
has been accused of going rogue after it was revealed
she'd written to US Republicans vowing to reverse Labour's pledge
to support Palestinian statehood. In the letter, Misslee claimed the
(02:03):
decision wasn't supported by the majority of Australians, telling nine News,
the Prime Minister has got this all wrong. He's talking big,
delivering nothing and letting Australians down. She said he's claiming
that unilateral recognition of Palestine will somehow help the hostages
be released or deliver peace to that troubled region, going
on to say that we all want the water end,
(02:24):
but recognition has to come at the end of a
peace process. Foreign Minister Pennywong responded to the comments, saying
we are Australia's strongest when our country speaks with one voice,
saying it's a pity that Susan Lee does not, saying
it's possible to back Australia and still be in effective opposition.
Miss Lee's move followed twenty five senior congressional Republicans writing
to Prime Minister Anthony Albernizi and the leaders of France,
(02:46):
the UK and Canada threatening punitive measures for recognizing Palestine.
The former CEO of The Wiggles has launched legal action
against the companies, saying he believes he was dismissed without
reasonable basis for complaining about Blue Wiggle Anthony Field hiring
his friends and family. Luke O'Neill has launched legal action
against the group Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field and its general
(03:07):
counsel Matthew Salgo in the federal court, seeking damages and penalties.
Mister O'Neill claims Field, the sole original Wiggles still performing
in the group, questioned his confidence and undermined him in
front of more than a dozen staff at a meeting
in February. The Wiggles alleged the former CEO was fired
because his overall performance was not satisfactory and necessary trust
(03:28):
in him had been lost. O'Neil says he's owed more
than the eighty six thousand dollar bonus he received in
July and is seeking to get the full bonus amounts
in addition to compensation and penalties, but the Wiggles maintained
they were not required to pay the former CEO any bonus,
either whilst an employee or on the termination of his employment.
Harry Potter and Little Women star Emma Watson has spoken
(03:50):
publicly for the first time since she was banned from
driving for six months for speeding. She spoke on the
On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty, explaining how she'd had
to have her shame go everywhere that she fielded calls,
telling her it was being covered on international news sites
and at home on the BBC. Watson was barred from
driving and had to pay a fine after she racked
up too many demerit points on her license for speeding.
(04:13):
She told Shetdy that she'd already taken up cycling, which
was a bonus for when she could no longer drive,
but explained how she'd essentially been driven everywhere while working
on film sets, and when she transitioned to driving herself
full time, she says she clearly lacked the skills to
do so.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Thanks Claire. Next, unpacking our obsession with America. When America's
need says the world catches a cold. It's a nineteenth
century sentiment attributed to Austrian diplomat Clemens von Mettenik, who
at the time was describing the interconnectedness between France and Europe.
(04:49):
Later evolved to capture America's centering global presence, and in
twenty twenty five, it's never been truer. For most of us.
We grew up with Hollywood, the Zaro looking glass through
which we inform our opinions of what America is like
big cars, bright lights, the land of the Free, but
after shaking off to picture of the modern American family
(05:11):
like in The Simpsons or The Hustle and bustle of
places like New York City. Thanks to Carry Bradshaw and
her gaggle of girlfriends, We're still completely and utterly obsessed
with the United States, for better or for worse. Now,
on his second term as president, businessman turn reality TV
host turn leader of the free world, Donald Trump has
garnered even more attention than ever before. From our long
(05:35):
press conferences that end in a diatribe about whichever journalist
dares to question the president's policies, to social media rants
and empty promises of world peace, we just simply cannot
look away or stop reporting on it. It is very
much Trump's world, and we are just in fact living
in it. But why is that? Why do we continue
(05:55):
to tune into every waking moment of when the United
States President opens his mouth? And for those of us
who say they just don't care and aren't concerned with
or flat out reject the importance of Trump's America? Is
it actually that simple? Can we just turn off America
as always? A US correspondent, Amelia Lester, has a thing
or two to say on the matter. Amelia, why are
(06:18):
we so obsessed.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
With the US?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
I think we're obsessed with Donald Trump rather than the US.
The fact is that every morning in Australia we wake
up to more things he's said that feel completely incomprehensible
and unprecedented, and he's just a master of capturing our attention.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Is it a matter then, of even if we wanted to,
we couldn't look away. Are we at a point now
where we are just so deeply meshed with what the
US news cycle is that even if we wanted to
turn it off, it.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
Wouldn't make a difference, Not even the US news cycle, Taylor,
We're just inside Donald Trump's head.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Let's just take Russia and Ukraine as an example.
