Episode description

The backlash against Donald Trump for his diatribe against Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strengthened. Keir Starmer called the Ukrainian President in a show of support and told him it was "perfectly reasonable" to have suspended elections given Russia's invasion. European leaders have also lined up to reject Trump's claims that Zelenskyy is a "dictator" - even Nigel Farage has distanced himself from that notion, though pointedly has suggested that Ukraine needed to set a timeline for new elections.

But how far can politicians here, and in Europe, push against the American president when so much is at stake for Western security? Or is there an electoral advantage to standing up to the world's most powerful figure if voters think he has overstepped the mark?

We speak to Judith Gough, the UK's former ambassador to Ukraine who knows President Zelenskyy. And later, to More in Common's Luke Tryl, who has been conducting focus groups here about attitudes towards Donald Trump and the Ukraine war.

You can read More in Common's full report on 'Progressive Activists' here: https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/research/progressive-activists/

How might Trump change the course of the war in Ukraine? And what will the impact be for British and European politics?

Tickets to The News Agents Live On Stage with HSBC UK are now on sale! You can get your tickets for Manchester and Edinburgh here: https://articles.globalplayer.com/7giHoMavXLgdrd6gaC3GxWG7T8

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalist: Michael Baggs

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