Trump, MAGA and US Politics: An Australian Perspective
An Aussie rants about the politics of another country she's never even been to.
Introduction
Hi, I'm Jamie. I'm a friend of Patricia's from Australia. She's asked me to write this article about the Australian perspective of Trump and US politics. As a bonus, I've decided to throw in my not-at-all-asked for person opinions of Trump, MAGA and US politics for free. What a bargain!
I should probably make it clear here in the introduction that I despise Trump. Like, straight up hate him. He is the worst thing to happen to US politics, and world politics for that matter, ever. I will elaborate on this later (my above mentioned not-asked-for opinions).
Admittedly, I haven't been paying as much attention to Australian news as I once did, mainly because it's gone to shit and I simply don't find it as trustworthy as it once was, a very long time ago (I mean, that applies to all media, of course, not just Australia's). So I had to do some research for this article and have tried my best to be as accurate as possible. I'm sure if I'm wrong about anything, I will be informed of it in the comments.
The Australian Perspective of Trump
Opinions of Trump here are kind of mixed. For the record, most Australians have rejected him, but some have fully embraced him. Some don't care either way and think US politics has no place in Australia whatsoever. Predictably, the media is biased towards him.
But I won't get ahead of myself here. Let's start with the Australian support for Trump.
Australian Support for Trump
Support for Trump here is definitely the minority. According to a 2024 Lowy Institute poll, he only has around 22% support.
But, despite that low number (which isn't low enough, imo), Trump supporters do exist here, including a dude who spent seven-fucking-thousand dollars on a frankly terrifying life-like Trump mask, calls himself a “conservative, Trump-loving, Republican Australian” and runs a Trump-themed coffee shop (he's lost 85% of his customers after outing himself as a supporter, btw), which only goes to show: stupidity is indeed universal.
However, according to the same Lowy Institute poll, Trump is the most popular Republican presidential candidate since 2008. Other polls from them showed that Mitt Romney had 9% support in Australia in 2012 and John McCain had 16% in 2008. Clearly that was because they were running against Obama, who was massively popular here (he had 79% support in 2008 and 72% in 2012).
Australian billionaires, such as Gina Rinehart, are fully aboard the Trump train because of... you guessed it, taxes. Aussie billionaires against taxes, who would've thought? In fact, Rinehart wants Australia to set up its own DOGE to “reduce government waste” (because that's totally what DOGE is doing in America). She also wants to use the US as an investment opportunity under Trump's presidency because, as Australia's richest woman, she simply isn't rich enough.
Another billionaire, Anthony Pratt, has shamelessly been throwing himself at Trump's feet, too, despite Trump calling him “a red-haired weirdo from Australia”.
Trump's influence has started to infect our politics, too; some politicians, mostly Liberals (our version of Republicans), are adopting Trump's policies (if you can call them that) and language, including the opposition/Liberal leader, and guy desperate to be Australia's next prime minister, Peter Dutton, insisting that reducing immigration will bring down house prices. (🤷♀️)
On the flip side, a 2024 survey from Pew Research Centre showed that 20% of Australians trusted that Trump could handle world political affairs, while 79% didn't. Another survey from DemosAU showed that 23% of Australians think we need a prime minister like Trump, while 68% definitely do not and 9% don't know.
So, the fact of the matter is, the majority of Australians do not support Trump, nor do we want a Trump-like prime minister.
Make Australia Great Again and Trumpet of Patriots
Yep, Aussie MAGA. We don't even have Kool Aid here, so I don't know how it happened. Well, it kind of happened... Look, it's really more about a billionaire and his vanity project.
Clive Palmer is spearheading this MAGA movement in Australia. His original party, United Australia (or whatever the last iteration of it was, he had several), was dismantled in court due to an administrative error, so now he's rebranded with Trumpet of Patriots (🤣), members of which plan to run in lower, Liberal-held seats in this year's election. He's also planning to spend $90 million (that's in Australian dollars, mind you, so around US$50,000) on his party's campaign targeting those seats.
Palmer is a human hot air balloon. An “all talk, no action” type. He's a joke here, really. Most of the country just sees him as a rich, delusional arsehole. Trumpet of Patriots (🤣) won't get far in this year's election, just like United Australia and Australia United and Palmer United and whatever else did in previous elections.
