Politics Weekly America

On the first day of his second term in office, Donald Trump suggested he wanted the US to ‘expand’ its territory. Few thought he could actually mean taking Canada and making it the 51st state. But could he actually do that? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the reporter Leyland Cecco in Toronto about the possibility of the two North American allies merging, what Canadians think about it, and why this existential threat has had an impact on Canadian national politics Send your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/politcspodus

Between Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US could take control of the Gaza Strip, forcibly removing Palestinians from their homes, and Elon Musk’s continued efforts to dismantle the US federal government, the critics are lining up. The Democrat senator Andy Kim is one of them. But what can he, his party, or anybody else do to stop the president and his non-elected billionaire pal? He speaks to Jonathan Freedland

Less than two weeks into his second term as president, Donald Trump has signed several executive orders restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. But, as happened during his first term, organisations representing the community are fighting back. This week, Joan E Greve explores how this marginalised minority are planning to push back against such strong political will. How far could this conservative administration go?

In the first few days of his presidency, people tried to challenge and reason with Donald Trump – suing his administration, questioning his decisions to reporters and pleading to him for mercy. But does Trump care what his critics think? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about what we can expect from a leader who goes it alone

The cold forced the speeches indoors but it didn’t stop Donald Trump from announcing a flurry of executive orders dismantling much of the work of his predecessor. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the US commentator Molly Jong-Fast about what a virtual declaration of war against an American ally, a promise to “expand America’s territory” and a couple of declarations of emergency say about what we can expect from the next four years

After 15 months of war, a ceasefire deal in Gaza has been reached. In his farewell address to the nation, Joe Biden tried to convince the US public that it was just one of many successes he’d had in the White House. But is that how his time in office will be remembered? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the author Franklin Foer about Biden’s legacy

This week we learned that Meta is dropping third-party fact-checking, the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, spiked a cartoon that made fun of him and other tech leaders kneeling before a statue of Donald Trump, and just about all the big Silicon Valley companies are donating $1m to Trump’s inauguration fund. Jonathan Freedland and Blake Montgomery look at who will hold the power between big tech and the White House over the next four years

Four years after the 6 January attack on the Capitol, Donald Trump has promised he will pardon hundreds of his supporters who were convicted over their roles in it. This comes after Joe Biden gave an unconditional pardon to his own son, Hunter, for federal crimes of which he had been convicted. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Kimberly Wehle, a constitutional law expert, about whether the presidential pardon has become nothing more than a perk of the job to be used for a president’s personal convenience

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, has died. He was 100 years old. Today, Jonathan Freedland talks to Jimmy Carter’s biographer, Jonathan Alter, about why history should look favourably on the peanut farmer turned politician

The US president-elect’s ties with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and boxing, as well as World Wrestling Entertainment, might tell us about the kinds of sport he appreciates. But then there’s golf … As the US prepares to host the World Cup and the Olympics during Trump’s presidency, Jonathan Freedland and Karim Zidan walk through his history with sport to see if it explains more about him

As Donald Trump’s nominees woo Senate Republicans to secure their confirmation, Joan E Greve and Hugo Lowell look at who could be in charge of the major government departments and what they’ll have to do to keep the president happy for the next four years

Jonathan Freedland speaks to Prof Kathryn Olmsted, author of Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11 about why the assassination of JFK spawned dozens of conspiracy theories that have persisted for decades? Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from the archive.

Journalist and author Michael Goldfarb, talks to Jonathan Freedland about the legacy of the former secretary of state under Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from the archive.

Last week on this podcast, James Carville blamed identity politics and ‘woke’ theory for the Democrats losing the election. Waleed Shahid, a former senior adviser to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Uncommitted campaign, believes this argument is lazy. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Waleed about why the left is not to blame for Kamala Harris losing the election, and why the truth of who is might be uncomfortable for the Democratic party

Everyone in US politics has an opinion on why the Democrats lost the election, and finger-pointing within the party is rife. As the debate rages, Jonathan Freedland will be speaking to various experts about what the party got wrong – and how it can bounce back. This week, he meets James Carville, the veteran political strategist who helped get Bill Clinton elected twice

