Australia's ambassador to the United States, Joe Hockey, has warned President Donald Trump his trademark "America First" rhetoric will leave allies and trading partners questioning their relationship with America, and risks a horrible impact on the domestic economy.
Amid growing reports of turmoil from inside the White House, Mr Hockey used a speech in Chicago to downplay Mr Trump's combative January phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over an asylum seeker resettlement deal and said some countries unfairly look to the US to solve every problem the world faces.
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Asked about diplomatic and political concerns in Washington and Canberra, Mr Hockey warned the domestic appeal of isolationist and nationalist politics should be balanced against the impact on strong alliances like with Australia.
"When America says 'America First', as someone with nearly 20 years in politics, I get that . . . but what the rest of the world is hearing is that they're coming second and they're the losers and America is the winner," Mr Hockey told the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Wednesday.
!["When you're the biggest player in town you need to recognise you need to leave something on the table for the other ...](/web/20170217030936im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/r/c/r/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gueff1.png/1487278964722.jpg)
"America is the biggest military power in the world; it is the biggest economy in the world; its culture is more pervasive and powerful than any other culture in the world, even arguably the English culture, which is pretty remarkable.
"So when you say 'America comes first, everyone else comes after that', I get that for domestic reasons . . . as long as you're mindful that a lot of American companies trade outside the United States [and] the reason it is the richest nation on Earth is because it exports so much."
The federal government has been careful not to criticise the Trump administration in recent weeks, but Mr Hockey urged humility and moderation from the new President.
"If people overseas start looking for alternatives to the United States, that will have a horrible impact on the US," he said.
![Donald Trump's heated phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made headlines around the world.](/web/20170217030936im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/4/g/m/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gueff1.png/1487278964722.jpg)
"When you're the biggest player in town you need to recognise you need to leave something on the table for the other party."
Mr Trump campaigned on a promise to seek a better deal for the US in international trade and defence, taking up the nationalistic "America First" message in his inaugural address.
![Ilustration: Ron Tandberg](/web/20170217030936im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/e/t/k/a/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gueff1.png/1487286170413.jpg)
Mr Hockey compared disagreement between the two leaders over the asylum seeker resettlement deal with an occasional fight between siblings, without lasting consequences.
He said the group held by Australia on Manus Island and Nauru were "economic refugees".
He said Mr Trump wouldn't seek to renegotiate the Australia-US free trade agreement, signed in 2005, praising his grasp of international commerce just weeks into his first term.
Mr Hockey said Australia was disappointed the US had withdrawn from the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, but was "cheering on the President reducing the cost of the Joint Strike Fighter" project as Australian Defence Force personnel are currently stationed in 31 US states.
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