The News Agents - USA

Zohran Mamdani is just 33 years old. His victory over (tarnished) Democrat royalty Andrew Cuomo for the New York mayoral primaries is exciting a lot of younger folk. Is his pitch a potential blueprint for how democrats start to win again? Or was he just running against a terrible candidate?

Later, strategist Doug Heye about how traditional republicans feel now about Trump's foreign policy.

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As tensions in LA spills out, President Trump is sending the armed forces onto the streets of the city. It's against the wishes of California's governor, who has warned that "democracy is under assault". Jon an Emily are joined by the architect of Trump's 2016 victory and host of host of the War Rooms, Steve Bannon.

Is Trump enacting the mass deportation he promised? Or is he manufacturing a crisis that will allow him to access more...

For months, Donald Trump has been heralding his "Big, Beautiful" spending bill - a key piece of his agenda, containing tax cuts for the rich and benefits cuts for the vulnerable. It will also add trillions to America's debt - to the point that some are now sounding the alarm, warning of a "debt bomb" about to hit the US economy. What the White House didn't bet on was that one of those leading critics would be Elon Musk - who's turn...

Not content with demanding government oversight of Harvard's teaching and appointments, Donald Trump has directed his government to cease all federal funding of America's most prestigious university. And in a wider blow to academia, US embassies around the world have been ordered to suspend scheduling appointments for student visas. Social media vetting will be stepped up for those hoping to step foot on an American campus. Why is ...

Gone are the days when a presidential cancer diagnosis would be greeted with kind words and warm wishes. It took less than 24 hours for the White House administration to try and turn the illness into the latest smoking gun on what Biden had or hadn’t told the public whilst he was president. But should the Democrats take some blame for what’s happening now? We talk to the former Biden policy adviser Jamie Ruben. Later, where is Tru...

Donald Trump's trip to the Gulf should have been accompanied by glowing headlines and fawning Fox coverage about the hundreds of billions of dollars secured in fresh investment into America from allies in the region. But there's one deal in particular that has riled friends and foes of the President: a $400m jet being gifted to Trump by Qatar. He's said he would be "stupid" to turn down the offer - critics have raised ethical, inte...

Canada's Prime Minister Carney has been in the White House explaining to President Trump why he can’t just claim Canada as a 51st state. Trump still likes to think he can. Meanwhile, Trump has accused America's closest trading partner of “ripping off“ his country, while Canada's PM has called Trump “transformational“ and left it at that. So has Carney's election victory actually changed anything?

There was no sign of a breakthrough ...

Has Donald Trump irrevocably reordered America's place in the world? He may have only just marked his first 100 days back in the White House, but in that time President Trump has confronted his allies, courted adversaries, and taken a sledgehammer to the world order as we knew it. Has he redrawn our geopolitics in a way that has moved America's traditional partners away from America - and what does it mean for the future?

We talk to...

It's not the first time America's Defense Secretary has leaked Pentagon battle plans. Last month he shared details of a strike attack against the Houthis with an Atlantic journalist by mistake. This time another Signal group has been discovered with sensitive contents - this time including his wife, brother and...his lawyer. So why hasn't he been fired? And is Pete Hegseth proving too chaotic even for Trump?

We speak to Trump's for...

The Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump's administration must "facilitate" the return of an El Salvadorian national deported to his home country in an "administrative error". Kilmar Abrego Garcia fled to the US as a teenager to escape gang violence and was protected from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019. 

He has no criminal conviction. But the Trump administration seems to be ignoring that instruction. Instead,...

160 years ago today, Ulysses Grant led the Union army to victory in America's civil war. The 2025 American civil war is shaping up to be less bloody - but still brutal. How long are Trump's followers going to turn a blind eye to the economic mayhem he’s inflicting on them? And can the Democrats find six Republicans to vote with them to stop the chaos? We talk to the Congressman leading the charge, Sean Casten.

Meanwhile, as measles...

The Trump administration admits it made an error when it seized a Maryland man picking up his child from school and accidentally deported him to El Salvador - believing he was a criminal gang member. Trump's press secretary has now described it as a "clerical error" but they can’t get him home. What’s going on in America? Even Joe Rogan is appalled. Is anyone counting how many other citizens are being kidnapped and incarcerated wit...

JD Vance has decided overnight to join his wife Usha on her trip to Greenland. No one knows who invited him. Or whether he was invited. Or if its a formal state visit. Or just a trip to the US airbase. But the Danish Prime minister has called the trip an unacceptable pressure. Vance insists it's about protecting Greenland's security. But it feels kinda threatening. We speak to an old friend of JD Vance, Sofia Nelson, who knew him w...

The chief justice of the US Supreme Court has issued a stinging rebuke to Donald Trump's demand to impeach a judge who ruled against his administration's controversial deportation of migrants.

Judge James Boasberg ordered a stop to the transfer of accused gang members to El Salvador. That ruling that was ignored, and Trump branded him a "troublemaker and agitator" who should be removed. In a rare statement, Justice Roberts insisted ...

The origins of a peace deal have emerged in Saudi Arabia. There’s just one problem: whilst Zelensky is offering to sign up, there’s no word from Putin. How does a 30 day ceasefire work if the aggressor isn’t on board? And why is Trump convinced he will be?

Later, presidency or shopping channel? Why is Trump flogging Teslas on the White House lawn?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

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Trump promised his state of the Union speech would be BiG. He meant Long. It was 99 minutes. We watched so you didn’t have to.

Today, we bring you the high lights and low points. And we speak to the man who would now be Secretary of State - if Kamala Harris had won the 2024 election. How does that feel up close?

Tickets to The News Agents Live On Stage with HSBC UK are now on sale! You can get your tickets for Edinburgh here: https:...

Trump has reimagined Gaza in an AI video as a gold embossed beach resort. He’s fired the head of the army for being 'woke'. He’s banned the Associated Press from his press room. And his mate Elon Musk is calling on all federal employees to report each other if they don’t get with the MAGA plan. Kurt Anderson wrote about Americas addiction to fantasy a decade ago - before Trump. He's with us and describes how he was sold cocaine fro...

In a remarkable and rapid rapprochement, Donald Trump's Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in Riyadh meeting a Russian delegation to kick off talks about a deal to end the conflict in Ukraine. Who's not at the talks? Ukraine - or any other European leader. Is Russia calling the shots? And why is President Trump so happy to push ahead engaging with Moscow even when it is leaving America's allies dumbfounded?

Douglas Heye is a v...