19 November 2024

Diplomatically speaking, Caroline Kennedy let some of her views be known while saying farewell

| Chris Johnson
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Ambassador Caroline Kennedy

US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy gave a number of frank answers to questions after addressing the National Press Club of Australia. Photo: Michelle Kroll.

Outgoing United States Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy thinks Kevin Rudd is doing a great job as Canberra’s man in Washington but says it’s up to Anthony Albanese if he stays there.

The security of Mr Rudd’s position as Australia’s Ambassador to the US has been the subject of much speculation since the election of Donald Trump over disparaging social media posts Mr Rudd posted before his appointment.

Appearing at the National Press Club of Australia on Monday (18 November), Ambassador Kennedy, who is winding up her Canberra post, gave a farewell speech full of praise for Australia and the strength of the relationship between the two nations.

While her address largely side-stepped the impacts of the recent US election, the Q&A that followed went straight there, including questions about Mr Rudd’s tenure.

“Ambassador Rudd has the full confidence of the prime minister, and whoever is the ambassador is a choice of the government that sends them to Washington DC,” she said.

“I will say that I have seen Ambassador Rudd. He’s incredibly energetic. He’s forged really strong relationships in Congress on both sides of the aisle, so I’m sure he is fully capable. I have seen Australians argue, so I’m sure he’s capable of dealing with whatever comes.”

READ ALSO Thorpe censured for her Royals outburst

Ms Kennedy shared a strong view about her cousin Robert F Kennedy Jr, who was selected by the President-elect to head the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy Jr is an anti-vaxxer and has expressed serious scepticism about the need for vaccinations.

Ambassador Kennedy acknowledged she was commenting about politics and about her family, and so was reluctant to say anything at all.

But she left the audience with no doubt as to her position.

“I think Kennedy’s views on vaccines are dangerous, and I don’t think most Americans share them,” she said.

“My uncle Teddy (the late Senator Ted Kennedy) spent 50 years fighting for affordable healthcare in the Senate, and it’s something that our whole family is so proud of that President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act and built on the work that my uncle had done over many years.

“My Aunt Eunice started the Special Olympics, so I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country.

“Bobby Kennedy [Jr] has got a different set of views.”

Another Trump nominee was also the subject of questions, this time Tulsi Gabbard, who the incoming president wants as his Director of National Intelligence.

There are strong Democratic allegations that Gabbard is a Russian agent.

Ms Kennedy expressed concern over a number of Trump’s nominees but suggested some might not be confirmed.

“Let’s just calm down and wait and see what happens,” she said in relation to Gabbard.

“But obviously, that would be of great concern, and we’ll see who actually gets confirmed.”

READ ALSO What should we do about Kevin? Shadow Foreign Minister says forgive him

The Ambassador had huge praise for Australia, saying it was America’s most trusted and capable ally.

“Australia may be a middle power, but to the United States, you are number one,” she said.

“In every dimension of our relationship, I have seen the United States rely on Australian leadership and experience.

“Australia is no longer America’s ‘deputy sheriff’ or whatever the critics like to say.

“Australia is our teacher and our partner as the United States navigates a multipolar world.”

And despite commentary suggesting a Trump-led US might withdraw from this region, the Ambassador said to expect otherwise.

While there will be many differences under Trump, she said, the US needs its friends and allies in this neighbourhood.

“The United States is a Pacific nation and what happens in this region is of vital national security, economic security, energy security to us,” Ms Kennedy said.

“So as we’ve seen with the QUAD, as we have seen with critical minerals, and we have seen really with AUKUS across the board, the United States has made commitments over many decades and those are not going to change, and our national interest is not going to change.”

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HiddenDragon7:32 pm 20 Nov 24

Ambassador Kennedy’s presentation was a masterclass in deftness and lightness of touch.

This was notably so in the face of some distinctly undergraduate questions (possibly due to several of the press gallery grown-ups being overseas as part of Albanese’s retinue) which seemed to reflect an assumption that all Americans – including those who are undoubtedly on the other side of the political aisle – bear collective responsibility for Trump and whatever he might get up to.

