Politics Weekly America

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson are all still putting on a brave face and trying to convince Republicans they would be a better president than Donald Trump. With the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary fast approaching, polling suggests the odds are against them, but does any campaign have a chance? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bill Kristol, editor-at-large at the Bulwark

The Politics Weekly America team are taking a break. So this week, we?re looking back at one of our favourite episodes of the year. From August: Jonathan Freedland sits down with Rev Al Sharpton to discuss why he believes Martin Luther King Jr?s ?I have a dream? speech has been abused by some on the right, why he is still fighting for police reform, and how James Brown was so influential on his life

The Politics Weekly America team are taking a break. So for the next two weeks, we?re looking back at a couple of our favourite episodes of the year. From August: Jonathan Freedland and Amanda Marcotte try to figure it out why rightwing politicians and pundits took such a disliking to Barbie, Greta Gerwig?s summer blockbuster. They look at what the outrage can tell us about how the Republicans will campaign in 2024

In a shock decision overnight, the Colorado supreme court ruled that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for the White House again in that state. The 4-3 decision cited a rarely used provision of the US constitution, arguing that Trump should be disqualified for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. So what does it all mean? Will this historic decision actually prevent Trump from running? Or, like most hurdles the Republican frontrunner faces, will it just bolster his appeal? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Devika Bhat about how this might play out in 2024

Last week, Donald Trump was asked whether he would use power as retribution if he were to win a second term in the White House. The former US president responded that he would in fact abuse his power ? but only on his first day in office. He followed up by saying: ?After that, I?m not a dictator.? So what would a Trump presidency 2.0 look like? Would a second term be as catastrophic as the critics believe? And what would be the impact of a Trump sequel not only on the US but on the world? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic, whose latest issue is dedicated entirely to a single topic: If Trump wins

This week, Joe Biden admitted that he probably would not be running for re-election if Donald Trump was not likely to be the Republican candidate. The thoughts of a rehashed presidential race in 2024 has many Americans dreading next year, and some are looking to third-party or independent candidates as potential alternatives. So why hasn?t an outsider been more successful in the past? Is running independently of the Democrat and Republican parties a legitimate offer to voters, or nothing more than an election spoiler? And if the answer is the latter, why should the president be the one to worry? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Nitish Pahwa of Slate about why Democrats are worried that Biden could suffer the same fate as Hilary Clinton in 2016

The UN?s Cop28 climate conference has kicked off in Dubai this week ? but one notable absence will be the US president. Joe Biden pledged to make the fight against climate breakdown one of his top priorities when he took office, and news of his absence from this year?s gathering has frustrated activists. Jonathan Freedland speaks to one such activist, Jerome Foster, who in 2021 became the youngest adviser to the White House when he was asked to sit on its environmental justice advisory council

Henry Kissinger, the former secretary of state under Richard Nixon, died at the age of 100 this week. One of the most famous and powerful diplomats of the 20th century, some will remember him as the person who won a Nobel peace prize for his work negotiating the end of the Vietnam war. For others, he will forever be known as a war criminal. So what is Kissinger?s legacy? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to journalist and author Michael Goldfarb about how Kissinger came to be one of the most powerful people of the 20th century, and why back in the 1970s he had the opportunity to criticise the man to his face ? and chose not to. Does he regret staying quiet?

This week marked 60 years since President John F Kennedy was shot dead as he travelled in the back of a car through the streets of Dallas, Texas. From the moment the news broke, people had their theories about what happened. So why did the assassination of JFK spawn dozens of conspiracy theories that have persisted for decades? Is there a reason why Americans are quick to believe their government is covering something up? And despite multiple examples of when conspiracies turn dangerous, are politicians today, including Kennedy?s own nephew, using conspiracy theories for political gain? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Prof Kathryn Olmsted, author of Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11

On Wednesday, the UN security council voted to back a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza and the release of all the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. The US and the UK abstained on the resolution, saying they could not give their full support because it did not explicitly criticise Hamas. Joe Biden is facing growing calls to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. In a letter presented to him on Tuesday, more than 500 political appointees and staff members criticised the extent of the president?s support for Israel. But what about the communities directly involved? What do Arab-American and Jewish American voters think of Biden?s response since the 7 October attacks? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Dr James Zogby, of the Arab American Institute, and Jodi Rudoren, of The Forward, to discuss it

Tuesday was a big night for the Democrats, with big wins in some unexpected places: Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky. Abortion rights advocates were celebrating, their hopes lifted ahead of next year?s presidential election, despite some gloomy polls for Joe Biden. Republicans, meanwhile, like the presidential candidates who took to the debate stage on Wednesday, are reeling. So what do the results mean for 2024? Should Republicans rethink their message on abortion? And why is it that despite Donald Trump spending the week in court on trial for fraud, it?s Joe Biden who?s suffering in the polls? Jonathan Freedland is joined by Tara Setmayer and Simon Rosenberg to discuss it all.

