Britain and America: a not-so-special relationship?

英美特殊关系破裂?

Insider

2026-04-24

48 分钟
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单集简介 ...

Britain’s and America’s tiff has gone public. Donald Trump complained that America’s ally was “not there” when it needed help. Keir Starmer was “fed up” with Britons suffering the consequences of war in Iran. As the two countries have grown apart, ordinary Brits and Americans have cooled on each other, too. King Charles III heads to Washington next week for a royal visit that is supposed to patch things up. But with the “special relationship” in its worst shape in 70 years, that’s a big ask.  Join Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor-in-chief, Edward Carr, deputy editor, and a panel of our expert journalists for a frank conversation about what went wrong for the once-unshakeable alliance and why rocky relations are likely to outlast the Trump presidency. What are the lessons for all of America’s allies? And what role do middle powers play in Mr Trump’s world?
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单集文稿 ...

  • Hi everyone. Welcome back to The Insider.

  • I'm Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist's Editor-in-Chief.

  • British politicians have long touted their relationship with America as something special.

  • But amid the war in Iran and with Donald Trump's withering criticism of Britain's Prime Minister

  • and his general disregard for his country's allies,

  • that bond is fraying.

  • Yet Britain keeps trying.

  • Next week, playing to the President's penchant for pomp,

  • King Charles will be deployed to Washington in an attempt to win back Donald Trump's affection.

  • Will it be enough?

  • Well, with me to answer that question and to assess the state of the special relationship are

  • Ed Carr, my deputy, as always, very nice to see you again.

  • Hi Zanny.

  • Sasha Nauta, our Britain editor, very nice to see you on the show again, Sasha.

  • Hi Zanny.

  • And Shashank Joshi, our defense editor, known to all of you, very nice to see you, Shashank.

  • Thanks Zanny.

  • And representing the entirety of America from New York at a very early hour of the morning is

  • Charlotte Howard, our New York bureau chief, Charlotte, very nice to see you.

  • Nice to see you too.