Matt Frei

speaker

718 appearances 13 recordings 3 series first heard Apr 2026 last heard 17 Aug

Matt Frei’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 13 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 6.

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Today with David McCullagh · What is Trump doing to the world? · 24 Apr 2026 podcast

But let's say this continues for another few weeks or months.

Will America then step in and force the oil companies to lower the price of gas at the petrol pump for their own consumers?

This would be an intervention in the market that even Donald Trump hasn't contemplated so far.

But at the same time, he knows that this kind of inflation, whether it's food inflation or petrol inflation, will really damage the Republicans in the midterm elections.

He says that today, David.

I mean, yesterday, last week, he was in a terrible rush.

I mean, you have to, you know, every day he changes his tune slightly.

But he's clearly realized that the Iranians are not about to back down.

And therefore, you know, with his secondary blockade in place, with the call that went out yesterday or the order to the Navy to shoot and kill any boats that are sowing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, you know, I mean, there is a potential here for real military escalation.

But also the Americans realize this is not about to end.

They're going to hunker down.

And meanwhile, the rest of us ringside observers in this war of choice are feeling the pain, whether you're in the Philippines or in London.

Well, I think there is, but it depends on which side of Trump's brain you're talking about.

I mean, there's a side of Trump's brain that says, you know, that is the optimistic side.

Let's open the strait.

You know, let's do a deal with the Iranians.

And the deal, by the way, that, you know, the best case scenario deal that is possible, although, you know, it's nowhere near being signed, is rather similar to the deal that Obama reached with the Iranians after years of negotiations.

So let's say the optimistic side of Trump's brain says that's what we're aiming for.

Then there's the other side of Trump's brain that's slightly more gung-ho that says, well, if they don't sign this deal immediately, if I can't get my results by breakfast time, I will threaten them with civilizational extinction.

And the trouble is that all this takes place not behind closed doors, but in the open forum of social media.

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