Up next in 10
'So pathetic, is there any point salvaging it?' | Simon Marks’ American Week on LBC
700 views
Jun 7, 2025
In this week’s American Week, Simon Marks offers a stark assessment of the state of US politics, arguing that America has become a “deeply unserious country.” “It’s a nation so pathetic across its entire political firmament that there may be no salvaging it,” he says. 00:00 – 01:20 -A deeply unserious country 01:20 – 04:12 - Trump and Musk’s relationship unravels 04:12 – 05:25 - Drugs, deficits and a black eye 05:25 – 06:52 - Medicaid cuts spark public fury 06:52 – 10:57 - Parody politics on all sides Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #simonmarks #donaldtrump #elonmusk #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
View Video Transcript
0:00
I am going to go out on a limb this week and advance a somewhat controversial thesis
0:05
but one that I think it is high time all of us, especially the Prime Minister, need to embrace
0:11
It is time, finally, to admit that America is now a deeply unserious country
0:17
a nation so pathetic across its entire political firmament that there may be no salvaging it
0:23
Let's spin back to the Oval Office just seven days ago. A very special that I give to very special people. I have given it to some, but it goes to very special people. And I thought I'd give it to Elon as a presentation from our country. Thank you
0:42
President Trump presenting Elon Musk with a ceremonial gold key, presumably because there were no gold watches available
0:51
Take care of yourself, he said, to the man who, for the first three months of the Trump presidency, served as the country's de facto prime minister and, while taking care of himself by feathering his own nest, consigned entire government agencies and hundreds of thousands of federal government workers to his infamous wood chipper
1:10
The most powerful man in the world was trying last Friday to paper over cracks in his relationship with the wealthiest man in the world. It did not work
1:21
We have differences of opinion. You know, the things that I don't entirely agree with
1:29
But it's difficult for me to bring that up in an interview because then it creates a bone of contention
1:33
Mr. Musk choosing in that interview with CBS Sunday morning to fuel a bone of contention between him and the White House
1:40
over the president's big, beautiful bill, tax and spending legislation that is central to President Trump's economic policy
1:48
and it turns out anathema to his now former protege. I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful
1:56
But I don't know if it can be both, my personal opinion. Quite why the CBS interviewer there found that so hilarious we have not discovered
2:05
But once the giggles died down, the die was cast. Musk began a scorched earth effort over his own social media platform
2:11
to undercut the president's legislation, correctly observing it would fuel the deficit by two and a half trillion dollars
2:19
and spend so much public money that it would erase all the cuts
2:23
that Mr Musk and his so-called Department of Government deficiency had made
2:27
At first, the White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt tried to brush off the Musk critique
2:33
Look, the president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion
2:38
This is one big, beautiful bill and he's sticking to it. The row said a White House official was just one disagreement in an otherwise harmonious relationship Well maybe that was the case on Wednesday but yesterday as you know
2:51
all hell broke loose. A tit-for-tat row that was sparked when the president extemporized
2:57
during his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz. Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we're well anymore. I was surprised
3:07
because you were here, everybody in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful
3:12
send-off. He said wonderful things about me. He couldn't have nicer. He said the best things
3:16
He's worn the hat. Trump was right about everything. And I am right about the great
3:22
big, beautiful bill. Who among us would want to be reminded that we had even worn the hat
3:28
Well, those comments and others in which the president accused Musk of suffering from Trump
3:32
derangement syndrome led to a massive escalation in the war between them
3:37
Musk accused the president of ingratitude, insisted that his tariffs and spending plans would plunge the country into recession
3:46
He backed suggestions that the president should be impeached and replaced by
3:50
Vice President J.D. Vance and accused Trump of covering up documents in the Jeffrey Epstein files
3:57
that he said have not been released to the public because they name the president
4:02
Meanwhile, Trump threatened to revoke billions of dollars in Musk's federal government contracts
4:07
claimed he removed him from the administration because he was wearing thin
4:12
Trump loyalists even urged the White House to deport Musk and probe his immigration status here
4:19
This morning, the president, in a phone chat with ABC reporter John Carl
4:24
dismissed reports that the two men had overnight decided to back off and engage in a bit of detente
4:30
Look, there's been reporting out there that the White House is working to put together a call between Elon Musk and Donald Trump to broker some kind of peace
4:38
I asked Donald Trump about that. He said he's not particularly interested in talking to Elon Musk
4:43
He said Elon wants to talk to him. He's not ready to talk to Musk, who he called a man who has lost his mind
4:50
About that, it is worth noting that last Friday, Musk's behavior in the Oval Office was deeply erratic
4:57
He angrily sidestepped questions about newspaper reports regarding his drug use. And of course, he was sporting that black eye, claiming unconvincingly that it resulted from horseplay with his four-year-old son
5:10
It is also worth noting that Musk takes no issue with the legislation's plans to deliver tax cuts to the wealthy
5:17
throw four million of the poorest Americans off food stamps and roll back yet more of the country's environmental protections
5:25
Today America front pages are littered with breathless reporting about the breakup between the two men The country has allowed its national conversation to be hijacked by them and the feud now looks like it is going to run and run
5:40
But listen, there is nothing unique about their mutual dissent into parody
5:45
For America today, it is very much on brand. When you are arguing about illegals that are receiving Medicaid benefits
5:54
1.4 million. They're not eligible. Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican facing headwinds during a town hall meeting with constituents in Butler County, Iowa
6:08
Members of the crowd oppose threats contained in Trump's big, beautiful bill to throw nearly 11 million people off Medicaid
6:17
a health care program for the poorest Americans, including 1.4 million illegal immigrants
6:22
and listen to what happened when voters warned her that as a result of the legislation she is supporting, people would die
6:31
So, people are not... Well, we all are going to die. So, for heaven's sake..
