Trump's Orwellian Maths and the King's Special Relationship Mission
4/28/202658 min
Is the so-called ‘special relationship’ between America and Britain already broken, and is it even worth saving? How can the UK and Europe achieve independence from the US on defence, tech and nuclear? Is Trump's comical mathematical illiteracy actually a serious threat to democracy?
Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more.
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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. Trump's vanity and narcissism is such that he sees himself as the king. He wants to be an emperor. He wants to be an unelected monarch.
Rory Stewart· Host0:21
And the question now is: Is it broken? The continual humiliations and insults from Trump, does this mean that Britain now needs to think about a radically different grand strategy for the next twenty years?
Alastair Campbell· Host0:31
Trust has broken down because of the way that Trump has conducted himself.
Rory Stewart· Host0:34
The whole world is locked in a kind of abusive marriage, where the Trump administration is saying to everybody else, "You can't afford to leave me."
Alastair Campbell· Host0:42
The most powerful man in the world can't count, can't add up, doesn't know what a percentage is. Why have we got somebody so stupid as president, and why do we treat them as normal? This episode is brought to you by Ouse Energy.
Rory Stewart· Host0:56
Energy policy rarely stays in Westminster for long. Usually it arrives with a bill, and from the first of April, seventy-five percent of renewables obligation costs will come off electricity bills and move into general taxation.
Alastair Campbell· Host1:10
So if bills are meant to fall from April, why would anyone bother switching?
Rory Stewart· Host1:15
Because policy sets the floor. The saving itself is automatic. What suppliers offer beyond that isn't, and that's where real competition operates.
Alastair Campbell· Host1:25
Ouse goes beyond the mandated saving. Customers who switch save around an additional two