SYDNEY – Federal Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has
called Donald Trump’s campaign for the United States presidency
“terrifying” and warned it risked casting the Republican Party into
the wilderness if he wins nomination.

Australian government ministers rarely make critical
comments about elections in other countries, especially stalwart allies like
the United States, which Australia relies on heavily for military backing in
the Asia-Pacific.

But Pyne, a cabinet member of the ruling conservative
Liberal-National coalition, has criticised the violence at recent Trump rallies
and said that his rise was casting a pall over American democracy.

“Now, democracy should be robust but it certainly
shouldn’t be violent,” Pyne said in an interview on Australia’s Channel
Seven television network.

“And I think the Donald Trump phenomenon is a real
problem for the United States, making their democracy look kind of weird.”

Liberal senator Cory Berardi, however, has said that Mr
Trump’s success revealed a “global disenchantment with mainstream
politics”.

“I have been warning about this for some time.
Unless the major parties respond to the concerns of mainstream people, the
public will look elsewhere and a more formidable force will emerge.”

New York businessman and Republican front-runner Trump
warned on Wednesday of riots if he is denied the party’s presidential
nomination, only days after Trump supporters and protesters clashed at a rally
for the Republican in Chicago that was later scrapped.

Republican Party leaders are appalled at Trump’s
incendiary rhetoric and reject policies such as his vow to deport 11 million
illegal immigrants, temporarily ban Muslims from the United States and build a
wall along the Mexican border.

The party tried to play down Trump’s riot comments,
which have raised the temperature even more in a heated White House race.

– With Reuters