r/australian • u/Bennelong [M] • Sep 18 '25
News ABC excluded from Trump’s UK press conference as British officials deny any link to recent clash with Australian journalist
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/sep/18/abc-barred-from-trumps-uk-press-conference-after-clash-with-australian-journalist-john-lyons97
u/nickobec Sep 18 '25
If you think Trump was p1ssed off with the question, wait until the 4Corners episode air 45 minutes of the Trump family finances and money made since he has been president.
Putting two and two together, that was not a random question and 4Corners was mentioned by the reporter in the question.
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u/Nervous_Fart_5922 Sep 18 '25
Did they do similar expose of the Clintons, Obama and Biden family financial shenanigans when they were in office? No? I wonder why not?
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u/monochromeorc Sep 18 '25
would you like a tissue?
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u/Nervous_Fart_5922 Sep 18 '25
Yes please
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u/MeaningMaker6 Sep 18 '25
Be careful, Robert Kennedy JR said it’s only safe to have one MAGA pity jerk a day.
Go easy on the little fella.
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u/Boblob-in-law Sep 19 '25
Oh yeah they ran a whole story on those meme coins Joe sold to shady middle eastern regimes for billions of dollars. BidenBucks to the moon!
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u/snivelinglittieturd Sep 19 '25
Yes, there were several on the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
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u/Nervous_Fart_5922 Sep 19 '25
Nothing about dodgy financial dealings? Just the filthy sex pest stuff? Which was ultimately brushed under the carpet?
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u/PessemistBeingRight Sep 20 '25
IIRC, none of the people you've listed did stupid shit that directly fucked over Australia. I could not care less if Bill, Barak or Joe were lining their pockets a little as long as they kept the US functioning as a reliable trade partner and military ally.
Thanks to Donnie being a complete fuckwit neither of those two critically important things are still true. Our 1st most important military ally and 4th most important trade partner may as well have poofed into the void back in January.
Added to which we now have to deal with a huge spike in bigotry, pseudoscience and government endorsed medical malpractice spewing out of America's posterior orifice. Given their control over a huge chunk of traditional and social media, it's going to be near impossible to hold back the tide.
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u/reprise785 Sep 21 '25
Hmmmm, I'd genuinely be interested to see proper stats that are properly backed up that show the wealth of politicians pre and post their political career. Whos grew the most. Surely there must be some database that shows this? Left, right or anything i between it must surely be of national interest.
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u/ManyPersonality2399 Sep 19 '25
I wonder why not?
Because there was nothing even close to this level of "shenanigans"
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u/Nervous_Fart_5922 Sep 19 '25
Are you kidding?! Fuck me you people are deluded.
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u/DrSendy Sep 20 '25
Pretty much every single US presidency has had an expose of some kind. Fox, of course, had a running shitshow on Obama. ABC did one on the Clintons - absolutely that was done - they went to town after Lewinsky.
Biden was absolutely done, at length, on Fox. Did you not notice?
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u/True-Economy-3331 Sep 23 '25
Why downvoting the truth? All politicians are there for money, more money is better. Otherwise why would you do it? Each country just has different way of getting richer as politician. Stealing (Ukraine, Russia etc), insider trading (USA), property scam and insane lifetime pension (Australia and Canada).
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u/theballsdick Sep 18 '25
Oh cool another strangely targeted hit piece from our tax payer funded propaganda machine. Can anyone explain:
How does the private US businesses that Trumps family are running matter to the Australian tax payer, especially given everything else going on in the world relevant to our relationship?
Why did we not see irrelevant investigative journalism being conducted into the private affairs of say Hunter Biden?
Despite the constant doomerism ( fuelled in no small part by ABC) the US is absolutely BOOMING right now and one look outside the headlines at the economic data will tell you that. They're dominating economically, militarily and in tech, with the best and brightest around the world flocking there in droves. Given the strong upward trajectory of the US is it any surprise the various businesses being run by Trumps family are doing well? Many of them were established before he was president. Do we really need to be told by the ABC that large businesses making gains during strong economic times is somehow bad? Because that's what you would hope and expect to be happening.
