Holly Valance hosts fundraiser for Donald Trump after labelling Australia ‘too woke’
Holly Valance has made her biggest political move yet after slamming her home country for being ‘too woke’.
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Holly Valance has made her biggest political move yet after hosting a fundraiser for former US President Donald Trump.
The former Neighbours star held a party for the convicted felon that raked in $US2 million ($3million) for the Republican presidential hopeful’s 2024 White House campaign.
“It’s a Holly party,” Nigel Farage, a fellow Trump supporter and friend of Valance, told the London Times before the fundraising event. “You can guarantee it’s going to be enormous fun.”
The event was billed as a reception and dinner with Donald Trump Jr and his fiancee, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a lawyer and former Fox News host.
Valance largely retired from the entertainment industry after she married billionaire property developer Nick Candy in 2012, and has since gone on to spark controversy with her right-wing views and support of politicians such as Mr Farage.
Valance previously described herself as a “paid-up member” of Farage’s Reform party, which was founded in 2018 and operates with the Trump-esque slogan “Make Britain Great”.
“WE WANT OUR COUNTRY BACK!” trumpets one of the anti-immigration party’s slogans.
The now-retired performer first went public with her conservative political views earlier this year in an interview with GB News.
“I would say that everyone starts off as a leftie, then wakes up at some point, after you start either making money, working, trying to run a business, trying to buy a home, and then you realise what crap ideas they all are,” Valance said. “And then you go to the right.”
It comes after Valance’s outspoken views appear to have caused some awkwardness in her family, with her younger sister – and fellow Neighbours star – Olympia making a point of distancing herself from her sibling’s views in a radio interview last month.
Saying that Holly returned to Australia “rarely,” she told HIT WA’s Allan & Carly emphatically: “My sister and I have very, very different political views.”
“She has the right to say the things that she wants to say … but yes, that’s not my opinion on anything,” she said.
Trump celebrates birthday
Trump, whose attempted White House return is based in part on attacking President Joe Biden as old and feeble, turned 78 overnight — just three years younger than his election rival — with growing questions over his own health.
Whoever wins the November election will set a new age record. At 81, Biden is already the oldest man to hold the office and would continue to be so, while if Trump wins, he would become the oldest ever at an inauguration.
Trump, aided by the right-wing media ecosystem, has carefully worked to build an image of vigor, in attempted contrast to an opponent he routinely claims is “sleepy” or even senile.
Whether staging photo-ops with martial arts personalities or performing his trademark short dance at the end of rallies, Trump spares little effort to come across as an energetic showman.
Heavy use of cosmetics and hairspray typically give him a look -- at a distance -- of a tanned and younger man.
Trump aimed to maintain that image at a party in West Palm Beach, in his home state of Florida, as he gave an hour-long campaign speech before a throng of paying guests.
Club 47 USA, a Trump supporters’ group, hosted the event near the ex-president’s Mar-a-Lago residence and golf resort, with the crowd singing “Happy Birthday” as he stood on stage before a row of American flags.
“Wow, is that a nice crowd,” he said, before launching into his boilerplate speech.
Invitations, featuring a picture of Trump grinning and hugging yet another US flag, referred to him as “the best president ever.” The former president is used to the flattery, with almost the entire Republican party now lined up behind him.
On Thursday, he received a rousing happy birthday message in Washington from Republican members of Congress.
They included senior figures who only three years ago had denounced him after cowering in fear as a mob of Trump supporters tried to storm the Capitol to overturn Biden’s 2020 election win.
Unflattering Trump photo
There were no warm wishes from the Biden camp.
The president’s reelection campaign put out an unflattering close-up photograph of a sweaty, disheveled Trump, titled: “Ah, another year around the sun for Donald Trump.” Underneath, a list of 78 lifetime “accomplishments” was provided, ranging from Trump’s multiple bankruptcies to instances of far-right rhetoric, alleged sexual misconduct, cheating at golf, his encouraging of the Capitol assault, and recent felony conviction for business fraud in New York.
“Happy birthday, Donald. You’re a crook, a failure, a fraud, and a threat to our democracy, economy, rights, and future,” Biden campaign spokesman James Singer said. “Our early gift for your 79th: Making sure you are never president again.” In response, a Trump spokeswoman described Biden as a “weak and incompetent candidate” who has been “shuffling around like a brain-dead zombie at the G7 summit” in Italy this week.
Trump exposure grows
Polls show that a big majority of Americans think Biden is too old, while a small majority think the same of Trump.
But Trump -- who has already had many a well-documented verbal slip -- now faces months of intense media exposure, increasing the risk of more focus on the same kinds of gaffes that have plagued Biden.
Just Thursday, a mini firestorm blew up when Trump was quoted as saying that Milwaukee -- where the Republicans will hold their convention to nominate Trump in July -- is a “horrible” place.
Attention is also growing on his often bizarre, meandering comments during speeches, including a recent tirade against electric vehicles that involved a sinking boat, a shark and being electrocuted.
Trump appears conscious that attacks on Biden risk backfiring, given their similar ages.
“He’s not too old at all,” Trump said in an interview last September. “Age is interesting because some people are very sharp, and some people do lose it.” Biden on Friday said he agreed there are nuances to the age question. “Happy 78th birthday, Donald. Take it from one old guy to another: Age is just a number,” he posted on X. “This election, however, is a choice.”
— with AFP
Originally published as Holly Valance hosts fundraiser for Donald Trump after labelling Australia ‘too woke’
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