Newscast: "Trump Calls The BBC" (15 July 2025)

Host: Adam Fleming | Guest: Gary O’Donoghue (BBC Washington Correspondent)

Special Content: Extended Interview with President Donald Trump

Episode Overview

This episode of Newscast features BBC’s Adam Fleming and Gary O’Donoghue delving into the story behind – and the substance of – a rare, call-in interview with U.S. President Donald Trump. Marking one year since the attempt on Trump’s life, the conversation covers the changing nature of Trump's relationship with world leaders, US-UK relations under Keir Starmer, NATO, Brexit, Vladimir Putin, and Trump's own legacy and psychology. The episode offers unique insights both into the mind of the current U.S. President and the practice of high-stakes political journalism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Landing the Trump Interview: The Backstory

• Surreal Timing: Gary O’Donoghue recounts being abruptly awakened for the call:
  "It was surreal because I was actually asleep... I'd been trying for this interview for a while... in my rush, I actually managed to hang up on the President of the United States." (01:07)

• Persistence rather than Access:
  O’Donoghue describes classic journalistic persistence, leveraging all contacts but expecting it had "gone away" until the White House suddenly called him. (02:27–03:31)

• MAGA Perception Shift:
  O’Donoghue reflects on how BBC’s reporting on the shooting improved trust with some MAGA-leaning audiences, previously suspicious of mainstream media:
  “I felt that that had changed the weather a little bit when talking to those MAGA supporters. We were still, let's be clear, mainstream media, which in this country is an insult, but just not quite as mainstream media as some of the others.” (03:47–04:50)

2. Trump’s Media Style & The Art of the Interview

• Interviewing Trump Requires Strategy:
  O’Donoghue details his approach: short, respectful questions, carefully timed:
  “With Donald Trump there are moments where he stops and you can tell he's listening and you wait for that moment to intersperse a very quick question.” (06:11)

• Trump Calling Journalists:
  Adam Fleming notes that Trump’s penchant for spontaneously phoning reporters is “part of his shtick” – a way to control narratives as a “non-politician politician.” (05:02)

3. The Trump Interview: Key Themes & Quotes

a. Surviving the Assassination Attempt

• On the Crowd’s Silence:
  “We had 55,000 people and it was dead silence... I assumed that they expected the worst. And so I had to let them know I was okay... I tried to get up as quick as possible. They had a stretcher ready... I said, no, thank you.” (09:36–10:17)

• On Coping, Post-Trauma:
  “I like to think about it as little as possible, to be honest... If I did, it would be, you know, might be life changing. I don't want it to have to be that. It was a crazy moment.” (10:21)

b. Foreign Policy & World Leaders

• On Treatment by World Leaders, Second Term:
  “When you do it twice, it's a big difference... These are smart people heading up very, very successful, generally countries... And I think they've come to respect me and my decision making.” (11:14–11:53)

• On Vladimir Putin:
  “I'm disappointed in him, but I'm not done with him... We had a deal done four times, and then you go home and you see... just attacked a nursing home or something in Kiev. I said, what the hell was that all about?” (12:14–12:29)
  Interviewer: "Do you trust him?"
  Trump: “I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.” (12:29–12:33)

• On NATO:
  “I think NATO is now becoming the opposite [of obsolete]. It was very unfair because the United States paid for almost 100% of it, but now they’re paying their own bills and I think that’s much better.” (13:02–13:17)
  “I do, yeah. I think collective defence is fine.” (13:23)

c. UK Relations, Brexit, and State Visit

• On the UK and PM Starmer:
  “I really like the Prime Minister a lot, even though he's a liberal... He did a good trade deal with us, which a lot of countries haven't been able to do.” (13:53–14:12)

• On Brexit:
  “No, I think it's been on the sloppy side, but I think it's getting straightened out.” (13:53)

• On Making a Speech to Parliament:
  “No, I think. Let them go and have a good time. I don't want that.” (14:26)