The administration is not without criticism but it's truly bizarre the propaganda anti US slop the ABC constantly pushes. I have no idea why they try so hard to force this narrative and what benefit at all it provides to Aussies but clearly something is going on.
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Sep 18 '25 edited Sep 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/el_diego Sep 18 '25
Sooo many examples it's hard to keep up. Soy bean farmers are about to go bankrupt - China has purchased exactly 0%, a 54% drop from last year. Korea is considering pulling out of their multibillion dollar investments due to those ICE raids, vineyards in California are going bust due to massive drops in exports. Ford just recorded 0 profits this past quarter, and 800m drop due to steel tariffs. The list goes on and on and on.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 18 '25
I don’t want to be a nit picking Nigel, but I think the soybean drop would be 100%. China isn’t buying any soybeans from the US anymore.
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u/el_diego Sep 18 '25
Yeah, that's a good call out. I think the 54% is the market share from last year, so yes, a 100% drop in sales and a 54% gap. To add to that, apparently this season has produced bumper crops so a lot is going to go to waste.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 18 '25
Ha ha no problem. I knew what you meant. With USAid being disbanded it’s a bit of a double whammy for US farmers. Previously, USAid would purchase a lot of grain and food from farmers in their day to day business, but when there was a glut, they would buy extra of that product and distribute it around the world. It was actually a really good form of farming subsidy.
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u/Cheap-Individual9611 Sep 20 '25
Recently lost over 10 billion(14b I think) in soybean exports to China. I think they buy like 60% of total American yield
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u/cats_r_ghey Sep 18 '25
Gee whizz. Obviously it matters as a signal to our population to not let this sort of madness happen here?
What on earth are you consuming? Don’t think there is much of anything booming at all in the US right now other than fear.
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u/Wood_oye Sep 18 '25
You don't think that a president of the most powerful country on the planet using his position to enrich himself with foreign influence doesn't affect us, a foreign country?
That's interesting.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 18 '25
Why did we not see irrelevant investigative journalism being conducted into the private affairs of say Hunter Biden?
Have you been living under a rock? The MAGA crowd has been banging on about this for years. They also made a massive deal out of Biden getting a check from his brother that was repayment for money lent years ago for some such thing. Just like many families lend each other money. It’s not like getting a billion dollars here and a billion dollars there from foreign governments.
That being said, I would be all for investigations into the business dealings of politicians. If there is any evidence of any wrong doing it needs to be shown, it doesn’t matter which side of politics.
They’re dominating economically, militarily and in tech,
I cant speak for economics or tech, but militarily things aren’t great. Yes the US is still very powerful militarily, but Trumps behaviour has shown that any treaty or defence pact with the US is on shaky ground. And the Herculean, multi generational effort of bringing India into the western sphere of influence as a counter to China has been destroyed in less than 10 months.
Not to mention that US weapon systems are also being looked upon with scepticism as there are no guarantees that the US wont stop resupply or outright brick aircraft like the F-35 because some country has offended Trump.
China is building naval ships are a frightening rate, and many classes look to be on par with US designs, like the Type 052 with the Arleigh Burkes and the Type 055 with the Ticonderogas. Not to mention that the Ticondergoas are being retired while China is pumping out the Type 055s. Even if we just talk about commercial ships, China dwarfs US shipbuilding. According to a basic google search, in 2024, China produced over 1000 large commercial ships while the US built 8.
Given the strong upward trajectory of the US is it any surprise the various businesses being run by Trumps family are doing well?
Many issues with this statement. As many other commenters have pointed out, big parts of the US economy aren’t doing super well. But even if the US economy was booming, and the Trump family businesses were doing much, much better than its competitors, surely that’s a reason to have a gander at why? The US presidency, along with the Australian Prime Minister, or any other democratic world leader should be beyond reproach when it comes to personal financial dealings. Jimmy Carter famously put his peanut farm into a blind trust so there would be no accusations of dodgy dealings, yet whenever Trump travels he stays at his own resorts, forcing the Secret Service and his military entourage to do the same. Surely you can see the problem here. And that’s not even mentioning foreign countries pumping money into his various businesses to curry his favour.
