Australian TV host reacts as Donald Trump brutally humiliates TDS Ambassador

This is Power Hour with Gabriella Power.

Hello and welcome to Power Hour. I'm Gabriella Power. Thank you for your time and for your company. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has blasted Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, at the White House.

I don't like you either.

And I probably never will. US Kevin Rudd at the White House. It's so embarrassing for Australia but Kevin Rudd only has himself to blame here for posting and then deleting on social media that Donald Trump is a village idiot and a traitor to the West. Now after being totally humiliated by the President of the United States, Australia's Ambassador Kevin Rudd chased down the President offering a grovelling apology for his stupid

comments in the past. But there are right now plenty of calls right here in Australia to see Kevin Rudd pack his bags. We'll have much more to say on this later in the show but first let's look at the events over the weekend where the looniest of the lefties gathered to rally against democracy taking to the streets and what they call a no-kings protest. A protest against the democratically elected

President of the United States and among those calling on Americans to get out there and march was of course former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who shared this video on social media that really got the lefties going and must have had the President shaking in his boots. Breaking a crown and posting it to social media, well done Nancy Pelosi. But let's take a look at those lovely, charming, completely sane protesters that took to the streets over the weekend starting with this woman who spent her birthday marching with her family. And there's no other way I'd want to celebrate my birthday than with my parents

and my best friend fighting for our country.

Okay, so for a birthday present, what do you hope happens? You know, you wake up tomorrow morning.

I hope that I see the obituary that we're all waiting for tomorrow. That's what I hope for.

You wishing that President Trump is dead?

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely.

And let's look at another No Kings protester who's calling on other lefties to get meaner.

We need to get ourselves together. And we might even need to be a little bit meaner because the Republicans don't mind being mean.

And by mean, what do you mean? Do you mean protesting? Do you mean?

Maybe we have to, I don't know, stop being so nice.

Because you seem like a pretty nice lady.

I'm a pretty nice lady, but I can be pretty mean too.

Okay, and I have to ask this, because people on the other side are going to say that they feel like the Democrat Party has been mean. Recently with Charlie Kirk being assassinated, they-

Charlie Kirk is a piece of garbage. Of course we were mean. I am so tired of people saying, oh, but you know, it's a terrible thing. No, Hitler is dead. I'm glad Hitler's dead. Evil people have no place in my world.

He was a hateful human being. It was disgusting, the things that he said and did. I have, you know, I don't have time for that. I'm sorry. I have to

point my energy in other directions. And here's another measured, rational, liberal making an excellent point. He was a racist because he was a misogynist and that means that you are too because you

support him.

Get out!

Get out of here! He hated people. He hated anyone that wasn't white, that wasn't male, that wasn't straight.

That's still triggered by Charlie Kirk. Wow. Now the president has a message for these seriously deranged lefties who will be certainly triggered again to learn that Donald Trump is a president and not a king.

I'm not a king. I'm not a king. I work my ass off to make our country great. That's all it is. I'm not a king at all.

Joining us now is Hilary Fordwidge, President and founder of Strelmark. Hillary, it's wonderful to see you again. Let's start with these so-called no-Kings protests that occurred over the weekend. And we've seen plenty of lefties having meltdowns, celebrating Charlie Kirk's death and wishing death on the President at these rallies. So a really charming group of people attending.

But we've also seen some bizarre dance performances it's pretty painful to watch but I'm sorry to do this but I'm going to put you through it. No matter what he says. He says, he says. Hell no he won't say.

Not today.

There ain't no killing in the USA.

Oh it doesn't stop and then you look at the banners that they've got behind them. I mean Hilary can I get your reaction and why do we so often see old people taking to the streets performing like this to make a point against Donald Trump?