Donald Trump has shocked Democrats and Republicans by announcing far–right congressman Matt Gaetz as his pick for the role of attorney general. As the nation’s chief law enforcement officer, he would direct the government’s legal positions on critical issues, including abortion, civil rights and first amendment cases. Gaetz has himself been investigated for sex-trafficking and sexual misconduct, although never charged. What else do we know about congressman Matt Gaetz and has his nomination got any chance of being voted through the Senate? Jonathan Freedland is joined this week by Chris Michael, the Guardian US live news editor

Donald Trump has won the presidency more comprehensively than expected. Republicans have flipped the Senate. However, the Democrats are still holding out hope that they can take control of the House of Representatives and prevent the president-elect from having legislative carte blanche. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Washington Post reporter Marianna Sotomayor about what happens if Democrats are not victorious in the lower chamber

In the end it was not even that close. Jonathan Freedland is joined by Susan Glasser and Nikki McCann Ramirez to discuss what went wrong for Kamala Harris as Donald Trump wins a second presidential term – and for the first time a convicted felon is elected to the White House

Jonathan Freedland crosses several state lines ahead of 5 November, following the candidates and their surrogates, as they try everything to pick up the votes to swing the election in their favour

The Harris campaign is making a special effort to reach out to young voters. So how important will they be? The Guardian democracy reporter Alice Herman travels to rallies, campuses and college bars in Wisconsin to get a sense of whether young voters can swing this election

Why is the tech billionaire owner of X spending millions on helping the Trump campaign? What does he get out of it? What’s at stake for him if Kamala Harris wins on 5 November? Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian US democracy reporter focused on misinformation, Rachel Leingang

The Harris campaign, which has been praised for how it has managed to reach out to women, is now having to balance their attention and pitch some policies that would appeal to men. But is it too little too late? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Richard Reeves, the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, and Gloria Oladipo, a breaking news reporter for Guardian US, about why men could decide this year’s election and why both campaigns might be taking them for granted

The former speaker of the House of Representatives tells Jonathan Freedland why she thinks Donald Trump is a fascist, why she still hasn’t spoken to Joe Biden since helping to force him from the race, and her fears for November’s election

It’s less than a month before the US presidential election. Donald Trump is pushing conspiracy theories over the federal response to hurricanes battering several states, and denying he gave Covid-19 test machines to Vladimir Putin during the pandemic. Joe Biden is in talks with Benjamin Netanyahu over growing tension in the Middle East. Kamala Harris rattled through a media blitz, with some criticising her campaign strategy. And Melania Trump has written about being pro-abortion and pro-immigration in her new memoir. Jonathan Freedland and the veteran political strategist David Axelrod discuss what all of this means for the election

Whoever gets into the White House, Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, they will need the two chambers of Congress to align with their values to get a lot of what they want to achieve done. And the race for the Senate is really hotting up. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor for the Cook Political Report, about whether Senate Democrats can defend their narrow control over the upper chamber, and what happens if the person who wins the White House doesn’t see eye-to-eye with those in power in Congress

Joan E Greve and Leah Wright Rigueur discuss JD Vance and Tim Walz’s clash on the debate stage in New York City on Tuesday night. Although Walz gave a solid performance, it was described as underwhelming, while Vance attempted to reset his image and get on the front foot. Will this debate have moved the needle at all? And as the situation in the Middle East escalates, where do Trump and Harris stand on foreign policy?

Polling out this week suggests Kamala Harris could be outperforming Donald Trump in the crucial sun-belt states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina. So what happens if these polls are right? Can Donald Trump win the presidency without them? This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to George Chidi, politics and democracy reporter for Guardian US, about how these states could be be make or break for either candidate

With six weeks to go before the election, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the author Sasha Abramsky about the prospect of a second January 6 attack should the former president refuse to accept the election outcome

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump met face to face for the first time on a debate stage in Philadelphia. So who won the showdown? What did we learn about what they would do in the Oval Office? And will it really change anything come election day in November? Jonathan Freedland and Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone discuss it all

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will meet face to face on the debate stage next Tuesday. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Paul Begala – who helped Al Gore to prepare for his 2000 debate against George W Bush – about what the 2024 candidates will be doing to prepare. What can they do to increase their chances of coming out on top, and will this debate be as election-defining as the last?

