Americanswers…on 5 Live! Could Andrew answer Epstein questions before Congress?

Summary

Americast – Americanswers on 5 Live!

Episode Date: November 3, 2025
Hosts: Sarah Smith, Anthony Zurcher, Marianna Spring, with Matt Chorley (BBC 5 Live)
Main Theme:
A crucial week in American politics, covering the upcoming elections in New York, Virginia, and New Jersey, the political implications of Prince Andrew’s Epstein connections for Americans, Trump’s nuclear testing rhetoric, and legal scrutiny of his trade tariffs.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. NYC Mayoral Race: Zoran Mamdani and the American Left (03:20–11:21)

• Context: Zoran Mamdani, self-described "democratic socialist", is front-runner for New York Mayor. UK listener asks: would Mamdani seem extreme by British standards, or is it a US perception?
• Sarah Smith’s Take (03:20):
  • Quote: "Here, socialism means the opposite of capitalism... Basically it means communism in America."
  • In the UK, Mamdani would seem left of Keir Starmer, maybe akin to Jeremy Corbyn, but not "extreme." In the US, the term "socialist" is seen as radical, even synonymous with communism.
  • His policies—free buses, childcare, rent freezing, and ‘tax the rich’—mirror positions seen in UK center-left politics.
• Anthony Zurcher on Mamdani's Appeal (05:43):
  • NYC is significantly more left than the broader US.
  • Mamdani connects with young people and ethnic minorities, especially Muslim voters.
  • Quote: "He is focused like a laser on... the higher cost of living [in NYC]."
  • His identity (Muslim, African-born) and outsider status provoke right-wing distrust, but among voters his economic message resonates.
  • Stays focused on the economy, sidesteps divisive cultural issues like Israel-Gaza.
• Marianna Spring on Social Media Strategy (07:44):
  • Mamdani excels at "authentic, genuine" content; builds an Internet presence that feels real (unlike perceptions of Kamala Harris).
  • Draws parallels with UK Green Party’s Zach Polanski.
  • Viral clips—like club nights—circulate among those likely to vote for him.
  • Quote: "He is bossing the Internet with capital letters."
• Nationwide Attention (08:50):
  • Most Americans aren’t following the race, but Mamdani’s profile could grow if Trump uses him as a "radical" foil for Democrats.
• Jeremy Corbyn’s Involvement (10:11):
  • Corbyn held a phone bank to support Mamdani—seen both as endorsement and proof of transatlantic left-wing networking.
  • Marianna: Corbyn once adept at social media but less so now.

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2. Republican Party Ideological Shift: Trumpism vs. Conservatism (11:32–14:26)

• Caller Joel’s Question: Has the GOP permanently shifted from "small government and fiscal restraint" to Trump-style politics? If Trump left, would the party revert?
• Anthony Zurcher’s Perspective (12:10):
  • Quote: "There’s not much of the old Republican Party left."
  • Trump has reshaped the party into a working-class, culturally conservative coalition, willing to use big government for conservative aims.
  • Trump-aligned figures like Senator J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio have shifted with him.
  • This marks a genuine political realignment.
• Sarah Smith’s Observation (13:17):
  • Trump’s coalition includes working-class Black, Hispanic, and white voters, a winning alliance the GOP is unlikely to abandon.
  • Hard to see the rise of a "Mitt Romney-style" fiscal conservative any time soon, even as Trump runs up deficits.
  • Party’s future depends on who succeeds Trump, but the base is entrenched.

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3. Prince Andrew, Epstein, and Congressional Scrutiny (14:26–18:29)

• Jane’s Voice Note: Is the US paying attention to the Epstein scandal after the UK stripped Andrew of his titles?
• Marianna Spring (15:18):
  • MAGA and far-right circles keep Epstein discussions alive online, but focus fades fast after real-world developments like Andrew losing royal status.
  • Quote: “Often it’s not the things you think that trigger that conversation... but actually it almost feels like the sort of result of a lot of discussion.”
• Matt Chorley (16:27): Over in Congress, some suggest subpoenaing Andrew. Is it realistic?
• Anthony Zurcher (16:45):
  • Quote: “Not realistic... Even people here often ignore [congressional subpoenas], and only very rarely does that lead to criminal charges.”
  • The DOJ would be unlikely to pursue Andrew across borders, and extradition is improbable.
  • However, if Arizona’s Rep. Grijalva is seated, a House vote could force release of Epstein files, potentially revealing much more.
  • UK royals have faced real consequences; the US political class, not (yet).