Well, wonderful to be back with you again. And what I find is absolutely even more ridiculous than those silly ghastly dances is that I don't think they know what they're talking about. First of all, if Donald Trump was a powerful omnipresent king,

then we wouldn't have a government shutdown right now. If he was a king and could just like wave a wand and stop it or command people to open up the government, then he would. So he's not a king. Secondly, they probably don't understand anything about kings because at least the UK king, King Charles, is a constitutional monarch. Even he wouldn't have the power to reopen the government. So I don't think they know much because if you ask them anything about the Magna Carta, if you ask them anything about King John and where it was signed and what it meant in the Constitutional Monarchy, they don't even know. So they're demonstrating

their idiocy. It's rather like when there were all those protests from the river to the sea. I wanted to ask them, not least, when you said about their age, it's their age, but also all of those banners and everything was very well prepared. And there, of course, is a lot of speculation. And President Trump has said this.

They are Soros-backed and funded. I think these people are funded, because otherwise their signs all wouldn't be so similar,

nor would they have all these organised routines, Gabriella. Well, let's talk about that. There are reports that George Soros Foundation have been backing the No Kings protests. And of course, we know that George Soros is the founder of the Open Society Foundations, which funds plenty of left-wing activism and also has financial ties to the Indivisible Project,

which was managing data and communications with participants for these No Kings protests. Now, Ted Cruz has also raised the alarm about this on Fox News. Let's take a listen.

You look at this No Kings rally, and there's considerable evidence that George Soros and his network is behind funding these rallies, which may well be riots all across the country. And Soros is writing the check.

Hilary, can I get your thoughts on this? Yes, there is speculation. I'm not going to say something that isn't totally proven, but it looks like it is from everything that you're hearing from, whether it's President Trump, as you mentioned there, Ted Cruz, but also the DOJ and the FBI is investigating this. I will say that he has funded to the tune of 32 billion that Open Society Foundation and they have declared that they do back such things. They've said it's their right to protest and their right for free speech. But it isn't a right to violence and it isn't a right to be what what is looked viewed as and definitely seems very anti-American

Gabriella. And as I mentioned before they don't know what they're talking about because we don't have a king or he would have opened up the government.

They have no idea what they are talking about. And then if you listen to some of them, what they have to say is certainly not nice, but look, we are just two weeks away from the mayoral election in New York City. And of course, the front runner is Democrat Zoran Mamdani and he's making it no secret that if he is elected, which he's likely to be,

he'll be putting taxes up and up. He was asked about this on Fox News. Let's take a listen.

So a lot of individuals in this city pay more than 50% of their income in taxes. When you talk about a fair share, how much more than, what is the fair share? What's the number?

I've said that we should increase personal income tax by 2%. Is fair? And my point is this, if you're making a million dollars in New York City or more than that You can afford to pay 2% more and the reasons you can afford to do so is because that money will be used to better

Your quality of life as well. As Margaret Thatcher famously said the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. But Zoran Mamdani has also come under fire for posting a photo and smiling arm in arm with Imam Siraj Wahaj, who's been accused of having ties to terrorism. Yet Hilary Mamdani is expected to win this election next month. Can I get your reaction to his comments about putting taxes up and up on Fox News.

Well, I can tell you who's really happy about that, Gabriella, and that's all the realtors in Florida, because more New Yorkers are going to leave and they're going to go to Florida. Miami is now a booming financial center who would have ever thought that New York City would no longer be the financial center. The amount of businesses that have moved down there is absolutely astronomical. And then I would say also with regard to crime, he isn't advocating for more police on the streets. All the things that he just said there with regard to raising the taxes 2 percent, those

aren't things that he's also promising. He isn't. And I do think that the Jewish population in New York City should be very concerned, absolutely concerned, because you just mentioned who he had with him. And he has also even said as an imam, he preached saying that he wanted marches of 10,000 people. And he's talked about obviously being he's very anti-Semitic. And I think Jewish people in New York should be

extremely concerned. Yeah, I think and I think they are. Now, US Vice President J.D. Vance is on his way to Israel to meet with Benjamin Netanyahu to oversee rather Trump's ceasefire deal in Gaza. Now, the President has made it clear that they will be eradicating Hamas if they have to. Here's Donald Trump.

