Peter Dutton is forced to defend himself against foul-mouthed remark from Karl Stefanovic – as he opens up about the wild night he met his wife

Peter Dutton has hit back at suggestions he will be a ‘Trumpite’ if he becomes Australia’s next prime minister.

The federal Opposition Leader revealed what he really thought of US President Donald Trump when he sat down with Karl Stefanovic for a wide-ranging interview which aired on 60 Minutes on Sunday night.

His usually private family also gave rare insight into the man aiming to topple Anthony Albanese at the upcoming federal election, including candid details about the wild night Mr Dutton met his wife Kirrily.

Mr Dutton insisted he won’t be following the President’s if he’s elected.

‘From what Australians have seen thus far, they’d be forgiven for thinking that you are right up Donald Trump’s a***,’ Stefanovic commented.

Mr Dutton fired back: ‘Well, that might be a Labor line, but it’s just not true.’

‘I think I’ve demonstrated that I’m prepared to make the tough decisions and make the decisions that are in our country’s best interests, and that will include on the world stage as it is here.’

Mr Dutton cited the threat of possible tariffs being imposed on Australia as a concern.

‘I think they’re damaging the relationship if they stay in place and not in our interest and not in the United States’ interests,’ he said. 

However, he looks forward to possibly building a strong relationship with Trump, despite his controversial views. 

‘I think one of the things that we need to bear in mind with President Trump is that we shouldn’t be taking a literal interpretation of every word that’s he’s said,’ Mr Dutton said.

‘If you’ve watched him and you’ve listened to him and you’ve, you’ve understood the nuance for a period of time, I think you can.’

‘The President’s a dealmaker, he’s a thinker – he brings people together.

‘That’s the transaction that has been his life.’

Mr Dutton, then 23, had already been married and divorced, was expecting a baby with another ‘on-off’ partner and had entered politics when he was set up on a date with his now wife Kirrily at a Brisbane pub in the early 2000s.

Her first memories of him are with a Red Bull and vodka in hand.

Mr Dutton recalled: ‘My heart was pumping. I’d had 20 vodka Red Bulls by that stage, so it was all good.’

In their first ever television interview together, Kirrily was asked what he’s like away from the spotlight.

‘Can’t sing, can’t dance, can’t play ukelele,’ she said, refencing Stefanovic’s cringeworthy 60 Minutes interview with former Coalition Prime Minister Scott Morrison before his emphatic 2022 federal election loss.

She described her husband as very relaxed, gentle and empathetic.

‘He’s a great mate, he’s a good son, and he’s an excellent dad,’ Kirrily said.

Mr Dutton’s children Rebecca, Harry and Tom have no plans to enter politics and admitted they call him Mr Potato Head at home. 

‘That was definitely one of the negatives that we quickly turned into a positive,’ Harry laughed.

‘We sort of started saying it to him ourselves because he didn’t get enough of it day to day, he came home and had to deal with it as well.’  

Stefanovic also asked them about Tom’s ‘white powder’ scandal which made national headlines last June.

The photo showed, Tom, 18, holding up the bag for the camera, was shared on Snapchat by a friend alongside the caption: ‘Birthday day treat. Hello how u goin.’

The photo was taken on a balcony in Surfers Paradise and was swiftly removed, but not before it was screenshotted by a recipient.

‘As Tom said, we’ve sort of grown up with it, so, you get used to it and just block out the bad noise,’ his older brother Harry said.

‘We all do a pretty good job at banding together and not letting the bad get in.

‘There’s definitely more good than bad.’