May 9, 2025 • 4 mins
History has been made with the Catholic Church electing the first pope from the United States, Robert Francis Prevost.
He has a history of missionary work in Peru and is said to have a keen grasp of the inner workings of the Church.
The US-UK trade deal remains vague - but markets are responding positively.
US Correspondent Dan Mitchinson talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about all things US news.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dan Mitchinson now US correspondence with US. Hello Dan, Hello Heather,
Oh mate, are you feeling even more holy today than
you were yesterday?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Are you being facetious? No?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yes, oh I don't know anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
You know I am, and I don't think you are
to answer that, but yes, I am a little bit
to tell you the truth because I don't think you
have to be religious. I don't think you have to
be Catholic to be emotional, and I was surprised that
I found myself being emotional for the first time watching
one of these things today. I think it's very exciting
(00:33):
that we got the first American pope.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I mean, look, it's a long's We get asked this
question all the time when somebody comes out of New Zealand.
But do you know him?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I personally don't.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
My best friend, who is a vice principal of a
Catholic high school, Saint Augustine in San Diego, has spent
some time with the Pope Leo is Well. I should
say that go back to the school is owned and
operated by the order that the Pope belongs to right now,
so he has made several appearances there. My friend, who's
(01:09):
the vice principal the school said they they've had a
chance several times to sit down, eat lunch, a chat.
He is a very polite person. He loves his baseball,
his Chicago White Sox. So my my friend was able
to talk to him about that and he says, he's
very humble and it's a very good choice, he feels,
and he's been involved with the Catholic Church for you know, decades.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
He thinks this is a good a good move for
the Catholics church.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Because he thinks that whether or not you agree that
Pope Francis did move things forward, that he thinks it
will make the church a little bit more progressive. I
think there was a concern that the church might take
a couple of steps back, like Pope France's predecessor beforehand.
But we were we were pleasantly surprised. And you look
at this man up there, and you're thinking, he has
(01:59):
got to be so nervous. Did he want this? Was
this thrust upon him. He's got a brother that's been
talking to the media over here, mostly about baseball, but
says that he believes that his brother, who is a
dual citizen both of the US and Peru, will make
a very good pope here and that he is a
very humble man.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Well, I'm pleased for you guys. I mean, it is
do you realize that it is the first time that you, oh,
you obviously realized the first time you've had a North
American pope, but also the first time the pope has
come from the English speaking world in something close it's
actually close to about gosh, I think it was nine
hundred years.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Wow, I mean it is.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's yeah, it is a little bit of history that's
been made today.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Right now, what do we make of this US UK
trade deal?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's very vague.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I mean you heard the comments around the world wires
from the president too, although I got to tell you
the market's over here like it. I mean they've they've
closed up once the President made this announcement today. I
think it's going to be a good weekend. I think
there'll be more trade talks between the US and China.
I think things made drag out of the UK. It
was very vague again on what he did, but again
they said they're going to drop it down to about
(03:04):
ten percent on the import. So we'll hope that, especially
in time for the holidays. Outlocked prices down a little
bit here in the stores.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I thought it seemed a lot that Kirstama wasn't in
country for it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It was either that was awkward.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, So it was either something that was rushed, it
was a last minute thing and he couldn't get over,
or it was something that he did not consider important
enough to come over for.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I think it's both of those things.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And I think it's the fact that we've seen so
many times these leaders come into a meeting or an
announcement with President Trump over here, and he puts them
in a somewhat awkward position.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And if I were the Prime Minister of the UK
right now and I'm still getting my bearings, I think
that was probably the right move for him for this agreement.
And you're right, I think it was very hastily put together.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Now, what's going on with Trump's polling numbers?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You know what you're going to If you're a trump'ster,
you're going to say, this is just fake media. If
you're a Democrat, you're going to say, well, this is
a sign right now. But is a new poll out
showing that his approval rating with conservative voters fell from
seventy seven to seventy two percent over a matter of
weeks from late last month early this month. And I think,
really this shows maybe a few cracks in his base.
And some are going to say maybe this is his
(04:14):
ability to try to unify the Republican base, but I
think a lot of this has to do in a
shift with what we're seeing with the Republican Party right now.
You know, you've got the old conservative Republicans that believed
in free trade that they're going away. Trump is remaking
the party, and I think that's maybe a tiny bit
of why we're seeing some of these numbers drop.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Brilliant Soft Dan, It's always good to talk to you.
