Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray

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

Tuesday

Freddy Gray

What Farage gets about politics and entertainment

From our UK edition

Towards the end of last year, Nigel Farage set tongues wagging as he entered the jungle for I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! Yesterday he announced his return to electoral politics – and the national conversation about him now is curiously similar to what it was then. Will the masses actually vote for him? Will people find his rhetoric refreshing – or racist? And is this good or bad for GB News? We’re used to talking in a slightly superior English way about Donald Trump, the former host of The Apprentice, as the reality TV president across the pond. But Britain is not so different. Our politics is not just downstream from culture, as the (American) Andrew Breitbart put it.

Saturday

Freddy Gray

Can Keir handle Trump?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The news that Donald Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies meant that the Labour leader faced questions about the former president on Friday morning, rather than the Diane Abbott selection storm. On his visit to Scotland, Starmer told the BBC that a Labour government would be willing to work with ‘whoever’ was elected in November’s presidential contest. But how would Starmer deal with Trump?  James Heale speaks to Kate Andrews and Freddy Gray.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Trump is a convict, but will it matter?

From our UK edition

This is an extremely strange moment for American democracy. Polls suggest that independent voters – the people who decide American elections – will not vote for a man who is a convicted felon. But now Donald Trump, currently the favourite to win re-election in November, has been found guilty, on 34 counts, of falsifying business records – and nobody knows if that verdict will make him more popular or less. On the one hand, a court has decided that, yes, he deliberately altered his financial accounts, possibly for election campaign reasons back in 2016. He is now a convict. Trump has a murky past, and his dodgy history now appears to have caught up with him.

Freddy Gray

John Mearsheimer on Ukraine, Gaza & escalation dominance

From our UK edition

48 min listen

Professor John Mearsheimer joins Freddy Gray to talk about the powder keg situation in Eastern Europe, why Putin is possibly the least hawkish of possible Russian leaders and why Israel has lost escalation dominance. This was originally broadcast on SpectatorTV.

Freddy Gray

A guilty verdict won’t sink Trump

This is an extremely strange moment for American democracy. Polls suggest that Independent voters — the people who decide American elections — will not vote for a man who is a convicted felon. But now Donald Trump, currently the favorite to win re-election in November, has been found guilty on thirty-four counts of falsifying business records — and nobody knows if that verdict will make him more popular or less. On one hand, Trump has been traduced — thirty-four times over — because a court has decided that, yes, he deliberately altered his financial accounts, possibly for election campaign reasons, back in 2016. He is now a convict. Trump has a murky past. That past has now caught up with him.

donald trump guilty
Freddy Gray

Will South Africa reject the ANC?

From our UK edition

After many years in power, a corrupt and inept government is finally close to being removed. There is no great confidence in the opposition — but the people have had enough of seeing their country ruined and are finally having their say. No, I’m not talking about Britain and the Conservative party but South Africa, where the ANC looks as if it might be close to losing power after almost three decades of one-party rule. Very high turnout for other parties is understood to have perhaps caused the African National Congress, the party of Nelson Mandela, to fall below 50 per cent of the vote for the first time. It’s currently on 43 per cent, according to the early results. This may force the ANC to power share.

Wednesday

Freddy Gray

The Pope doesn’t just have a vulgar language problem

From our UK edition

The Pope is only infallible when he speaks ‘ex cathedra’ – i.e. when pronouncing on doctrinal matters of faith as Pontifex Maximus. So, last week, when Francis privately told a gathering of bishops that he opposed the ordination of homosexual priests because there was too much ‘frociaggine’ – or ‘faggotry’ – in the priesthood already, he was not speaking formally as the Vicar of Christ. Francis’s remarks inevitably caused anger within the LGBQT communities. Fabrizio Marrazzo, leader of the Italian Gay party, accused the Pope of ‘backsliding on gay rights’. The truth is that the Pope is a specialist when it comes to shooting off his mouth The Vatican has duly apologised in a statement.

Sunday

Freddy Gray

What is Trump’s new foreign policy?

From our UK edition

26 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to author Jacob Heilbrunn about what another term in office for Donald Trump might mean for America's foreign policy, its relationship with Israel, and the war in Ukraine. How have his views changed since last time? And what will his relationship with Putin be like?

Friday

Freddy Gray

Would a conviction hurt Trump?

From our UK edition

24 min listen

Next week the world may know whether Donald Trump becomes the first US President to receive a criminal conviction. But could this verdict help or hinder him? Tom Lubbock, co-founder of pollsters J L Partners, joins Freddy Gray to discuss. They also analyse the dynamics at play in current polling: why is Trump doing better in the sun-belt states? And is this election a referendum on Biden? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Why is Biden so unpopular?

From our UK edition

23 min listen

New York Post writer Miranda Devine joins Freddy Gray to discuss Joe Biden's unpopularity. Why are Americans increasingly not supporting him? And how have Biden family scandals and rumours affected trust in the President? In a week that Biden gave a commencement speech, they also discuss the recent controversy over NFL kicker Harrison Butker's speech. What insight does the reaction to the speech tell us about America today? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

Friday

Freddy Gray

Is Biden losing the swing states?

