Transcript of Trump Touts Progress In Iran Talks, UFC White House Freedom 250, DNI Nomination

President Trump predicted death and destruction in the morning, then talked of peace in the afternoon.

"The Strait will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be soon, very soon." Iran says it hasn't agreed. Did anything change except the stock market?

I'm Leila Fawadid. That's Steve Inskeep. And this is Up First from NPR News. The president once referred to the Iran negotiations as, quote, boring, other projects capture more of his interest. He talks nonstop about his building projects in Washington. This weekend, he hosts a UFC event on the White House lawn, available to people who pay for Paramount Plus. Our correspondent reviews what's on Trump's mind, judging by what he says.

Also, the president nominated a new director of national intelligence, a pick that came too late. Congress was so unhappy with his last pick, it let a major surveillance law expire. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Judging by his words, President Trump shifted from one reality to another in the course of a day.

The president said Thursday morning that the U.S. was planning new strikes on Iran. By the afternoon, the president talked of a peace deal already agreed to that could be signed, quote, "soon." There's no confirmation that either of the president's contradictory claims were true. Iran says it has not agreed yet. This is the latest of the president's many sudden shifts on Iran, which again moved the stock market.

NPR international correspondent Eva Traore has been trying to sort out what, if anything, is really happening. Hey, good morning.

Good morning, Steve.

Or I should say good afternoon in the Middle East where you are. Yes. Setting aside the president's words, what has actually happened in the war this week?

It's been a week of whiplash attacks that threaten to unravel the entire ceasefire. And that's because this is a tenuous ceasefire that's neither a full peace nor a full-blown war, and it can quickly spiral. You know, after Israel bombed Lebanon's capital, Beirut, on Sunday, We saw Iran firing missiles at Israel in defense of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Then Israel bombed Iran, and even Yemen's Houthis started launching missiles at Israel. And then Iran downed an American helicopter on Monday as the U.S. is trying to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz. And twice the U.S. attacked Iranian military sites this week in Iran, including hitting water reservoirs that thousands of people in Iran rely on for drinking water. We also saw the U.S. disabling 3 ships heading to Iranian ports as part of a naval blockade on Iran.

But Stephen, one of those attacks, 3 Indian sailors were killed.

And throughout all of this, Iran is attacking U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.

Wow, pretty violent week. But the president is now making this statement. He has said multiple times that peace is at hand. What is he saying this time?

He's basically calling it a done deal now. Here's what he told reporters at the White House yesterday about Iran.

And they've all approved the deal. Everybody's approved the deal. Now we'll get it finished up, and hopefully that'll be done.

So, Steve, while he's saying everyone has approved the deal, he's leaving out a clear timeline for when that can happen. He says it could happen in the next few days with the two sides signing a deal in Europe, but Iran says it's not yet done. Iran's foreign ministry says a deal has not been finalized. And Iranian media say that two weeks ago there was almost a deal in place, but they say Trump added new demands. But what we know is Trump does want this war to end. This war is unpopular among Americans. This week, inflation hiked past 4% in the U.S. That's the highest in several years. With gas prices up. So Trump's singular focus now is on getting the Strait of Hormuz open again. And any deal that extends the ceasefire so both sides can lift their blockades in the Gulf won't include nuclear talks. That'll come later. But for that oil to flow through the strait again, you know, Iran has its demands. They continue to demand an end to Israel's war in Lebanon, which Israel so far isn't willing to do. They want assurances that they won't be bombed again, and they want the US to unfreeze billions of their dollars.

You're telling us all this, of course, from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. What do some of Iran's neighbors, like the one you're in, think of all this?

Well, Qatar, for example, has been taking on a bigger role in mediating. This week, Qatari officials were in Iran, and yesterday Trump and Qatar's emir held a call in which messages from Iran were exchanged, and it's possible that is why Trump called off more attacks. But the United Arab Emirates, where I am, Steve, has also shifted its tone from being hawkish on Iran to aligning more with other countries in the region about ending this war. So this really leaves Israel as the only country railing against a diplomatic track. We've seen how that's led to heated conversations between Trump and Israel's prime minister, and both men face elections this year., in which this war is playing a big part.

NPR international correspondent Eva Traurig in Dubai, thanks so much.

Thanks, Steve.

On Sunday, the UFC will hold 7 fights on the White House lawn. It is billed as a celebration of America's 250th birthday. Sunday also happens to be Flag Day and President Trump's 80th birthday.

Trump has been preparing for the fights and other projects in a politically weak moment. The war in Iran is The war in Ukraine is dragging on, though he says yet again that a peace agreement is coming soon. Inflation is over 4%, and his approval ratings are the lowest they've ever been.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben has been trying to assess what is on the president's mind based on his words. Danielle, good morning.

Good morning.

OK, what's the president excited about?

Well, he's certainly excited about this fight, as well as the other events that are planned for America's 250th. There's also going to be a rally on the Mall where Trump will speak and an IndyCar race on the streets of D.C. DC. And then there are his building projects, which he's certainly excited about. He's torn down the East Wing to build a ballroom and military complex. He wants to build a massive arch near Arlington National Cemetery and a pedestrian bridge next to the Lincoln Memorial. And he just completed work on the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. And you just get the sense that all of that is what excites Trump right now. At all these events, whether he's signing a bill, talking about coal power, or even at Farmers Roundtable in Wisconsin. He just can't seem to help himself. He goes on these long tangents about these projects. But also the time he's devoting to these things is especially striking when you think about how amid all of this, he declared the Iran negotiations boring. Or you think about the priorities that have fallen off the radar. He had vowed to end the Russian war in Ukraine.

