It’s impossible to say for sure whether this business about a phone call between Turnbull and Trump is true. It smacks of #fakenews, the only source being anonymous. And part of me hopes that it is. Apparently Trump referred to something as ‘the worst deal ever’. I know this Art of the Deal shtick was fun for the campaign, but please don’t tell me he actually talks that way.

Though another part of me wants it badly to be true. Because, if it is, it reflects extremely well on the PM.

Asking herself if the call will damage Turnbull, Catherine Overington replies (to herself) with a resounding ‘Meh’. ‘The main point,’ she says, ‘is that the deal’s still there.’ Yes, but no. In fact, the call should help Turnbull. The main point is that, on his second phone call with the President of the United States, the PM was fighting for Australian interests — fighting so strongly, it seems, that Trump hung up on him. That ‘worst deal ever’ was, mind you, the Obama administration’s pledge to resettle a few thousand refugees currently held in offshore detention centres. Turnbull got himself into a pissing contest with The Donald over who’s the bigger immigration hawk, and it looks like Donny loses by forfeit.

Best of all, the PM didn’t even do it as a publicity stunt. In fact he still won’t disclose the details of the call. He just did what Trump does: picked up the phone and tried to cut a good deal for his country.

All in all, a solid display of intestinal fortitude. Good on ya, Mal. And good on ya for giving Trump some credit during the whole executive-order affair. You give and you take. That’s how the game’s played.

If he keeps this up, it wouldn’t be surprised if the US-Aussie becomes the new Special Relationship. Theresa May could very well blow it for the Poms. The shameless nerve it takes to hold Trump’s hand during her visit to DC and then castigate him once she’s back in the UK. Say what you want about Malco, but he’s not two-faced. (Er… well, not just this second anyway.) He honours his American counterpart in public and keeps their disagreements private and civil. That’s the kind of partner a businessman like Trump could respect. Grudgingly, maybe, but respect all the same. I guess it’s easy to forget that Turnbull, too, was a wildly successful entrepreneur in another life.

That’s real statesmanship. Let’s have more of it.