The likely nomination of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for November’s US presidential election has many asking whether Australia should remain as committed to its close relationship with the US as it has been. Setting aside that a vocal minority has long questioned Australia’s commitment to the relationship, two matters make this time around different to Trump’s election in 2016.

The first is that, in 2016, very few in Australia seriously believed that Trump could win the presidency. Ahead of the 2016 election, Reserve Bank head Philip Lowe was asked about the impact of a possible Trump election on Australia’s economy; Lowe laughed and dismissed the question as so unlikely as to be unimaginable.

The second is that following Trump’s election, Australia – and the rest of the world – took a ring-side seat to watch Trump’s often bizarre and certainly unconventional presidential style, capped by his refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 election and the consequent attack on the Capitol Building. The world may have been by turns shocked and entertained by his comments and behaviour, but his shift towards protectionist economic policies and cozying up to autocrats were more disturbing.

Since then, to use the Americanism, Trump has ‘doubled down’ on his populist autocratic tendencies and, if elected, can be expected to further personalise the presidency. The question arises then, should Australia........

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