Jon Sopel
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Host of daily podcast The News Agents. And author of forthcoming book, Strangeland. Order now or come to one of the events lnk.to/StrangelandBook
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Articles by Jon Sopel
Voices: The Republicans are facing wipeout – and it's all down to Trump
Toto. I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.” Dorothy's famous line from The Wizard of Oz could well be being muttered by slightly shellshocked politicians in that state after the midterm elections in a few weeks time, where the most seismic of shifts seems to be happening. Judy Garland immortalised the role of Dorothy in 1939. It was seven years before the release of that movie that the Democrats last won a senate seat in Kansas, this most solid of Republican states.
Voices: The real reason for Trump’s media ban – and it’s not about fake news
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Voices: Trump is in trouble – but the Democrats are throwing him a lifeline
Exactly 10 years ago, the Democrats gathered in Philadelphia to anoint Hillary Clinton as their candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Finally, eventually, bitterly, she had seen off the challenge of Bernie Sanders, the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist senator from Vermont. Before he ran, he was little known outside of his own state. He was a bit of a maverick. He didn't speak so much as bark. He was decidedly grumpy. His politics were way to the left of the Democratic Party establishment.
US military leaders are deeply concerned about Trump
Welcome to Trump's America, The i Paper's World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here. It was the summer of 2015, and the venue was the British ambassador's residence on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington DC. To be precise, it was the tennis court where a keenly fought doubles match was taking place.
Voices: Trump has the reverse Midas touch – and it’s made him a laughing stock
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Iran-US war latest: Trump says Tehran’s response to his peace proposal is ‘totally unacceptable’
Donald Trump has rejected Iran's response to his proposals to end the war as “totally unacceptable”. Over the weekend, it emerged that Tehran had responded via Pakistan, which has acted as mediator in the conflict, to the US plan to end the fighting.
Voices: Trump's claim to be a genius dealmaker has never been more ridiculous
Jon Sopel There was a news anchor on Fox News the other day, and he was trying to explain why Project Freedom had been brought to such an abrupt end by Donald Trump , seemingly only minutes after it had been put in place. The presenter was trying to find a rational explanation for the latest policy whiplash, and he was left saying, “the president must know what he's doing [mustn't he?].
Why it's worth flying to South Africa for winter sun
Jon Sopel You know the conversation. The clocks have just gone back and it's dark at 4.30.
Voices: Trump is an authoritarian who believes in his divine right to rule
You know the quote. The one attributed to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. The one where he is said to have said, there are decades when nothing happens; and there are weeks when decades happen. Well, on that basis, it feels like one year of Donald Trump has been a millennium.Sitting down to write a review of this momentous and consequential year, I got my notepad out and started to scribble down all that I could remember: Tariffs. Liberation Day. Going to war with the Fed. Epstein. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Voices: What Susie Wiles was really trying to tell us about Trump
Everyone loves a good political whodunnit. But in Washington this week theyre playing a slight variant of that game; its a why-she-dunnit. The who is Susie Wiles, Donald Trumps fearsome, efficient, no nonsense chief of staff. The why is why did she sit down for a whole series of on-the-record interviews with Vanity Fair to give her unvarnished views on the characters of the administration and the way policies were being implemented?It's a mystery.
Trump in trouble over Epstein files?
The master of conspiracy theories is now himself threatened by a conspiracy theory, The Independent puts in: “For the first time, the base is not buying what Donald Trump is selling. ... While yesterday he finally announced he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release 'pertinent' files ... the move may be too little and too late. ... It's not quite Dr Frankenstein losing control of the monster he created, but if you live by the conspiracy theory - as Trump has done - you can die by it too.”
Voices: Magaland is having its faith tested - maybe St Donald is only human after all
There was a Trump loyalist on the radio on Thursday morning trying to explain the whiplash-inducing U-turn on tariffs the night before. He said that what the US president wanted was for the world to sit up and take notice of him. Well, if that’s the benchmark of success, then give the man at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a straight A+. Yes, everyone is sitting up. The other way of interpreting those remarks is to say that President Trump is an endless attention-seeker.
Voices: Magaland is having its faith tested – maybe St Donald is only human after all
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Voices: Starmer had his best day as PM - that doesn’t mean he can trust Trump
There’s a lovely boozer in Kentish Town in north London that Keir Starmer used to frequent before Downing Street security intervened which does a very good pub quiz every Monday night. Any team captain knows it is always a fine judgement on when to play your joker: do you do it on the sport, or the general knowledge? The music, or the picture round? Get it right and you might win the star prize at the Pineapple. Well, it’s clear that team captain Keir likes to play his right at the outset.
