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The US turns 250... and this is how they celebrate? | Simon Marks' American Week
Jun 28, 2026
As Republicans are rattled by left-wing candidates sweeping the primaries, Simon Marks is back to run through this week in American politics. 0:21 | Who's Andy Burnham again? 1:36 | Trump demands 'loyalty' from Europe 2:20 | The return of the Rutte-Trump love-in 4:09 | Left-wing candidates sweep primaries 6:21 | Republicans left shaken by primaries 7:10 | Israel's approval rating dips in America 8:24 | An all-American birthday party Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #simonmarks #uspolitics #donaldtrump #trump #whitehouse #ukpolitics #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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0:00
It did not take long for President Donald Trump this week to administer his first kicking of Andy Burnham
0:06
even as he administered yet another kicking of Sakir Starmer. We had barely got used to the fact that we're in for yet another prime ministerial change
0:14
before the President of the United States was asked what he knew about the man who will soon be leading us
0:21
I don't know anything. I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town. I hear he's extremely liberal. Extremely
0:30
so that means he probably won't open up the North Sea. You know, I gave Keir Starmer some pretty good advice
0:37
I said, open up the North Sea. The North Sea is loaded
0:41
I have had every oil company come to see me. Sir, could you give us access to the UK
0:48
We would do anything to drill in the North Sea. Of course, he could have just stopped right after he said
0:52
I don't know anything about the UK's incoming Prime Minister, but he never does that
0:57
So instead, he made it clear to all of us that he has been briefed that Mr Burnham is extremely liberal
1:04
which is code in Trump's White House basically for a communist, and won't be drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea
1:10
That comes as a bit of a surprise, given that the very same Mr Burnham
1:14
has described Sir Keir Starmer's decision not to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea as economic madness
1:21
But once they get past the formalities, Is Mr. Burnham going to be able to give Donald Trump what he truly craves
1:29
Not just access to our oil and gas and closed borders to immigrants
1:33
but something else a little less tangible. I just want their loyalty. We don't need their money. We don't need anything
1:40
We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty. You know, we're so loyal to them
1:47
We're always fighting for them. We have thousands of troops all over Europe
1:51
In Germany we have 50,000 troops and then you want a little..
1:56
Give us a little nudge, give us a little kiss. We don't want much. Give me a kiss? I don't want much
2:00
It's a shame that Marlon Brando is no longer with us to fill his cheeks with grapes
2:04
and play Trump in the film version of that. The president, who called Sir Keir Starmer no Winston Churchill
2:10
demanding loyalty while demonstrating not an ounce of it. But he has secured it from the man who was sitting alongside him in the Oval Office there
2:18
and nodding like a donkey. the ever prostrate NATO Secretary General Mark Rutter who went even by his own
2:25
humiliating standards to staggering lengths this week to beg the president not to pull the plug on the US troop presence in Europe Here he is going into full Magnus Pike mode in a bid to assuage America leader Now I want to take you if you stay here I go over to these boards here because I want to show you what this president was able to achieve
2:50
And I start with this chart. This chart is about the Trump trillion
2:56
The Trump trillion shows you the increase Europeans and Canadians are paying into defence
3:02
since you took office in 2017. Trump 45 plus Trump 47. A total of extra spent by the Europeans and the Canadians of 1.2 trillion
3:12
When you look at the effect of Trump 47, I'm also absolutely convinced that you being president of the United States
3:17
being consistently pushing for something which since Eisenhower has not been achieved
3:23
which is the Europeans equalizing their defense spending with the United States, this is your evidence
3:28
He is going to need more knee pads, and he surely knows that by the end of the six-month review of the US force presence in Europe
3:34
now being overseen by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, that show and tell may prove to have been for naught
3:41
Still, at least Mr Reuter has set the bar for Andy Burnham to try and meet
3:45
when he first sets foot in the Oval Office. He will, of course, not be able to brandish a letter from the King
3:51
inviting the President back to blighty, because we have already rather shot that bolt
3:56
But if Mr Burnham breaks the current hex on Downing Street and somehow lasts long enough in number 10
4:03
he may find himself dealing with an entirely new set of leaders in the United States
4:09
And some of them may even be cut from his own left-wing political cloth
4:15
Brad Lander, we came on the air just a couple of minutes ago, as the numbers were still coming in in your race
4:20
I'm going to do something a little unusual here, so I want you to bear with me. Not many candidates are on CNN when they hear this music
4:27
The live transmission on CNN on Tuesday night of a political earthquake within the Democratic Party
4:38
We do have breaking news, and we can now project that Brad Lander will defeat the incumbent congressman, Dan Goldman, in the Democratic primary for New York's 10th congressional district
4:48
And, sir, obviously, since we have you here live on air as we are making this call, what is your first reaction to this
4:54
