Turnbull turning Trumpist?

Those worried that Trumpism could take root in Australia now have another reason for concern: last Saturday, Malcolm Turnbull took to Twitter to protest mainstream media coverage of his government and to insult his opponents. Is Turnbull taking a lesson from the US chief of state?

The American President has earned justified scorn — as well as grudging admiration — for the way he has wielded the social media platform. His familiar cartoonish tics, such as all caps FAKE NEWS and forests of exclamation points colour his boasts and preenings and sulks.

Through Twitter, Trump has decimated the protocols of diplomacy, crudely dismissing the “dumb [refugee] deal” with Australia and chastising North Korea, China, and Germany, just as he has shredded the norms of civility with his “Lyin’ Hillary” and “crazy and very dumb” (TV host) Mika Brzezinski.

But while critics cringe at his antics, Trump has accomplished what he wants: millions of followers — 26 million at last count –and 24/7 social media chatter about his favourite topic: himself.  Equally important, he has used Twitter to counter the “disgraceful” mainstream media, and to further advertise the uncensored, boorish personality that so appealed to his supporters.

On Saturday, Turnbull seemed to follow Trump’s lead.  Instead of his usual bland tweets announcing government reports and personal appearances, he attacked a media report claiming the government was planning to cut pensioners’ benefits.  Moments later, he went after his opposition, tweeting “you can always rely on Bill Shorten to lie.”

Still, Turnbull does not appear to have the manic egotism or shameless bravado that has given the world Trump’s twitter feed.  Those qualities are necessary qualities for a populist leader.  The deficit doesn’t promise a vigorous twitter life; the PM has ‘only’ 787,000 followers — and the modest number of retweets and likes for his entries suggest most of them are blasé about what he has to say.

No matter.  A lack of twitter success would probably be good for Australian politics, not to mention Turnbull’s own soul. ​

Kay Hymowitz is William E. Simon Fellow at New York’s Manhattan Institute and the 2017 Max Hartwell Scholar-in-Residence at the Centre for Independent Studies.