He had pushed a healthcare overhaul. Those things have pretty much gone quiet.

How unusual is it for a president to have so many, I guess you'd call them side projects?

"Taken together, very," is what a Princeton political historian, Julian Zelser, told me. Now, the White House has said there's precedent for a lot of what he's doing, like holding public sporting events on the White House lawn, or President Theodore Roosevelt holding, and even participating in, boxing matches at the White House. However, here's what Zelser had to say about this weekend's fights.

In addition to just how big it is and how much space it's literally and symbolically taking in his presidency at a moment where the nation's in the middle of a war, it also raises all these conflict of interest questions, which are also different than having a boxing match in the White House.

In fact, a watchdog group filed a lawsuit just last week aiming to stop this weekend's fights, noting how much UFC could profit off of it, and also pointing out that Trump owns stock in the company that owns the UFC. Now, when I asked the White House about this, spokesperson Davis Engel insisted there's no conflict of interest, and he said the president's assets are in a trust run by his children.

Okay, so this appears to be a for— not appears to be, it is— it's a for-profit event. With that said, wouldn't you expect the president to try to put on some kind of show for the 250th?

Sure, though you can see sharp contrasts when you look back to, for example, the bicentennial in 1976. Back then, President Ford did this big tour of historic sites, including this sweeping speech at Philadelphia's Independence Hall.

Because the United States today remains the most successful realization of humanity's universal hope. The world may or may not follow, but we lead because our whole history says we must.

It's a real contrast to a cage fight, but it also raises the question of how ultimate fighting connects to American history, whether that matters. And it's also just a pretty incredible illustration of Trump's effect on politics.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, have a nice weekend.

You too.

Some other news now: President Trump has named Jay Clayton to be the next director of national intelligence.

Clayton appears to be an uncontroversial nominee. He has a national security background, which the law requires for this job. He's a federal prosecutor. He also previously he led the Securities and Exchange Commission. This pick came too late to avoid some big collateral damage.

NPR Congress reporter Eric McDaniel is here in the studio to talk us through this here in Studio 31. Eric, thanks for coming by once again.

Happy to.

You're getting to be a regular here. Appreciate that. Uh, tell us more about Jay Clayton.

Well, in addition to being a federal prosecutor, like you mentioned, and former SEC head, Clayton was an accomplished attorney in the private sector. He currently serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and while there, his office has done a couple high-profile things, not least of which is the indictment of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Clayton has been confirmed by the Senate before for the SEC, which is a good sign for his ability to be confirmed again, not to mention his nomination follows up a pick last week by President Trump for an acting DNI, a different guy that went over like a lead balloon in the Capitol.

As this is happening, I'm thinking of the nominations for Attorney General at the start of the administration. Matt Gaetz was the nominee. Congress was horrified.

Trump countered with Pam Bondi, "Are you saying in the same way that Jay Clayton looks better by comparison?" I mean, members of Congress are making the comparison that Clayton seems more qualified, including top Democrats on the intelligence committees. Last week, the president named Bill Pulte to replace the current director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, on this temporary basis. Pulte is the current director of a federal housing finance agency, but he's best known as the guy who's used mortgage documents to allege that the president's perceived foes have committed fraud. All of them deny wrongdoing.

We heard Senator Senator Mark Warner on NPR saying that Pulte was the kind of person who would weaponize intelligence agencies against the public.

Really? Right. In fact, it led Democrats like Warner to block the extension of a big deal spy tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. According to its parents, it allows the government to collect electronic communications of foreign nationals located outside of the U.S. each year. Think calls, texts, emails. And it's lapsing today in large part because of how mad folks were about the president naming Pulte in this acting capacity. And now with the House on recess for a week, things aren't moving quickly to bring it back.

So it would be a while before Jay Clayton is confirmed, which means he can't do the job. Does that mean Bill Pulte, this person lawmakers objected to, will be the acting director for a while?

You know, it was unclear for a few hours, but President Trump actually addressed it in the Oval Office yesterday afternoon. He said Pulte would still be there for, quote, "a short while," although he didn't say how long. It probably depends on that confirmation timeline.

OK, let's get back to this surveillance tool, this law. How big a deal is it that it's lapsing for the moment?

Symbolically, it's a huge deal, but practically, probably not a huge deal. It's bad symbolically because it shows the president is making decisions in a way that make Congress's job really hard. There's no reason he had to announce Pulte as the acting director of national intelligence when he did. He could have waited until this was renewed. He stepped on a rake for no reason, and it ultimately led to FISA expiring. Practically, though, FISA can still be used for many months under existing court authorization. So unless telecom companies stop providing electronic communications to the government, which I think is unlikely but not totally impossible, the government will still be able to use it without issue to keep track of big threats, like to the World Cup or America's 250th celebrations.

Uh, so what's the timeline then for Clayton to get permanently confirmed and for this to be resolved?

Within just a few hours of being named, senators had set the first hearing for Clayton, which is next Wednesday. I can't imagine he'll have any trouble ultimately getting through. Republicans can do this in a party-line way, but I do expect he'll face some very tough questions from senators.

Okay.

Congress reporter Eric McDaniel, thanks so much.

Thanks so much.

And that's Up First for this Friday. It's Friday, June 12th. I'm Steve Inskeep.

And I'm Leila Fadel. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Tina Krya, Rebecca Metzler, Jason Breslow, Mohamed Elberdissi, and H.J.

Mai.

It was produced by Ziad Butch and Nia Dumas. Our director is Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Shahinaz. Our technical director is Carly Strange, and our executive producer is Jay Shaler. Join us again tomorrow.