Friday Focus: Trump faces pressure from Gulf States, Britain's populist parties get a boost, and Canada's new GG is plucked from the Laurentian elite

Tickets to our May 20th Munk Debate on Foreign Wars taking place in Toronto and featuring Mike Pompeo, Victoria Nuland, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, are now on sale. Visit to purchase tickets. Trump's pause on escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz has less to do with pressure from Iran and more to do with pressure from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile the U.S. has not done anything to protect the UAE which is under sustained attack from Iran. What happened to the US security guarantee to the Gulf States? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to two previous Munk Debaters - Louise Arbour and Nigel Farage - who were in the news this week for different reasons. Nigel had a great night in Britain with his Reform Party trouncing Labour in local council elections. The rise of populism in Britain, on both the left and right, is due to the failure of governance and the political ineptness of their Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In Canada former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour was appointed as the country's new Governor General. Why is Ottawa unwilling—or incapable—of promoting talent beyond the Laurentian elite circle? And is it time for the Boomer careerists to step aside, bow out, and make room for a younger generation to inhabit these institutions? Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus. Go to to sign up. Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Friday Focus: Trump faces pressure from Gulf States, Britain's populist parties get a boost, and Canada's new GG is plucked from the Laurentian elite is an episode from The Munk Debates Podcast by iHeartRadio Podcasts.

This episode is 21:39 long.

This episode was published on May 8, 2026.

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