What Donald Trump and Elon Musk's alliance is really about | The American Fourcast

Donald Trump, with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, has said the US should take over Gaza, own it, and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East", but within hours of these comments Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Palestinians have rejected the suggestion outright. So what is Donald Trump really up to? Is this a serious proposal, a negotiating position or the dreams of a reality show star on the world stage? On this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Secunder Kermani and the Palestinian journalist Yousef Hammash, who reported from inside Gaza for Channel 4 News from October 2023. Produced by Silvia Maresca, Ka Yee Mak, Rob Thomson, Calum Fraser.

5 Feb 31min

Donald Trump’s long promised trade war has begun, sort of - the US president threatened to slap tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners, before backtracking and striking a deal with Mexico and Canada. But a 10% tariff on Chinese goods has come into force and Beijing has retaliated by imposing hefty levies on a range of American imports and vowing to investigate Google over antitrust allegations.  So will Trump’s tariff wars totally backfire? And how should other world leaders, including Keir Starmer, react? In this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and Erica York of the Tax Foundation think tank. Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak and Amani Hughes.

4 Feb 26min

In a major speech on growing the UK economy, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will make Cambridge and Oxford the “Silicon Valley of Europe” and build a third runway at Heathrow Airport - which is now backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer even though he opposed it in the past. So will Labour deliver? Can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves really get the economy firing again? And will it be enough to turn around their recent political woes? Discussing this and more in this episode of the Fourcast, Krishnan Guru-Murthy is joined by Gillian Tett, Financial Times columnist, and Rupert Harrison, senior advisor at Macro Advisory Partners and former advisor to Goerge Osborne when he was chancellor.   Produced by Silvia Maresca, Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson and Ka Yee Mak.

29 Jan 29min

In Donald Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos he said, again, that he wants a peace deal with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, again suggested Canada could become part of America and again raised the spectre of tariffs that economists say could devastate the global economy, so what is the new American president’s vision of the world order and how will he deal with China and Xi Jinping’s claims over Taiwan? In his inaugural address President Trump said America would expand its territory, what does this actually mean? A future land grab? Or just a more aggressive American influence in parts of the world? And what does it mean for some of worlds’ other strongmen, who have their own expansionist ambitions? In this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at the New School, and Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4 News’ international editor. Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak and Amani Huges.

23 Jan 27min

Hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States of America, he signed executive orders to take the US out of the World Health Organisation and the Paris Climate Accords; around 1,500 January 6 rioters were freed; a national emergency at the US-Mexico border was declared, he made the designation of two genders an official government policy and the TikTok ban was paused - and that’s before he made off-hand comments on whether the fragile ceasefire in Gaza will last.   To discuss all this and more in this edition of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Nayyera Haq, senior director of the Obama White House and Deana Bass Williams, a Republican strategist.   Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca, Rob Thomson, Gracie Jerome, Amani Hughes and Ka Yee Mak.

21 Jan 27min

Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as President of the United States of America for the second time - but, from TikTok and the southern border, to Ukraine and the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza - he faces even bigger challenges than he did eight years ago.   Will he really end the Ukraine war on day one, pardon the January 6 rioters in the “first hour” and potentially bring back TikTok? And while his personal brand of right-wing populism is totally dominant now, will there be a progressive backlash or resistance?   In this week’s episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Channel 4 News's very own America experts - Siobhan Kennedy and Kiran Moodley.   Produced by Calum Fraser, Rob Thomson, Ka Yee Mak.

19 Jan 25min

Israel and Hamas have finally reached a ceasefire deal over the war in Gaza days before Donald Trump takes over from Joe Biden as the next US president - but Benjamin Netanyahu’s government hasn't signed it yet - and while Palestinians in Gaza are celebrating, there’s still a chance it could be derailed. Yet, if the deal holds, it will be a historic moment, but why has it taken so long and what’s next for the people of Gaza and Israel? In this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum and Foreign Correspondent Secunder Kermani to discuss all the unanswered questions. Produced by Silvia Maresca, Calum Fraser, Ka Yee Mak, Rob Thomson.

16 Jan 26min

Amid turmoil in the bond market and a plummeting pound, Sir Keir Starmer has had to defend his chancellor Rachel Reeves while dealing with the resignation of the former anti-corruption minister Tulip Siddiq. So, can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves turn it around? The Prime Minister says it will take 10 years to solve some of the chronic issues facing the UK, but will he even get a second term with Labour's support sliding in the polls and Nigel Farage's Reform UK breathing down his neck? In this episode of the Fourcast, Matt Frei is joined by the Financial Times’ columnist Katie Martin, psephologist Luke Try and Channel 4 News' political editor Gary Gibbon.  Produced by Calum Fraser, Silvia Maresca and Ka Yee Mak.

15 Jan 27min