Trump takes the world stage

The NPR Politics Podcast

The episode examines President Trump's high-stakes week on the international stage, focusing on his upcoming address to the United Nations General

Key takeaways

• President Trump announced an agreement with Denmark and Greenland that grants the U.S. permanent control over security needs in the territory.
• Xi Jinping's visit to the White House will feature significant ceremonial honors, including a military flyover at Joint Base Andrews.

Main topics

• U.S.-Greenland security deal
• United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)

Notable quotes

The United States of America has entered into an agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland that gives the United States permanent control over security.

Conclusion

This episode offers a detailed look at how transactional diplomacy and

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) This week on Up First, we talk about the economy. Trucks, trains and tractors run on diesel, which is now priced at record highs with less than 50 days until the midterm elections. So the next six weeks are going to be intense. Let Up First get you through it one morning at a time with three stories you need to know each day. Listen to Up First on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (0:23) It's going to be a busy few days on the international stage for President Trump. He's addressing the United Nations. He's meeting with China's leader, Xi Jinping. Oh, there also seems to be a deal about Greenland. Let's go around the world in 20 minutes. Speaker 3 (0:41) Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Myles Parks. I cover voting. Speaker 2 (0:45) I'm Emily Vang. I cover the White House. And Speaker 3 (0:47) I'm Frank Speaker 5 (0:47) Ordonez. I Speaker 3 (0:48) also cover the White House. And Emily, I want to start with Greenland. There was a deal on Friday night that President Trump announced on social media related to the autonomous Danish territory. He said, quote, the United States of America has entered into an agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland that gives the United States permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland, completely addressing. all of our many U.S. concerns, end quote. Greenland is a place that the U.S. president has had his eyes on for quite a while. What else can you tell us about this deal? Speaker 2 (1:20) The answer is not much. The announcement came out in a flurry of true social posts that he was publishing throughout Friday afternoon, Friday evening. There has been no public copy of the agreement. Denmark has had a statement but not confirmed that the agreement is binding. What we do know is that, according to Trump, the agreement lasts into perpetuity. It would make the U.S. the guarantor, essentially, of Greenland, this territory's security, and that if any adversary or other nation wanted to set up a military presence on Greenland, it would have to get U.S. approval first. Speaker 3 (1:52) Got it. But this is not like the United States taking over Greenland as was kind of feared in some way a few months ago, right? So Speaker 2 (1:59) Denmark has come out with Speaker 3 (2:00) a Speaker 2 (2:00) statement. They said this does not cede any sovereignty. Got it. And privately, I think Danish politicians have been optimistic about this. You know, it's not set in stone just yet, but this is effectively. potentially the status quo of Greenland right now, which is the U.S. has been the assumed security guarantor of Greenland and Denmark. And we have to see whether this means an increased U.S. military presence there, if at all. Speaker 5 (2:24) What do you make of this, Franco? Yeah, I mean, I think this is very typical Trump. I mean, Trump is so into making announcements, announcing some good news. You know, obviously, there's been so much bad news going on over the last few weeks. Here's a chance to deliver some good news. And on the Danes' perspective, I imagine it's a lot more pleasant to have this announced ahead of UNGA instead of maybe perhaps or after. It definitely takes this issue off the table. Speaker 3 (2:50) That's the United Nations General Assembly, which is happening this week in New York. Yeah, Speaker 5 (2:53) absolutely. So for Trump, this kind of like kind of tables this issue or at least moves it aside. And I think the rest of Europe, not only the Danes, but the rest of Europe may be breathing a Speaker 3 (3:05) little bit of a sigh of relief. I do want to talk about UNGA, the United Nations General Assembly. A lot of world leaders are going to make speeches this week. President Trump is expected to make a speech tomorrow. He has obviously ruffled a lot of feathers in the international community this year. Do we have any sense on what he's going to say or the message that he's going to be giving to the United Nations? Speaker 5 (3:27) Yeah, we know a little bit. And Speaker 3 (3:28) I Speaker 5 (3:28) can assure you that the world leaders are definitely going to be watching this speech very closely. Not only has Trump ruffled feathers with allies, he's been ruffling feathers with this speech year after year after year. If you remember, I think it was 2018 when Trump actually boasted. that his administration had accomplished more than any other in American history, and leaders actually started laughing during the speech, or when he threatened to wipe North Korea off the face of this earth. or even last year when he blasted the UN for not living up to its potential. So a lot of attention is going to be on this speech. And I can tell you from most recent conversations with the White House that Trump is expected to basically paint himself as a peacemaker, you know, highlighting the peace deals that were announced that he helped broker around the world. He's also going to defend his Iran policy,