Americanswers... on 5 Live! What does Donald Trump think of Keir Starmer?
en
January 27, 2025
TLDR: This episode discusses President Trump's initial actions and executive orders in his second term, fielding questions about his stance on global issues such as Greenland, Columbia, and Democratic activities, and an interview with Keir Starmer by Anthony Zurcher.

In the latest episode of the Americast podcast, hosted by Matt Chorley on BBC Radio 5 Live, the discussion revolves around key players in American politics, particularly focusing on Donald Trump’s recent activities and his views on UK Labour leader Keir Starmer. This episode highlights significant insights into the ongoing dynamics between the US and the UK, particularly in the context of Trump's second presidential term.
Key Highlights
Trump’s Administration and Executive Orders
- Rapid Start: Since taking office for a second time, Trump has swiftly rolled out a series of executive orders aimed at reshaping policy in line with his administration's objectives.
- Format: The hosts emphasize that Trump's approach to governance this time appears more structured compared to his first term, which had a backdrop of chaos and uncertainty. There's a noticeable presence of experienced advisors who are shaping policy rather than relying on ad hoc decisions.
Trump on Keir Starmer
- Interview Context: In an interesting twist, Anthony Zurcher, while on Air Force One over the weekend, directly asked Trump about his opinion on Keir Starmer. Trump's reply was unexpectedly positive:
- He acknowledged Starmer's liberal ideologies while expressing admiration for his performance so far.
- Trump mentioned they have a good relationship, having dined together at Trump Tower and planning future discussions.
Analysis of Trump’s Diplomacy
- Governing Style: The hosts discussed how Trump’s interaction with world leaders is characterized by a blend of camaraderie and firmness, showing a preference for maintaining relationships with moderate criticism rather than engaging in outright confrontation.
- Comparison with Elon Musk: Interestingly, a contrast was drawn with Elon Musk's more aggressive social media presence against Starmer, revealing different political personal dynamics between Trump and tech influencers.
Ongoing Issues with Colombia
- US-Colombia Relations: The podcast detailed tensions regarding Trump's immigration strategy, particularly his unprecedented use of military flights to deport undocumented immigrants to Colombia without prior approval from the Colombian government.
- Negotiation Tactics: This incident highlights Trump’s hardline stance where he previously threatened tariffs but later backed down after Colombia agreed to accept deportees, showcasing his inclination to exert pressure first and negotiate afterward.
Meme Coins and Cryptocurrency Discussion
- Trump's Meme Coin Launch: In a lighter segment, the hosts explored Donald Trump's foray into the cryptocurrency world through meme coins, which have been met with skepticism.
- Concerns Over Legitimacy: There were worries about the potential for financial misconduct, with allegations that Trump could profit significantly from these ventures, raising questions about regulation and transparency in political fundraising through emerging platforms.
Insights into Democratic Response
- Democratic Strategy: Podcast participants noted a relative calm from the Democrats in response to Trump's aggressive legislative agenda.
- Future Planning: The Democratic party seems to be adopting a more strategic approach, preserving their positions for upcoming elections, rather than engaging in constant confrontations with Trump, which could backfire in the long term.
- There appears to be a focus on waiting to see how Trump's policies impact public opinion before launching criticisms.
Conclusion
The Americast episode presents a nuanced perspective on Trump’s actions and how they relate not only to American politics but also to international dynamics, particularly those involving the UK. The discussion touches on various themes such as executive governance, immigration policies, and the intersection of new financial technologies with traditional political fundraising.
The episode encapsulates the complex landscape of modern politics where diplomacy, economics, and social trends intertwine, providing listeners with a thoughtful examination of current events.
Was this summary helpful?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I'm Nicola Cocklan and for BBC Radio 4, this is History's Youngest Heroes. Rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth. She thought right, I'll just do it. She thought about others rather than herself. Twelve stories of extraordinary young people from across history.
There's a real sense of urgency in them that resistance has to be mounted, it has to be mounted now. Follow History's Yoast Heroes, wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, Maricasters. There are more of you now with us than ever before, and we'd like to try to keep it that way. So do subscribe and tell people if you're enjoying what you're hearing. Now, on with the episode.
BBC sounds, music, radio, podcasts. Hello, it's another Monday, and that means another America answers with Matt Chorley on Five Live. We were chatting in the BBC's Millbank Studio, and there was some building work happening, so you might hear some banging in the background. Listen up for that.
