Political commentator says Donald Trump's 'America First' message did not resonate with voters and led to Peter Dutton's defeat
A political commentator has insisted the "Donald Trump factor" played a major impact on the Australian federal election which saw Liberal Peter Dutton voted out.
The Coalition suffered a crushing defeat, with Labor winning a comfortable majority, however, the final make up of parliament is to be determined with counting still going.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the ALP has 88 seats while the LNP sit on 40.
With the dust settling, the Liberals are trying to figure out what went wrong in the campaign which led to one of the worst losses for the party in modern history.
Sky News contributor Kristin Tate believes President Trump was part of the reason.
Speaking to host Chris Kenny, she said the Coalition's loss "definitely mirrors" the result in the Canadian election last week which saw the centre-left Liberals victorious.
"You had this once struggling left-leaning party that just soared to victory thanks to an anti-Trump inspired popularity boost," she said on The Kenny Report on Tuesday.
"The way I see it, Trump's America First message doesn't resonate with a lot of people around the globe who see the kind of emergence of this more self-serving America that's been evolving and getting stronger. And without a doubt that hurt Dutton."
Some of President Trump's "America First" priorities included a tough stance on immigration, ending "climate extremism" and the return of federal workers to the office.
Labor, the Greens and Teal independents all seized on the Liberals' policies and Mr Dutton being compared to President Trump throughout the 35-day election campaign.
The Coalition early on introduced a policy to end work from home arrangements and plans to sack 41,000 public service employees which he later walked back on.
The plan proved unpopular particularly for female voters who are mostly mothers juggling their young families while being able to earn a living from home.
The party also wanted to adopt the Trump administration's department of government efficiency, appointing Senator Jacinta Price to take charge if the LNP was elected.
It was also forced to water down a Trump-like phrase from Senator Price who had told a campaign rally in Perth she wanted to "make Australia great again".
"We don't have to adopt all of America's policies," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in one of the many press conferences during Labor's campaign.
Kenny questioned whether there would be any concerns from President Trump and the "exaggeration in attacks" linking politicians to the leader of the free world.
Ms Tate believes it would not "trouble" the Republican.
"I think he's solely concerned with America. He ran on America First. And I will say that I suspect that the anti-Trump sentiment in these other countries has a lot more to do with Trump's personality than his policies," she said on The Kenny Report.
"You have the media around the world, the left-wing media that is constantly insisting Trump was this fascist dictator. So I suspect that's what it's all about. And you know, Trump was very kind to Albanese. He loves being on the side of the winner.
"And I suspect that we (the United States) will continue to have a very strong relationship with Australia moving forward."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
34 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Trump tariff talk to dominate PM's Canadian sit-down
Tariffs will be top of mind for the prime minister and his Canadian counterpart as the two meet ahead of Anthony Albanese's highly anticipated talks with Donald Trump. Mr Albanese will land in Canada on Sunday, local time, for bilateral talks after being invited to the G7 summit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Both leaders have had to reckon with the impact of the US president's threatened tariffs on their economies. But Mr Carney could provide insight for the Australian's first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump. Despite vowing to fight back against the tariffs, the Canadian prime minister's meetings with the US president have been well received by both parties and raised hopes for a fresh trade deal between the two North American nations. Mr Albanese's meeting with the Republican president is scheduled for Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit. The prime minister has taken a less adversarial stance to Mr Trump's approach than his Canadian peer, preferring to highlight Australia's long history with the US. "The combination of Australia and the United States when we're working together is an unbeatable combination," he told business leaders in Seattle on Saturday. Australian imports into the US face 10 per cent tariffs and - like all trading partners except the UK - 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel. The Labor government is considering using US beef imports and critical minerals as potential bargaining chips as it "engages constructively" with American officials. Australians' sense of safety and economic optimism have already plunged, according to the annual Lowy Institute Poll, amid the talk of tariffs, as well as growing conflicts and global disorder. Their trust in the US has fallen to the lowest level in the history of the decades-long poll, with two-in-three respondents holding little to no trust in the traditional Australian ally. "Australians are clearly unsettled by what they've seen of the second Trump administration," Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove said. Mr Albanese previously met the Canadian prime minister on the margins of the Papal inauguration, but this will be their first formal bilateral discussion. They are also expected to discuss defence, critical minerals, climate change and the escalating situation in the Middle East.
