Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Sunday criticised comments by US President Donald Trump on French first lady Brigitte Macron's appearance. "You're in such good shape," Trump was filmed on Thursday telling her during his first state visit to France. "I wonder if she could say the same of him?" Bishop told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, when asked whether she would be flattered or offended if the comment were directed at her.
"I'd be taken aback, I think. It's a rather interesting comment to make," she said. Bishop declined further comment on the Paris remark, but added an unprompted observation on Trump's use of social media, saying she wouldn't "run a commentary on his Twitter account".
The criticism follows an acrimonious January telephone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, when the American hung up after 25 minutes rather than the scheduled hour, according to the Washington Post. In June, the relationship between the two countries hit the spotlight again, after the release of a leaked tape of Turnbull mocking Trump at an off-the-record media event. But the two leaders "get along great," Trump had declared in May, following his first-face-to-face meeting with Turnbull.