The sparks flew in the first U.S. presidential debate Tuesday night between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. How will the encounter shape the final stretch of the campaign to the Nov. 5 election — and what does it mean for the rest of the world? Host Anne McElvoy talks to POLITICO’s Global Editor-in-Chief John Harris, a doyen of debate coverage, about Harris's goading of Trump and whether it marks a shift in the campaign. She is joined by John B. Emerson, a prominent Californian Democrat, who has...
Sep 12, 2024•30 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel between 2006 and 2009, believes Britain’s suspension of some of its arms exports is a “mistake” that won’t affect the country’s military campaign in Gaza and may prove a wasted opportunity for PM Keir Starmer to influence events in Gaza. Talking to host Anne McElvoy, Olmert criticizes Britain's decision and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct of the war. They also discuss whether the race for the White House will impact events in the Middle East. Lat...
Sep 05, 2024•33 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast With the U.S. presidential debate now confirmed, our guests explain the tips and tricks that could help Donald Trump or Kamala Harris win their first head-to-head encounter on Sept. 10 — and why there has been a pre-debate row over format and mics. Host Anne McElvoy is joined by Brett O’Donnell, a veteran expert on preparing candidates for debate on both sides of the pond, having coached Republicans Mitt Romney, John McCain and George W. Bush, as well as prepping Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson fo...
Aug 29, 2024•33 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast Kamala Harris wound up the Democratic National Convention in Chicago by staking her claim to be the next president of the United States. Does the Democrat have the momentum to beat Donald Trump? Moments after the Harris finale at the DNC, host Anne McElvoy sat down with John Harris, POLITICO's global editor-in-chief, and Eugene Daniels, White House correspondent and co-author of POLITICO's D.C. Playbook. They discuss Harris' pitch and what she needs to do in the next weeks of a closely fought ra...
Aug 23, 2024•22 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast Live on stage at the CNN-POLITICO Grill in Chicago, host Anne McElvoy talks to U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth. The Illinois senator — a decorated war veteran — has fiercely defended the military record of Tim Walz, the running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, against Republican criticism that he exaggerated his service. Here at the DNC, Duckworth discusses Harris' economic plans and talks passionately about her use of IVF as a row deepens with Republicans over fertility tre...
Aug 21, 2024•23 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast She’s the “queen of Europe” and her reign is set for another five years. Ursula von der Leyen’s reelection as president of the European Commission comes amid the war in Ukraine and a rise of the far right. She is a figure who seeks to bring calm to political storms. But could the outcome of the race for the White House change that? Host Anne McElvoy talks to two of POLITICO’s keenest observers of the transatlantic relationship, Editor-in-Chief Jamil Anderlini and Jakob Hanke Vela who is heading ...
Aug 01, 2024•27 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast Kamala Harris' sudden elevation to likely Democrat nominee has transformed the race for the White House. As President Biden passed the baton, can she beat a resurgent Donald Trump? Host Anne McElvoy talks to the doyen of American constitutional experts, Philip Bobbitt, about the significance of the Biden transition to Harris. As Lyndon Baines Johnson's nephew, he has a personal connection with the last time a president stood aside — in 1968 — a year that rocked the Democratic Party. Later, she e...
Jul 25, 2024•34 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast It's been an eventful few days at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, are preparing to take the stage for their set-piece speeches. How will they set the tone for the election campaign? Inside the convention center, host Anne McElvoy talks to Hogan Gidley, press secretary during Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, about the key messages the former president will be hoping to land with voters in the battleground states that will dete...
Jul 17, 2024•32 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Reince Priebus is one the Republican Party's veteran power brokers. He served Donald Trump as his first White House chief of staff and chairs the host committee at this year's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. As Republican delegates gather in the aftermath of a dramatic couple of days, host Anne McElvoy speaks to Priebus live on stage at the CNN-POLITICO Grill. They discuss the attempted assassination, its impact on the party and the significance of his choice of a vice presidential ...
Jul 15, 2024•34 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Fresh from his landslide victory, Britain’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has flown to Washington to join other leaders of NATO countries as they meet for the alliance’s 75th anniversary summit. As the war in Ukraine takes another ugly turn following a week of heavy Russian bombardment, can NATO turn the tide of the losses? Host Anne McElvoy talks to General Patrick Sanders, who has recently left his role as head of the British Army, about the challenges facing NATO, why the UK needs to incr...
