The White House says America will uphold a refugee resettlement agreement with Australia - despite President Donald Trump calling it a "dumb deal".
President Trump reportedly cut short a phone call Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last Saturday after Mr Turnbull brought up the refugee deal - which had been agreed under President Obama's administration.
One former American ambassador to Australia has told this programme he thought Trump's actions were "appalling" but stressed relations between the two allies would remain strong.
Harry Horton reports from Washington.
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On Thursday America woke up to the news that US relations with one of its closest allies, Australia, were under pressure.
But at a breakfast prayer meeting, the President sought to reassure the nation.
[TAKE SOT]
SUPER: PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
"When you hear about the tough phone calls I'm having. Don't worry about it, just don't worry about it. They're tough. We have to be tough. It's time we're going to be a little tough folks. We're taken advantage of by every nation in the world, virtually. It's not going to happen anymore. It's not going to happen anymore."
[TAKE PTC]
SUPER: HARRY HORTON, US CORRESPONDENT
"It's astonishing to think that we're less than two weeks into President Trump's administration. He came into Washington promising to shake things up. But I think few people thought it would extend to places like this one - the Australian embassy."
At least one former American ambassador to Australia - Edward Gnehm - says there's no need to worry about relations between the two countries.
[TAKE SOT]
SUPER: Amb Edward Gnehm, Australian Ambassador 2000-2001
"Actually for once I think I could agree with the president. No, I don't think you should worry about it. Because we've seen over and over his way of reacting to people is outrageous, and then he backtracks or he has someone else in his administration reword it. Look, as a career diplomat, I found it appalling, I'd like to be clear about that. But I don't think that's any indication that our relationship with Australia is going to be anything but very, very good."
"This isn't how diplomacy works, this can't go on for much longer, surely?"
"One of the things that was said to me when I was going to Australia was, you know the Aussies are always in your face? Maybe they have to look at it like we're becoming more like the Aussies in some ways?"
But some of Washington's foreign policy establishment say Donald Trump's brash style could switch Australia's focus further north - to China. Here's Miles Kahler from the Council on Foreign Relations.
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SUPER: Miles Kahler, Council on Foreign Relations
"The fundamental basis of the relationship with Australia is the security relationship, the alliance, free trade agreements, intelligence sharing. It's a very dense relationship as it is with all of our close allies. On the other hand if the relationship at the top of that very dense relationship goes off track, that will clearly, over time, influence how those further down the ladder view their counterparts and where the relationship is going and also what the alternatives are - in Australia's case, China. And there has been discussion of that since this contretemps with Mr Trump. China is Australia's biggest economic partner, not the United States. The US is Australia's security partner, and we have an important economic relationship with Australia but their economic future is clearly with Asia and with China. So that puts Australia in a complicated position and if the relationship with America's leadership is rocky that makes China's case stronger and more attractive."
Donald Trump has been criticised for employing a senior White House team with little or no government experience.
His skeleton cabinet hasn't helped matters - but as various department heads are sworn in, Ambassador Gnehm predicts the rocky start to Donald Trump's administration might begin to steady.
[TAKE SOT]
SUPER: Amb Edward Gnehm, Australian Ambassador 2000-2001
"Now that Rex Tillerson is sworn in as Secretary of State and will take over there you're gonna find that more of the pronouncements on international affairs are going to be out of the State Department where he does have a different personality and some knowledge. An example is out Secretary of Defence who is travelling in Asia and he knows the issues very well from his past experience so he's going to be conveying a message that is a lot more well received.
"But will Donald Trump listen to those people?"
"Well, I think that again, you have a personality issue here. We don't know for a fact how it's going to work out. He's still going to be very vocal. But what we have seen, a little bit, is that when he's asked about the contradictions between what he's said and one of his appointees has said? 'Well, I'm going to depend on him… he knows… I'll defer to him…'. Well, what's in fact going to happen? I don't know. I think that he is going to be deferential to those so long as he can say what he wants to say in the way he wants to say it"
Allies and adversaries watch on closely as US foreign policy slowly re-aligns to Donald Trump's 'America First' agenda.
Harry Horton, Washington