The State of It: USA

Trump meets Burnham: smiles - and policy clashes

September 22, 2026
Trump meets Burnham: smiles - and policy clashes

Donald Trump and Andy Burnham have had their first meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Trump said that US-UK relations were better now than when Keir Starmer was prime minister. But he reiterated his opposition to the Chagos Islands deal. We look at what was said, what was not said and the body language between the two men.

Making sense of Trump's UNGA speech

In President Trump's UNGA speech he threatened to annihilate Iran but also said he might make a deal after the midterms. The Cuban delegation left the room when Trump called their country an “absolutely failed state” and said “it will fall”. Trump also said that AI should be renamed “super-intelligence”.

Less lame duck, More raging bull

We look at what we learned from the speech about Trump's foreign policy and his priorities. And what does it say about America that the president used the phrase “to the victor belong the spoils”?


Katy Balls, Washington editor and columnist at The Times and The Sunday Times

Gerard Baker, columnist at The Times and editor at large at The Wall Street Journal


Producer: Harry Kitson

Executive producer: Molly Guinness


Picture: Getty Images

Audio: Reuters

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The State of It: USA is a weekly US politics podcast from The Times and The Sunday Times, offering agenda‑setting analysis of American power and its global impact. It promises frank, in‑depth conversations that cut through spin, conspiracy and partisanship to explain what is really happening inside the White House and beyond.

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