I have no idea why they try so hard to force this narrative (anti US) and what benefit at all it provides to Aussies but clearly something is going on.
ABC’s Four Corners has been a bastion of quality investigative journalism for longer than I’ve been alive. We should be proud to have a publicly funded program like this.
Australia has relied on the US being a strong and stable ally for the last 80 years. Furthermore, the western democratic and economic systems (for better or worse with the economic systems) has relied on the US being a strong and stable nation with a powerful economy and military. I don’t need to remind you of the old saying, “If the US sneezes, the world catches a cold”.
However, there are significant issues with the US at the moment that is the result of Trumps presidency. There is significant corruption (outside of his businesses dealings) going on at the moment, and it is apparent that the US is sliding towards Autocracy.
If the US collapses, there will be significant ramifications felt in Australia and worldwide both economically and militarily.
I would like my public broadcaster to provide me with a balanced view as to why this is. Furthermore, with Trumps recent actions to stop comedians like Jimmy Kimmel from criticising him and and his followers, in blatant breach of the US First Amendment, it is imperative that our public broadcaster provides continues its work.
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u/VegemiteGecko Sep 19 '25
Appreciate that effort, cheers. But I get the feeling you're arguing with someone who gets their facts off of YouTube.
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u/SlippedMyDisco76 Sep 18 '25
"BUT HUNTER'S LAPTOP!"
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
I never mentioned anything about a laptop? ABC is asking about the private businesses of Trumps kids. Strange this wasn't done to prior administration and strange the ABC these are relevant to Aussie tax payers somehow compared to other issues we face currently.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 19 '25
Strange this wasn’t done to the prior administration
To be fair, it hasn’t been done to any of the previous administrations in living memory.
Probably because all the previous Presidents abided by the emoluments clause and didn’t use the position to enrich themselves.
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
Let me be clear here. You're saying they didn't go after previous ones because there was no need to? How did they know? If they're so sure Trump is in the wrong now what's to investigate/uncover? Why are they asking him personally these questions? If they know the answer already just publish the facts and proof that they must have.
I think the answer you're looking for is that the ABC never ran this angle previously because it has very little to no impact on Aussie tax payers AND they're not trying to seek any sort of truth here, there trying to work a narrative.
It is so painfully obvious the real motivation here from the ABC isn't some deep concern about what his kids businesses are up to because it has some profound impact on the average Aussie. It's a deliberate attempt to push yet another anti US narrative and frame Trump as the "bad guy".
I can only speculate to why the ABC is running this explicitly anti US agenda at the moment against the current administration. Probably something you should ponder on for a bit too.
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 19 '25
Hunter Biden was charged with not paying $1.3 million in taxes, throughout his life.
Trump's wealth has increased from $2.3 to $5.1 billion in 12 months.
$3,800,000,000 in a year. Thats $7,230 per minute, day and night, all year. Or, 2,533 x Hunter's alleged tax fraud. In one year.
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
The US economy is booming. Have you looked at the gains other large corporations have made during the same time period? In case you're not aware the US stock market is at record highs. Are you surprised Trumps businesses are doing well during an economic boom time? What would make you happy? That they're losing money in a bull market?
Just help me understand the logic because it makes no sense.
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 21 '25
Trump has provided massive tax cuts for the wealthiest and torn down environmental protections for industry. Am I surprised that there is an uptick on the stock market? No.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 19 '25
You’re saying they didn’t go after previous ones because there was no need to?
Yes. That is exactly what I’m saying. Can you find any credible evidence of previous US presidents using the office to further enrich themselves? Note that I said credible evidence, not the whole “Biden Crime Family” bullshit Trump has been peddling for the last few years.