But most importantly, listen out for our answers to your questions about everything. Donald Trump and the new administration, that means we talk meme coins, executive orders, what Donald Trump wants to do with Greenland and Colombia. And we also do talk about the Democrats and what they've been up to, or what they've not been up to. It was me, Justin and Sarah, no Anthony this time, because he was a born Air Force One, which was a bit more glamorous than our noisy under construction studio at the BBC. And that is where we start this episode. Welcome to America Answers.
America. America. From BBC News. God spared my life for a reason. Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars? The star is born, Elon. I'm not just Magga. I'm Dothic Magga. This is what happens when the machine comes after you. I'm terrified for this country and I'm so hurt that America let this happen. I think that we just witnessed the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America.
Yeah, here we are again then, with the America answers, 85058 on the text, 088599693 on what's up. You've got any questions for the team today. We are joined by Sarah Smith, North America editor, Sarah, where are you? I'm in our bureau in Washington. Very good. Justine, Webb, and Marilyn, a spring of both here in the studio. How are you both? Very good. You bought me a present. We did. I'm so interested. Of course you can. OK. It is a Stars and Stripes umbrella.
Which, if I open, which is nice, you know, I look like a tourist, I'm London, and if I open it, not fully, obviously, because that's bad luck. It says Trump Save America 2024 on it.
A really impartial umbrella. You can take it out and about. I feel I need two umbrellas. We couldn't find another umbrella. We did try them. We put equal effort into our umbrella. There's quite an absence of other umbrellas, but literally... I don't know how much you spent on it for me. Obviously, I appreciate the gift. I'm not sure that printing on there will survive much rain anyway. We've put in the claim. I don't look like it. I don't look like it. I thought I was making that. That's all right, pleasure. Now, we don't have Anthony with us because is he in the air now?
We believe so. He's on Air Force One. We can't say it's an undisclosed thing. He's somewhere in an unspecified. But here he is speaking to President Trump over the weekend on Air Force One, talking about Kear Starmer. If you go to the UK, do you think you'll get along with Kear Starmer and the Labour government? I do. I've been at Madam already three times.
He's come over to see me twice. I have a call. He and I have a call over the next 24 hours. Now, I get along with him. Well, I like him a lot. He's liberal, which is a little bit different for me. But I think he's a very good person. I think he's done a very good job thus far. He's very new in the job. But he's represented his country in terms of his philosophy.
I may not agree with this philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him. I've seen him twice in dinner with him in Trump Tower, as you probably know. That's right. That was Donald Trump speaking to Anthony on Air Force One. Before we get to the substance of what he's saying, Sarah, tell us what it's like on Air Force One. Well, completely different under a Trump presidency, it would seem. I travelled on it a few times when Joe Biden was president, and we didn't see hiding our hair of him, even though he was on the same flight as us. A couple of transatlantic flights as well, and you wouldn't have known he was there.
And one of them we didn't even see is press secretary. So the idea that the president himself comes back and just in a freewheeling way takes questions from any of the journalists that are there is quite exciting for anybody who gets on the plane. Other than that, it's a wee bit less glamorous than you might think. It's moderately comfortable. It's better than the back of a united flight near the loose, but not massively. So except for the catering. I do have to say, if you're on a long flight,
They will give you lunch or dinner, serve to your place on fine China with proper glass for your drinks as well, all of which is embossed with the presidential seal. But there has been trouble recently because the journalists have been stealing the plates, the glasses, the mugs, and everybody's been told that they're not. It's not a souvenir.
That's exactly where it's from. Anthony has previously spoken a little bit about all of the different bits of merch that you can find, not umbrellas, but we could not disclose if he's in possession of any of them. I went on Air Force One once to T-side Airport and I tell you there's no finer way to arrive at T-side Airport because you do this thing where you're coming into land and people are all looking at you and pointing. You just have this real sense.
Well, that's what I thought, and then I realised. It was actually because he was on that one. And also the black or helicopter that they brought in in order to take must have been doubly, actually George W Bush, from the airport to Tony Blair's constituency home, which is incredibly close to the airport, but they couldn't chance the roads to the hotel.
