Trump and the King, and America's age of political violence

Trump and the King, and America's age of political violence

From The State of It: USA by The Times

April 29, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of an assassination attempt on President Trump and the broader context of political violence in America.

After an assassination attempt on President Trump threatened to derail the Royal Visit, King Charles has gone on the charm offensive -- with some mild and elegant rebukes. Katy Balls describes the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' attitude inside the White House Correspondents' Dinner. And as the former FBI director James Comey is charged with endangering the president's life, we discuss the weaponisation of political violence. 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 Producers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry Kitson Executive producer: Molly Guinness Image: Getty Images. Clips: Reuters This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Katy Balls

Guest: Gerard Baker

Topics covered

  • political violence
  • Trump
  • King Charles
  • White House
  • media
  • FBI

Keywords

  • Trump
  • King Charles
  • political violence
  • James Comey
  • White House Correspondents' Dinner

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Times, The Sunday Times, The Wall Street Journal

Places: USA

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