We made a deal with Hamas that they're gonna be very good, they're gonna behave, they're gonna be nice, and if they're not, we going to go and we're going to eradicate them if we have to. They'll be eradicated and they know that.

Hillary, Steve Whitkoff also gave an emotional interview after securing the release of the living hostages that are now finally back with their families. Let's listen.

How were you feeling when they come up?

Elated. Elated and I was thinking to myself what would I have felt like when I got the call from Cedars-Sinai Hospital that my son had died if the call from them was he didn't die. Oh God. We revived him and these people were all getting that type of call. Their kids were coming home. You

can see that it is such a powerful moment for Steve Whitcoff and really such a huge part of his life's work getting those hostages home, Hillary.

Yes, it absolutely is. And just linking these two stories when I mentioned about Jewish New Yorkers should be scared about Mondami. In the US, 73% of Jewish people vote for the Democrats. I just hope that they're watching and they're paying attention to this because President Trump has done more for Israel, more for the Jewish people than any other president in recent memory.

And Steve Whitkoff, yeah, saw that emotional testimony there. He means this from the bottom of his heart. And is there any parent who wouldn't want their child returned to them? So I think what he's done, what Jared Kushner did, they went there together, they went there to secure this.

I think it's absolutely wonderful. And I hope, as I mentioned, every single Jewish voter is looking at this and all those Jewish voters that vote for the Democrats realize it's President Trump that's accomplished this.

Absolutely. Now, finally, former Joe Biden White House Press Secretary, Corine Jean-Pierre has unleashed on the Democrat Party in her new memoir explaining why she decided to ditch the Democrats altogether and become an independent. She wrote about Joe Biden and how he was essentially pushed out of the race last year.

She wrote, I was angry and sad and was enraged and heartbroken that this man had given more than 50 years of his life to serving the American people and in the end he'd been treated poorly by members of his own party. It was horrible. I mean, Hilary, it's interesting reading these comments coming out of her memoir because we've just heard really Kamala Harris blasting the Democrats as well in her book, 107 Days. And that Karine Jean-Pierre, Kamala Harris, neither of them are really helping the Democrats right now.

No, they're not.

And I look at it as sort of like the Ides of March, A2 Brutai, because I look at it as another stab, right? I mean, the Democratic Party, this is the last thing they need. They need everyone on board because they're sinking in the polls. They're not doing well at all. And I do think they don't have much of a future because who's the leader of the Democratic Party? Who are they going to put up?

It's purported that obviously Kamala is thinking about running for national position again, and she didn't win any of the swing states, any of the popular vote, the electoral college. So I think this is very bad and Kareem Jumper, I mean, what she's saying is actually the sentiment of a lot of Democrats and they're split, divided, and they're a divided party across the nation and that's one of their problems.

Hilary Fordwood, President and founder of Strelmark, thank you so much for joining us.

Pleasure, Gabriela. Thank you for having me.

It's time for media meltdowns and woke Hollywood actor Robert De Niro has graced the airwaves of MSNBC with an insightful message to share, claiming that millions of Americans believe Donald Trump not because Donald Trump is someone who clearly delivers on his promises, such as closing the border, deporting illegals, ending the war in Gaza and so on. But because these Americans are not watching enough of the mainstream media, listen to this.

They're used to seeing Trump do his stuff and they talk and they listen and that's the truth to them because they don't listen to anything else. Somewhere way out in the Midwest, somewhere out West in certain places, the rural places. That's the truth because he gets the airtime and I think that we need more airtime.

Yes, many Americans are not brainwashed by the leftist media and have stopped watching networks like MSNBC and CNN altogether. Yet Robert De Niro claims that he has a solution and that is to push more anti-Trump news content or stop reporting on the president altogether.

The news media could find ways to kind of ignore or tamp down nonsense from Trump. It's just total nonsense but those people out there listen to it and assume if it can be on the air and it's out there, it's the truth.

