Americanswers... On 5 Live! What do Americans really think of Donald Trump?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 12 January 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Donald Trump won his second presidency on a promise to put “America First” and to “Make America Great Again”. But with his recent action against Venezuela, and ambitions to acquire Greenland and strike Iran - in the midst of a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis - how much support does Trump really have? Justin, Sarah and Marianna discuss whether Trump Is losing popularity with those who voted for him in 2024.
The team also - along with Matt Chorley from 5 Live - look at the upcoming aftermath of a 37 year old American citizen in Minneapolis.
Plus, Sarah went viral with a question she put to Donald Trump over the weekend. We hear more about the behind-the-scenes of putting questions to the president.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent
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This episode was made by Rufus Gray and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Sarah Smith has gone viral. It was always going to happen. Sarah, why? |
| 0:10.0 | Yes, I've only just discovered that there have been millions of views of me asking Donald Trump a question in a press conference on Friday afternoon, |
| 0:19.0 | which was a bit of a bizarre affair and included somebody asking him |
| 0:23.1 | about a pin, a little badge that he had on his lapel, as well as the American flag. |
| 0:27.6 | He had a tiny little badge of himself of Donald Trump, which he said was a happy Donald Trump pin, |
| 0:34.8 | even though he was never happy or satisfied, someone had given it to him, |
| 0:38.2 | and that was what he was wearing on his lapel. It was an odd afternoon, Justin. |
| 0:42.0 | Okay, we'll hear a bit more about it in a second. First, though, the two of us, plus |
| 0:46.3 | Mariana, have been on Five Live as usual, Matt Chorley, talking about people's questions, |
| 0:51.9 | about Iran, about the fallout from what's been happening recently in Minnesota, |
| 0:56.3 | and also an interesting question about how the average American feels about Donald Trump after all the news from 2025. |
| 1:05.9 | How do they feel at the beginning of this year? |
| 1:08.0 | So we answer all of those questions. Let's get to it. Welcome to |
| 1:11.6 | America Answers on Five Live. Americaast. Ameriast from BBC News. When Donald Trump calls, |
| 1:20.0 | they say, yes, sir, right away, sir. Happy to lick your boot, sir. We are the sickest country |
| 1:25.4 | in the world. Oh dear. Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry? |
| 1:30.2 | Of course the president supports peaceful protest. |
| 1:32.2 | What a stupid question. |
| 1:33.2 | Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? |
| 1:40.2 | So quite a lot to talk about on American answers today. So let's get stuck straight in with |
| 1:47.5 | this one. On Air Force One yesterday, Donald Trump was asked about his threat to strike Iran over its |
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