Politics Weekly America
Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ and Musk’s bad week
The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang speaks to Nikki McCann Ramirez, from Rolling Stone magazine, about Donald Trump’s decision to upend US trade policy and reports that Elon Musk could soon be leaving his role as a special government employee Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
4 4月 2025 - 25 min 28 s
Trump’s ‘Signalgate’ blame game
As Donald Trump and his top officials scrabble to respond to the Signal leak scandal, Jonathan Freedland and the New Yorker’s Susan Glasser discuss the fallout of this security breach, and why the US president is attacking the media instead of the people who let a journalist read potentially classified material
28 3月 2025 - 26 min 50 s
Why are Democrats so divided?
This week a Democratic lawmaker became the first to officially call for the senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, to step down. The veteran Democrat angered many in his party last week when he backed a Republican funding bill that averted a government shutdown. But this is just one example of a party in crisis trying to oppose the Trump administration, with very little power in Congress.This week, we hear from representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Ro Khanna of California, Julie Johnson of Texas, and Maxwell Frost of Florida on how they would like their party to move forward. Plus, Jonathan Freedland asks the senior Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid what the party’s strategy should beSend your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.comHelp support the Guardian. Go to theguardian.com/politcspodus
21 3月 2025 - 34 min 40 s
Has Trump broken the US economy?
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Heather Boushey, an economist and former adviser to Joe Biden, about what Donald Trump’s long game is with his trade war, and how voters will view his handling of the economy should there be a ‘Trumpcession’Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.comHelp support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodusListen to Science Weekly’s episode on the chaos Trump has unleashed on science
14 3月 2025 - 31 min 28 s
Trump turns America’s allies into enemies
This week, Donald Trump picked fights with Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, US veterans and every Democrat sitting in Congress for his State of the Union address. Chris Michael and Joan E Greve discuss why the US president is turning up the heat on longtime allies, whether Democrats are responding successfully and, in the end, who loses out if Trump’s tactics fail?Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.comHelp support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
7 3月 2025 - 24 min 11 s
Is the tide starting to turn against Trump?
This week, Donald Trump continued to dominate the world stage, welcoming a procession of global leaders to Washington, including Keir Starmer. But while the ‘special relationship’ is front and centre in the UK, attention in the US is very much elsewhere. As the president goes full steam ahead with his domestic agenda, there are warning signs for Trump in the polls. So, could he be in trouble at home? And how could the Democrats take advantage? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Stanley Greenberg, the bestselling author, Democratic pollster and political strategist who played a crucial role in the elections of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair
27 2月 2025 - 27 min 19 s
Trump brings Russia in from the cold, but at what cost to Ukraine?
In a matter of days, Donald Trump completed the most radical shift in US foreign policy in decades, bringing Putin back into the fold while sidelining Europe. He claims to have brought the end of the war in Ukraine in sight, but with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the rest of Europe excluded from the US-Russia talks, are we really any closer to peace? And, at what price?Jonathan Freedland speaks to veteran US diplomat Kurt Volker, who served as Trump’s special representative for Ukraine during his first term, and the Guardian’s US live news editor Chris Michael Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
20 2月 2025 - 30 min 40 s
Oh, Canada! Can Trump just take it?
On the first day of his second term in office, Donald Trump suggested he wanted the US to ‘expand’ its territory. Few thought he could actually mean taking Canada and making it the 51st state. But could he actually do that? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the reporter Leyland Cecco in Toronto about the possibility of the two North American allies merging, what Canadians think about it, and why this existential threat has had an impact on Canadian national politics Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus
14 2月 2025 - 31 min 45 s
Trump and Musk’s plan for world domination
Between Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US could take control of the Gaza Strip, forcibly removing Palestinians from their homes, and Elon Musk’s continued efforts to dismantle the US federal government, the critics are lining up. The Democrat senator Andy Kim is one of them. But what can he, his party, or anybody else do to stop the president and his non-elected billionaire pal? He speaks to Jonathan Freedland
7 2月 2025 - 27 min 03 s
The fight to protect LGBTQ+ rights from Trump
Less than two weeks into his second term as president, Donald Trump has signed several executive orders restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. But, as happened during his first term, organisations representing the community are fighting back. This week, Joan E Greve explores how this marginalised minority are planning to push back against such strong political will. How far could this conservative administration go?
31 1月 2025 - 24 min 19 s