Farewell Ms Kennedy. You were a good US ambassador to Australia, one of the best. You liked us, we liked you, you mixed freely and easily with everyone, always polite, never swore at staff, didn’t alienate people, didn’t insult us or our leaders and represented your country with grace, charm and skill. A true diplomat.
Our ambassador though….

Ms Kennedy speaks on what surprises her most about Australia:
https://x.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1858652282877079725

Vaxxing was a massive waste of money. Should’ve just taken Trump’s advice & taken bleach.

I heard a great critique last night in relation to RFK Jr bashing that I have to share here.
It involves pointing out how he’s a fitness fanatic – in really good shape for anyone, let alone his age – and comparing that to the current U.S. secretary Assistant Secretary for Health, Rachel Levine.
Combine that with how Caroline is only saying what’s in line with what big pharma would have us believe – big pharma literally being amongst some of the biggest criminals in all of history; handed some of the biggest criminal fines we’ve ever seen – and Caroline becomes less credible by the minute

So you’re saying RFK Jr’s qualification for running public health for 300 million people is he can do pushups… genius stuff.

Your argument is so incoherent that it’s not worth commenting on.

Sorry to see the Lady leave.

I’m disappointed but not surprised to see another article perpetuating the tired, inaccurate claim that RFK Jr. is anti-vax. There’s no reference to him ever saying such; his concerns are explicitly focused on vaccine safety and ensuring that rigorous scientific standards are upheld. Shouldn’t that position be welcomed in any discussion about public health?



This kind of lazy journalism is what I’ve come to expect from Canberra media, which thrives on parroting simplistic labels and has a comical lack of interest in engaging with the nuance of someone’s actual position. Misrepresenting views only serves to shut down dialogue and reflects poorly on standards of reporting. If an experienced journalist can’t do the basic work of accurately representing someone’s stance, how can they be trusted on more complex matters?

RFK Jr is anti-vax though so there’s that….

https://www.factcheck.org/2023/11/scicheck-rfk-jr-incorrectly-denies-past-remarks-on-vaccine-safety-and-effectiveness/

He’s just loathsome enough to know that sensible people reject this stupidity so he tries to get around that with double speak.

Your first premise fails so therefore your whole fake news argument fails.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr is a far cry from his namesake and does not have the same intellect. He is very prominent in the anti-vax movement and given speeches on the subject alleging government conspiracies and equating the country’s health policies to Nazi war crimes. He has written books on the subject which have been heavily criticised for their inaccuracies, and accused of spreading misinformation and disinformation.

RFK is the family hayseed and has been denounced by them for his political and social views. He is a known philanderer and has been accused of sexual assault. He was convicted of heroin possession. He has been criticised for his collaborations with prominent and discredited anti-vax activists. He made spurious and false claims about certain drugs causing autism and other diseases. He promoted conspiracy theories which caused measles outbreaks in Samoa and Tonga and the deaths of 70 people. He had suspicious professional dealings with a known criminal who was convicted of tax fraud, perjury and violating wildlife protection laws by smuggling endangered animal and cockatoo species from Australia to the US. These a just a few of RFK Jr’s many misdeeds.

RFK stood as a candidate for the 2024 US election. He was rejected by Kamala Harris’s campaign when his numbers started to drop and he sought a cabinet post from her for his endorsement. He subsequently dropped out of the campaign to support Donald Trump and take votes away from the democrats.

Robert F. Kennedy is a very controversial and dangerous man and recently claimed that he had accepted an offer from Trump during the campaign to chair the Vaccine Safety Task Force.

CaptainSpiff9:20 pm 19 Nov 24

@Seano That link hardly makes your case. Sounds more like he believes there isn’t sufficient testing of vaccines. If that’s what you mean by anti-vax then you sure are spreading the net wide. You sound like a pro-vax nutter yourself. If you are keen on strong public health, I’m sure you must be very concerned with the Covid “vaccine” and all the public health propaganda that came with that? Nothing has ruined public health credibility like the Covid jab – but I’m sure it doesn’t bother you in the slightest.

Public health in the US is a disaster – but the moment someone suggests a change, nutters like yourself are out there pretending everything is A OK.

