The damage that Trump and Johnson have done to politics and peoples lives is irreparable.

The problem is as an American, Trump was able to tap into anger , ignorance, racisum, and hatred of others at a level I've never seen before

As an American, it’s interesting to hear what other countries think of these news stories and crimes.

Many keep mentioning “the American people” putting trump on a pedestal, but just the fact that he lost the election proves that you should be saying “some of the American people”. Most of us are horrified by him.

What happened was he went after Obama while he was president. And the people who hated a black man being president loved what he was doing and practically begged him to run. He said everything they wanted to say. That's why he has the support of his people. He's just doing and saying what they want him to do and say. The sad part is, it's all bad.

My favourite quote is “You are not alone… Decent Americans outnumber trump supporters 3 to 1” - Bruce Springsteen

As an American, we have trouble understanding how an obvious conman grifter holds such sway, I imagine It will be analyzed for decades.

I'm with you James...defies belief that anyone who is sane could see Trump as Presidential material, yet apparently there are a lot of freaking insane people!

It is so refreshing to hear an adult discussion about these issues! Unfortunately, here in the US, that's about all but dead. 😢

My British cousins, as an American, I can only tell you that here in the US, critical thought has become an artform, and unfortunately, not everyone is talented

Ironic how people so heavily armed, are also so easily scared.

He’s never been held accountable and thinks he can do whatever he wants. Now, he’s going to pay. Finally.

If Donald wasn't born in to wealth we wouldn't know who he is.

I believe that most of it comes back to not admitting they were wrong and not wanting the other side to have been right. When you said if photos came out of him doing something heinous it wouldn’t matter to them you were right. Whenever something comes out they first try to claim it didn’t happen and then usually he admits to it so then it is “well he didn’t mean it that way, you’re taking him out of context” . If neither of those work then it is fake. Those photos were photoshopped. Sometimes the order is different but their playbook is the same

If anyone overseas is wondering, its not super big news even here across the pond. But part of the current investigation showed that the US military (or at least the higher ups and top brass) realized early on during January 6th that this was an attempted coup. And got together to sign a legal declaration that stated they would up hold their oath to the constitution, instead of enforcing the will of a would be tyrant. Its does give me some comfort to know that our military saw it, and him for what it was.

"Tell them the lies they want to hear and give them the people they want to hate" that was spot on.

Former owner of The Daily Mail in the UK was asked the secret of its success. He said "give them something to hate".

Posting his mugshot on X with the caption 'No surrender'. After literally just surrendering himself to the Fulton County jail. Says it all really.

The reason he knew he could get away with it? It's because he always has got away with it. From the way he completed deals for real estate, to his casinos and the way staff were treated, even looking at before that, his father was a real estate developer in New York during an extremely corrupt period. He is the epitome of entitlement and that is why he gets away with it. So many times he could have been punished but money and influence stop that in its tracks

Please don't go by polls. Polls in the U.S. are not representative of younger voters views.

The caller who said American are not smart… very true.

when a narcissist gets positive feedback on his bad behaviour a narcissist will always push the limits ALWAYS!!!!!!

Wow, a healthy debate amongst people with different viewpoints … seems like a lifetime ago that people were able to disagree and still get along.

That mug shot calls to mind some slouching simian...

Populism seems to appeal to most of uneducated/little educated people, it´s same in UK with Brexiteers. In politics, stupidity is not a handicap - Napoleon.

It makes no sense to a lot of Americans either. It’s mind-boggling that this continues. I just want this man to GO AWAY.

215lbs 😂 Even his supporters don’t believe that

He has the church behind him and they are very motivated when it comes to voting, He has become the version of christ that they can get behind (even thou he is not religious and knows nothing about the bible). This has been proved recently with priests saying that when they preach the bible now , the people come to him afterwards asking where all this turn the other cheek coming from...and when the priests tell them they are literally quoting the bible...the people tell them that the bible is now seen as too "woke" . It all started with ronny reagan...

The caller comparing Trump to a child 'testing the boundaries' is absolutely spot on. He was always bold right from the start, but no matter how far he goes, no matter how low he sinks, he is still rewarded for his behaviour. This is the perfect time for America to regain some control over this insanity, draw a line in the sand and say: "No, this stops now". It'll never happen, though.

It is sad that Britts have a better understanding of the anomaly and grave danger that Trump poses to America than many Americans.

Exactly. Like a shark, if he stops moving forward he dies

I've just heard he's selling mugs with his mugshot on them. The Nuremberg defendants really missed a trick there..

I think he was winging it, but the people who funded him had a definite plan and we are clearly seeing it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if certain Republicans think that mugshot should be a federal postage stamp.

