Andrew Hastie slams Hanson’s ‘MAGA first’ mindset as One Nation leader backs Trump

Liberal Andrew Hastie has labelled Pauline Hanson “MAGA first” after the One Nation leader said US President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East could still be a success, in one of the most direct critiques of Hanson from an opposition MP as the Coalition scrambles to fend off the populist party.

Asked on the Inside Politics podcast if the United States’ war effort could be classed as a win, Hanson did not criticise any element of Trump’s strategy; she said the conflict was ongoing; and she suggested the war could be determined a success “if we can get the Strait of Hormuz open, and we get the oil supply”.

“I think it would be more detrimental to the world if they were allowed to have [nuclear] weaponry,” she said in an interview with this masthead last week.

Hastie, the right-wing leadership hopeful being targeted by One Nation over the war crimes allegations against Ben Roberts-Smith, said it was “not controversial” to say Trump’s war had not gone to plan.

“Pauline Hanson’s problem is that she is MAGA [make America great again] first, even when the Australian people suffer the economic consequences,” Hastie told this masthead.

“Our first loyalty must be to the Australian people. Not to international institutions, not to ideology like MAGA, but to the Australian people, first and foremost. The US is a close ally but we should always be frank with our friends, and speak up for the national interest.”

As her party jumps ahead of Labor in multiple polls and threatens to wipe out the Coalition, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s MPs are under instruction to avoid comments that may offend Hanson’s voters. However, Hastie and some of his colleagues have formed the view that it is untenable to sit back and watch Hanson cannibalise the Coalition vote.

Hanson travelled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in November to speak at a conservative conference. Coalition strategists believe that linking her to Trump is one of the best ways to diminish her standing among voters, as Labor did with former Liberal leader Peter Dutton at the last election.

A Resolve Political Monitor survey conducted in April found that 62 per cent of Australians viewed Trump negatively. Fewer than one in five viewed him positively, making him far more unpopular than China’s Xi Jinping though not as unpopular as Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

During the Inside Politics interview, Hanson said she would not answer a hypothetical question on whether she would be inclined to agree to a request from Trump to join the US in a future war in the Middle East or the Indo-Pacific.

On whether Trump had made any missteps during his second term, Hanson said: “I’m sure he has … but I’m not an American citizen.”

Asked to cite any matter on which Trump had erred, Hanson raised points of praise.

“Well, there are certain things that I totally agree with,” she said. “He’s looking after the women and doesn’t allow men in their spaces. He’s pulled back on the immigration. He’s actually created investment in his country.

“If I didn’t agree with him I’ll have an argument with anyone, or I’ll debate them.”

In March, Hanson said in relation to the war: “I support what Trump’s done, he’s liberated the people [of Iran].” The US has not achieved its original aim of regime change and the future of Iran’s nuclear program remains unclear.

One Nation has extended its lead over the Coalition since Labor’s budget was handed down last month, despite the opposition raising hopes that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s broken promises on tax would lead voters back to the opposition.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan attacked Hanson’s divisive comments on Muslim Australians when he was elected party leader in March, but he has since toned down his language towards Hanson. Opposition frontbencher James Paterson has consistently called out Hanson’s record of MPs defecting, and Queensland MP Garth Hamilton has been outspoken on One Nation’s hiring of a convicted rapist.

But on the whole, the opposition has struggled to run a sustained argument against Hanson. Taylor’s frequently used line on the populist party is that: “When the vote sprays, Labor stays.“

Last week, Hanson equivocated on whether she wanted to become prime minister, while One Nation’s Barnaby Joyce floundered on the party’s housing policy.

One Nation and its most powerful backer, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, have been advocating in favour of Roberts-Smith, the Victoria Cross winner accused of war crimes in Afghanistan. Hastie was one of more than 20 special forces veterans who testified in a defamation case that Roberts-Smith launched against this masthead. Hanson spoke at a rally in support of Roberts-Smith in Brisbane on Sunday. Hanson has named Hastie’s seat of Canning as a key target at the next election.

Late last month, Hastie brushed off a threat from James Ashby, Hanson’s long-time chief of staff.

“We stand by all of our defence force members, and that is one thing that Andrew Hastie is forgetting,” Ashby said on Sky News.