Barnaby Joyce trolled after posting photo of his staff following election loss

Nasty trolls target Barnaby Joyce over single photo of the politician surrounded by the team he’s been forced to fire after election loss

  • Mr Joyce shared photo of him surrounded by his staff after election loss
  • He said it was hard to let go team members after the Coalition lost power
  • Twitter trolls used the photo to mock him about his affair with Vikki Campion 
  • Others criticised Mr Joyce for wearing his trademark Akubra hat indoors 

Barnaby Joyce has been targeted by nasty trolls after sharing a photo of himself surrounded by his staff days after the election loss.

The Nationals leader was seen beaming in the photo while wearing his trademark Akubra hat, as his team stood behind him arm-in-arm.

‘The saddest part of losing government is having to let go of your staff who have been so loyal and done such a great job,’ Mr Joyce captioned the photo.

‘Thank you to the hard-working members of my team. You have been so professional and we have achieved so much. I know you’ll go onto bigger and better things.’

But some Australians took the chance to make nasty jokes at Mr Joyce’s expense, with one tweeting: ‘Can’t marry them all, I guess’.

Barnaby Joyce has been targetted by nasty trolls after sharing a photo of himself surrounded by his staff days after the election loss

The tweet was a reference to Mr Joyce’s affair with his former staffer and now fiancée Vikki Campion.

The father-of-six was forced to step down from his role as Deputy Prime Minister when the affair was made public.

He returned to the role three years later, where he said ‘I acknowledge my faults’ and ‘I hope I come back a better person’. 

Others criticised the fact Mr Joyce was wearing his Akubra hat while indoors.

One troll took the chance to reference Mr Joyce's affair with his former staffer and now fiancee Vikki Campion

One troll took the chance to reference Mr Joyce’s affair with his former staffer and now fiancee Vikki Campion

‘Did no one ever tell you it’s really bad manners to wear a hat indoors?’ one tweeted.

‘Barnaby you are from New England we know not to wear hats inside there it’s bad manners,’ another said.

Others offered messages of support to the Nationals leader and his team.

‘Wishing all your staff every success for the future, hope the three years goes very quickly so you can get back to govern!’ one said.

Mr Joyce is now fighting to retain leadership of the Nationals after the Coalition’s election bloodbath.

The Nationals held all 16 of its seats but failed to pick up the targets of Lingiari in the Northern Territory and Hunter in NSW.

Mr Joyce and his allies say he should remain leader because holding all seats is a great achievement during an election loss.

He won the leadership by one vote last year – but has lost four allies to retirement or Senate ticket relegation. 

Potential challengers for leadership include deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud and Gippsland MP Darren Chester. 

Barnaby Joyce (pictured with partner Vikki Campion and their child) is fighting to retain Nationals leadership after the Coalition's election bloodbath

Barnaby Joyce (pictured with partner Vikki Campion and their child) is fighting to retain Nationals leadership after the Coalition’s election bloodbath