Everything is the kind of majesty of it. So when you're on Air Force One, you've got that sense, haven't you, Sarah? Just that you are in a different space. You're not in the real world anymore. Yes, exactly, because you don't go through normal airport security. You don't even have to buckle up to take off. They don't even tell you that you're taking off. You might be standing around in the aisle chatting with the other journalists and things like that, because we're in our own confined little cabin. There's like 14 seats in one section where the press go.
and you're not even really allowed to look out the door and see what's happening in other bits of the plane. But nonetheless, it still feels a bit special because, yeah, suddenly, you're taxiing along the runway and the plane's taking off and nobody's even mentioned sitting down, letting alone putting your tray table upright and buckling your seatbelt. So, yeah, there's a certain degree of excitement around the whole thing.
the photos of Donald Trump speaking to Anthony. It does look like he's just sort of, it almost looks, in some of them it looks like Donald Trump has literally just come out with a toilet. Because it's sort of a very small toilet. A bucket right in the front. They're sort of like huddled around him coming through the door. Because he quite penned in and they come out through a bulkhead and stand by the bulkhead. So they're going to come right into the middle of you. It's also, is it still the case, sir? It's only half of the plane. So if you're in the press bit, you can't see out of the left.
Yes, so you're right. So there's whatever the middle aisle would be is filled with secret service or something I think. So yeah, you can look out of your right hand side, I think it is. You can see what's happening on the left and you're like the back quarter of it or something. The first time I went on, I tried to take a little sort of tour around, just see what's in the other cabins.
To be honest, I'm absolutely starving and there were snacks. I could see in the other cabins, I would have been able to get a Snickers bar and some pretzels. So I wandered through just casually, you know, but it was worse than trying to accidentally wander into first class on a British Airways flight.
Which you've also tried to do now. I love you. Just such a walk, isn't it? Some people walk through with confidence. I turn left off. In terms of the substance of what he was saying then, Justin, what does this tell us about Donald Trump's current thinking about Keir Starwood and the UK? I mean, it just tells us that he feels at the moment he's on top of the world and he doesn't need to pick fights with people and he's quite busy. I think we might even get to it later on. He's quite busy roughing up world leaders and occasionally he will rough them up and occasionally he'll be quite
So often there was a sweet that he said, you know, Kistam is a liberal kind of guy, it's not my kind of guy, but we all get along. I mean, it's exactly, it's the best possible outcome so far for Labour, because they've put a lot of work into rowing back on the things they used to say about him, that he was a sociopath, etc, etc.
And he seems to have, he seems to have said to that. But the first big test, if people are looking for an actual test of the relationship, does Peter Mandelson get to be our next Ambassador to Washington DC? Or does he not, as some Trump supporters say he shouldn't? It seems to me that's the key.
The thing I found so interesting not to mention Elon Musk every Americas, but to mention Elon Musk every Americas is, I know we need a little buzzer, but if you look at Elon Musk's feed on X and the kinds of things he's been very directly saying about Kia Starmer, he's been incredibly critical of the Labour government and of Starmer himself. That really felt at odds with Donald Trump and I wonder if that's our first clue.
that Donald Trump kind of wants to say, hang on a second, me and this boss of this social media boss, this tech bro, and not actually exactly the same. We have got different views and I'm a president and he's not. We'll see. Because I think that was definitely, there was definitely nervousness in number 10 about was, uh, he almost just, there's just the thin end of the wedge and then Donald Trump would pile in behind it. And actually that just didn't happen.
No, and I think that's, you know, we've seen it, we've seen it around a couple of different issues. I mean, they haven't always agreed on everything either. But I think that there's perhaps been this idea that you might be able to use Elon Musk's feed on X, like you say, Matt, to kind of get some clues about what's going on inside Donald Trump's head or inside his White House. And actually, it's the first indicator that that might not be necessarily that reliable and that he's taking much more, you know, it makes Donald Trump actually look a lot less combative than Elon Musk certainly has on X.
Maybe that's all part of the strategy. Have someone who's even more. We've had so many questions, so let's dive into some of the mark on the America's Discord server. Has been stopped laughing. It's very important. It's not funny. I saw you look at Justin, so you look at Justin. He doesn't understand Discord. I don't know what it is.
Anyway, it's very important. Mark's been on it. He's asked about what's been happening between the US and Columbia. Was Gustavo Petro successful in calling Trump's bluff?
