episode-header-image

Mar 2025

12m 28s

Swamp Notes: Trump’s transatlantic divor...

Financial Times

About this episode

European leaders met twice this week to discuss a plan to protect Ukraine — without US leadership. The rift between Brussels and Washington has grown as US president Donald Trump paused military aid to Ukraine and stopped intelligence sharing. As Germany and the EU discuss a new set of defence stimulus plans, special guest Gideon Rachman, the FT’s chief foreign policy commentator, is on to discuss possible outcomes.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Rachman Review podcast

Trump is sowing the seeds of an anti-American alliance

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Swamp Notes is produced by Katya Kumkova. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next

Extended chat: Top US trade official defends Trump’s record

US trade representative Jamieson Greer is President Donald Trump’s top trade official. He has played a critical role in negotiations between Washington and its trading partners. This includes recent talks with Canada, whose retaliatory tariffs against the US go into effect later ... Show More

Top US trade official reveals ‘problem’ in UK negotiations

The US trade representative says the UK is choosing the EU over America and Deutsche Bank organised almost $1bn of loans to a Hollywood studio landlord now in default. Plus, Nvidia has agreed to buy AI model platform Hugging Face for $13bn, and a look at how chicken became the wo ... Show More

Uber teams up with driver unions to fight robotaxis

Auditors warned Guggenheim Partners about weak controls within its business, and Uber is teaming up with driver unions to try to slow the rollout of robotaxis. Plus, US oil major Chevron and Italy’s Eni are boosting investment in oil production in Venezuela.Mentioned in this podc ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

US-Russia talks: What’s next for the Ukraine war?

<p>United States President Donald Trump’s plan to cut a Ukraine deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with his administration’s shifting approach to transatlantic ties, has left European leaders uneasy. What does this mean for Russia, Ukraine, and the futu ... Show More

Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister on the Tensions Between Washington and Kyiv

Today on the show, Fareed speaks with former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba about the response in Kyiv as the US has decided to pause military aid and intelligence following last week’s Oval Office showdown between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, and whether Europe will ... Show More

Finland's president on Europe in a Trumpian world

<p>As Donald Trump begins his second term as US president, and Russia presses forward in Ukraine, Gideon Rachman speaks to Finland’s President Alexander Stubb about Europe’s place in the world. They also discuss the risk of strategic irrelevance in Europe, the rise of the far rig ... Show More

The US and Europe’s Conscious Uncoupling

<p>Tommy and Ben discuss the increasing divide between the US and Europe on the issue of the war in Ukraine just as the world marks the three year anniversary, including a mineral reserves deal and America’s vote against a UN resolution calling for an end to Russian aggression. T ... Show More

In Brief: What Europe Fears Most From Trump's Meeting with Putin

President Donald Trump is set to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska. But Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky won’t be in the room. On this week’s One Decision In Brief, hosts Sir Richard Dearlove, former MI6 Chief, and Christina Ruffini analyze the implications of a proposed U.S.-Russia summ ... Show More

Putin’s Wildest Dreams Come True

Tommy and Ben discuss the seismic shift in US foreign policy that happened this past week after Trump announced that the US and Russia would directly negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine through talks that exclude Ukraine and Europe. They also explain how JD Vance’s first forei ... Show More

The differing responses to the Ukraine crisis

This week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Washington for talks with President Barack Obama, and Ukraine will top the agenda. Washington has led the way on sanctions, imposing asset freezes and travel bans on dozens of senior Russians and scores of companies, in an attempt ... Show More

Trump, Ukraine and Russia

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine - what would that look like? In this special episode of Reuters World News podcast, we look at how Europe and the US are trying to navigate what Trump's foreign policy might mean for the battlefi ... Show More