Voices: Starmer had his best day as PM – that doesn’t mean he can trust Trump
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Swapping firs for palm trees: The joy - and confusion - of spending Christmas in the Aussie heat
The thing about Australia is that it’s just like Britain, except completely different. And if that sounds paradoxical, bear with me. So the Sydney suburbs could be Britain. Architecturally, there are similarities: the small parade of shops near where my son lives in Bronte are just like the row of shops in West Finchley in North London where I grew up. There are neatly manicured grass verges, we all speak the same language, and the sense of humour is just like being home.
Swapping firs for palm trees: The joy – and confusion – of spending Christmas in the Aussie heat | Flipboard
2 days ago 'Total rip-off city' branded the worst in the world for tourists - full list New research has revealed Miami as the worst city in the world for tourists. Which?
Future of Britain Conference 2024
Skip to content Conference On 9 July, the Future of Britain Conference 2024 – hosted by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and My Life My Say – explored governing in the age of AI. Welcome 09.00 - 09.15 BST by host Jon Sopel Living in the Age of AI – in partnership with My Life My Say 09.15 - 09.25 BST PRESENTATION We can’t talk about the future without hearing from the future.
OPINION - Jon Sopel: I’ve seen the Republicans up close and Britain’s Tories aren’t like them - they’re a unique brand of special
I am sitting writing this in a corner of the Birmingham ICC, a conference centre and concert venue as though designed by Max Escher with a confusing array of staircases going everywhere and nowhere, it seems. But that is not what strikes me as odd. More, I am struck by this being the weirdest Conservative Party Conference I have ever attended — and the first one I went to was when Margaret Thatcher was still PM, a full nine prime ministers ago.
OPINION - Jon Sopel: I’ve Seen The Republicans Up Close And Britain’s Tories Aren’t Like Them — They’re A Unique Brand Of Special - Evening Standard | Everand
I am sitting writing this in a corner of the Birmingham ICC, a conference centre and concert venue as though designed by Max Escher with a confusing array of staircases going everywhere and nowhere, it seems. But that is not what strikes me as odd. More, I am struck by this being the weirdest Conservative Party Conference I have ever attended — and the first one I went to was when Margaret Thatcher was still PM, a full nine prime ministers ago.
Strangeland Prize Draw
At the beginning of 2022, after eight years of political reporting in the US, Jon Sopel returned home to the UK – and having spent almost a third of his career abroad, he found a very different place to the one he left. In Strangeland, his first book since launching the global hit podcast The News Agents, he asks: What is the Britain he’s come home to?
Voices: Defeating Trump in court will be dangerously destabilising to American democracy
If I was back in my old Washington newsroom, I would obviously be pitching to the bureau chief that I should be deployed immediately to Aspen or Vale – or maybe Beaver Creek – to test the mood of locals on the fabulous ski slopes of the Rocky Mountains. After all, the Colorado ruling to strike Donald Trump’s name off the ballot is momentous. But I suspect my former boss would have seen straight through my ruse and said “forget it pal. The story is here in Washington”. And it is.
Sleepy Joe, Mad Mitch and America’s OAP problem
“I’m not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth or inexperience.” It was the great political putdown from Ronald Reagan of the 1984 presidential election debate. Walter Mondale, his opponent, had the decency to laugh at what was a great line. Reagan had been asked whether, as the oldest president in US history, he had the energy and oomph to do the job. It was a persistent question.
Ear Candy: The News Agents
In August, former BBC heavyweights Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall stepped into the podcast ring with The News Agents, promising a new type of daily news show. In a clear statement of intent, a recording of Maitlis’s headline-making MacTaggart Lecture, in which she decried the BBC’s version of “impartiality”, was published under the title before the launch proper. In other words, this time it’s partial.
Thanksgiving: lo que voy a extrañar (y lo que no) de Estados Unidos después de 7 años como editor de la BBC
Jon Sopel: "Realmente me pregunto qué se necesitaría para unir a esta nación hoy". En todo Estados Unidos, en unas pocas horas, los pavos entrarán en los hornos, millones de personas se apresurarán desde los aeropuertos regionales para ver a sus seres queridos, y es probable que las carreteras estén atascadas. Y la gente se preparará para atiborrarse de ese atroz crimen contra la gastronomía, la cazuela de batata y malvaviscos (malvaviscos, ¿por qué no? ¿Pero mezclados en un solo plato? Ewww).
US travel ban: Why is Biden still keeping Britons out of US?