At the end of July, the TV news anchor turned rightwing politician Kari Lake won the Republican Senate primary in Arizona. She will face Democrat Ruben Gallego in November. So how will the Trump-inspired election denier do? Where does Kari Lake fit in with today’s Republican party? And will her presence help or hinder Trump in that all-important border swing state? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Elaine Godfrey of the Atlantic to find out more about the Senate hopeful

Late on Thursday night in Chicago, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be her party’s presidential candidate, ending the week’s Democratic National Convention on a high. The southern bureau chief for Guardian US, Olly Laughland, hears from senior political reporter Lauren Gambino about what she saw in that Chicago convention centre this week, and whether or not the Harris campaign can maintain this momentum until November

Not so long ago, Donald Trump was riding high in the polls; the mood music was positive for his presidential campaign. Then Joe Biden dropped out of the race. After months of campaigning against his old foe, Trump now seems to be missing him and struggling to come up with a fresh attack against his new opponent, Kamala Harris. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about Trump’s challenges as he tries to turn things around after a less than stellar month on the campaign

The de facto Democratic nominee for US president has picked her running mate, and it is the Minnesota governor Tim Walz. He’s called Donald Trump and JD Vance ‘weird’, but will he be able to pull in enough support for Harris? Jonathan Freedland is joined by the political commentator Molly Jong-Fast to discuss whether Harris made and the right pick, and if the Republicans should be worried

This week, Paul Dans, the leader of the controversial Project 2025, resigned and signalled in a company email that work on it was ‘winding down’. The project had become a manifesto of rightwing policies that would serve as a guide for the next Republican president. However, there is a significant stumbling block: Donald Trump wants nothing to do with it. Joan E Greve and Rachel Leingang discuss whether this marks the beginning of the end of Project 2025

Kamala Harris enjoyed a brief period of excitement as Democrats rallied behind her presidential bid ahead of November’s election. Only a few days in, however, she is being asked questions over her stance on Israel and the war in Gaza. With fewer than 100 days left, Joan Greve speaks to the former adviser to Barack Obama and co-host of Pod Save The World, Ben Rhodes, about the state of play for November 2024

Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race after weeks of pressure to quit. Four months before Americans head to the polls, Biden has endorsed his vice-president Kamala Harris to be the new nominee. Jonathan Freedland is joined by politics reporter Nikki McCann Ramírez to discuss what happens next. Will Democrats rally around Harris, who has already had endorsements from fellow Democrats, and does she have what it takes to beat Republican nominee Donald Trump?

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend, the Republican national convention gathered in Milwaukee this week to welcome him as the party’s presidential nominee. But not all eyes were on the former president. Standing next to him, above the chanting crowd, was his newly appointed candidate for vice-president, JD Vance. It was a surprising move for the Ohio senator and author of Hillbilly Elegy, who once described himself as a ‘never Trumper’ and his new boss as ‘America’s Hitler’. So what’s behind this transformation, and what’s in it for Trump? To find out, Jonathan Freedland is joined this week by Tara Setmayer, a former Republican congressional communications director

On Saturday night in London, word came through that Donald Trump had been injured during one of his rallies in Pennsylvania. A shooter, who killed another person and seriously injured others, was killed by Secret Service agents. As the US comes to grips with what just happened, Jonathan Freedland and Sidney Blumenthal discuss what this tragedy means for the former president’s image with less than five months until the election

Back in December Donald Trump said the quiet bit out loud when he announced he wanted to be a dictator – if only on day one. Looking around the world in the 21st century, autocracy is getting a new lease of life – authoritarian regimes are working together, and the danger to democracies like the United States is getting closer to home. This week, Jonathan Freedland is joined by the political commentator and author Anne Applebaum to look at what the US should be doing to tackle the growing threat of autocracy

