The Global Story: Why Trumpworld is obsessed with free speech in Britain
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.2K Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2025
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
President Trump is in the UK on a State visit, where he’s been hosted by the royal family and is set to meet with Prime Minister Starmer.
The two leaders appear to have a strong relationship. But there's one big issue that’s become a sticking point between them.
Increasingly, free speech in the United Kingdom is a hot button rallying cry among the conservatives in the United States. Why have Republicans in America become so obsessed with free speech across the Atlantic? Especially when a crackdown on speech is kicking off at home.
This programme includes language which some listeners find offensive.
Every weekday, this is The Global Story. The world is changing. Decisions made in the US and by the second Trump administration are accelerating that change. But they are also a symptom of it. With Asma Khalid in DC, Tristan Redman in London, and the backing of the BBC’s international newsroom, The Global Story brings clarity to politics, business and foreign policy in a time of connection and disruption. For more episodes, just search 'The Global Story' wherever you get your BBC Podcasts.
Producers: Cat Farnsworth, Viv Jones and Xandra Ellin Executive producer: Annie Brown and James Shield Mix: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins
Image: US President Donald Trump on second state visit to the UK (Credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)
Archive audio from Father Ted (Credit: Father Ted/Hat Trick Productions/Channel 4)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.6 | American politics can sometimes feel like a different language. |
| 0:11.1 | But our podcast can help you translate. |
| 0:13.3 | Make sense of what's happening in the US, with new podcast episodes arriving throughout the week. |
| 0:18.1 | AmeriCast, listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:21.2 | Hey there, I'm Asma Khalid. |
| 0:22.9 | And I'm Tristan Redmond. |
| 0:24.4 | And we're here with a new weekly bonus for you from the Global Story podcast. |
| 0:28.5 | The world order is shifting. |
| 0:30.3 | Old alliances are fraying and new ones are emerging. |
| 0:34.6 | Some of this turbulence can be traced to decisions made in the United States. But the U.S. isn't just a cause of the upheaval. Its politics are also a symptom of it. |
| 0:45.1 | Every day we focus on one story, looking at how America and the world shape each other. |
| 0:50.5 | So we hope you enjoy this episode. And to find more of our show, just search for |
| 0:55.7 | the global story wherever you get your BBC podcasts. |
| 1:05.8 | President Trump's in London today. He had a big royal to do yesterday. He met the king. And today he's meeting the British |
| 1:12.6 | Prime Minister, Kirstalmer, somebody he's quite fond of. I like your prime minister. He's slightly more |
| 1:19.7 | liberal than I am, as you've probably heard. But he's a good man who got a trade deal done. |
| 1:24.7 | A good man. But there is one big issue that's become a sticking |
| 1:28.7 | point for these strange bedfellows. The British government seems to be cracking down on social |
| 1:34.0 | media posts, people being arrested for tweets, just wondering how concerning that is to you, |
| 1:38.6 | Mr. President. I will just say that in terms of UK, strange things are happening over there. |
| 1:44.9 | They are cracking down and surprisingly so. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.