"Wearing them as earrings." 🤣

he is their messiah, so they justify anything he does on his quest to make them all happy and free when they are happiest hating others

If anybody is expecting Trump to end up in jail then they are in for a shock, only poor people go to jail.

Racism and classism explains all of this. And the electoral college of course.

That he isn't in jail and a candidate show we have a two tiered injustice system, trade his secret service for prison guards, but no it would look bad to incarcerate a former president? What a freaking joke but par for the course here

I'm a 60 year old black man in the U.S.. In college, in the early 80s, I had a discussion with a white guy about a friend of his who had a relative that was killed by a black person. He said his friend had a right to hate black people because of it. I asked should his friend hate all white people if a white person had killed his relative? He said "no" but couldn't articulate why.

Its like the film idiocracy.

Failure to read, to research, and to think critically outside your own bubble explains his followers.

I'm an American and its so refreshing to hear the intelligent British speak about the United States and they are SPOT ON!!!!!! It's frightening and madding listening to every day Americans speak with such ignorance about what's going on in the United States.

If Trump slides on 91 charges America will have flipped its wig.

It's the spirit of the law Vs the letter of the law....only the rich and powerful can use the letter of the law against the spirit of the law

It was 2015 when DT began saying "he wouldnt trust the outcome of the election " if he lost. ..

Guilty always accuses others of the crimes they are committing

Dear America 😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂...thanks for the mugshot😂😂😂😂🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

Thank you for being kind but I can absolutely assure you that over here there absolutely are A LOT of people who are dumb and incapable of critical thinking. After years of cutting funding to our education system and decades of increasing the cost of secondary education there are more simple minded people than you can believe. It's heartbreaking.

I can tell you what the other countries think of our legal system They think we are crazy to let these criminals run around free for months and even years. T will never admit he was wrong or that he made an error. He will never, never admit it.

When ever the talk turns to politicians accusing other politicians of ' taking the guns', it causes gun sales to go off the charts. That is the real reason for the short lived threats

What we are seeing is ideological internalization. Being MAGA, a conservative, and a Republican have become such a core part of how they identify that they are forced to support any and everything about it. A criticism against it is a criticism of them and they take it personal.

15.22 same here with Johnson

John Lennon said it best 55 years ago that reflects American Culture. "Happiness Is A Warm Gun"

We need more laws in the US like the ones the UK has that give courts a lot more authority to limit defendants from trying their cases in the "court of public opinion" rahther than before qualified juries.

Berlusconi was pretty much identical. Not as obnoxious and, being italy not USA, way less dangerous.

I dread to think that he may actually come back into power. It feels like before Brexit and before he came into power.

You asked how did he know? He became acquainted with the workings of the church here in the US. They are easily persuaded towards devotion and we’re ripe for the picking. Explore that lane if you’re interested in another deep, dark hole of corruption and hypocrisy.

As a result of the massive gun culture James comment of protect my guns and I'll follow is absolutely spot on.

Best meme I've seen about his mugshot is putting it beside Derek Zoolander with the subtitle "Orange Steal" 😂😂😂

Other countrymen know more about our politics than I was aware of. They have a different point of view and I agree with them

Social media has had a huge impact , he went from minor to a phenomenon via that platform / the same as the conspiracy theorists

I remember when Trump said that vile thing, gloating about being a murderer and not losing a single vote. My feeling is he took a lucky guess. Some people talk about his amazing political instincts. I think he's a carnival act that went viral, and somewhere along the line he started to drink his own Kool-Aid.

Very insightful callers! I'm originally American (but living in Europe since 1996) and learned something from their analyses. I fully agree with them. I see a huge change since I left the U.S. and I blame a lot of it on Fox News and social media. Right-wing media didn't exist when I lived there and the society was much more cohesive.

For the 'what aboutists'.... the Dems answered to completion, every subpoena served to them. Can the same be said for the GOP?

Trump's favorite response to everything "we'll see what happens..."

A big element is "I picked a side, I can't admit I was wrong or that I even could be wrong." It damages their own identity to admit fallibility.

I could understand Trump getting 4-6% of the US vote. But more than that is just baffling to me.

5:01 "Army of skeletons" with Trump Jason and the Argonauts springs to mind.

I’m from the US and I love your coverage of the Trump criminal organization ❤. Your caller is right. He just keeps pushing the boundaries. Hopefully the next push goes over the edge. This Georgia judge and prosecutor aren’t playing.

Scoop: This fake billionaire covered the cost of his $200,000 bond by putting 10% toward it & is working with a local Atlanta bonding company, called Foster Bail Bonds LLC.

