EXCLUSIVE: Aussie Trump's office vandalised with "swastika" and clown face paint
The MP formerly known as Ben Dawkins said the action should not be classified as hate speech.
The WA independent MP who recently changed his name to Aussie Trump has had his electorate office in Bunbury vandalised with what appears to be a swastika and clown face paint, but described any attempt to classify such an action as hate speech as “political correctness gone wrong.”
Mr Trump, who recorded a forthcoming full podcast interview with The Last Place on Earth, appeared unfazed by the vandalism when approached about it last night, although he said the Monday night incident has been reported to police.
“I'm not a fan of the swastika but I'm not particularly worried about it either,” he told The Last Place on Earth exclusively. “I would condemn the vandalism…but you know, the idea that the Bunbury police might be hunting someone down for the use of a swastika is ludicrous, and I hope they don't do that.”
“It's not great, but I have no reason to condemn it because it’s not a symbol that has a particular offence to my demographic…I'm not from a particular ethnic group where that would offend me.”
Mr Trump, who until earlier this month was known as Ben Dawkins MLC, also wouldn’t be drawn on whether he believed the vandalism is connected with his decision to change his name weeks out from the WA election, which he is contesting as an Independent. “It may well be, but that just would be speculation,” he said.
“It's nothing more than vandalism. The idea of putting another layer of law like hate speech on top of that is really political correctness gone wrong.”
Mr Trump previously entered Parliament in 2023 as a surprise replacement for the retiring MP Alannah MacTiernan, after being voted fifth on WA Labor’s south west ticket at the last WA election in 2021.
Mr Trump was suspended from the Labor party minutes before being sworn in as an MP after pleading guilty to dozens of violence restraining order breaches, relating to emails to his ex-wife and which he maintains did not involve violence. After his subsequent expulsion from WA Labor, Mr Trump briefly joined One Nation before leaving the party following allegations of unprofessionalism.
Mr Trump yesterday described his relationship with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as “cool” and “fine”, despite Ms Hanson describing his recent name change as “a joke” yesterday.
“Pauline’s done her own protests, hasn't she, with burkas and everything else?” he said. “Maybe she didn't go to this extent.”
Mr Trump has described his decision to change his name to ape the US President as in part a protest against WA Labor’s decision to remove regional representation and group voting tickets after the last election, a decision criticised as undemocratic by opposition MPs, particularly in the regions.
Speaking on The Last Place on Earth podcast this week, Aussie Trump compared his name change with stunts organised by animal rights activists. “This is a protest. For those at home, I know that I'm not Donald Trump,” he said.
“My protest is about what the Labor government has done with its majority in the two houses of Parliament in Western Australia.”
He further criticised WA Labor for its stance on COVID, gender issues and immigration.
Drawing further inspiration from his new namesake, Mr Trump also floated the idea to build a wall cutting off WA Premier Roger Cook’s electorate of Kwinana from the rest of the state, while also castigating Fremantle about two dozen times as a haven for woke leftism.
However, he distanced himself from some of Donald Trump’s personal controversies, including being found guilty two years ago of sexually abusing a woman.
”I think the man has a great propensity to cut through the nonsense that the left has got away with the last few years and that transports very effectively to Western Australia,” he says on the podcast. “I'm not condoning any of his other stuff.”
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