From our UK edition

19 min listen

Matt McDonald, managing editor of the US edition of The Spectator, joins Freddy Gray to discuss whether Biden is losing the swing states, the potential outcome of the Trump-Biden TV debates, and who the polls are spelling trouble for.  Produced by Megan McElroy.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

Veep show: who will Trump pick for his running mate?

From our UK edition

47 min listen

This week: Veep show: who will Trump pick for his running mate? Freddy Gray goes through the contenders – and what they say about America (and its most likely next president). ‘Another thought might be buzzing around Trump’s head: he can pick pretty much whoever he wants because really it’s all about him. He might even choose one of his children: Ivanka or Donald Junior. What could sound better than Trump-Trump 2024?’ Freddy joins the podcast. (02:10) Next: Will and Lara take us through some of their favourite pieces from the magazine, including David Shipley’s piece on the issues in the criminal justice system and Patrick Kidd’s article on the C of E’s volunteering crisis.  Then: Everest.

Freddy Gray

Trump vs Biden could be the worst presidential debate in history

From our UK edition

Ding ding ding! Trump vs Biden, the debate rematch, is on – so brace yourselves for the worst presidential tussle in history! This time, ladies and gentlemen, they’re four years older. The truth is Trump does not have a very good record in presidential debates In 2020, in the first presidential debate of a Covid-riven election, the two old men set a new low for American politics by shouting over each other like drunk slobs in a bar. Trump, who may have been suffering from Covid himself, decided to attack Joe Biden for among other things his handling of the swine flu in 2009, when Joe was vice-president. ‘Don’t ever use the word smart with me,’ was probably Trump’s most memorable line. ‘Because there’s nothing smart about you, Joe.

Freddy Gray

Veep show: who will Trump pick for his running mate?

From our UK edition

We are in the fifth week of Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial and the real scandal is that it’s all so intensely boring. Sex, porn-star witnesses, shady lawyers, a president in the dock – the headlines are a tabloid dream. The crux of the case, however, is a bunch of tedious charges to do with tax reporting and accountancy. Who wants to read about that?   Trump is ‘not looking for an heir because that would be Macbeth or King Lear, a bloodbath’ Trump adores the attention, naturally. As the greatest showman of the 21st century he understands that we, the people, need fresh drama and new characters.

Wednesday

Freddy Gray

Who could be Trump’s VP?

From our UK edition

32 min listen

Freddy Gray talks to American columnist and commentator Guy Benson about who is in the running to be Trump's Vice President. Who does Trump want? But more importantly what does the Trump ticket need?  Also: Biden/Trump debates appear to have been confirmed. Who will the debates benefit most? And how relevant are they in the digital age? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons.

Friday

Freddy Gray

Should America have a monarch?

From our UK edition

46 min listen

Freddy Gray talks to writer and philosopher Curtis Yarvin about how Alexander Hamilton was America's Napoleon, why Putin is more of a royal than King Charles, and why Yarvin admires FDR.  Yarvin is voting for Joe Biden at the next election, but not for the reasons you might think. Could Biden 2024 strengthen the case for American isolationism? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.

Thursday

Freddy Gray

What’s this revolution really about?

From our UK edition

37 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to the journalist Nellie Bowles about her new book: Morning after the Revolution: Dispatches from the wrong side of History. As someone who had fit into the progressive umbrella, her book recounts issues that arose when she started to question the nature of the movement itself.Freddy and Nellie discuss the challenges of the progressive-conservative divide, bias within the media, and whether privilege is America's version of the class system. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Freddy Gray

Sex and the shires: Plum Sykes reveals all

From our UK edition

‘I looked at a picture of him today and thought: “Why are you wearing those expensive clothes, you twit?”’ Plum Sykes is in the Claridge’s ArtSpace Café, eating the avocado on toast and talking about Rishi Sunak. ‘He looks like he’s wearing handmade shoes, which is a real no-no – a real no-no! But he can’t stop himself.’ ‘People want to be Martha Stewart, Carole Bamford. I’m not sure they want to be Meghan Markle’ David Cameron would never be so gauche, says Plum. ‘In fact, I remember asking David about that and he said he’d never wear a custom-made suit on the campaign trail because it sends the wrong message.’ Plum quite likes Sunak ‘because he’s clever and sensible’.

Wednesday

Freddy Gray

Trump’s trial has nothing to do with Stormy Daniels

From our UK edition

Why did Stormy Daniels testify in court yesterday about her allegedly sexual encounter with Donald Trump? Anybody who has followed the Donald Trump story in recent years will have already heard most of Stormy’s account of her interactions with him. Daniels has a sense of humour. Like many others, she enjoys mocking Trump in public. And in our licentious yet strangely puritanical times, details such as the porn star spanking the 45th president with a rolled-up copy of Forbes magazine are just too much to resist.  The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Nobody seems to care much The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Nobody seems to care much. Veracity and justice are not what this trial is about.

Saturday

Freddy Gray

Is Donald Trump really going to be a dictator?

From our UK edition

23 min listen

Freddy speaks to Norman Ornstein, political scientist and emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. They discuss the possibility of Donald Trump becoming a dictator, his ongoing court cases, and if there's a double standard in the treatment of Trump vs Biden.