A new book released on Monday about Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern examines her impact at home, and abroad.
As a young MP, Ardern said she wasn't keen to lead the Labour party, but in 2017, just seven weeks out from the election, that's what she became. The rest is history.
She is now two years into a job she said she never wanted.
"Do I think she would absolutely own him in a debate? Yes. Do I think it would potentially spark an international incident...? Maybe" - @michelle_duff on @jacindaardern being considered the "anti-Trump" despite never having directly spoken out against him #TheProjectNZ pic.twitter.com/J4yTYLbb0X
— The Project NZ (@TheProject_NZ) October 21, 2019
Michelle Duff's Jacinda Ardern: The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader, looks at the type of leader Ardern has turned out to be, and the mark she'll leave on the world.
On The Project on Monday, host Jeremy Corbett questioned Duff about whether she thought Ardern should speak out against US President Donald Trump.
"Do I think she would absolutely own him in a debate? Yes," Duff said. "Do I think that it would potentially spark an international incident? Maybe.
"I don't know whether that would be the best thing for diplomacy for her to do that, so maybe that's why she hasn't."
Another issue raised in the book was Ardern distancing herself from former Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei, who stepped down from her leadership role in 2017 following an admission of benefit fraud.
"I personally found that very disappointing," Duff told The Project. "I would have liked to have seen Jacinda Ardern stand behind her, and to back Metiria, who I think is a fabulous politician, and was treated very unfairly at that time."