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4. Trump’s Nuclear Test Rhetoric (18:29–22:14)

• Listener Questions: Trump told CBS he might resume US nuclear testing. Is he serious? Is it about posturing?
• Clip:
  • Trump (18:41): “We’re the only country that doesn’t test. And I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.”
  • Mariana Spring notes: Only N. Korea is actually testing currently.
  • Trump (19:04): “Russia’s testing nuclear weapons. And China’s testing them too. You just don’t know about it.”
• Sarah Smith (19:33):
  • Unclear if Trump means live nuclear explosions or just missile testing.
  • Quote: “To be honest, it all sounds a little bit juvenile, but that’s to underplay something that could be quite, quite important.”
• Anthony Zurcher (20:45):
  • “It’s all just kind of a muddled mess... maybe he doesn’t know what he means by this.”
  • Trump often floats policies with vague, bombastic statements that later get walked back or fizzle out.
• Marianna Spring (22:19):
  • Few Americans want any "nuclear apocalypse."
  • Conspiracy-driven feeds extrapolate doomsday scenarios, while most just want to avoid escalation.

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5. Trump’s Political Support: Hidden Voters, Approval, and Immigration (23:19–29:05)

• Lizzie’s Question: Are Trump supporters really “shy” voters, or is this a media narrative? If so, why?
• Anthony Zurcher (23:41):
  • Trump overperforms polls—could be polling flaws or secret support.
  • When Trump isn’t on the ballot, GOP does worse.
  • “Trump ends up being stronger at the ballot box than he is in the polls leading up to Election Day.”
• Sarah Smith (24:47):
  • Trump’s die-hards are extremely visible—apparel, store-fronts, public displays—unlike any previous US leader.
  • “There is a level of worship as well as support from real MAGA die-hards, the like of which I’ve never actually seen for anybody else.”
• Polling on Policy (26:06):
  • Trump’s approval is slipping (40–42%), especially on the economy and inflation (>50% disapprove).
  • However, immigration policy scores higher approval.
  • Americans give Trump credit for border enforcement, despite controversial raids and detentions.

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6. Supreme Court & Trump’s Tariffs (29:05–33:18)

• Background: The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on the legality of Trump’s authority to set trade tariffs unilaterally.
• Anthony Zurcher (29:47):
  • Lower courts found Trump overreached; the Constitution says Congress sets tariffs, not the President.
  • Biden’s student loan and environmental policies were struck down for similar reasons.
  • Expedited process—a decision could come quickly.
• Sarah Smith (31:45):
  • Skepticism that a conservative court that checked Biden will restrain Trump—“still, it is possible... they could say that Donald Trump did not have the power.”
  • If the court rules against Trump, he’d need Congressional approval, a heavy lift due to filibuster rules in the Senate.
• Outcome: Opening arguments start this week; any judgment will come later.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sarah Smith (03:20):
  “Here, socialism means the opposite of capitalism... Basically it means communism in America.”
• Anthony Zurcher (12:10):
  “There’s not much of the old Republican Party left.”
• Marianna Spring (07:52):
  “He is bossing the Internet with capital letters.”
• Anthony Zurcher (16:45):
  “Not realistic... Even people here often ignore [congressional subpoenas]...”
• Sarah Smith (19:33):
  “To be honest, it all sounds a little bit juvenile, but that’s to underplay something that could be quite, quite important.”
• Sarah Smith (24:47):
  “There is a level of worship as well as support from real MAGA die-hards, the like of which I’ve never actually seen for anybody else.”

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Important Timestamps

• NYC Mayoral Race: 03:20–11:21
• GOP Realignment: 11:32–14:26
• Epstein/Prince Andrew File Handling: 14:26–18:29
• Trump’s Nuclear Testing Comments: 18:29–22:14
• Trump's Electoral Popularity: 23:19–29:05
• Supreme Court Tariff Powers: 29:05–33:18

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Tone & Style

Balanced, analytical, occasionally wry. Hosts mix expert insight with humor and sharp metaphors. Direct quotes often convey the panel's dry wit and incisive comparisons, making complex politics accessible without dumbing down.

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For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode serves as an in-depth primer on the intersection of American and British political culture, the remaking of the GOP, transatlantic scandals, Trumpian unpredictability, and the quirks of contemporary polling and social media-driven politics. It’s an authoritative yet conversational walk through the biggest stories shaping US news—useful, engaging, and often entertaining.

