World

Thursday

Charles Moore Charles Moore

Joe Biden was never quite all there

As President Biden sank more deeply into the mire this month, kind friends kept urging me to write in his defence, because respect for the old must be maintained in our discourteous society. ‘And why does it matter,’ they added, ‘if he muddles up everyone’s name? We know who he means.’ ‘It’s like sacking the warden of New College for Spoonerisms,’ said one. I nearly succumbed; but since I had observed as early as the mid-1980s that Biden was not quite all there, I did not feel I could stick up for his underlying cognitive coherence nearly 40 years later. Besides, if Donald Trump wins, America will still have an

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

The curious rise of Kamala Harris

I’m struck just in your presence,’ a news anchor gushed to Kamala Harris in January. The Vice President beamed, nodding for her interviewer to continue. ‘You hear candidates suggesting that a vote for President Biden, because of his age, is a vote for you.’ The reporter paused: ‘And that is hurled as an insult.’ Harris explained that this is the price women pay for professional success – in her case, rising from first female attorney general in California to state senator to Vice President of the United States. ‘I love my job,’ Harris concluded, wrapping up the kind of hard-hitting interview the media tends to throw her way. Insult or

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Does Donald fear Kamala?

On Monday, Donald J. Trump sent out an urgent campaign memo. ‘Joe Biden just dropped out of the race, and now, his replacement has just been announced,’ it said. ‘It’s me!’ How typically Donald. If Trump were worried about the sudden replacement of Biden with Kamala Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket, he’d never show it. He’s already busy pointing towards polls that suggest ‘Lyin’ Kamala’ is the least popular vice president in history. He’s calling her ‘Dumb as a rock’ and emphasising her abysmal performance as Biden’s ‘border tsar’. Trump’s campaign staff, meanwhile, are insisting that they knew all along Harris would at some point be the

Yascha Mounk

How supporting Trump became cool

For the past decade, the basic lines of conflict in American public life seemed clear. Donald Trump was pitted against the establishment, the ‘basket of deplorables’ who supported him against the elites. The reality was more complicated. Yes, plenty of rich and powerful Americans supported Trump and plenty of poorer Americans on the fringes of society were against him. But in a certain section of society the disdain for Trump was unequivocal. Among the country’s elite – at Harvard and Stanford, at Google and Goldman, near the beaches of the Hamptons and the mountains around Aspen – anyone who defied the anti-Trump consensus could expect swift consequences for their social

Wednesday

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Will Kamala Harris implode? With Alex Castellanos

36 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by political consultant Alex Castellanos to discuss the candidacy of Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ nominee for President and why, at this moment, she is the biggest threat to Donald Trump – but how long will that last? This was originally recorded for Spectator TV.  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

Elisabeth Braw

The West must prepare for world war three

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is demonstrating in no uncertain terms that world war three is possible. Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, who is also his country’s former top commander, has suggested that other countries can prepare by learning from what is happening in Ukraine. They certainly can. Better yet, by swiftly preparing their societies for a war like the one now raging in Ukraine, western countries can help prevent another world war. Had institutions, companies and citizens not been so agile, Ukraine would be facing not just a brutal Russian invader but a collapsing society too ‘Is humanity ready to calmly accept the next war in terms of the

Sam Leith Sam Leith

Neil Jordan: Amnesiac

47 min listen

Sam Leith’s guest on this week’s Book Club is the writer and film director Neil Jordan, who joins the podcast to discuss his new book Amnesiac: A Memoir. He talks, among other things, about writing for the page and the screen, the uses of myth, putting words into the mouths of historical figures, seeing ghosts in aeroplanes, being ripped off by Harvey Weinstein, and failing to persuade Marlon Brando to play King Lear. 

Sam Meadows

A football chant is causing problems for Javier Milei

When the final whistle blew and Argentina’s players celebrated another Copa America triumph – the icing on the cake of a three-year spell of dominance in international football – few would have predicted that it would cause a rift to appear in government. But, just days and a racism scandal later, that is what appears to have happened.  Javier Milei is no stranger to diplomatic incidents. The libertarian ‘anarcho-capitalist’ has called Pope Francis an imbecile and Brazil’s president Lula a communist – but his vice president’s defence of (some) of the Argentina’s players’ use of a racist and homophobic football chant has proven to be beyond the pale. Villarruel was also

Jonathan Spyer

Here’s how Israel can win

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was photographed on his flight to the US earlier this week next to a hat bearing the slogan ‘total victory.’ Those two words somewhat obscure reality: Israel is yet to fully outline what would constitute victory in the currently three-front war (against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Ansar Allah (Houthis) in Yemen).  Netanyahu is hardly alone among politicians and statesmen in his preferring vagueness over specificity. Vagueness provides flexibility, and enables a variety of possible end states to be presented as an achievement. You do not have to subscribe to the view held by Netanyahu’s opponents, that the Prime Minister cares only

Tuesday

Damien Phillips

What will Labour do about Iran?

Labour isn’t typically known for offering a more hawkish foreign policy platform than the Conservatives, but at the last election there was an exception: Iran. Yvette Cooper and David Lammy have spoken in strong terms about toughening up Britain’s approach to Iran George Robertson, the former defence secretary and Nato secretary general leading the government’s defence review, has described Tehran as part of the ‘deadly quartet’ of nations working together to challenge the Western-led global order. Both Yvette Cooper and David Lammy have also previously spoken in strong terms about toughening up Britain’s approach to Iran. With the Home Office and Foreign Office on board, Sir Keir Starmer has the

Daniel DePetris

President Kamala could spell trouble for Israel – but good news for Ukraine

In the two days since Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid and endorsed vice president Kamala Harris as the Democratic party nominee, much attention has been devoted to the mechanics of Biden’s decision, which close advisers or family members may have convinced him to pull out and how the entire episode will shake up the race. But with Harris the strong favourite to become the Democratic’s presidential nominee, it’s worth asking what president Harris could mean for other countries, not least the United State’s allies – and enemies. The VP is tougher on Israel than Biden for the way it’s prosecuting its war on Hamas Does Harris have a foreign

James Johnson

Who should Kamala Harris make her running mate?

