The State of It: USA

Donald Trump has called the Iranians scum, as he calls off ceasefire talks. At the NATO summit in Ankara, his comments on Iran, Ukraine and more have once again put allies on edge. Nigel Farage has just returned from Washington to deepen his ties with Donald Trump – but is he also borrowing Trump's political playbook to distract from increased interests in his undeclared finances ahead of the looming by-election? Gerry unpacks Trump's surprising role in that World Cup red card controversy.

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters

00:00 - Will Trump Pull Out of NATO?
00:41 - "They’re Scum" — Is the Iran Ceasefire Officially Over?
05:21 - NATO Summit Chaos: Trump Slams "Weak" European Allies
07:51 - The Absurd Battle for Greenland (Are We Planning for War?)
17:45 - Nigel Farage Resigns: Copied Straight From the Trump Playbook
26:30 - Trump’s Bizarre World Cup Intervention (The Secret FIFA Call)
31:46 - Why Trump’s Strongman Tactics Just Backfired

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vice-President JD Vance has said there is something very broken about British politics and that he hopes Andy Burnham can figure out how to get Britain back on track. He has spoken exclusively to Katy Balls for the Sunday Times.
They also discussed:

Social media spats: does he regret the childless cat ladies comment?
His faith and how it's changed him.
And has Donald Trump read his book?

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Read more: https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/jd-vance-interview-katy-balls-gv9z738fc

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters, Fox News

00:00 Introduction: Inside the Exclusive JD Vance Interview
00:38 Is Britain Broken? JD Vance’s Blunt Take on UK Leadership
01:47 The Truth Behind Vance's Fractured Relationship with Europe
03:53 An Anglophile at Heart? Decoding Vance’s True Motives
05:27 Revisiting the "Childless Cat Ladies" Controversy & Regrets
06:39 A Millennial VP: Social Media Fights, Faith and Persona
07:47 A Surprise Turn on Ukraine: Why Vance is Shifting Focus
09:07 Has Donald Trump Read JD Vance’s New Book?
10:30 The Road to 2028: Is JD Vance Too Polarising to Win?
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Donald Trump has been thwarted by the Supreme Court over his plan to end birthright citizenship, prompting passionate reactions on both left and right. One Maga influencer has called for a ban on pregnant women travelling to the US and for the sterilisation of foreign visitors. Is the Trump v Barbara Supreme Court ruling evidence that the reports of the death of American democracy have been exaggerated?
As America celebrates its 250th birthday at a time of bitter divisions in US politics, are there reasons to be cheerful about, well, the state of it?
And another left-wing, anti-Israel candidate wins a Democratic primary. Melat Kiros, who has won her primary in Colorado, has said that calls for the elimination of the Israeli state should not be conflated with antisemitism. What does her win tell us about the direction of travel for the left in America, and about the future of relations between Israel and the US?

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

00:00 - Introduction: The State of It USA
00:43 - Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Ban
05:07 - King Charles, the Magna Carta, and Executive Power
06:14 - The Maga Meltdown and the "USSR" Comparison
11:09 - The Dangerous Precedent of Executive Overreach
13:32 - America at 250: Celebrating a Deeply Divided Nation
18:03 - The American State Fair and Polarised Realities
21:05 - The Rise of Anti-Israel Sentiment on the Left and Right

Picture: Getty Images
Audio: Reuters, 9News
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Find out why President Trump was thrilled to be on a list with Hitler, Mao and Stalin. It's one of many astonishing details in a new book, Regime Change, by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. We pick some highlights from the book, and Katy has been speaking to authors.
As Andy Burnham prepares to take over as British prime minister, how would a more left-wing government go down in Washington and in Wall Street? Katy has interviewed the US ambassador to London, who did not speak enthusiastically about Ed Miliband. And Gerry has been speaking to senior officials and financiers who were pretty scathing about Britain's prospects.
And in New York, candidates supported by the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, have swept the board in Democratic primaries. We look at the power of the far-left and anti-Israel vote and discuss what that means for the future of the Democratic Party.

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images

00:00 - The "Most Powerful Man in History" Note
00:48 - Regime Change: The Explosive New Trump Book
02:03 - Situation Room Leaks: Jeffrey Epstein & JD Vance
03:18 - The Golf Caddy's Note
06:14 - Trump 1.0 vs Trump 2.0: Is He Losing Control?
09:30 - The Secret Internal Fallout of the Iran War
14:15 - Keir Starmer Quits: Is the UK a Laughing Stock in America?
16:03 - Trump’s Ambassador Clashes with the New UK Government
20:49 - Socialists Win Big: The Shocking New York Primary Results
25:39 - The Great Corporate Exodus: Why Billionaires are Swapping California for Texas

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Trump has made a deal with Iran. On Friday, Vice President JD Vance will attend the official signing in Geneva of a 14-point US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding that covers the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear ambitions, the lifting of sanctions, a $300bn reconstruction fund for Iran and a ceasefire.
The deal has gone down badly in the US, and with good reason. Gerry argues that it's a calamity for America and a betrayal of the Iranian people.
Could it also be the undoing of JD Vance? It looks like he's been set up as the fall guy in case this all goes wrong. That could scupper his presidential ambitions.
And where does it leave Israel? Donald Trump was Israel's ally but with this deal, has he abandoned them?

00:00 - Why The Iran Deal is a Calamity
00:37 - Breaking Down the 14-Point Peace Agreement
01:54 - The $300bn Reparations" Fund Explained
03:04 - "An Almighty Raspberry": The Republican Backlash
04:05 - Inside the G7 Victory Lap vs. American Reality
06:26 - A Disastrous Blow to America’s Global Prestige
07:17 - Broken Promises & Betrayal of the Iranian Protesters
09:18 - Reza Pahlavi Interview: A Missed Window of Opportunity
11:04 - A Seismic Rift in the US-Israel Relationship
14:26 - J.D. Vance: Master Architect or Ultimate Fall Guy?
16:41 - The Core Maga Position on "Forever Wars"
17:48 - Economic Silver Linings: Oil Prices, Inflation & Interest Rates
22:33 - How Trump’s Rivals Will Use This in the 2028 Primary
26:12 - Navigating the 60-Day Negotiation Window

Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times
Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal

Video editor: Harry Kitson
Executive producer: Molly Guinness

Picture: Getty Images.
Audio: Times Radio, Reuters.
This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.