The Barnaby Joyce Interview Turned Extremely Weird When Abortion Was Mentioned
"I can't enforce my views on other people," said a man who opposes abortion and fought against marriage equality.
Barnaby Joyce says he realised as soon as his media adviser presented him with a positive pregnancy test that he was going to lose his position as Deputy Prime Minister, but his “pro-life” views meant he could not ask her to terminate the pregnancy.
In an extremely gross interview with Channel 7’s Sunday Night — for which the couple was paid $150,000 — Joyce declined several opportunities to address the breakdown of his marriage to his wife of 20 years, Natalie Joyce. But that didn’t stop his new partner, Vikki Campion, from acknowledging that she had had a confrontation with Joyce’s wife in Tamworth.
“I can’t repeat the words,” was all Campion would say of the confrontation.
Throughout the interview, Joyce and Campion attempted to paint a rosy picture of their relationship, posing for footage as they gave their new son a bath, and attempting to laugh their way through some of the more awkward questions.
Campion Considered Aborting The Baby
But the interview turned especially gross when the topic of abortion came up.
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When asked for his first reaction to the news, Joyce said he never considered asking Campion to have an abortion.
Lucky boy who gets to watch this Barnaby interview one day: “you’re here only coz I don’t believe in abortion, son”. #auspol
— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) June 3, 2018
Campion, who supports abortion rights, said she left the ACT to procure termination drugs, but wasn’t able to go through with an abortion.
Joyce opposes abortion and vehemently opposed marriage equality.
Barnaby Joyce: "I'll be frank, I don't believe in abortion" <winces>
BJ, please stop pretending you have any kind of moral high ground here.
#SN7 #auspol pic.twitter.com/T3DXEtZ2cb
— Jake Watt (@JakeChatty) June 3, 2018
Later in the interview, Campion claimed senior conservative MPs tried to force her to have an abortion.
When asked who suggested Campion get an abortion she says: "I wouldn't want to tar the brush of everyone in the National Party as like that, at all." #sn7
— Eliza Berlage (@verbaliza) June 3, 2018
Barnaby Vs Turnbull
During the interview, Joyce also took a shot at Malcolm Turnbull for his very public smackdown of his then-Deputy Prime Minister’s behaviour.
The interview ended with Joyce cradling his son in Parliament, while quietly blaming the six-week-old for all the trouble.
Nah, Barnaby. You did.
You can watch the whole shitshow here.