6:40
24 hours later, she issued a video that she claimed was an apology for her comments
6:46
but it wasn't. She was walking through a cemetery and, with cocksure arrogance, doubled down
6:52
I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth
7:06
So I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well
7:16
An elected member of the Senate tarnishing the very office that she occupies
7:22
Then there was Howard Lutnick, the garrulous, cocky commerce secretary, architect of Trump's trade war
7:29
Here he is earlier this week facing off against Congresswoman Madeleine Dean
7:34
a Democrat from Pennsylvania. What's the tariff on bananas? The tariff on bananas would be representative of the countries that produce them
7:42
And what's that tariff? Generally 10%. Correct. 10 percent. Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8 percent
7:51
There's no uncertainty if you build in America and you produce your product in America
7:56
there will be no tariff. We can't produce bananas in America. So the concept of building in America
7:59
and paying no tariff is very, very clear. We cannot build bananas in America
8:05
Bananas indeed. It should be underscored that the unserious nature of America is not the sole
8:11
preserve of Donald Trump Make America Great Again movement Take the example this week of Corrine Jean You remember her She was Joe Biden press secretary The president doesn need a cognitive test That is not my assessment
8:25
That is not my assessment. That is the assessment of the president's doctor
8:29
That golden oldie was from February of last year. All of those months lying on behalf of Joe Biden
8:35
have clearly taken their toll. This week, she announced that she has left the Democratic Party
8:40
and now considers herself an independent. And she's going to explain it all in her upcoming book
8:46
This book, Independent, it's about looking outside of boxes, not just always being in a partisan stance
8:54
And how do we move forward together? Can't wait to read it. Someone hold me back
9:00
Let's also talk this week about Matthew Miller. He was the State Department spokesman in Joe Biden's administration
9:06
who day in and day out insisted the Israelis were not committing war crimes in Gaza
9:13
He did so sometimes with a smirk on his face. But outside the administration and seeking fresh opportunities in Washington
9:20
this week he suddenly shifted his position in an interview with Mark Stone of Sky News
9:26
I don't think it's a genocide, but I think it is without a doubt true that Israel has committed war crimes
9:36
You wouldn't have said that at the podium. Yeah, look, because when you're at the podium, you're not expressing your personal opinion
9:41
You're expressing the conclusions of the United States government. But he was still willingly showing up for work every day, and the shame never got to him
9:48
Like I say, it's not a serious country anymore. I want to leave the last word this week with President Trump
9:54
A remarkable moment yesterday when Chancellor Friedrich Mertz of Germany, who urged the US leader to commit to protecting Ukraine
10:02
observed that today is the 81st anniversary of D-Day. This is D-Day anniversary when the Americans once ended a war in Europe
10:14
And I think this is in your hand in specific, in ours. That was not a pleasant day for you
10:20
No, that was not a pleasant... This was not a great day. In the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship
10:28
That's true. That's true. You heard that correctly. the American president implying that Chancellor Mertz may not have been enthused about the defeat
10:36
of Adolf Hitler. Every time I watch that, I cannot stop thinking about Basil Fawlty
10:41
the Germans' episode of Fawlty Towers, and his failed determination never to mention the war
10:48
Like I say, it's a fundamentally unserious country at such a deeply serious moment here in America
10:54
and in all sorts of other parts of the world. We are all going to have to adapt to it because it's
11:00
not clear that serious discussion will resume here anytime soon
#news
#Political Humor
#Politics