US president told reporters he was ‘not happy with Australia because they were not there when we asked them to be there’

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Donald Trump has again accused Australia of not doing enough to help him in the Middle East war, claiming the US “asked them to be there” despite Australia’s defence minister saying there had been no “specific request”.

The US president made the comments while taking questions from reporters, including Australian correspondents, as he left the White House on Thursday.

The defence minister insists that increases in spending did not happen because of thinktanks, retired generals ‘or washed-up bureaucrats’

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If there’s anyone who knows just how much pressure Donald Trump is heaping on allies to lift defence spending, it’s Richard Marles.

The message was received loud and clear when he met his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, in Singapore nearly a year ago.