Politics Weekly America

‘I said his name... I hope I don’t burn in hell’: Nancy Pelosi

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Hurricanes, the Middle East, and Covid-19 tests to Putin

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s less than a month before the US presidential election. Donald Trump is pushing conspiracy theories over the federal response to hurricanes batt...

Can Republicans flip the Senate in November?

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Underwhelming Walz and a more presentable Vance: the VP debate

02 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The swing states in the south that could sway the election

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Polling out this week suggests Kamala Harris could be outperforming Donald Trump in the crucial sun-belt states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North ...

What will Donald Trump do if he loses the election?

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 shoul...

Rally sizes, abortion and eating cats: the Trump and Harris debate

11 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Debate camp, role play and rival advice: Trump and Harris prepare for showdown

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Gor...

Will Kari Lake help Donald Trump win Arizona?

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Rube...

Harris reclaims patriotism in DNC acceptance speech

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Late on Thursday night in Chicago, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be her party’s presidential candidate, ending the week’s Democratic Na...

Trump and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad month

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Kamala Harris picks her running mate

06 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 an...

Is this the end of Project 2025?

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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’. ...

Harris navigates Netanyahu visit

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Biden drops out – what happens now?

21 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

JD Vance: who is Donald Trump’s new vice-president?

17 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump over the weekend, the Republican national convention gathered in Milwaukee this week to welcome him ...

Republicans elevate Trump to ‘living martyr’ status after shooting

14 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ano...

Anne Applebaum on autocracies and signs of America’s move to join them

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 worl...

Biden in trouble as Supreme Court hands Trump another big win

04 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Americans celebrate Independence Day, Democrats are scrambling after a pretty disastrous week for the party – and arguably US-democracy. On Monda...

Debate disaster: is there a way back for Joe Biden?

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Will Joe Biden’s immigration pledge convince or confuse the public?

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this year’s presidential election, there is hardly a more divisive issue than immigration. Earlier this month, President Biden signed an executiv...

Republicans struggle to respond to Hunter Biden’s conviction

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 Alito flag scandal and the supreme court’s ethics problem

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 insurrection...

Trump guilty on all counts – so what happens next?

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Who does RFK Jr pose the bigger threat to: Joe Biden or Donald Trump?

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 pai...

Donald Trump comes face to face with former fixer Michael Cohen

15 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Stormy Daniels takes the stand in Trump trial

08 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Trump trial update, terrifying Time interview and a Republican dog killer

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

White House correspondents dinner: is there still space for humour?

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner returns this Saturday for a night of comedy ‘roasting’ – where the great and the goo...

Republicans divided over abortion ahead of elections

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last week the Arizona supreme court upheld a law first passed in 1864, which, if it goes into effect, will ban almost all abortions in the state. Demo...

How badly has US diplomacy been damaged by the war in Gaza?

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Criticism of Israel’s war strategy has been growing in recent months, but last week there was a marked shift in tone from western leaders after seve...

Should Biden be worried about losing Black voters to Trump?

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Several recent polls have suggested that Donald Trump may be on course to receive more support from Black voters than any Republican presidential nomi...

Can Bibles, sneakers and social media save Trump from financial ruin?

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is embroiled in a balancing act between several criminal and civil trials, which could cost him millions of dollars and potentially even ...

America’s ‘news deserts’ and what it means for democracy

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the run-up to this year’s election, President Joe Biden has warned that American democracy is at stake. But when it comes to the democratic proce...

Can US Congress control the abuse of AI in the 2024 election?

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In January, voters in New Hampshire answered a phone call from what sounded like President Joe Biden. What turned out to be an AI-generated robocall c...

Haley finally bows out as Trump and Biden prepare for rematch

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pundits saw it as one of the least exciting Super Tuesdays in American history. Nevertheless, it gave us some answers. Nikki Haley, who surprised ever...

The Guardian’s new podcast series about AI: Black Box – prologue

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We wanted to bring you this episode from our new series, Black Box. In it, Michael Safi explores seven stories and the thread that ties them together:...

Mitch McConnell steps down, Donald Trump wins again

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sometimes there are weeks when the news just keeps on coming. This week, the longest-serving US senator, Mitch McConnell, announced he would step down...

Will Trump abandon Ukraine if he wins in November?

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two years ago this weekend, Russia invaded Ukraine. Two weeks ago, Donald Trump admitted that he would encourage Russia to ‘do whatever the hell the...

Why do so many Americans believe the Taylor Swift and Joe Biden conspiracy?

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Just under a fifth of Americans believe Taylor Swift is part of a conspiracy to help Joe Biden win re-election in November, a new poll found this week...

Who tanked the border bill?

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Illegal immigration via the US-Mexico border remains one of the most pressing problems for Congress. And yet the much anticipated $118bn border securi...

A year on from the East Palestine toxic train derailment, what’s changed?

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A year ago on 3 February a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in a small village on the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania. A few days after the der...

Haley vows to fight on despite Trump win in New Hampshire

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump has won the first in the nation primary election in New Hampshire, making it almost inevitable that we’re poised for the first rematch ...

DeSantis drops out, Trump rallies and Haley brings out Judge Judy

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two days before voters in New Hampshire were due to head to the polls, Ron DeSantis announced he was suspending his campaign to become the presidentia...

What is the future of the New Hampshire primary?

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Residents say the New Hampshire primary was once like a festival coming to town, where voters got to come face to face with big name presidential hope...

Trump wins big in Iowa as Haley and DeSantis fall short

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It took just 30 minutes for the Associated Press to project Donald Trump the big winner in Iowa. Trump’s victory was expected, but as the night went...

