What if: Obama versus Trump 2028?

Political Currency

Persephonica

Money, Politics, Economy, News, Ed Balls, Business, George Osborne, Westminster

4.1 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What if the Brexit vote was flipped? Would George Osborne actually be our… former Prime Minister? And what would have happened during the Covid-19 outbreak in that case?

George Osborne and Ed Balls are back with another ‘What if’ episode, thinking about some of the most consequential sliding doors moments in modern politics.

Looking further back, what if it was actually Neil Kinnock who had won the 1992 election? How might Black Wednesday have played out under a Labour government?

Finally, they imagine a showdown between Obama and Trump for a third term in 2028. Can Trump really stand constitutionally? Would it be wise for the Democrats to run Obama or is there a better candidate to beat Trump?

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Credits:

Research: Sam Burton

Production: Paige Reynolds and Caillin McDaid

Video Editor: Avi Asher

Executive Producer: Ellie Clifford

Political Currency is a Persephonica Production and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is political currency with Ed Bulls and George Osborne.
0:28.3	Happy New Year.
0:30.7	Welcome to 2026.
0:32.7	The new year is underway.
0:36.5	We, though, are not going to be talking about the future.
0:37.7	We're going to be talking about the past. We're going to be talking about the past.
0:39.4	We're going to do some what ifs.
0:41.2	Start as we need to go on.
0:43.2	Whose idea was this?
0:44.8	That is what we're doing.
0:47.0	That is what it says here, and that's what we're doing.
0:47.7	So there we are.
0:51.6	What a future-orientated approach this show is taking.
0:52.9	You're right.
1:31.0	I mean, anything said about the future before we move back to the past? Any new year's resolutions for you in 2020? I always have the same kind of New Year's resolutions, which is, you know, try and be a bit healthier, try and lose a bit of weight, try and go to the gym a bit more. I mean, they're not, I wouldn't say they're the most interesting ones. Is that it? Yeah, I think so. New job applications? Monthly? Weekly. You know, always up for those. Mine is, I think, I would like to go out more. Oh, well, that's all right. You can come with me. Well, the thing is, the thing is, I was thinking about the last year. No, seriously, I'll take, should we go to some plays together? That is my point.
1:28.1	You know, I'm listening to music and I'm reading books. You can come with me to the opera? I actually went to the opera just before Christmas. I went to Aria Dante at the Royal Opera House, which is absolutely superb. And I did go to Handel's Messiah for the Handel Festival. But I don't go to the theatre enough, other than when my daughter's in plays or written plays or acting.
1:46.1	And I feel as though, I don't go to the theatre enough, other than when my daughter's in plays or written plays or acting.
1:46.1	And I feel as though, I don't know what it is, I feel as though there's a cultural gap in me. I should make more effort. I quite often am looking for a theatre partner. So, yeah. I know, but would you be on time? Would you be late? Well, I'm always on time for cutting up. Oh, I see. So it's only the podcast where you always lay out.
2:03.0	I know the whole play is I'm always on time for cutting up. Oh, I see. So it's only the podcast where you always lay out.
2:03.0	I know the whole play isn't going to wait for me.
2:05.8	Yeah. So our first what if, how much of my life would I have saved in the last year
2:11.5	if George Osborne has been on time every week for the last 52 weeks?
	...

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