So this isn't so much about supporting Trump for him - it's about wanting to be Trump, or at least Australia's version of him. He recently said, “What's wrong with being Donald Trump?” Sadly for him, he will never know.
Honestly, I only included this section because I think the name Trumpet of Patriots is hilariously bad and wanted you guys to see it for yourselves.
Australian Support for Harris
Here are some more statistics! Aren't you glad you started reading this?
Support for Kamala Harris in Australia during her 2024 presidential campaign was more clear cut.
In August 2024, a YouGov poll showed that 67% of Australians would have voted for Kamala Harris if they could have. The majority of that 67% were Labour (our equivalent of Democrats) and Greens voters. This poll was taken after the Democratic National Convention.
Another poll from Talbot Mills Research showed that Australians would've elected Harris, with 48% of respondents choosing her over Trump, who received 27% support.
So yeah, we liked Kamala Harris. Too bad we couldn't have voted, huh?
The Australian Media
A large percentage of the Australian media is owned by Rupert Murdoch through his News Corp conglomerate. 59%, to be exact. Its most notable asset is Sky News, our equivalent of Fox News. And yes, it's about as close to Fox News as you'd expect. Except with an Australian accent.
Print newspapers are still a major thing in Australia, and News Corp owns many of them. Here's a tweet (I still call them that, don't try to change my mind) that demonstrates the public's relationship with News Corp owned newspapers:
The rest of the media that isn't owned by News Corp is also pretty biased towards Trump, which is one of the main reasons I stopped paying attention. And I'm not alone there.
Young people are increasingly relying on social media for news rather than our news outlets in print, television or online. While that isn't exactly a great thing, it shows that trust in our media has fallen to the point that someone would believe a comment on a Facebook post more than an article published on an official news website.
And according to an Edelman Trust Barometer report from 2023, 51% of respondents believed that journalism is a dividing force in Australian society. And the 2025 report from the same organisation showed that only 37% of respondents trust the Australian media.
So there you have it. Our media is as shit as yours. Besties!
Tariffs
Trump recently announced 25% tariffs on Australia's steel and aluminium exports to the US. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has so far been unsuccessful in obtaining an exemption from these tariffs.
Peter Dutton says not getting an exemption on steel and aluminium tariffs is a failing on Albanese's part and he would've gotten a deal. Bitch, no, you wouldn't have. Trump's slapping tariffs on everything he can think of purely out of spite because HE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND HOW TARIFFS WORK. And even if he did, he doesn't care. He's using tariffs as a punishment against the US's now-former allies because he's an egomaniac who can't handle criticism of any kind. There is no negotiating with him, no compromising, when he thinks he's been disrespected. Which is all the time because white guy with a fragile ego! Jazz hands!
Albanese has invited Trump to come to Australia to discuss the tariffs. Personally, I think Albo's wasting his time. Trump has no interest in coming here to discuss anything. At least, I hope he doesn't. The media would be unbearable if he did. (And I looked it up, visa rules don't apply to heads of state, so, even though he's a convicted felon, Trump can still enter the country GODDAMMIT.)
I think we just have to accept that Trump is over us.
My Personal Opinions of Trump, MAGA and US Politics
Now, the part you've been waiting for! The personal opinions of someone who doesn't live in America, or have the right to vote in your elections! But I am a sarcastic bitch, so I got that going for me, which is nice.
I've been following US politics closely since Obama's first run. Man, what an exciting time that was. I miss him like hell. I think it's pretty safe to say that every sane person does.
I also paid close attention during Trump's first run, because I could see that he had dictator-ish aspirations even then (and was told by “friends” on Facebook that I was being dramatic, and I didn't know what I was talking about, and, as an Australian, the 2016 election was none of my business... I am no longer friends with these people).
Ready? Let's do this.
Trump is a Loser
Trump can't do anything without cheating: Business, marriage, golf, elections... He has to cheat, because he's just so bad at everything. The only thing he's done successfully is create the illusion of success, while the truth is bankruptcies, lawsuits, unpaid loans, countless failed business ventures... And he's so bad at cheating on his wife, he's now a convicted felon.
Prior to his first presidential run, he was just a reality TV star no one took seriously. Now he's the President of the United States for a second time, with adoring, delusional followers, cronies who do his bidding and a likely lifelong dictatorship in the works. And how did he achieve all of this?
