Hello and welcome to the Americano podcast, a special series of discussions about US politics

and the Trump presidency, or as we journalists call it, the gift that keeps on giving.

I'm Freddie Gray, I'm deputy editor of the spectator. I'm joined today by Michael Brendan Doherty,

who is a senior writer at the National Review,

and we're going to be talking about Marion Le Pen, the French politician,

and her appearance at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

Michael CPAC, for British listeners who won't know about it,

is an annual convention of, let's call it,

the American Conservative movement. And it's quite an extraordinary event, as anyone who has been to it,

will know. And it's particularly extraordinary this year, because Marion Le Pen, who was formerly

the darling of the French National Front, perhaps still the darling of the French

National Front, but no longer actively in politics, just gave a speech there. You've just listened to it.

Give us your assessment. Marion Le Pen's mere presence at CPAC was controversial among conservatives

who've been attending this event for years or even decades, because it signaled so

dramatically this kind of shift towards populism and nationalism and a kind of openness to

the European nationalist right, you know, was not in evidence even two years ago and especially not five years

ago. There's always been a kind of populist element at CPAC, but Le Pen being there was a sign of

times that have changed pretty dramatically. Her speech was not, it was not particularly controversial other than her last name and maybe her middle name.

You know, the content of it. I mean, she had some edgy lines. She talked about how in her country, France was once the first daughter of the church and is now

becoming the little niece of Islam yeah did that get a cheer it it did actually

it or actually got kind of dramatic booze as in like booing Islam approving

of Islam yeah yeah yeah booze of the Islamacization of France.

...