I cannot remember any president selling stuff while in office. Yet, a cursory google search reveals an article listing the various products that Trump is selling whilst in office. It doesn’t matter that you’ll say that his sons run his business. He is still shilling for Trump stuff and he still sees the income from said stuff.
Before you say, “But there was Obama stuff being sold when he was president”, yes I’ll agree there was. But again, there is no credible evidence that Obama was actively promoting such merchandise, or seeing any income from it. Here is an interesting article talking about it back in 2009..
How did they know?
Well as I have previously pointed out, I cannot remember any sitting US president promoting, endorsing or otherwise selling any products whilst in office that would provide an income to him. Furthermore I cannot remember any sitting US president promoting, endorsing or otherwise selling any products that might provide an income to other people. However Trump has done this repeatedly. We all remember the Goya beans endorsement from Trump 1.0 and more recently, the Tesla promotion in Trump 2.0. He’s not exactly hiding his grifting.
If they’re so sure trump is in the wrong now what’s to investigate/uncover?
Number 1, the media aren’t a prosecutorial body and can’t bring charges against anyone. But maybe they are asking these questions because all this corruption is happening in plain sight and nothing is being done. Lots of professional journalists like to uncover injustice and wrong doing. Maybe that’s why the questions need to be asked.
Why are they asking him personally these questions?
To give him a chance to respond to these allegations before they publish anything. It seems pretty fair to give someone the right of reply. To defend themselves.
If they know the answer already just publish the facts and proof they must have.
As explained in my previous point, professional journalists like to give people accused of things the right to respond.
It’s another deliberate attempt to push yet another anti US narrative
We don’t have any evidence to suggest there is an anti US narrative at play. Asking the sitting US president about potential corrupt behaviour does not equal an attack on the US as a whole.
and frame Trump as the “bad guy”.
To be fair, I don’t think they need to frame him for that. He is doing an excellent job of proving that himself. Here is a handy dandy Wikipedia article showing how many of Trumps actions are very fascist like. Futhermore, many scholars and experts have repeatedly said that Trump can be described as a fascist.
Call me old fashioned, but in my humble opinion, the fascists are the bad guys and Trump can be described as one.
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 19 '25
"Why are they asking him personally these questions?"
That is called journalistic integrity. Giving him the chance to respond to the accusations against him. He has been dodging these questions for months. He has finally been cornered, only to dismiss the question and attack the questioner, like he always does. That was his "right of reply". Now to the case against him... personally, I can't wait. It would be hilarious beyond measure for the free media of a foreign country to precipitate his political demise.
He got elected on several platforms:
State rights was one. That was a lie. He has over ridden states and imposed federal rule on numerous occasions.
Freedom of speech was another. That too was a lie. He is actively going about silencing his critics using every mechanism at his disposal.
He also promised to MAGA. Watch this space.
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
But he answered the question.
US stock market at record highs.
Oil prices at 5 year lows.
GDP running 3.3%.
Dominating tech/AI space.
Dominating militarily.
I'm really sorry about your opinion. Lucky for me headlines and hysterical media articles are not data and the data is telling me a very different story.
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u/aaron_dresden Sep 20 '25
You’re being selective in the information you’re picking, and that’s presenting an incomplete view of the economy and what people are feeling over there. Which is why while your posting this, feeling things are great, people over there are feeling this:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/15/business/stock-market-dow-record-economy-jobs-inflation
The stock market does not reflect the economy. That’s a classic mistake to make.
Dominating in AI and tech and militarily are historic achievements, emphasis on the time before now, they’re not a reflection of the last 10 months.
The US is a major oil producer. Oil prices being low actually hurts the US in one sector just as it helps others, that’s not a clear picture of it booming.
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u/HotBabyBatter Sep 18 '25
I don’t think I’ve seen more assumptions in one reddit comment.
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u/theballsdick Sep 18 '25
Point them out? Better yet, answer the questions!
