Channel Nine's Laurie Oakes opened an exclusive interview with Malcolm Turnbull by calling him "prime minister Trumble", proving the veteran journalist gives zero fucks.
"Are you and @realDonaldTrump mates again now?" 8.30 TONIGHT on #60Mins | @LaurieOakes sits down with Prime Ministe… https://t.co/KdntCxqhbf
Oakes interviewed Turnbull after a truly insane week in which a refugee deal struck between the Australian government and the Obama administration blew up into global news.
It included the White House referring to Turnbull as the "Australian president", and its spokesman, Sean Spicer, repeatedly calling him "prime minister Trumble".
Channelling Spicer, Oakes started the interview by saying: "Welcome, prime minister Trumble". Turnbull laughed awkwardly.
Trump reportedly blew up at Turnbull last week over the Obama administration's decision to take refugees from Australia's offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island.
Asked if he gave any promises to Trump in exchange for honouring the deal – such as military commitments – Turnbull replied "Absolutely not".
"It's a deal obviously that President Trump has said he wouldn't have entered into but he has committed to honour it," Turnbull said.
He was also asked about a Fairfax Media report over the weekend claiming there's a group of rebels within the Liberal party who are discussing ways to bring on a free vote on same-sex marriage in the parliament.
Turnbull blamed Labor for not supporting a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, which would have been held next weekend had it not been voted down in the Senate.
"I’ve got no doubt that all of these matters will be discussed in the party room." he said.
"But I’m the prime minister, the government’s position is that which we took to the election, which is that this issue should be determined by a vote of every Australian in a plebiscite."
The prime minister also said his record-breaking $1.75 million donation to the Liberal party last year was needed because Liberal HQ was effectively "broke" in 2015.
But really it was all about this iconic moment.
