Labor’s landslide election win was helped by the shadow of Donald Trump, says US media

Both conservative and liberal media in the US interpret the size of Labor’s defeat of Peter Dutton as being at least partially driven by Donald Trump’s unpopularity.

Both conservative and liberal media in the US interpreted the size of Labor’s defeat of Peter Dutton’s as being at least partially driven by Donald Trump’s unpopularity. 

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Anthony Albanese’s thumping election win has grabbed headlines in the US for Donald Trump’s perceived role in helping another centre-left foreign government to power.

Conservative and liberal media in the US interpreted the size of Labor’s defeat of Peter Dutton as being at least partially driven by Mr Trump’s unpopularity. “First Canada, now Australia – the Trump factor boosts another world leader in an election,” said a headline in the conservative Wall Street Journal, referring to the comeback victory of Canada’s ruling centre-left Liberal Party in that country’s election last week.

“The (Australian) election is the latest snapshot of how voters are reacting to a shifting world order as President Trump targets countries with tariffs, pivots ­toward Russia and uses harsh rhetoric about Washington’s traditional allies,” the WSJ said. “Polls show voters in Australia, Canada, and the UK view Washington more unfavourably since Trump took office.”

The left-leaning Washington Post said Mr Trump’s tariffs ­“appear to have boosted the incumbent’s (Albanese’s) prospects … echoing the results of Monday’s election in Canada”.

“From Germany to Greenland, the US President has become a key factor in global electoral politics, as some voters added to their longstanding concerns a new question: Who will stand up to Trump?” it said.

US media cited Mr Dutton’s mini-MAGA agenda, including promises to slash the public service, create a DOGE-like government efficiency portfolio and wade into culture war issues including tacking cultural diversity. “Donald Trump may not have been on Australia’s ballot paper, but his shadow loomed large all the same,” Politico said, adding that “Dutton’s embrace of MAGA policies backfired spectacularly”.

Recent polls show support for Mr Trump in Australia has slumped during his first 100 days in power. A YouGov poll last month found 66 per cent of Australians polled said the US could not be trusted as a security ally, up from 39 per cent last June.

Seven in 10 Australians say they are concerned that Mr Trump will make them poorer, concerns which will increase if Wall Street continues its southward journey because of concerns about the impact of tariffs on the global economy.

The New York Times headlined its Australian election story with “Australia’s election wasn’t about Trump. An anti-Trump wave swept in anyway.”

“The global turmoil wreaked by President Trump’s policies made him a factor in the election, bolstering the re-election of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,” the Times said.

Australian elections rarely grab headlines in the US, but there is growing attention in America on the way in which Mr Trump is reshaping the politics of America’s allies.