President Trump spent much of the week on defense after major setbacks ranging from the courts and the economy to foreign policy.
Scott Detrow, host:
President Trump faced disappointment for a week. Gas prices are above $4 a gallon. He fired his attorney general, Pam Bondi, and his effort to end birthright citizenship in the US appears to be floundering in the Supreme Court — all while Trump talked about ending the war with Iran without any clear plan. So we asked NPR senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, as well as national security correspondent Greg Myre, to join us to help us understand how it all fits together. Happy Friday to both of you. And, Greg, I want to start with you. A dramatic development took place today with the downing of two American warplanes in Iran. Where does it stand now?
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Yes, these are the first two American planes shot down over Iran in the five-week war. The first was the F-15. This is a very good fighter jet, and it was hit by Iranian fire in southwestern Iran along with a pilot and a weapons officer. Immediately starting the rescue operation, both of them went out. One crew member has been rescued, and there is no information on the condition of the other. This all comes from a US official who is not authorized to speak publicly.
And then this afternoon, we got news again from a US official speaking on condition of anonymity that a second plane had crashed. This is an A-10 Warthog that was shot down near the Iranian coastline. This is a different kind of aircraft. It is a low-flying, slow-moving aircraft with a powerful cannon, and the only pilot survived. President Trump said just this week that Iran’s air defenses have been completely destroyed, but today certainly showed that there is still danger in Iran’s skies.
Detrow: Yes. And, Domenico, tell us about what happened this week and what it might mean for Trump politically.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Yeah, I mean, they’ve had a lot of tough weeks recently, especially with the war and gas prices tied together. But this week has been really remarkable and if the Democrats win the House and say this could be a place where everything can go horribly awry, we can take a look at this. He faced some real embarrassments in the courts – over his ballroom, over public media funding, and in the Supreme Court, where three of the judges he appointed were also very skeptical of his case on birthright citizenship, and he was in the audience to hear it. You know, and voters have been saying that the economy is the top concern, and the war with Iran is directly driving up prices, and there’s no clear end in sight to the war.
DETROW: Well, I want to talk more about the speech that President Trump gave this week. This was a Wednesday evening primetime speech. He said the war would end in about two to three weeks, but, Greg, did he explain at any point how he intended to do that?
MYRE: Yeah, Scott, he didn’t really give any details about how that would happen or address the really important question here – is there going to be some kind of deal with Iran, or is the president going to try to do it unilaterally and walk out? There have been some diplomatic contacts between the US and Iran. Pakistan has tried to play the role of broker here, but at present there is no sign of success. And given this short timeframe that Trump is talking about, US ground action now seems quite unlikely, even though more troops are still moving into the region. But by far the biggest problem is the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz. If this is not resolved it will be very difficult for Trump to walk away from the war.
Detro: What is the state of things in the Straits now?
Myre: Yes. Iran continues to keep it closed, mostly through intimidation. It has affected some ships, caused some damage. But what it really needs is to threaten the approximately 2,000 ships stranded in the Gulf. This gives Iran tremendous advantage in any negotiation. If the US wanted to open the strait by military means, it would likely need a much larger army. It has to be prepared for a long operation. And if the US pulls out while the strait is still closed, that would put Iran in charge of the waterway and really increase the pressure and fear of a global oil shortage.
DETROW: So, Domenico, it seems fair to say at this point that this war is having real specific consequences on the economy.
Montanaro: I mean, there’s no doubt about it. They are intertwined. However, Trump got some good news today with a positive jobs report. Inflation has also remained steady, which makes you wonder, however, what the economy would have looked like if it weren’t for the war or Trump’s tariffs because both of those things have caused prices to rise and really hurt Trump’s approval rating on the economy. The war is clearly taking up a lot of Trump’s attention. Hear him talk about the war and his spending priorities tomorrow during an event that was closed to the press but was later posted by the White House.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
President Donald Trump: It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare, all these individual things. They can do it on a state by state basis. You can’t do it at the federal level. We have to keep one thing in mind – military security. We have to protect the country.
MONTANARO: You know, as a political journalist, you know, my eyebrows really raised because that’s a remarkable statement. Things like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are popular and have been the third line of talk or thinking about cutting them or getting rid of them in American politics. And now Trump is asking Congress for $1.5 trillion in defense spending, the most ever for defense spending by a president, as well as tens of billions in cuts to domestic spending at a time when people are struggling. You know, it really shows the seriousness of war, even for a president who promised to set prices and stay out of wars.
DETROW: And I’d just like to add right away that he’s asking for war spending that Congress never approved. Greg, I want to get back to you to wrap this up. This kind of caution and distrust over unregulated messaging, it’s not just the business side. What kind of mess is this with global partners?
Myre: Yeah, not at all fair, Scott. Yesterday, we saw Britain lead a virtual meeting with over 40 countries to talk about how they can reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And it focused on diplomatic and economic means. And America was not involved. You know, in previous Middle East wars, America had united allies to form a coalition, but Trump only started this war by taking Israel along. The administration did not consult colleagues. He insults them again and again. It tells them that they must open the strait themselves. Therefore, no one should be surprised if these countries are just making their own arrangements.
DETROW: That’s NPR’s Greg Myre and Domenico Montanaro. Thanks to both of you.
Myre: Sure thing, Scott.
Montanaro: Thanks for having me.
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our Website Terms of Use and Permissions page at www.npr.org for more information.
The accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. The transcript text may be modified to correct errors or match updates to the audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The official record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
