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# Fan Bans and Trump vs. Rudd
- URL: https://www.craftpolitics.fm/episodes/fan-bans-and-trump-vs-rudd/
- Published: 2025-10-22T18:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-08T01:23:30.000Z
- Author: Joseph Lavoie
- Tags: Holly Mumby-Croft, #episode, #scan, #ai-5

This week’s *Issue Scan* is fiery — and it’s not just Holly’s fertilizer rant. 

---

### **1\. Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban: Judenfrei by Policing?**

When Aston Villa banned Israeli fans from attending their upcoming UEFA fixture, citing security risks, it sparked outrage — and raised serious questions.

- Why did local UK officials capitulate to pressure from anti-Israel campaigners?
- How did Birmingham end up, as Andrew puts it, “effectively declared Judenfrei”?
- What does this mean for sport as a safe and unifying space?

> “If you threaten violence, you win. That’s the message. It’s shameful.”

### **2\. Blaming Brexit — Labour’s Budget Pre-Spin**

Ahead of the UK’s autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claims Brexit, austerity, and productivity slumps have created a deep funding hole.

We debate:

- Is this a smart preconditioning move — or a dangerous misread of voters?
- Are Labour making Reform’s case for them?
- And how long can you keep blaming decisions from eight years ago?

> “They’re telling voters they were stupid. Farage couldn’t have scripted it better.”

###   **3\. Poilievre’s RCMP Blunder — Just Off the Cuff?**

Pierre Poilievre is on cleanup duty after comments he made accusing the RCMP of covering up Trudeau-era scandals. He says it was aimed at former commissioner Brenda Lucki — not the force itself. But the damage may already be done.

- Was it an off-the-cuff moment of honesty or a Trump-style overreach?
- Is it alienating swing voters just when the Tories should be widening their appeal?
- And what does it say about how Poilievre handles comfort-zone media?

> “He needs to be most careful when he’s most comfortable.”

### **Lipstick on a Gerbil: Penny Wong Defends Trump’s Takedown of Kevin Rudd**

In our favourite comms segment, we rate Australia’s Foreign Minister as she tries to explain away Donald Trump’s brutal dismissal of Ambassador (and ex-PM) Kevin Rudd:

> “I don’t like him… and I probably never will.”

Our rating?

🧴 **One coat** — Barely concealed, pivoted well, but we’re not buying it.

00:00 Welcome and weather banter across the pond  
02:45 Fan mail from Tokyo and the podcast's growing audience  
05:04 Maccabee Tel Aviv fan ban — Birmingham declared Judenfrei  
09:00 Birmingham's integration myth and sectarian politics  
11:17 Threaten violence and get your way — The two-tier policing argument  
13:56 What could Aston Villa have done differently?  
15:06 Radicalization, grooming gangs, and the pattern of looking away  
21:06 Brexit blame — Rachel Reeves sets the stage for tax rises  
22:19 Is Labour fighting Reform on the wrong battlefield?  
23:45 Brexit regret polling versus actual voting behavior  
31:31 Pierre Poilievre's RCMP comments — Trumpy or taken out of context?  
34:01 The danger of being comfortable — Paul Wells and the sympathetic audience trap  
36:33 Stop talking about Trudeau — The psychology of fighting last year's war  
41:50 Lipstick on a Gerbil — Trump tells Kevin Rudd 'I don't like you either'  
43:44 Penny Wong's pivot — One coat of lipstick for the foreign minister  
47:26 Wrap and sign-off