She’s stared down some of the world’s toughest leaders so it’s no surprise Julie Bishop isn’t shaking in her boots about Donald Trump.

“He doesn’t scare me,” the foreign minister said of the likely Republican presidential candidate.

Ms Bishop was asked about the prospect of the demagogue politician taking over as leader of the free world given some of his contentious foreign policies.

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She suggested it was too early to judge the full impact of Mr Trump’s policies – including banning Muslim immigration and building a wall on the Mexican border – until after he received the Republican nomination.

She diplomatically added that Australia’s relationship with the US transcended politics and Canberra would work just fine with whoever’s in the White House.

“I respect the views of the American people and should he be elected, we’ll work with him,” Ms Bishop told ABC radio in Adelaide on Tuesday.

The foreign minister is widely known for her “death stare” – which journalist Peter Greste once credited for securing his release from an Egyptian jail during diplomatic negotiations.

“It’s like getting hugged by the Terminator,” he said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also joked that he once thought Ms Bishop planned on ‘shirtfronting’ him during an official meeting, but instead offered help to fight Ebola.