Up First from NPR - Trump in Alabama, No Peace Meeting Invite for Putin, Women's World Cup

Episode Date: August 5, 2023

Following another federal indictment, former President Trump addressed Republicans at a dinner in Alabama and says he's done nothing wrong. Saudi Arabia hosts a peace meeting about the war in Ukraine, but without inviting Russia, and the US team is struggling at the Women's World Cup.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

At a Republican dinner in Alabama, former President Trump says he's done nothing wrong. The fake charges put forth in their sham indictment are an outrageous criminalization of political speech. Just so it is. I'm Eder Peralta. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. There's a peace conference about the war in Ukraine this weekend, but no representative from the Russian president. He's not the big, strong, unimpeachable leader that he would like to make the case that he is. How countries like Saudi Arabia and China might be rethinking their diplomatic approach to Russia.

And also the U.S. team struggles at the Women's World Cup. Does it still have a path to victory? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your weekend. Former President Donald Trump was in Montgomery, Alabama for the annual Republican Party summer dinner last night. The event was held just a day after he pleaded not guilty to four felony charges stemming from efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Kyle Gassett with Troy Public Radio was at the dinner and joins us now from Montgomery. Kyle, thanks for being with us. Hi, Scott. More fun than being in court, I would imagine, for the former president?

Well, Scott, if Trump was looking for a softer landing after Thursday, this dinner in Alabama was probably a good choice. He was clearly happy to be back. Eight years ago this month, we held one of the very first rallies of the 2016 campaign right here in Alabama. Together, we launched the greatest political movement in the history of our country. And now, with the help of Alabama patriots, oh, we love Alabama. He easily won the state in the past two elections.

And if last night was any indication, Scott, of his popularity, some donors paid $50,000 just to sit at a table near Trump and have their picture taken with him. And at the end of the night, the Alabama GOP had raised $1.2 million in contributions. Did Mr. Trump address the charges of his indictment at all? Well, Trump brushed it off, and he said that these recent indictments were actually good for him and the campaign. Because every time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls. We need one more indictment to close out this election. And Trump's messaging about his indictment, Scott, are resonating with supporters like Marie Scarborough from Montgomery. She was wearing a red cowboy hat and taking pictures in the lobby.

I just agree that they're after him. And when they're after him, they're after us and all of our freedoms. I gather there were lots of prominent Republicans at the dinner last night, including Senator Tuberville, who introduced Trump. And, of course, the senator is getting criticized for holding up military appointments and promotions. Did that come up? It did, Scott. Senator Tuberville has been using that block, as you mentioned, as a protest of the Pentagon's policy that gives leave and travel expenses to military personnel who can't obtain an abortion in the state where they're stationed. Tuberville's critics say it's negatively impacting military readiness. But last night, the crowd and his colleagues here in Montgomery gave Tuberville a lot of support. And early in

the evening, you heard that from Republican Congressman Barry Moore when he talked about Tuberville from the stage. He is standing almost by himself on the Senate floor each week for the life of the unborn and for the rule of law. That line got a positive reaction from the crowd. And Tuberville did as well when he spoke later in the evening. So were Trump supporters left happy after the dinner? I think so. When I talked with Micah Josie from Deetsville, he summed up what I heard again and again in interviews. Well, to be honest with you, the fact that President Trump has been prosecuted so much in the past and the fact that he's still standing on both legs with, you know, with the stage up there and just speaking with so much life and energy, I really believe he has a shot at it again.

So, Scott, those reporters in the room, they are ready to get behind Trump again in 2024. Troy Public Radio's Kyle Gassett. Thanks so much. Thank you, Scott. Saudi Arabia hosts a conference this weekend to talk about peace in Ukraine, but Russia won't be there. The country wasn't even invited. Instead, this is a chance for Ukraine to garner more international support for its ideas on how the war should end. NPR diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kellerman joins us. Michelle, thanks for being with us.

Nice to be here, Scott. How do you have a peace conference without the country that's waging the war? Yeah, I mean, you can't quite call this a peace conference. The two sides are really far apart from any talks. But what the Ukrainians want is more support from countries that have been on the fence up to now. They have this 10-point peace plan that would ensure that Russian forces get out of their country. It calls for the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. And it calls for accountability for Russia's

aggression. And a former U.S. ambassador, William Taylor, puts it this way. So the Ukrainians want to make the case that they are in the right, that they're on the right side of the principles, the international principles, the moral principles, and that the Ukrainians deserve the support of the Indias and the Brazils and the South Africans. And the Chinese, by the way. China announced that its special representative on Eurasian affairs is going to attend this meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. And Taylor says that's really a big deal because China is an ally of the Russians, and this meeting is about Ukraine's proposals for peace and not Russia's perspective.

Ukraine has been talking about this idea since last year. Is there any sign that any of the nations you mentioned are any closer to signing on to it? It's hard to know, but Taylor thinks there are a couple of factors that are kind of new here and might make other countries rethink their approach. Russia recently pulled out of that grain deal that allowed Ukraine to ship its food through the Black Sea, and that's having ripple effects around the world. And then there was this attempted mutiny in Russia, you know, that short-lived uprising by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries. Taylor thinks that kind of damaged the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Take a listen. He's not the big, strong, unimpeachable leader that he would like to make the case that he is. And so there is scope for nations as they evaluate where they come down on the Russia invasion against Ukraine to think about this in a new way. Taylor was actually in Ukraine last week, and that's kind of what he was hearing.

