Will Donald Trump avoid the mistakes made by George Bush in Iraq?
Americano
The Spectator
4.0 • 762 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Trump has signalled that the Middle East war could be 'over soon' and pledged to lift sanctions after talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Freddy Gray is joined by Jacob Heilbrunn and Robert Bryce to discuss why Trump was potentially unprepared for Iran's retaliation, what could come from the talks with Putin, and why Britain can only get their energy prices down by drilling.
Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.
For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.
Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | On Tuesday the 24th of March, our speakers will debate the motion, |
| 0:04.0 | this House believes we should abolish the licence fee. |
| 0:07.2 | Spectator Chairman Charles Moore and the telegraphs Alison Pearson |
| 0:10.2 | will propose the motion with Spectator editor Michael Gove |
| 0:13.4 | and former BBC America editor John Sopel opposing. |
| 0:16.8 | I'm Isabel Hardman and I'll be in the chair to maintain decorum and take your pressing questions. |
| 0:22.2 | Join us on Tuesday the 24th of March at 7pm and book your tickets at spectator.com |
| 0:27.7 | forward slash debate. |
| 0:36.3 | Hello and welcome back to the Americana Show. My name is Freddie Gray. I am the deputy editor of the |
| 0:41.9 | spectator and the US editor. And I'm pleased to tell you that this is the 10th year of the |
| 0:48.3 | Americano podcast. And I think it's fair to say it's been a fairly fascinating time in American politics, life and culture. |
| 0:58.1 | And that's what we talk about every episode on this podcast. So please keep listening and provide as much feedback as you like. |
| 1:06.8 | Today I am delighted to be joined by Jacob Harbram, a regular guest on the Americano show and a much appreciated contributor to the spectator. |
| 1:18.2 | And another fairly frequent guest on this show, Robert Bryce, Jacob, I should say, is the editor of the national interest. |
| 1:26.6 | And Robert Bryce is an energy expert |
| 1:28.6 | who writes an excellent substack, which I recommend you all read. And we're going to be talking |
| 1:35.0 | about what else the war on Iran and the latest developments from inside Team Trump and what the president himself has been saying. |
| 1:47.9 | Jacob, last night, it appears that Donald Trump tried to pull back a little bit, |
| 1:54.2 | although while still saying that he could go further, that the US could go further in this war, |
| 2:02.7 | he seemed to be saying that the conflict could be over very soon, which rather contradicted his earlier talk of unconditional surrender and so on. |
| 2:11.3 | What do you make, Jacob, of Trump's statements last night? |
| 2:14.9 | I think Trump wants a crushing victory in Iran, where he seduce and humiliates the Islamic |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.