“Factcheck.org leans left:”, Bwhwhahaha….direct quotes have no lean. That’s just one example of RFK Jr’s anti-vax, anti-science, wellness quackery. Get a grip.

“That link hardly makes your case. Sounds more like he believes there isn’t sufficient testing of vaccines.”…I know reading and comprehension can be a challenge…but it absolutely makes the case. Questioning vaccine testing based on no data or evidence is an anti-vax talking point.

“Public health in the US is a disaster “…yes because they don’t fund it and they’ve allowed profiteering, not because vaccines are problematic.

“You sound like a pro-vax nutter yourself.”….you mean I support the massive reduction in infant mortality and debilitating disease?…if that makes me a “nutter” you need to go for a walk and touch some grass because commenting sensibly on important topics not for you champ.

“I’m sure you must be very concerned with the Covid “vaccine” and all the public health propaganda that came with that?” No, I’m worried about MAGA dopes with little to no critical thinking skills and poor understanding of vaccines, science and public health politicising an important preventive measure for stopping the spread of disease that works and has done for a century or more.

RFK JR is a crank, you can pretend otherwise but that doesn’t make his anti-vax, anti-science, wellness quackery go away or any less problematic for the person in charge of America public health.

Lefties love to quote fact checking. Nothing on the internet is believable, even my reply to your fact checking. It’s just an example of fact checking to the cows come home. I will give you one point for RFK approach to health. Apparently he’s hired Peter Evans. Now there’s a crank

Lol Futureproof, yeah champ everything I don’t like is fake news too.

In all seriousness, thanks for confirming that your comments can be dismissed. No point arguing with someone whose response to facts is to pretend they’re not real.

PS. In the real world, RFK Jr is a clueless crank who is grossly unfit and unqualified to be in charge of public health as he demonstrates further here:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/rfk-jr-told-a-bunch-of-people-the-government-may-have-plannedandnbspcovid

PPS. Yeah I know, I know…everything that you don’t like is not real but in the real world RFK Jr said this stuff and it’s unhinged.

Seano, seeing as RFK is not a Republican, I reckon Trump will punt him within three months. This may come as a shock, but I agree with you regards RFK. You can get off the floor now

When you stop and think about it, what else was she really going to say? (being programmed and predictable as she is – like so many – regardless of being towards the top of the (dung) pile). From here, it couldn’t be that hard to get her to cluck like chicken

Everything I don’t like is part of the conspiracy too. *rolls eyes*

Maybe we need Diaper Don’s anti-vax, anti-science, “wellness” kook RFK Jr to show the world what happens when you put a fruitloop in charge of something serious like public health so we can go back to not having measles outbreaks.

I feel sorry for those who suffer but Americans voted for this nonsense, elect stupid people win stupid prizes.

There’s a reason people voted for Trump – they didn’t like the direction the country was going in, but I’m sure Trump will read your comments, particularly the extreme hard left ones

No Futureproof, many people voted for Trump because they were persuaded by news outlets, not subject to truthful reporting, that Trump was a great saviour. They were never exposed to the reality of what some of his policies are going to do. Yes, this is their own fault for not checking a range of media outlets, but the MAGA bandwagon exploited that level of ignorance.

I know the system in America is broken and people are reacting to that Futureproof. The refusal to raise the minimum wage while billionaires get tax cuts is just one example of this.

The problem is the vast billionaire-funded misinformation machine is dedicated to keeping the system broken, and people voting against their own best interests to the advantage of the billionaires who own Trump.

As for left or right…that’s got nothing to do with science champ…putting idiots in charge of public health and bringing back polio isn’t a clever way to own the Libs but it’s the sort of stupidity we can expect from MAGA.

PS. I know dopey MAGAs are going to constantly drone “duh Trump won duh” but that doesn’t mean Trump gets a pass on criticism for doing moronic things like putting a grossly unqualified and unhinged RFK Jr in charge of health. Just saying.

PPS. RFK Jr’s brain worm must be terribly hungry, there can’t be anything left to eat in that empty bonce.

Well Seano, I guess all those billionaires and A lister celebrities that supported Harris will be happy

Capital Retro8:53 am 20 Nov 24

Bill Gates reportedly gave the Harris campaign $50 million when Trump threatened to release Epstein’s client list.
Gee, the Clintons were quiet also.

