Up First from NPR - Trump Meets Zelenskyy And Netanyahu, TPS Update, Political Corruption

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

President Trump is meeting with two world leaders separately at the White House on Tuesday. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking Trump’s support amid ongoing conflicts. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians and thousands of Syrians who are in the U.S. legally are facing deportation. And new research shows that an increasing number of Americans say corruption is a problem in politics.Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Rebekah Metzler, Cheryl Corley, Kelsey Snell, HJ Mai and Alice Woelfle.It was produced by Ziad Buchh and Nia Dumas.Our director is Christopher Thomas.We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.And our Supervising Senior Producer is Vince Pearson.(0:00) Introduction(01:57) Trump Meets Zelenskyy And Netanyahu(05:59) TPS Update(09:43) Political CorruptionSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump is meeting with two world leaders separately at the White House today. Ukraine's Volodemir Zelensky and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking Trump's support amid ongoing conflicts. What can we expect from those meetings? That's Layla Faddle. I'm A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians who are in the U.S. legally are facing deportation. We don't have any official word at all from ICE. The Supreme Court earlier this year ruled that the Trump administration can revoke their temporary protected status. And new research shows that an increasing number of Americans say corruption is a problem in politics.

President Trump's business dealings are a contributing factor. But voters are divided on how to address the issue. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Services for the late Senator Lindsey Graham begin here in Washington today. In attendance will be three. world leaders, President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodemir Zelensky, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Their presence reflects not only the respect for Graham, but also the loss of a key ally who helped shape their relationships with Trump and the rest of Washington. Trump is expected to meet with each of them before the funeral separately.

NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez is here with us to talk about this. Good morning. Good morning, Lano. So walk us through why two world leaders, Netanyahu and Zelensky, involved in two different wars made sure to come to Washington for Graham's funeral. Well, as you noted, it's about respect, but also Graham really was one of the most tenacious supporters of those two countries. And he's really leaving behind a void because I'm not sure there's another political leader who can step in to advocate like he did for both Israel and Ukraine and certainly not someone who had the president's ear as Graham did. So the fact that the leaders are going to be meeting with Trump,

There's kind of a certain symmetry that they're having to make the case themselves that Graham used to do on their behalf. Zelensky said he's bringing intelligence of Russia cooperating with Iran. What can you tell us? Yeah, Zelensky is really trying to build support for Ukraine's cause against Russia. And saying Russia is providing satellite imagery of U.S. military facilities in the Gulf. I was talking with Richard Fontaine, who served in the George W. Bush White House, now leads the Center for a New American Security. He says this is one of those scenarios where the enemy of your enemy is your friend.

Well, certainly if you're about to come to the United States and you're trying to make the case for U.S. support for your country and opposition to Russia, then it helps if you've got any information about Russia helping the enemy the United States is fighting right now in Iran. Now, Trump has gone back and forth over how much he seems to be siding with Russia or Ukraine publicly. He seems to be talking more positively about Ukraine at the moment. Is Zelensky trying to build on that? Yeah, I mean, I'd say for sure. I mean, that turn in the relationship has been very much on display, even just a few weeks ago in Turkey when Trump and Zelensky met on the sidelines of the NATO summit. You know, Trump announced that the U.S. would be granting Ukraine a licensed to manufacture patriot air defense systems.

That's something that Kiev has been wanting for years. I will, though, say, Lela, that when Trump was out, asked directly yesterday about Russia, possibly giving Iran intelligence on U.S. bases. Trump really seemed to dismiss that. He said he'd asked Putin about it, but doubted it was true. I don't think they've been doing it. Certainly not at a high level. And if they have, it has been very unimpactful. So that might be a challenge for Zelensky.

Now, Netanyahu is coming at a time that President Trump is trying to get out of the war. It started with Israel in Iran. That's not the same goal as Israel. What do you expect from this meeting? Yeah, the White House says the two will discuss a conflict in Iran and a U.S. broker plan for Israeli forces to pull out of southern Lebanon. On the one hand, Netanyahu wants to smooth over what's really been a rocky relationship with Trump over the last few months. It was really only a few weeks ago that Trump was calling Netanyahu crazy. Netanyahu, though, has to strike a delicate balance, you know, making nice with the president, but also playing some defense.

When it comes to the conflicts in Iran and Lebanon, the two countries really just have different goals. Israel wants to keep fighting and protecting its borders as it sees fit. Trump's focused on getting the Strait of Hormo moves open, then wants to stop fighting and just get out as soon as possible. That's White House correspondent Franco Ordonez. Thank you, Franco. Thank you. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians who are in the United States legally could face deportation any day now. The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration earlier this year, allowing it to revoke the temporary protected status or TPS for these groups.

If they want to stay, they need to find another legal avenue to stay in the country. Joining us is WOSU reporter George Shilcock based in Columbus, Ohio. Good morning, George. Good morning, Lila. So how many Haitians in Ohio are facing deportation? And how are they preparing? Columbus is one of the larger cities in the United States with a sizable number of Haitian immigrants. nearly 30,000 in all with over half on TPS. In nearby Springfield, Ohio, there are about 12,000

on TPS. That's the community of Haitian immigrants that President Trump and his ally smeared with false accusations that they were eating cats and dogs. Many here feel out of sorts, as they've had to wait and see if this legal limbo would allow them to stay. Yola Lamar, with the Haitian Community Network, has been trying to help the refugees. She said recently, many are getting their affairs in order, while others are trying to apply for another legal status to stay in the place they've called home for, in some cases, over a decade. We are acknowledging the fear. We are acknowledging, you know, the travesty that is taking place and the level of a certainty that they do feel. And then secondly, we are making sure that they have the right resources in their reach.

