From the left, former foreign minister Bob Carr said it showed that “Australians have been enormously gullible and optimistic about our American partner”.

“Act like a client state, get treated like one,” Carr warned.

From the right, The Australian columnist Peter Jennings linked the decision to what he regards as the Albanese government’s lacklustre defence funding. “That type of complacency garners no presidential visits when other priorities are pressing.”