Speaker 4 (06:56):
Like unfortunately, every time he meets with someone, he comes
away thinking a different thing, and then he announces a
policy shift. We can't turn away from these policy shifts.
They are consequential, but the problem is that they changed
on his mood.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I want to talk more about Ukraine specifically in a moment.
But it's interesting you say there that we're obsessed with
Trump specifically, because I was thinking about this topic. There
were two very distinct cults of personality going on for me,
at least, the first one being the cult of personality
that is America and American culture. We see it on
our televisions, we see it in the films that we consume,
even trickling down to things like the food trends that
(07:33):
we like, music, travel, so on and so forth. But
then there is the Trump cult of personality, or just
the Trump cult maybe is a better way to describe it.
When those two things collided, like you said, it's become
almost impossible to look away. Do you think that if
someone like Kamala Harris had won the election, would we
still be paying this close attention.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Well, we don't even need to play with hypotheticals.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Cast your mind back one year ago, which had a
different president in office, and I don't think you were
talking about President Biden on the show every day. This
is so true, it's hard to remember. But the US
basically got back to being a normal country for four years.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
And look, the US remains really important.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
It's the third biggest country in the world population wise,
which I think sometimes I forget.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
It's a very big country. It's also a very rich country.
Speaker 4 (08:19):
It's the biggest donor to the UN, for instance, so
what the US thinks about the UN matters, and has
the biggest military in the world. But it's true also
that Trump himself dominates the news cycle in a way
that the world's last remaining superpower does not.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Okay, I'm glad to bring the UN up because currently
the United Nations General Assembly is taking place in the US.
We've seen this week Donald Trump gave his address. It
lasted for just over an hour, and in that hour
he managed to touch on a lot of topics.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Would you be playing it in full on the quickie?
Speaker 1 (08:51):
We don't have time. We are the quickie, not the longie,
And even if we were, I'm not sure that's a
content choice we would choose to make. One of the
things that I want to quickly address with you is
something that he touched on in the address was the
topic of climate change. Now, if you're thinking Donald Trump
the climate activist, you would be wrong. He specifically called
out climate change as one of the greatest con jobs
(09:13):
in the world, and addressing members directly at the UN,
he said that if you don't get away from this
green scam, your country is going to fail. That is,
for lack of any better words, he has drawn very
clearly how he feels about climate change in the past,
but addressing the UN, Amelia, why is that so important.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Yeah, because it's worth remembering his long deny climate change.
He pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement
when he was last in office, and then he did
it again this time when he got in. But what's
different this time There's two things. He really dwelled on
the subject in a way that he hasn't in the past,
and also the timing of it. It's a day before
global leaders meet to talk about getting new climate targets
(09:52):
on board, and less than two months before the next
big climate talks begin in Brazil. So the timing is
really inauspicious because what he says the world, as we've
discussed listens to the way he dwelled on it was
also I think shocking even for people who closely follow
these issues.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Following that logic, then when the usays jump, the rest
of the world says how high should we be worried?
Then that there will be other countries that will inevitably
turn their back on things like net zero. We've seen
even here in Australia there are whispers of that within
our own Liberal party.
Speaker 4 (10:21):
Yeah. Geopolitically, what I want to explain to listeners is
that when the US steps out of the arena on
climate change. It gives permission to lots of countries on
the fence to do the same thing. One example is China.
China up until recently was very much leading the world
in terms of getting its emissions down and being very
active in terms of fighting climate change. When the US
(10:42):
speaks so openly about how it doesn't believe in climate change,
it's a hoax, it's a scam. It provides a permission
structure for China and other countries to say, well, if
the US doesn't care about it, I don't care about
it either. And one really concrete example of this is
that Trump is flirting with leaving the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change. This is such a foundational document. It
was signed by George H. W. Bush back in nineteen
(11:04):
ninety two, so it was not controversial, but it was
really the basis of everything that UN did on climate change.
And if the US leaves this it will not be
able to re enter under another president.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Something else that's been happening while the General Assembly is
going on is, of course a lot of sideline talks.