As Americans celebrate Independence Day, Democrats are scrambling after a pretty disastrous week for the party – and arguably US-democracy. On Monday, the US supreme court handed Donald Trump a victory by ruling that former presidents are entitled to some degree of immunity from criminal prosecution. Stemming from this, the judge overseeing the former president’s criminal case in New York postponed his sentencing from next week to 18 September. This falls against the backdrop of Joe Biden trying to convince the public and members of his party that he is still fit to run for president. This week, Jonathan Freedland and Paul Begala, a former adviser to Bill Clinton, discuss how the Democrats can regroup

Donald Trump and Joe Biden took to the debate stage in Atlanta, Georgia, for their first head to head of this year’s presidential campaign. Jonathan Freedland and Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone look at who did better on the night

In this year’s presidential election, there is hardly a more divisive issue than immigration. Earlier this month, President Biden signed an executive order to temporarily limit asylum claims on the southern border, but just two weeks later he announced a citizenship pathway for hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses. In his speech, he said: ‘I’m not interested in playing politics with the border or immigration; I’m interested in fixing it.’ As he faces accusations of being both too hard and too soft on the issue, will his political gamble pay off? Jonathan Freedland is joined this week by Dara Lind, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council

On Tuesday, Hunter Biden was found guilty on all three criminal charges relating to buying a handgun while being a user of crack cocaine. His father – the president – was firm in his support for his son, but also in his belief in the justice system. After Donald Trump was convicted in a New York court last month, rightwing pundits and Republican politicians were lining up to accuse the Biden administration of rigging the justice system for political advantage. Yet now the courts have convicted Biden’s own son. Jonathan Freedland is joined by Susan Glasser of the New Yorker to look at how the right has decided to spin this latest historical conviction.

Reports surfaced a few weeks ago that the supreme court justice Samuel Alito had flown an upside-down US flag outside his home days after insurrectionists flew similar flags when they stormed the Capitol on 6 January 2021. Alito has blamed his wife, saying he wanted her to take down the flag down after a dispute with neighbours. Democrats want Alito to recuse himself from any supreme court case involving 6 January, but he has refused to do so. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Amanda Marcotte of Salon about whether this latest scandal is proof that the supreme court is incapable of being unbiased

Donald Trump has made history again, becoming the first US president, sitting or former, to be a convicted criminal. Late on Thursday a New York jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. Within minutes of leaving the courtroom, Trump said he would appeal. On a historic night for American politics, Jonathan Freedland and Sam Levine look at what the verdict will mean – both for Trump himself, and for the election in November

Last week it was announced that Donald Trump and Joe Biden would finally hit the debate stage for a rematch. While voters contemplate which of the pair stands to lose more by going head to head, another candidate is working hard to try to join them – Robert F Kennedy Jr. The controversial independent candidate doesn’t even have the backing of his famous political family, but he’s polling nationally stronger than any third-party candidate has in decades. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to political analyst David Corn about which of the two frontrunners should be more worried by RFK Jr’s presidential campaign

This week, it was Donald Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen’s turn to take the stand in the hush-money trial in New York. Cohen walked the jury through the steps he says he took to make any potential story that would damage Trump’s image go away, in advance of the 2016 election. The defence is trying to chip away at Cohen’s credibility, to sow seeds of doubt among the jury listening to his testimony. So how did he do? Jonathan Freedland asks former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori what he makes of the prosecution’s star witness so far

It was the moment Donald Trump was dreading. The former president could only sit and watch as the adult film actor Stormy Daniels told her version of events from an alleged sexual encounter they had in 2006. Prosecutors say that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen shuttled a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, to keep her from talking to anyone about her alleged encounter with Trump. So how bad was Daniels’ testimony for the presumptive GOP candidate? Jonathan Freedland and the political commentator Molly Jong-Fast discuss an extraordinary day in a Manhattan courtroom

This week, Donald Trump gave an interview to Time magazine confirming the fears many have about what he would do were he to win back the White House in November. He found time to lay out his vision of a Trump presidency 2.0 despite having to appear in a New York court for a case that this week cost the former president even more money. On top of that, a potential Trump vice-president admitted she killed her puppy, Republicans attempted to remove the party’s House speaker – again – and a wave of Gaza protests took place on US university campuses. Jonathan Freedland and Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone magazine discuss what it all means for the 2024 election