Boris Johnson and Joe Biden As I am writing this, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the air on his way to the US. A couple of dozen journalists will be on the plane with him. An advance party is already in Washington DC. Every one of those will be allowed in because the American authorities have granted them a National Interest Exemption. Without it, you cannot enter the US from the UK or the European Union. Period. But why?
Torres Gemelas: 20 años después de los ataques, ¿está Estados Unidos más o menos dividido?
La bandera estadounidense con la ciudad de Nueva York de fondo a 20 años de los ataques terroristas. Es casi como un cliché, incluso trillado. Apenas ocurre un evento importante, la gente dice que nunca olvidará dónde estaban cuando se enteró de lo que ocurría. Pero sospecho que casi todas las personas de todo el mundo que tengan más de 30 años recuerden dónde estaban cuando escucharon, y luego vieron en tiempo real, el desarrollo del ataque terrorista más audaz y terrible en los Estados Unidos.
Review | NetGalley
Review by Chris H, Reviewer Last updated on 29 Aug 2021 My Recommendation It was an election liķe no other. The same, of course, has been said of most recent US elections ‐ the 2000 Bush/Gore disputed result, Obama's historic 2008 win, the 2016 Trump upset. But as veteran British correspondent, Jon Sopel's diaries remind us, the 2020 campaign really was, again, an election like no other.
War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
By Lyse Doucet Chief international correspondent Posted at 22:12 22 Aug22:12 22 Aug Video content Video caption: Anti-Taliban leader offers talks with the militants, but is prepared to fightAnti-Taliban leader offers talks with the militants, but is prepared to fight Anti-Taliban leader offers talks with the militants, but is prepared to fight Posted at 21:30 22 Aug21:30 22 Aug By Marie Jackson & Lauren Turner BBC News Posted at 19:30 22 Aug19:30 22 Aug Posted at 14:57 22 Aug14:57 22 Aug By...
Afghanistan: US decision to withdraw lays bare a not so special relationship Original
Image source, Getty Images A couple of evenings ago with Afghanistan unravelling into chaos, I was thinking about a piece I want to do to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And so I went on a trip down memory lane and listened back to George W Bush's joint address to Congress following those attacks on American soil (don't tell me I don't know how to have fun).
Como caos no Afeganistão põe em xeque habilidade de Biden
Biden na Casa Branca Há uma citação no livro "O Sol É para Todos" em que Jem escuta de Maudie que "as coisas nunca são tão ruins quanto parecem." Para o presidente dos Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, agora, as coisas parecem muito sombrias. Mas se estou cavando em meu livro de citações, qual é melhor que o poema Se, de Rudyard Kipling, e aquele verso sobre tratar o triunfo e o fracasso como os impostores que são?
Afeganistão: Retirada dos EUA foi pior decisão de Biden?
Decisão de presidente americano Joe Biden de retirar tropas do Afeganistão pode ser a mais importante de sua presidência, escreve Jon Sopel O que poderia dar errado com a decisão de Joe Biden de retirar as tropas dos EUA do Afeganistão em 11 de setembro de 2021, exatamente 20 anos após o ataque às Torres Gêmeas?
Afganistán: la retirada de Estados Unidos, ¿la peor decisión de Biden en política exterior?
¿Qué podría salir mal de la decisión de Joe Biden de retirar las tropas de combate estadounidenses de Afganistán justo el 11 de septiembre de 2021, exactamente 20 años después del ataque a las Torres Gemelas?
Biden 100 days: What we all got wrong about him
For the White House press corps who’ve binged out for four years on the son et lumière of the Trump-show, the last three months have been a challenge. As I remarked, perhaps unwisely, to an audience the other night, the transition from Trump to Joe Biden has been like going from a daily crack pipe to a small bottle of low-alcohol beer once a week. The daily White House briefings now are a snoozefest. There are no fights, no name-calling.
In freezing US, Biden seeks to cool down politics
Jon Sopel North America editor @bbcjonsopelon Twitter image copyrightReuters image captionPresident Joe Biden made his first official outing at a CNN Town Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Travelling with Donald Trump versus ridin' with Joe Biden. Compare and contrast. Look, Air Force One hasn't changed with the presidency. It is still that elegant timepiece that came out of the 1970s. Elegant and all that, but dated as anything.
UnPresidented
Fear and loathing on the 2020 campaign trail... '26 February, White House Briefing Room The coronavirus feels like it is changing everything. Suddenly it's not just a public health emergency; it has the potential to upend this whole election...' In UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others, BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel presents a diary of an election like we've never quite seen before.
The plot (and spoilers) of Impeachment II
Jon Sopel North America editor @bbcjonsopelon Twitter image copyrightGetty Images The rule of thumb in the cinema is that the original is invariably better than the sequel. But then you get The Dark Knight getting far more acclaim than Batman Begins. Or Godfather 2 being better than the first movie - and personally I thought Toy Story 3 was the best. And don't get me started on Star Wars.