It’s Kamala. The result of the last 48 hours, capping off one of the most eventful weeks in American political history, has been to all but confirm Kamala Harris will be the Democratic nominee for president this November. More than half the delegates at the upcoming DNC in Chicago have pledged their support to her, and the number is fast-rising. She has also pulled in several big name endorsements. It is true that Barack Obama has held back his support, but she has secured the backing of most of the serious players, including former speaker of the House – and driving force behind Joe Biden’s defenestration – Nancy Pelosi. Kamala

John Keiger John Keiger

Macron’s scheming could have disastrous consequences for France

French voters are looking on aghast at the state of their country’s democracy. Faced with stalemate in the French National Assembly since the 7 July elections, acute frustration is building among left and right wing députés. They fear that the election is being stolen from them by the scheming of president Emmanuel Macron’s much depleted centrist bloc. Despite taking a beating in the European and legislative elections from left and nationalist right, Macron has been manoeuvring to deny any chance of government to members of what he refers to as the ‘extremes’: Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed party and Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. He has been brutally successful in the latter case. 

Monday

Cindy Yu Cindy Yu

Why China loves Taylor Swift

47 min listen

‘Swifties’, as Taylor Swift’s fans are known across the world, are extremely dedicated to the cause, and often estimated to drive up local economies wherever they flock, and Chinese fans are no different. Swift didn’t perform in China on the latest global tour, but that didn’t stop more wealthy fans flying to Singapore to see her; or the less wealthy, going to cinemas in China to watch the Taylor Swift Eras Tour documentary – which has broken box office records in China. All this got me thinking – how popular is American, and western, pop music in China in general? Is it considered mainstream, or something a bit more indie

Kate Andrews Kate Andrews

Did Kamala Harris just snub Barack Obama?

Kamala Harris just delivered her first public remarks since the Democratic ticket fell apart over the weekend. But this was not the moment to address the mess, or indeed her own candidacy for president – two subjects she avoided. Filling in for Joe Biden at a ceremony honouring the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship teams, Harris kept her remarks short. Standing outside the White House, she used her comments to lavish praise upon her boss, calling Biden’s record ‘unmatched in modern history’. (‘Yes, you may clap’ she encouraged, which led to a rather soft round of applause). It was quite the statement, which was as long (perhaps slightly longer) than

Matt McDonald

Kamala Harris pays tribute to Biden in brief speech

The Democratic party’s new presumptive nominee for president, vice president Kamala Harris, told the nation she was ‘deeply grateful’ for president Joe Biden in her first remarks since he announced his decision yesterday not to stand for reelection and to endorse her in the 2024 presidential election. ‘Joe Biden’s legacy of accomplishment over the past three years is unmatched in modern history… yes, you may clap,” Harris said, in an address at the White House honouring NCAA athletes. But she pointedly did not discuss her own future or her nascent campaign. Her aim, it seems, was to show her commitment to service – doing her job as vice president, not

Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

Biden backs out: can anything stop Kamala Harris?

19 min listen

What happens after Joe Biden? The President has announced that he won’t run for re-election. Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, his Vice President, to be the new Democratic nominee. Can she convince Democratic voters, and the rest of the US? The Spectator’s Freddy Gray and Kate Andrews are joined by Tim Stanley, columnist for the Telegraph. This episode was originally broadcast on SpectatorTV. You can watch it here:

Sam Leith Sam Leith

The CrowdStrike crash was an act of God

CrowdStrike. What a name. It sounds, doesn’t it, like exactly what it’s meant to prevent? And a cloudstrike, in the sense of a bolt from the blue, is exactly what the company produced: millions and millions of Windows PCs simultaneously succumbed to the Blue Screen of Death, as a company whose whole raison d’etre is averting internet catastrophe caused one. The biggest, supposedly, in history.  Is it in bad taste to say that the great internet outage of July 2024 was, in some respects, just a little bit funny? Plainly, it wasn’t funny if you were trying to book a GP appointment, or trying to pass through an international airport,

Philip Patrick Philip Patrick

Why the punishment fits the ‘crime’ for Japan’s smoking gymnast

Japan’s Olympics have got off to the worst possible start. The captain of their women’s gymnastics team Shoko Miyata has withdrawn, or more accurately been obliged to withdraw, after admitting breaking the team’s code of conduct while at their training camp in Monaco. Her Olympic dream is over and she leaves in disgrace. So, what was this unacceptable behaviour? Well, it appears Miyata smoked a cigarette and drank alcohol (once, for each). Smoking and drinking are prohibited for anyone under the age of 20 in Japan. Miyata is 19. Miyata’s Olympic dream is over and she leaves in disgrace JGA’s (Japanese Gymnastic Association) president Tadashi Fujita offered a grovelling apology

Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Why can’t French progressives be more civil?

There was a muted reaction among the French political class to the attempt on Donald’s Trump’s life. Keir Starmer sent his best wishes to the former president in the early hours of Sunday morning, but it was another six hours before president Emmanuel Macron followed suit. The caretaker prime minister of France, Gabriel Attal, made no comment, nor did the man who dreams of having his job, Olivier Faure, the secretary of the Socialist party. Politics in France is a squalid business One or two figures from the left-wing coalition did offer their lukewarm support to Trump. Sandrine Rousseau, for example, a Green MP, wished him a ‘speedy recovery’ and