Jul 11, 2024•26 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast It's all change in the U.K. Labour's historic landslide election victory beckons a different kind of leadership for Britain on the world stage after 14 years of Conservative rule. Keir Starmer, who stepped into his new job as PM, will have little time to define his approach to the wars in Ukraine, the Middle East and contend with a more assertive China. Host Anne McElvoy talks to Jonathan Powell, who was Tony Blair's long-serving chief of staff in Downing Street and former diplomat, about how th...
Jul 05, 2024•34 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast The recent shift to the right in the European Parliament election doesn't bode well for the continent's dwindling band of social democratic leaders, one of the most prominent of whom, former Finnish PM Sanna Marin, was shown the door by voters last year. Finland is a country of renewed prominence due to its proximity to Putin's Russia — which led Marin to apply to join NATO, ending decades of Finnish neutrality. Host Anne McElvoy talks to Marin about Putin’s war in Ukraine, her warning that Euro...
Jun 27, 2024•22 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Election fever is gripping both sides of the North Atlantic. As Britain heads into the final weeks of a long election campaign, French voters face a snap parliamentary election. The Biden-Trump race for the White House draws ever closer. One man who knows about how to run a campaign is Jim Messina — known in Washington as "the fixer." Messina is the mastermind behind President Obama's re-election campaign in 2012 and David Cameron's surprise victory for Britain's Conservatives in 2015. In this w...
Jun 20, 2024•32 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast It takes a brave — some may say reckless — leader to call a general election when trailing in the polls by 20 percent. With three weeks to go to polling day on July 4, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s gamble looks like it will backfire, possibly spectacularly so, with perilous consequences for the country's oldest political party, the Conservatives. For one of the most powerful members of his Cabinet, the Chancellor — Britain's top finance minister — Jeremy Hunt, it means a fight for his pol...
Jun 13, 2024•24 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast The conviction of Donald Trump in a criminal trial in New York has electrified the race for the White House. But will it make a difference to how the arguments will play out in the campaign — especially on what the contest means for the rest of the world? K.T. McFarland is a leading supporter of Trump’s campaign, a MAGA Republican who served as his deputy national security adviser. She’s an influential voice on defense and foreign policy in Republican circles. Host Anne McElvoy talks to McFarlan...
Jun 06, 2024•32 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, host Anne McElvoy asks Jane Hartley, United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, about the future of the transatlantic "special relationship." Hartley discussed the future of U.S.-U.K. relations in light of the International Criminal Court seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; revealed her surprise at the snap U.K. election called for July 4; and as a close ally of President Biden, explains why his age is...
May 30, 2024•33 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Host Anne McElvoy talks to Leonid Volkov, who was Alexei Navalny's long-serving chief of staff and campaign manager, about his mission to provide a democratic alternative to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime in the Kremlin. They spoke on the stage at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. The sudden death of Navalny, the most prominent opposition leader in Russia, sent shockwaves around the world earlier this year. He died in suspicious circumstances while being held in an arctic prison colony...
May 23, 2024•19 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast This week's edition of Power Play comes from the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, where host Anne McElvoy talks to President Zelenskyy’s closest aide, Andriy Yermak, and former NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. As Russian forces advance on Kharkiv, delays in weapons deliveries from the U.S. and Europe are proving costly. Now the war has reached a critical moment for Zelenskyy's leadership — and Ukraine. They discuss its ability to withstand Russia's biggest attack yet, a new plan to acc...
May 16, 2024•25 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast Among the business leaders, philanthropists and other luminaries attending this year's Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles are politicians — looking to set the record straight, with an eye to future opportunities. Power Play host Anne McElvoy joined the Beverly Hills crowd — and talked to Kevin McCarthy, the first Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives to be ousted during a legislative session. McCarthy reflects on his dramatic downfall and lauds the prospect of Donald Trump'...
May 09, 2024•27 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Elbridge Colby is a hot pick to be Donald Trump's national security adviser if the former president returns to the White House next year. It's a role which holds huge sway over America's position on the world stage. An influential voice in foreign policy circles in Washington, Colby leads the Marathon Initiative, a conservative think tank grappling with how America confronts an increasingly assertive China — a subject that is testing both Democrats and Republicans. In this week's edition of Powe...
