What Trump's Second Term Means for Australia

Leading expert and US and Australian politics insider Bruce Wolpe reveals the many ways in which Australia has already been damaged by Donald Trump. Seeping into Australia from above and below, Trumpism has contaminated public debate, emboldened local political and religious extremists, diminished Australia's economy and international relations—and much more. Wolpe predicts America's democracy won't survive a second Trump term. The implications for Australia and for the world are shocking. He explains how Australia can draw on its strengths to protect its democracy, economy and society from Trumpism, and where Australia is vulnerable and needs to build guardrails. He warns Australia might also face an existential question about ties with its most important ally.

Bruce Wolpe is a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He worked with the Democrats in the US Congress during President Barack Obama's first term, he was a senior advisor for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and he was a senior executive at Fairfax Media 1998 – 2009. He is author of The Committee, and Lobbying Congress.

Foreword: The Second Trump Administration Prologue: Growing Up with Kennedy, Surviving Trump I. Trump and Australia's Foreign Policy 1. Trump: America First Abroad 2. China: Transactional and Unpredictable 3. AUKUS: A Survivor of Trump II 4. North Korea: Spectacle Diplomacy is Back 5. Trump Redux: What Does Australia Need to Do? 6. Chemistry: 'You Don't Look Like a Prime Minister' II. Trump and Australia's Domestic Policy 7. Economy: America First in America 8. Trade: A World War of Tariffs 9. Climate: Drill, Mine, Burn, Repeat 10. Trump 2025: What Can Australia Do? 11. Healthcare and the Coronavirus Pandemic, Lesley Russell III. Trump and the Future of Democracy in America and Australia 12. Trump Political Culture: Earthquakes in America, and the Aftershocks in Australia 13. Endangered: American Democracy 14. Culture Wars: Buttons Are Being Pushed 15. The Big Lie: Blunting the Aftershocks in Australia 16. Race: Trump's Voice versus the Voice 17. Media: Will 'The Enemy of the People' Prevail? 18. Is Trump an '-ism'? 19. Trump 2024: We Know What We're Getting This Time IV. The Democracy Guardrails in Australia 20. The Safeguards of Australia's Democracy 21. Futureproofing Australia's Democracy V. Trump's Return 22. The Existential Question for Australia Epilogue: A Letter to Australia from an American Friend, Norman J. Ornstein Acknowledgements Notes