Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray

Freddy Gray is deputy editor of The Spectator

Freddy Gray

How much have the 6 January hearings damaged Trump?

The congressional inquiry into 6 January’s storming of the Capitol is having a break. In its last prime-time hearing of the summer yesterday, the Committee – Donald Trump calls it the ‘Unselect Committee’ because none of his apologists are on it – gave him one more kicking. The Democrats have made a mistake in not

Trump’s Return

42 min listen

In this week’s episode:Will Donald Trump have a second shot at the US presidency?Freddy Gray and Sarah Baxter debate the return of Donald Trump. (1.10)Also this week:A look at the history of Scotland’s paradoxical relationship between Scottish identity and the Union.The Spectator’s Scotland editor, Alex Massie talks with Murray Pittock about his book Scotland: The

Freddy Gray

Is the world ready for another Trump presidency?

Is Donald Trump going to run in 2024? And if he does, will the world go even more completely crazy? These are questions that almost nobody wants to answer. Many of us are in denial. President Trump broke something in the global political psyche the first time round, which is why so many commentators struggle

Did René Girard understand America?

40 min listen

Freddy Gray speaks to Geoff Shullenberger, a lecturer at New York University and columnist for Compact Magazine about a range of topics, from the ideas and appeal of philosopher René Girard to transhumanism and transgenderism, and the war in Ukraine.

End of quote. Repeat the line. Joe Biden can’t go on

How much longer can the global disaster that is Joe Biden’s presidency go on? Surely there comes a point when the Democrats do what the Tory party did to Boris Johnson last week – declare enough is enough and force him out? The odds of Biden running for a second term are shrinking dramatically –

Boris was never Trump

The urge to compare Boris Johnson to Donald Trump was always irresistible. It has been fun, too. Both men are colourful creatures in a political environment that elevated dullards. Both men had privileged childhoods. Both are veteran womanisers with much younger wives. Both are brilliant electoral campaigners and great communicators, albeit in very different ways. Both

Freddy Gray

The Tories will miss Boris now he’s gone

Boris Johnson was often talked about as the luckiest politician on earth — and in a sense he was. Outrageous fortune powered his ascent. A child of privilege, he always seemed to get away with it, no matter what it might be. In elections, his timing was almost miraculously perfect, culminating in his big win

Who says Boris has to go?

As the cameras burped and clicked, as an aggravated nation watched, Boris Johnson announced that he was giving up. ‘Let us seize this chance and make this our moment to stand tall in the world,’ he said. ‘That is the agenda of the next Prime Minister of this country. Well, I must tell you, my

Why I fancy Emma Raducanu’s chances of winning Wimbledon

I just stuck £15 on Emma Raducanu to win Wimbledon at 22/1 — and I think you should too. I’m no tennis expert, far from it, but I’ve a reasonable sports betting record and like many others I’ve watched Emma with patriotic enthusiasm over the last two years. It’s quite easy to see when she’s

AOC’s Roe v. Wade grandstanding has gone too far

If you’ve bothered to actually read the Supreme Court’s opinion on Roe v. Wade – rather than the endless social media memes – you’ll know that America’s chief justices have not decided they can rule over women’s bodies. The court has rather declared that the issue is not a matter for the court – that abortion

The problem with Billie Eilish’s Roe v. Wade intervention

The words ‘dark day’ went viral yesterday — in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in America. Women and men the world over took to social media and the airwaves to say that the news was a great leap backwards for humanity. Almost nobody bothered to read the court’s opinion, of

Freddy Gray

The truth about the Roe v. Wade abortion ‘ban’

You wait decades for landmark reforms in America and then, like culture-war buses, two come along at once. Earlier this week, the Senate passed a gun control bill – the most significant firearm control legislation in US history. Now, the Supreme Court has voted 6-3 to overturn Roe v. Wade – as everyone expected since

Biden’s racial ‘equity’ plan is bound to backfire

‘America is a nation that can be defined in a single word,’ said the proud Commander-in-Chief Joe Biden, standing outside the White House earlier this year. ‘Alsdfnalcaofjlksfa.’ We shouldn’t laugh. The poor man has a speech impediment. Still, that ‘Alsdfnalcaofjlksfa’ word will strike many Americans as an amusingly apt description of their country in 2022.

Can California be saved from ruin?

50 min listen

Freddy Gray talks to Michael Shellenberger, the author and campaigner, fresh from his recent run in the primary elections for governor of California. Shellenberger’s most recent book, San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities, is available to buy now.

The death of political authority

37 min listen

In this week’s episode:Why is there a lack of faith in western leaders? Spectator deputy editor Freddy Gray, Callum Williams from the Economist & Harvard professor Barbara Kellerman discuss why the world feel so leaderless. (00:44) Also this week:How do you escape the Church of Scientology? Spectator Columnist Mary Wakefield talks with former scientologist Claire Headley

Freddy Gray

The death of political authority

Are we living in the age of the strongman – or the weak man? Politics in the 21st century has so far been defined by a global drift away from liberalism, whatever that was, and towards authoritarianism – Xi in China, Putin in Russia, Erdogan in Turkey, Modi in India, Orban in Hungary, Bolsonaro in