The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, faces the tough task of uniting a fractured Republican party, and preventing a quick-approaching government shutdown. Jonathan Freedland and Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post discuss what we have learned about his approach to the job from his first week with the gavel. Plus, as we prepare for next week?s off-year elections, Jonathan speaks to Carter Sherman about Virginia ? the last remaining southern state without extensive abortion restrictions. They look at why results there could prove pivotal for Republican chances in 2024

Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana became the 56th speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Democrats immediately criticised his support for Donald Trump?s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Most Republicans will just be happy the speaker selection debacle is over for now, but there may be some in the party, such Mitt Romney, who wish events had taken a different direction. A senator for Utah, Romney has spent the last few years angering his Trump-supporting colleagues by voting to convict the former president in both of his impeachment trials and speaking out against him on several occasions. He announced he was retiring in September, and this week his biography hits the shelves, detailing his life in politics and how he has fallen out of love with the Republican party of today. Jonathan Freedland talks to McKay Coppins, a staff writer at the Atlantic and author of Romney: A Reckoning.

This week, Joe Biden travelled to Israel ? becoming the first US president to visit the country at war. He set out to show United States support for Israel, ease the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza, win the freedom of hostages held by Hamas, and prevent a wider regional conflict that might draw in the US. So with stakes this high, how did he perform? And what does this mean for Biden politically? This week Jonathan Freedland is joined by Julian Borger, the Guardian?s world affairs editor, who is in Jerusalem and has been following the trip and the reactions to it.

In a TV speech on Tuesday Joe Biden pledged unwavering support for Israel after Hamas militants killed hundreds of civilians including US nationals on Saturday. More than 900 people in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory airstrikes by Israel, which has enforced a ?blockade? of the area, sealing off 2.3 million people from food, fuel and other supplies. Despite some Democrats calling for de-escalation of the situation, Biden said Israel not only had the right to defend itself, but a ?duty? to do so. So how else might the US be able to influence the war? As some at home use this moment to blame Biden, what can his administration do to keep his foreign policy plans on track? This week, Jonathan Freedland is joined by Aaron David Miller ? who served for two decades as a state department analyst, negotiator and adviser on Middle East issues ? to discuss what the US president should do next

In a public advisory, written back in the summer, Dr Vivek Murthy warned of a growing ?epidemic of loneliness and isolation?, which he believes is not just destined to affect the physical and mental health of individuals but could end up being detrimental to democracy itself. ?The nation?s doctor? speaks to Jonathan Freedland about why some bad faith actors are choosing to manipulate this problem and how political leaders on all sides can address it before it gets worse

On Tuesday night Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker of the US House of Representatives to be removed from his job. Eight House Republicans joined every Democrat in the chamber to wrest the speaker?s gavel from McCarthy?s hand. For now, McCarthy?s fellow Republican Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is the acting speaker, but the House will most likely vote next week on who will take over permanently. The Guardian US Washington bureau chief, David Smith, joins Jonathan Freedland to discuss the fallout from this unprecedented event, and the various possibilities for McCarthy?s replacement

Wednesday was debate night for almost all the Republican candidates for the White House, but once again, the man who chose not to turn up was stealing the headlines for yet another legal issue that went against him. Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley and the others had ample opportunity to bring up the fact that a judge in New York ruled that Donald Trump had committed fraud for years while building a real estate empire. But they didn?t focus on that or any of the other court cases set to interrupt his campaign next year. So what did they all have to say? Did they manage to steal any of the limelight? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bill Kristol, the former chief of staff to the vice-president Dan Quayle and top conservative commentator, to get his take on the Republican field

Both Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, and Joe Biden, the US president, reiterated their calls for unity against Russia this week at the UN general assembly in New York. In Washington DC, however, Republicans and Democrats in the House hold very different views on the war ? how to help, who to help, and which allies they should team up with to try and bring an end to it all. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker to talk through a question many in Europe are trying to work out: what happens if Biden loses in 2024?

