Australia can trust Donald Trump even though his style of presidency is unusual, former prime minister John Howard insists.
The controversial US president has come under scrutiny since he was elected in 2016, but Mr Howard says Australians shouldn't be so quick to judge.
"The style of President Trump is unusual...I accept that some of his style is provocative, but in the end it's what he does that matters," Mr Howard told a United States Studies Centre event in Sydney on Thursday.
"We have to be careful we don't fall into the trap of rushing into judgement."
Mr Howard called out people writing off the US president after just seven months as "foolish", and dismissed claims the relationship between Australia and China was under strain because of Mr Trump.
He disputed the idea that Australia would need to choose which country it remained allies with.
"This argument that we've got to make a choice between the US and China, if any government implemented that they would be doing immense damage to Australia's future," he said.
The nation's second longest-standing prime minister gave the nation's current leader a "10 out of 10" for the way he has dealt with the new US president.
"I think Malcolm Turnbull has managed him very well," Mr Howard said.
He also praised Mr Trump, particularly his response to the war in Syria, calling it "outstanding" in comparison to the actions of his predecessor Barack Obama.
While Mr Howard was quick to defend Mr Trump, he did admit surprise at the outcome of the US presidential election.
He thought Americans wouldn't accept the Republican's style, but it was the "accumulated disillusionment" by America's middle class that gave Mr Trump the presidency.
"You've got this deep deprivation middle class Americans feel ... and for enough of them Hillary Clinton represented a continuation of the same-old-same-old, and that was critical to the outcome of the election," Mr Howard said.
And for that reason, he's sure the former businessman and television personality will stay in the top job for the entire four-year term.
"I think he will still be president, I really do," Mr Howard said.