Transcript

[Matt Chorley]

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[Anthony Zurcher]

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[Mariana Spring]

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[Sarah Spring]

Welcome to another Monday Q And a on AmericasT, where Anthony Zerka, Mariana Spring and I joined Matt Charlie to talk about, among other things, a big week in American politics where we've got elections happening in New York, Virginia and New Jersey. We're talking about what Americans make of the person formerly known as Prince Andrew losing all of his titles and what it could mean for any Americans caught up in the Epstein case, as well as whether or not Donald Trump is really going to start testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 1992. And do stay till the end, because then you will catch us talking about huge Supreme Court cases coming up this week when Donald Trump's flagship tariff policy will be scrutinized as to whether or not it's even legal. Welcome to americancers. AmeriCast AmeriCast from BBC news, when Donald.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Trump calls, they say, yes, sir. Right away, sir. Happy to lick your boot, sir. We are the sickest country in the world.

[Sarah Spring]

Oh dear.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Are you worried that billionaires are going to go hungry? Of course the president supports peaceful protests.

[Mariana Spring]

What a stupid question.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?

[Matt Chorley]

Let's kick off then with a huge week for American politics. Big election day tomorrow, some very big races happening right across the US but particular interest in the next mayor of New York City, mainly because of the Democratic front runner, Zoran Mandani. And we've had this email From Zach. Zach says, I was listening to a recent episode about Zoran Mandani and I kept thinking throughout, what would we be saying if he were a UK politician? If he were in the uk, would we still think of him as being on the far left and extreme? Lots of his ideas, like looking to freeze, rent or provide free buses or childcare, sound totally like labor in years gone by, even down to his lack of support on Israel. In the uk, that would be significantly more normal and certainly not a reason for party bigwigs not to endorse a candidate. Sarah, having covered politics on both sides of the Atlantic, can you try and place Zoa Mandani on the sort of the sliding scale of politics?

[Sarah Spring]

Yeah, I will. Zach is 100% right that he would be perceived differently in the UK. And one of the things that's still real divergence between American and British politics that always sounds a little bit odd to my ear is how socialism is perceived in America. So Zora Mandami describes himself as a democratic socialist and that's considered a reasonably extreme label. Now, of course, most people in the British Labour Party, even on the center right of the British Labour Party would call themselves democratic socialists. Here, socialism means the opposite of capitalism. It's like an entire economic structure that's separate. It's not just on a continuum of conservatism to some kind of democratic socialism. Basically it means communism in America. And he frequently is derided as a communist by his opponents. So that's one of the reasons why they see him so very differently, as though he is on the extreme in terms of his policies. I mean, Zach has an extremely good point. These are all things that we've heard from certainly some centre left parties in the uk, whether it's the Labour Party or the SNP in Scotland, things like freezing the rent, free buses, free childcare. I don't think we've heard quite such universal provision of them or all at the same time. So he's talking about a pretty big giveaway of services or ways to dramatic ways to tackle the cost of living crisis whilst really upfront saying where the money's going to come from in three words, tax the rich. He wants to increase income tax on anybody who earns over a million dollars a year, which obviously sounds like a huge sum of money. But in New York there are a lot of people who earn over a million dollars a year who will not be very happy about this. So no, I think he would be perceived probably somewhere sort Jeremy Corbyn to the left of Keir Starmer, but not extreme in any real way at all. It's just the way he highlights the things that would be considered more controversial so very, very clearly in this campaign. It's why he's captivated a lot of people, but also frightens some people who here do think he is pretty extreme.

[Matt Chorley]

And then. So if he's extreme by American politics, Anthony, what is his appeal in, in New York? Is it because New York is more to the left than large parts of America? Is it because of the unpopularity of Donald Trump and the Republicans? How is it then that this particular strand of left wing politics in America is taking hold now in particular?

[Anthony Zurcher]

Well, I think New York definitely is more to the left than most of America. New York City is unique and Mamdani has touched into economic concerns in the city, in particular the higher cost of living there. Rent in New York City is ridiculously high for most people. The cost of groceries, the cost of everyday, everyday life is very expensive. And he is focused like a laser on that and gotten a lot of headway, particularly connecting with younger voters in New York City, a constituency that had been really activated in the past, and also with ethnic minorities in New York City, particularly Muslim voters, he has had a lot of success with. And I think the controversy, if you, Sarah, was talking about what was controversial about Mamdani here in the United States and why he's become such a lightning rod. It's the democratic socialism, yes, but even more than the policies, it's who he is, the fact that he is a Muslim, the fact that he was born in Africa. There's particularly on the right in American politics a lot of distrust of Islam ever, going back all the way to the attacks on the World Trade center and the war on terror. And so he has been painted with these kind of broad strokes as being some kind of an outsider and some kind of a threat. And I think that is what you're seeing nationally, at least on the right. But in New York City, it's interesting when you talk to New York voters, they care about the economy, they care about the cost of living. And that is what Mamdani has been very successful at making progress on. And his views and those policies he's talking about are all kind of geared towards making things more affordable. And he's not talking about big cultural issues. He's not talking too much about Israel or the Gaza war. Every time you try to pin him down on that, he goes back to the economy. And that is why he looks like he is going to win tomorrow.

