Trump Meets Zelenskyy And Netanyahu, TPS Update, Political Corruption

President Trump is meeting with two world leaders separately at the White House today. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu are seeking Trump's support amid ongoing conflicts. What can we expect from those meetings?

That's Leila Fattel, I mean Martinez and this is a first from NPR News.

[MUSIC] Hundreds of thousands of Haitians and Syrians who are in the US legally are facing deportation. We don't have any official word at all, if am I. This 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. The voters are divided on how to address the issue.

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This week on LifeKit podcast tips for those painful, stressful moments. Listen to LifeKit on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. Services for the late Senator Lindsey Graham begin here in Washington today. In attendance will be three world leaders, President Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymer Zelensky, and is really Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Their presence reflects not only the respect for Graham, but also Laos of a key ally who helps shape the 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 Ordonuus is here with us to talk about this good morning. Good morning, Lionel. 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 know, 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 into 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 US military facilities in the Gulf. I was talking with Richard Fontaine who served in the George W. Bush White House and 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

US support for your country and opposition to Russia, then it helps if you've got any information about Russia helping the enemy of 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 US would be granting Ukraine a license to manufacture

patriot air defense systems, that's something that Keev has been wanting for years. I will, though, say, Leyla that when Trump has asked directly yesterday about Russia, possibly giving Iran intelligence on US bases, Trump really seemed to dismiss that. He said he asked Putin about it, but doubted it was true. I don't think they've been doing it, certainly not at all.

And if they have, it has been very undeniable. 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 that too will discuss a conflict in Iran in a US brokerate plan for Israeli forces to pull out a southern Lebanon.

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 that. Trump's focus on getting the state of war moves open.

Then wants to stop fighting and just get out as soon as possible. That's White House correspondent, Franco or Donu, 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.

Yes, 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 WOS, you report a George showcock 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, but the sizable number of Haitian immigrants, nearly 30,000 in all with over half on TPS and nearby Springfield, Ohio. There are about 12,000 on TPS. That's the community of Haitian immigrants that President Trump and his allies 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 fairs 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 the travesty that is taking place in 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 know, the Trump administration even had mixed guidance on this debate between its agencies. If you asked the Department of Homeland Security, which I did, that they say conditions have improved sufficiently to support the return of Haitian nationals.

However, the US Secretary of State's office can say is Haiti unsafe to travel to, and notes commercial flights from the US to the country's capital, port of prints are suspended. The travel advisory notes this is 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 US, 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. Was indicates that that will be happening, but we don't have any official word at all.

Nice. DeWine calls the decision-ending TPS mistake and defense 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 that doesn't discuss on going 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. And here's Marleys and 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, go morning, Marleys. Good morning.

So voters say they are increasingly concerned about corruption. What is contributing to that feeling?

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 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 1. Well, you know why I'm property, because the stock market's going up. Everybody's property.

“If you have a you have a 401k, how's your 401k done?”

It's about 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 is criticizing him for doing it. So if there are no consequences for self-dealing, why should any president restrain themselves? That brand 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 2024, 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. You know, I'm not saying it's okay. I'm just not troubled by it because I just think it's typical for politicians to increase their wealth while in office. So people are incredibly cynical.

Almost none. 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 Bavanna, 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 manuclative ways to draw something that is office 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 sure 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 the 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 guilty

age. After Watergate came a wave of protections and reforms in the 1970s. It's now a half century later, the corruption is growing. The abuse is growing and it's time for another reform moment. Yeah, weather Congress will do anything about this as another question.

But there are policies, reform policies that do have public support, banning stock trading from 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 said, PR is Mara Lyas and thank you, Mara, you're welcome. And that's up first for Tuesday, July 28th, I'm Le Lafalded. And I'm a Martinez. Today's episode of a first was edited by Rebecca Metzler, Cheryl Corley, Kelsey Snell,

H. J. Mai and Alice Wolfley was produced by Zia Butch and Nia Demos, our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Nisha Highness, our technical directors, Carly Strange and our supervising senior producer is Vince Pearson. Join us again tomorrow.

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