Trump's NATO Threat & a Critical Election in Hungary (Question Time)
4/8/202651 min
Following Trump's threats to remove the US from NATO, is the alliance effectively finished? After nearly two decades in power, could Viktor Orbán finally be unseated in Hungary's upcoming election? Has Keir Starmer learned the lessons from the Democrats' 2024 loss ahead of May's local elections?
Join Dominic Sandbrook and Alastair Campbell as they answer all these questions and more.
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First 90 secondsAlastair Campbell· Host0:00
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Dominic Sandbrook· Host0:11
Is NATO finished? I don't think it's necessarily finished, but I think it has never been more embattled. Trump is the first president to really call it into question, and the longer that the second term has gone on, the more dicey its future has looked.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:26
He was asked if he was reconsidering membership of NATO. He said, "Oh yes, it's beyond reconsideration. I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger." And get this, "Putin knows that too, by the way."
Dominic Sandbrook· Host0:38
I know. It's so unsettling. How do you answer the anxieties of people? 'Cause they're not just economic anxieties, are they? They're cultural anxieties about people who are frightened by change.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:48
Too often we're liable to say, "Oh, because you're being exploited by populists, somehow your grievance isn't real." Whereas what we should be doing is, "Your grievance is real, and we have to do something about it." [dramatic music] Welcome to The Rest Is Politics question time with me, Alastair Campbell.
Dominic Sandbrook· Host1:03
And with me, Dominic Sandbrook. Hello.
Alastair Campbell· Host1:05
Hello, Dominic. So stepping in for the absent Rory Stewart for the second time. Thank you very, very much indeed. Lots of questions, and one of them relates to something we discussed on the podcast. We had a lot of questions on these lines. This is from Harper from Sandwell in the West Midlands. Is NATO finished?
Dominic Sandbrook· Host1:23
Wow. I mean, I didn't think you had listeners in the West Midlands, but I stand corrected.
Alastair Campbell· Host1:27
We've got listeners everywhere. Absolutely everywhere.
Dominic Sandbrook· Host1:29
[laughs] Have you?
Alastair Campbell· Host1:29
I mean, we're not like