Constant criticism of the Trump administration ignores the fact that the new president and his appointees are “very focused on practical policy outcomes,” the Australian Ambassador to Washington, D.C., Joe Hockey, has warned.
Mr. Hockey used an address to the Sydney Institute in Australia to support President Donald Trump while applauding his team as “very focused on practical policy outcomes.” Mr. Hockey said the Trump administration “is not beholden to ideology or tradition” and noted it was “not in the DNA of the administration to procrastinate or give undue deference to process.”
The ambassador also praised the quality of the new Trump cabinet, arguing his appointees are “very credible,” before saying Australia will always stand beside one of its closest allies.
“At this stage, it is critical for us all to remember that we are only at the very beginning of the Trump administration,” Mr. Hockey said. “While pundits will seek to endlessly speculate and 38 make definitive statements each and every day about a range of issues concerning the Trump administration, it is wise to avoid such speculation and instead rely on the facts.”
Australia is the only country that has fought alongside the U.S. in every major conflict of the last century. Australian and U.S. troops first went into battle together in World War I near Amiens in France. Since then, they have worked as a team in World War II, Korea, South Vietnam, and countless peacekeeping operations as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Hockey, who took up his posting in Washington, D.C., in January 2016, cited that close relationship when he pointed to the fact that the Trump administration is barely 69 days old and deserves to be supported in its endeavors.
Mr. Hockey also said the national mood in the U.S. that carried Mr. Trump to victory last year indicated Americans were profoundly fed up with things they can’t control “such as trade deals, immigration policy, big media and, of course, Washington DC.”
The ambassador cited Mr. Trump’s hostility to establishment, elite U.S. media organizations and his frustration with an intransigent Congress as evidence that he has tapped a popular nerve with Americans.
He predicted Trump supporters will back their man as the administration finds it feet. “So far, they accept that he is delivering on his promises… He is their president and they are forgiving of his sins.”