{"id":295607,"date":"2025-05-02T07:10:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T07:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/why-donald-trump-looms-over-australias-election\/"},"modified":"2025-05-02T07:10:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T07:10:10","slug":"why-donald-trump-looms-over-australias-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/why-donald-trump-looms-over-australias-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Donald Trump Looms Over Australia\u2019s Election"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/05\/01\/multimedia\/01oz-us-china-01-zvqg\/01oz-us-china-01-zvqg-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Why Donald Trump Looms Over Australia\u2019s Election\" title=\"Why Donald Trump Looms Over Australia\u2019s Election\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A superpower loomed large as Australians headed to the polls. It wielded trade barriers as a means of political coercion, imperiling Australia\u2019s export-dependent economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Three years ago that country was China, which had imposed punishing restrictions on many Australian exports, sent spy ships lurking near Australia\u2019s west coast and struck an alarming military pact with a regional neighbor, the Solomon Islands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This time, as Australians cast ballots on Saturday, that external factor is the United States and President Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019ve forgotten that China was introducing tariffs on Australian goods. What\u2019s the difference, with what Trump is doing?\u201d said Scott Prasser, a public policy analyst and a former civil servant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This election has the most fraught geopolitical backdrop in recent memory for Australia. President Trump has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/04\/04\/world\/australia\/us-trump-security-alliance.html\" title=\"\">stirred up questions<\/a> on whether it can depend on its longstanding military alliance with the United States. At the same time, its biggest trading partner, China, is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/12\/world\/australia\/china-warships-australia-aukus.html\" title=\"\">expanding its influence<\/a> closer and closer to Australian shores.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But for most Australian voters, domestic issues like inflation have been the dominant concern. Early in the campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s center-left Labor Party was lagging behind the opposition in polls, reflecting frustration with a deepening cost-of-living crisis and ever-increasing housing prices.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, argued that Mr. Albanese had ignored bread-and-butter issues because he was too focused on a \u201cwoke\u201d agenda, like Indigenous rights. Mr. Dutton channeled parts of Mr. Trump\u2019s messaging, railing against diversity initiatives, pledging to cut tens of thousands of government jobs and floating the idea of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2025-03-19\/dutton-citizenship-referendum-leaves-liberals-fuming\/105068674\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">revoking citizenship<\/a> for dual nationals who have been convicted of a crime.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But political winds have shifted in Australia, buffeted by the global tumult unleashed by Mr. Trump, if to a far lesser extent than they did in another U.S. ally, Canada. Even though Australia hasn\u2019t been in Mr. Trump\u2019s crosshairs the same way Canada has, the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/nation\/politics\/election-2025-youd-rather-be-albanese-than-dutton-but-its-not-going-to-be-easy\/news-story\/7c5878257d0f07f0bfcd6811c86dd64e\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">latest<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smh.com.au\/politics\/federal\/labor-holds-its-lead-as-time-runs-short-for-a-liberal-rebound-poll-reveals-20250429-p5luz8.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">political<\/a> <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2025\/apr\/29\/guardian-essential-poll-labor-leads-coalition-in-final-pre-election-poll-as-duttons-approval-rating-slips-further\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">surveys<\/a> in Australia show Labor has pulled ahead of Mr. Dutton\u2019s conservative Liberal Party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are Canada-lite. We don\u2019t have the same exposure, but Trump is very unpopular among the Australian public,\u201d said Darren Lim, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at the Australian National University. \u201cThe U.S. plays a large role in our conception of where we are in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Trump plans to impose a 10 percent levy on most Australian imports, the base line rate of his so-called reciprocal tariffs, in addition to 25 percent on its steel and aluminum exports. During the campaign, both Mr. Albanese and Mr. Dutton have faced repeated questions on how they would manage the relationship with Washington. Responding to a question during their <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xT0t6zdAknk&amp;ab_channel=7NEWSAustralia\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">final debate on Sunday<\/a>, both said that they trusted Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But most Australians do not share their assessment. A <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/poll.lowyinstitute.org\/report\/2025\/pre-election-release\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">recent poll by the Lowy Institute<\/a> showed the Australian public\u2019s trust in the United States had sunk to its lowest point in two decades, with two-thirds saying they either had not very much or no trust at all in their country\u2019s most important ally. Voters were evenly split on whether Mr. Albanese or Mr. Dutton