With the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States now a convicted felon, what does it mean for Australia if Donald Trump returns to the White House?
If the United States of America becomes an ultra right wing dictatorship, abandoning its last pretense of democracy, what does that mean for its military allies? And if the US abandons the rule of law as a central principle, what does that mean for international jurisprudence?
Australia has followed America through many dark twists and turns since our Prime Minister John Curtin officially switched allegiance to the US in 1941, ‘free of any pangs as to our traditional links or kinship with the United Kingdom.’
Now we face the very real prospect of being allied with a country led by a sociopath and narcissist who lies every time he opens his mouth, has no coherent policy platform, and whose main motive for entering political office appears to be to keep himself out of prison. This time around there will be no voices of reason to control him, with the prospect of yes men and women filling staff and public service ranks from top to bottom, and promises to be delivered to the most extreme special interest groups in the country.
The Republic of Gilead, here we come.
PM Anthony Albanese responded to the news of Donald Trump’s latest conviction by saying it would be inappropriate for him to comment on international legal matters (not something which has stopped him before), while Peter Dutton said the verdict would further divide America.
Martyr?
Others in Coalition ranks went further, with coal-mining cosplayer and Nationals senator Matt Canavan saying the verdict would solidify Trump’s stature as ‘a martyr to his cause’ (whatever that might be).
Later he said, ‘Let’s hope our judicial system is never politically weaponised like this,’ without providing any evidence to justify this redistribution of another Trump lie.
In fact the New York trial proved conclusively that Donald Trump was the author of his own misfortune, having used campaign finances to hide a damaging relationship long enough for him to win the 2016 election.
Trump-appointed judges at various levels are currently doing their utmost to prevent their master facing three other (much more serious) trials until after the November election, when the rule of law will be replaced by the rule of Don, if the Republicans win, or the country will slide towards another state of chaos, perhaps civil war, if he loses.
Beyond demonising immigrants, and getting closer to authoritarian despots, how a prospective President Donald Trump’s foreign policy might play out is a mystery. He has made noises about retreating from international treaties and organisations. We know that it took two and a half years for him to get round to appointing an ambassador to Australia last time, finally choosing legal mate Arthur Culvahouse, presumably for services rendered. Caroline Kennedy has been a much more active diplomatic representative.
On the Australian side, former PM Kevin Rudd is still our ambassador in Washington, and is on the record as saying Donald Trump was the most destructive president in American history and a ‘traitor to the west.’ In response, Trump warned in gangster style that any ambassador holding such views ‘would not last long’ if he was re-elected.
What next?
Donald Trump doesn’t accept the science of climate change, and likes to say ‘drill baby drill’ at every opportunity, but the fact is that under President Joe Biden the United States is already extracting more oil and gas than at any point in history. That doesn’t mean things can’t get any worse, however.
What we know of Trump is that he doesn’t like to be challenged, in any way, on anything. Those few brave people in his own party who have attempted to stand up to him know exactly what being cancelled actually means. More than ever before, Australia and other international allies will be expected to go along with whatever madness the Americans come up with.
For former Australian PM and now defence consultant/evangelical author Scott Morrison however, the prospect of President Trump the sequel is just peachy, notwithstanding the incompatibility of everything we know about this man with the tenets of Christianity.
As the legal mire surrounding his old mate deepened last month, ScoMo suggested that the problem lay with the American justice system, which ‘risked damaging its reputation’ as it pursued the many crimes of Donald Trump. The risks to American and international law presented by another Trump presidency are apparently of no concern at all. Morrison described the response of those who thought otherwise as ‘baseless hyperventilating’.
The main thing was that ScoMo’s own awful baby, AUKUS, would be ok, as Donald Trump assured him when they spoke recently. And so Australia remains leg shackled to the crazy, dysfunctional United States, for better or worse.
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
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