[Mariana Spring]

It's worth saying as well, Matt, that as I would always say that he is essential, especially good at social media. And I guess I was about to.

[Matt Chorley]

Ask, is he bossing the Internet?

[Mariana Spring]

He is. He is bossing the Internet with capital letters. And part, part of this is the messaging itself. It's clear, it's simple, you know, issues around, like both Anthony and Sarah are saying, but the economy, for example, or the war in Gaza, those are things that his messaging has cut through online because it is quite unified in that sense. It's, it's clear. But also he's just really good at making what we'd often call sort of authentic, genuine content. It doesn't feel overly slick. A lot of the criticism of, for example, Kamala Harris during the presidential election was that it was trying to seem sort of authentic, throwback to brat summer, et cetera, but it didn't really feel that way. Whereas Mamdani has, has succeeded in doing what Donald Trump has been very good at doing on social media for a long time, which is sort of making a virtue of his personality and what he believes in and building an online profile around that. And when we're thinking about British politics, there are lots of similarities to be drawn between his strategy and the current the Green Party Zach Polanski strategies, which are not dissimilar at all.

[Anthony Zurcher]

All that. One more thing which, kind of interesting, we like to say online isn't real life. It doesn't reflect America at large, and New York does not reflect America writ large. I saw a CBS poll just the other day that said about half of the American public wasn't following the New York mayoral race at all. So it hasn't broken through on the national level, although certainly conservatives and people on the left will be trying to promote him for better or for worse if he wins.

[Mariana Spring]

Yeah, like, for example, there were these clips of him on club nights out in New York that were popping up over the weekend that came up all over TikTok on my hidden undercover voter feeds that I was looking at. And to your point, Anthony, it's like those are, those are the kinds of clips that are not going to be popping up on everyone's feeds, but they are popping up on the kinds of people's feeds who might vote for him. And I think the question is, is, does he win and then go on to build something bigger out of this. Or like you say, is, is he is a bit of a flash in the pan.

[Sarah Spring]

Well, that's gonna make him bigger, isn't it? Because Donald Trump is so opposed to him and calling him a communist all the time, that he wants to paint him as the face of the Democratic Party. So he's gonna talk about him as much as he can and how left wing he is and try and persuade voters across the whole of America that the Democrats are represented by this radical in New York. So he's gonna do as much as he can to promote a dami's profile across the whole country if he wins.

[Matt Chorley]

And so you mentioned Jeremy Corbyn in sort of try to, when you try to place his politics. Jeremy Corbyn is holding a phone bank, or was last night held a phone bank to try and as he said, get Zoan over the finish line for a New York that is affordable for all. Do you think Jeremy Corbyn could be the man who won it for him?

[Sarah Spring]

Well, ask Mariana whether there's Jeremy Corbyn. Social media clips cutting through, pointing out.

[Anthony Zurcher]

I just love the idea.

[Matt Chorley]

A New Yorker picks up the phone and on the other end of the phone it says, hello, it's Jeremy Corbyn here. I'd like to talk to you about who you should vote for to be mayor of New York.

[Mariana Spring]

It is worth saying that Jeremy Corbyn again is someone who was very, very good at building a following online and building a profile on social media in that way a few years ago. Although now I would say that, for example, like I mentioned, Zach Polanski from the Green Party is the person on the left who perhaps is building the loudest voice at the moment. But, but it remains to be seen how much all of this lasts. Like Donald Trump is a good example of someone who has managed to boss the Internet, capital letters, for a prolonged period of time. Some people boss the Internet for only short periods of time. Like Matt.

[Matt Chorley]

Unbelievable. Right, let's move on because I'm conscious we've. We haven't really done very many questions yet. And Joel is hanging on the phone, standing by with his question, which actually leads very nicely on for this. Hi, Joel, what's your question?

[Anthony Zurcher]

Hi there. So my question is about the Republican Party.

[Matt Chorley]

And it feels like the Republican Party.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Has abandoned their traditional conservatism, such as like small government and fiscal restraint, in.

[Matt Chorley]

Favor they tend to do basically whatever Donald Trump says on any given day. I'm wondering if this is a permanent shift.

[Anthony Zurcher]

If Trump were to one day step away from politics, do we think the party would return to its pre Trump ideology? Or is Trumpism the new ideology that's.

[Matt Chorley]

Overcome the Republican Party? Interesting. I suppose it goes to the heart there is clearly a tension there between what Trump talks about and what is traditional Republicanism. What do you think, Anthony?

