-
3 weeks ago | 
thespectator.com | Freddy Gray |Daniel McCarthy |Sam Olsen |Philip Patrick
What with all the Rose Garden theatrics of “Liberation Day” and Donald Trump’s wild decision to tariff most of Planet Earth at once, Politico’s big “Musk will leave” scoop quickly sank down the news agenda. That’s partly because it wasn’t really a scoop at all. Elon Musk has said repeatedly that his role in the White House is only temporary.
-
3 weeks ago | 
thespectator.com | Roger Kimball |Sam Olsen |Philip Patrick |Matthew Lynn
So the big question is: will it work? Will Trump’s protectionist policies, announced with some fanfare at a Rose Garden event at the White House yesterday, increase American prosperity? Or will they harm the economy? Opinion on that matter is sharply divided. In one corner we have the free traders. They are wringing their hands and warning about higher prices, disruption of international trade and a trade war no one can win. In the other corner are – what to call them?
-
3 weeks ago | 
thespectator.com | Sam Olsen |Daniel McCarthy |Philip Patrick |Matthew Lynn
Donald Trump is, at least, a man of his word. Before he won the election, Trump said that China had “really taken advantage of our country” and vowed to slap punitive tariffs on imports from the People’s Republic. As we have repeatedly seen, Trump carries through on his threats. “Liberation Day” saw China hit with 54 percent tariffs as payback for what the President deemed unfair policies, the highest rate on any country.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Katy Balls |Ian O’Doherty |Michael Simmons |Philip Patrick
When Donald Trump addressed Congress this week, he declared he was “just getting started.” His words will not have soothed politicians in the UK, who are still playing catch-up with the President’s first 43 days. This week, Trump proved yet again that he is the biggest force in British politics.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Kate Andrews |Ian O’Doherty |Michael Simmons |Philip Patrick
The color red splashed across every news channel yesterday, as Donald Trump’s seemingly blasé attitude towards a possible recession wiped $4 trillion off the United States’s stock market. All day and all night, the airwaves were dominated by talk and speculation over the future of the US economy, as the President pushes forward (and pulls back) certain parts of his tariff agenda. It’s the sheer uncertainty that has investors spooked, leading to one of the worst days on Wall Street in years.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Kate Andrews |Ian O’Doherty |Michael Simmons |Philip Patrick
The color red splashed across every news channel yesterday, as Donald Trump’s seemingly blasé attitude towards a possible recession wiped $4 trillion off the United States’s stock market. All day and all night, the airwaves were dominated by talk and speculation over the future of the US economy, as the President pushes forward (and pulls back) certain parts of his tariff agenda. It’s the sheer uncertainty that has investors spooked, leading to one of the worst days on Wall Street in years.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Philip Patrick |James Heale |Douglas Murray |Derek VanBuskirk
Another day, another Trumpian bombshell, this one aimed at the country he says he loves: Japan. Trump told reporters this week that the US-Japan security alliance which has bound the two countries together militarily since 1952 and offered military guarantees to Japan since 1960 was “interesting” but unequal as it obliged the US to defend Japan but not vice-versa. Trump added that the Japanese “make a fortune with us economically” a reference to Japan’s trade surplus with the US.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Edward Howell |Henry Hitchings |Philip Patrick |Justin Brierley
Month after month, it just kept plummeting. The South Korean birth rate last year earned the not-so-holy prize for being the lowest in the world. The demographic crisis faced by South Korea seems hardly the hallmark of the country’s self-proclaimed status as a “global pivotal state.” That said, the country’s fertility rate rose incrementally to a high of 0.75 births per woman in 2024, marking the first time in nine years that any such uptick has been seen.
-
1 month ago | 
thespectator.com | Edward Howell |Sam Meadows |Niko Vorobyov |Philip Patrick
For a country that is notorious for its lack of connection to the outside world, North Korea is one of the world experts in cyber warfare. Only this week, North Korean hackers managed to steal $1.5 billion from the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, in what is the largest cryptocurrency hack on record. The fact that the stolen money is just over 5 percent of the country’s GDP does not mean the profits will be going to the North Korean people or economy though.
-
Jan 16, 2025 | 
thespectator.com | Arieh Kovler |Philip Patrick |Anatol Lieven |Michael Nazir-Ali
President Joe Biden delivered his farewell address last night in the Oval Office. While he started with strong patriotic themes, he ended by warning the country of some “things that give me great concern.” Biden declared that America is an oligarchy now. Cockburn thought it was turning into a dictatorship? He can’t keep track. Overall, though, he thought Biden’s speech presented an idealistic view of America.
