Anne Applebaum on Donald Trump’s global shakedown

It’s good to have Anne Applebaum back on the podcast this week, after appearances in 2024 and 2025 . This time our conversation was prompted by Applebaum’s Atlantic magazine cover story, Empire of Grift , about the Trump foreign policy as played out in Brazil, Venezuela, Greenland, the broader European Union… and Canada. It’s not a policy delivered by veteran public servants, but by “informal envoys, private companies, online grifters, and hardened ideologues both inside and outside the government,” Applebaum writes. It’s not an administration so much as an entourage , and its goals and methods can be diffuse. “They don’t want experts. They don’t want diplomats. They want transactional figures who have money in the game,” Applebaum told me. Subscribe The article, and our conversation, features a substantial recap of MAGA’s adventures in Alberta — where, as Premier Danielle Smith has acknowledged , foreign influence operations have been detected. What’s less clear is whether they’ve been influential, as Applebaum acknowledges. Shortly after Applebaum and I spoke, the embattled incumbent Quebec premier, Christine Fréchette, mishandled allegations of US interference in Quebec politics — allegations that quickly turned out to be wildly exaggerated — and may have damaged her re-election campaign beyond repair in doing so. Two of Applebaum’s sources for the Canada segment of her surreal travelogue are people I recommended to her: Marcus Kolga , who runs an NGO called DisinfoWatch to track disinformation campaigns from several sources; and Taylor Owen, who runs the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. There’s a lot more in this episode, including Applebaum’s thoughts on Mark Carney. The episode is the third in my new podcast season, following interviews with senior NATO official James Appathurai on novel and emerging threats, and historian Jill Lepore on trying to reconcile AI with democracy. All of these episodes, and much else, lives on my Youtube channel , which you should like and subscribe . Watching this week’s Applebaum episode on Youtube, in particular, will goose the fickle algorithm and ensure my work reaches more new viewers. Share I’m so grateful for the support of my Presenting Sponsors for this entire season of The Paul Wells Show, as well as for an ambitious slate of live events. Cameco is one of the largest global providers of the uranium fuel needed to power a safe, secure energy future. The Transition Accelerator drives projects, partnerships, and strategies to ensure Canada is competitive in a carbon-neutral world. They’ve both got my back because they understand the importance of serious conversations that bring people together. Thanks to them, and to you for listening and sharing this podcast.Read More