That's a generous interpretation, I think. So just a very quick summary of what happened, because it was all going on yesterday. Donald Trump has started using military flights to deport illegal immigrants who've been rounded up in America. These deportations, I should say, have always gone on through the Biden administration, the first Trump administration, and actually a large number of them through the Obama administration. That's not new.
using military planes to do it, ushering people on board handcuffed and in quite bad conditions is unusual, and trying to fly into countries to repatriate them to where they're from in places like Colombia without having the permission of the Colombian government is very unusual. So when that happened, the Colombians refused entry to the flights and said this was a really undignified way of transporting these migrants, that their human rights weren't being properly looked after,
and they wouldn't accept the flights. Donald Trump was absolutely furious because of course we know that this whole argument about anti-immigration and deportation is absolutely central to his goals. So he immediately threatened to put huge tariffs on Colombian imports coming into America, of which there are a lot, flowers and coffee particularly, that would have been absolutely crippling for them.
and all sorts of visa restrictions on Colombian officials and a whole panoply of weapons at his disposal. And then over a few hours this was de-escalated and the threat of all of these kind of measures being taken against Colombia has gone away.
But because the Colombians have agreed to accept these flights, so I think it was a fabulous illustration of how Donald Trump intends to carry on his foreign policy, and the way in which he will use tariffs and every sanction at his disposal to threaten other countries to get exactly what he wants. We don't know the full details of everything that went on, so we don't know if there were some concessions made to Colombia's fears about the manner in which these repatriations were being done, but at the end of the day, the person who got what they wanted certainly looks like Donald Trump.
And this is going to be the lesson, Justin, of how he will approach these things. Go big, go bold, step back, but ultimately get what he wants. There's also kind of, if you take a step back from it all, Trump sees the world and sees America in a way that maybe we're not used to seeing America. America's always sort of thought of
as an idea, as an ideal, a thing that is to be exported around the world and for people to respect and all the rest of it. Trump says, what the heck were they any of that nonsense? America's a territory, first and foremost, and we protect those who are inside the territory, and we do all that we need to do, and we use all the power that we have as a territory, as an entity as well.
And that's a very different way of looking, if you think about it, the whole world, kind of American presidents are both left and right, Republicans and Democrats. I've always sort of suggested that America is this shining city on a hill, that there's this thing about America that's uniquely important because of the idealism. And Trump doesn't say that. Trump says it's important because of the military power and heft, and he's going to use it. It could well come unstuck eventually, but at the moment, yeah, I agree with Sarah. It's going pretty well, isn't it?
And as he said, he's going to put America first. He was very, very clear about that. And this is him doing it. And he'll do it by bullying and by threatening. And there will be no carrot necessarily involved, just a lot of stick. But this is what he said he would do. And this is what a large number of Americans want him to do.
And yeah, and doing the things that, you know, I catching big things which people felt they voted for. Yeah, interesting. Which then pop up on social media because they are catching a big annal to get covered by the media too, which is kind of all part of it is people feeling like immediately Donald Trump has done what he said he would, whether he actually has done what he said he would in the end is another question, but it's that perception that people think he's done what he said he would, which is that whole, maybe this politician is genuine and others aren't, even if you don't like it.
Because he can't necessarily do everything that he promised. One thing to remember through all of these very high-profile foreign policy fights that he's having is that the main thing he promised to do was lower prices and make the cost of living easier for all of the hard-up Americans who voted for on the economy was far and away the biggest topic in the election. And the other thing that's making some headlines here, but not quite as much, is the price of eggs
which is one of the things that is particularly high in the US has continued to rise. And there's some bubbling questioning about exactly how well Donald Trump's handling the economy, albeit he's only one week in, when the price of groceries, particularly eggs, are continuing to go up. So everything like this that takes up people's attention elsewhere is all good news for him.
In fact, I'm obsessed with the egg question. I think we're going to dig into eggs later in the week, because when I was there, all of those kept up again and again and again, people talk about eggs. Actually, I've read it the weekend that Keir Starmer has had similar things, because the Labour government has been trying to push their deportation flights.
And apparently voters don't believe that it's happening and they want to film them. But there's loads of technical issues. You know, that people we need to see with their own eyes that this thing is actually happening. I suppose having a big row with someone about where you send the plane sort of helps to promote all that. Let's turn our attention now to meme coins. Liz on Discord asks if, when she's talking about Donald Trump and Melania Trump's meme coin, she says.
As I understand it, Trump owns 80% of the coins, so buying it is a way of transferring money to him without any trace. Is that right? What protections, if any, are there to ensure this is not used for direct money for political favour corruption?
Marianna, let's start at the beginning. It's a bit like when somebody tries to explain a hedge fund to me, or how the title went. It goes in and it immediately goes out again. We talked about meme calls on my five life show on Friday, and I sort of understood a bit. Explain what this is.