Despite an apparent lack of evidence that Joe Biden profited from the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, announced on Tuesday that he was launching a formal impeachment inquiry into the president. Many suspect he was pushed to make the move to appease some far-right members of the Republican party, who have threatened to tank his deal to avert a government shutdown by the end of the month if he does not meet their list of demands. So, will Joe Biden be impeached? Is this just an act of political revenge for Donald Trump? Could it end up backfiring on McCarthy? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post about what happens next

Afghanistan, Ukraine, abortion rights ? what was Joe Biden thinking during some of the toughest points of his presidency so far? Who did he rely on for advice? How did his morals play a role? Does he regret anything? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Franklin Foer of the Atlantic about his new book, The Last Politician: Inside Joe Biden?s White House and the Struggle for America?s Future

He?s an entrepreneur, a former libertarian, a lover of rap, and has been labelled ?Trump 2.0? by some. He?s also campaigning to be the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election. So why is he polling well despite angering many? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Charlie Sykes of The Bulwark about Ramaswamy?s credentials, his campaign style and his chances of winning

Republican presidential candidates took to the stage this week to try to convince voters they should be the one to take on Joe Biden in 2024. There was one notable exception ? but Donald Trump was still inescapable for his opponents. Joan E Greve speaks to the former GOP communications director Tara Setmayer about everyone?s performance on the night, and whether these debates even matter when the missing frontrunner is so far ahead in the polls

Until five months ago, no former US president had ever faced criminal charges. As of Monday evening, Donald Trump is facing 91 felony counts. The 97-page indictment handed down by a Fulton county grand jury in Georgia includes 41 criminal counts, 13 of them against Trump. This case may represent the biggest legal peril for Trump to date and it could see him behind bars, no matter who wins the presidential election next year. Joan E Greve and Sam Levine discuss every possible outcome

When and why did so-called food deserts first emerge? How has the fast food industry become so powerful? And despite the growing rate of obesity in the US, why are politicians not stepping in to improve nutrition? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Dr Eduardo J Gómez of Lehigh University, on how his new book Junk Food Politics taught him about the power of lobbyists

On 26 August, Rev Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and other civil rights activists will commemorate the 1963 march on Washington, which was organised to advocate for civil and economic rights for African Americans. This week, Jonathan Freedland sits down with Sharpton to discuss why he believes Martin Luther King Jr?s ?I have a dream? speech has been abused by some on the right, why he is still fighting for police reform, and how James Brown was so influential on his life

Moviegoers flocked to cinemas last weekend for the highly anticipated release of two of the year?s biggest movies ? Christopher Nolan?s Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig?s Barbie. But conservatives have slated Barbie for being, among other things, too ?woke?, anti-men and even ? Chinese propaganda. Is the outrage real or is it just another example of politics employing a culture war to rally the base? Jonathan Freedland and Amanda Marcotte try to figure it out

On Tuesday, Donald Trump said he had received a letter suggesting he was about to be indicted by special counsel Jack Smith in connection with the criminal investigation into the Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. It would be his third criminal indictment. Jonathan Freedland asks Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, if the pile of indictments could grow too large even for Trump ? and his voters. Plus: who is Glenn Youngkin, the governor of Virginia? If Republicans do decide Trump is too badly damaged, might they turn to him?

Last month we learned that President Biden?s son, Hunter Biden, will plead guilty to two counts of misdemeanour tax crimes and accept a deal with prosecutors related to a separate illegal firearm possession charge. Republicans and rightwing media outlets jumped at the chance to discuss the case, but liberals have been much quieter on the issue. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan about why many on the left are quick to analyse the legal woes of the former president, but pay much less attention to the current president?s son

As the dust settled on last week?s judgments from the conservative-led bench, progressives voiced their anger at what they see as a lack of determination from the Biden administration to counteract the supreme court and its most extreme decisions. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US columnist Moira Donegan about what progressives want Joe Biden to do now

As this year?s summer session draws to a close, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Michael Waldman, whose new book The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America explains why the court?s decision to put an end to affirmative action in colleges, and recent scandals surrounding conservative justices and their billionaire friends suggest the highest US court could use some ethics training

In April this year, Robert F Kennedy Jr, nephew of former President Kennedy, announced his own bid for the presidency running as a Democrat. Recently, supporters of Joe Biden couldn?t ignore RFK Jr?s headline-grabbing appearances on two controversial podcasts - and the news that among Democrats he has an approval rating of 20%. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks with author and presenter Mehdi Hasan about RFK Jr?s popularity among Republicans and whether Joe Biden should engage with his main rival in the presidential race.

On Tuesday, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, becoming the first former US president to face federal criminal charges. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to a former Department of Justice prosecutor, Ankush Khardori, about the potential for further political violence in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election as Trump spouts baseless claims against Joe Biden

Mike Pence, Chris Christie and Doug Burgum all entered the already large pool of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination this week. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Charlie Sykes of the Bulwark about the new entrants to the Republican presidential contest - and how a new Trump indictment could affect the race.

