Pete Evans: TV chef talks COVID-19, Dan Andrews and support for Donald Trump
Pete Evans has taken aim at Victorian Premier Dan Andrews over the state’s coronavirus restrictions and revealed what he really thinks of US President Donald Trump.
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Prime Minister Pete Evans — that could be the future if the controversial chef follows the same path as his political idol, US President Donald Trump.
While ruling out an imminent run at politics, the former My Kitchen Rules judge concedes things could change in the future and that he “won’t say never”.
“I’m not a leader in that sense,” Evans told The Daily Telegraph. “It (politics) hasn’t called for me. I follow my intuition on everything. It’s like the protests that were just on, people asked me to go and campaign and be a speaker at them, that doesn’t resonate with me.
“It may in the future, but not currently. It is so funny because I’ve watched videos of Trump from 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 30 years ago, when he was asked the same thing, he said it’s not something that he is drawn to at that particular point in time. So I won’t say never. That may happen.
“But at the moment, it doesn’t feel like my journey.”
Evans has been fascinated by Trump since the 2016 US Presidential campaign, recognising similarities in the backlash against him with his own experiences speaking out on alternative health issues.
“There was such aggression aimed at this one person,” Evans said. “Over the years of me promoting a dietary approach called paleo or ketogenic, I’ve suffered the same aggression from the media and from different organisations such as the Australian Medical Association and Dietitians Association of Australia. They’ve been quite aggressive in the way that they’ve targeted me so it raised my awareness and concern and an interest in who Donald Trump is.”
The Telegraph sat down with Evans in Byron Bay, where he and wife Nicola Watson are living after selling up their Sydney home.
Evans is backing Trump all the way in the US election, describing him as a disrupter.
“I think there’s going to be probably a civil war over there, regardless of who wins the election,” he said. “I think he (Trump) is a master communicator. Perhaps we need these agitators, disrupters to the current narrative to raise awareness.”
Evans, who still spends a lot of time in Sydney, is arguably one of Australia’s most controversial figures, largely due to the fact he has no fear about sharing his opinions on issues he is passionate about.
The 47-year-old is a staunch anti-vaxxer and believes COVID-19 is a hoax to benefit certain industries, mainly the medical business and its offshoots. He has been vocal against the use of face masks and in April was fined more than $25,000 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) over claiming a ‘Bio Charger’ device had magical coronavirus eradication properties.
Evans shares his opinions daily with videos and podcasts to his more than 1.5 million followers on Facebook.
In May, Channel 7 revealed it had parted ways with Evans after 10 years as a judge on MKR.
But the former party boy and one-time owner of the Hugos restaurants said he isn’t done with mainstream media just yet, hinting at some sort of comeback.
The father of two said he has been in touch with several political leaders, mostly on the periphery, including former One Nation Senator Rod Culleton. He has spoken with Billy Te Kahika from the Advance New Zealand Party.
Evans was recently accused of bullying and taunting New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern by urging his followers not to vote for her in the upcoming election there.
“Whatever you think of Jacinda Ardern, I’m telling you she has done some deals … which will not be for the betterment of the New Zealand population,” he said on the issue. “People judge some leaders based on their charisma instead of what they’re actually doing.
“So I would be very careful if I was anyone living in Auckland or New Zealand at this particular point time, just like in Victoria.”
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Evans also took aim at Victorian Premier Dan Andrews over that state’s coronavirus restrictions
“The last thing any of us want, especially in a democratic country, is to come across as a dictator and we are witnessing that right now in Victoria. We’re witnessing somebody that has crossed the lines, our Premier of Victoria, Dan Andrews, who a lot of people are saying is acting like a dictator in a democratic society. ”