By cheating. It's all he knows. Like a fucking loser.
Trump's Cronies Are Just as Awful as He Is
Trump sure has surrounded himself with some real winners, hasn't he? Let's review a few of the more notable dickheads:
JD Vance, Vice President: Once compared Trump to Hitler, now his loyal VP, exaggerated his military service, wrote a book about couch fucking (idk, but it sure was a funny meme), just got rejected hard in Greenland, no doubt biding his time to invoke the 25th.
Elon Musk, DOGE Department: Richest man in the world yet has no friends, used that wealth to force himself into the Republican party against their will so he can pretend he does have friends, president by proxy only because he's ineligible for it officially, just gutted Social Security and Medicare, tried to bribe voters in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election with million dollar checks and his puppet still lost, still crying because people won't shut up about his Nazi salute.
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense: Former Fox News host, clearly has a major drinking problem, just caused a major national security breach.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security: PUPPY MURDERER.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General: (Allegedly) accepted bribes from Trump to not pursue legal action against Trump University.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Secretary of Health and Human Services: Oh, jfc, where to even start with this guy? Anti-vaxxer, claimed to have a brain worm, cheated on his wife so much she committed suicide when she found his detailed journal about his exploits, caused the deaths of over 80 people in Samoa from measles with his dangerous anti-vax rhetoric, dumped a bear carcass in Central Park 10 years ago, cut the head off a dead beached whale with a chainsaw and tied it to the hood of his car, and OMG, that's not even half of it, I can't...
NONE of these horrible people are even remotely qualified for the positions they now hold. But why would Trump let that get in the way of filling his government with arseholes who have proven their loyalty to him? That's the only qualification he needs, because egomaniac! Jazz hands!
The Republican Party as it Once Was is Dead
Trumpism has infected the Republican party and there's no going back now. Not that the Republican party was particularly great to begin with, but at least there used to be more people like John McCain (who I have a lot of respect for) and less like people like fucking Ron DeSantis with his stupid height-boosting cowboy boots.
Now, I've never had a very high opinion of the Republican party, conservatism is not my thing in any way, shape or form, but the fact that I once thought to myself, “Trump makes me miss George W. Bush,” just might tell you everything you need to know about the direction I think the party has gone in (or down, depending on your perspective… and yes, I mean hell).
MAGA is a Cult
Speaking of Trumpism, MAGA is a straight up cult full of incredibly stupid, delusional people who worship Orange Hitler like a god because he gave them permission to be the absolute worst versions of themselves. They've made “sticking it to the Libs” their entire personality; without that, they're nothing. They'll even vote against their own best interests to hold on to it. Then cry when that backfires on them, but never blame Trump. Oh no, that would involve rational thought, they'll just blame Liberals so they can continue living in their MAGA bubble and being the dumbest people on the entire fucking planet!!
*deep breath*
It's going to take some serious deep deprogramming to get rid of MAGA and at this point, I don't think it's possible. Unless something drastic happens that shocks them out of their Trump fog (which is made up of mostly Cheetos dust), I think we're stuck with MAGA indefinitely.
The US is Doomed...
...if Trump stays in power much longer.
First, Trump recently signed an executive order to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education. THE FUCKING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION!
I shouldn't be so shocked by that, Republicans have been making it clear for some time that education is the enemy to them. Educated youngsters are a huge threat to their agenda. They need kids to remain as stupid as possible so they can brainwash them easier, a tried and true tyranny tactic. Alliteration!
Apartheid Clyde is even trying to get rid of Sesame Street because it “promotes anti-American views”, and Elmo is a communist because he sings about sharing and caring about each other.
And now Trump has said he “won't rule out” seeking a third term. Which would mean changing the constitution. Which he said “there are methods” to do. And apparently Steve Bannon and other minions are taking steps to make it happen.
THIS 👏 IS 👏 NOT 👏 A 👏 JOKE 👏. IT 👏 IS 👏 REAL 👏.
The whole Trump regime has to go, ASAP. This apathy that has settled over the US needs to end, ASAP.
Democrats Need to Get Their Arses in Gear
The Democrats had four years of Biden's presidency to prepare themselves for Trump's second run. They had all that time to formulate some kind of plan to stop him from stealing the election. They had all that time to stop Elon Musk from swooping in and taking over the Republican party. They did nothing.
