Australia turned on the ultimate charm offensive to school Donald Trump on the deep history of the US-Australia alliance, and Malcolm Turnbull was dutifully rewarded for his risky pre-budget dash to New York to rehabilitate his relationship with the US President.
Trump's delayed appearance due to a politically crucial vote on unwinding "Obamacare" in the US Congress seemed quickly forgotten, as the President and Prime Minister publicly lavished praise on each other through their nearly three hours together on the retired USS Intrepid aircraft carrier.
"Americans have had no better friends than the Australians, I mean that," Trump said.
To be sure, it was the ultimate political theatre on steroids put on by the American Australian Association. Yet even Trump sceptics in the audience were rejoicing that the 99 years of US-Australia "mateship" had a bright future under the 45th President.
The two leaders initially spent nearly 40 minutes before inviting their wives in towards the end of the meeting.
Following their acrimonious phone call in late January over a refugee resettlement deal, the Thursday night meeting - which a US official described as an intended "love-in" - was all about trying to build personal chemistry.
This will help in dealing with difficult issues such as North Korea's nuclear weapons program, China's militarisation of contested islands in the South China Sea and the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Connecting the bilateral talk to the commemorative dinner for the 75th anniversary of the Coral Sea battle proved a masterstroke and far more powerful in building a connection with Trump's psyche than a typically shorter Oval Office meeting.
The former celebrity TV star turned populist politician prefers visual images and loves the military.
Before a sell-out crowd of 650 people, Trump witnessed powerful testimonies of American and Australian veterans to reinforce that the two countries have fought together in every major conflict since World War I, speeches by influential Australian businessmen in America, and he met the seven Coral Sea surviving veterans who forced the retreat of an almost invincible Japan in Asia in 1942.
Australia is remarkably well connected to the President.
Trump's manufacturing adviser and Dow Chemical chief Andrew Liveris recalled his parents' worries about Japan bombing his native Darwin and killing 243 Australians.
Anthony Pratt won a standing ovation from the President when he committed to invest a further $US2 billion in packaging plants to create 5000 manufacturing jobs in Trump's working class heartland of the Midwest.
Billionaire Pratt, who sat next to first lady Melania Trump, later told AFR Weekend: "I observed President Trump and Prime Minister Turnbull speaking very warmly to each other through the night."
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch introduced his "friend" the President and Trump praised the "legendary and talented" golfer Greg Norman, who was hobbling on crutches from a tennis injury.
Turnbull spoke of American and Australian code breakers revealing the Japanese plans to invade Papua New Guinea 75 years ago and reminded Trump it was intelligence officials in Melbourne who helped unearth the manoeuvre.
"We are always more assured of winning when we are fighting together," Mr Turnbull said.
American Admiral Harry Harris, currently in charge of the US Navy around risky waters near the Korean Peninsula and South China Sea, recalled his father teaming with Australians in the Coral Sea conflict that cemented the US-Australia alliance.
Trump, who read from a projector screen, seemed to heed the deluge and agree wholeheartedly about the shared history and its application today.
"We are proudly and profoundly grateful for Australia's contributions in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and their help in the fight against terrorism following the terrible attacks of September 11," he said.
Jeffrey Bleich, former US ambassador to Australia and close friend of former president Barack Obama's, had previously criticised Trump's bullying of Turnbull on the phone and worried it could damage the US-Australia alliance.
After watching events from a nearby table, he said it had been a "great night" for the two leaders in affirming the alliance.
Also in attendance, Lowy Institute for International Policy executive director Michael Fullilove said: "This put the phone call behind them.
"Trump was schooled in the alliance tonight."