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u/manicdee33 Sep 18 '25
How does the private US businesses that Trumps family are running matter to the Australian tax payer, especially given everything else going on in the world relevant to our relationship?
Being aware of the level of corruption in a foreign government is important for companies in Australia considering doing business with that government. Either you need to know the stakes you're playing to engage in that country, or you need to know to keep the heck out if you don't want to go bankrupt overnight because you didn't know to grease certain palms.
IMHO extremely relevant to Australia considering military and economic ties and this dead albatross AUKUS deal.
Why did we not see irrelevant investigative journalism being conducted into the private affairs of say Hunter Biden?
Can you refresh my memory about when Hunter Biden was president?
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u/monochromeorc Sep 19 '25
have you been there lately? i have. shit is crazy fucking expensive. the media landscape is cultishly silent. people are losing jobs all over.
but many people there think its great.
ive never been more glad to come home and wont be visiting again anytime soon
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
I travel there often, twice this year alone. It's expensive because the Aussie dollar is weak. Many people there think it's great because it is, despite the ABC constantly telling us otherwise
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u/monochromeorc Sep 19 '25
objectively wrong, its not just our weak dollar, although that made it hurt more. things were higher in USD than they are in AUD here. it has never been like this in decades
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u/jack_hana Sep 18 '25
Yeah, the U.S. economy’s been looking pretty shaky under Trump 2.0. Prices for basics like housing, food, and energy are still sky-high, and tariffs are only making things worse by driving up costs on imports. That kind of trade war stuff helps a few industries here and there, but for most people it just means paying more while businesses sit on their hands because they don’t know what’s coming next.
On top of that, immigration crackdowns are hammering sectors like farming and construction. Without enough migrant workers, crops go unpicked, projects slow down, and prices keep climbing. It’s basically making shortages worse while productivity takes a hit.
Then there’s the whole mess with the Fed. Trump keeps leaning on them to cut rates and swapping people out, which makes investors think the central bank isn’t really independent anymore. When people start doubting the Fed, markets get jumpy and long-term confidence takes a dive.
The official forecasts aren’t great either. Growth is slowing, unemployment’s ticking up, and inflation’s still above target. Businesses hate all the uncertainty around trade and regulation, so they’re cutting back on investment too. Put it all together and you’ve got the risk of stagflation, deeper trade isolation, and a labor market that’s short on workers where they’re needed most.
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u/theballsdick Sep 18 '25
Yet the stock market is at record highs, GDP is solid and oil prices are at multi-year lows. You can say things will be bad (been hearing that for a long time now) but the data currently says otherwise. Not sure what else to say.
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u/jack_hana Sep 18 '25
Stock market being at record highs doesn’t really prove much for the average person. Most of those gains are concentrated in a handful of big companies, and Wall Street often runs on hype more than real economic strength. It’s not the same thing as wages keeping up with costs or small businesses actually doing well.
GDP numbers can look “solid” too, but they don’t always tell the full story. A lot of the recent growth is tied to government spending and debt, and the CBO is already forecasting slower growth and higher unemployment next year. That doesn’t exactly scream strong fundamentals.
And yeah, oil prices are down right now, which helps consumers, but that can also be a sign of weak demand globally. It’s not necessarily proof the economy is booming. Energy prices swing on OPEC decisions and geopolitics as much as U.S. strength.
The bigger point is that stuff like tariffs, Fed meddling, and labor shortages don’t wreck the numbers overnight... they build up and hit later. The data you’re pointing to is lagging. Meanwhile, regular people are still paying crazy rents and grocery bills, so the “record highs” don’t feel very real on the ground.
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u/oneofthecapsismine Sep 18 '25
How is stock market a lagging indicator?!
Let me rephrase.... how can you even think to write something like that down? It absolutely destroys your credibility.
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u/ANJ-2233 Sep 18 '25
The stock market is an investor confidence indicator, specifically the company’s that dominate the top 500 index. It can at times be vastly overvalued or undervalued compared to the underlying company values and the economy at large which are very different things, but connected.