Okay, meme coins for beginners, they're essentially a type of cryptocurrency. So people might have heard of like Dogecoin, people might have heard of when we're talking about Elon Musk, all that kind of stuff. And they're kind of ways of like owning and transferring money. But meme coins specifically are effectively cryptocurrency with no purpose other than kind of for fun or like a bit of speculation. It's almost like buying sort of fan tokens.
to support someone or you then own something or like, kind of like, I mean, some people would compare these things to pieces of art that you could kind of own. But if I bought by one, I had the money over, what do I get? You are kind of in possession of some of that cryptocurrency, which has a value. But it's not a physical thing. No, no, it's like... Because it's an email.
Yeah, kind of. It's like NFTs or like it's, you know, like they have quite often interesting like visual looks to them. So NFTs are like some people use that almost like as they would transfer non fungible tokens. Exactly. So I think thinking of it as like tokens is quite helpful, but that
And if you look at this meme coin that Donald Trump launched, which he launched for himself and Melania's also got this one that was launched on the eve of the inauguration, I think it was, around the inauguration, they kind of immediately were very valuable. So Donald Trump's went up to be kind of one of the most valuable meme coins and then it dropped from $75 within a day to, it was up at $75 and then it fell to $39. So you kind of own something and you're gambling a bit and then, and
Some people have been quite critical of meme coins in general, but particularly of Donald Trump around the meme coins, because he basically said, I don't really know anything about this, but I've launched a meme coin. And he's been generally very supportive of the crypto industry and said how he really wants to make the US crypto capture.
Yeah, not least Elon Musk. Within the crypto industry, meme coins are the wild west and are not much respected, actually. And I think it's right to say that meme coins, in the longer term, the value of a meme coin almost certainly reduces down to something close to zero. It's a thing. It's a kind of, and people... It's like a token you like to have for a bit.
But actually then it becomes as opposed to proper cryptocurrencies, which are very important and becoming increasingly economically important and have a background, particularly in the libertarian right in the United States because they can't be controlled by governments, et cetera, et cetera, you know, they're important and substantial things overlap between the cryptocurrency people in the sort of the podcast and all that sort of world that Donald
But they hate this mean coin stuff, most of them, because they don't think it's particularly serious, and they also think it's a way of people losing money quite quickly, and the person who messaged us is quite right to say that 80% of the value at the moment owned by Trump and his team, Trump and his people, and that feels to a lot of people as if
those who buy in are potentially going to be swamped if they just dump all their assets. So it's, you know, Donald Trump has been associated in the past with scams. You think of Trump University. And it's, I think a lot of people in his team who look at other aspects of the way the presidency has started, popular aspects, whatever you think of them, the immigration stuff and all the rest of it. And look at this and think, Oh, for goodness sake, don't, don't be going down that road. He still wants to
I suppose that's the thing, he didn't need to do, he was about to be sworn in for the second time. There are plenty of other ways that his base are excited. And he said as the value was coming down, I don't know much about it other than I launched it other than it was very successful. And I suppose it feels like this could be, it's risky for him and it's probably a risk he didn't need to take.
Well, no riskier than all of the other grifting schemes he's come up with, to be perfectly honest, and about them as well. I mean, selling a watch for hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars, a Trump-branded watch a few months ago, that they reckon cost about $15.99 to make or something, and we will never forget the gold high-top trainers.
simply just to make money for him. And it will. Now, of course, the value of this meme coin is hugely inflated at the moment, and he couldn't sell out all of his theoretical billions because it would crash the value of it. But they've made, I think this is right, something close to $50 million on the fees of people buying this. I mean, the Trump family is just a constant money-making machine.
and whether or not there's any dignity involved in what they're selling rarely seems to be a consideration. And to kind of put the money making to one side as well, to the point that Matt was making about, well, actually, a lot of the people who inhabit Donald Trump's universe and the kind of make America great again world are people who've been very pro cryptocurrency and very supportive of it, not least like Doge, the whole department that he's coming up with for Elon Musk is literally named after cryptocurrency.
I think that it's almost like he's done something that sort of feels symbolic of his allegiance to that world, but actually has possibly backfired a little bit because the people who really get that world think, is it just a specific, not the right way of doing it.
