Anthony Albanese has shared his damning take on Donald Trump amid speculation that parallels between the US President and Peter Dutton could win him the election.
Mr Albanese said a fall in popularity for Mr Dutton’s Coalition could be due to apparent similarities between his leadership and that of Mr Trump’s.
In an interview with News.com.au, Mr Albanese said a Trump-style government wasn’t what Australian voters wanted.
‘I think Australians look at the United States, and they see a society that is really conflicted, is really polarised, that’s not healthy. They don’t want that here,’ he said.
The Labor leader compared Mr Trump’s controversial tariffs to Mr Dutton’s changing policies on working from home.
‘I think what Australians have also seen is that President Trump has changed positions on tariffs, for example, pretty regularly,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘I think people have a look at uncertainty and they know also that in uncertain times what they’re looking for is not volatility; what they’re looking for is stability and certainty, and that’s what my government is – the most stable.’
A senior member of Mr Dutton’s Liberal Party told the outlet if they lost the election, the blame would lay with Mr Trump.
Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) drew parallels between US President Donald Trump and Peter Dutton
Donald Trump is pictured
‘Honestly, easily, the single biggest factor is Trump,’ they said.
‘He has just smashed us, right? And if you track the timing, the polling starts to turn south for us after an inauguration day, accelerates a bit after the Zelensky meeting and then after the tariffs, it just drops through the floor.’
The comparisons between Mr Dutton and Mr Trump have been a key part of criticism against his leadership ahead of the election on Saturday.
This is in spite of Mr Dutton’s multiple attempts to distance himself from the American leader.
On Sunday, Mr Dutton was quizzed by Sunrise host Nat Barr and moderator Mark Riley.
‘Mr Dutton, have you distanced yourself from Mr Trump’s style?’ Barr asked.
The Opposition Leader claimed he had ‘not sought to style myself on anybody other than myself’ and named John Howard as his ‘political mentor’.
He also took aim at Mr Trump’s right-hand man, Elon Musk, calling him an ‘evil genius’.
Mr Dutton (pictured) has repeatedly been compared to Mr Trump, despite criticising the president
It fell to the Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, to play down Mr Dutton’s comments.
‘I think you all know, as you’ve seen on this campaign trail, Peter engages very well and very respectfully with all media outlets who had great access to him on the campaign trail,’ Mr Paterson told Channel Seven.
Meanwhile, Trump has confirmed he will speak to the prime minister after Mr Albanese admitted this week he had recently been unable to reach the US president to talk about trade tariffs.
Australia is angry after being slapped with a 10 per cent tariff on goods exports to the US, and 25 per cent on steel and aluminium exports, by its long-term diplomatic ally.
‘They are calling and I will be talking to him, yes,’ Mr Trump told reporters at the White House overnight.