Nice thoughtful discussion but, the essence of Trumps' sustained popularity was stated perfectly at 2:37 "...Give them the lies that they want to hear, and an enemy they want to hate and you can do almost anything."

Well done Mr Meldrew. You will sleep better tonight now! 😂😂😂

3 words: Firearms, abortion, racism

How long did Donnie spend perfecting his 'look'? Poor thing probably thinks it makes him look tough, but all I want to do is laugh! 😂😂😂😂

Nathen from Denver Colorado here and I have to say I agree with the first caller that he really didn’t have an actual plan I don’t think he’s capable of planning I think he’s been winging it his entire life I don’t think that being president changed that at all

As an American who was raised by a man 2nd generation Irish. He fought in Korea as well as Vietnam. He is buried in Arlington with a purple heart and a bronze star. I just wanted to speak for myself as being raised as a true patriot. This is not what America was meant for. I have never felt more shame for my country until recent. My father was a fierce Democrat. I thank him for educating me as well as glad he is gone not see all of this absolute desecration of American democracy.

One criticism of James I have is he thinks the more you earn the more intelligent you have to be, which is obviously nonsense

You are wrong. You CAN be as "thick as mince" and still make millions of pounds. In fact it may actually be an asset to making money,

That is a cracking big mug. Where do I get one? Not Trump's face, the item for holding beverage 😂

Great program. Thank you.

Usually I agree with James and think he’s pretty smart but this is one where I don’t get how he doesn’t understand it. It’s so obvious that trump knew from back then that he could do whatever he wanted because he’s done it his entire life. All rich people think that way. His entire presidency and what he did behind the scenes that we still don’t know about and all these indictments are just the tip of the iceberg on him scarily enough. He had years and years of sketchy dealings well before he became president that we don’t know about and that’s by design by him.

I dont think he knew he could take it this far from the beginning, for him to know that he must really be an actual 'stable genius'/ mastermind, which he definitely is not. I think it happened gradually. it began with the primary debates, at first not many took him seriously, but when the cheers became louder and louder (I believe also to his own surprise) as he lied and insulted his way through the debates, something he revelled in, being an arrogant, mean, entitled rich kid, bullying was something he was well versed and excelled in. and then came the rallies, which took his ego to a whole different level, thats why he kept having them long after he was elected, his narcissistic personality craves the cheers and idolation. As time went on, he realized that his supporters would continue to fanatically support him, and all he had to do was tell them what they wanted to hear. He was also emboldened by the fact that many of the GOP politicians were afraid of the grip he had on the base, plus they were also unwilling to criticize him in public out of party loyalty. He realized that he didn't actually need to fulfil the promises made. Just blame the Democrats, the so-called 'deepstate', and 'RINOs' for sabotaging the implementation and achievement of the MAGA agenda. All this being said, Im baffled and disgusted that after everything he has done practically in plain site. Especially undermining the democracy of the most powerful country in the world, a country that prides itself as the bastion of the democratic system, he still maintains the support he has today and could actually be voted into office again. Totally bizarre.

Like the comparison with Jimmie Saville getting a pass. Spot on!!!😂

Behind it all, Trump is constantly amazed that he has that hold. Although, he tried to move them to action when he was indicted. Only a handful came. The GOP members are in the world of their own. The world is waiting and asking when would this nightmare ends. I miss the Obama days.

2:35 "if you give em the lies they want to hear and an enemy they want to hate, then you can do almost anything...in history"

Exactly this caller was on point

James! Talking about mugshots ... Where'd you get that mug? (The blue one you're drinking from)

James does have a habit of chipping in with his own comments at the wrong time and too often it's super annoying.

Brilliant Video

When I see mug shot theme from Sopranos plays in my head

The French knew what to do with people like trump

I am from US and being here, I still can't understand what is it with Trump that people love about him. Fox and Republican doesn't help either

KZfaq fed me James O'Brien who I had previously not heard of. I am so glad it did because I love him already, especially because as a native American I yearned to get the outsiders take on what's going on in the USA. Especially the British take because I have always felt that England is kind of America's parent.

Lock him up

“It’s like comparing the illegal prorogation of parliament to being a bit late for a bus” 😆

Power is a mere trinket. Any con man can have power. The real deal is who controls the power. Justice has it's thumb on the scales and the thumb will eventually be on Trumps wrong side.

Yes you can be as thick as mince while making millions of pounds. Remember Trump managed to bankrupt a casino. Now, the supposed billionaire has had to use a bailbondsman for his Georgia bail. He is a confidence trickster and you don't have to be bright but certainly you have to be confident.

These callers were not based.

This is really eye opening for me as an American. I never thought they called things like Sandy hook a false flag due to guilt. You make a lot of excellent points.