Albanese faces the diplomatic test of his political life to attract, and hold, Trump’s attention

Here’s a newsflash for Australians: Donald Trump doesn’t worry about us too much.

We are a small fish from down under. And for most of Trump’s supporters we’re probably known either (positively) for Crocodile Dundee or (negatively) for gun control.

At a political level, it could be argued that Australia does have somewhat outsized influence in the US, largely due to our long-running defence alliance, but as all Australians who work in Washington know, that has limited currency.

This is even more the case today, given the immense instability in Europe and the Middle East that is commanding attention.

For Australia as a nation, and for Anthony Albanese, this dynamic is both a blessing and a curse.

It means that Australia can fly under the radar to some degree, leveraging the pre-existing relationship through lower-level leaders and staff to get the required outcomes, on trade for example, without being so high profile that we cause Trump a domestic political headache.

It also means that the US president has limited understanding, and interest, in Australia. Getting a meeting at all has been a battle, and he didn’t even know what Aukus was,

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