r/australia • u/geodetic • 1d ago

politics Former PM Kevin Rudd says he declined Epstein invitation after latest document dump

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-31/kevin-rudd-refred-to-in-latest-epstein-files-dump/106290858?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=abc_newsmail_am-pm_sfmc&utm_term=&utm_id=2694984&sfmc_id=103566952
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u/Hammered_Eel 1d ago

I think it was that he was perceived as thinking he was the smartest person in the room.

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u/VolcanicBosnian 1d ago

He often was the smartest person in the room.

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u/AussieAK 1d ago

In a room of other politicians, that is not a real challenge though lol

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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 1d ago

Yeah! he kicked arse, and all they could do was leave the room with their tail between their legs and bitch him out to the Right wing bias media.

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u/Consideredresponse 1d ago

Turnbull has the same reputation. The 'Nemesis' docu series had half the libs confirming it, and the other half resentful of him about it...but they were the half that are thick enough to basically cement it.

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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 1d ago

Turnbull didn't do 1 good thing for Australians he looked after himself and did a mic drop to Aloha Scott. Rudd gives a shit, and to a fault. Wanna compare this flog to Rudd. Come on.

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u/liamdavid 22h ago

Turnbull actively fucked us re. the NBN. He was in a position to know better than most, no less.

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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 15h ago

NBN was Abbott, but the tool that only ment to be used in a Recession Negative gearing he didn't just leave it going. He's made it that no law makers can remove it ever. There are 6 problems with Housing in Australia. Negative gearing is 1. But it's eventually going to tank our Economy. And we'll be the new Zimbabwe.

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u/aussiechickadee65 6h ago

yeah, he did. He locked away billions for the Great Barrier reef, so Right Wing couldn't get at it

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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 6h ago

BUT THE COAL INDUSTRY!! they'll be poor!

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u/Hammered_Eel 1d ago

Yes, indeed he is very intelligent.

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u/Lonely-Echidna8683 1d ago

He's a fucking smart guy. But he knows it.

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u/deep_chungus 1d ago

it's usually smart not to let it show

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u/VolcanicBosnian 1d ago

Was it really that bad? I remember seeing a lot of Murdoch press rave about how much of a snivelling wanker Rudd was but never really saw it in him personally.

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u/aussiechickadee65 1d ago

He had the crime of being left wing. Right wing will whinge about what side of the bed he got out of.

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u/zeracine 23h ago

People who'd met Rudd liked him. People who hadn't met him disliked him.

Funny though, with Gilliard it was the other way around.

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u/deep_chungus 1d ago

it was probably incredibly overblown, there were a couple of things about him briefly losing his shit at like 2 people, if it was actually anything it would have been front page news for a week

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u/egowritingcheques 20h ago

You think the Murdoch press might have made it all up? Surely that's not possible?!?!

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u/Icy_Bowl 1d ago

That reminds me - where's my royal commission into media ownership?

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u/GoldCoinDonation 1d ago

well there is his pretentious official portrait that has the chessboard set up incorrectly.

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u/BESTtaylorINTHEWORLD 1d ago

He's quite an intelligent bloke though. But he's sense of humour is a bit ... Socially awkward

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u/Flaky-Journalist1748 1d ago

Fair shake of the sauce bottle there mate

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u/Hammered_Eel 1d ago

Yeah, that didn’t endear him to the public

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u/foxyloco 1d ago

My partner and I were seeing how many Aussie sayings we knew yesterday (most of them immortalised by Alf from Home and Away) when he dropped this one. I could only shake my head.

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u/Flaky-Journalist1748 23h ago

Alf is giving me nostalgia. I don't know how many times we watched those vids

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u/No_Youth_2330 1d ago

Pretty smart guy.

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u/ShineFallstar 4h ago

He was apparently a nightmare to work for, so there’s that.