The State of It: USA

A blue wave is building across America, as Republicans brace for a brutal midterm reckoning. Red strongholds like Kansas, Oklahoma and Florida are starting to look vulnerable. Does President Trump even care? The mystery surrounding RAF Fairford is only getting stranger, raising more questions than answers and exposing the fragility of the US-UK relationship. Is Marco Rubio right that a foreign act...

Donald Trump and Andy Burnham have had their first meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump said that US-UK relations were better now than when Keir Starmer was prime minister. But he reiterated his opposition to the Chagos Islands deal. We look at what was said, what was not said and the body language between the two men. Making sense of Trump's UNGA speech In Preside...

Why is Donald Trump so relaxed about AI regulation? After the Anthropic boss Dario Amodei called for AI regulation to save the human race, Trump said that his own IQ was the only guardrail needed to prevent an AI Apocalypse. Not everyone has been reassured by that. And President Trump's breezy attitude to AI may end up costing the Republicans votes. How are rising gas prices impacting the 2026 US...

Katy Balls reports from the Republican midterm convention in Dallas where President Trump made a pledge that every adult will get a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans win the House and the Senate. That adds up to about $1.2 trillion. Golden balloons were dropped and the crowd joined the president in repeating a vow to vote for " the greatest president in the history of the United States that loves...

We're in Dallas for the Republican National Convention. It's been nicknamed Trumpapalooza. But some Republicans are uneasy about putting the president front and centre of their midterms campaign when his approval ratings are so low. Is it a wise move? The UK has imposed sanctions on Israel and accused Binyamin Netanyahu's government of supporting ethnic cleansing. How much of an issue is this for...

President Trump’s Iran war was supposed to be over in weeks. Instead, tensions are escalating again, with Iran threatening cyberattacks on US infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz still at the centre of the crisis. Does Trump really want to rename the Strait of Hormuz Trump Strait ? Katy Balls joins Carole Walker to assess whether Trump is losing control of the conflict — and why he’s saying he’...

What can culture tell us about the US that news can’t? Gerry and Katy pick books, films, TV and songs that have shaped the way they see America. Is Modern Family an underappreciated bit of social realism? Why does Katy think a 2004 Disney movie strikes at an essential component of American patriotism? And what film is the most viewed on Air Force One? Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at...

Who was attacked by a rabbit on his summer holiday? How many days a year does Donald Trump play golf? And why was George W Bush so keen on cutting brush? In this summer special episode, Katy and Gerry explore the political and cultural significance of the American summer. Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor a...

Francesca Hong suffered a shock defeat in the Wisconsin primary, losing out to the Democrats’ more centrist candidate David Crowley despite holding a 10-15 point lead in the polls. Is this a sign that the Democratic establishment is finally pushing back against the party’s socialist insurgency? And, as AOC distances herself from the “woke 1” politics of yesteryear, is she quietly positioning herse...

What's the best way of avoiding an Iranian assassination attempt? Turns out it's hiding out in a catering truck and using Air Force One as a decoy. Katy Balls takes us inside the clandestine operation. Produced in partnership with Times Radio Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist, The Times and Sunday Times Ed Vaizey, presenter, Times Radio Producers: Amelia Melvin Picture: Getty Images This...

One of America's largest states is set to nominate left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed. His victory in the Democratic primary is the latest sign that the party is shifting decisively to the left. Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Francesca Hong has defeated her opponent despite previously arguing that Thanksgiving should be cancelled. Is America on the verge of embracing democratic socialism after 250 years...

There is a growing sense of blasé indifference within the MAGA movement over Trump's war with Iran. Could that complacency come back to haunt Republicans at the midterm elections? There's also a growing rift between Donald Trump and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she dropped charges in a high-profile vandalism case, prompting fresh questions about loyalty and power inside the administration. Fina...

