Podcast / American Prestige / May 16, 2025

Trump’s Gulf Tour & Deals, Gaza Updates, US Habeas Corpus

On this episode of American Prestige, headlines from around the globe.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council in the capital Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on May 16, 2025.

(Waleed Zein / Anadolu via Getty Images)

Alex Jordan rejoins the show to see if he can impersonate Danny as well as he impersonated Derek a couple of weeks ago. We discuss the India-Pakistan ceasefire, Donald Trump’s big Persian Gulf tour (filled with deals, bribes, and announcements about Syrian sanctions and Iranian nuclear talks), the latest developments in Gaza, the US-China tariff pause, the PKK’s major disarmament announcement, a new round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks, major clashes between militias in Libya, the arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US, Luis Arce’s decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race, the sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for daring to contradict President Trump, and whether the US is going to have habeas corpus for much longer.

You can watch Alex Jordan on the Quincy Institute’s inaugural episode of the YouTube program “Always at War,” which he co-hosted with Courtney Rawlings.

Topics:

01:23 India-Pakistan ceasefire announcement.

04:18 Trump’s Persian Gulf tour and deals.

07:49 Trump’s announcement regarding Syria sanctions.

10:40 Efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

15:28 Israeli efforts to displace Palestinians in Gaza.

17:24 New US-led humanitarian foundation for Gaza.

21:27 Release of American-Israeli hostage by Hamas.

26:46 US-China trade war détente.

29:13 PKK’s announcement of major disarmament.

32:19 Diplomatic efforts to end Russia-Ukraine war.

35:45 Major clashes between militias in Libya.

39:33 Arrival of the first group of Afrikaner refugees to the US.

41:17 Luis Arce’s decision to quit the Bolivian presidential race.

43:09 Sacking of US National Intelligence Council staff for contradicting President Trump.

46:04 Potential suspension of habeas corpus in the US.

48:47 Habeas corpus suspension and executive power.

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News – Iran War Escalation and Hormuz Crisis, U.S. Minab School Bombing Fallout, Sudan Drone Warfare | American Prestige
byThe Nation Magazine

We’re putting out, what, an episode a day at this point? But the news roundup must go on. This week: In the Iran war, casualty and displacement figures rise across Iran and Lebanon (1:20), Iran mines and threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz (4:31), Iranian officials threaten to expand the war by targeting financial institutions across the Gulf (7:47), and new supreme leader Mustafa Khomeini delivers his first address (10:27); in Gaza, aid shortages deepen as food supplies run low (16:01); escalating drone warfare hits markets, towns, and civilian targets in Sudan (17:19); in Mali, the U.S. moves to restore counterterrorism cooperation and reconnaissance flights with the ruling junta (22:20); new warnings of conflict emerge in Ethiopia’s Tigray region (24:51); Nepal’s Rastriya Swatantra Party secures a landslide victory in the latest elections (28:26); in Ukraine, the UN accuses Russia of committing a crime against humanity through the forced transfer of Ukrainian children (30:07); far-right politician José Antonio Kast takes office as president of Chile following the end of Gabriel Boric’s term (31:31); in Haiti, human rights groups warn about civilian harm from an expanding drone campaign targeting gangs in Port-au-Prince (34:05); and in these United States, investigations into the Minab elementary school strike raise questions about the use of AI-assisted targeting in U.S. military operations (35:41), plus Donald Trump hosts the first “Shield of the Americas” summit at his Doral resort (39:44).

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Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

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Daniel Bessner

Daniel Bessner is an historian of US foreign relations, and cohost of American Prestige, a podcast on international affairs.

Derek Davison

Derek Davison is a writer and analyst specializing in international affairs and US foreign policy. He is the publisher of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter, cohost of the American Prestige podcast, and former editor of LobeLog.

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