Scott Morrison has been roasted by Australians after he partied with Donald Trump on New Year’s Eve with at a very exclusive private party.
The former prime minister and his wife Jenny spent the night at the incoming US President at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, alongside with the world’s richest person, Elon Musk and Mr Trump’s soon-to-be vice president JD Vance.
Mr Morrison shared a photo on social media of he and Jenny flanking Melania Trump and her husband, who’s seen grinning and giving a thumbs up.
‘HNY 2025 from Mar-a-Lago,’ Mr Morrison captioned the photo.
But the replies weren’t what he would have wished for with retired radio legend Neil Mitchell leading the backlash.
‘And that’s a positive?’ the former 3AW breakfast host wrote.
Another added: ‘As a pastor and Christian what a disappointment to see you celebrating this ungodly man.’
Former Australian Scott Morrison (right) is pictured with his wife Jenny and Melania and Donald Trump
A third wrote: ‘Congratulations on achieving the remarkable feat of being the most despised individual in Australia!’
‘Do yourself a favour – show a shred of dignity and spare the public the misery of seeing your face.’
But not everyone was so negative, with one commenter writing ‘Congratulations, Mr Morison! We all like you!’
Another wrote ‘Dreams coming true mate. You earned it no matter what the rest rightly say. Enjoy it.’
‘Good on you. Where is KRudd? Busy packing his bags?’, wrote another commenter, referring to former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who is the current Australian Ambassador to the US.
Other prominent guests at the glamorous VIP event included Senator Ted Cruz, Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos, and Lara and Eric Trump.
Mr Trump’s extraordinary return to the White House – sworn in as the 47th US president on January 20 – could be followed by a political comeback from Mr Morrison.
Mr Morrison resigned from politics a year ago and announced earlier this year that he was moving to Washington to work at political advisory group American Global Strategies (AGS), where he is vice-chairman.
AGS was co-founded and chaired by Robert O’Brien, who was National Security Advisor to then-president Mr Trump from 2019 to 2021.
This connection will become significant when Mr Trump returns to the Oval Office and the Albanese government seeks to leverage any influence it can with the new leader, including Mr Morrison’s relationships.
These alliances are vital, given Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was recorded saying Mr Trump ‘scares the s*** out of me’ while he was shadow minister for transport and infrastructure in 2017.
Donald Trump (left) and Scott Morrison (right) both give thumbs up at one of their many previous meetings
Mr Morrison’s prime ministership coincided with Mr Trump’s first presidency from 2018 to 2021. They are pictured in Ohio in September 2019
Mr Rudd has encouraged Mr Morrison to join a diplomatic charm offensive to woo the incoming Trump administration.
Mr Morrison caught up with the incoming President in New York on October a few weeks before the US election.
A day later, his book Plans For Your Good was former by former political rival Mr Rudd at the Australian embassy in Washington.
Many of Mr Trump’s former colleagues, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and close advisor Kellyanne Conway attended Mr 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 in Australia’s interests,’ an Australian government insider told the Saturday Paper.
After Mr Trump’s stunning victory over Kamala Harris in November, Mr Morrison said it would lead to a ‘rejuvenation of the US economy’ and that Mr Trump had given a ‘stellar’ performance in the election campaign.
Jenny and Scott Morrison are pictured with Donald and Melania Trump at the White House on September 20, 2019
‘The US is an entrepreneurial animal… and I think we’ll see great confidence come into that economy,’ he said.
Mr Morrison’s prime ministership coincided with Mr Trump’s first presidency from 2018 to 2021 – with Mr Trump once even lavishing ScoMo with praise, describing him as a ‘man of titanium’.
Before he was elected in 2022, Mr Albanese criticised the-then Prime Minister for being too close to Trump.
‘Scott Morrison went too far – partly out of his affinity with Donald Trump, partly because of the political constituency they share,’ Mr Albanese said in early 2021.
‘There is no doubt Mr Morrison put this affinity and his political interests first when he effectively went on a campaign rally stage with Donald Trump in Ohio (during the 2020 US presidential election campaign).’
Despite their previous differences, though, Mr Albanese and his Labor government will be hoping Mr Morrison can help heal its fractured relationship with Mr Trump.
Speaking on Tuesday night, Mr Trump issued a stark warning to every other country in the world.
‘People aren’t respecting us as much as a country, and they will be,’ he said.
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