[Anthony Zurcher]

There's not much of the old Republican Party left. I mean, Donald Trump, in the 10 years he has been the dominant figure among Republicans, has really reshaped it. And there's a whole new generation of conservatives who have come up under Donald Trump in this kind of right wing populism. Certainly culturally conservative, but policy wise, a little more in favor of big government, using the power of government to advance a conservative agenda. I think that is the reality that is going to exist long after Donald Trump. And you can see it in people like J.D. vance, his vice president, even people like Marco Rubio, who is more of a traditional Republican 15 years ago, but now is very much a Trumpist conservative. So Donald Trump has left his mark. And I think you see politics and political parties realign at times in America. And this is going to be viewed, I think, by historians as another kind of realignment moving the Republican Party more towards a working class, culturally conservative party.

[Sarah Spring]

Well, Anthony just mentioned there about the fact that Donald Trump's Republican Party has swept up so many working class votes and put together this astonishing coalition of the working class where they've got black voters, Hispanic voters as well as whites supporting them. It's such a winning coalition, they'd be fools to move away from it and be seen again as the kind of patrician Republicans looking after the elites and the better off. It'll all come down to what happens in terms of who becomes the successor to Donald Trump. And of course, there'll be a primary battle for that. It's quite difficult at the moment to see who your traditional small government, fiscally restrained representative could be who could possibly win the nomination though, because Donald Trump happily spends money hand over fifths and increases the deficit in a way that most conservatives are absolutely appalled by. But you know, his supporters like it very much because quite often they do quite well out of it. And you know, we will see a battle between Marco Rubio or J.D. vance and somebody from the more traditional wing of the party. But viewing it right now, it's really hard to see how some kind of Mitt Romney style Republican comes through the middle and takes this party back from Donald Trump and his acolytes.

[Matt Chorley]

Let's move on now to the Prince Andrew story, which has obviously dominated in the last few days. And we've got a voice note from Jane in Glantham.

[Sarah Spring]

Given the way that Peter Mandelson and Andrew, formerly known as Prince, have been dealt with in the UK in light of their Epstein connections. I was wondering what the mood is like in America now towards dealing with the Epstein question and with known high flying Americans and others who have links to the files.

[Mariana Spring]

The Americans will surely be amazed at.

[Sarah Spring]

How King Charles has been prepared to.

[Mariana Spring]

Banish his own brother and has shown support for victims of abuse.

[Matt Chorley]

We should say, obviously that Andrew denies all wrongdoing. Let's come to you. First of all, Marianna, are your secret voters seeing lots of formerly Prince Andrew content?

[Mariana Spring]

There was a period of time where particularly the pro Donald Trump accounts, actually the MAGA profiles, they were dominated by conversation about Epstein and about the Epstein files. And there are some corners of very committed people in the, in the MAGA circle online who do continue to post about Epstein and post about wanting to know more about powerful connections. But interestingly, and this is often the way the social media noise happens and then things happen in the real world, like for example, what we've seen happening with Andrew, the title being stripped away. And you know, there are some plaudits within those circles and they say, oh, okay, great. But they've kind of like moved on a bit. And I guess this is maybe what Donald Trump knows about this world because he was, you know, even though he very strongly denies any connection to Epstein, he was being constantly associated with him and so are lots of other powerful people. I think that it will absolutely rear its head on social media again. But often it's not the things you think that trigger that conversation, that you'd think that the news about the King would be, would be a real sort of talking point. But actually it almost feels like the sort of result of a lot of discussion, for example, about Virginia Giuffre's book, which made various allegations about Andrew that he denies.

[Matt Chorley]

In terms of what happens now on Newsnight Friday night, I spoke to a Democrat, Raja Krishnamurti, who sits on the Oversight Committee which is investigating the Epstein case. And he told me that he wants Andrew to testify before Congress and would go as far as to subpoena him. Is that something that's realistic, Anthony?

[Anthony Zurcher]

Not realistic? I mean, congressional subpoenas, people here in the United States ignore them, and only very rarely does that lead to any kind of criminal charges. I mean, Steve Bannon went to prison for ignoring a congressional subpoena. But, but that was an unusual alignment of Congress and the Justice Department, both being controlled by Democrats who wanted to push this investigation forward. I have the feeling that Donald Trump's Justice Department department may be less inclined to try to enforce that Kind of a subpoena and even trying to do so. And getting an extradition of Andrew from the UK seems like another leap to make. So they could try it, but I wouldn't hold my breath. It will be interesting to see what happens next with the Epstein investigation here. We're still waiting for Grijalva, a Democrat who was elected in Arizona, to be seated. She hasn't been seated into her new role since the shutdown began because the House of Representatives hasn't been meeting. But if she is ultimately given her seat in Congress, she will be the final signatory to bring a vote to the House of Representatives to release all the Epstein files. And that could, in theory, unlock a lot. A treasure trove of new information about this case that so far the Justice Department has been reluctant to reveal. So it is a, a waiting game right now to see. But I think our listener does point out it's interesting to see how on the other side of the Atlantic, there have been consequences for relations to Epstein at the highest levels. Meanwhile, here in the United States, we're still waiting for some kind of price to be paid and more information to turn out about exactly who was close and personal with Jeffrey Epstein through all of this.