would be better at managing relations with Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In recent weeks, Mr. Dutton has tried to distance himself from Mr. Trump. By the time a political ally of his <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sbs.com.au\/news\/article\/peter-dutton-sidesteps-jacinta-prices-make-australia-great-again-pledge\/y4kzb4oct\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">uttered the words<\/a> \u201cmake Australia great again\u201d in mid-April, it was clear any association with Mr. Trump was a liability Mr. Dutton wanted to avoid. He deflected questions about whether the phrase reflected any ideological alignment with Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Albanese\u2019s party has tried to capitalize on the shifting public sentiments, decrying the foreign influence the opposition would bring. The conservatives, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.afr.com\/politics\/federal\/why-americanisation-has-become-labor-s-go-to-campaign-sledge-20250402-p5lohf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">it has said<\/a>, would bring \u201cAmericanization\u201d and the \u201cAmerican approach\u201d to Australian work conditions and health care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">China, on the other hand, has hardly figured in this year\u2019s campaign. It\u2019s a stark contrast to 2022, when the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, had his name <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2022\/05\/15\/australia\/australia-election-xi-jinping-china-relations-intl-hnk-dst\/index.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">repeatedly invoked<\/a> and his face plastered on election billboards. A spat over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic led to a downward spiral of relations between the two countries, with China charging as much as a 218.4 percent tax on Australian bottled wine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Dutton, whose Liberal Party is in a longstanding coalition with the more conservative National Party, has dramatically toned down the tenor of how he speaks about China, even <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/peterdutton.com.au\/leader-of-the-opposition-transcript-interview-with-chris-okeefe-2gb-3\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">describing himself as \u201cpro-China\u201d<\/a> last year. In the lead-up to the 2022 election, Mr. Dutton, as defense minister, had repeatedly <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2022\/may\/05\/peter-dutton-says-he-very-strongly-believes-chinese-communist-party-wants-coalition-to-lose-election\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">played up China as a threat<\/a> to Australia and contended that it would want the Labor Party to come into power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Asked this week in their final debate about whether China was Australia\u2019s biggest threat, Mr. Dutton made a point of saying \u201cintelligence and defense agencies\u201d were concerned about the Chinese Communist Party, rather than talking about his own assessment of the country more broadly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Albanese, whose government has worked hard to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/28\/business\/china-australia-wine-tariffs.html\" title=\"\">stabilize relations with China<\/a> during his term, and refraining from overt criticisms, was also resistant to identify it as the biggest risk to Australia\u2019s national security, despite being pressed by the moderator.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cChina is a major power in the region, which is seeking to increase its influence, but the relationship is complex as well because China is our major trading partner,\u201d Mr. Albanese said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Frank Bongiorno, a professor of history at the Australian National University, said both parties were avoiding addressing the major global challenges Australia faces and focusing on \u201csmall-target\u201d domestic issues because of a dearth of clear ideas on either side about how to deal with Washington.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI would have thought the most pressing issue is how it\u2019s going to balance its traditional security relationship with the U.S., with the continuing overwhelming importance of its trading relationship with China,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have been incredibly skilled at virtually keeping all this stuff off the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But the uncertainty wrought by Mr. Trump may have turned voters toward the stability of the current government of Mr. Albanese, in a shift from the worldwide anti-incumbent sentiments that had been dominant last year, Mr. Bongiorno said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt looks at the moment like incumbency has been a benefit to Albanese, a sense of reassurance in an incredibly unsettling environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/02\/world\/asia\/australia-election-trump-china.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A superpower loomed large as Australians headed to the polls. It wielded trade barriers as a means of political coercion, imperiling Australia\u2019s export-dependent economy. Three years ago that country was China, which had imposed punishing restrictions on many Australian exports, sent spy ships lurking near Australia\u2019s west coast and struck an alarming military pact with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/05\/01\/multimedia\/01oz-us-china-01-zvqg\/01oz-us-china-01-zvqg-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[131018,174206,1386,15526,51,163575,180929,50,67,3096,164053,229868,229869,3638,180930,52],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295607"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":295609,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295607\/revisions\/295609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}