President Trump navigates tough political waters with UNGA, Xi visit and AI

Politics President Trump navigates tough political waters with UNGA, Xi visit and AI September 20, 20265:14 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered Mara Liasson President Trump navigates tough political waters with UNGA, Xi visit and AI Listen &middot; 3:46 3:46 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5975459/nx-s1-9933634" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript President Trump has a big week on the international stage, from the United Nations General Assembly to hosting the Chinese president at the White House. Sponsor Message Transcript ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST: President Trump has a high-stakes diplomatic week ahead. Not only is he expected to address the U.N. General Assembly, he's also hosting a visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. On the agenda for the two leaders - Iran, trade and artificial intelligence, an issue which has Trump walking a political tightrope. This comes at a time when he faces cracks in his normal base of support. You may have seen the campaign ad from Florida Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, who went as far as to criticize the president directly. (SOUNDBITE OF CAMPAIGN AD) MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR: Mr. President, your immigration policies have gone too far. NADWORNY: So how will the president navigate these rough political waters? Here to discuss this is NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson. MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi there. NADWORNY: So, Mara, this week, we are expecting to hear from Trump at the United Nations General Assembly. He's also going to be hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping. What will you be watching for? LIASSON: You know, Trump loves the pageantry of these big state visits, and we expect him to roll out the red carpet for Xi. But so far, these kinds of big meetings have rarely produced substantive agreements in the Trump administration. And we'll be watching to see how accommodating Trump is to Xi. Will he push him on Iran? So far, he has not followed through on his threats to sanction China for buying Iranian oil. He's also backed down on tariffs in the past when China has threatened to withhold rare Earth minerals from the United States. We also know that AI is on the agenda, but hardly anyone expects there to be a concrete deal on that this week. NADWORNY: And that's not least, of course, because Trump has had conflicting stances on AI. I mean, he previously dismissed concerns about AI as overblown. Then he said this weekend that he'd be creating what he calls an AI force to look into those concerns. I mean, is this an acknowledgment that AI needs more regulation? LIASSON: Well, we're not sure about the specifics, but up until that Truth Social post about the AI force, Trump insisted that concerns about AI were a hoax, and this stance really puts him at odds with majority public opinion because a Gallup poll recently showed that half of Americans strongly opposed data centers. Other polls show that majorities of Americans are worried about the impact that AI will have on jobs, on the future of humanity. So many Americans clearly have concerns about the technology that the president does not share. Although the creation of this AI force, whatever it may or may not turn out to be, could be a tacit acknowledgment of that sentiment. NADWORNY: The president also got some resistance last week from inside his own party. What stood out to you about that? LIASSON: Yeah. We're seeing some little Republican revolts pop up. Seven House Republicans joined Democrats in calling for an end to the Iran War, including two from Iowa. We know that farm states have been particularly hurt by the war and its impact on prices for fertilizer and for diesel fuel. Immigration is another issue where Trump had an advantage but is slipping. You mentioned Maria Elvira Salazar. She ran an ad arguing that Trump has gone too far with his immigration policies and that Hispanics feel betrayed after boosting him in the last election. We know that Trump, according to exit polls, won 46% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, up from 28% in 2016. But since then, that number has been slipping. NADWORNY: OK, but instead of working to address these concerns, it feels like Trump just has his focus elsewhere. LIASSON: Yes. He posted about his triumphal arch this weekend. He said something new - that the arch would have snipers and drones on it. Now, I don't know if that will help him drum up more support for the arch or absolutely terrify people who live in Washington, D.C., and Virginia, who have to drive by it every day. NADWORNY: That is NPR senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Thank you so much for your thoughts. LIASSON: You're welcome. Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR. 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