[Matt Chorley]

We've also had quite a lot of questions about what Donald Trump had to say about directing defense officials to start testing nuclear weapons. So this is what Donald Trump said to CBS 60 Minutes on Friday.

[Anthony Zurcher]

If you notice, North Korea is testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test. And I want to be, I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test.

[Mariana Spring]

Are you saying that after more than 30 years, the United States is going to start detonating nuclear weapons?

[Anthony Zurcher]

I'm saying that we're going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do.

[Mariana Spring]

Yes, but the only country that's testing nuclear weapons is North Korea, China, Russia.

[Anthony Zurcher]

No, no, no. Russia's testing nuclear weapons.

[Mariana Spring]

My understanding.

[Anthony Zurcher]

And China's testing them, too. You just don't know about it.

[Matt Chorley]

So Nick emailed. Was Trump's threat to restart nuclear testing a petulant response to those ungrateful folks in Oslo for denying him the Nobel Peace Prize he so clearly earned? And John from West Yorkshire texted, does ordering nuclear arms testing align with the Nobel Peace Prize? The testing of nuclear weapons, Sarah, does that align with winning the Nobel Peace Prize?

[Sarah Spring]

Well, okay, so what we don't know is what exactly he means by that, but it is assumed, and the energy secretary kind of said this as well, that it's more about testing the missiles. It's not about actually blowing up nuclear warheads and, you know, creating a huge mushroom cloud somewhere and all of the attendant pollution and poisoning that would come from that. It's probably, you know, it's a reaction, I think, to, well, to the fact that North Korea didn't reach out and want to meet him when he was in the Far east, despite some very, very strong hints from Donald Trump and the need to be seen to be as. I don't think it's any really necessarily that much more sophisticated than to be seen to be as manly and as macho as Putin and Xi and Kim and, you know, if they are gonna test their weapons, then Donald Trump's gonna test his weapons too. Just the way, you know, he had a big military parade and then he was probably a bit embarrassed that when President Xi in China had a bigger, better milit. It's. Yeah, I don't know it, to be, to be honest, it all sounds a little bit juvenile, but that's to underplay something that could be quite, quite important. But I don't think we need to worry about actual nuclear explosions taking place. Anthony, do you think we do a voice. Yeah.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Reassuring message multiple times about this, including when I was on the trip with him last week on Air Force One, we asked him multiple times about what he meant by this and it's still not clear what he means by nuclear testing, which, which makes me think maybe he doesn't know what he means by this. I think he probably saw Russia testing its nuclear cruise missile, this nuclear powered missile that can fly 6,000 miles around the world, and North Korea launching its cruise missiles. And he was like, well, if they're going to do that, I'm going to do my nuclear testing too. Without differentiating between testing your nuclear missiles, as Sarah said, testing your nuclear delivery devices versus actually exploding a nuclear bomb. And so it's all just kind of a muddled mess, which, you know, cuts to what we see about Donald Trump time and time again, which is he can post something on his social media website, make these threats, whether it's hinting at a ground invasion, some kind of invasion of Nigeria or a land invasion of Venezuela, or testing nuclear weapons. And, and there may not be a whole process much beyond just Donald Trump rattling it off on his social media site of policy behind all of this. So it's difficult, once you see this, to get any kind of a solid answer. It's all very confusing and a lot of people are certainly concerned about the idea of nuclear testing, but we Just don't know what he means yet. And you know, this one might just eventually go away without anything happening.

[Matt Chorley]

Just following the Marianne, are your secret voters pro or anti a nuclear apocalypse?

[Mariana Spring]

I have to say that it's probably something that everyone's quite united on not wanting. However, I would say that there are certain social media feeds that are much more tinged with the conspiratorial than others. And as ever, often a kernel of truth is extrapolated. And then you would think if you spent most of your time scrolling on social media like I do, that the world was about to end every. Every 10 seconds. So perhaps unsurprising that when you're deep in your algorithm, you are much more inclined towards some of these much more negative ideas that often get the views and the clicks and the eyeballs.

[Sarah Spring]

Hello there. We've just come off the air on five Live where we were answering your questions with Matt. Charlie. Mariana has had to leave us. She's had to dash away. But Anthony, I want to catch up with some of the questions that we didn't quite get time to get through on the radio, including this one that was sent in from Lizzie. Hi, Americas, this is Lizzie.

