Amid an anxious wait for results in the bitterly-fought US presidential election, a self-described crowd of “deplorables” in Sydney were cheering for a Donald Trump win.
The second annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) was decked out in red, white and blue balloons on Wednesday, with journalists handed “fake news” media passes and several attendees wearing red MAGA caps.
Conservative figures Mark Latham, Bettina Arndt, Alan Jones and Craig Kelly were among the speakers and presenters at the one-day event.
“It’s great to be here amongst a room of 300 other deplorables,” Mr Kelly, a Liberal MP, told the audience.
“If it wasn’t for these somewhat absurd coronavirus restrictions, we would have filled the Sydney Cricket Ground with people to cheer on President Trump today.”
As the election results started to roll in over the course of the afternoon, attendees who spoke with SBS News were optimistic about Trump retaining the presidency.
‘He’s governed sensibly’
Blake Stage from Shellharbour, NSW, said he was once a Greens supporter but now backs Mr Trump.
Mr Stage travelled 100km to Sydney to attend CPAC, saying he wanted to be there because of the significance of the US election - “a very important event for the world”.
He has supported Mr Trump since the 2016 election - despite some initial uncertainty about how he would govern and keep his promises - because he still preferred the Republican candidate over Hillary Clinton.
Attendees at the CPAC event in Sydney on Wednesday. Source: SBS News
Since then, Mr Trump’s performance as president has solidified his support. Mr Stage says he appreciates his economic views, his support for civil liberties and his China response.
“He stuck to his word, he’s kept his promises, he’s governed sensibly,” Mr Stage told SBS News.
“His economic reforms that he said that he would implement, he’s implemented them, and we’ve seen really strong median income growth.”
Mr Stage was feeling optimistic about Mr Trump’s chances.
“It looks tight and I am concerned at this stage, but I still think he’ll pull it off,” he said.
“I think he’ll have a lot of silent support, quiet support, from people who just wanted to get on with their lives.”
‘I like that he is a wrecking ball’
Wollongong restaurant manager James Dwarte was feeling increasingly hopeful of a Trump win as the day went on.
“I’m a lot more optimistic about the result now and it’s looking like it’s going to be another victory, probably similar to 2016,” the 28-year-old told SBS News.
Mr Dwarte has always voted conservative but said he’d become more invested in recent years, driven by what he saw as biased, left-leaning reporting by some media.
James Dwarte is optimistic about Donald Trump winning another four years. Source: SBS News
He appreciates Mr Trump’s trade policies, his fight against China and “some of the more radical elements” of the Democratic Party.
“I like that he is a wrecking ball to some of the more establishment figures in the media, and both the Democrat and Republican parties,” he said.
While Mr Trump has attracted criticism for his coronavirus response, Mr Dwarte said he didn’t think any politician necessarily did a good or bad job when it came to COVID-19.
“I think we’re in a weird stage at the moment where we think politicians can cure viruses or even change the weather, so I don’t think he’s done a bad job on it but I don’t think anyone’s done a particularly great job on it either,” he said.
‘Even if you don’t like him, he’s honest’
University student Dougal Cameron said he didn’t agree without everything Mr Trump had done, but he appreciated that he was honest and said no to special interest groups.
“I like that he’s honest, I think he’s pretty funny,” he said. “I think he has a range of character faults which are quite obvious.
“But I think the character faults of the opposition, of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton - even of the Bush establishment Republicans - are much worse, they’re just behind closed doors.”
Mr Cameron, who helped organise and market the CPAC event, said he didn’t agree with Mr Trump’s trade war with China or his 'China virus' narrative, but he thought Mr Trump would work it out.
Dougal Cameron said he appreciated Donald Trump's honesty. Source: SBS News
He said he wasn’t really public about his support of Mr Trump at the last US election but he’d grown more confident in his views.
“You can get shouted out of a party for being pro-Trump, you can have, you know, friends who used to want to hang out with you who don't want to associate with you anymore,” Mr Cameron said.
“I'm just much more happy to pay those costs because I'm being honest with myself.”