So what is the truth according to Robert De Niro? It is that Kamala Harris was incredibly popular, Joe Biden is as sharp as a tack, Stephen Miller is a Nazi and Donald Trump is on his way to destroying the world. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country and eventually he could destroy the world. Joining us now is Chief Economist at the Institute of Public Affairs Adam Crichton. Adam, thank you so much for joining us once again. Robert De Niro, I mean he's had Trump derangement syndrome

for some time now, but isn't it ironic to hear him on MSNBC of all places to say that the American people who don't watch the mainstream media are certainly not getting the truth?

No, it's just extraordinary. I mean, that station, MSNBC, has really been the biggest purveyor of misinformation, I would say, of all the networks in the US. There's the Russiagate scandal, you know, the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation, there was Trump said that Nazis are very fine people.

There are so many examples of this. And you know, it's also a very insulting comment to ordinary Americans who can make up their own minds. I mean, one of the glories now of the media landscape is that there is so much choice and people can fact check various claims. There are podcasts, there are newspapers online,

there's of course cable. So look, I just think he's very bitter that the Trump presidency at the moment has had quite a few wins in recent weeks. And I think there's a lot of anger about that. Actually, there was a movie, I think, in the late 1990s that De Niro was in called Analyze This

and I think he played a criminal who had to see a psychiatrist to get a better understanding of the world. Well, maybe this is a chance for art to finally imitate life. Life imitate art, rather.

Yes, I think so. You know, you look on MSNBC's web page, I visit it constantly, and you barely see the president getting any recognition. I mean, they moved on from his significant achievement ending the war in Gaza in a matter of days.

It's pure propaganda.

It really is.

A matter of days. Correct. It absolutely is. And as you say, De Niro's comments are pretty insulting to the American people. They can absolutely make up their own mind and get the truth absolutely anywhere else

apart from MSNBC and CNN. But Adam, finally, after nine. Oh, sorry, no, you go.

No, I was just gonna say, the left's always criticising Fox News, but I honestly think MSNBC makes Fox News look like the BBC in 1965. I mean, it's so far left and extreme that I mean, it's a comedic statement of De Niro.

Sorry. No, no, I couldn't agree more, but I'm eager to talk to you about this meeting that's finally taken place after nine long months. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally met with Donald Trump at the White House and just the fact that it has taken nine months is is not a joke when you consider how

much the President gets done every single day and it's taken more than 270 days for the President to make time for Anthony Albanese and and you look at what he has done in that time. I mean Donald Trump has had one-on-ones, one-on-one meetings with leaders of Israel, Argentina, India, South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, the UK, France. I mean it goes on and on. He's met with more than 20 world leaders. It is only now that we are approaching the one-year mark of Trump

2.0 that this meeting has finally taken place. So certainly shows you where we stand with the United States which I think of course makes sense when you look at how Anthony Albanese is running Australia. But today of course the two leaders signed a major 8.5 billion, 8.5 US I should say billion dollar rare earths and critical minerals deal and the President also showed his support for the Orca submarine deal insisting

that it is moving along rapidly but it was of course this question by Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell that is getting headlines right around the world with the president blasting Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd.

I don't know anything about him. If he said bad then maybe he'll like to apologize. and blasting Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.

I don't know anything about him. If he said bad, then maybe he'll like to apologize. I really don't know. Did an ambassador say something bad about him? Don't tell me.

I don't know.

Where is he?

Is he still working for you?

Yeah, yeah.

Is this true?

Is this true?

Is this true?

Do you said bad? Before I took this position, Mr. President. I don't like you either.

And I probably never will.

Adam, can I please get your reaction?

Well, look, I mean, I think actually the President was very gracious, I think, to Kevin Rudd. It could have gone a lot worse than that. I think Trump showed himself to be a great statesman there, really. I mean, the things that Rudd said were really nasty. You know, the most destructive president in US history and various other things like that. I mean I think actually that Rudd got off pretty well from that exchange. But I should add that, you know, I really think Rudd should step aside from that position.

