How do we deal with President Trump (again)?
Radical with Amol Rajan
BBC
4.5 • 919 Ratings
🗓️ 25 January 2024
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Shockwaves from the Republican primary in New Hampshire are reverberating through the streets of Westminster and across Europe as political leaders come to terms with a new reality – Donald Trump could well be elected US president in November.
Amol and Nick look at why America may turn back to Trump with Megyn Kelly, the US news anchor who had to deal with invoking the ire of the former president – but is now the broadcaster he turns to when he wants to speak to the nation.
They also speak to Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s chief of staff during his time in Downing Street, about how to build links with a president who doesn’t share a political philosophy with the incumbent in No 10.
And fellow Today presenter – and host of Americast – Justin Webb drops in to share his prediction for what will happen in the race for the White House.
Plus – Nick remembers his trips to the US with Blair and Gordon Brown, including a time when George Dubya Bush made him go viral – in the days before going viral was a thing.
Episodes of The Today Podcast land every Thursday and watch out for bonus episodes. Subscribe on BBC Sounds to get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories of the week, with insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme.
If you would like a question answering, get in touch by sending us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 or email us Today@bbc.co.uk
The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the UK’s most influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.
The senior producer is Tom Smithard, the producer is Hazel Morgan. The editors are Jonathan Aspinwall and Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths. Technical production from Dafydd Evans.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:04.9 | Listen very hard. |
| 0:07.2 | And you might just be able to hear the sound of screaming, the gritting of teeth, |
| 0:12.9 | the banging of heads on walls in SW1, in Westminster, and in particular in Whitehall, where the political class are having to come to |
| 0:23.7 | terms with the realisation that just when they thought it was safe to go back into the |
| 0:29.3 | transatlantic, Trump might be back as president again. |
| 0:34.7 | And not just your impeccable sources, Nick, not just politicos, diplomats, civil servants, |
| 0:40.4 | but also investors, CEOs, anyone with an interest in, for instance, transatlantic trade. |
| 0:45.7 | But that's the nature of politics, isn't it? |
| 0:47.1 | It's not up to the people in Whitehall. |
| 0:48.6 | It's not up to British businesses who gets to run America. |
| 0:52.6 | The nature of politics is you have to deal, and the emphasis |
| 0:56.1 | today is on the word deal with the politicians who the people of those countries elect. |
| 1:01.2 | That no doubt is why the Daily Mail carried a column with a self-consciously provocative headline. |
| 1:06.9 | The global Wokkerati are trembling so violently you can hear the ice tinkling in their ngronies. |
| 1:13.8 | I love a negrony. How'd you take yours? I usually have one ice cube and a nice squeeze and sizzle of orange peel. |
| 1:19.9 | I kind of knew it. |
| 1:21.1 | Yeah, of course. I prefer it with rum, actually, which you can do. |
| 1:24.2 | The issue with Trump, of course, is that he presented himself to the world, |
| 1:27.9 | especially in 2016, as the dealmaker in chief. He put his name to a book called The Art of the |
| 1:34.3 | deal, which it turns out he didn't actually write. It was ghostwritten by someone who said that |
| 1:38.7 | he was not the brightest button in New York, but he is a deal maker and this time he's coming |
... |
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