--- description: The Australian mining billionaire and former politician has gone viral for his stream of poetry on Twitter title: Australian Trump Is Tweeting Original Poetry and the Internet Is Baffled image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7128c4e6ed60d0f4/6988be69656a3f1bb5bcf275/gettyimages-528020648.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Australia's Donald Trump Is Tweeting Original Poetry and the Internet Is Baffled by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 4:37 AM CUT  Clive Palmer during a press conference at Parliament House on May 4, 2016 in Canberra, Australia. Clive Palmer during a press conference at Parliament House on May 4, 2016 in Canberra, Australia.Stefan Postles—Getty Images by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 15, 2017 4:37 AM CUT The U.S. isn’t the only country that has seen an outspoken billionaire with a prolific Twitter account enter politics in recent years. Australia’s Clive Palmer, a mining magnate turned politician known for [planning](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Titanic-II-a-ship-of-peace/ "undefined") to replicate the _Titanic_ in 2013, [calling the](http://time.com/3142282/china-chinese-government-bastards-clive-palmer-australia/ "undefined") Chinese government “bastards,” and wanting to open a [dinosaur-themed park,](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/01/australian-mogul-wants-to-open-giant-dinosaur-park-in-australia/ "undefined") is back in the spotlight for a series of poetic tweets. Palmer, who left politics in 2016 after serving for three years, has delighted and baffled the Internet with his verses that focus mainly on food, but at times offer up a life lesson or two. > [](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/839621932450369536) > [](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/833551162519347200) > [](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/838839877043040256) > [](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/838340596502683648) > [](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/839431363023380481) Palmer [told Fairfax Media](http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/you-think-clive-palmers-tim-tam-tweets-are-strange-he-says-its-poetry-20170307-gus8ci.html "undefined") that his musings on food were due to a recent diet. “When you’re on a diet you think about food a lot, and poetry sort of comes from within you,” he said. Although, he can’t explain his approach to the rest of his lines. “Poetry doesn’t really have a meaning,” he said. As expected, the Aussie Internet has been having a field day. > [](https://twitter.com/ali%5F%5Flouise%5F%5F/status/838840316731928576) > [](https://twitter.com/t%5Fmiddo/status/838576445186162688) > [](https://twitter.com/macleanbrendan/status/833554450258079744) Palmer, who has been likened to Donald Trump for his “Make Australia Great Again” [tweet](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/825183102964166656 "undefined") and [comments](https://twitter.com/CliveFPalmer/status/826726054844731392 "undefined") on the media, has had his poetry [read aloud](https://www.facebook.com/Nebulor/videos/1246708708739640/?fallback=1 "undefined") by Australian YouTube comedian Lewis Spears. And electronic duo Peking Duck are reportedly recording one of his poems. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4701827/australia-cilve-palmer-poetry-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4701827/australia-cilve-palmer-poetry-twitter/"},"headline":"Australia's Donald Trump Is Tweeting Original Poetry and the Internet Is Baffled","datePublished":"2017-03-15T04:37:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:41:55.017Z","description":"Clive Palmer has delighted and baffled the Internet with his verses on food and life","url":"https://time.com/4701827/australia-cilve-palmer-poetry-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Australia","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7128c4e6ed60d0f4/6988be69656a3f1bb5bcf275/gettyimages-528020648.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7128c4e6ed60d0f4/6988be69656a3f1bb5bcf275/gettyimages-528020648.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Canberra Reacts To The 2016 Federal Budget Release","caption":"Canberra Reacts To The 2016 Federal Budget Release","creditText":"Stefan Postles—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4701827/australia-cilve-palmer-poetry-twitter/","name":"Australia's Donald Trump Is Tweeting Original Poetry and the Internet Is Baffled"}}]}] ```