I think, you know, this has put the Australian government I think in a very awkward position because you know of course they can't sack Rudd now because it looks like we're servile to the United States then but of course Rudd can you know he can find another job he's got extensive contacts I'm sure there's plenty of jobs in the UN that he could take and he hasn't taken them which I think you know I think it's bad for Australia because I know you know Trump kind of played it down there but it is embarrassing that you have you know one of the best allies of the United States and the ambassador says Trump is the most destructive president in US history.

I mean, that's not really tenable in my books.

No, he's called Donald Trump a village idiot. He's made other comments saying he's a traitor to the West. And then Kevin Rudd had to, you know, chase down Donald Trump and then offer this apology after Donald Trump kind of suggested that he maybe he should apologize for those comments but I agree with you I don't think it really helps Australia and our relationship

with the United States I mean the fact that it has taken this long to finally to finally get this meeting and and now the headlines around the world is that Donald Trump has blasted Kevin Rudd but Adam what do you make of how the relationship will go between Australia and the US from here? I suppose what they the two leaders were able to achieve today was significant signing a major rare-earths deal to of course counter China's dominance and now rare-earths stocks have certainly jumped and and the president also showed his support for August orcus rather

Let's just take a listen

A while ago and nobody did anything about it. It was going too slowly. We do actually have a lot of submarines. We have the best submarines in the world, anywhere in the world. And we're building a few more currently under construction. And now we're starting. We have it all set with Anthony. We've worked on this long and hard and we're starting that process right now. And I think it's really moving along very rapidly, very well.

Adam, what's your assessment of the rest of the meeting?

Well, look, I think it was a win for Albanesia. I think it was a win for Australia. It could have gone a lot worse, actually. I mean, there's so many points of foreign policy disagreement and domestic policy disagreement that Trump could have brought up, but he really didn't. And not only did he not do that, he said AUKUS is going ahead and the subs are going ahead, the Rare Earths deal. I mean, certainly Albanese would have been very scared,

I think, on the way over. Because as you said earlier in the program, nine months or something like that between where there wasn't a meeting. And that was indeed very embarrassing. But Trump, again, just like I said before, he's quite gracious and diplomatic when he wants to be,

and I think probably people were in his ear before the meeting, I would say, from the State Department saying, Australia's very important, Australia's very important. And so he was nice. And he even said that our defence spending was kind of okay.

So look, I think the appearance of it, the Labor government will certainly take that as a win.

Yeah, absolutely. Let's talk about what's happening in Victoria. I mean, what a mess it is. Two Victorian police officers had to be hospitalised over the weekend after left-wing activists attacked officers during protests in Melbourne.

Let's listen to Victoria Police. The people that came to pick the fight with police were the issue motivated groups on the left. I can tell you that the March for Australia group, they were peaceful, they were engaging, they listened to our instructions, they did what they were told and they protested by example. The disruption to Melbourne, to the general public who want to come into our fine city, the disruption to businesses.

We really need to find an answer of what we do.

So Adam, police making it very clear who's causing trouble here, left-wing activists, far left-wing activists. Yet that seemed to have been missed by many of our mainstream media outlets.

No, look, certainly that's true. After the march on Sunday, I went to The Age to read what had happened and I read an article and it sounded like from the article that it was all a march for Australia people that were doing terrible things.

And then later on in the day, I saw that clip and I thought, hang on, what, that's the complete opposite of what was reported basically or certainly what was implied so it's good that the police were calling out the truth and you know my experience is at least that the left-wing protests are extremely vicious and violent in fact you know a few months ago when I first arrived in Melbourne I found myself caught up in a trans rights

protest on Burke Street not I wasn't willingly there but I was there and I saw the way they treated the police and it was unbelievably bad, spitting on them, screaming at them. You know, I was really shocked. So it's good that the police have said that. And you know, maybe that goes some way

to restoring the public's respect for the Victorian police. Because of course, it's COVID, their reputation has declined somewhat. But you know, most of the March for Australia people, I think, were very peaceful from what I hear. And yet on the other side, there were burnings of Australian flags and so forth. Very disappointing.

