And this: "It may well have New Zealand reaching into the excuse bucket."
And lo, everything came to pass. It's like I looked into the future, isn't it? I don't want to make bold claims. But when you've been around long enough like I have then you get a feel for the way things are going to pan out, and you can model your remarks and your behaviour with an understanding of the likely consequences.
TUESDAY
My God, that Ardern woman makes me sick. Someone is going to have to say something about it. Things just can't go on like this.
WEDNESDAY
I wonder whether Scott Morrison is going to be fully briefed to shove a sock down Jacinda Ardern's throat.
It's easy to run around the world, smile at people and look good and hug people and all the rest of it.
But she's a complete clown.
THURSDAY
There are many people who would relish the opportunity to misinterpret things that I have said. Of course I would not wish any harm to Jacinda Ardern. It was taken entirely out of context when I reportedly said I wonder whether Scott Morrison is going to be fully briefed to shove a sock down Jacinda Ardern's throat.
And so a mangled version has got back to Scott Morrison, and he's said that he finds it "disappointing:" and "way out of line", and adds, "I have two daughters, so you can expect that's how I would feel personally about it."
What a shame it is to mislead our Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian PM Scott Morrison at the Pacific Island Forum in Tuvalu. Photo / Jason Walls
What I meant, and it's obvious to everyone with a grain of sense, is that I wondered whether Scott Morrison is going to be fully briefed to gently and really quite tenderly suggest to Jacinda Ardern that she give little bit of thought, a little bit of what do you call it, contemplation, about whether she herself might like to put a sock in it.
Because it's alright if she does it and it wouldn't have to be a thick, smelly sock, it could be a nice polyester and nylon blend, scented with a bit of what do you call it, pot pourri.
I mean that's something she might actually enjoy and I know that the world would enjoy the silence, probably her husband too, he looks a bit long-suffering.
