logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2025
18m 50s

Swamp Notes: Trump’s ‘you break it, you ...

Financial Times
About this episode

Just a few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump was ready to levy tariffs on basically every nation. Today, many of those tariffs have been paused or tempered. Additionally, this week he promised he will not be firing Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell, despite his earlier criticism. Should we expect more backstepping from Trump in the face of economic data? And what do the voters think of it all? FT economics editor Sam Fleming joins alongside Jon McHenry, vice-president of the conservative pollster North Star Opinion Research. 


Mentioned in this podcast:

Trump claims to have received call from Xi Jinping and to have cut ‘200 deals’ on trade

Donald Trump says he has ‘no intention’ of firing Jay Powell

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
Yesterday
Fed holds rates as inflation fears grow
Meta and Microsoft reported quarterly earnings as investors raised concerns about AI spending, and the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. The Bank of Japan is also expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting on Friday, and UK oil and gas companies are looking awa ... Show More
12m 40s
Jul 29
The Big Tech earnings dilemma
Ukraine is shifting its long-range drone campaign to focus on critical Russian infrastructure, and Big Tech companies are facing an AI dilemma as they report quarterly earnings. Plus, Google DeepMind is leaving behind its Nobel-winning AlphaFold project for new ventures, and PwC ... Show More
12m 22s
Jul 28
Ares’ big play in private equity
A crucial gauge of risk in holding the debt of companies at the centre of the AI boom has hit a record high, private capital group Ares Management has held talks to acquire Leonard Green & Partners, and French company TotalEnergies will be able to continue selling gas from its fl ... Show More
12m 14s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
Will Tariffs End Trump’s Honeymoon?
After months of promising to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners, President Donald Trump has made good on his word. On Friday, he announced 10 percent tariffs on China and 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, though the latter has been delayed by a month. Today on the 538 ... Show More
39m 17s
Mar 2025
Trump's Tariff Tumult
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to enact tariffs on some of the United States' largest trading partners. As president, he has made good on that promise — but with more than a few exceptions and caveats. This episode: political correspondent Sarah McCammon, White Hous ... Show More
13m 14s
Feb 2025
Trump Announces Sweeping Tariffs On China
First: Trade war. Trump slaps sweeping new tariffs on American adversaries and friends. Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers on what it means for you. Plus: The political blowback and another dizzying week. Trump unveils a strict hiring freeze and FBI purge and a botched fund ... Show More
41m 7s
Feb 2025
Americanswers... on 5 Live! What is the impact of Trump's tariffs?
After announcing he would place tariffs on Canada and Mexico during his campaign, the president nearly followed through. After sending the world economy into a frenzy, Trump then postponed the trade war with his North American neighbours on hold after securing concessions from bo ... Show More
26m 33s
Apr 2025
Import-extort: what to make of Donald Trump’s titanic tariffs
<p>After months of bluster, he’s finally done it. At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump overturned decades of American trade policy with a simple signature. The new wave of <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/03/trump-takes-americ ... Show More
46m 35s
Apr 2025
Import-extort: what to make of Donald Trump’s titanic tariffs
After months of bluster, he’s finally done it. At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump overturned decades of American trade policy with a simple signature. The new wave of trade restrictions, if implemented in full, will raise tariffs to the highest level in mo ... Show More
46m 35s
Feb 2024
Make the economy Trump’s again?
As president, Donald Trump presided over a good — sometimes great — economy. But his proposals are unnerving business leaders this time around. The Washington Post’s Heather Long and Economist columnist Henry Tricks on the Tariff Man’s Tariff Plans. This episode was produced by M ... Show More
25m 16s
Apr 2025
Fed man walking? Trump v Powell
First, Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, was for the chop; then he was safe. As elsewhere President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping chips away at American credibility. After years of working from home, data make clear which demographic likes to do more of it (10:40). A ... Show More
23m 18s