The way I see it, a lot of Democrats seem to be more interested in maintaining their integrity than fighting back against the Republicans. To their detriment.
The whole “when they go low, we go high” thing never worked. It just allowed the Republicans to stoop lower than ever before to get what they wanted because they knew damn well the Democrats would never meet them down there.
And now they have no power whatsoever. Trump has full control of the White House, the House and the Senate.
So what can they do now? Are they willing to do anything? I don't know. What I do know is that they have around three and a half years to come up with something to royally fuck up the 2028 election that Trump is already setting up to rig for himself.
Get on it!
Celebrities Need to STFU
I'm talking to you, George Clooney. You just had to stick your nose in and demand Joe Biden step down from his election campaign when you weren't even living in the US at the time. Then you went on Colbert and made all the pathetic excuses under the sun for yourself to justify what you did. Just shut up.
Clooney will forever be on my shit list for that, as will the other celebrities who joined him (to name and shame a few: Rob Reiner, John Cusack, Stephen King, Michael Moore, Michael Douglas...).
I mostly believe celebrities should stay out of politics. If they want to get involved, they should just become politicians. However, it is good to know where they stand, because I sure as hell don't want to stan someone who turns out to be a full blown MAGA moron (*cough*KelseyGrammer*cough*).
So I guess what I'm saying here is, anything beyond political affiliation... I don't want to hear it. Keep it to yourself, Chappell Roan.
Joe Biden Was Fucked Over (and So Was Kamala Harris, Actually)
By the media, by people he thought were friends, by celebrity supporters (see above), by his own party...
One minute they were fully backing him; the next, he had one bad debate performance (which wasn't even that bad when you really think about it) and they were all demanding he step down. How utterly self serving.
Did he actually have a chance at winning the election? I don't know. But because of those backstabbers, we never will.
This betrayal extended to Kamala Harris, too. Because Biden stepping down and endorsing her at the point he did simply didn't leave her enough time to build a successful campaign. And while she did do a great job of gaining the support she did in the amount of time she had, it wasn't enough. If those who wanted Biden out had insisted on it sooner, maybe things would have turned out differently. The betrayal of Biden would've been the same, but at least Harris would have had more time.
And don't even get me started on Nancy Pelosi. She wanted Biden out because he was too old? She's two years older than him! And she now wonders why the Bidens no longer speak to her.
Leave Kamala Alone!
While we're on the topic of former Vice President Harris...
At this point, she doesn't owe anyone shit.
All these think pieces, mostly from white women, begging her to step in and save everyone... um, why? Y'all rejected her. She accepted that. She no longer holds any kind of authority or power, so what exactly do you expect her to do, Susan?
Although, she is supposedly considering running for Governor of California in 2026... good for her. And good luck to her, if that's what she decides to do. And if she does go for it, STILL leave her alone.
The US Media is Pathetic
It's funny how the age debate ended the moment Joe Biden stepped down from his presidential campaign, huh? It's almost like it fake outrage manufactured by a Trump-biased media! Because Trump has been showing a far more serious cognitive and physical decline lately than Biden ever did and it's... crickets. Tumbleweeds. A light breeze blowing a plastic bag around.
From what I can see, much of the mainstream US media is unwilling to stand up to Trump because they fear repercussions from him. Revenge does seem to be his number one agenda for his second presidency. The Associated Press proved this by getting banned from the Oval Office after refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America like Trump wants everyone to.
But I have to ask: Is pandering to Trump out of fear of his revenge fuelled tantrums really worth losing the public's trust over? The Washington Post lost over 250,000 subscribers when Jeff Bezos blocked them from endorsing Kamala Harris during the election last year. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski lost 38% of their viewership overnight after they revealed they'd visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his re-election.
It seems there are consequences either way here. But I would think losing a large number of their audience is much worse than losing Trump's favour. Right?
I don't know. I'm not in those newsrooms, I don't know what it's like to go to work each day and wonder if this is the day Trump's shutting down all mainstream media and replacing it with state sponsored media. Because that does seem to be the direction he's going in. But why make it easy for him?
