Following the delay of Donald Trump Jr.’s speaking tour of Australia last year, Australian Home Minister Clare O’Neil criticized Trump Jr., calling him a ‘big baby.’ The three-day Australian trip was planned to include stops in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne for Trump Jr. However, Turning Point Australia, the tour’s organizer, announced the delay ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’ in a Facebook post. The event planners then clarified that Trump Jr.’s visa had been obtained only 24 hours before his scheduled departure.
O’Neil shot off the accusation on Twitter, claiming that Trump Jr. was attempting to pin the blame for his tour’s cancellation and low ticket sales on the Australian government. As reported by The Guardian , O’Neil shared on X at the time, “Geez, Donald Trump Jr is a bit of a sore loser . His dad lost an election fair and square – but he says it was stolen. Now he’s trying to blame the Australian government for his poor ticket sales and cancelled tour. Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn’t get cancelled. He’s just a big baby, who isn’t very popular.”
My statement on the postponement of the @DonaldJTrumpJr tour of Australia due to a late visa. We will be back! pic.twitter.com/9jcsp2geac
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) July 6, 2023
Later, British politician Nigel Farage, who was supposed to accompany Trump Jr. on the trip, said in a statement that the tour had to be delayed because of ‘the very late granting of a visa.’ Farage revealed, “The proposed tour of Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane next week has been postponed, not cancelled. Donald Trump Jr. had attracted huge interest and 8,000 tickets had already been sold. The very late granting of a visa left too little time for travel logistics.” Further, he panned O’Neil’s tweets as ‘ridiculous’ and said, “Many are saying that the late visa is in effect a form of cancel culture.”
Additionally, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed rumors that the visa for Trump Jr. had been delayed. As reported by The Associated Press , Albanese stated, “Donald Trump Jr.’s visa was dealt with in the normal way and, like anyone else, he was entitled to come here. The deferral of his travel is a matter for him.” Moreover, Andrew Giles, the minister of immigration, said that Trump Jr.’s visa application was treated equally. As per the outlet, Giles added, “Any matters that go to the postponement of Mr. Trump’s speaking tour are matters for himself and the tour promoters.”
AP also reported that Elizabeth Walker, a representative from Turning Point, revealed that the visa application was proceeding as planned, although the exact date of filing was unknown to her. It was a Subclass 408 temporary work visa, she added, and it would provide Trump Jr. six months of admission to Australia. Based on a person’s character, Australia may deny or revoke a visa application. In recent decades, the character test has denied admission to several prominent foreigners, including American rapper Snoop Dogg and anti-vaccination activist Kent Heckenlively.