RMIT expert available for comment on Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s US visit and White House State Dinner

Dr Emma Shortis (0430 358 798 or emma.shortis@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: US history, US politics, Trump administration, role of first ladies, political signals in body language and clothes, trade war, climate change policy, UN Climate Action Summit in New York

“Invitations to State Dinners are rare for Australian Prime Ministers - Scott Morrison is only the sixth to have received one - and this is only the second such dinner hosted by President Trump.

“The historic rarity of this invitation tells us a lot about why Australia, and why now. Donald Trump doesn’t have a lot of friends in the world. Things have got a little complicated with his first invitee, French President Emmanuel Macron, not to mention everyone else.

“Australian PMs tend to get invited to these swanky events when US presidents want to demonstrate to the world—and perhaps themselves—that they have a least one, uncomplicated friend who will stand by them, no matter what. This weekend, Morrison is sure to play that role well. 

“Just like Monday night’s Brownlow in Melbourne, State Dinners at the White House are traditionally very glamorous events. There’ll be a lot of attention paid to what First Lady Melania Trump and Jenny Morrison are wearing. In fact, the biggest story to come out of an Australian Prime Minister having a State Dinner in his honour was the racy dress that Sonia McMahon wore to dinner with the Nixons in 1971.

“Issues on the agenda will no doubt include Trump’s trade war with China and escalating tensions with Iran. But some important issues won’t be covered. It’s no surprise that neither Trump nor Morrison will be attending the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, which coincides with Morrison’s visit.”

Dr Emma Shortis is a Research Fellow at the EU Centre in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University. She previously spent a year in the United States, where she was a Fox-Zucker International Fellow at Yale University as part of her PhD in history. Shortis is regular media commentator on the history and current politics of the US, and co-host of RMIT’s new Barely Gettin’ By podcast.

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