Really appreciated it. Stan Mitchinson, a US corresponding. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks.
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
Dan Mitchinson now US correspondence with US. Hello Dan, Hello Heather,
Oh mate, are you feeling even more holy today than
you were yesterday?
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Are you being facetious? No?
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Yes, oh I don't know anymore.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
You know I am, and I don't think you are
to answer that, but yes, I am a little bit
to tell you the truth because I don't think you
have to be religious. I don't think you have to
be Catholic to be emotional, and I was surprised that
I found myself being emotional for the first time watching
one of these things today. I think it's very exciting
(00:33):
that we got the first American pope.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I mean, look, it's a long's We get asked this
question all the time when somebody comes out of New Zealand.
But do you know him?
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I personally don't.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
My best friend, who is a vice principal of a
Catholic high school, Saint Augustine in San Diego, has spent
some time with the Pope Leo is Well. I should
say that go back to the school is owned and
operated by the order that the Pope belongs to right now,
so he has made several appearances there. My friend, who's
(01:09):
the vice principal the school said they they've had a
chance several times to sit down, eat lunch, a chat.
He is a very polite person. He loves his baseball,
his Chicago White Sox. So my my friend was able
to talk to him about that and he says, he's
very humble and it's a very good choice, he feels,
and he's been involved with the Catholic Church for you know, decades.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
He thinks this is a good a good move for
the Catholics church.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Because he thinks that whether or not you agree that
Pope Francis did move things forward, that he thinks it
will make the church a little bit more progressive. I
think there was a concern that the church might take
a couple of steps back, like Pope France's predecessor beforehand.
But we were we were pleasantly surprised. And you look
at this man up there, and you're thinking, he has
(01:59):
got to be so nervous. Did he want this? Was
this thrust upon him. He's got a brother that's been
talking to the media over here, mostly about baseball, but
says that he believes that his brother, who is a
dual citizen both of the US and Peru, will make
a very good pope here and that he is a
very humble man.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
Well, I'm pleased for you guys. I mean, it is
do you realize that it is the first time that you, oh,
you obviously realized the first time you've had a North
American pope, but also the first time the pope has
come from the English speaking world in something close it's
actually close to about gosh, I think it was nine
hundred years.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Wow, I mean it is.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
It's yeah, it is a little bit of history that's
been made today.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Right now, what do we make of this US UK
trade deal?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
It's very vague.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
I mean you heard the comments around the world wires
from the president too, although I got to tell you
the market's over here like it. I mean they've they've
closed up once the President made this announcement today. I
think it's going to be a good weekend. I think
there'll be more trade talks between the US and China.
I think things made drag out of the UK. It
was very vague again on what he did, but again
they said they're going to drop it down to about
(03:04):
ten percent on the import. So we'll hope that, especially
in time for the holidays. Outlocked prices down a little
bit here in the stores.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
I thought it seemed a lot that Kirstama wasn't in
country for it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
It was either that was awkward.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, So it was either something that was rushed, it
was a last minute thing and he couldn't get over,
or it was something that he did not consider important
enough to come over for.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I think it's both of those things.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
And I think it's the fact that we've seen so
many times these leaders come into a meeting or an
announcement with President Trump over here, and he puts them
in a somewhat awkward position.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
And if I were the Prime Minister of the UK
right now and I'm still getting my bearings, I think
that was probably the right move for him for this agreement.
And you're right, I think it was very hastily put together.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Now, what's going on with Trump's polling numbers?
Speaker 3 (03:53):
You know what you're going to If you're a trump'ster,
you're going to say, this is just fake media. If
you're a Democrat, you're going to say, well, this is
a sign right now. But is a new poll out
showing that his approval rating with conservative voters fell from
seventy seven to seventy two percent over a matter of
weeks from late last month early this month. And I think,
really this shows maybe a few cracks in his base.
And some are going to say maybe this is his
(04:14):
ability to try to unify the Republican base, but I
think a lot of this has to do in a
shift with what we're seeing with the Republican Party right now.
You know, you've got the old conservative Republicans that believed
in free trade that they're going away. Trump is remaking
the party, and I think that's maybe a tiny bit
of why we're seeing some of these numbers drop.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
Brilliant Soft Dan, It's always good to talk to you.
Really appreciated it. Stan Mitchinson, a US corresponding. For more
from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to news Talks.
It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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