Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray is deputy editor of The Spectator and the editor of the US edition. He hosts Americano on YouTube.

Will Keir Starmer be a casualty of the Epstein fallout?

In America, important men don’t seem to suffer too much over their links to the late Jeffrey Epstein.Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Howard Lutnick and Paolo Zampolli, among others, might regret their past friendships with the world’s most famous sex criminal. Certainly, they resent having to face pesky questions about it.But the story just rumbles on, darkly, a source of endless intrigue and gossip and conspiracy theories – sustained as it is by the occasional publicity jolt, such as last week when First Lady Melania Trump, apparently without the knowledge of her husband, decided to give a big public statement denying that she, er, something something Jeffrey Epstein.

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Why has Trump picked a fight with the Pope?

Why has Trump picked a fight with the Pope?

From our UK edition

25 min listen

Donald Trump’s latest clash with the Pope has stunned even the more hardened of America-watchers. According to the President of the United States Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people, is 'WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.' He also claimed that, 'If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.' Is the war in Iran the only reason the Pope and the President have clashed? And what does it tell us about religious relations in the US today? In a special podcast collaboration, the host of Holy Smoke Damian Thompson and the host of Americano Freddy Gray discuss the dispute. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

Trump vs the Pope: Rowan Williams on America's 'demonic' political climate

Trump vs the Pope: Rowan Williams on America’s ‘demonic’ political climate

From our UK edition

50 min listen

The Pope is 'WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy' – this was the verdict of the President of the United States this week, as he appeared to deepen his row with the leader of the Catholic Church. In the magazine this week, Damian Thompson reports on why the President appears to have engaged in his own Holy War with the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world. For this week's Edition, host William Moore is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, commissioning editor Lara Brown – and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. Baron Williams, now retired from the Lords, fears there is something 'demonic' in the political culture of the United States right now, as people appear to twist Christian teaching to justify their own causes.

Pope vs Trump: why Trump picked a fight with Pope Leo

Donald Trump’s latest clash with the Catholic Church stunned even the most hardened veterans of culture-war X. According to the President of the United States, the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the conspicuously holy spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people, is “WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” He also claimed, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” Spectator associate editor Damian Thompson joins Freddy Gray to discuss the dispute.

Pope vs Trump: why Trump picked a fight with Pope Leo

The case for American power

Freddy Gray speaks to Shadi Hamid, author of the book The Case for American Power, which explores – and puts forward – the case for American power in spite of Donald Trump.

The case for American power

If only TACO were true

A useful rule, when trying to understand current affairs, is AAL: Acronyms Always Lie.A case in point would be the acronym of the year so far: TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out). It means that Donald Trump is always bluffing and, when push finally comes to shove, he folds.TACO has caught on since Liberation Day and the onset of Trump 2.0’s tariff agenda, and is now deployed again and again to describe the President’s latest ceasefire with Iran. Over free trade, Greenland, and the Middle East, he’s shown himself to be a playground bully who loves to intimidate adversaries only to cave whenever the going gets tough.

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End of America’s empire?

30 min listen

Freddy Gray is joined by Jacob Heilbrunn, Americano regular and editor of the National Interest. They discuss the Strait of Hormuz, rising energy prices and whether the US can extricate itself from a conflict it may not be able to win – and whether we're watching the end of Trumpism.

End of America’s empire?

Will Trump strike a ‘final blow’ on Iran?

Will America’s ground invasion of Iran begin in the early hours of tomorrow? Everybody knows, by now, that Trump likes to initiate action late on Fridays, after the markets close. And late last night, the so-called Pentagon Pizza Watch channel – which monitors late-night food orders from the Pentagon for evidence that something big is afoot – reported a surge of activity, leading to all sorts of prediction-market bets that a new military operation would start this weekend. Of course, with so much money to be made on war gambling – there’s now a Polymarket "situation room" bar in Washington, DC – the odds of someone trying to dupe the markets are short.

Podcast wars, Cuba & Corbyn – with Steven Crowder

33 min listen

Steven Crowder, host of Louder with Crowder, joins Freddy Gray to discuss the warring factions in the podcast world, worsened since Charlie Kirk's assassination; the global leftwing alliance promoting communism in Cuba, whether Trump was wrong to attack Iran & why Mark Carney kowtowed to China.

Postcast wars, Cuba & Corbyn – with Steven Crowder

Who is actually talking to the Iranians?

On Friday night, Donald Trump announced that America was “very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great military efforts in the Middle East.”  He even pinned the announcement to the top of his Truth Social account to make sure everyone realized he meant it. That did little to settle the markets over the weekend, however, so this morning he took to Truth Social again to go further in ALL CAPS:  The lingering fear is that the truth may be more TCCO (Trump Can’t Chicken Out) I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.