US foreign policy shifts on Ukraine: President Zelensky and President Trump have met in the White House and US-Ukraine relations are on a much friendlier footing than at any time since Donald Trump returned to office. They agreed that the US will give Ukraine licences to make their own Patriot missile interceptors to protect from Russian attacks, and there's talk that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushn...

President Trump is having meetings with both Binyamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. What can we expect? Also, new footage of Lindsey Graham before his death reveals more about his attitude to Iran. And how does Donald Trump do when he's delivering jokes that have been written for him? Produced in partnership with Times Radio Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist,...

Andy Burnham and Donald Trump have had their first phone call. How did it go? Will President Trump find time to visit Manchester? And how is Ed Miliband's appointment as foreign secretary going down in Washington? Also, why has the US announced 50% tariffs on goods from Canada? And JD Vance and his wife Usha have had another baby, their fourth child. How is the Secret Service coping with Vance's g...

As Andy Burnham takes over as prime minister, how will he get on with Donald Trump and what will their relationship mean for US-UK relations ? President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the people of Aberdeen are dancing in the streets because Burnham will open up North Sea Oil , and will "make the United Kingdom, from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the Wo...

It's groundhog day in the White House, as Donald Trump reverts back to all out war with Iran, bombing essential targets and threatening escalation if Iran refuses to open the Strait of Hormuz. Is there any genuine optimism in Washington that the regime could fall—or is this 'hit em hard' attitude a cover for a foreign policy running out of options? If there is no appetite for real military action...

Donald Trump has called the Iranians scum, as he calls off ceasefire talks. At the NATO summit in Ankara, his comments on Iran, Ukraine and more have once again put allies on edge. Nigel Farage has just returned from Washington to deepen his ties with Donald Trump – but is he also borrowing Trump's political playbook to distract from increased interests in his undeclared finances ahead of the loom...

Vice-President JD Vance has said there is something very broken about British politics and that he hopes Andy Burnham can figure out how to get Britain back on track. He has spoken exclusively to Katy Balls for the Sunday Times. They also discussed: Social media spats: does he regret the childless cat ladies comment? His faith and how it's changed him. And has Donald Trump read his book? Katy Ball...

Donald Trump has been thwarted by the Supreme Court over his plan to end birthright citizenship, prompting passionate reactions on both left and right. One Maga influencer has called for a ban on pregnant women travelling to the US and for the sterilisation of foreign visitors. Is the Trump v Barbara Supreme Court ruling evidence that the reports of the death of American democracy have been exagge...

Find out why President Trump was thrilled to be on a list with Hitler, Mao and Stalin. It's one of many astonishing details in a new book, Regime Change , by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. We pick some highlights from the book, and Katy has been speaking to authors. As Andy Burnham prepares to take over as British prime minister, how would a more left-wing government go down in Washington and...

President Trump has made a deal with Iran. On Friday, Vice President JD Vance will attend the official signing in Geneva of a 14-point US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding that covers the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's nuclear ambitions, the lifting of sanctions, a $300bn reconstruction fund for Iran and a ceasefire. The deal has gone down badly in the US, and with good reason. Gerr...

Welcome to the World Cup. Gianni Infantino spent much time and effort cultivating Donald Trump's friendship. Will it have been worth it? Some are complaining about America's border policies and about the price of the tickets but let's see... For a moment President Trump said he was going to bomb Iran, but now he's pulled back. We discuss the dizzying back and forth over the war. Donald Trump's bir...

California is "a beautiful state, and they keep electing these terrible people to run it". Any chance of a change now? We discuss how polarisation drives the decline of character in political leadership. Donald Trump has suffered some political setbacks. His anti-weaponisation fund has been scrapped and his preferred candidate lost out in Iowa. Blips or signs of something more serious for the Whit...

President Trump's pick, Ken Paxton, has won the Republican primary to set up an interesting senate race in Texas. He beat John Cornyn who joins a growing group of Republican senators who are not standing for re-election so have little to lose from standing up to Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Steve Hilton is hoping to become the Republican governor of California and Katy has spent some time with him. We...