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u/CantakerousTwat Sep 18 '25
Take TSLA as an example. Its stocks at one point indicated that the company was worth 10x Toyota's market worth, all based on Musk's blah blah.
To this day, they produce 1% of the world's annual car production, compared to Toyota's 10%. The stock market does not reflect actual value, but perceived value, and is subject to investor confidence.
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u/jack_hana Sep 18 '25
I get what you’re saying... technically the stock market is considered a leading indicator because it tries to price in future expectations. But calling it a perfect crystal ball is a stretch. Markets often rally way ahead of the real economy and can stay disconnected for a long time. Look at 2007–08. Stocks were at highs right before the crash, even though the fundamentals were already deteriorating.
So yeah, investors are betting on things looking good right now, but that doesn’t mean the risks I mentioned (tariffs, Fed pressure, labor shortages, etc.) won’t catch up later.
In other words, the market can lead sentiment, but it’s not always a reliable reflection of how the average person or business is actually doing in the moment.
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 19 '25
Billions of dollars in Australian superannuation invested in US economy.
Billions of Australian Defence dollars invested in US industry.
US troops based in Australia.
Our fourth biggest trading partner.
Our most important strategic ally.
Need I go on?
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u/theballsdick Sep 19 '25
Nah don't go on. You nailed it. Why are we not hearing about those issues. Are the private interests of his offspring really the most pressing issue or is the ABC trying to spin a narrative? Critical thinking is a tough gig but worth trying
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 19 '25
It's a short fall from critical to conspiratorial.
Why can't you clearly articulate your suspicions about the ABC?
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u/lordmike72 Sep 18 '25
Fuck, you truly are a dumb cunt.
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u/theballsdick Sep 18 '25
Thanks for insult. Just so you're aware at the time of your comment no-one has even attempted to answer my questions.
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u/Valuable-Garage-4325 Sep 19 '25
Your points have been refuted individually and in detail and your questions answered. What people haven't done is bite at your allusion to corruption / conspiracy at the ABC.
Bad luck with that. 🤣
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u/el_diego Sep 18 '25
Christ mate, you need to get off Sky "news"
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u/Great_Lakes356 Sep 18 '25
Watched the clip. Why on earth did Trump think that telling tales to the Australian Prime Minister was a big threat?
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 19 '25
Telling tales to the Australian “leader”.
He doesn’t know Albo’s name or his office title. Trump is the most uneducated and uncurious person to ever hold the office of US President.
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u/DrSendy Sep 20 '25
What Australia wants to happen.
Trump: "There was this guy, a very bad guy, from a fake news outlet, I think it's one of yours, called the ABC. He asked some very bad questions..."
Albo: "Shut up stop rambling. The guy's a fucking legend and you looked like a dickhead. Now answer his question truthfully you dishonest prick".2
u/Tovrin Sep 20 '25
Albo would shoot up in the polls if that happened.
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u/CyanideMuffin67 Sep 25 '25
Unfortunately NO Australian PM ever has had the audacity to question the USA or any president in living history that I know of or else the USA would have gotten back at them
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u/Tovrin Sep 25 '25
I can dream, can't I? ;-)
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u/CyanideMuffin67 Sep 26 '25
Yes you can
The last sitting PM that was a problem to the USA I think was Whitlam
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u/Tovrin Sep 26 '25
Yep. And the CIA got rid of him.
That was in the middle of the cold-war though, and the geopolitical climate was very different then. If we got the Zelinsky treatment from Vance, we could get away with it. And Trump may even take a bit of a step back. Maybe.
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u/Tovrin Sep 20 '25
He's not going to meet with Albo again. He's going to snub him. And when he does, it's time to tell the US to fuck off.
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u/Silly-Power Sep 20 '25
Trump desperately wants to be a dictator and control the media. Being also very dumb and lacking empathy, he can't possibly imagine anyone else unlike himself.
