These two political figures are chalk and cheese with very little, if anything, in common. They rule from opposite ends of the political spectrum, where Trump is a nationalist, the powerful master of a booming economy, and Ardern a globalist, seemingly unaware that her tiny nation is limping along at half speed precisely because her globalist theories don’t work in practice.
A man of action meeting a woman of unfulfilled promises, and it doesn’t take much imagination to know that Trump will not offer Ardern anything more than pleasantries. Trump is the master of the deal and Ardern will be sorely disappointed when all she brings to the table is her fist, with which she threatened following her bi-partisan meeting with Scott Morrison in July.
Following that meeting, Ardern spoke to media about her demand for greater US involvement in the region, suggesting that she and ScoMo were on the same page, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth.
“The Prime Minister [Ardern] is calling on the United States to play a larger role in Asia Pacific and says New Zealand will “suffer” if nations “look more inwardly”.
Newshub
Ardern seems to think that nationalists are introspective, whereas globalists, in contrast, are outward-looking. This implies Trump is only concerned about the US and uninterested in the rest of the world, which is not true. Trump puts the US first (why can’t Ardern do that for us?) but he also pays close attention to what is happening overseas.
“Ardern said there ‘has been a view in the past few years’ between Australia and New Zealand that there ‘hasn’t been the same level of attention from the United States within our region’.”
Ardern is presumptuous to speak on Australia’s behalf. She knows New Zealand has been ignored by Trump but Australia has not. ScoMo scored tariff relief for Australia for 85% of its steel exports to the US, whereas Ardern failed to achieve any tariff relief whatsoever for us.
What ScoMo took to the US for his visit last week, from his earlier meeting with Ardern, was not table-thumping demands. “There are many larger… more powerful friends that America has, but they know they do not have a more sure and steadfast friend than Australia,” Morrison said. Trump’s response was to accord ScoMo the highest honour he possibly could. A state banquet.
“Australian flags are fluttering alongside the Stars and Stripes at the White House, where Morrison will get a red carpet, honor guard, joint press conference and then dinner in the beautiful Rose Garden.
Morrison may air Australia’s nervousness about Trump’s trade war with China. In June, he warned of smaller economies suffering collateral damage and of the global system coming “under real pressure.” But this is likely to be a relaxed meeting between political friends, albeit with a lot of pomp and ceremony.
Although the head of state in Australia is Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, not Morrison, the White House is giving this the most prestigious category of state dinner.
It’s only the second time that has been granted in the Trump presidency and the first for an Australian premier here since John Howard in 2006.”
The Jakarta Post
Our own PTPM won’t have to dust off her ball gown and heels. She will be very lucky if she even gets to meet the leader of the free world because, after all, these two have nothing in common compared to ScoMo and Trump.
“Morrison will cement his place in a growing conservative club – also including the likes of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – drawn into Trump’s orbit.
Trump has defied controversy over his push to prevent illegal immigrants and asylum seekers from crossing the Mexican border. Similarly, Morrison, a former immigration minister, has worked to make Australia less attractive to would-be asylum seekers.
His Liberal-National coalition also has much in common with Trump’s climate change skepticism, rejecting overwhelming scientific warnings to encourage lucrative fossil fuel industries. Australia is the world’s largest coal exporter.
Australia has joined Trump’s coalition to patrol the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian forces threaten to interfere with the massive international flow of oil exports.
One area that Trump especially appreciates is trade where the United States enjoys a surplus. The trade conflicts proliferating under Trump have bypassed Australia.”
Our PTPM talks about the importance of trade, but the path she chose for us is the globalist one enjoyed by the UK, Germany, France and Sweden. For this, we are expected to be grateful, but more than that, she wants to do a trade deal with the master of the deal? In our neighbour’s words: “she’s dreamin’”.
Either we are living in the wrong country or we have the wrong leader because Ardern is not us.