Now, the Trump administration has argued temporary protected status is just that temporary. But it's also a designation for people whose countries, are just too dangerous to go back to. Is Haiti considered safe to return to? By most accounts, no. The Trump administration even had mixed guidance on this debate between its agencies. If he asked the Department of Homeland Security, which I did, they say conditions have improved sufficiently to support the return of Haitian nationals. However, the U.S. Secretary of State's office considers Haiti unsafe to travel to and notes commercial flights from the U.S. to the country's capital, Port of Prince, are suspended. The travel advisory notes, this is just a

due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care. Violent, heavily armed gangs, some of whom are considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. control much of the country. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine has been at odds with President Trump on this decision. Has he heard anything about whether and when immigration and customs enforcement might target TPS holders? DeWine told reporters Monday he had seen reports from CBS and Fox News citing unnamed sources that ICE, would start targeting this community in Ohio. But DeWine says he hasn't heard anything himself.

I'm reading the same reports that you're seeing, which indicates that that will be happening, but we don't have any official word at all from ICE. DeWine calls the decision-ending TPS a mistake and defends the community, noting their contributions to the economy at restaurants and in health care. DeWine says the Trump administration may not be thinking about this

in the outgoing Republican governor called for legal immigration reform. So what do we know about the administration's plans? The Department of Homeland Security told me in a statement it doesn't discuss ongoing or future operations. However, DHS did encourage eligible individuals to utilize the Customs and Border Protection Home Program to have a safe and orderly departure. DHS General Counsel James Percival said, quote, the good news is it's not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home. That's George Shilcock with WOSU in Columbus, Ohio. Thank you, George. You're welcome.

Huge majorities of Americans say corruption is a problem in politics. This, according to new research from the Brennan Center. Many people talk about politicians enriching themselves, building systems that advantage the wealthy and powerful, all while ignoring the problems of regular people. NPR's Mara Liason has been covering corruption in politics. What voters think about it. And if anything can be done about it. And she's with me now. Good morning, Mara.

Good morning. So voters say they are increasingly. concerned about corruption. What is contributing to that feeling? Well, the feeling isn't new, but the main thing that's contributing right now is Donald Trump. He has increased his net worth by making investments in companies with business before the government at a level never seen before, as much as $2 billion in the last year. And just to give you a few examples, he bought stock in Paramount and Warner Brothers while his Justice Department was considering whether or not to approve their merger. He bought stock in Palantir, and then he praised

the company publicly, including in a social media post that listed Palantir's stock ticker. He invested in Oracle while he was trying to get that company to buy TikTok, and it goes on and on. I mean, that list is jarring and the amount, $2 billion, a huge amount of money. How does Trump respond? Well, after those disclosures, he told reporters he doesn't know anything about his own investments. Other people do them for him. Here he is talking about it on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews while standing next to Air Force one. Well, you know why on property because the stock market's going up. Everybody's

profiting. If you have a 401k, how's your 401k done? It's about up 85%. Thank you, President Trump. He's acting as if everyone is in the stock market when most people can't afford to be in the stock market. But at other times, Trump has given very different answers. He said he tried to prevent his kids from making money from his office in his first term, and he didn't get any credit. He said, quote, I found out that nobody cared, and he's right. The Supreme Court gave him a kind of blanket immunity. His acting attorney general has ruled that he and his family have lifetime immunity from IRS audits of their past tax returns. His own party in Congress isn't criticizing him for doing it. So if there are no consequences for self-dealing, why should any president restrain

themselves? That Brennan Center report also shows that corruption is an issue for voters across the political spectrum. But how worried are they about it? Well, that's the big question. Voters from our recent focus group of Pennsylvania swing voters, that is voters who voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump in 24, have differing answers about how much they care. We identify them only by their first names. This is Betsy, and she reacted pretty much with a shrug. No, I'm not saying it's okay. I'm just that trouble by it because I just think it's typical for politicians to increase their wealth while in office. So people are incredibly cynical, almost numb. They see this as just the way things work in Washington. Everybody does it. And Trump has helped contribute to that. But other voters,

like Bavanaugh, find this wrong and offensive. For me, when I see that, the first thing that comes to my mind is abuse of power. President Donald Trump, who's using his powers, in manipulative ways to draw something that is of his personal interest. And that, to me, is morally wrong. And then there are a lot of Trump voters who reacted like Todd. He's a true businessman. What can I say? So Trump has convinced a lot of his voters that he is such a good businessman. He just makes money no matter what he does.

Okay, so that's three voters kind of reacting there. Significant majorities say in polls that they don't like this kind of corruption. Is there sufficient pressure for something to actually change? Because you pointed out earlier, there's not really accountability. Well, for people who follow this, like Michael Waldman from the Brennan Center, they say that historically, this political moment is very similar to other times in American history where corruption was actually addressed. Teddy Roosevelt and the Progressive Era reforms came after the corruption of the Gilded Age.

After Watergate came a wave of protections and reforms in the 19th. it's now a half century later, the corruption is growing, the abuse is growing, and it's time for another reform moment. Now, whether Congress will do anything about this is another question, but there are policies, reform policies that do have public support, banning stock trading for members of Congress, requiring presidents to abide by certain investment rules. It's fair to say that as long as Congress is controlled by the president's party, these things probably will not become law.

but Democrats are already trying to make this a political issue telling voters your prices are going up while Trump and his rich friends make billions. That's NPR's Mara Laias and thank you, Mara. You're welcome. And that's up first for Tuesday, July 28th. I'm Leila Faldi. And I'm May Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Cheryl Corley, Kelsey Snell, H.J. Mai and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziat Budge and Nia Dumas.

Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Highness. our technical director is Carly Strange, and our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us again tomorrow.