West Australian
37 minutes ago
- West Australian
Trump tariff talk to dominate PM's Canadian sit-down
Tariffs will be top of mind for the prime minister and his Canadian counterpart as the two meet ahead of Anthony Albanese's highly anticipated talks with Donald Trump. Mr Albanese will land in Canada on Sunday, local time, for bilateral talks after being invited to the G7 summit by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Both leaders have had to reckon with the impact of the US president's threatened tariffs on their economies. But Mr Carney could provide insight for the Australian's first face-to-face meeting with Mr Trump. Despite vowing to fight back against the tariffs, the Canadian prime minister's meetings with the US president have been well received by both parties and raised hopes for a fresh trade deal between the two North American nations. Mr Albanese's meeting with the Republican president is scheduled for Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit. The prime minister has taken a less adversarial stance to Mr Trump's approach than his Canadian peer, preferring to highlight Australia's long history with the US. "The combination of Australia and the United States when we're working together is an unbeatable combination," he told business leaders in Seattle on Saturday. Australian imports into the US face 10 per cent tariffs and - like all trading partners except the UK - 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel. The Labor government is considering using US beef imports and critical minerals as potential bargaining chips as it "engages constructively" with American officials. Australians' sense of safety and economic optimism have already plunged, according to the annual Lowy Institute Poll, amid the talk of tariffs, as well as growing conflicts and global disorder. Their trust in the US has fallen to the lowest level in the history of the decades-long poll, with two-in-three respondents holding little to no trust in the traditional Australian ally. "Australians are clearly unsettled by what they've seen of the second Trump administration," Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove said. Mr Albanese previously met the Canadian prime minister on the margins of the Papal inauguration, but this will be their first formal bilateral discussion. They are also expected to discuss defence, critical minerals, climate change and the escalating situation in the Middle East.
Perth Now
38 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Global doom and gloom sinks Aussie economic optimism
Tariffs and global conflict have knocked Australians' optimism in the economy and trust in the US to 20-year lows, a long-running poll by an independent think tank shows. Since it began in 2005, the Lowy Institute Poll of Australians' attitudes to the world has never been so bleak. Trade turmoil and ongoing cost-of-living pressures were having a negative impact on household confidence even before President Donald Trump's "liberation day" tariffs were announced on April 2, after the survey had been in the field. A little over half of respondents (52 per cent) said they were optimistic about Australia's economic performance over the next five years, the least since the poll began in 2005 and in line with attitudes during the COVID pandemic in 2020. Young Australians aged 18-29 felt the least optimistic about the economy, while Labor voters were more confident than Liberal and Greens-voting counterparts. Feelings of pessimism reflected a precarious moment, with the world order that had served Australia's interests well since the end of World War II beset on all sides, said Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove. "Australians are clearly unsettled by what they've seen of the second Trump administration, with almost two-thirds (64 per cent) now holding little to no trust in the United States to act responsibly - the lowest level in the history of the Lowy Institute Poll," said Dr Fullilove. But Australians are even less trusting of China - the nation's largest trading partner - as military tensions over the fate of Taiwan ramp up. Only 16 per cent of respondents had confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping to do the right thing, compared to a quarter who had confidence in Mr Trump. Ongoing distrust in China, which conducted navy live-fire drills off Australian waters shortly before the poll was conducted, was contributing to sustained belief in the importance of the Australia-US alliance, despite distrust in Mr Trump, Dr Fullilove said. Amid rising authoritarianism around the globe, Australians have never been more firm in their support for democracy, with 74 per cent believing it is preferable to any other kind of government. "Australians lean towards co-operation," Dr Fullilove said. "They feel most comfortable with fellow liberal democracies such as Japan and New Zealand, but remain circumspect towards two regional powers, India and Indonesia." Overwhelmingly Australians were in favour of making more goods in Australia, even if they cost more (83 per cent), and distrustful of social media's impact on democracy (70 per cent). Those figures will be encouraging for the federal government and its flagship policies to ban children from using social media and promote domestic manufacturing. The poll was conducted on behalf of the Lowy Institute by the Social Research Centre, which surveyed 2117 Australian residents aged 18 and above between March 3 and 16.