Well, thank you. First of all, obviously, I'm thrilled. I did not expect to be on air when the race was called
5:01
Brad Lander is not a household name outside New York, but his defeat of a centrist sitting New York Democratic congressman was just the tip of the iceberg
5:11
Across the board voters in New York rejected middle of the road candidates favored by the Democratic Party elites and embraced men and women like Mr Lander from the left and far left of the party Democratic Socialists all romped to victory
5:28
after being endorsed by their leader, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani
5:33
What I see these results as a reflection of are the fact that New Yorkers are hungry for
5:40
a new kind of politics. What their successes represent is a shift in the balance of power
5:45
between working people and special interests. And finally, working people are going to have more of a voice
5:52
in the halls of power, wherever that hall may be. Mayor Mamdani there laying claim to the Democratic Party
5:58
hoping now to seize the momentum away from the Bidens, the Obamas, the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, the party's permanent elite
6:05
This is not just a New York phenomenon. In Washington, D.C. earlier this month
6:10
a similar clean sweep for Democratic socialists, including Janice Lewis-George, now poised to become the city's next mayor, right on President Trump's doorstep
6:21
Republicans are terrified that the left may siphon working-class votes away from Trump's Make America Great Again movement in November's midterm elections
6:31
Here's House Speaker Mike Johnson. This is not a joke. We're in a fight right now to save the republic
6:37
And every American needs to take this seriously. You need to wake up. This upcoming midterm election is not the midterm elections of years ago
6:44
It's going to decide the direction of the country. Are we going to maintain our status as a constitutional republic on our 250th anniversary
6:50
Are we going to make a new choice and go down some road towards a communist utopia
6:55
That's the choice right now. But in reality, it is obviously way more complicated than that
6:59
On the campaign trail in New York and in many other parts of the country, no issue is proving more make or break for candidates than their position on Israel
7:10
For the first time, a majority of Americans say they no longer support the country
7:15
an historic turning point. And in New York on Tuesday, Brad Lander's victory was partly due to his rejection
7:22
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and of campaign money from pro-Israel political action committees
7:29
Democratic voters are being very clear. They don't want to send any more money for Netanyahu's wars
7:36
And I have been real clear. I'm going to sign on to the Block the Bombs Act
7:40
I'm not going to vote for any additional U.S. military aid to Israel while it violates
7:45
Palestinian human rights and international law. You know, I intend to be one of the Jewish members of Congress who stands up strongest
7:54
for Palestinian human rights and freedom. And I also intend to stand up strong against anti and hatred of Jews as a very proud Jewish New Yorker Those are not two separate jobs Those are the same job
8:07
On Tuesday night in New York, that was the winning message. Just 72 hours after Hillary Clinton wrote in the Financial Times
8:15
that she backs President Trump's vision for the future of Gaza. You could not find a greater study in generational contrasts
8:24
I'm not going to waste your time this week by talking about the reflecting pool in Washington
8:28
and President Trump's complete horlicks of its renovation. He blames as yet mythical vandals while he can see the real vandal staring at him every morning in the mirror while he's shaving
8:39
But we do need to talk about what lies immediately ahead for the United States
8:45
Tonight right here on the National Mall, we are beginning the most unforgettable birthday party any country has ever seen
8:52
Oh, you're going to have a good time. You're going to have a good time
8:56
This evening it's my honour to officially kick off the celebration with the great American state fair
9:05
It's going to be great. It's going to be unbelievable. But not as unbelievable as first conceived
9:10
because that speech by Trump on Wednesday night was so politicised as he listed what he claims are
9:15
his administration's many successes that at least nine states governed by Democrats
9:21
have now decided to pull out of what was supposed to be an event
9:25
celebrating life across all 50 American states. Maine said it's too busy to mount a pavilion
9:31
because of the state's summer tourism season, which is rather like saying I'd love to be there
9:36
but I've got a sock drawer to clean out. Oregon says it's too expensive to take part
9:41
and Massachusetts accused the president of using the event to line his own pockets
9:45
And this was after top musical acts, including country star Martina McBride
9:50
poison frontman Bret Michaels and several others pulled out, saying the White House had lied to them about the nature of the event
9:59
We're going to have special performances, patriotic music, high-tech demonstrations. Even an old-fashioned rodeo. I love rodeo. I don't know how they do it
10:09
I don't know how they do it. And you wonder why I'm on this side of the pond
10:13
As for those special performances, Wednesday's was really special. The Marine Corps band corralled to play a rendition of YMCA
10:26
the President of the United States dancing, if you'll pardon the overstatement
10:30
as the crowd of onlookers must have wondered whether they had stumbled into a bar mitzvah party at Mar-a-Lago by mistake
10:36
250 years they've had to prepare for this, and this is how they're getting the party started
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