Donald Trump Jr. is facing calls for his banning in Australia ahead of his upcoming tour there.
Trump, the eldest son of the former president and a prominent conservative voice in his own right, will be headed Down Under for a three-city speaking tour presented by the nonprofit organization Turning Point Australia, with stops in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, from July 9 to 11. He is expected to be joined by former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage.
Trump Jr.'s scheduled appearances have generated calls for the Australian government to block him from entering the country. His Australian critics have launched petitions to ban him from obtaining a visa to come into the country and have vowed to disrupt his speaking engagements.
One Change.org petition, titled "Stop Donald Trump Jr getting an Australian Visa," has gained over 14,000 signatures.
"Donald Trump Jr is an illegal drug-taking bigoted person who should not be allowed to enter Australia for the purpose of earning himself and possibly his father any 'Campaign Contributions,'" the petition's description reads.
Under the reasons for signing the petition, some wrote comments like "No advantages for anyone having Donald Trump Jr visit Australia. Keep him where he belongs USA." Another wrote. "We have enough of our own fascists here. No need to welcome more."
Newsweek reached out by email to the Trump Organization for comment.
Trump Jr. has said he has a "huge fan base in Australia" and that after speaking to some of those supporters "it's clear the same disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture that's crippled the US has clearly taken hold there." He called those issues "the biggest existential threat we face in the West and is literally the decay of Western society."
In a video announcing the tour, he recalled visiting the country during his college years, saying, "I absolutely loved it. Incredible country, amazing people, beautiful scenery."
But some of those people are no fans of his and have planned protests at his speaking engagements. Activists with the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism are planning to demonstrate at his show in Melbourne in a stand against his "white supremacy, transphobia and misogyny," according to one of the protest organizers.
"His visit is likely to be a magnet for far-right and neo-Nazi groups across Melbourne, so we will be there in numbers to send the message that people here reject and despise everything they stand for," the organizer, Omar Hassan, told the Star Observer, an Australian magazine serving the LGBTQ+ community.
Grace Hill, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans+ officer with the National Union of Students and another protest organizer, said that demonstrators are fighting back against Turning Point USA's recent actions in an effort to not let similar events occur in Australia.
"Turning Point USA has fought to push through bans on abortions and attacks on trans rights across the U.S.," Hill said. "We will not let them get a foothold in Australia."
She continued: "Donald Trump Junior and Nigel Farage have said they're coming to Australia to fight 'woke' culture. We plan to show them that there is a serious, large left movement here willing to stand up to bigotry in all its forms."
Sky News Australia reported that some Twitter users have expressed their intentions to throw eggs at event attendees.
Tickets for Trump's speeches start at $89 and go up to $295 for meet-and-greet tickets and $495 for backstage passes.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