[Mariana Spring]

I'm wondering, President Trump is often portrayed as insensitive or harsh in the media.

[Sarah Spring]

Yet he keeps winning elections.

[Mariana Spring]

It can seem like his supporters are reluctant to admit that they support him. Are Americans reluctant to say they support him, or is this just how the media portrays it? And if they are reluctant, why. Thank you.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Yeah, no, I thought that's an interesting question. I mean, Donald Trump has been good at winning elections. He's won two out of the three where his name has been on the ballot. And in each of those three elections, he has overperformed what the consensus polling was at the time, which suggests that maybe there is some either poll mistaking under, under registering his support because they aren't polling the right people, or they are. Their models aren't correct. Or people are saying that they don't support Donald Trump, and then when they get in their secret ballot polling booth, they vote for him. It is interesting also to note that when Donald Trump's name isn't on the ballot, Republicans haven't been doing as well. They lost in 2018, they underperformed in 2022. We're going to see how they do on Tuesday with some of these regional elections, and then next year with the congressional midterm elections. That'll be another test to see whether Donald Trump's political power extends beyond just his name. But there does seem to be a trend where Donald Trump ends up being stronger at the ballot box than he is in the polls leading up to Election Day.

[Sarah Spring]

Conversely, Lizzie, I would say the people who do support Donald Trump can be very, very voluble about it. I mean, in a way I don't think I've ever seen with any other US President. If you go to some parts of the country, generally the states in the middle and more rural areas, you will see people all over the place wearing Trump T shirts and Trump hats, things that folk would normally only do around about election time. They happily go to the shops wearing. You'll drive past many, many houses that still have Trump signs or flags in their front gardens and in their yards. I was down in Tennessee last weekend. I came across two separate Trump stores, like whole shops that only sell Trump branded clothing, mugs, caps, bumper stickers, keyrings, pint glasses, you name it. Things with Donald Trump's face on or sayings of his, quotes of his, that kind of thing. I think there is a level of worship as well as support from real MAGA die hards, the like of which I've never actually seen for anybody else, especially outside election time. So those who love him, really love him, I mean, of course, conversely, those who hate him, really hate him. But were you to come and visit us in America, you wouldn't find that everybody was, you know, shying away from admitting that they support Donald Trump.

[Mariana Spring]

Yeah.

[Anthony Zurcher]

And speaking of polls, we have some new polls that have just come out in the past couple of weeks that show Donald Trump's support slipping, that he is now about 40 to 42% approval and over 50% disapproval, which is not a great place for an incumbent president to be, that the public doesn't approve of his handling of the economy, which used to be a strength of his, and his handling of consumer prices. So now we may be thinking that may not translate into. Into elections once again. But it is something that, that seems to suggest that Donald Trump isn't that popular here in the United States right now. The difference from Trump is that he just goes on plugging ahead and acts like he is supremely popular. And he says he's doing the best in the polls, and all the real polls show him doing very well. And he. One of the reasons why he seems to defy gravity like that. And the coverage seems to be highlighting, well, you know, look at everything he's doing, rather than here's an unpopular president, it's just Donald Trump's force of will and his ability to go on in the face of adverse consequences.

[Sarah Spring]

One thing I thought was really interesting in some of the polling I looked at, Anthony, and it might surprise amerikasters like Lizzie is what voters didn't like about what he was doing. It was exactly as you say, on the economy, the cost of living, some of those, those big issues. But when they were asked about many of his controversial policies, like the way he is deporting illegal immigrants, about the really aggressive raids that we've seen from ice, about the manner in which people are being treated once they've been detained, how swiftly they're being deported into where, all of that, which has been a very aggressive push that's actually scored quite well in the polls. People aren't saying that they think he's gone too far on that, which I find a little bit surprising given just quite how bold he has been about how he's been doing that and how much opposition there's been from the left.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Yeah, I'm looking at a CBS poll that just came out a couple days ago. 38% approval on the economy, that's bad. 34% approval on inflation, that's even worse. But on handling of immigration, he's up at 45%. So he's, he's actually doing better on immigration than he is on some of these other kind of bedrock economic issues. And part of that, I think, is when he gets up there and says, you know, no one is crossing the border anymore, and that's a bit of an exaggeration. There are still, you know, thousands of people crossing the border every month. But it is a dramatic decline from what we saw during the Biden years, where hundreds of thousands of people were crossing the border. And so I think he could point to that as a real accomplishment, one that the American public wanted, when he was running, wanted him to do. And even though there have been all these high profile cases of mass immigration enforcement officials rounding up people, including American citizens, and putting them in detention, and the processing has been very slow. I think when the American public steps back and looks at the changes that Donald Trump has brought at the border, they are giving him credit for that.

