Power Play

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Elon Musk should steer clear of politics, says top British businessman Jan 09, 2025

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Elon Musk's controversial postings on British politics have ignited the row over the United Kingdom's long-running child grooming scandal. Musk's interventions and his proximity to Donald Trump are becoming a prominent feature in political debate on both sides of the Atlantic.

This week, host Anne McElvoy talks to Rupert Soames, chair of the Confederation of British Industry, the U.K.’s biggest business lobby group — and grandson of Winston Churchill — about what the new administration in Washington and Musk's influence mean for the transatlantic business relationship.

The U.K.'s economy has been in the doldrums and a tax-raising budget from the new Labour government has put business leaders’ noses out of joint. Will the return of Trump to the White House galvanize or harm economic ties across the pond?

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How big business is making its relationship with Republicans great again Jan 02, 2025

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To ring in the New Year, here’s a recent episode from one of our sister podcasts in the U.S., Playbook Deep Dive, hosted by Rachel Bade and produced by Alex Keeney. Power Play with Anne McElvoy will return next week.

Donald Trump’s Washington will be packed with big business heavyweights such as Elon Musk, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick. Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents traditional business interests in D.C., has recently found itself estranged from its longtime allies in the Republican Party.

On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, the Chamber’s top lobbyist, former Rep. Rodney Davis, joins Rachael Bade to discuss how the Chamber is getting its swagger back with the GOP, and how they plan to interface with President-elect Trump.

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How the world's political power brokers are gearing up for 2025 Dec 19, 2024

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Out with the old and in with the new or in the case of 2025, it’s back to the future with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. As America and her allies prepares for Trump 2.0, what can we be certain of in an increasingly unpredictable and fractious world?

In the final episode of Power Play this year, host Anne McElvoy is joined by POLITICO's Global Editor-in-chief John Harris and Nicholas Vinocur, editor-at-large in POLITICO's Europe newsroom and author of Brussels Playbook. They chew over an eventful election year in 2024 and look ahead to what 2025 might bring.

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Donald Trump will shape Europe and the UK. Are they ready? Dec 12, 2024

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The President-elect's in-tray is filling up fast. Wars in Gaza, Ukraine and the fallen regime in Syria are among the many geopolitical shifts facing Donald Trump's new administration, alongside a spate of challenges at home. Is the United States — and the world — ready for Trump 2.0?

This week, Power Play brings you a trio of POLITICO insiders to reflect on Trump’s historic election win and what it will mean for those across the pond. Host Anne McElvoy is joined by Kate Day, POLITICO Europe's deputy editor-in-chief, and Alex Burns, head of news, who flew in from Washington. Their conversation was recorded in front of a live audience of Westminster’s movers and shakers at iNHouse in central London.

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French connection: Trump meets Macron in free fall Dec 05, 2024

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The toppling of the French prime minister has caused a massive headache for French President Emmanuel Macron just days before he receives U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Paris. As one president returns to the world stage, could the other’s days be numbered?

France is convulsed by crisis after its government suffered the humiliation of losing a no-confidence vote for the first time in over 60 years. Could Michel Barnier’s downfall hasten the demise of Emmanuel Macron and even trigger a financial crisis in the Eurozone’s second-largest economy?

To chew over a dramatic week in Paris and its reverberations for France’s relations across Europe and with the U.S., host Anne McElvoy talks to Marion Solletty, POLITICO’s executive editor in France, and Alexandre Kouchner, political analyst and lecturer at the Sciences Po university.

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Why this Democratic lawmaker is prepared to work with Elon Musk Nov 28, 2024

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As Donald Trump puts the finishing touches to his new administration in Washington, the talk of the town continues to revolve around Elon Musk. The world’s richest man has the ear of the president-elect. How long will it last?

Host Anne McElvoy talks to Democratic `Representative Ro Khanna, who represents a large swath of Silicon Valley. Even in prosperous parts of the Golden State, the Democrats lost ground to Donald Trump’s resurgent Republican Party, just as they did across the rest of the country.

Can Khanna — part of the progressive wing of his party — help rebuild it after defeat, and does he hold out hope for his longtime acquaintance Musk as he takes on a new role to reduce the size of the federal government?

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Why China looms large over contest to lead Oxford University Nov 21, 2024

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It’s been six years since a British prime minister met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Could Keir Starmer's encounter with the president at this week’s G20 lead to a thaw after years of frosty relations as the world prepares for a possible trade war when Donald Trump returns to the White House?

The quiet quads of Oxford University might seem a world apart from the high diplomacy on the other side of the globe. But China’s influence in Britain’s universities is far from remote — not least for a former senior politician hoping to lead one of the most powerful centers of learning in the world.

Host Anne McElvoy talks to William Hague, the former British foreign secretary, who is front-runner to become the university’s next chancellor. Next week, tens of thousands of Oxford alumni and faculty members will decide who becomes the university's titular head, serving a full 10-year term.

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Biden's climate policies were designed to outlive him. Can they survive Trump? Nov 14, 2024

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Is there much the outgoing U.S. administration can do to salvage its climate change agenda as Donald Trump surrounds himself with global warming skeptics in his new team?

Host Anne McElvoy talks to one of those playing a leading role at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Ali Zaidi is assistant to President Biden and White House national climate adviser. They discuss what the Biden administration is seeking to accomplish in its last weeks in office and what it's seeking from the climate talks. Later, she's joined by Karl Mathiesen, senior climate correspondent at POLITICO Europe, to survey the state of play as the first week of negotiations draw to a close.

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UN climate talks contend with Trump 2.0 Nov 13, 2024

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Amid the 50,000-odd delegates attending this year’s sprawling COP29 UN climate conference in Azerbaijan, you can hear the wheels of climate diplomacy turning. But even 6,000 miles from Washington, D.C., you don’t have to go far before Donald Trump intrudes on the conversation. Will he follow through on plans to dilute or abandon the climate initiatives of the incumbent Biden administration?

Host Anne McElvoy begins Power Play’s coverage of the talks in Baku by chatting with Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s minister of the environment and climate change, about how Canada and the rest of the world are preparing for Trump’s next presidency. She also talks with climate campaigner Paul Polman — a former Unilever CEO — on his serious concerns about the Azerbaijani hosts of COP29 and about his encounter with Donald Trump.

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Trump returns: The whole world is watching Nov 07, 2024

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remarkable comeback to the White House. By any standards, his victory over Kamala Harris was historic. What does it mean for the U.S. and its place in the world?

Host Anne McElvoy was in POLITICO's Washington, D.C. newsroom to see how the election unfolded. She talks to John Harris, global editor-in-chief — a veteran of many races for the White House — and in Philadelphia, to Senior Political Columnist Jonathan Martin. Josh Gerstein, senior legal affairs reporter, also joins to discuss the president-elect's various legal battles.

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