Former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey says Australia will be in a “much better position” than most other countries if Donald Trump is re-elected – as long as we don’t criticise him.
The former Liberal MP and federal treasurer said the 2024 election was now a “real test” for Trump, with presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris set to run in the November 5 election.
Hockey, who spent four years in the United States as Australia’s ambassador, said Australia was among Trump’s favourite countries, including Israel, France and Saudi Arabia.
“The starting point is that he likes Australia,” Hockey told the Guardian podcast.
‘As long as we don’t openly criticize him or take advantage of him, we’ll be in a very good position.
“We will be in a much better starting position than any other country.”
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump speaks at Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, on July 26.
Donald Trump and Joe Hockey meet at the White House during Hockey’s tenure as ambassador to the United States, which lasted from 2016 to 2020
Asked what Trump liked about Australia, Hockey pointed to the fact that Australia has participated in every major conflict alongside the United States for more than 100 years.
“We do our part and do more… he loves that,” Hockey said.
He said that after President Joe Biden dropped out of the White House race following a disastrous debate performance and concerns about his cognitive decline, Harris represented a “real test” for Trump.
“Yes, I do,” Hockey said when asked if he thought Harris could beat Trump.
“Donald Trump can beat Donald Trump.”
Asked about Trump, Hockey said: “He’s the best and worst of himself.”
‘In 2020, I think that even though Covid-19 was losing him, he defeated himself with some of his pre-election behaviors and decisions.
“At a time when America was hit hard by COVID, he spent more time talking about himself than about the American people. And people felt like he wasn’t protecting them, he was protecting himself.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to win the Democratic nomination
Joe Hockey and his wife Melissa Babbage celebrate the end of Mr Hockey’s tenure at the Australian Embassy in the US after four years in 2020
Mr. Hockey said he had the view during the 2020 election that average Americans believed Mr. Trump was in it for his re-election, not for the nation’s recovery.
He said he believed this election would be decided by whether Trump focuses on “what matters to the American people” rather than another “Trump-a-thon.”
Hockey said Trump was good at making his case and “getting his message across” and was one of the “most incredible communicators of all time.”
He said that while Biden had struggled to get his message across, particularly during his brief campaign, Harris was a “good communicator.”