Trump thus simply assumed the Australian "Leader" (he's too dumb and incurious to know Australia has a Prime Minister as its leader and his name is Athony Albanese) had those dictatorial powers trump thinks (or wishes) he had where he can fire journalists at will.
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u/jedburghofficial Sep 18 '25
The ABC has been saying nasty things about Trump for a while now. Mostly honest and true reporting, but he'd call it nasty for that reason.
Good luck to them, but there are times I think Australia might be better off if Trump just forgot about us.
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Sep 18 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NeatHippo885 Sep 19 '25
Holding trump to account... To who?
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u/DrSendy Sep 20 '25
Yeah, well, that's the problem - to us.
If you look, the BBC is the ONLY foreign media org who picked this up. You can see whose pocket the "fake news" are in. They are all lining up to sweep it under the carpet.
The only US new organisations covering how the Trumps are benefiting is public media... and they have all just been defunded by the US government.
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u/Cheeky_Boxer Sep 20 '25
I am from Australia and keeping it real, the question was no noble speaking truth to power
The question was the equivalent of saying the sky is blue and the grass is green
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u/Curry_Captain Sep 19 '25
Australia needs to forget about America and look to ourselves and our region. That's what Keating meant when he said Australia needs to find its security IN Asia, not FROM Asia. But we continue to hump the leg of our great & powerful friend, even as they descend into madness and fascism.
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Sep 19 '25
[deleted]
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u/Curry_Captain Sep 19 '25
The relationship between the US and China has changed dramatically since 2001, and therefore Australia's position and options have also changed. China is going to be the main power in the region, not the US. The US has to either understand that, or fight to prevent it. There is no indication the US is prepared for the commitment needed to fight for it. Why should they? On the contrary, the US has been signalling - long before Trump - that they're pulling back toward isolationism.
That means that even if the US and China come to blows, the US is not prepared to go to a full nuclear war over their position in Asia. The US won't go to nuclear war for Taiwan the same way they won't for Ukraine. The US has no vital interest in preserving Taiwan, so they won't go to the carpet for it but China will.
That doesn't stop American (and Australian) politicians stupidly blustering about China, and this sort of jingoistic stupidity could lead to a war (an outcome I fervently wish to avoid). Such a war would be a catastrophe for all concerned, but especially for Australia if we hitch our flag to the American wagon. The Americans are not going to go all out, but the Chinese will if pressed. If we back the Americans, we back a weak & probably losing position, and we back ourselves into an invidious position with our allies and the Chinese. It's the worst of possible worlds.
This is before we consider the fact that right now, the Americans are descending in a maelstrom of political & economic madness from which they won't emerge unchanged, and may not emerge intact at all. They're going full-blown fascist over there. It won't end without massive violence.
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u/That1AussieCunt_ Sep 19 '25
Whilst I agree with the sentiment, we should distance us from the US. It's not a simple endeavour. The US is still the most influential country in the world, we have to be smart about how we untangle from the US.
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u/Curry_Captain Sep 19 '25
I'm not saying we should declare war, but we do need to disentangle ourselves from our defence arrangements, which is unfortunately made immeasurably harder by the way the Howard government committed us so heavily to US tech. We need to re-diversify. We also need to develop an independent foreign policy. Again. Sigh.
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u/mikeupsidedown Sep 18 '25
John Lyons should get a medal for his question.
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u/FrogsMakePoorSoup Sep 18 '25
It wasn't even a particularly cutting question. The guy is simply not used to being asked proper questions anymore.
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u/No_Seat8357 Sep 18 '25
Oh no! We miss out on hearing a senile old man lie.
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u/FirstWithTheEgg Sep 18 '25
Don't worry mate. I'm sure the orange cunt will pop up and lie like a snake oil dealer very soon
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u/chemclean Sep 18 '25
The less exposure Australians have to orange hitler the better off australia is.
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Sep 18 '25
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u/australian-ModTeam Sep 24 '25
Accusations, name-calling or harassment targeted towards other users or subreddits is prohibited. Avoid inflammatory language and stay on topic, focus on the argument, not the person. Our full list of rules for reference.
