Temu-Trump and Timbit-Trump tank in elections as US President paints disturbing picture of conservative leadership
Conservative parties lost by a landslide in the recent Australian and Canadian federal elections.
The defeat of both the Liberal Party of Australia, and the Conservative Party of Canada a week earlier, came as a shock to the many who tipped them to win, following national polls in their favour just months earlier.
But the re-election of Donald Trump, and the swift implementation of his world-rattling policies, set into motion an urgent reorganisation of priorities for voters around the world.
How leaders would respond to Trump's policies, and handle their redefined relationships with him, was brought front and centre, as were fears that parties would concede and conform to Trump's controversial style of conservative leadership, after recognising its success in the US.
In the end, both Peter Dutton and Pierre Poilievre did not just lose their elections, they lost their seats.
Throughout his campaign, Dutton had been nicknamed Temu-Trump, referencing the online retailer known for cheap copies.
Canadians similarly called their own conservative leader Timbit-Trump — a nod to the small doughnut holes sold at the nation's hugely popular chain Tim Horton's. Poilievre was also commonly called 'Maple MAGA'.
While conservative parties often boast stability, Trump does quite the opposite, and comparisons to the US president bring with them problems when promising predictability,
Aside from tariffs, Trump is willing to make moves that unnerve massive cohorts of his conservative following,
From claiming Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was 'gambling with World War III' by refusing to give up the Crimean Peninsula, to posting an AI-generated image of himself in a papal headdress, alongside a caption that said he would 'like to be Pope' the night before the Australian election.
'Im my own person'
Dutton made attempts to distance himself from Trump, insisting: 'I'm my own person.'
But the comparisons had already begun to mount.
One such comparison came as Dutton proposed a plan to reduce the Australian Public Service by 41,000 workers, just months after Trump fired thousands of workers, including top officials and watchdogs, and dismantled a key humanitarian agency.
Dutton's stance on migrants, and his branding of the nation's public broadcaster as 'hate media', both draw similarities with Trump, alongside accusations that Dutton stokes culture wars in Australia.
Coalition frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price also publicly vowed to 'make Australia great again', a clear echo of Trump's famous rally cry.
And there were claims that Donald Trump's campaign co-manager secretly visited Australia to help with Liberal strategy ahead of election
In Canada, which Trump earlier this year threatened to annex and absorb, an even more imminent problem was created.
Cansdian Prime Minister Mark Carney pushed back hard against Trump during his election campaign and spoke to this in his victory speech late last month.
'As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats.
'President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never ever happen.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
A Ukrainian firefighter rushed to the scene of a Russian drone attack. He found his wife, daughter and grandson dead
When the chief of the local fire department was called to a scene of a Russian strike in the central Ukrainian city of Pryluky on Thursday, he and his brigade found five people were killed and nine injured after a drone hit a residential building. Among the dead: the firefighter's wife, his daughter and his baby grandson. 'Three generations… there are no words that can ease this pain,' the Ukrainian National Police said in a statement on Thursday announcing the death of Daryna Shygyda, the firefighter's daughter, who was a serving police officer. 'She was strong, bright and sincere. She was loyal to her oath, fair and had a deep sense of duty — this is how her colleagues and everyone who knew her will remember her,' the police said in a statement, adding that Shygyda joined the force in 2020, when she was 22 years old. 'Becoming a police officer was her dream and vocation. Her firefighter dad taught her to help people since she was a child. And her husband, who is also a patrol officer, always supported and helped in the service. Her son was just one year old. His name was not released, and a photo of the baby shared on social media shows him facing away from the camera, held tightly by his mother and wrapped in a jacket with a wooly winter hat. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the boy was the 632nd child killed by Russia since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Russia launched 103 drones and one ballistic missile against the country overnight, targeting multiple regions. At least eight people were killed in the attacks. Speaking about the Shahed drone attack on Pryluky that killed the firefighter's family, Zelenskyy called on Ukraine's western allies to put extra pressure on Moscow. 'This is yet another massive strike by terrorists — Russian terrorists who kill our people every night,' Zelenskyy said on Telegram. 'This is yet another reason to impose maximum sanctions and exert pressure together. Strength matters, and only strength can end this war,' he said, adding that Kyiv 'expect action from the US, Europe and everyone in the world who can truly help change these terrible circumstances.' As the Kremlin continues to speak about peace — most recently on Wednesday, when the Russian President Vladimir Putin told Pope Leo XIV that he had 'interest in achieving peace' — it continues to terrorise Ukrainian civilians with daily aerial attacks. A tally compiled by CNN shows that as of Thursday morning, at least 30 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 150 injured in Russian strikes this week alone, including eight in just the past 24 hours. The attack also comes soon after another phone call between Putin and US President Donald Trump, in which the Russian leader said he would respond to Kyiv's audacious drone attack on Russia's air force. Russia stepped up its airborne attacks against Ukraine in the past few months after it successfully managed to scale up domestic production of its own version of the Iranian -made Shahed drones, the type used most frequently in these attacks. Analysts say the brutal campaign is part of a deliberate strategy by Russia that is designed to create an impression that it has the upper hand in the conflict and undermine Ukraine's morale. The town of Pryluky, where the firefighter's family and two other people were killed overnight, declared two days of mourning on Thursday and Friday, ordering flags to be flown half-mast and black banners displayed on public buildings.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Xi and Trump have spoken by phone: Chinese reports
Chinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reports, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The phone talks were at Trump's request, Xinhua said, without providing further details about the leaders' conversation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The highly anticipated call comes amid accusations between the United States and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade conflict between the governments of the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. We call on the U.S. to uphold the market principle of fair competition, stop politicizing trade issues, and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese and other foreign will do what is necessary to defend Chinese businesses' legitimate… CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) June 5, 2025 Although stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by car makers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. China's government sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to the country. China rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted on Wednesday on his social media site. The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations. with AP
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Xi and Trump have spoken by phone: Chinese reports
Chinese President Xi Jinping has held talks with US President Donald Trump by phone, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reports, as bilateral relations have been strained by trade disputes. The phone talks were at Trump's request, Xinhua said, without providing further details about the leaders' conversation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The highly anticipated call comes amid accusations between the United States and China in recent weeks over critical minerals in a dispute that threatens to tear up a fragile truce in the trade conflict between the governments of the two biggest economies. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump's January inauguration. Although stocks rallied, the temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and US complaints about China's state-dominated export-driven economic model. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives, who say the uncertainty has made it difficult to forecast market conditions. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets continues to disrupt supplies needed by car makers, computer chip manufacturers and military contractors around the world. China's government sees mineral exports as a source of leverage - halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican US president if economic growth sags because companies cannot produce mineral-powered products. The 90-day deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions is tenuous. Trump has accused China of violating the agreement and has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to the country. China rejected the claim and threatened counter-measures. Trump has long pushed for a call or a meeting with Xi but China has rejected that as not in keeping with its traditional approach of working out agreement details before the leaders talk. Trump had declared one day earlier that it was difficult to reach a deal with Xi. "I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH!!!" Trump posted on Wednesday on his social media site. The US president and his aides see leader-to-leader talks as vital to sort through log-jams that have vexed lower-level officials in difficult negotiations. with AP
