Trump’s Australia event at the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival November 3rd, 2024, photo taken by Julia Bell
The U.S. presidency has been a social media spectacle for nearly a decade. This coming election is like a story out of the sitcom Veep and featuring a villain from Scooby Doo. At the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival on November 3rd, 2024, Bruce Wolpe, author of the book Trump’s Australia, and John Barron, an ABC journalist with 20 years of experience, discussed Trump’s presidency and the threat of his possible re-election. According to Wolpe, he and Baroon had nothing better to do the Sunday before the most important U.S. election since the Civil War.
The book Trump’s Australia delves into the impact that Trump’s presidency had on Australia, and the effects a second term could have. The biggest risks to the U.S. are defined by Wolpe as 1. the economy, 2. immigration, 3. abortion, and 4. the future of democracy as a whole.
But why do we care over in Australia?
Australians are flooded with American news stories, either due to impacting our economy or trade, or being too damn riveting to ignore. From Trump’s first presidency, we can see how that media landscape has affected people’s views on divisive topics. Flavia Roscini published with Boston University how the American media landscape has led to polarisation in the country, as modern news channels have “blurred the lines between information and entertainment” as they compete for readership or viewership to gain advertisers. Wolpe said: ‘We’re [Australia] an echo chamber for the United States’.
The examples given to support this are pretty damning.
On August 12th 2017 White Nationalists, (also known as Nazis or white supremacists), marched in Charlottesville, Virginia. 1 person was killed and 19 were injured. In Ballarat, Melbourne December 2023 a group of approximately 30 people marched while shouting white supremacist slogans, and as recently as 22nd of October this year, police were forced to act on a Neo-Nazi demonstration in Docklands, Melbourne.
At the Capitol Riots on January 6th 2021 gallows, (device for a hanging execution) appeared with Trump supporters as they chanted “Fight for Trump”. In November of 2021, a gallow was seen as people in Melbourne protested against COVID restrictions.
In 2022 Roe vs Wade was overturned in the United States, making safe abortion more difficult for people to obtain, as the laws surrounding the controversial issue are left to the state government. In the Queensland election in 2024, abortion became a hot button issue as the Katter Australian Party, a minor political party in the state, pushed to amend abortion laws to a pro-life position, forcing many politicians in larger parties to comment on the issue. Wolpe commented on this:
‘Where the hell did that come from?’
Abortion has only been legalised across Australia as of September 2023 and is not a right that many are willing to give up. According to a 2021 study, 76% of Australians support abortion access.
Not only should we be cautious surrounding the U.S. election regarding our own politics, but many Australians deeply care about significant global issues. The U.S presidency impacts the economy in trade, tariffs, and inflation. Not to mention foreign aid to countries such as Palestine and the Ukraine, and Trump’s personal relationships with Russia and North Korea. We have moved from Scooby Doo to Black Mirror.
Wolpe’s book delves into the nitty gritty impact that Trump’s 2016 presidency had on Australia the first time around. If you’re hesitant that the book could lean pro Trump, don’t be. If you’re hesitant because you don’t want any semblance of Trump’s face on your bookshelf… sorry.
If you’ve come this far and are now filled with dread and despair, Wolpe does leave us with some hopeful words:
‘Australia has, I think, one of, or the strongest democracies in the world; and it is a wonderous thing. It’s terrible to watch day-to-day but it really is a wonderous thing’.
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