Scott Morrison has come under fire from Australians after he partied with Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve at a very exclusive private party.
The former prime minister and his wife Jenny spent the night with the incoming US president at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, along with the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, and Trump’s future vice president, JD Vance.
Morrison shared a photo on social media of him and Jenny flanking Melania Trump and her husband, who is seen smiling and giving a thumbs up.
“Mar-a-Lago HNY 2025,” Morrison captioned the photo.
But the responses were not what he would have liked, with retired radio legend Neil Mitchell leading the reaction.
—And that is positive? the former 3AW breakfast presenter wrote.
Another added: “As a pastor and Christian, what a disappointment to see you celebrating this godless man.”
Former Australian Scott Morrison (right) is pictured with his wife Jenny, Melania and Donald Trump.
A third wrote: “Congratulations on achieving the remarkable feat of being Australia’s most despised individual!”
“Do yourself a favor: show a modicum of dignity and spare the public the misfortune of seeing your face.”
But not everyone was so negative, with one commenter writing: ‘Congratulations Mr Morison! We all like you!’
Another wrote: “Dreams come true my friend.” You earned it no matter what good people say. Enjoy it.’
‘Good for you. Where is KRudd? ‘Busy packing your bags?’ wrote another commenter, referring to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Australia’s current ambassador to the United States.
Other notable guests at the glamorous VIP event included Senator Ted Cruz, Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos, and Lara and Eric Trump.
Trump’s extraordinary return to the White House – he was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on January 20 – could be followed by a political comeback for Morrison.
Morrison quit politics a year ago and announced earlier this year that he would move to Washington to work at the political advisory group American Global Strategies (AGS), of which he is vice-chairman.
AGS was co-founded and chaired by Robert O’Brien, who was national security advisor to then-President Trump from 2019 to 2021.
This connection will become significant as Trump returns to the Oval Office and the Albanese government seeks to leverage whatever leverage it can with the new leader, including Morrison’s relationships.
These alliances are vital, given that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was recorded saying that Trump “scares the hell out of me” while he was shadow transport and infrastructure minister in 2017.
Donald Trump (left) and Scott Morrison (right) give a thumbs up at one of their many previous meetings.
Morrison’s premiership coincided with Trump’s first presidency from 2018 to 2021. They are pictured in Ohio in September 2019.
Rudd has encouraged Morrison to join a diplomatic charm offensive to woo the incoming Trump administration.
Morrison met the incoming president in New York in October, a few weeks before the US election.
A day later, his book Plans For Your Good was published by former political rival Mr Rudd at the Australian embassy in Washington.
Many of Trump’s former colleagues, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his close adviser Kellyanne Conway, attended Morrison’s launch.
“The book launch was a very public demonstration by Rudd that he and Morrison have put aside their differences and that the two can work together for the benefit of Australia,” a member of the Australian government told the newspaper. saturday newspaper.
After Trump’s surprise victory over Kamala Harris in November, Morrison said it would lead to a “rejuvenation of the American economy” and that Trump had had a “stellar” performance on the campaign trail.
Jenny and Scott Morrison are pictured with Donald and Melania Trump at the White House on September 20, 2019.
“The United States is an entrepreneurial animal… and I think we will see great confidence in that economy,” he said.
Morrison’s tenure as prime minister coincided with Trump’s first presidency from 2018 to 2021, and Trump once even praised ScoMo, describing him as a “titanium man.”
Before being elected in 2022, Albanese criticized the then-prime minister for being too close to Trump.
“Scott Morrison went too far, partly because of his affinity for Donald Trump, partly because of the political constituency they share,” Albanese said in early 2021.
“There is no doubt that Mr Morrison put this affinity and his political interests first when he did indeed take to a campaign stage with Donald Trump in Ohio (during the 2020 US presidential election campaign).”
However, despite their previous differences, Albanese and his Labor government hope Morrison can help heal his fractured relationship with Trump.
Speaking on Tuesday night, Trump issued a stark warning to all other countries in the world.
“People don’t respect us as much as a country, and they will continue to do so,” he said.