4.2 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
At a press conference inside the Oval Office on Thursday, Donald Trump - with the British PM Keir Starmer on the phone - announced changes to tariffs which included steel, aluminium and car exports. In return, the UK government made concessions on imports of ethanol and American beef, with Keir Starmer calling it a ‘fantastic, historic day’.
Justin and Anthony unpack the politics behind the deal, asking who is the real winner? With accusations that the UK has caved in too easily to American demands on beef and ethanol, what does today’s announcement mean for the U.S. economy and its trade tariffs with China?
Also today, Justin gets an insider’s account of the “delusion and denial” inside Joe Biden’s curtailed 2024 presidential campaign with his former biographer Chris Whipple, who details the final months in his new book Unchartered.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 Presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST: Chris Whipple, Journalist and Author of “Unchartered: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History”
GET IN TOUCH: • Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB • Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 • Email [email protected] • Or use #Americast
This episode was made by George Dabby, Laurie Kalus, Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.
You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.
US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155
Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.
The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
0:04.4 | We are recording this episode at 4.30 in the afternoon, UK time. And the time is important because the UK and the US have just announced in a couple of slightly weird press conferences, a new trade deal, the first of Donald Trump's second term. |
0:22.4 | You can hear Anthony laughing in the background because it was strange. |
0:25.3 | But we'll get to the strangeness in a moment because amongst all the talk of a fantastic, |
0:29.2 | historic day, the removal of various tariffs, let's ask who the real winner is, what the |
0:34.0 | politics are behind the deal. |
0:36.7 | Welcome to AmeriCast. |
0:40.5 | AmeriCast. |
0:41.3 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
0:43.6 | You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. |
0:48.7 | President Trump's message is very simple. We are done being taken advantage of. |
0:52.5 | Mr. President, in the name of our God, have mercy upon the people. |
0:56.8 | We're scared now. |
0:58.1 | Are you supportive of these onesies? |
1:00.0 | I'm supportive of vaccines. |
1:01.6 | What is happening? Like, this is not America. This is a terrible nightmare. |
1:06.0 | This is what victory feels like. |
1:09.4 | Yeah. |
1:23.4 | Thank you. what victory feels like. Yeah. Hello, it's Anthony here in Washington, D.C. And it's Justin in the worldwide headquarters of Ameriast in London, England, and we think we might be joined by Sarah at some stage going along, |
1:29.8 | but equally we might not, because let's face it, |
1:31.8 | it is a busy time if you are North America editor. |
1:35.4 | And also, I should say right at the start, |
... |
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 2025.