Iran and America’s new protection racket

"Whoever rules the waves rules the world" – Alfred Thayer Mahan. Would Donald Trump have attacked Iran on February 28 if the Supreme Court had not ruled against his tariffs on February 20? The two issues may seem unrelated. Yet, as a fascinating piece by Captain John Konrad has pointed out, a closer inspection of Trump’s international agenda reveals his administration’s intense focus on trade, energy and maritime control – and that might help explain the otherwise inexplicable folly of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.  Trump is determined to bring about an American Golden Age. That involves controlling gas and oil, aggressively reducing China’s expanding control of shipping lanes, and establishing US dominance over key maritime chokepoints.

Strait of Hormuz

How Iran will hasten the end of MAGA

31 min listen

The attack on Iran is so wildly inconsistent with the wishes of his own base that it is likely to mark the end of Trumpism as a project. Freddy Gray is joined by Spectator columnist Christopher Caldwell to discuss Trumpism, JD Vance vs Marco Rubio, what's left of the Republican party after Trump, and the competing ambitions of Israel and Iran.

How Iran will hasten the end of MAGA

Why King Charles should still visit Trump

22 min listen

King Charles is due to travel to the US on a state visit to see President Donald Trump. Given the turbulence between Starmer and Trump over the war in Iran, some politicians such as Ed Davey have suggested the King should not go. Freddy Gray speaks to royal author and Daily Mail journalist Robert Hardman about the history of controversial state visits, why Donald Trump loves the royal family, and how King Charles navigates his royal duties and subtle influence over leaders.

Why King Charles should still visit Trump

Can anyone beat a madman president?

30 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to James D. Boys, author of the new book US grand strategy and the madman theory. He is also a senior research fellow at UCL. They discuss the origins of the madman theory – which applies insights from psychology to understand how your enemies think. James covers it from from Nixon to Trump and its intellectual home in Boston. They also explore how the madman theory is being applied in the Middle East conflict and how regularly the theory can be misapplied.

Can anyone beat a madman president?

Will the SAVE bill pass?

30 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to Roger Kimball, editor of the New Criterion and Spectator writer about Trump’s SAVE act - a bill to tackle voter integrity soon to be voted on in the Senate.

What Signalgate tells us about Iran

Remember Signalgate? It was quite the story, and worth revisiting now in light of Operation Epic Fury, the ongoing crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and its dire implications for the global economy.  In March last year, Donald Trump’s then National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, somehow added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, to a Signal messaging group for senior government officials to discuss top secret military action against the Houthis in Yemen. The group included the Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, among others.

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‘We don’t know what’s going on or why we’re doing this’: how Trump’s Iran gamble backfired

‘Donald Trump is a complicated person with simple ideas,’ said Kellyanne Conway, the former White House senior counsellor. ‘Way too many politicians are the exact opposite.’ It’s a good way of understanding the 45th and 47th US President and his extraordinary success. His turbulent personality causes mayhem, yet his political aims have remained constant, straightforward and popular. Decades ago, as a New York tycoon with a keen eye on international affairs, he identified three priorities for America: tackle the nation’s trade imbalances, force Nato allies to spend more on defence, and destroy terrorists. When it comes to realising those simple ideas, however, his more complex attributes emerge.

Will Donald Trump avoid the mistakes made by George Bush in Iraq?

26 min listen

Trump has signalled that the Middle East war could be 'over ​soon' and pledged to lift sanctions after talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Freddy Gray is joined by Jacob Heilbrunn and Robert Bryce to discuss why Trump was potentially unprepared for Iran's retaliation, what could come from the talks with Putin, and why Britain can only get their energy prices down by drilling.

Will Donald Trump avoid the mistakes made by George Bush in Iraq?
Is the special relationship over?

Is the special relationship over?

From our UK edition

The US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said today will be the most intense day yet of American strikes on Iran. Over the weekend, Donald Trump claimed the war could soon be over – and suggested the US has already effectively won. He also took aim at Keir Starmer, accusing Britain of joining wars America has ‘already won’. Deputy and US editor Freddy Gray joins the podcast to explain what’s really happening in Washington and why he believes the ‘special relationship’ may be over – and not coming back. Economics editor Michael Simmons also joins to discuss the fallout. As oil prices surge and markets react, Reform UK is seizing on renewed pressure over the cost of living. What does the crisis mean for Rachel Reeves – and how serious could the economic consequences become?

Iran: is Trump’s ultimate target in this war China?

30 min listen

As the crisis in the Middle East has escalated, Donald Trump's posturing has led many to question his strategy – and if he even has one. Geoffrey Cain, former foreign correspondent, expert on authoritarian regimes – and the author of this week's cover piece in the Spectator, joins Freddy Gray to explain why Trump's ultimate target in the war is China. From the Belt and Road development initiative to more tacit bilateral support, President Xi has been playing a game of chess, to try to check America's power. With Nicolas Maduro arrested and Ayatollah Khamenei assassinated, President Trump is showing his willingness to project American power, at whatever cost – so far. Cain raises questions for those who assume we're moving to a multipolar world.

Iran: is Trump's ultimate target in this war China?