Former prime minister believes billionaire’s success is emblematic of voters’ frustration with ‘political correctness’ but he fears candidate’s ‘instability’

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

John Howard says he “trembles” at the thought of Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States – but he understands why the voluble billionaire is cutting through with the voters of America, because Trump “seems to call it as it is”.



The conservative former Australian prime minister told Sky News on Sunday he believed if Trump secured the nomination of the Republican party for the presidency he would ultimately lose to the likely Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Jean-Marie Le Pen endorses Trump days after ex-KKK leader urges support Read more

Howard said an establishment candidate, like Marco Rubio, might have a better chance of prevailing at a general election against Clinton.

“I assume, absent [Clinton] being indicted by the justice department – I assume she’ll be the Democratic party candidate,” Howard noted on Sunday.

But while discounting the billionaire’s chances of getting to the White House, Howard confessed he was fascinated by the Trump phenomenon.

“He’s doing well because he’s saying things that a lot of people think should be said but the current political class aren’t willing to say,” Howard told Sky News on Sunday.

“In part, his success is emblematic of people’s frustration with political correctness. What people like is he seems to call it as it is.”

Howard throughout his parliamentary career prided himself on speaking up against what he termed political correctness and having a special connection with “the battlers.”

Howard also made much of the strength of his border protection policy as one of the political bedrocks of his prime ministership.

On Sunday, Howard told Sky News his declaration in the 2001 election campaign, “We decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come”, was now seen by Australians and possibly people elsewhere as “an essential declaration of national sovereignty”.

Political correctness is more than an excuse for phoney martyrs to defend blackface | Yassir Morsi Read more

But the former prime minister said on Sunday he was concerned about Trump’s instability. “I tremble at the thought of Trump being president. There’s an instability about him that bothers me.”

Howard acknowledged some of Trump’s remarks were “outrageous” and he noted his treatment of interviewers was “pretty brusque to sat the least”.

The former prime minister said: “The big worry [Trump] has and the big worry the Republicans should have is that he might attract passionate support from a certain percentage [of voters] but that percentage is less than 50 per cent and, unless you get 50 plus one, you are not going to win”.

“It’s all about arithmetic in the end,” Howard said.