An Assassination Attempt and a Royal Visit to Washington
4/30/202628 min
The New Yorker staff writer Antonia Hitchens joins Tyler Foggatt to discuss a surreal week in Washington: the attempted assassination of Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, followed days later by a state visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla. They talk about what Hitchens witnessed inside the Hilton ballroom during the shooting attempt, and how Washington responded in the days that followed. They also discuss the state of the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom, how Trump embraced the pageantry of the royal visit, and what King Charles’s trip was meant to signal diplomatically. They also explore what the week’s whiplash reveals about covering politics during the second Trump term.
This week’s reading:
- “D.C. Gets a King It Actually Wants,” by Antonia Hitchens
- “Inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Gunshots Rang Out,” by Antonia Hitchens
- “Can the E.P.A. Survive Lee Zeldin?,” by Elizabeth Kolbert
- “The Kirkification of Our Troubled Times,” by Brady Brickner-Wood
- “Donald Trump’s Lose-Lose Negotiations with Iran,” by Isaac Chotiner
The Political Scene draws on the reporting and analysis found in The New Yorker for lively conversations about the big questions in American politics. Join the magazine’s writers and editors as they put into context the latest news—about elections, the economy, the White House, the Supreme Court, and much more. New episodes are available three times a week.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsEvan Osnos· Soundbite0:00
[gentle music] If you're a fan of the Political Scene podcast from the New Yorker, I hope you'll join us for a live taping of the show at 92NY in Manhattan.
Speaker 10:09
We're gonna be talking about Donald Trump's falling approval numbers, the prospects of a comeback for the Democratic Party in the midterms.
Tyler Foggatt· Host0:18
And let's just say the potential threats to the integrity of the election that are coming from the president.
Evan Osnos· Soundbite0:24
I hope you'll join me, Evan Osnos, and my colleagues, Susan Glasser and Jane Mayer, on June 4th at 7:00 PM. Ticket information is at 92ny.org.
Speaker 30:35
Oh, honey, what do you think of this tile for the backsplash?
Speaker 40:42
Nice. But I thought we could only afford an appliance upgrade this year.
Speaker 30:46
I did too, until I saw how much Ownwell saved us on our property tax this year.
Speaker 40:52
[laughs] Oh, right. Man, I still can't believe how easy that was. We spent, what, like three minutes signing up?
Speaker 30:58
Yep. Then Ownwell's local Texas tax expert handled everything for our protest: research, paperwork, even the hearings.
Speaker 41:07
They saved us so much time.
Speaker 31:09
And money. We didn't pay until we saved, and even that was half what most firms charge. Plus, no upfront costs like that other company.
Speaker 41:17
Think of how much more we can do around the house this year.
Speaker 31:20
I know. I'm thinking new porch furniture.
Speaker 41:23
Or a Hill Country weekend.
Speaker 31:25
I like the way you think.
Speaker 41:26
Texas has some of the highest property taxes in the entire country,