And it's refreshing to hear the truth from the police there, making that really important point that most of the people who turned out for the March for Australia rally were peaceful. And look, Adam, I've been in similar situations as you,

when I've spent plenty of years in Melbourne reporting and covering protests. I've seen some very far left-wing activists be very aggressive, and it's really not a pleasant experience at all.

Yeah, just to broaden a point on Victoria, it's really sad. The press Victoria has been getting recently is just absolutely shocking, whether it's crime or economics. And I just can't believe that the state government here doesn't realise how bad it is for their citizens. People are moving away, house prices are falling.

It's very sad, not just for Victoria, but also for Australia too. It is. So I really think the Labor government down there is a black mark on the country at the

moment. But anyway, maybe that was... No, I agree with you. And Premier Jacinta Allen must be divorced from reality. I mean, she's insisting that the city is safe, as it's right... Melbourne's right in the middle of this horrific crime wave, Adam.

Yeah, that's true. Indeed, some crime statistics came out recently, at least on the burglary and the carjacking front. The absolute numbers are actually double in Victoria from New South Wales, which is extraordinary. The population, of course, in New South Wales is about 20%, 30% higher, but there are actually more crimes down there.

And I think, you know, part of the reason, I think, is the rate of incarceration in Victoria is just so low. I think the rate there, from memory, the IPA did some research on this recently, and Victoria has the lowest rate of incarceration in the country, 104, I think, per 100,000.

And in New South Wales, 194, and I think in Western Australia, 200 and something. So, you know, if you're not putting criminals in jail, well, you know, of course there's gonna be more crime on the streets. And the Andrews government, the Allen government, they've changed the laws I think repeatedly in the last five years to basically make it harder

for the judiciary to put people in prison.

That's exactly right. And I think if you look at what's happening now, also is partly the result of Daniel Andrews putting Melbourne and Victoria through one of the world's longest lockdowns. And I mean, it's horrific for so many citizens. But I think it's very frustrating for everyone in Australia,

not even people in Melbourne, to hear from Premier Jacinta Allen saying that the city is safe. And any day now that you turn on the news, there's another machete attack. And so she's just gaslighting Victorians.

But Adam Crichton, thank you so much for joining us. Brilliant to speak with you.

Thanks very much.

Joining us now is SkyNews.com.au columnist Louise Roberts. Louise, thank you for joining us. Good to see you as always, Gabriela. Before we get into all the royal news, you've written a really interesting piece for our website about how Gen Z are starting to really wake up to the impact mass migration is having here in Australia

considering there's been a jump of 24% in the number of young Aussies who want a temporary migration pause. That's a significant shift. It is a significant shift because it's only happened in the last 12 months and I think the important thing about Gen Z which is that 18 to 24 year old age group is that politicians have relied on them or assumed that they're the bleeding heart generation and will be happy with any level of migration. Open the borders, we have to support everyone. But this is very much a case of economic reality overriding ideology

I think and it could be, you know, we were talking earlier about Charlie Kirk's influence that it's not racist or nationalist to actually want to protect your own standard of living. They're not being racist. They're not saying no to migrants. They're just saying,

which older generations have been saying for some time, let's pause it, let the infrastructure and the housing and health care and roads and everything and schools, let it all catch up, let us calibrate as a society because more people doesn't necessarily mean a better standard of living. And I think young Aussies who are finding it hard to rent, let alone buy a home or get a job or do anything that they expected

they would do in their mid-20s. And they can see that migration is putting such a massive strain on our way of life. And it's not racist to say that, and thank goodness they've actually come to the party and realised that's the case. And it's interesting you mentioned Charlie Kirk

because he spoke to so many Americans about the issue and the concerns around mass migration and the importance of having strong borders. And so, although he spoke to so many young Americans, he also reached so many young Australians. So, it'd be interesting to see

whether he really played an influence as well as the fact that so many young Australians are really feeling the pinch and starting to wake up. It's right. And it's a wake-up call to Canberra. They've made assumptions about this generation who are, you know, in the newer cohort of voters, let's face it, 18 to 24, 25.