[Sarah Spring]

Anthony, you mentioned that there are quite important elections coming on Tuesday for the mayor of New York, as we were discussing earlier for the governors in Virginia and in New Jersey, and there are elections in California as well. There's another big story on the horizon, though, is that on Wednesday, the Supreme Court is going to start hearing arguments in the case where it's being challenged whether or not Donald Trump actually has the constitutional power to set all the trade tariffs that he's imposed on so many countries around the world. A real central plank of his government agenda and his economic policy is these all important trade tariffs. And the court is going to consider actually whether or not he can even do this, aren't they?

[Mariana Spring]

Right.

[Anthony Zurcher]

And two lower level federal courts have found now that he can't, that the law dating back to the 1970s that Donald Trump is basing all of this sweeping power to impose and drop tariffs on pretty much whoever he pleases just doesn't give him. Doesn't give the president that kind of right. Actually, the Constitution says that it is Congress that sets tariffs. And so it's a question of whether Donald Trump has overreached, citing this law, his ability to do this, and what the Supreme Court is going to sit and consider. And they're doing this on an expedited basis. So this is all moving much quicker than most Supreme Court cases. And we could get a decision in a matter of months even is they're going to look and see whether the federal law, this text of the federal law gives Donald Trump this ability or whether Trump, because he's the commander in chief with broader kind of powers over national security, has some sort of ability to set tariffs that isn't in this law, but still allows him to do it. The court has taken a very skeptical view of the use of presidential power beyond what Congress authorizes. In the past, if you remember back to the Biden administration, Joe Biden's attempts to forgive student loans, the court struck that down as being much too much of an overreach of presidential power. They've done so on environmental issues as well, regulation of greenhouse gases said, no, no, you can't do that. Congress has to give specific approval for that. So it'll be very interesting to see whether the conservative court that has taken a skeptical view of presidents acting beyond their authority finds something different and some kind of different justification for Donald Trump here, or if they slap his wrist. And that would obviously anger Donald Trump greatly and cast into a considerable doubt everything that Donald Trump has tried to do on terrorists for the first nine months of his presidency.

[Sarah Spring]

Can I be cynical, Anthony, and say that this Supreme Court has taken a very skeptical view of Joe Biden's presidential power and in a bunch of other decisions that they've made, a very optimistic view of what President Donald Trump is able and allowed to do as it goes by the law. But I mean, still, it is, it is possible, it is within, in the realms of possibility that they could say that Donald Trump did not have the power to impose any of these tariffs and just strike them down, whereupon he would need to go to Congress and ask Congress to authorize them, which he would probably manage. Do you think, if he were to go there, I mean, given that there are Republican majorities in both houses, he could probably get them passed.

[Anthony Zurcher]

I think he could probably get it through the House of Representatives, which has been very Trumpy and very willing to back him in lockstep during these past nine months. The Senate is going to be a tougher nut to crack, first of all, because of the filibuster. You'd have to get 60 senators out of the 100 to support it. And that that would have to include some Democrats because there are only 53 Republicans in the, in the Senate right now. And actually we've seen the Senate vote recently against Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on Canada. And then you've had a, a plurality of senators, including some Republicans, vote that Donald Trump has gone too far. So it seems like the mood in the Senate for Donald Trump's tariffs is not nearly as, as great. So it would be, I think, a heavy lift and going to be really interesting to see if they're able to pull that off.

[Sarah Spring]

It's worth saying we're not going to get a decision on what the Supreme Court thinks the legality or not of the tariffs are this week. We're just going to hear the opening arguments. But nonetheless, that is going to be really important and really interesting, as will the results of those off year elections. So there is going to be more than enough for us to be talking about in upcoming episodes of AmericasT this week. But for now we'll say goodbye. See you all later.

[Anthony Zurcher]

Bye y'.

[Sarah Spring]

All.

[Anthony Zurcher]

AmericaSt.

[Mariana Spring]

AmericaSt from BBC News.

[Matt Chorley]

Well, look, thanks for listening all the way to the end of today's AmericasT. You are now officially an AmericasT. It is, of course, a ride, a wild ride, navigating the US News, particularly in the era of Trump. But you have made it. If you have a comment, a question about the things we've talked about or anything at all actually, get in touch with us. The email is americastbc.co.uk the WhatsApp is 033-01-239480. We answer your questions every single week actually on the podcast, so keep them coming. You can join the online community as well on Discord. The link is in the the podcast description on your app. We will be back with another podcast very soon. So until then, see you later. Bye.