GZERO World with Ian Bremmer11 Jun 2025

Where Trump-Musk bromance goes from here, with Semafor’s Ben Smith

It was an extraordinary public fight between two billionaires—President Donald Trump, the world’s most powerful man, and Elon Musk, the world’s richest. On a special bonus episode of the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Semafor co-founder and editor-in-chief Ben Smith to talk about Trump and Musk’s messy breakup, what led to the explosive public fallout, and whether there’s any chance of reconciliation. Though their feud appears to be cooling down, there’s still a lot at stake for both men: namely, Musk’s political funding for the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms and billions in government contracts and subsidies for his companies, which Trump has threatened to cancel. In the battle between politicians and tech oligarchs, who holds more power? Will President Trump’s ability to punish his enemies in consequential ways have long-term consequences for Musk? And how does a fight like this change the nature of political journalism when everything is happening in real time in full view of the public? Smith and Bremmer break down the end of the bromance that has defined President Trump’s second term and where the administration’s relationship with Silicon Valley goes from here.

Host: Ian Bremmer

Guest: Ben Smith

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Episoder(432)

Winners and losers of the Iran war, with Kori Schake

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16 Mai 21min

How AI is transforming warfare and the US military with Katrina Manson

Ian Bremmer's guest this week is author and Bloomberg defense tech reporter Katrina Manson, who spent years reporting on Project Maven for her new book on the Pentagon's AI push. The program launched ...

9 Mai 36min

Cuba's Trump standoff and economic crisis with Michael Bustamante

Historian Michael Bustamante joins Ian Bremmer to discuss Cuba's economic freefall, Trump's end game, and the hopes of Cuban Americans. This week, Ian Bremmer sits down with University of Miami histor...

25 Apr 24min

North Korea's nuclear gamble pays off, with the WSJ's Jonathan Cheng

North Korea has nuclear weapons, a succession plan hiding in plain sight, and a personality cult that has outlasted Stalin's and Mao's combined. Wall Street Journal's Beijing bureau chief Jonathan Che...

18 Apr 28min

Assessing the Iran War's "structural damage" with Harvard economist Gita Gopinath

Rising energy prices, higher inflation, and growing economic uncertainty — a Harvard economist says the fallout from the Iran war is already being felt. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits do...

11 Apr 32min

Viktor Orbán's last stand, and the future of Europe's far right with Ivan Krastev

Ian Bremmer sits down with Ivan Krastev, Chairman of the Centre for Liberal Strategies and political scientist, to discuss Hungary's consequential upcoming election and what it means for the far right...

4 Apr 21min

Rahm Emanuel on Trump's Iran war “of choice” and midterm implications

Ian Bremmer and Rahm Emanuel discuss the deepening conflict in the Middle East, US foreign policy under Trump, and the upcoming midterms. Rahm Emanuel argues that this is a war of choice, one Presiden...

27 Mar 50min

Unpacking Iran’s competing endgames with Brookings Institution’s Thomas Wright

Ian Bremmer sits down with Thomas Wright, Brookings Institution fellow and former Senior Director at the US National Security Council, to unpack the deepening war in Iran and the divergent strategies ...

14 Mar 35min