Jeffrey Goldberg from The Atlantic just broke the Signal scandal, and that's exactly what I'm talking about. Goldberg could have just buried the story after he was accidentally added to that group chat, but he didn't. He exposed everything. Even in the face of repercussions. And that is how all mainstream media should be handling Trump and his cronies.
So stop being pathetic, US media. Fight back. If Trump does shut it all down, you may as well go down in a blaze of glory.
The “Assassination Attempt”
The fake assassination attempt is a move right out of the Hitler playbook. Hitler used it in 1939 to gain public support and justify invading Poland. Trump used it in 2024 to gain public support and win the election. (Didn't quite work, though; only his rabid followers cared about it. That must have really pissed him off, lol.)
The assassination attempt against Trump was staged and no one will ever convince me otherwise, for the following reasons:
The bullet only grazed his ear. An actual assassin would've taken him out.
He posed for a triumphant photo immediately afterwards. There's no way the Secret Service agents would have let him do that if there was a real active shooter in the area.
The Secret Service also knew the shooter was on the roof for 20 minutes before he started firing and did nothing.
His ear healed quickly like it was never even shot. He wore that stupid maxi pad on it once, at the Republican National Convention (so did his braindead followers), and that was it.
There's been barely any news on the investigation since it happened. It's like the story was buried so no one would find out it was staged. The FBI's page for the investigation hasn't been updated since August 2024, either.
We know almost nothing about the shooter, other than he was a Trump supporter and mentally ill, according to people who knew him.
The guy in the crowd who took the bullet for Trump has barely gotten a mention, either.
I suppose I look like a lunatic conspiracy theorist right now, but I don't care. That assassination attempt was staged, dammit. I will stand by that forever.
Hypocrisy is Rampant on the Right
Sure, hypocrisy is present on both sides, but it's way more prominent on the right.
You've got Moms for Liberty (or Hags for Hitler, as I call them) banning books because they “groom and corrupt children” while sexually abusing their threesome partners.
You've got conservatives targeting drag queens, screaming at them, “StAy AwAy FrOm ChIlDrEn!!!” (they're wasting their time, a lot of drag queens hate kids), while either getting arrested for child sexual abuse or defending those getting arrested for child sexual abuse.
You've got Republican politicians thumping their Bibles and banning abortion while sending their mistresses off for safe and free terminations.
And you've got Republican politicians attacking LGBTQIA+ rights while secretly being gay themselves. And oldie, but a goodie. (I once watched a YouTube video that listed secretly gay Republican politicians and I wish I'd saved it, because it was extensive.)
Oh, and let's not forget their useless “thoughts and prayers 😔🙏” for mass shootings. But burning Tesla cyber trucks is “DOMESTIC TERRORISM!!!”
I was going to point out some hypocrisy on the left, but there's nothing as bad as everything I just mentioned on the left, so... 🤷♀️ whatevs!
Greenland and Canada and Panama, Oh My!
Before I wrap this bitch up, I just wanted to discuss Trump's insane wishes to annex Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. Because it's not hyperbole, he really wants them.
And I figured Putin was involved.
But it really warms the cockles of the heart to see that these places are not going to let Trump just walk in and take over.
Canada:
Greenland:
It's so funny how Trump sent Vance and his Stepford Wife to Greenland only for them to be thoroughly rejected by the people there. I just hope there weren't any couches at that military base...
Vance held a press conference at the base during which he said that the US will take Greenland because, “we cannot just ignore the president's desires”. Bitch, yes the fuck we can!
Some people insist Trump is only using this as a diversion tactic to distract everyone from his real goals of dismantling the government and the constitution and installing himself as a dictator, but why can't both be true? He wants Greenland, Canada and Panama AND wants to install himself as a dictator. ¿Por qué no los dos?
Closing Thoughts
US politics is wild, you guys! Australian politics is so boring in comparison and I'm so, so thankful for that.
Like, it wasn't even a century ago that America jumped into the fight against fascism and now half the country is... fully embracing it? Because they do everything their egomaniac manbaby Dear Leader wants them to, even if it contradicts what they believed before?
MAGA before the election: “Trump is the anti-war president!!”
MAGA now: “LET'S INVADE DENMARK!!!!”
I hope the ineptitude of Trump and his cronies causes the downfall of their regime soon. Because if they stay in power much longer... I don't think you need me to finish that sentence. You know what will happen.
Good luck, America.
