![Two white men wearing suits sit at a table. A placard in front of the one on the left reads "Prime Minister of Australia," a placard in front of the one on the right reads "The President [of the U.S.]"](/proxy/?url=https://mediaproxy.snopes.com/width/1200/https://media.snopes.com/2026/04/us_president_donald_trump_and_prime_minister_of_australia_anthony_albanese.jpg)
In April 2026, posts on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and X claimed to show a post U.S. President Donald Trump made on his social media platform, Truth Social, in which he called Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, a derogatory epithet for mentally disabled people.
(X user r*****downunder)
The full text of Trump's supposed post read as follows (censorship of the slur ours):
I am not happy with the R*****ED Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony "Airbus" Albanese. We have helped him so much, but he did not want to help us in Iran. A very sad little man! I just heard he travelled to Asia to secure I million barrels of oil, which is ONLY one day of supply for Australia. We could have helped you Anthony, and the great people of Australia, but you made your choice by not helping us. WE WILL NOT FORGET!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT
First, there was a major red flag in the post itself — the font was dramatically different from the one Truth Social uses.
Next, Snopes could not find the post on Trump's Truth Social account or websites that archive Trump's posts.
Finally, if the post was real, prominent media outlets around the world would have reported on the president's use of a slur to describe a foreign leader. Searching Google, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo for reliable reporting on the supposed post also showed no results.
Snopes also reached out to the White House for comment on the story but had not heard back at time of publication.
The post spread during the U.S-Iran war, a conflict that caused oil prices across the globe to spike after Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint that a large portion of the world's oil must pass through.
The claim likely spread because Trump accused Australia of not doing enough to support the U.S. in its war, according to The Guardian and Australia's national broadcaster ABC. Albanese, meanwhile, responded that as of April 16, the U.S. had sent "no new requests" for help in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has repeatedly failed to get many of America's allies, not just Australia, to assist in his war efforts. Instead, many countries have attempted to broker independent deals to secure oil.
According to Reuters, Albanese was able to secure 100 million liters of diesel fuel from Brunei and South Korea (about half a day's worth of the country's average consumption, according to our calculations), for its reserves, which can last for a month. He also secured a promise from Malaysia that it would prioritize sending excess oil to Australia.
ABC reported that Albanese attended a meeting of 40 world leaders on April 17 centered around how to keep the Strait open. The U.S. did not attend but was expected to be briefed on the meeting.