May 02, 2024•31 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast "America will always defend democracy in its hour of need. We tell our allies: we will stand with you. We tell our adversaries: don’t mess with us." The words of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck a rare note of bipartisanship as Congress finally approved a multi-billion dollar package of support to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. For America’s allies, there was a collective sigh of relief. No more so than at the British Embassy in Washington, where host Anne McElvoy presents this week...
Apr 26, 2024•32 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast How will responses to the confrontation between Israel, its allies and Iran redefine the line that divides Donald Trump and Joe Biden? Host Anne McElvoy talks to Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to Washington and former U.K. national security adviser, about the scenarios facing President Biden and what Trump might do if he returns to office. They also discuss the options available to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in responding to Iran's failed attack. They are joined by Nah...
Apr 18, 2024•32 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast This week marked the grim six-month milestone since the Hamas terror attack on Israel and the ensuing counter-attack on Gaza, which has led to a mounting death toll and a humanitarian crisis that has divided world opinion. While President Joe Biden's White House struggles to help end the bloodshed, what would his opponent — Donald Trump — do differently if he were voted into office later this year? Host Anne McElvoy talks to the Heritage Foundation's Robert Greenway, who knows more than most abo...
Apr 11, 2024•32 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast In the wake of a devastating Islamist terror attack in Moscow, the dark arts of spreading disinformation are again in focus as Russia’s President Vladmir Putin pins blame for the assault on Ukraine. As a widening array of countries and malign actors spread fake news and analysis, real life consequences are all too clear. How can democracies like the United States and its allies confront information warfare from their adversaries in the era of artificial intelligence? Host Anne McElvoy talks to J...
Mar 28, 2024•26 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast With the specter of a famine and a possible ground incursion of Rafah looming, Israel's allies are fretting. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of an impending catastrophe in Gaza. Yet Benjamin Netanyahu says “no international pressure will stop Israel” from achieving its war aims. The wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and uncertainty about who will be calling the shots in the White House next year are testing European foreign ministers — and those vying for their jobs. Nowhere more...
Mar 21, 2024•32 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Now that Donald Trump is all but certain to lead his party into November’s presidential election in the U.S., it’s make up your mind time for Republicans – are they with him or not? One of them is a big gun in Floridan politics, the Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez. Suarez earned a national profile by briefly entering the race for the White House last year before dropping out as the Trump bandwagon rumbled on. He’s gained wider attention for his efforts to lure companies to Miami, with an eye on t...
Mar 14, 2024•30 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast From Maine to California, Super Tuesday is the biggest date in the calendar for the United States primary election — a third of delegates for the Republican and Democratic conventions have been chosen. While Donald Trump didn’t quite manage a clean sweep, the former president looks all but certain to face Joe Biden in November — now that the only other contender for the Republican crown, Nikki Haley, has pulled out. As President Biden makes his final State of the Union address before the electio...
Mar 07, 2024•32 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast As European leaders gathered in Paris this week, there was a sense of foreboding about the war in Ukraine, and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is a further reminder of how far the Kremlin will go to suppress its foes. Nowhere is the threat posed by Russia felt more acutely than on Europe’s Eastern frontier — and especially in Estonia, home to a significant ethnic Russian population. In this episode, host Anne McElvoy talks to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas about the wa...
Feb 29, 2024•30 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast From the Munich Security Conference, host Anne McElvoy speaks to U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Celeste Wallander, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. News of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny set the tone for the conference, where securocrats and world leaders gathered to discuss the mounting crises facing decision-makers. Our guests discuss how America and its allies should deal with press...
Feb 18, 2024•31 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast As security and defense chiefs descend on Bavaria this weekend for the annual Munich Security Conference, can anything be done to dampen down the geopolitical fires around the world? On everyone's lips will be Donald Trump's latest campaign salvo, which has shaken confidence in America’s commitment to the Atlantic defense alliance. The wars in Gaza and Ukraine, along with the crisis in the Red Sea, also top the agenda. Host Anne McElvoy talks to two of POLITICO’s heavy hitters about what to expe...
Feb 15, 2024•29 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast 
