Scott Morrison likens Capitol Hill riots to BLM as he delivers a very blunt message to those who want him to criticise Donald Trump on his last day as president
Scott Morrison has refused to criticise Donald Trump on his final day as U.S. President, saying the Capitol riot was a continuation of political violence spearheaded by Black Lives Matter.
The Prime Minister declined to directly criticise Mr Trump for the Washington riot which caused five deaths, despite being impeached by Congress over claims he incited the protest ahead of lawmakers certifying the presidential election result.
'It has been very, very disturbing what we've seen, particularly around Capitol Hill, but it's been a year full of violence in many ways last year in the United States,' Mr Morrison told Sydney radio 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley on Wednesday.
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Scott Morrison has controversially likened Washington's deadly Capitol Hill riots to the Black Lives Matter demonstrations - just like his embattled deputy
Mr Morrison's comments echoed those of Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack who also drew parallels between the Capitol Hill riots and the violence of the BLM movement, which arose after the death of African American George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer in May 2020.
Mr Morrison had a message for those slamming him for not directly criticising the outgoing Republican president, who leaves office on Thursday morning, Australian time. Scott Morrison is pictured with Donald Trump in Washington in September 2019
'It is unfortunate that we have seen the events at Capitol Hill, that we've seen in recent days – similar to those race riots that we saw around the country last year,' Mr McCormack said.
Mr Morrison had a message for those slamming him for not directly criticising the outgoing Republican president, who leaves office on Thursday morning, Australian time.
'It's the most important relationship we have. And if people want to have a crack at me because I worked with the President of the United States, that reflects more on them than me,' he said.
In a foreign policy speech on Wednesday, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese suggested Mr Morrison was reluctant to criticise Mr Trump because he didn't want to offend right-wing Coalition MPs who have peddled the unproven theory the US election was stolen by President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat.
'Recently, unlike most world leaders, Scott Morrison refused to disavow President Trump's incitement of the storming of the Capitol,' Mr Albanese said.
The BLM movement was sparked by the May death of African American George Floyd at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer. Pictured is a New York demonstration in September
'He remains afraid of the far-right extremist fringe dwellers who make up the bedrock of his personal support – and who he cultivates through the avatars of Trumpists and conspiracy theorists like Craig Kelly and George Christensen.'
Mr Albanese, from Labor's left faction, has mischaracterised Mr Morrison's support base within the Liberal Party.
Mr Morrison became prime minister in August 2018 with the support of moderate and centre-right Liberal MPs who had supported his predecessor Malcolm Turnbull.
More right-wing MPs, including Mr Kelly, openly supported Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in the party room ballot.
Mr Christensen is a Nationals MP and therefore didn't have a say in the Liberal Party leadership more than two years ago.
Mr Morrison's defence of his reluctance to criticise Mr Trump was also an apparent reference to a tweet by the Labor Party on January 7 which showed a photo of Mr Morrison meeting President Trump with the caption: 'It's the company you keep.'
Joel Fitzgibbon, who late last year quit the Labor frontbench, condemned his own party's social media page.
'I'm a proud member of the Labor Party and remain committed to its ideals and objectives but I do want to be associated with this tweet,' he said.
The Labor Party on January 7 tweeted an image of Mr Morrison with President Trump with the caption: 'It's the company you keep.' Joel Fitzgibbon, who late last year quit the Opposition frontbench, condemned his own party's social media page