• On the Special Relationship:
  “I believe the UK would fight with us. There's something about it. It’s just been so many years... They have been a really true ally.” (15:32)

d. Defining His Legacy

• “Saving America. I think America is now a great country and it was a dead country one year ago, and that's been told to me by many leaders of the countries, you know.” (16:38)

4. Post-Interview Analysis (Fleming & O’Donoghue)

Reflections on Starmer and UK Politics

• Keir Starmer’s image receives a lift:
  “Keir Starmer will be listening to that interview and punching the air... Despite him being a liberal, I think he can probably swallow that one.” (17:06)

• Parliament Speech ‘Row’ De-fused:
  Trump’s lack of interest in addressing Parliament means UK officials can sidestep a potential controversy. (17:06–17:30)

Trump’s Affection for Personal Chemistry

• Personal relationships and flattery:
  “He thrives on personal contacts... finds it a bit baffling that simply getting people together when there’s a problem – with him there – doesn’t just sort it out.” (21:20)

• On Trump’s manner:
  “For somebody who is sometimes accused of being a bull in a china shop... he can be very, very polite and very kind of formal... quite solicitous himself.” (21:06)

The Putin Dynamic

• A More Critical Trump on Russia:
  Adam Fleming: “He started to sound really quite critical of Russia and certainly much more critical than he has done in the past.” (22:46)
  O’Donoghue observes that despite exasperation, Trump “still thinks there’s an opportunity for a deal... the door is still ajar.” (23:07)

• Does Trump Trust Anyone?
  O’Donoghue: “A shiver went up my spine, actually, because I thought at that moment, that is an incredibly lonely place to be in this world if you trust almost no one.” (24:53)

On the Power of ‘Positive Non-Thinking’

• Reticence about discussing the shooting:
  Trump’s avoidance of trauma is identified as a unique Trumpism—
  “the power of positive non-thinking.” (28:27)

BBC’s Editorial Choices

• Different Interview Modes:
  Fleming: “As an interviewer... you can be a bit more of a reporter and try and elicit stuff and get the most you can out of the interviewee. And it's very clear in this case that Gary went for the second model of interview rather than the first.” (29:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you.” – Donald Trump (12:33)
• “I'm disappointed in him, but I'm not done with him.” – Donald Trump, on Vladimir Putin (12:14)
• “I like to think about it as little as possible... power of positive non-thinking.” – Donald Trump (10:21, 28:27)
• “We had 55,000 people and it was dead silence... I could tell by that it was like dead silence and everything. So I had to let them know I was okay, which is what I did.” – Donald Trump (09:36–10:01)
• “The chemistry is incredibly important from his point of view.” – Gary O’Donoghue (21:20)
• “He’s just not bothered [about making a speech to Parliament], is he?” – Adam Fleming (17:06)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:07] – Gary O’Donoghue recounts being awakened for the White House call
• [03:47] – BBC’s post-shooting reputation among MAGA supporters
• [06:11] – Strategy for Interviewing Trump
• [09:36]–[11:05] – Donald Trump describes his shooting and response
• [11:14]–[12:33] – Trump on world leaders, disappointment with Putin, and trust
• [13:02]–[13:23] – Trump on NATO now being "the opposite" of obsolete
• [13:53]–[14:12] – Trump on Brexit, UK trade deal, and his affection for Keir Starmer
• [15:32] – Trump on the special relationship and UK as a “true ally”
• [16:38] – Trump on his own legacy: “Saving America”
• [17:06]–[20:14] – BBC analysis of interview’s UK political context
• [21:20] – Trump’s reliance on personal chemistry
• [24:53] – O’Donoghue’s reaction to Trump’s “I trust almost nobody” line
• [28:27] – The power of positive non-thinking

Conclusion

This episode stands out as both a landmark scoop and a study in the challenges of political journalism. It captures the uniquely performative, sometimes contradictory but revealing candor of Donald Trump, filtered through the sharp observational skills of BBC correspondents. For listeners, it provides firsthand insight into Trump’s approach to old alliances, adversaries, trauma, and power—while offering a behind-the-scenes view of how such interviews come about and are navigated. It also serves as an audio document of political atmospheres on both sides of the Atlantic in a consequential year.