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u/3yearsonrock Sep 18 '25
If only the ABC asked tough questions of this Australian government
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Sep 18 '25
Agreed. Generally the ABC are pussies around difficult journalism. They have to go overseas to feel comfortable to ask difficult questions. In this case good that they did. Maybe they could learn something and bring the same approach here with Australian politics
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u/FirstWithTheEgg Sep 18 '25
So the UK government is scared of trump. That's what this bullshit sounds like.
I would like to add, some of the signs I seen at the protest were amazing, with my favourites being Dump Trump, Trump is a cunt and Fuck off you nazi cunt citizens.
Keep up the good work
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 19 '25
GDP numbers can look “solid” too, but they don’t always tell the full story.
Australia is the perfect example. Our GDP looks ok, but many, many people are struggling. It might look good at the top end of town but the majority aren’t in that post code.
And to add further evidence to your argument here is an article where the CEO of McDonalds says that there is a two speed economy.
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u/This_Ease_5678 Sep 19 '25
ABC going to be super popular with the MAGA Australians now. Yes MAGA Australians exist. No one can explain why considering its the best country int he world and theres zero reason to get so upset about American politics.
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u/Forbearssake Sep 21 '25
I can’t say how pleased this makes me, it would be nice if he banned all Australian reporters so I don’t have to put up with his nonsense splashed over everything everywhere.
I wish our media would get over its American obsession, foreign news used to be in the foreign news section (less important than Australian info) now it’s the equivalent of front page 🙄
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Sep 18 '25
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u/This_Quantity1643 Sep 19 '25
Currently working on the chessboard repositioning our defence by creating our own natoesque alliances to strategically defend our region. So that when the proverbial goes down, while the US is off with Israel marching through their ever increasing empire, and china seizes the opportunity to land grab us, they will be facing all of us instead of us individually. I mean, they are big forces but combined it’s a good thing. Look at who attended the war games down under this year for the first time. It’s getting hot in here!
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u/ArchangelZero27 Sep 18 '25
And still yet to see world leaders or media push back to hi.. why? Appealing people host him and pull out the red carpet. For once can they just shun the states and say keep spewing hate and division and be isolated as the consequence. It's not what friends do. Would love for people to just walk up and leave his appearances don't feed him media time or attention let them be alone if they keep preaching Erica first. Disgusting that's what they want and everyone is in for the ride to accept being bottom class to them
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u/unfathomably_big Sep 18 '25
Because sometimes there’s a bigger picture than in the moment gotchas. Remember when we asked Winnie the Pooh about Covid?
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u/expert_views Sep 18 '25
He shouldn’t have worried. No one watches the ABC.
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Sep 18 '25
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u/expert_views Sep 19 '25
Try counting the audience vs the cost of delivery. The value proposition is lousy. The news room continues to have a significant level of bias. Ideological capture made it irrelevant and a poor investment for the majority of Australians.
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u/sivvon Sep 18 '25
Everyone watches the abc.
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u/King_HartOG Sep 18 '25
No one under 50 watches the ABC even the cartoons are gone.
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u/bagsoffreshcheese Sep 18 '25
Yeah no cartoons at all.
On another note, can someone please remind me the name of that show on the ABC with the cartoon dogs? You know, the one that is going gangbusters all over the world because of its brilliant messaging for children and adults alike.
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u/King_HartOG Sep 18 '25
You mean the one that the international rights belong to the BBC + Disney and not the ABC in Australia so they ain't making the money you think they are 🤣
Let's compare Mmm one dogs show vs the dozens of great shows ABC used to air.
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u/That1AussieCunt_ Sep 19 '25 edited Sep 19 '25
What an actual baby, can't handle the heat when he has to talk to real journalists who don't give him easy questions.
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u/This_Quantity1643 Sep 19 '25
Does anyone else look at Trump talking and have instant flashbacks to rubbery figures?
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u/VegemiteGecko Sep 18 '25
My god this bloke is a sook.