Really interesting that. Well, thank you. I feel like I've understood it again for now. So let's move on before I get confused again. Chris in Northampton sent us a text says, Donald Trump seems to be wearing out his signature with all these executive orders. I'd like to know if these are all his ideas or if he has a group of advisors telling him what to do to gain the popular high grad. It appears to me that when he speaks, he says what's comes into his head at that moment.
And if he had a group of advisors, they would have to change their policy based on his values. That's from Chris. What do you think, Justin? No, they very much have a plan this time round. And this is a big difference between now and 2017, when he came to power last time, that he was literally, he was as shocked as anyone that did that he won. And they had nothing set up, just nothing and no one.
and he ended up getting a load of advisors in who he fell out with, because they were kind of the obvious people who sort of looked the part for the job, but actually didn't have anything to do with Trumpers. And this time around, the Trumpists, that's the right term, are there, and they were already there. And a lot of these executive orders, you take the one on sex and gender, which is tightly written, legally watertight in the sense that they got all the definitions right. They know what they want to do with it. They know what they want to say. This is the thing that says they're only two sexes, men and female.
But then goes on to make a load of recommendations and indeed insistences for the federal government based on that. This is not something he's come up with off the top of his head. This is very much the work of proper legal scholars. And I think there are one or two others, Sarah will note better than I did one or two others, where they are really they have thought this through properly. And then of course at the other end of the scale, there are a lot of things he's just saying for the fun of it. So it's a mix, as ever with Trump, it's a mix.
But crucially, the difference there with this time is that where he might have had a view on what he wants to do on gender, this time he's got people who know what they're doing to draw up the legal stuff so it doesn't all fall apart in the courts and then everyone says where you can't, you know, and then he's embarrassed by his opponents and all that sort of thing.
exactly in some cases and then there are other executive orders like for instance and trying to end birthright citizenship the the the rule that says that if you're born in america you can be an american citizen he signed an executive order about that very deliberately and that all been thought through by his team as well but that will be challenged in the court and is very likely to be struck down by the courts but that's fine because it's just him striking a policy position and letting everybody know what he would like to see happen but just as right a lot of the other ones and i mean there have been
So many of them, I mean, in the hundreds now, some of them are really very technical. And it's lawyers who have put these together in order to make changes to how the federal government runs, hiring policies within the government, that kind of thing, that have been carefully thought through in a way that they hadn't been last time. Because at this point in his last administration, he was still casting around looking for staff members rather than actually signing executive orders and really in a hurry to get on with remaking America and the government.
We've got a few questions about the Democrats, so we've had a text in for Martin. Can you ask the American team how the Democrats are getting on preparing for the midterm elections next year? Are there any people poking their heads above the power pet for the presidential nomination for four years' time? And then we've also got this voice note from Andy.
We're just one week into the second reign of President Trump, and we've had a blizzard of executive orders, but seemingly very little outcry from leading Democrats. I can understand Gavin Newsom has other things on his place at the moment, but what about the rest? The loudest opposition seems to be from
Bishop in D.C. at the inauguration service, a D.C. policeman who was almost killed by the rioters in January 6 and a district judge in Seattle. Am I right in forming this impression and can you please explain why? Marianne, what's been your reading of it, the sort of the Democrat fight back such as it is?
I think that's really interesting the examples that were chosen there in that question because they are all the things that have gone particularly viral actually around the inauguration. So for example during that service what was said to Donald Trump about kind of respecting the rights of people who again and other people they feared were being persecuted by some of his decision making. And I think what it tells you is that the Democrats have for whatever reason not been either trying to or just haven't successfully been
managing to capture the online conversation in that way. Those moments where everyone goes, oh wow, that's a person sticking up against this thing they don't agree with. Obviously, the mention of Gavin Newsom there, there were those pictures of him meeting Donald Trump off the plane, and I guess he's the only one that's really been on the radar. There was a lot of people kind of picking over clips of the inauguration itself because you had Kamala Harris and because I mean you had everyone on a bomber and
and all the former presidents and analysing their behaviour and thoughts. But there has been that kind of slight cricket sound. And you wonder whether it's the thing we were talking about last week when we were in DC, which is the feeling that there's been such a kind of positive bounce in Donald Trump's favour in terms of the way some of the public seem to be feeling about it. The outcry hasn't felt like last time. It's that sort of slightly defeated dissipate. Everyone's kind of like, more, we're not sure what to do.
