What is the historical background behind Donald Trump’s politics? In the podcast, historian Philipp Gassert explains why the US president is not a break, but part of a long development.
April 19, 2026, 7:10 p.mApril 19, 2026, 7:10 p.m
Nicole Fuchs-Wiecha / t-online
Donald Trump’s presidency is fundamentally testing transatlantic relations. Gassert, in his book The Bipolar Nation describes the contradictions of the USA, makes it clear that Trump is not an isolated case, but rather follows a long political tradition.
For Europe, this means one thing above all: rethinking. “I believe that Europe’s hour is now,” says Gassert. But is the continent prepared to act more independently in terms of security policy and economy? What consequences does this have for dealing with the USA and for the rise of populist forces in Germany? The historian and t-online editor-in-chief Florian Harms discuss this in the podcast.
In the current podcast episode you can hear why a look at American history helps to better understand the present and what role Europe must take now hereat Apple Podcasts or on Spotify:
To person:
Philipp Gassert…
born in 1965, has held the chair for contemporary history at the University of Mannheim since 2014. He has previously researched and taught at the German Historical Institute in Washington, DC, the University of Heidelberg, the LMU Munich, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Augsburg. In 2022/23 he was a senior fellow at the Historical College in Munich. Philipp Gassert researches contemporary German and European history as well as transatlantic history and US foreign policy in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Source: University of Mannheim
The weekend discussion takes place every Saturday morning on t-online’s “Tagesbruch” podcast. In it, t-online editor-in-chief Florian Harms discusses current political issues with prominent guests. You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Pocket Casts subscribe.