Who benefits as Christie ends presidential bid before Iowa caucus?

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hours before Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis took to the debate stage in Iowa on Wednesday night, more than 1,000 miles away in New Hampshire Chris Chris...

Civil war gaffes and robotic smiles: can anyone beat Trump?

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson are all still putting on a brave face and trying to convince Republicans...

Revisited: Al Sharpton on 60 years since the march on Washington

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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: Jon...

Revisited: why do Republicans hate the Barbie movie?

22 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Why did Colorado kick Donald Trump off the ballot?

20 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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-...

Would the US survive a second Trump presidency?

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 presiden...

Why are third party candidates a threat to Biden in 2024?

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Copping out? Biden skips UN climate conference

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Henry Kissinger and the man who wanted to confront him

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Did the assassination of JFK kickstart the conspiracy theory movement?

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Will Biden lose voters over response to Israel-Hamas war?

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Elections 2023: Republicans lose big on issue of abortion

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Tuesday was a big night for the Democrats, with big wins in some unexpected places: Ohio, Virginia and Kentucky. Abortion rights advocates were celebr...

Speaker Johnson, Israel, government shutdown and Virginia

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, faces the tough task of uniting a fractured Republican party, and preventi...

Will Mitt Romney be remembered as a ‘good Republican’?

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana became the 56th speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Democrats immediately criticised his support ...

A high-stakes diplomatic mission for Biden

20 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Biden’s foreign policy agenda upended by Israel-Hamas war

13 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In a TV speech on Tuesday Joe Biden pledged unwavering support for Israel after Hamas militants killed hundreds of civilians including US nationals on...

US surgeon general on why loneliness threatens democracy

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

McCarthy has been ousted as US House speaker. What happens next?

04 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Trump gets done for fraud as GOP candidates vie for attention

29 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

What happens to Ukraine if Biden loses in 2024?

22 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Both Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, and Joe Biden, the US president, reiterated their calls for unity against Russia this week at the U...

Will Joe Biden be impeached?

15 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Represen...

What was behind Joe Biden’s biggest presidential decisions?

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Will the real Vivek Ramaswamy please stand up?

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Republi...

The winners and losers of the first GOP debate

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 wa...

Georgia takes on Trump and his allies

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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-p...

The power of junk food companies in Washington

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

Al Sharpton on 60 years since the civil rights march on Washington

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On 26 August, Rev Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and other civil rights activists will commemorate the 1963 march on Washington, which was organ...

Why do Republicans hate the Barbie movie?

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Moviegoers flocked to cinemas last weekend for the highly anticipated release of two of the year’s biggest movies – Christopher Nolan’s Oppenhei...

How would a possible third indictment affect Trump’s 2024 run?

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 cri...

Will Hunter Biden damage his father’s bid for re-election?

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 pr...

How do Democrats fight back against the US supreme court?

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 determin...

Is the US supreme court bad for democracy? – podcast

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As this year’s summer session draws to a close, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Michael Waldman, whose new book The Supermajority: How the Supreme Cour...

Will Robert F Kennedy Jr cause trouble for Joe Biden?

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Will this latest Trump indictment embolden the Maga base?

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 counts related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, becoming the first former US ...

Will too many cooks spoil the Republican broth?

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Pence, Chris Christie and Doug Burgum all entered the already large pool of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination this week. Jona...

Who won the debt ceiling negotiations?

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Will Republicans get behind Tim Scott?

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina formally launched his presidential campaign on Monday, throwing his hat into the Republican ring. Scott leans heav...

Is Ron DeSantis failing before he’s even started?

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 offic...

How should the media cover sexual predator Trump?

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 defam...

What can the White House do to free Evan Gershkovich?

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Mos...

As one door opens for Biden, another shuts on Carlson

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Biden finally launched his much anticipated re-election bid for 2024 this week. For the next year, news networks will cover extensively his campai...

Who profits from blood plasma donations in the US? Politics Weekly America podcast

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kathleen McLaughlin has a rare chronic illness and needs regular treatments using people’s blood plasma. She started researching the US blood plasma...

Will Republicans regret taking on the ‘Tennessee Three’? Politics Weekly America podcast

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

The man who connected Bill Clinton and Gerry Adams: Politics Weekly America podcast

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Next week, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton will arrive in Northern Ireland to join commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. Cli...

Trump’s day of reckoning in New York: Politics Weekly America podcast

05 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

On Tuesday, Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records for alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 p...

Will Wisconsin decide who wins in 2024? Politics Weekly America podcast

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

Trump stays out of handcuffs – for now: Politics Weekly America podcast

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

Why did liberals push for the Iraq war? Politics Weekly America podcast

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Will Joe Biden run again? Politics Weekly America podcast

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Scandal grips this year’s CPAC event: Politics Weekly America podcast

03 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan Freedland and Tara Setmayer discuss why some high profile Republicans – and even Fox News – are avoiding this year’s gathering at the C...

Why are Republicans using Biden’s Kyiv trip against him? Politics Weekly America

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

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 Ukrai...

Spy balloons, UFOs and a standoff with China: Politics Weekly America

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Jonathan Freedland and Julian Borger look into why a story about spy balloons launched by China quickly led to the White House having to de...

Biden shakes up Democrats’ primary calendar: Politics Weekly America podcast

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last weekend, members of the Democratic National Committee voted through a plan to reshuffle the party’s presidential primary calendar, meaning vote...

Congress struggles with police reform: Politics Weekly America podcast

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While attending the funeral of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old man beaten to death by police in Memphis, Tennessee, this week, Kamala Harris called on C...