Donald Trump Jr’s “anti cancel culture tour” of Australia has been postponed after a petition calling for him to be denied a visa reached 22,000 signatures.
The former president’s eldest son had been due to speak in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne beginning later this week, but event organisers Turning Point Australia announced the “landmark” tour had been delayed due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Turning Point advised ticket holders the postponement was “nothing more than a short delay” with the hashtag cancel culture.
“It seems America isn’t the only country that makes it difficult for the Trumps,” the group wrote on Facebook without elaborating.
It suggested in a separate post that the country’s leftwing Labour government had “slow walked” Mr Trump’s visa application.
Commentators had called on the Australian government to ban Donald Trump’s son from entry for spreading Covid misinformation and for promoting bogus claims of election fraud after the 2020 presidential election.
An online petition calling for the political firebrand to be barred from entry has gained more than 22,000 signatures.
Donald Trump Jr’s speaking tour of Australia has been postponed due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’— (EPA)
In an update on Wednesday, the petition organiser wrote: “Tour cancelled or delayed, whichever it’s good news”.
An Australian government source told the Sydney Morning Herald that Mr Trump’s visa had been approved on Wednesday, before the postponement was announced.
“It’s his choice whether he comes or not but there is no immigration impediment to him coming,” a spokesperson for the country’s Home Affairs Minister told the news site.
Mr Trump Jr had claimed in comments leading up to the tour that Australia was suffering from “the same disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture that’s crippled the US”.
Tickets for the event, which also featured British far-right politician Nigel Farage, were selling for US$60, with backstage passes including a glass of champagne with Mr Trump going for US$330.
“Don Jr’s fearlessly outspoken, anti-politically correct stance has captured the imagination of conservatives from around the world,” Turning Point wrote in promotional material.
