Australia at Odds With Trump
The Trump administration’s domestic and foreign policies have rubbed many countries around the world the wrong way, including Australia, which is now increasingly at odds with the USA. But with deep ties to America juxtaposing regional considerations, Canberra is mired in a balancing act, forced to tread carefully – at least until the 2020 US Elections are decided. That’s because whether Trump or Biden wins is likely to shape Australia’s domestic and regional policy in the near future.
Donald Trump’s anti-global stance might be going down a treat with his core MAGA base, but it’s damaging relations with longstanding allies around the world, including Australia.
Harsh criticism has been levied at the “America first” president in recent months. Trump’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic at the start and his tone-deaf response to the growing civil unrest and Black Lives Matter protests, calling for change and an end to systemic racism and police brutality, has raised concern amongst world leaders during an extraordinary period in history that demands a unified and cohesive message to be adopted globally.
One of the most jarring scenes of excessive police force occurred right in front of the White House, and a group of Australian journalists found themselves caught up in the forceful dispersal of protesters. The purpose of which was to allow Trump to take a photo op at a nearby church.
The beating by U.S. police officers was broadcast to a shocked audience across Australia and prompted an official complaint from Canberra.
Ryan Heath, an Australian journalist based in the USA said in an interview with Politico Dispatch podcast on June 3, “It’s really a jarring scene for a lot of Australians who have a cultural affinity with the US. I think that seemed like a very profoundly sad moment to watch.”
Heath went on to add, “I think that a lot of people either looked up to the US in a moral sense or looked to the US for protection, and I think a lot of people watching the scenes will now question whether the US can provide that leadership.”
United States Study Centre has conducted several polls of Australians and their attitude towards the Trump administration, which many have seen as a government that is entrenched in populist political ideology.
A poll in July 2019 revealed that only 20% of Australians said they’d prefer another four years of a Trump White House and that Australians by a 2-to-1 margin preferred a Democrat to win the 2020 US Elections.
In March 2020, polling conducted by Australia’s Lowry Institute found just 30% of Australians had confidence in Trump to “do right regarding world affairs.” That represented a five-point boost for Trump amongst Australians from the year prior but, at the same time, the study found that Australians rejected Trump’s MAGA policies in principle.
By the political odds, the 2020 presidential race is poised delicately. Donald Trump and Joe Biden are practically neck-and-neck if we look at the betting markets,as Trump gains ground on Biden in recent weeks.
Indeed, the race is cast tighter than an accountant’s purse, meaning it’s a right toss-up whether Trump will retain his seat at the Oval Office or whether Biden will unseat Trump in the Oval Office.
Immediately following the Lafayette Park incident, Van Jackson, a senior lecturer in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, who has experience working in the Pentagon during the Obama administration, weighed in on the state of US-Australian relations.
Van Jackson observed, “The US-Australia alliance is the most strained it’s been in my lifetime, maybe ever. When I worked at the Pentagon, we generally thought of Australia as our closest ally in the world.”
Former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, claimed US influence on the world stage is on the decline since Trump took over the White House, “in large part because, under his presidency, the US has sought to have less influence.”
That said Australia remains a strategic ally for the United States, in particular, because of its proximity to the tense South China Sea; where the two allies regular participate in military and naval exercises and where Trump appears to be engaging in the form of Cold War on China.
It would be in the interest of the United States as well as Australia to prevent the fraying of US-Australian relations further. For Australia, the situation is more acute, stuck as it is in the middle of strong ties to America and economic dependence on China.
“Losing Australian support would hobble America’s ability to compete with China outside of Northeast Asia,” Jackson said. Otherwise, in his opinion, the alienation of Australia would almost certainly cost the goodwill of other Asian allies and partners.
Conversely, it behoves Australia to maintain healthy multilateral ties in the region, more so than it does the White House.
Therefore, whether Canberra is faced with the prospect of another four years of the Trump administration or a Biden-Harris White House in November is likely to have a significant impact on Australia’s domestic and regional foreign policy.