Once again, none of the criticism of Trump is a defence of Harris or the broken two-party system…this stuff is not hard champ.

But it was Trump who gave billionaires tax cuts while cutting programs for the poor…he’s going to do much worse this time…according to him…so you know facts.

PS. I bet on Trump when the Dems dropped Biden for Harris, and I knew my bet was good when the Dems were once again campaigning with celebrities, no one cares about celebrity opinions anymore (which is probably why Taylor Swift only said who she was voting for and recommended people do their own research and vote).

“Bill Gates reportedly gave the Harris campaign $50 million when Trump threatened to release Epstein’s client list.”

“Reportedly”….reported by whom exactly?

Of course, you’re a conspiracy theorist…it explains so much.

Capital Retro9:55 am 20 Nov 24

If Trump in diapers could beat Harris just how bad was Harris?

Capital Retro10:01 am 20 Nov 24

Plenty of reports about the donation on the net including The Guardian and if you dig a bit deeper you will find this: “…….Bill Gates famously flew with Epstein and visited his island countless times, and when asked by PBS if there’s a lesson for Gates or anyone else regarding Epstein, Gates said: “Well, he’s dead… so… you have to be careful!” Sounds like a man that knows his enemies

He is still having this “Orange man bad!” breakdown. 🤣

I don’t know why you think I’m worried about Harris, Capital, I’m worried about the diaper wearing clueless fascist who is going to a lot of economic and social harm while people with no ethical or moral centre make excuses.

Ah no sorry, you don’t get to make things up, cherry-pick out-of-context and unreferenced quotes and pretend it’s a new or valid argument.

You said that “reportedly” Gates gave Harris $50m when Trump threatened to release the Epstein files…let’s leave out the fact that when Trump was asked about releasing the Epstein files on Foxnews he blanked the question or that Epstein on tape described himself as Trump’s best friend (because that’s pretty problematic for this dumb conspiracy theory)….” reportedly” by who?

Who reported that Gates gave money to Harris in response to Trump threatening to release the files? Back your claim with facts or be dismissed as a conspiracy theorist.

Hey Ken, in the real world the “orange man’s” cabinet selections are already a comical disaster. Just thought you’d like to know.

Capital Retro11:02 am 20 Nov 24

Can you mentor me into becoming a a “conspiracy theorist”, Seano?
Sounds like fun.
Whatever the outcome it would be better than reading your endless, fanatical rants.

🤣
Absolutely foaming at the mouth over somewhere on the other side of the planets politics.

@Capital Retro, happy to help, just throw out what limited critical thinking skills you have, keep trolling low-quality information sources and believing everything that confirms your pre-existing biases…you’re already on the right track.

You are quite the fantasist Kenbo.

Not much of a fantasy when this isn’t even the only article where you have rage typed unhinged, conspiracy theory-esque rants about Trump and his cabinet picks.

Show me one example Kenny….good luck with that.

Pretty much every one of yohr comments on this article: https://the-riotact.com/be-grateful-trumps-cabinet-horror-show-cant-happen-here/825813

Absolutely unhinged.

So no examples, just your cooked opinion….good to know Kenbo.

LOL
There are numerous examples in the comments on that article, as well as on this one.

Again, absolutely unhinged.

So no examples.

You can’t challenge an argument because you don’t hold any sensible fact-based opinions, ad homs is all you have Kenbo which can be dismissed.

Capital Retro4:57 pm 20 Nov 24

Where do I buy that “critical thinking” stuff? I manage quite well just thinking.

Apparently scrolling up and reading your own unhinged nonsense is too difficult for you.

Apparently providing an example or an argument on any topic based in fact is too difficult for you…sad little ad homs is all you have Kenbo.

You can keep pushing this lie, but we both know I gave examples, as does anybody else reading this. All of your unhinged “Orange man bad!” comments on 2 articles are examples. You’re fooling nobody but yourself, and further displaying how unhinged you are over Trumps win.

Awww Kenbo…your not liking criticism of the Diaper Don is only proof that you haven’t got a better argument…so you have to resort to your sad little ad homs.

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