Australia must let Donald Trump Jr into the country and hear what he has to say
In terms of right-wing superstars, they don’t come much bigger than Donald Trump Jr. The only one bigger is probably his dad, and Australia can’t miss the chance to let him into our country, writes Joe Hildebrand.
Opinion
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In terms of right-wing superstars, they don’t come much bigger than Donald Trump Jr. The only one bigger is probably his dad.
And now Junior is heading to our sunny shores this month on a speaking tour to warn us of the dangers of wokeness and various other modern maladies.
But the truth is that the contents of his speeches are really just going to play second fiddle to the circus of the visit itself. It is not why he is coming or what he is going to say that matters, it is simply that he is coming at all.
And this is why calls for Trump Jr to be banned from entering Australia will only fuel that spectacle and add to his appeal.
My very wise colleague at The Australian, Troy Bramston, makes an impeccable case for all the various grounds upon which Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil can deny Trump Jr entry into the country, just as others have been denied for failing a character test or other misdemeanours.
I have no doubt that he is absolutely correct and there are sound reasons aplenty. But the biggest reason why he shouldn’t be allowed in is the very reason why he should.
Trump Jr, as Bramston rightly argues, has done enormous damage to American democracy by falsely claiming that the 2020 election was stolen and that his father should still be president – even urging supporters to “go to total war” and “expose all the fraud”.
Notwithstanding other transgressions, it is this shameless undermining of democracy that has caused perhaps the most damage to Western institutions in the 21st century.
This, like so many conspiracy theories from the right, all rests upon the premise that there is some kind of invisible systemic force operating against them and the heroic purveyors of freedom in order to silence or suppress them.
And so the problem with denying Trump Jr a visa – despite all the valid legal grounds in the world – is that it feeds precisely into this narrative.
Indeed, to Trump Jr and his followers it would confirm their conspiracies at the stroke of a pen.
“Look,” he could say to supporters across the globe, “they’re trying to tell us what we can and can’t say. They’re trying to control what we’re allowed to think”.
It might all look like a ludicrous martyr complex to those of us on the outside looking in but for people who are already all-in, it will be swallowed hook line and sinker – and it is us who will have given it legitimacy.
Worse still, it risks alienating others who may disagree vehemently with everything Trump Jr says – or not even care what he says – but be uncomfortable with the notion of barring people from the country based on what they say at all.
Indeed, we have already seen Australians bristle at the mildest possible hint that they should say certain things or hold certain views.
That is of course the sharp decline in support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament at precisely the same time as senior public figures, corporations and organisations came out in favour of it.
Even this most oblique perceived moral pressure coming from the top of society down has clearly been met with something of a middle finger from undecided voters.
It’s a pretty simple principle: if people are told they should think something or do something they will often think and do the opposite just to prove their own freedom of choice.
And this is of course a great shame, because on its merits the Voice is a very modest and risk-free proposal that also has great potential for improving Indigenous wellbeing.
That’s why we need to let the debate be had. Let the sunshine in.
Likewise that’s why we should let Donald Trump Jr in too. If his conspiracy claims are so ridiculous, then let him come and make them so that they can be countered with facts.
Countering his conspiracy claims with a conspiracy to keep him out will only feed the very beast that his enemies are trying to slay.
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