Americanswers... on 5 Live! Will the US leave NATO?

Feb 17, 2025

Tensions rise as American and Russian leaders meet in Saudi Arabia for peace talks over Ukraine. With Trump hinting at potential meetings with Putin, is NATO's future in jeopardy? The podcast dives into the critique of Trump's foreign policy stance and whether Ukraine should join NATO. The discussion also sheds light on America's media polarization and the challenges it poses to public perception. Additionally, debates about historical U.S. interests in Greenland and political dynamics highlight the evolving landscape leading up to the next elections.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Trump's Ukraine Strategy and NATO

Trump's potential motivations regarding Ukraine involve a desire for a peace deal and sympathy with Putin's perspective on NATO expansion.
He prioritizes ending conflicts, even if through deals others consider unfavorable, and views alliances with less importance.

INSIGHT

Polarized Media Landscape

The American media landscape is highly polarized, with no legal obligation for impartiality.
This makes it difficult for citizens to navigate news and exacerbates polarization.

ANECDOTE

Project 2025

Project 2025, a blueprint for a Trump presidency, was initially dismissed during the campaign.
However, many of its proposals are now being implemented.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

American and Russian leaders will meet in Saudi Arabia this week to begin negotiations about a peace deal for Ukraine. Trump said on Sunday he could be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin "very soon".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Zelensky has said he has not been involved in the talks yet, and European leaders have also been left out. After Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Ukraine should not join NATO, should other member states be worried?

Marianna and Sarah join Matt Chorley to talk about the changing relationship between the US and NATO under the new Trump administration.

We also talk to 5 Live listeners about Project 2025, the state of the US media, and how the Democrats are resisting Trump this time around.

HOSTS: • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Correspondent

GET IN TOUCH: - Join our online community: https://discord.gg/qSrxqNcmRB - Send us a message or voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 9480 - Email Americast@bbc.co.uk - Or use #Americast

This episode was made by Rufus Gray and Catherine Fusillo. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

If you want to be notified every time we publish a new episode, please subscribe to us on BBC Sounds by hitting the subscribe button on the app.

You can now listen to Americast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Americast”. It works on most smart speakers.

US Election Unspun: Sign up for Anthony’s BBC newsletter: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68093155

Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Newscast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you're reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd The Today Podcast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r Newscast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p05299nl Ukrainecast: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0bqztzm