What began as a rumble of irritation between Donald Trump and the BBC has now blown into something far louder, after it emerged that the broadcaster hired one of Trump’s most outspoken critics to deliver its prestigious annual Reith Lectures.
The decision came to light just as tensions between the former US President and the corporation were already rising — and it’s only made the situation more combustible.
A Provocative Voice Takes Centre Stage
Dutch writer and historian Rutger Bregman was the BBC’s pick for the lectures this year, and according to people who attended the recordings, he didn’t hold back.
In a talk titled A Time of Monsters, due to air next week, he drew stark comparisons between the political mood of today and the dark rise of fascism in the 1930s.
One audience member said he even described figures like Trump, Nigel Farage and high-profile tech billionaires — Elon Musk among them — as “a bit fashy.”
Bregman has long been open about his distaste for Trump, once framing the political divide in the US as a battle between “good and evil.”
So the BBC’s decision to give him the spotlight for its flagship intellectual event was bound to raise eyebrows — especially in Washington.
White House Fury and Claims of Bias
Predictably, the White House was unimpressed.
On Saturday night, after learning of Bregman’s remarks, communications director Steven Cheung dismissed him as “a rabid anti-Trump individual.”
He argued that the BBC’s latest move only confirmed suspicions about the broadcaster’s political leanings.
The reaction comes on top of a brewing legal row.
Trump recently announced to reporters on Air Force One that he plans to sue the BBC for as much as $5 billion over an episode of Panorama that edited his January 6, 2021 remarks in a way he says distorted his message as protesters stormed Capitol Hill.
A similar edit was later discovered in a past Newsnight broadcast.
The BBC has apologised but refused to offer damages.
Political Voices Pile In
Critics in the UK have seized on the moment. Nigel Farage declared the BBC “diseased” and in need of “radical surgery,” arguing that even the licence fee should be scrapped.
Conservative culture spokesperson Nigel Huddleston called the situation yet more proof of the broadcaster’s Left-leaning tendencies.
The fallout has already been severe: BBC director-general Tim Davie and the head of news, Deborah Furness, have both stepped down.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to speak directly with President Trump this weekend in an attempt to steady the waters.
Behind the Scenes of the Lectures
Bregman’s four-part series, Moral Revolution, was taped last month in venues across London, Liverpool, Edinburgh and the United States, and is scheduled to air from November 25.
Some senior BBC insiders are reportedly debating whether sections referencing Trump should be softened or removed before broadcast, to avoid stoking further anger in Washington.
One attendee from the London event said it was made “very clear” that Trump was one of the “monsters” referenced in the lecture title.
Bregman also suggested the world was teetering on the edge of neo-fascism, urging a moral pushback comparable to historic movements that ended slavery.
Dinner, Debate and a Push for Resistance
After the lecture, Bregman joined an exclusive dinner hosted by Tim Davie in the council chamber at Broadcasting House.
Under a portrait of Lord Reith — the BBC’s founding figure — guests including historian David Olusoga and Radio 4 executives sat down to venison carpaccio and herb-crusted lamb while Bregman expanded on his theme: that society must organise a “resistance movement” to counter rising populism.
In a Channel 4 interview earlier this year, he went even further, saying that Europeans underestimate the risk of an authoritarian shift in the US and warning that this is “not Left versus Right, this is good versus evil.”
BBC Responds — Carefully
Bregman did not reply to requests for comment.
The BBC, for its part, has kept its statements minimal, confirming only the November 25 broadcast date.
One insider stressed that the Reith Lectures have always offered a platform for challenging ideas, and that the views expressed are those of the speaker — not the BBC itself.
With the US election cycle heating up and Trump sharpening his focus on media criticism, the broadcaster now faces a delicate balancing act at a moment when the political temperature could hardly be higher.
What Happens Next?
The BBC must now decide whether to air the lectures in full or make cuts, knowing either choice could spark new controversy.
Trump’s potential multibillion-dollar lawsuit hangs over the corporation, and political voices on both sides of the Atlantic are circling.
For now, all eyes are on November 25 — and on whether the BBC’s bold choice to platform Bregman will ignite an even fiercer international clash.
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