Trump Praises ‘Fantastic’ Ties With Australia After Refugee Spat

In his first encounter with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull since a high-profile phone spat in February, U.S. President Donald Trump had nothing but praise for the Australian leader Thursday. “We get along great. We have a fantastic relationship, I love Australia, I always have,” Trump said after meeting with Turnbull in New York. His comments suggested a major turnaround from his stance in February, when he called an agreement for the U.S. to accept refugees from an Australian detention camp a “dumb deal” and reportedly hung up on Turnbull during a heated phone call. That incident triggered a feud between the two leaders, though Trump said Thursday that the refugee deal had since “been worked out.” “We got a little testy, but that’s OK,” he said. He also praised Australia’s health-care system and derided America’s—on the very same day the House of Representatives approved a GOP plan to replace Obamacare. “We have a failing health care—I shouldn’t say this to our great gentleman and my friend from Australia, because you have better health care than we do,” Trump told Turnbull, according to The Washington Post.