And they can't... They have to really look at their policy now to say, well well we probably were more worried about the older generation saying they didn't want migration or mass migration now we have to address the younger people who are going to be the taxpayers and really building the society of the future of Australia. And you look at the events over the weekend people taking part in the March for Australia protests and obviously of course there are some people who are very extreme but a lot of very genuine

Australians that really want to make sure Australian culture remains alive and we don't rely on mass migration, is of course the point there. But let's talk about the royal news because it's been massive royal news over the weekend.

Prince Andrew has officially given up his royal title of the Duke of York along with his honors following a discussion with his brother, King Charles. So he put out a statement saying, in discussion with the King and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded

the continued accusations about me, distraction from the work of His Majesty and the royal family. I've decided as I always have to put my duty to my family and country first. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honours which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me. Louise, I

think this really needed to happen. It did need to happen, but let's be clear, Andrew's not made some kind of noble sacrifice here. Absolutely not. His arm's been twisted somewhat by his brother and certainly by his nephew. I think Charles, in a way, has been very cautious,

and he's quite sentimental about family ties, obviously, being his younger brother, but William is far more clinical and corporate, and his reign will be very much, if you're in, you're in as a royal, you have to prove your worth and don't feel that you can sort of, you know, legs onto the train here and sort of, you know, get all the benefits without being a proper working royal. But, you know, I feel for Andrew losing his title, it's a necessary amputation to save the body of the monarchy

in a way. They have to be clinical and have to be brutal. And every week there's a new scandal with Andrew. I mean, those emails over the weekend, he said in that, you know, catastrophic 2019 Newsnight interview, I'd cut off contact in December 2010 and clearly was still emailing Jeffrey Epstein by February, March the following year. So his contradictions have been exposed.

So it's very well for him to say in that rather pompous statement, I have decided to put my duty and my family first. Andrew only puts Andrew first, clearly. He's been painted into a corner. And I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Charles had the conversation with him.

Oh, me too. Particularly if William was in the room. I mean, we saw the footage outside Princess Michael of Kent's funeral where Andrew was trying to engage William in some sort of general chit-chat and William was not having it. He had a face of granite. He was thinking, just get away from me. I know the cameras are on us but I want nothing to do with you.

Yeah, you can see it, can't you? And the Met has launched an investigation into claims that Prince Andrew recruited the force to dig up dirt, really, on his accuser Virginia Dufresne. So this investigation is ongoing into reports that Andrew used one of his taxpayer funded bodyguards for an attempted smear campaign against Virginia. Is that right?

Well, that's the allegation. It's a very, very serious allegation, but it's also quite disgusting that he was apparently going to these lengths using taxpayer funded palace security to dig up dirt, dig up her social security number, her date of birth and find out anything he could to try and

discredit a woman who of course he still denies ever meeting in person despite the photographic evidence to the contrary and denied that he ever sexually abused her and of course Virginia took her own life in April and it was such a tragic end to a terrible life for her. And down the line now, the repercussions are being felt very much, I think, by a lot of

people.

Let's talk about Fergie and what's going to happen with her. The reports are that King Charles has vowed to protect Beatrice and Eugenie, whereas Fergie, Sarah Ferguson, faces life without her title, Duchess of York. Of course, she agreed not to use it after Prince Andrew relinquished his Duke title after the ongoing fallout with Jeffrey Epstein. But what's going to happen with Fergie?

Well, I think what's happened with Andrew losing his title and now her losing Duchess of York, it just proves that the York brand is totally toxic within the royal circles. And yes, I've read that Charles

will somewhat try and ring fence Beatrice and Eugenie as his nieces, because they shouldn't pay for the sins of the parents, clearly, but I wouldn't expect him to have any front and centre row. Don't expect to see them on the palace balcony for any kind of fly past or anything anytime soon.

I don't think he's gonna throw them under a bus, but at the same time, he's not going to be putting them forward when William's reign is very much going to be a very streamlined monarchy I think. But it's just amazing that I think Fergie and Andrew have become so undone by their devotion to Jeffrey Epstein. It just beggars belief and Fergie has survived so many scandals over the years.

