Listen… Senator Matt Canavan might not be as traditionally dishy as Alex Antic, but he made himself an incredibly attractive political prospect when he stood his ground against Sky News Australia’s Andrew Bolt.
The short interview has since become infamous on social media.
Andrew Bolt queried why conservative politicians are too afraid to criticise Donald Trump, asking if people had a case of ‘hero worship’.
(He must have missed Peter Dutton’s comments about being disgusted with the White House and then referred to Zelenskyy as a modern-day Churchill.)
Bolt added that ‘pandering to the Russian President by Donald Trump has become obscene’ and wanted to know why the Coalition does not say that Trump’s position on Ukraine is not ‘just wrong, it’s immoral’.
Before answering, Senator Canavan was probably aware of three critical things: the importance of America’s fondness in relation to our national security, the delicate situation of Trump’s peace talks with Putin, and the opinion of MAGA-supporting conservative voters eyeing off minor parties on the eve of the election.
‘America is our most important ally,’ replied Canavan, very sensibly. ‘Fundamentally, it is their choice to choose who their President is. I think one of the strange things about foreign policy discussions all around the Western world is that everybody seems to think that they have the right to dictate what America does with its funds, with its military resources etc. That’s a matter for the American people. I think if we are true friends with America, it would do us some service to actually think a bit deeply about why what Donald Trump is saying, what JD Vance says, what many senior politicians I’ve spoken to from the US, that support it… It is probably because they haven’t seen a real wage rise since the 1970s. They are $37 trillion in debt-’
‘That’s got nothing to do with it – Matt – Matt, that wasn’t what I asked you.’
‘Andrew, he is a democratically elected President.’
‘There are plenty of reasons … there are reasons too why Germans voted for Adolf Hitler. I don’t want to say Trump is Hitler, but here are a lot of reasons why people take the positions that are stupid in retrospect.’
‘Okay, well, if that is your comparison, Andrew, why are we still in an alliance with the US? Seriously? I mean, that is an absurd statement. It’s not just Donald Trump, it’s wrong, Andrew. It’s absolutely wrong to say this is Donald Trump. I have heard discussions with senior senators, senior congressmen, who say exactly the same thing. We don’t seem to understand.’
At this point, Andrew Bolt slapped the desk in frustration a little more enthusiastically than usual. The interview had gone off the rails a while ago, but there was probably still a few minutes left in the segment… ‘You can have more people saying the wrong thing, it doesn’t make it a right thing, Matt. More people saying the wrong thing is not more people saying the right thing.’
‘That is a matter for the American people. We should look after ourselves.’
‘Trump says that Zelenskyy is to blame for Russia, mate, he says Zelenskyy is to blame for Russia invading his own country. That is a disgrace and it just embarrasses me that it is seen as something you can’t even deny. It’s just extraordinary. I think that the Coalition has to wake up to itself on this one.’
To interject here for a moment, I found this whole exchange fascinating considering Australia toed the ‘One China’ line and denied Taiwan, our supposed friend, their right to have their sovereignty acknowledged in case it hurt the feelings of China or damaged our trade deals. China … which annexes territories, runs slave camps, and is the world’s worst environmental vandal. Conservatives and Labor alike shake hands with bloodthirsty dictatorships across the world and give millions in aid to corrupt regimes. No one gets their knickers in a knot like they do over Trump’s comparatively minor geopolitical indiscretions. As far as I can tell, it seems to have a lot to do with an entitlement complex. People (wrongly) believe America is some sort of public corporation owned by the West rather than a sovereign nation fighting for its own interests and survival. It reminds me of the media fainting session that took place when Trump shook Kim Jong-Un’s hand in the off chance it might keep North Korean nukes out of Pacific skies. It was as if he’d slipped into bed with him, indeed, that’s what some publications put as the cartoons on their covers. Meanwhile, left-wing ‘sensible’ leaders shuffle billions through Iran to build pipelines to China. Not a single eyelash has been batted in the direction of a camera lens.
After Senator Canavan explained that he was a good conservative keeping his mind on Australian issues, it was Andrew Bolt’s turn again.
‘It is not a conservative position!’
‘If I can answer…’
‘Defending Trump on this matter is not a conservative reaction … it is a shame that the Coalition cannot say that straight out … well, you didn’t deny it mate, and I thought that was a bit bad to be honest.’
That was the end of the interview, and probably for the best.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Bolt’s position on Ukraine and Donald Trump – we can all agree that it was refreshing to see a conservative politician stand his ground under hostile questioning.
Too often, conservatives bend and sway with the slightest breeze of discontent.
In doing so, Senator Canavan proved a very important concept.
His composure allowed him to walk away as the winner of that exchange. He looked strong, sound, sensible, and trustworthy. In resisting the urge to be badgered on a tricky point, he cemented himself as a credible political creature.
It was Bolt, unfortunately, who came off the worse for wear. Given the enormity of his media career, we must particularly congratulate Matt Canavan on his little victory.
Contrast this exchange with the media disaster in which popular figure Jacinta Price alluded to MAGA in a speech while standing beside Peter Dutton and then spent the next few days backtracking so hard she stumbled over Christmas photos of herself in a MAGA hat. The entire mess is still damaging the Coalition simply because they allowed themselves to be bullied into denials they evidently don’t believe.
This allowed the Left to run ‘gotcha!’ articles while the Right rolled their eyes and shuffled a little closer to One Nation whose leader, Pauline Hanson, put out an enormously successful social media video capitalising on the situation. ‘Jacinta Price in a press conference came out and said, “Make Australia Great Again!” Her fearless leader, David Littleproud, Leader of the National Party, in an interview said, “Oooooh muh god!!! It was a slip of the tongue.” What?! Give me a break… I will scream it from the rooftops. Make. Australia. Great. Again.’
The lesson here is conviction.
People are sick of the machine of politics printing senators and ministers as if they were designed by the Canberra bureaucracy and put together with the cheapest leftover materials found on a Shenzhen factory floor.
Senator Canavan should also be given credit for helping the Coalition to run a domestic political campaign while understanding that it would be very foolish to damage international relations. Politics, after all, is about securing the future survival and prosperity as a nation. Whether it be a local council, or the top job in Canberra, the maintenance of Australia is more than a competition between intellectuals about who is more moral and whose absolutes are the best.
Survival is not pretty and the world is not perfect. It requires imperfect politics and a deeper sort of intelligence that very few in public life possess.
Thank you, Senator Canavan. You are looking very good indeed.
Flat White is written by Alexandra Marshall. If you would like to support her work, shout her a coffee over at donor-box.