Pauline Hanson’s most Trumpian affinity is to push buttons with her base just like Trump does. Both resonate with people who feel the government is ignoring them and is not delivering for them. Voters want solutions, and they place their trust in the leader they think will produce the desired result.

Pauline’s One Nation. Trump’s Make America Great Again. The parallels are obvious.

Hanson’s buttons are immigration, Muslims, Asians, transgender issues, abortion, climate change denial, the media, and railing against multiculturalism, political leaders in Canberra and gun control.

Trump covers similar territory: immigration, tariffs, drill baby drill, rigged elections, liberal media, the country being ripped off, abortion, the second amendment’s right to bear arms and Sleepy Joe Biden.

Hanson does inflammatory stunts such as wearing a burqa into the Senate chamber. Trump, the New York billionaire, flips burgers at McDonald’s. The stunts work with their base because the images stick and the language is populist. And they have been saying the same things for decades. Hanson and Trump know who they are reaching – and why.

Hanson hit the National Press Club and the national audience hard on Wednesday. Her message was polarising: Australia cannot be a multicultural country. Too many Australians born overseas. Too much Mandarin........

© The Guardian