Trump's Trials - President Trump facing a number of domestic challenges this week

Episode Date: November 4, 2025

After a week aboard, President Trump will confront a swirl of domestic challenges this week: pivotal elections in several states, Supreme Court tariff arguments and the ongoing government shutdown.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detrow, and you're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. We're under invasion from within. If you're not going to protect your citizens, President Trump will. We all serve at the pleasure of the president. The golden age of America is upon us. We are in the golden age. Each episode, we bring you the latest news about the 47th president and the policy changes he is pursuing on his own terms.

We know from experience that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against set ideas about what the federal government can and can't do. It all raises questions about how much Washington and the country will change over the course of this term. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear right after this. You're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. Hey, it's Ray from Car Talk. You're tired of all the depth and thoughtful care that goes into NPR shows. Want some good old-fashioned goofing around and stuff.

stumbling to figure out what's going on. Well, I've been taking occasional car questions again. You can hear them by signing up for NPR Plus, along with lots of other bonus content. Just go to plus.npr.org. Keeping up with the news can feel like a 24-hour job. Luckily, it is our job. Every hour on the NPR News Now podcast, we take the latest, most important stories happening, and we package them into five-minute episodes, so you can easily. squeeze them in between meetings and on your way to that thing. Listen to the NPR News Now podcast. Now. I'm Michelle Martin. Today is Election Day in New Jersey, Virginia, and California, among other places. And those are among the tests facing President Trump in his agenda this week. To walk us through it, we're joined now by NPR Senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Good morning, Tam. Good morning. So let's start with the gubernatorial elections. How much can be read into the results?

Well, New Jersey and Virginia aren't exactly presidential swing states, but these races for governor are a first chance to see how voters are feeling almost a year into the Trump presidency. And President Trump put out several social media posts overnight, last night, urging people to vote Republican and bashing the Democratic candidates, Abigail Spanberger in Virginia and Mikey Sherrill in New Jersey. He has endorsed the Republican candidate in New Jersey, Jack Chittarelli. but Trump hasn't endorsed the Republican candidate in Virginia, wins some Earl Sears, which led to some verbal gymnastics during a tele-rally that the president called into last night. Vote Republican.

You know, just if I just cover one subject, your energy prices will go way down as opposed to your energy prices going through the roof. Just that one subject alone is so big. But every Virginia Patriot should get out and vote. And all Republican up and down the line, it's so important. The race in New Jersey appears to be closer than the one in Virginia, which may explain why Trump

is expending more political capital there. Talk briefly about California. What does Trump have on the line in that election? So California voters are considering a ballot measure to temporarily redraw the state's congressional district lines to give Democrats a bigger advantage. This was a response to the new maps in Texas that came at President Trump's request and gave Republicans more safe seats there. If the California measure passes, and it has overwhelming support in recent polls, it would at least partially offset Trump's effort to give Republicans a better chance in next year's midterm elections, which Trump says is key to keeping his agenda on track. There's another possible barrier to Trump's agenda this week. The Supreme Court hears arguments

tomorrow about Trump's tariff policy. Yeah, and we don't know how they will rule, but right, President Trump seems pretty concerned about this tool of raising taxes on imports to extract concessions from other countries being taken away from him. He has said that it could lead to the ruination of our nation. And here's what he said on 60 minutes over the weekend. I think our country would be immeasurably hurt. I think our economy will go to hell. Look, because of tariffs, we have the highest stock market we've ever had. because of tariffs, 401Ks at the highest level that, and this is millions and millions of people

that we've ever had, 401Ks. I think it's the most important subject discussed by the Supreme Court in a hundred years. Of course, mainstream economists and many business leaders say the tariffs are driving up prices and creating uncertainty, so it's not clear that the president's dire predictions will come to fruition. What else are you watching? Well, last night, President Trump turned to truth, social decree. criticized the media for saying his poll numbers are low. He claimed falsely that he has the best numbers he has ever had.

There's also some political risk for the president as the government shutdown is about to break a record as the longest one in U.S. history. Polls indicate that despite the president's best efforts, Democrats are not getting all the blame. Trump so far has refused to negotiate, though there is some movement on the hill suggesting that the ice might be thawing. That's NPR's Tamara Keith. Tim, thank you. You're welcome. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org.

I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.