Trump’s Iran Delusion and the Limits of American Power
3/31/202654 min
Why has opposition to the Iran war been so muted within Trump’s America, and how is the US uniquely insulated from the worst impacts of the war? Do American tech billionaires now pose a serious threat to British democracy – alongside Iran, Russia, and China? Should the UK follow in the footsteps of South Australia and ban political donations entirely?
Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.
__________
Social Producer: Celine Charles
Video Editor: Josh Smith, Adam Thornton, Lorcan Moullier
As...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAlastair Campbell· Host0:00
Thanks for listening to The Rest is Politics. To support the podcast, listen without the adverts, and get early access to episodes and live show tickets, go to therestispolitics.com. That's therestispolitics.com.
Rory Stewart· Host0:11
Trump's gone after Iran. Nobody fully expected him to do so, and now they're creating justifications behind it, but they don't add up. It's a war that feels like the risk is taken by the US, the costs are borne elsewhere.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:27
This is decades of American arrogance coming to a head in the form of this guy.
Rory Stewart· Host0:33
Why was Iran considered a more important threat than Russia? They have spent colossal sums of money, which could have gone to Ukraine, in this Iran incursion.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:44
It's just madness that we're dealing with at the moment. I, I honestly think this is a form of madness. [upbeat music] Welcome to The Rest is Politics. With me, Alastair Campbell.
Rory Stewart· Host1:00
And me, uh, Rory Stewart.
Alastair Campbell· Host1:02
And Rory, we're gonna talk about Iran, inevitably. We're gonna talk about what's going on, but also talk about this business of betting on the war. We'll do that in the second half, alongside a very interesting report that came out last week by a former civil servant, Philip Rycroft, about trying to clean up the financing of British politics and deal with foreign interference. But on Iran, there is so much to get through, so where do you [chuckles], where do you wanna start?
Rory Stewart· Host1:26
Let me start with the fact that I'm in the US, so I'm speaking to you from Yale,