Yeah, it's defeated and it's also looking ahead to 2028 and that voice note got it absolutely spot on. They have gone really quiet and they've gone so much quieter than they had after the previous Trump win, but there is a reason behind it that they want to save their powder now, keep their powder dryer, whatever the phrase is, because
They want to have a reasonably clean slate when they start in 2028 and they don't want to say anything as hostages to fortune. And you might say as a bit cynical, they ought to be coming out and saying what they believe about X, Y and Z. Really, I mean, Elon Musk thing that you talked about, Marianna, where, you know, did he or didn't he make a Nazi salute?
massive thing online. I think J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, he may be a presidential candidate next round, did say something about it, but I thought it was fascinating, almost, unless I'm wrong, so I don't think anyone else in the senior echelons of the Democratic Party actually said anything about that, and they're trying to keep away from those kind of the things that Marianna knows is online, and that do have a big impact and a much part of the debate. They just want to stay out of that stuff at the moment.
How do that cultural stuff, yes, for sure, and for all the reasons that you say just, and you're absolutely right about that? In terms of policy, there is quite a lot of trenchant criticism, particularly coming from Congress, from Democratic representatives and senators. They're criticizing these executive orders, other things that Trump is doing. Their voices are being heard there. They're not being particularly amplified because there's just no leading figure.
in the Democratic Party. There's nobody who looks like the aspirant next presidential candidate. There's nobody in the role of leader of the Democratic Party. So there's nobody to marshal and corral their arguments and really have a loud tailor to make them hard. So people in individual states or who are interested in individual policies are saying things. It's not as though they're just mute and allowing them to do whatever he wants. It's just there isn't a figurehead for people to look to and to gather their opposition around.
And when it comes to real things, like the immigration debate, there's just been a bill that's gone through Congress, the Lake and Riley bill, named after a woman who was killed by someone who was undocumented and in the United States, and had actually been previously arrested as well.
And this led to this bill, and it went through the House of Representatives and significant numbers of Democrats voted for it, for it. And it passed the Senate as well, which again, there's a Republican majority, but to get it right the way through the Senate, you have a few Democrats voting for it, and they did indeed one co-sponsored it.
So there is, as well as being at the kind of level of criticising Donald Trump, there is, among the Democrats, a sort of rethinking about some of the fundamental positions they hold, particularly on semi-cultural issues like immigration, and like sex and gender, I think, as well, where they're also going to find themselves, you know, are they going to be campaigning to keep biological males in women's prisons, which is something that used to happen in the federal government. Trump wants to get rid of it.
Are they going to make some decisions now about where they draw the line or do they just let things slide and say, you know, what will come up with policies when we need to in a few years' time? It's so interesting. And I suppose there's that thing of Donald Trump is doing what he said he was going to do.
And that was in part why he won. The challenge, to some extent, is, well, is he going to deliver? You know, is he living up to those promises, which is different to just going around saying, absolutely. Isn't he awful? Yeah, let him hang himself. Yeah. I think that's exactly right. I think there is, isn't that right, Sarah, that they're thinking, you know what, a lot of the things, you see, I mean, like inflation, for goodness sake, I mean, is he really going to manage to bring it down, particularly if he has tariffs, which are inflationary, et cetera, et cetera, why not just wait, stay out of it for a bit, let him damage himself?
And I suppose ultimately then, so it becomes, can you then pin those promises on whoever comes next? Presumably J.D. Vounce being a front runner to run next time. You know, J.D. Vounce said he was going to do X, Y and Z, and he's not done it. It's going to be, from a Democrat's perspective, a different sort of campaign to win the one they ran last year, which was, who aren't they awful?
Yes, absolutely. And of course, that's what Donald Trump so successfully did to Kamala Harris, even though she hadn't been the president for the previous four years, tie her to the administration, the policies and the results that that administration had got. And there are some arguments they want to stay out of, but remember, it's important in Washington to be seen to be cooperating some of the time. This is where the system's so different from the British parliamentary oppositional system. It is designed around
the two parties being able to work together to agree on pieces of legislation and you do need usually some kind of votes from the other side to get any legislation passed at all. So the idea that they are some of them supporting things like the Lake and Riley Bill, that Democrats are voting in favour of confirming a lot of Donald Trump's cabinet choices, not Pete Hegseth, the really controversial defence secretary, but the rest of them are getting some small numbers of democratic votes. And to be seen to be
utterly and completely oppositional and just voting against absolutely everything the Republicans and Donald Trump wanted, even though he's such a divisive figure, would be seen as really unhelpful, not necessarily, and positive for the Democrats. There we always see how they pan out. Right, we can round off. We've got one final voice note from Roy and Derbyshire. Hi, America. With the fast pace of change and executive orders from the Trump presidency, I just wondered if the podcast
should be temporary renamed. What's he done today? Love that. What's he done today? It kind of has become what's he done today? What's he done today? Cast and what's everyone else? Yeah, another one. Not another executive one.