So that's the hope of the Ukrainians. He was also saying that the mood was pretty grim on the military side because the counteroffensive has really bogged down. But they're more hopeful on the diplomatic side. What do U.S. officials tell you about this meeting? Well, they're sending National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and he's going to be joined by Victoria Nuland, who's now the acting Deputy Secretary of State. So it's a high-level U.S. delegation, but they're not really raising any big expectations of a breakthrough here.

They're just hoping that countries will kind of inch closer to Ukraine's perspective on the war. And by the way, that includes Saudi Arabia, which is hosting the meeting. And why? Well, you know, the Saudis have maintained ties with Russia throughout the war, and they seem to be kind of positioning themselves to play a larger diplomatic role. They're also kind of trying to show the U.S. that they can be responsible players on the world stage. Relations are just kind of slowly emerging from a pretty rough patch between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. And here's diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kellerman. Thanks so much. Thank you.

A lot of action at the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with the knockout rounds well underway. Spain defeated Switzerland 5-1, qualifying them for the quarterfinals. And tomorrow, fans will be up pretty early, 5 a.m. Eastern time, to watch the American team face off with Sweden, which has been somewhat of a tradition at the World Cup. And whoever wins that game plays Japan, which has been the strongest team of the tournament so far. But is the U.S. team up for the challenge? NPR's Laurel Wamsley has been watching and joins us now.

Hey, Laurel. Hey, Ader. So Team USA is still in this thing, but barely. Yes, it has been stressful. You know, the U.S. had the two-time defending champs at the World Cup, and they came really close to being sent home this week. They struggled to even tie Portugal, which was playing in its first Women's World Cup. And Portugal had this late shot that hit the post, but easily could have sent the United States packing. And earlier in the group stage, you know, the U.S. did beat

Vietnam 3-0, and they tied the Netherlands. But those results were only good enough to get the U.S. second place in their group, which means that they have a harder road ahead of them. So what gives? I mean, why have they struggled so much in this tournament? Well, the biggest thing is probably just the youth on this team. You know, it's good that we've got all these good young players, but 14 out of the 23 on this team, this is their first World Cup. And the U.S. coach, Vlatko Andanovsky, it's also his debut at the World Cup. So they're just lacking some of the experience that really marked previous U.S. teams. You know, on these previous tournaments where the U.S. has been so successful, they had a lot of people on

the squad who'd been playing together for a really long time. And this time, there's just a lack of fluidity that seems to suggest that maybe this team didn't have enough time to train together and really work out all the kinks. And so here we are. And what are you expecting? What are you of fluidity that seems to suggest that maybe this team didn't have enough time to train together and really work out all the kinks. And so here we are. And what are you expecting? What are you hoping to see in this U.S. match against Sweden early Sunday morning? Well, unfortunately, one thing we won't see is midfielder Rose Lavelle. She has brought a lot of creativity to this team. And unfortunately, she has accumulated two yellow cards in the group stage of this game. So now she has to sit out the next match.

The U.S. coach is already under a lot of pressure to try to find some new tricks in his lineup. These next games, if there are any, after Sweden, are going to require more from this team than we've seen so far. And the U.S. has huge expectations on their shoulders. They have an unbroken streak of getting to the semifinals at the Women's World Cup, but in a presser this week, the U.S. forward Lynn Williams says the team isn't panicking, even if we are at home, and that the U.S. has yet to play their best soccer in this tournament. So we will see. But the positive side of all of this is that the women's game, we can see,

is just getting better around the world. There's no longer this big gulf between the U.S. and other squads. And what about Sweden? What do we know about them? What do we know about that team? Well, it's basically a tradition, in fact, for the U.S. to play Sweden at the World Cup. This is the seventh time that they've met, though it'll be the first time they've met in the knockout stage. Sweden is looking really good this time. They won all of their group stage games, as did England and Japan in their groups, and Sweden outscored their opponents 9-1. Especially dangerous is Sweden's center back, Amanda Elista. She has already scored three goals in this tournament, all headed in off of corner kicks. And unlike the U.S., Sweden has never won

a major tournament, so they're hungry for one. That's NPR's Laurel Wamsley. Laurel, thank you. Good to speak with you, Ader. And that's Up First for Saturday, August 5th, 2023. Up First was produced by Andrew Craig and edited by Melissa Gray, Adil Al-Shulji, Nishant Dehia, and Susanna Capilouto and Russell Lewis. Michael Ratcliffe is our director with engineering support from Hannah Glovna, Jay Ziz, and Nisha Hainis. Our senior supervising editor is Evie Stone. Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. Deputy managing editor Jim Kane tells us what's what and what to do about it. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Eder Peralta. Up First is back tomorrow marking 50 years of hip-hop. We hear from musicians Common, Tank, and Big Freedia,

as well as some of our NPR colleagues who share how hip-hop first has changed their lives. And of course, we've got news, interviews, books, music, sometimes just plain fun every weekend on a device called the radio. Weekend edition every Saturday and Sunday morning on your local NPR station. Find your station at