Could one phone call end Trump’s presidency?

Beyond Today

BBC

News

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2019

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Impeachment proceedings have been launched against Donald Trump after a whistleblower said the US president pressured the leader of Ukraine into investigating one of his main Democratic challengers. In a telephone conversation Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into Joe Biden, the man Trump may well face in the 2020 presidential election, and connections Biden’s son had in Ukraine. The whistleblower’s allegations mention Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani as the person who was essentially running the Ukrainian evidence-gathering operation. Giuliani was the ‘hero’ mayor of New York, guiding the city through the horrors of 9/11. But now he’s seen as a more-than colourful character wheeled out to defend his boss to the end. As the proceedings gain momentum, we ask The Atlantic’s White House correspondent, Elaina Plott, whether a phone call could bring down America’s most divisive president, and the details of a fiery exchange she had with Giuliani in the back of an Uber. Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble and Alicia Burrell Mixed by Nico Raufast Editor: John Shields

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:06.4	Hello, I'm Matthew Price.
0:08.0	This is Beyond Today from BBC Radio 4.
0:10.6	Every day we ask one big question about one big story.
0:14.0	Today could one big story?
0:17.0	Today, could one phone call end Trump's presidency?
0:27.0	Do you remember that President Trump was accused of working with Russia to help him win the 2016 election?
0:38.0	Well, now he's being accused of doing the same thing to win next year's election,
0:43.4	although this time it's not Russia he's accused of working with, but Ukraine.
0:47.1	And that's why his opponents are now starting impeachment proceedings against him,
0:51.6	trying to remove him from office.
0:54.0	It all started with a phone call between the White House and the Presidential Palace in Kyiv, the
1:01.5	capital of Ukraine.
1:03.0	That comedian, Vladimir Jalensky, the guy who won the election and came to power this year?
1:08.0	Well, Trump rang him to congratulate him just after he'd become president,
1:12.0	and some US official, reportedly a CIA officer who
1:15.3	had heard what was in the call, felt so strongly that something wrong had been said by
1:20.0	Donald Trump that he turned whistleblower and made it all public.
1:24.4	The White House pushed back, it released the call summary, Trump said it was a beautiful thing.
1:29.3	That call was perfect.
1:30.4	It couldn't have been nicer and even the Ukrainian government put out a statement that that was a perfect call there was no pressure put on them whatsoever
1:37.6	And since then it's been the main story that Elena plot I'm White house correspondent for the Atlantic has covered who do you want to be president Trump or president
	...

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