I think that's already another podcast. That's the trouble. If you've got a name, don't try. Don't really do it. It is a very good one. We like the suggestion, though. We like the suggestion, though. We like the suggestion. Thank you for that, boy. Really good speech. Well, it's good to speak to you. Sarah Smith, their life in Washington, and Justin Weber, Marianna Spring with me in the studio.
That's it for this episode. You'll hear from us later in the week, as usual, and you'll be able to listen to the next AmeriCancers next week. Bye!
Well, thanks for listening all the way to the end of today's America. You are now officially an America. It is, of course, a ride, a wild ride navigating the US News, particularly in the era of Trump. You have made it. If you have a comment, a question about the things we've talked about or anything at all, actually, get in touch with us. The email is americast.bbc.co.uk. The WhatsApp is 0330-1239480. We answer your
questions every single week actually on the podcast. So keep them coming. You can join the online community as well on Discord. The link is in the podcast description on your app. We will be back with another podcast very soon. So until then, see you later. Bye.
Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by. And in 2017, Miranda, a university tutor from London, joins a yoga school that promises profound transformation. It felt a really safe and welcoming space. After yoga classes, I felt amazing.
But soon, that calm, welcoming atmosphere leads to something far darker, a journey that leads to allegations of grooming, trafficking and exploitation across international borders. I don't have my passport, I don't have my phone, I don't have my bank cards, I have nothing. The passport being taken, the being in a house and not feeling like they can leave.
World of Secrets is where untold stories are unveiled and hidden realities are exposed. In this new series, we're confronting the dark side of the wellness industry, where the hope of a spiritual breakthrough gives way to disturbing accusations. You just get sucked in so gradually.
and it's done so skillfully that you don't realise. And it's like this, the secret that's there. I wanted to believe that, you know, that
whatever they were doing, even if it seemed gross to me, was for some spiritual reason that I couldn't yet understand. Revealing the hidden secrets of a global yoga network, I feel that I have no other choice. The only thing I can do is to speak about this and to put my reputation and everything else on the line. I want truth and justice.
and further people to not be hurt for things to be different in the future. To bring it into the light and almost alchemise some of that evil stuff that went on and take back the power. World of Secrets Season 6, the Bad Guru. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Was this transcript helpful?
Recent Episodes
Is Trump’s ‘flood the media’ strategy working?

Americast
Panel explores how White House is 'flooding the zone' with news during Trump's presidency and its impact on Democrats and media for scrutinizing each story, what to ignore, and success of this strategy.
January 31, 2025
The Washington DC Plane Crash

Americast
An air collision near Washington DC is suspected to have killed 67 people. Recovery operation continues while cause remains unknown, as reported by Sarah Smith and Anthony Zurcher.
January 30, 2025
Why does Trump want government workers to quit?

Americast
In the Americast podcast episode, it's discussed that many federal employees have received an email about resigning and receiving pay for 8 months due to Trump reshaping the federal government; Karoline Leavitt becomes the youngest White House press secretary at age 27, her first briefing was announced with changes to the operation of the briefing room, and she sparred with reporters on various issues.
January 29, 2025
Americanswers! Did Elon Musk make a Nazi salute?

Americast
President Trump could deploy thousands of troops to build barriers at the US-Mexico border, dismissed January 6 attacks as 'very minor incidents', issued a pardon for the founder of an illegal online drug marketplace, and Elon Musk's arm gesture remains controversial, deemed possibly a Nazi salute.
January 23, 2025

Ask this episodeAI Anything

Hi! You're chatting with Americast AI.
I can answer your questions from this episode and play episode clips relevant to your question.
You can ask a direct question or get started with below questions -
What was the main topic of the podcast episode?
Summarise the key points discussed in the episode?
Were there any notable quotes or insights from the speakers?
Which popular books were mentioned in this episode?
Were there any points particularly controversial or thought-provoking discussed in the episode?
Were any current events or trending topics addressed in the episode?
Sign In to save message history