Donald Trump Junior has hit back at ‘lies’ from the Government about why he postponed his tour at the last minute – and suggested Labor delayed approving his visa because they want to shut down conservative voices.
Trump Jr. confirmed he’d already sold 8,000 tickets to his speaking tour before it was cancelled at the last minute – and called Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil a ‘coward’ after she risked escalating the matter into a full-blown diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Australia after posting a series of juvenile Tweets.
The Prime Minister’s Office ordered O’Neil to delete a series of Tweets in which she called Trump Jr. a ‘sore loser and a big baby’ – claiming the reason he cancelled his tour was because of ‘poor ticket sales’ rather than visa delays.
Trump Jr. exclusively told Daily Mail Australia her comments were ‘ridiculous lies’ and perpetuated ‘fake news’ – as he blamed the Labor Government for his decision to postpone the tour.
‘The tyrannical Left doesn’t believe people have the right to freedom of expression and will do anything to shutdown conservative voices, but we will not bow down to them,’ he said.
‘If Minister Clare O’Neil isn’t too much of a coward to leave her left wing safe space, I’d be happy to invite her to attend any of the events that we put on.
‘You never know, maybe she’ll learn a thing or two about the importance of freedom of speech and diversity of thought.’
Pictured: Trump Jr. at a speaking event in the United States. He claims his Australian tour was postponed because of visa delays
In an extraordinary spray, Clare O’Neil described Trump Jr as ‘a bit of a sore loser’ and a ‘big baby’
The controversial speaker and son of former US President Donald Trump vowed to reschedule his tour as soon as possible.
‘Despite the ridiculous lies from the fake news, we sold over 8,000 tickets to my free-speech tour in Australia,’ he said.
Trump Jr. placed blame for his postponed tour squarely at the feet of government, insisting his visa was not approved in a timely manner.
He was scheduled to appear in Sydney on July 9 for a tour which promised to discuss ‘the disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture’.
South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic was scheduled to join him on tour, along with British Brexit campaigner turned broadcaster, Nigel Farage.
But ticket holders received an email on Wednesday afternoon stating ‘unforeseen circumstances’ had led to the decision.
Pictured: Trump Jr with his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition
Trump Jr. was due to travel to Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in July to discuss ‘the disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture’
Tour operators told Daily Mail Australia it was postponed ‘due to the delay in the arrival of a visa to enter Australia’.
‘The visa, which has now been issued, was only received late afternoon on Wednesday July 5; only 24 hours before Donald Trump Jr. was set to board a flight to Sydney.’
Ms O’Neil hit back at the criticism in her extraordinary Twitter spray at 11.54am on Thursday, arguing he received all the approvals needed to enter Australia.
‘Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia,’ she said. ‘He didn’t get cancelled. He’s just a big baby, who isn’t very popular.’
She also said Trump Jr was a ‘sore loser’ whose ‘dad lost an election fair and square – but he says it was stolen’.
By 1.23pm, the messages had been deleted.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese publicly refused to be drawn on her comments, but Labor sources told Sky News he was privately ‘furious’ with her.
He insisted Trump Jr.’s visa application was ‘dealt with in the normal way’.
But Immigration Minister Andrew Giles backed Ms O’Neil, reiterating her suggestion the postponement was due to poor ticket sales.
He called Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil a ‘coward’ after she risked escalating the matter into a full-blown diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Australia after posting a series of juvenile Tweets
‘The visa was dealt with in the normal manner. Any issue that Mr. Trump has or his promoters have that go to the postponement of the tour is a matter entirely for them. It may of course be that the reason for the postponement goes to the lack of enthusiasm for ticket sales, rather than any of the issues that they’ve raised,’ he said.
‘Now I’d be really clear about this. I don’t share many of Mr Trump’s views but that is entirely irrelevant to decision making. He is entitled to express them if he meets the requirements of the Migration Act.’
The director of Strategic Analysis Australia Michael Shoebridge told The Australian the comments were ‘an unnecessary own goal’ for the government, who may well have to work closely with Trump Jr’s father if his bid to return to the White House next year is successful.
‘We saw with the previous administration there were a lot of people who discounted Trump winning an election as a possibility and found themselves doing a lot of hard work trying to build that relationship,’ he said.
In spite of Trump’s current legal woes, Mr Shoebridge said the prospect of him returning for a second term as President is ‘absolutely a credible scenario’.
Shadow Home Affairs minister James Patterson had similar concerns.
He said the comments could sabotage Australia’s relationship with the US if Donald Trump were to be successfully re-elected at the next US Presidential election.
‘Like it or not, Trump could be elected president again in less than 18 months,’ he said.
‘If that happens, I hope for the sake of the AUKUS agreement that cabinet ministers in national security portfolios are able to restrain themselves from juvenile tweets like these.’
The public commentary around Trump Jr from senior Labor MPs marked the second time in as many days the government went on the record to publicly criticise the family.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney on Wednesday deviated her prepared remarks of her highly anticipated speech explaining how the Voice to Parliament will work to slam the ‘importation of Trump-style politics’ to Australia.
A version of the speech was released to media on Tuesday night but did not include any of the criticisms she levelled against the No campaign in the live address.
‘The No campaign… is importing Trump style politics to Australia. The aim is to polarise, to sow division in our society by making false claims,’ she said.
‘Do not let the No campaign get away with using Trump style politics. Do not let them divide us.’
Linda Burney has deviated from her planned speech explaining how the Voice to Parliament will work to slam the ‘importation of Trump-style politics’ in Australia
Trump Jr’s anticipated tour had stoked plenty of controversy in the weeks before his decision to postpone.
During the speaking tour, he, Mr Farage and Mr Antic had vowed to share their views on the state of affairs across Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
They were expected to touch on the AUKUS deal, the war in Ukraine and the sensitive relationship each nation shares with China.
Trump Jr. went backpacking around Australia in college and said he ‘loves’ the country.
‘It’s a great country full of great people which is why it’s so sad to see what’s happening there,’ he said.
‘After speaking with some of them it’s clear the same disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture that’s crippled the US has clearly taken hold there.
‘It is the biggest existential threat we face in the West and is literally the decay of western society.’
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