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The Rest Is Politics

518. Is Trump a Fascist and is His War on Iran Unwinnable?

The Rest Is Politics

Goalhanger

News, Politics, Government

4.511.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 April 2026

⏱️ 52 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Has Trump crossed the line from right-wing populist to fascist? Is he fighting a war with Iran he cannot win? Is Iraq being dragged in against its will? Join Dominic Sandbrook and Alastair Campbell as they answer all these questions and more. __________ Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus: Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair’s miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit fuseenergy.com/politics. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Josh Smith, James Clayden Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thanks for listening to The Restis Politics. To support the podcast, listen without the adverts and get early access to episodes and live show tickets, go to therestispolitics.com. That's the rest is politics.com.

0:13.5

Is Trump a fascist? When you say, I think Donald Trump is a fascist, they often mean this person is very right wing and I don't like them.

0:20.2

Far right,

0:21.4

authoritarian nationalism, obsession with military strength of the centralised power, a determination

0:26.2

to suppress opposition. I think he ticks a good 90% of that. Trump is a narcissist. He's only

0:32.2

interested in himself. I don't think he's powered by a wider ideology. We're dealing with

0:36.3

somebody who is surrounded by sycophants, nobody talking the truth to him.

0:40.4

That's what happens with a cult. It is a cult.

0:42.8

Is there not a slippage here between the tribalism and the cult, as it were?

1:01.9

Now, Rory Stewart has decided that he and his family should have a podcast-free holiday.

1:07.6

But I, obsessive that I am, having never missed a week in the Olympiad, we've been doing this,

1:10.6

I am here with an absolutely brilliant stand-in. So welcome to the

1:11.9

rest is politics with me, Alastair Campbell. And me, Dominic Sandbrook. There we go. It is none

1:17.4

other than Dominic Sanbrook from our sister podcast, The Rest is History, and now also co-presenter

1:24.0

of Golanger's new show, The Book Club. And boy, do we love books and are we living

1:30.0

through history right now? So Dominic, thanks so much for stepping in. There could not be a

1:35.0

better time to have your perspective. Oh, thank you, Alistair. It's nice to be working on a

1:38.7

properly professional podcast for us with the really big star of Gollhanger Stable.

1:43.8

Exactly.

1:45.0

Anyway, I think it's fair to say that as we enter the second month of the Iran war,

1:51.5

for the fifth week running, the issue will dominate the rest is politics podcast.

1:56.0

There are so many issues and angles to look at.

...

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