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Podcast | 5 September 2025

The Women Leaders podcast: Trump 2 and US reality

Podcasts Transatlantic relations United States Global Security Podcast

The summer is over, but it has hardly been a period of repose and relaxation: the world has continued in its turmoil, not least at the behest of the US. In moves that have often baffled traditional US allies, the current Trump administration has made brash moves claiming to be about Making America Great Again (MAGA), but which ultimately seemed to signify US retreat from global leadership. From attacks on science and education within the US to courting Vladimir Putin while alienating the EU, Canada and other western allies, it seems as if the current US administration is intent upon making real China and Russia’s wish for a multipolar world without a second, or indeed any thought.

How do these changes manifest within the US? Is the external perspective even registering? Does it matter? And why does the Democratic Party seemingly find it so difficult to muster a response? To broach these questions and so much more, Ilana Bet-El is joined by Jodi Rudoren, Editorial Director of Newsletters at the New York Times — and to be clear, there are 100 newsletters that reach over 17 million people! — in a lively and probing discussion into life, politics and ideas in the US in the second Trump administration.

This episode was recorded on 4 September 2025

Mentions

Chapters

  • The current state of US Politics and news
  • The erosion of trust in political systems
  • The Democratic Party’s struggles and future directions
  • Everyday life amidst political turmoil
  • Perceptions of global enemies
  • The Israel-Gaza situation
  • Global leadership dynamics

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Credits

The European Leadership Network itself as an institution holds no formal policy positions. The opinions articulated above represent the views of the authors rather than the European Leadership Network or its members. The ELN aims to encourage debates that will help develop Europe’s capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time, to further its charitable purposes.

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