Culture

Australian Politicians React To The US Presidential Election

Pauline Hanson was literally seen drinking champagne.

by Tom Clift  9 November 2016

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Australia, and the world, is slowly coming to terms with the reality of a Donald Trump presidency. What exactly that presidency will look like still remains to be seen, but in the meantime a number of local politicians have begun to weigh in on the result.

It’s Official: Donald Trump Has Won The US Presidential Election

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has yet to comment publicly, but he was seen following the race closely on his phone during question time today.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, meanwhile, sent her congratulations to Trump via Twitter, addressing him as Mr President and telling him that her door “will always be open.” I’m going to take a wild stab in the dark and say that Donald Trump has absolutely no idea who Pauline Hanson is.

Hanson and her fellow One Nation members were also seen celebrating outside of Parliament House.

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi, who previously described Trump as “not conservative enough” for his tastes, was nevertheless feeling particularly smug, tweeting that Bill Shorten might need to walk back his remarks about the Republican’s qualifications.

Shorten has expressed his doubts about Trump on a number of occasions. As late as last month, the Opposition Leader described him as “entirely unsuitable to be leader of the free world.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop seized on those comments in an interview this afternoon, saying that “this exposes the folly of a leader of an Australian political party making personal and indeed offensive comments about a candidate for an election in another country.”

She also said that “the Australian government is ready and prepared to work with whomever the American people in their wisdom choose to be their President,” but did not address a question about whether Trump’s victory has set back the cause of women in politics.

For her part, Labor Senator Penny Wong defended Shorten’s comments, pointing out that a number of politicians, both in Australia and the United States, had also made disparaging remarks about Trump. “We need to encourage Mr. Trump, should he become president, to stay engaged in our region,” she told Sky News earlier today.

As for the Greens, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young tweeted the following and…yep, that pretty much sums it up.

It’s going to be a long four years, folks.