Before the event, on board a former aircraft carrier anchored off Manhattan, Trump and Turnbull held their first face to face talks since an tense phone call in February.
Here's our New York correspondent, Lorna Shaddick.
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Making peace… on an old warship.
Donald Trump's dinner with American and Australian veterans was also the venue to calm the waters with Malcolm Turnbull, after reports that their first phone call was cut short in a row over the US taking refugees from Australian detention centres.
SOT - Donald Trump, US President
We had a good telephone call. You guys exaggerated that call. That was a big exaggeration. We had a great call. We're not babies.
Exaggerated or not, this was their first face to face meeting, and a chance for Mr Trump to revive ties with a key Pacific ally that has recently started to look as much towards Beijing as to Washington.
SOT - Donald Trump, US President
Together, we discussed crucial issues, ranging from national security to trade, to immigration and enhanced economic cooperation. We reaffirmed the tremendous friendship between the United States and Australia.
Polls before the US election showed Australians preferred Hillary Clinton 7 to 1, and Mr. Trump's cancellation of the TPP trade deal was a blow to Canberra. But Malcolm Turnbull was all smiles:
SOT - Malcolm Turnbull, Australian Prime Minister
Today, together, we condemn and we resist North Korea's reckless provocation. We fight together in Iraq and Afghanistan to defeat and to destroy the terrorists who threaten our way of life. From the mud of Fromelles to the waters of the Coral Sea, to the sands of the Middle East today, Australians and Americans stand shoulder-to-shoulder defending our freedoms.
Meanwhile, earlier on, a huge police presence outside the ship...where hundreds of protesters took advantage of the presidential presence to make a point.
UPSOT chanting - Donald Trump, no show, no see - he's afraid of NYC!
On Location- Lorna Shaddick, New York
This is the first time Donald Trump has come back to his native Big Apple since becoming President back in January. And not all of his fellow New Yorkers are very pleased to see him - there are protests going on at Trump Tower as well as here at the Intrepid.