The Editorial Team

Samuel ClenchEurope correspondent

Sam covers politics, with the occasional foray into entertainment news. He previously worked in the Canberra press gallery and as news.com.au’s US correspondent. Sam led our coverage of the 2016 and 2020 US elections and hit the campaign trail for the Australian federal elections in 2019 and 2022 – but you’re probably more likely to recognize him as our resident Game of Thrones nerd.

@SamClench

Latest

US Politics

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump waits to greet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the entrance of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2025. Starmer is meeting Trump to plead for a US backstop to any Ukraine ceasefire, insisting it would be the only way to stop Russia's Vladimir Putin from invading again. Starmer arrived in Washington late Wednesday to build on a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, amid growing concerns in Europe that the US leader is about to sell Kyiv short in negotiations with Putin. (Photo by Carl Court / POOL / AFP)

‘What does it mean?’: Trump’s Australia gaffe

Donald Trump’s response today, to a question involving one of Australia’s biggest security interests, will not calm any nerves.

US Politics

Leader of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk speaks during a cabinet meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, on February 26, 2025. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) / QUALITY REPEAT

Off by billions: Musk’s whopping mistake

Elon Musk’s cost-cutting team has quietly disappeared claims about money it had saved, having got its numbers catastrophically wrong.

US Politics

The images from Mr Trump's video on social media.

Trump releases insane luxury Gaza video

Donald Trump is still set on his idea of turning Gaza, currently home to two million, into a new real estate paradise. As evidenced by this video.

US Politics

The Trump administration is pushing forward with its aggressive plan to cut government spending, announcing that most employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be either placed on leave or terminated by midnight on Sunday.

2k workers gone as Trump guts department

The Trump administration is pushing forward with its controversial plan, with “virtually the entirety” of a department getting cleared out.

UpdatedWorld

(FILES) US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. (L), speaks with the media during his first official arrival at the Pentagon as Secretary in Washington, DC, January 27, 2025. President Donald Trump announced February 21, 2025 he is replacing top US military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown less than two years into his four-year term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

‘Purge’: Trump fires top military officers

Donald Trump has fired several of the US military’s most senior officers in what’s being described, by some, as a “purge”.

World

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky. Still, ostensibly, allies.

‘Unacceptable’: America rages at Ukraine

The United States has lashed out at Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky for “insulting” Donald Trump after a week when the allies have split.

US Politics

TOPSHOT - Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends his criminal trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, on May 30, 2024. Jurors return Thursday to a second day of deliberations in Donald Trump's criminal trial, leaving the Republican presidential candidate and the country waiting for a decision that could upend November's election. (Photo by Mark Peterson / POOL / AFP)

‘Credulous fool’: Trump’s weakness exposed

Three times, Donald Trump was prompted to answer the simplest question. Three times he failed. And the rest of the world needs to take notice.

Australian Economy

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWirePhotos - Thursday, 28 November 2024: Facilitator Richard Spurio, Managing Partner , Allens pictured speaking with Michele Bullock, Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia about insights on the economic outlook for the year ahead.at the CEDA (Committee for Economic Development of Australia) event held at the ICC Sydney.Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

‘Unprecedented’: Australians cop huge blow

Almost everyone was celebrating when the RBA cut rates this week, but there was one ominous detail that shows how far we’ve fallen.

World

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump speaks about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of a meeting with Republican lawmakers and cabinet members on tax cuts at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 17, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM

‘Disgusting betrayal’: World shellshocked

The world has reacted with utter horror to Donald Trump’s latest, extraordinary tirade against the Ukrainian President.

US Politics

Elon Musk and Donald Trump sat down for a joint interview with Fox News.

‘Not democracy’: Musk unleashes on TV

In a joint interview, Elon Musk and Donald Trump were asked to address awkward questions about the billionaire.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/the-team/samuel-clench