A Republican grandee pays court to exiled king Trump
Jon Sopel North America editor @bbcjonsopelon Twitter image copyrightSave America PAC image captionKevin McCarthy (R) said Mr Trump would help with the party's 2022 congressional races What - you thought Donald Trump would go off to Mar-a-Lago and only concern himself with his golf swing? That was never going to happen.
Jon Sopel on the Fading Power of Donald Trump
As the BBC's North America Editor, Jon Sopel has been following the turbulence and trauma of the Trump administration for the past few years. His diary of the remarkable 2020 US election, UnPresidented, is a fascinating insider's insight into the madness and mayhem of the campaign trail. In this exclusive piece, Jon relects on recent events - including the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters - and the waning power of the most divisive of US Presidents.
Jon Sopel in conversation: UnPresidented
Don’t miss your chance to get a hardback copy of UnPresidented – Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others with your ticket for £20.00, granting you free access to the event. You will receive your copy of the book in the 10 days after the event.
UnPresidented
Fear and loathing on the 2020 campaign trail... '26 February, White House Briefing Room The coronavirus feels like it is changing everything. Suddenly it's not just a public health emergency; it has the potential to upend this whole election...' In UnPresidented: Politics, pandemics and the race that Trumped all others, BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel presents a diary of an election like we've never quite seen before.
US election 2020: Three election headlines you could wake up to Original
Jon Sopel North America editor @bbcjonsopelon Twitter Published duration1 hour ago image copyrightGetty Images So we've finally got here. That bit in an Olympic marathon where the runners enter the stadium for the last 400 metres on the track, straining aching muscles and tired bodies to sprint to the finish.
Trump-Biden debate: Two old fighters looking for a knockout blow Original
Image copyright Getty Images Just over a month to go and it is - at last - starting to feel like an election campaign. Finally, we're on the road - to Cleveland, Ohio. And as well as the usual donuts and tepid coffee in the car, we now have hand sanitiser, sterilising wipes and face masks. Welcome to election 2020. And finally, we're going to have a bit of the furniture familiar to all US elections these past 60 years - the first TV debate. Donald Trump and Joe Biden mano a mano. Unarmed combat.
Jon Sopel: Lies, PPE and fireworks over a new Trump book - I’m covering the Republican convention
Go out with friends for dinner on Saturday to our favourite little French restaurant in Georgetown, Chez Billy Sud. It’s the first time I’ve been back there since lockdown, and all the seating is outdoors on their lovely pale-yellow painted terrace, complete with enamel French street signs.
US election 2020 - Donald Trump
It was an epic and tumultuous day by any standards, and rarely in politics have the extremes of emotion been so perfectly captured by the cameras. That day was 20 June. This was to be the grand relaunch of the Trump re-election campaign. Coronavirus was now in the rear-view mirror. This would be the first rally since lockdown. The first opportunity to bask in the adoration of his supporters. This would be a turning point moment.
Donald Trump: la semana en que todo cambió para el presidente de Estados Unidos Original
Derechos de autor de la imagen EPA Image caption En los últimos días, el presidente Donald Trump ha ido en contrasentido de lo que antes afirmaba. Es como si al asumir la presidencia de EE.UU., en enero de 2017, Donald Trump hubiera recibido un auto nuevo y brillante, el mejor y más hermoso que se haya visto. Y hasta julio de 2020 se hubiera dado cuenta de algo importante: tiene reversa. Una función del vehículo que nunca pensó que necesitaría y que ciertamente nunca tuvo la intención de usar.
Coronavirus: Three years on, President Trump finds reverse gear Original
Image copyright Getty Images It's as though in January 2017, Donald Trump was given a shiny, new car. The best, most beautiful car the world has ever seen. And in July 2020, the president made an important discovery about it. It has a reverse gear. It was an extra on the car he never thought he'd need - and certainly never intended to use. But on Monday, he put the car into reverse, and wrestle as he might with the gearstick and clutch, he now can't stop the blasted thing from going backwards.
The White House reaches boiling point, mask politics, and my trip to Trump’s Rose Garden
Jon Sopel To dinner in the garden of a European ambassador. Two days earlier I was asked my preferences for food and drink. When I arrive, there are three tables in a perfect equilateral triangle, for the ambassador and his wife, another couple, and me, Billy No Mates, my drinks laid out. Embassy staff bring food to a fourth table (I’ve gone for the steak and chicken wings). We take it in turns to collect it.
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