- Donald Trump Jr. postponed his three-day tour of Australia, citing visa issues.
- Australian minister Clare O'Neil tweeted that he actually postponed due to low ticket sales.
Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil called Donald Trump Jr. a "big baby" and a "sore loser" after his speaking tour of Australia was postponed, saying that the events were canceled due to low ticket sales and not visa issues as his promoter had claimed.
Trump Jr. was supposed to visit Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane for a three-day tour of Australia starting on Sunday. On Wednesday, promoter Turning Point Australia shared in a Facebook post that the tour had been postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances."
Turning Point Australia later said that Trump Jr.'s visa had only been approved 24 hours before he was supposed to board his flight, AP News reported.
On Twitter, O'Neil disputed the claim, writing on Thursday that Trump Jr. was "trying to blame the Australian Government for his poor ticket sales and cancelled tour."
"Geez, Donald Trump Jr is a bit of sore loser," O'Neil wrote in a series of since-deleted tweets. "Donald Trump Jr has been given a visa to come to Australia. He didn't get cancelled. He's just a big baby, who isn't very popular."
Former British politician and "Brexit" supporter Nigel Farage, who was set to join Trump Jr. on tour, said in a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday and retweeted by Trump Jr. that the tour was postponed due to "the very late granting of a visa."
—Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) July 6, 2023
"The proposed tour of Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane next week has been postponed, not cancelled," he wrote. "Donald Trump Jr. had attracted huge interest and 8,000 tickets had already been sold. The very late granting of a visa left too little time for travel logistics."
He also called O'Neil's tweets "ridiculous" and wrote, "Many are saying that the late visa is in effect a form of cancel culture."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese further denied claims that Trump Jr.'s visa had been delayed.
"Donald Trump Jr.'s visa was dealt with in the normal way and, like anyone else, he was entitled to come here," Albanese told AP News. "The deferral of his travel is a matter for him."
O'Neil, Trump Jr, and Farage did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.