And in recent times, in fact, a lot of that to do with her Australian connections has sort of been somewhat rehabilitated. There has been, I'd sensed a real sort of renewed affection for her that, you know, she's been a victim in the past and the toe sucking and the scandals and the royal things, everything else that has gone wrong. It really hadn't been her fault. Deep down, she's a decent person.

I think the line was crossed though, when that email was revealed that she was calling Epstein a treasured friend. And I don't think even her most diehard fans are going to stand by her when she's endorsing a pedophile in that way.

So I think that was the end for her. Yeah, you're absolutely right. What about Meghan and Harry? Because there are reports that Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and their children could be set to lose their royal titles if and when Prince William becomes monarch. Do you think that's what will happen? I really do feel it will happen.

And I think it's important to note that it won't be a revenge play by William. It's very much a reforming play because when he is king, when in the fifth, when his father passes on, he's the monarch, he's more aware than anyone, I think,

that the monarchy and the royal family have to provide value to the taxpayer and also the Commonwealth as well, that it's not... We don't just keep the royal family because we've always had the royal family. They very much have to prove their worth. And he wants to really push aside anyone

who's been freeloading or using their titles for commercial gain. And we know the late queen had said to Meghan, forbade her from using the HRH title. And of course, Meghan's just blithely gone ahead and done that and tried to commercialize it

wherever she can. But it's a reform play by William. I think he just wants to keep it a very tight monarchy, but also he wants to reward the people who do actually do the work, and do it quietly without any fanfare. Princess Anne is a perfect example of that.

And I think there'd be plenty of support to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lose those titles. Now, Meghan Markle's very short-lived podcast series, ''Confessions of a Female Founder'' has picked up two honours in the annual Signal Awards for podcasting. So despite being really a flop, Megan's podcast picked up two nods at the Signal Awards and Confessions won a gold award in the

business people and entrepreneurs shaping culture category of the Signal Awards which aims to recognise meaningful podcasts. Surely there's some backlash to this decision. Were you surprised? What did you make of it? Well, I do feel that Megan's building

this empire of perception. It's not actually what the talent is, it's more the smoke and mirrors. And she's very good at that. And I don't know how involved she was in the entry or who the other contenders were.

I do feel a bit sorry for them because there no doubt there would have been some, probably some pretty talented people doing some podcasts and sort of Megan stemmed in and, or stemmed in rather and won. But you know, it's a show that flopped, it vanished pretty quickly.

So the fact that it's won the award, I think sort of highlights what type of award that is, I would feel. I mean the podcast title itself, Confessions of a Female Founder, that's really what she's been so desperately trying to rebrand herself as. She has, yeah but I don't remember any great tips or tricks that you could sort of pass on if you were a potential female CEO.

It was all just waffle.

Oh all waffle, 100%. But there are reports that she's planning on moving into cosmetics. So this is part of her lifestyle brand as ever. And there are reports that she'll be trying to go down the cosmetics area. What more can you tell us about this? Look, I would say this is probably true.

I think if you want to make big money as a celebrity, you launch a makeup line. Like serious money. It's not flower sprinkles or, you know, little jars of jam or the things she's sort of been tinkering around the edges with. It's the, you know, the Kylie Jenners

and the Rihannas of this world who've become billionaires producing their own makeup line. And there's been some Instagram posts which Megan sort of dropped of her applying lipstick at her dressing table and none of the labels of the products she's using are visible. Right. labels of the products she's using are visible. Which apparently, I've learned, is code in the beauty industry that she's about to launch her own sort of product.

So she wants to sort of set the scene of someone who applies makeup and is a makeup expert and possibly would know how to do her face up. And has apparently also met with Chloe Marle, who's the new esteemed young editor of Vogue in New York. So she's trying to sort of, you know,

feather her nest in the makeup land, but I don't think Kylie Jenner or Rihanna have got anything to worry about for the time being. No, I don't think they do. Louise Roberts, so wonderful to talk to you. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

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