US And Iran Talk At UNGA, Poll Shows Dems Lead Midterm, White House Media Ban Lawsuit

Up First from NPR

The episode covers President Trump's address to the UN General Assembly, where he threatened Iran with 'annihilation' while acknowledging re

Key takeaways

• President Trump threatened Iran with 'annihilation' during his UNGA speech but revealed U.S. officials held three hours of talks with Iranians.
• A new NPR/PBS/Marist poll shows Democrats holding a 12-point advantage in the race for Congress.

Main topics

• US-Iran diplomacy
• Midterm election polling

Notable quotes

'to the victor belong the spoils'

Conclusion

The episode highlights a period of intense political friction, ranging

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:02) Iranian officials at the United Nations watched President Trump threaten to annihilate their country. Speaker 1 (0:07) Then the president revealed U.S. officials spent three hours talking with Iranians. Is diplomacy back on the table? Speaker 5 (0:14) I'm Leila Faldil, that's Steve Inskeep, and this is Up First from NPR News. Speaker 5 (0:20) The latest NPR survey gives Democrats the lead in the race for Congress. A lot of voters say their choice is a vote against Trump. How much is the president shaping the midterms? Also, Speaker 1 (0:31) three news outlets the president banned from the White House have their day in court today. CNN, MSNOW, and Politico accused the president of punishing them for their coverage. The president affirmed in writing that he is doing exactly that. The question is whether he broke the law. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Speaker 8 (0:56) Some groups have been sounding the alarm about AI safety for years. But in the last few months, something changed. Speaker 6 (1:04) The conversation has just shifted so quickly away from we don't even know if this is real to, OK, what are we going to do about this? Speaker 8 (1:11) AI hacks, rogue agents, calls for regulation. We unpack it all on Shortwave. Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 1 (1:20) This week on NPR's Newsmakers, Tucker Carlson has broken with President Trump over the war with Iran and says he warned the president to his face that the war would be a mistake. Speaker 4 (1:31) And he looked at me and said, yes, you're right. But in the end, we all die anyway. So it doesn't matter. Speaker 1 (1:38) Tucker Carlson, this week on NPR's Newsmakers. Watch or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 6 (1:44) This fall, there are a lot of movies and TV shows on tap for you to see, and we're as excited for all of it to arrive as you are. On Pop Culture Happy Hour, we've got a guide to what's worth keeping on your radar. Listen via the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 5 (2:03) Iran's president takes the podium at the United Nations today, a day after President Trump spoke of annihilating Iran. Speaker 1 (2:10) Trump was in New York addressing the U.N. General Assembly, and he spoke of options for Iran ranging from total destruction to a peace deal after the U.S. election. He also finished the speech appealing for international cooperation. Speaker 5 (2:22) NPR White House correspondent Deepa Shivaram joins us to discuss. Hi, Deepa. Hey, good morning. Good morning. So first, just catch us up on what Trump said in his speech in New York. Speaker 2 (2:32) Yeah, I will say it was a pretty brief speech overall as far as Trump's speeches go. He talked about U.S. actions in Venezuela and Iran and essentially used both as examples of America's military might. At one point, he mused on whether he should annihilate Iran, as you all mentioned. And keep in mind, there were leaders from Iran in the audience. And he talked about how the U.S. has benefited from access to Venezuela's oil supply after a military intervention there that led to the capture of the country's leader, Nicolas Maduro. He even used the phrase, quote, to the victor belong the spoils, referring to U.S. control of Venezuela's oil, though that goes pretty directly against U.S. foreign policy tradition to not explicitly connect military intervention with the acquisition of resources. Overall, it was a speech that highlighted how Trump sees his own role as a world leader. He described himself as someone who takes action when other countries don't and someone who isn't afraid to use force to protect America's interests. In the past, Trump has been really critical of the United Nations as a body and hasn't shied away from criticizing it. But this year, he mostly stuck to his remarks, though he did accuse the UN of, quote, imposing the far left agenda of globalist bureaucrats who nobody ever elected. And he was also critical of the ICC, the International Criminal Court. Speaker 5 (3:46) Now, he