We saw this week Trump met again with Ukrainian leader
Voladimir Zelenski. He also this week on his truth Social platform,
made some comments about the Ukraine Russia war, something that
he has inserted himself into. He said that he's going
to be the broker of peace. He'll get this war
(11:36):
over and done with, not in the amount of time
that he originally had promised, mind you. On truth Social
this week, he posted that the Ukraine could get back
the original borders from where they started when this war
all kicked off. Now that is with support from people
like Europe and NATO due to pressures on Russia's economy.
Now that's actually a bit of a backflip, because last
time we caught up to talk about Ukraine, Trump had
(11:58):
said that Zelensky would need to concede some land in
order to get this conflict over and done with. Why
is he going back and forth on how exactly this
war will resolve.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Yeah, I just want to pull you up on something, Taylor.
When he posts on truth social, he truths. That's the sorry,
thank you so a tweet. It's not a post, it's
it's the truth. Truth Okay, So he truthed after he
met with Zelenski. So again we're seeing this effect whereby
whoever Trump last spoke to is the person whose sympathies
resides with So basically he truths that Ukraine can get
(12:29):
back its original borders.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
And yeah, that was a big shift.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Clearly, he and Zelensky hit it off this time in
New York, and he also spoke about how the Russian
economy is a mess and said that Ukraine could even
go further than the borders that it started this twenty
twenty two or when Russia launched its full scale invasion.
Some people think that's making reference to Crimea, which was
invaded and annexed by Russia in twenty fourteen, though Trump
(12:52):
didn't specifically mention that.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Now, of course, when we talk Russia Ukraine, one of
the other big things here is when were these three men,
and talking of course about the US President Donald Trump,
the Ukrainian leader of Voldemia Zelensky, and the Russian leader
of Vladimir Putin, When will the three of them get
in a room, Because so far we've seen various confidations
of those meetings of leaders. The one that's probably the
most integral is the three of them that still has
(13:15):
not happened. Jenimlia, we were told that there was somebody
working very hard on schedules to make it happen. We
yet to see it come to fruition.
Speaker 3 (13:22):
I don't think it's a scheduling issue.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
I think that Putin has made very clear he's been
given ample opportunities to meet with Zelensky. Zelensky went to
Turkey to meet with him, Putin didn't show up. I
think it's on a scheduling issue. I think Putin thinks
that if he sits down with Zelensky, he is essentially
legitimizing Zelenski as the leader of territory that he believes,
or that he asserts belongs to Russia.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
Okay, so that is a will they won't they that
is still to be determined. Now a will they won't
they that we can actually report is at this stage confirmed.
Is the meeting between US President Donald Trump Australian Prime
Minister Anthony Albanezi. White House official confirmed that the two
leaders will meet on October twenty. What will the focus
(14:04):
of this meeting be? Like, take your pick, right.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Yeah, And one fact that I find astonishing is that
October tiah twenty is almost exactly two years since the
last time Anthony Albanzi was at the White House. There
was a state dinner held by President Biden for him
on October the twenty third, twenty twenty three. There will
not be a state dinner this time, mark my words.
There's not going to be a red carpet rolled out.
It seems very clear that Trump is only very grudgingly
(14:27):
thinking about Australia at all.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Okay, so there's no likelihood of Trump coming down Under
anytime soon.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
Then no.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
And by the way, I think there was truth to
this idea that it wasn't necessarily a good thing for
Alberanezi to meet with Trump. Earlier we spoke on the
show about the fact that Australia got the lowest tariffs
out of any country in the world. I think because
Trump forgot about Australia. So I'm not sure what ALBANIZI
will want to put in front of Trump here and
remind him about.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
It's almost like Trump saying, I've given you the easy
way out here, I've given you the least amount of
tariffs that what else do you people want? Is kind
of the feeling that I get from when Trump thinks
about Australia, if at all he thinks about us.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
One thing that did happen, which is on Australian's radars
is that the E three visa, which is sometimes referred
to as a thank you for a rack visa, that
was given by the Bush administration to Australia as a
very special non immigrant visa class that enables Australians to
work in the US, that recently was sort of lumped
in with a bunch of other visas as requiring a
(15:27):
much more hectic procedure to get it. And that made
me a little bit worried for Australians in the US
because it does mean that they are thinking about that
special visa class.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Thanks so much for taking some time to feed your
mind with us today. The quickie is produced by me
Taylor Strano and Clare Murphy
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