Matt McDonald

Matt McDonald is the managing editor of The Spectator's US edition.

Inside America’s stand against TikTok

Washington, DC Earlier this month, the video app TikTok started sending urgent push notifications to its 170 million American users. ‘Congress is planning a total ban of TikTok,’ it said. ‘Speak up now.’ The company called on TikTokers to defend their ‘constitutional right to free expression’ and provided a handy link so that ‘businesses, creators

Biden and Trump heading for US election rematch

The United States is heading for a Donald Trump vs Joe Biden rematch in this year’s presidential election. US leader Joe Biden is the presumptive presidential nominee for the Democratic Party after his victory overnight in the Georgia primary pushed him passed the threshold of 1,968 delegates. Donald Trump also passed the threshold of 1,215 delegates to

Liz Truss’s Republican love-in at CPAC

‘Oh, that’s Liz Truss,’ a conservative reporter says as the former British prime minister passes us in the corridor at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). ‘She sucks. What’s she doing here?’ Trying to sell books, apparently. Truss is one of two Brits – alongside mainstay Nigel Farage – addressing CPAC. Her visit forms part

Is New Hampshire a Potemkin primary?

18 min listen

For this special Americano podcast, Freddy Gray is in New Hampshire with the Spectator US team, Matt McDonald and Zach Christenson covering the chilly primaries. Are both Ron De Santis and Nikki Haley’s defeat a foregone conclusion?

Kevin McCarthy ousted as US Speaker

Kevin McCarthy has been ousted as the House speaker after losing a vote 216-210, becoming the first speaker ever to lose his role through a vote and the shortest serving speaker to date. Florida congressman Matt Gaetz had forced the motion to vacate, due to his dissatisfaction with the deal McCarthy struck at the weekend to avoid a

Why everyone is delighted the US women’s soccer team is out

Americans awoke on Sunday morning to find themselves bathing in wave after wave of schadenfreude. In Melbourne, the unthinkable had happened: the US Women’s National Team had been defeated – and eliminated from the football World Cup. The online criticism was unrelenting. ‘They really are equal to the men’s team,’ said The Spectator World’s Stephen L.

Jury finds Donald Trump sexually abused author

A New York federal jury has found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against the author E. Jean Carroll. The jury ordered the former president to pay Carroll $5 million (£4 million) in compensatory and punitive damages. Trump was not found liable for the more serious charge of rape leveled against him by

How Liz Truss is wooing Washington

Many Brits who’ve outstayed their welcome in the Old Country head across the Pond for pastures new and the chance of a fresh start. The Pilgrims, Thomas Paine, John Oliver. Could former prime minister Liz Truss be the next to follow that well-trodden path?  Since her astonishing fall from grace last September, when she managed

Could Georgia decide the midterms?

30 min listen

This week Freddy is joined by Matt McDonald, US managing editor of The Spectator, who is covering the midterms from Georgia. What will the result of the run-off be there and could this decide who takes control of the Senate? 

When will Trump concede?

22 min listen

Joe Biden edges ever closer to the White House, but the Trump campaign has launched a flurry of lawsuits to aim for recounts of the vote in various states. Will he concede? Freddy Gray talks to Amber Athey and Matt McDonald.

Is CPAC now TPAC?

14 min listen

Freddy Gray, Amber Athey and Matt McDonald discuss 2021’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida, ahead of Donald Trump’s appearance tomorrow.

The collapse of Andrew Cuomo

20 min listen

The American golden child of pandemic politicians seems to have lost his shine. Matt McDonald, the US managing editor of the Spectator, speaks to Janice Dean, a senior meteorologist at Fox News who has been investigating Cuomo, about how the crisis in New York’s care homes ruined the Governor’s reputation.

Biden wins Wisconsin and Michigan — is his victory imminent?

The 2020 election results have been rolling in. Joe Biden has won California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Washington DC. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio,

Donald Trump tests positive for Covid-19

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for Covid-19. The President and first lady underwent testing after Hope Hicks, one of his top aides, tested positive on Wednesday. Trump has been campaigning across the country this week. He was in Cleveland, Ohio on Tuesday night for his first debate with Democratic

Is this the end of American democracy?

21 min listen

Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination at their virtual convention last night, bringing his three-day coronation to an end with a well-received speech. Throughout this year’s DNC, speakers have warned that America’s political foundations are at stake in the upcoming election – Barack Obama urged voters not to let the Republicans ‘take away your

Who is the virtual DNC for?

21 min listen

The virtual Democratic National Convention kicked off this week with an agenda packed full of the party’s most well-known and experienced figures. But with a controversial appearance from Bill Clinton and a barnstorming speech from Michelle Obama, who is the convention really for? Matt McDonald, managing editor of the Spectator USA, speaks to Emily Larsen,

Is Kamala Harris a good VP pick?

18 min listen

Yesterday evening, Joe Biden announced Kamala Harris as his running mate. While the Californian senator is seen by many as a safe pick, she notably came to blows with Biden in the Democratic primaries for his history of working with segregationists. Is this a good move by the Biden campaign? Freddy Gray speaks to Matt

Bye bye Bloomberg

‘I’m a believer in using data to inform decisions,’ Michael Bloomberg said in a statement as he ended his campaign. ‘After yesterday’s results, the delegate math has become virtually impossible – and a viable path to the nomination no longer exists.’ And like that, he’s gone. Perhaps the most extraordinary story of the 2020 campaign