On Wednesday night the House debated legislation to increase the US debt limit until January 2025, before passing the bill by a vote of 314 to 117, in a rare showing of bipartisan action. It then narrowly passed the Senate late on Thursday night, heading straight to Biden?s desk to sign just days before the 5 June deadline. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the congressional reporter for the Washington Post, Marianna Sotomayor. They discuss whether Biden and McCarthy are right to see this as a win, or have they failed by simply giving into the demands of the other side

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina formally launched his presidential campaign on Monday, throwing his hat into the Republican ring. Scott leans heavily into his Christian identity and has vowed to sign legislation if he becomes president that would endear himself to conservatives, but his chances of success appear slim. Yet he?s decided to present a more optimistic view of the US in his campaign ? an opposing tactic to most Republicans, including his main challenger ? Donald Trump. This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to political historian Leah Wright Rigueur and politics reporter for The State Joseph Bustos about Scott?s chances of rallying the Republican base

This week, Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that would exempt him from Florida?s ?resign-to-run? law, so he won?t have to give up his office in order to run for president. He also continued his attack on teachers, signing into law a ban on the state?s public colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Democratic state senator Shevrin Jones, the first LGBTQ+ black person to serve in the Florida legislature about the likelihood of a DeSantis run in 2024. Plus, teacher Don Falls explains why he?s suing the governor over the Stop-Woke Act

On Tuesday, a jury in New York found that the former president Donald Trump sexually abused magazine writer E Jean Carroll in the 1990s and then defamed her by branding her a liar. On Wednesday, Trump made the same baseless claims about Carroll that led to him losing the case ? this time, live on CNN to millions of viewers. This week, Jonathan Freedland talks to Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan about the fallout from the E Jean Carroll case. The pair discuss how the media should cover a 2024 presidential candidate who has been impeached twice, indicted by a federal court, and who is now legally defined as a sexual predator

At the end of March, Russian authorities arrested Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, on espionage charges. He is still in a Moscow prison more than a month later, and at the weekend President Biden promised he was ?working like hell? to bring Gershkovich, and others detained in Russia, home. This week Jonathan Freedland speaks to Polina Ivanova, a reporter for the Financial Times and friend of Gershkovich?s, who breaks down the politics behind his detention

Joe Biden finally launched his much anticipated re-election bid for 2024 this week. For the next year, news networks will cover extensively his campaign, and those of candidates running against him, but there will be an interesting shift in who exactly will be leading that coverage. In surprise news anchor exits, Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox News and Don Lemon from CNN, and there are rumours that Carlson might even run for president himself. Jonathan Freedland is joined by the political analyst and pollster Cornell Belcher to discuss the headlines from a big week in US politics

Kathleen McLaughlin has a rare chronic illness and needs regular treatments using people?s blood plasma. She started researching the US blood plasma industry a decade ago and has written a book, Blood Money, about what it says about class, race and inequality. This week, she speaks to Joan E Greve about what she?s learned about the for-profit blood plasma industry ? How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

Lauren Gambino is joined by Becca Andrews in Nashville to discuss why the ousting of two Democratic lawmakers from the state Capitol in Nashville last week sparked outrage across the US

Next week, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton will arrive in Northern Ireland to join commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. Clinton is now celebrated as one of the key players behind the agreement, but he didn?t do it alone. It took years of background efforts ? of secret meetings, discreet lobbying and high-risk shadow diplomacy, by people whose names we?ve never known ? to convince the United States to get involved. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to one of those people, Niall O?Dowd, who tells the extraordinary story of how he built a secret channel between Clinton and the Irish republican movement

On Tuesday, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records for alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential election. Joan E Greve speaks to the New York editor for Politico, Julia Marsh, amid a busy week for Manhattan

Voters in the swing state Wisconsin will head to the polls on 4 April to determine who will replace Justice Patience Roggensack on the state supreme court. It is down to the final two ? a liberal and a conservative ? and the outcome will determine majority control of the court for at least the next two years, including during the presidential election in 2024. It is expected to be the most expensive election of its kind in history. Joan E Greve speaks to Alice Herman and Sam Levine about what is at stake

Last weekend, Donald Trump predicted he would be arrested. This has yet to happen. So why did he bring attention to a hush money case that could put him in handcuffs soon? Jonathan Freedland and Hugo Lowell discuss why Donald Trump might still face criminal charges next week, and why it might actually benefit his campaign

Twenty years ago, as George Bush and Tony Blair advocated the need to invade Iraq, Jonathan Freedland and Peter Beinart were on opposite sides of the argument. This week, Peter tells Jonathan why he now regrets supporting the war

Reports suggest Joe Biden will announce his intention to run for a second term in the White House in 2024. Jonathan Freedland and Robert Reich discuss whether or not he is the best candidate the Democrats can put forward

Jonathan Freedland and Tara Setmayer discuss why some high profile Republicans ? and even Fox News ? are avoiding this year?s gathering at the Conservative Political Action Conference

This week marks one year since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, and for the first time since the war began, Joe Biden landed in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian president, Volodymr Zelenskiy, in what some are calling one of the most important trips by a US president since the end of the cold war. This week, Joan E Greve speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about the significance of Biden?s trip to Europe and why Republicans at home are criticising him for it