Up First from NPR
Trump In The Middle East, Hamas Hostage Release, Mulling Medicaid Cuts
Mon, 12 May 2025
President Trump chose Saudi Arabia - again - for the first state trip of his second term. What does that say about his foreign policy? Hamas says it will release the last living American hostage held in Gaza, Edan Alexander. And as Republicans look for massive budget cuts, what could happen to Medicaid? Want more comprehensive 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 Ryland Barton, Krishnadev Calamur, Carrie Kahn, Kelsey Snell, Ally Schweitzer and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ana Perez, Nia Dumas and Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from David Greenberg, and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is President Trump's Middle East trip about?
President Trump is heading to the Middle East. It'll be the first state visit of his second term. Will he focus on peace in Gaza or other matters like the luxury jumbo jet the Qatari royal family is offering him?
I'm Michelle Martin with Leila Fanel, and this is Up First from NPR News. As President Trump makes his way to the Middle East, Hamas says it will release the last living American hostage held in Gaza, 21-year-old soldier Idan Alexander. Israel's government says they'll provide for Alexander's safe passage, but that his release does not guarantee a ceasefire deal.
And Republicans are looking to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget to pay for Trump's domestic agenda. What could that mean for Medicaid? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
This message comes from Wise, the app for doing things and other currencies. With Wise, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply.
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This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what.
To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts.
President Trump leaves this morning for a four-day trip to the Middle East, the first big state visit of his administration.
The trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates comes as the administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. But Trump is expected to focus less on the quest for peace and more on making business deals, deals that apparently include the Qataris' offer of a new plane for the president.
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Chapter 2: What are the key goals and expectations for Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE?
I spoke with Stephen Cook at the Council on Foreign Relations, who told me that the Gulf leaders know what Trump wants.
the Saudis, the Emiratis, and the Qataris are going to fall all over themselves over who can outdo themselves to welcome the president. And then they will outdo themselves over the number of deals that they can announce as the president is there or as he's departing.
Now, Trump also plans to visit Al Udeid air base outside of Doha in Qatar, where he'll speak with U.S. troops stationed there.
Okay. So, Franco, I heard Cook there say a lot about these countries knowing what Trump wants, but what about what Gulf leaders want? I mean, Saudi Arabia has been calling for an independent Palestinian state. Will the war in Gaza be part of this discussion?
Well, I mean, I'm sure it'll be part of the conversation and talks about updates on ceasefire efforts, but it's more likely to be behind closed doors because, again, there's just been such little progress as of late. Now, the Qataris, for example, have been involved in those talks, hosting negotiations in Doha between Hamas and Israel.
And one reason Cook says that Gulf leaders shower Trump with such lavishness and big business deals is it insulates them. It insulates them from any extra pressure that the U.S. may want to impose on them to either take action on Gaza, for example, if they're reluctant to do so.
I will say that it's worth noting that the president did confirm on social media last night that a deal has been struck with Hamas to release the last American hostage who's been held since October of 2023. Right.
And we will have more on that hostage release in a moment. But this trip feels... A little bit like a replay of the first one Trump took during his last administration, right?
Yeah, it does feel a little bit like deja vu. I mean, on that last trip, the Saudis really rolled out the red carpet for Trump and announced billions of dollars in investments. On this trip, Trump will boast new investments, including a promise by the Saudis to invest $600 billion in the U.S., and pledges from UAE to spend $1.4 trillion.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of the Qataris offering a luxury jumbo jet to President Trump?
Hey, Leila.
Okay, so I hear a lot of noise around you. Where are you and what are you seeing?
I'm in what's known as Hostage Square in downtown Tel Aviv. Israelis are beginning to gather here in front of a large television screen. They're holding signs with the faces of other Israeli hostages still in Gaza. And they are hoping to see imminently the release of Idan Alexander being released from Gaza.
Then he is expected to be taken to an Israeli hospital where other released hostages have been admitted in the past.
So... Daniel, tell us more about Idan Alexander.
He's 21 years old. He grew up in New Jersey and moved to Israel to serve in the Israeli military. He was captured by Hamas in the October 7th attack while he was guarding his army base. And today his mother is flying in from the United States with President Trump's envoy, Adam Boehler, to hopefully greet her son upon his release.
Daniel, what do you know about these secret talks with the U.S. that led... to Alexander's release?
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Chapter 4: What are the latest developments on the Hamas hostage release?
Well, Hamas is saying that these talks took place in recent days. And we spoke with a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He's not authorized to speak publicly about this. He says that the U.S. did make promises in exchange for Alexander's release.
He hinted that that could be the release of some Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the ensuring some aid get into Gaza after the a 10-week Israeli blockade. Now, Hamas and President Trump also are publicly saying they hope this leads to talks toward ending the war in Gaza. And the Hamas official told us, we gave the Americans what they asked for.
They need to get the other side, meaning Israel, to give things too.
So what do we know about what Israel is saying? Because they would be key to any ceasefire.
Well, Israel, its government claims it is not expected to give anything in return for this hostage release. And it says it will keep fighting the war even during any ceasefire talks. Today, hospital officials in Gaza said 16 people, including women and children, were killed in an Israeli strike.
And Leila, in Israel, many people today are angry, actually, that Trump is the one achieving results here, while their own leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not. There are still 20 more living hostages in Gaza, at least. There remains a dozen more. Lots of discussion in Israel today about Trump sidestepping Israel's leadership, whether that's with the U.S.
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Chapter 5: Who is Idan Alexander and what is his story?
Chapter 6: How are the U.S. and Hamas negotiating the hostage release and what does it mean for ceasefire talks?
Chapter 7: What could proposed Republican budget cuts mean for Medicaid?
And Republicans are looking to cut $1.5 trillion from the budget to pay for Trump's domestic agenda. What could that mean for Medicaid? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
This message comes from Wise, the app for doing things and other currencies. With Wise, you can send, spend, or receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com. T's and C's apply.
This message comes from Subaru. The new Forester Hybrid uses advanced Subaru hybrid electric technology, giving you a total range of up to 581 miles per tank. The new Subaru Forester Hybrid. Love goes the extra mile. Discover more at Subaru.com slash Forester Hybrid.
This is Ira Glass, the host of This American Life. So much is changing so rapidly right now with President Trump in office. It feels good to pause for a moment sometimes and look around at what's what.
To try and do that, we've been finding these incredible stories about right now that are funny and have feeling and you get to see people everywhere making sense of this new America that we find ourselves in. This American Life, wherever you get your podcasts.
President Trump leaves this morning for a four-day trip to the Middle East, the first big state visit of his administration.
The trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates comes as the administration tries to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. But Trump is expected to focus less on the quest for peace and more on making business deals, deals that apparently include the Qataris' offer of a new plane for the president.
NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez will be traveling with the president, and he joins us now. Good morning. Good morning, Laila. Okay, so what is Trump looking to get out of this trip?
Well, I mean, the White House says this trip is about strengthening ties in the region and highlighting cooperation where, as the press secretary puts it, extremism has been replaced by commerce and cultural exchanges. And Layla, there's expected to be a lot of commerce and culture exchange this trip because it's kind of the best they have to offer each other right now.
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Chapter 8: How are cultural and economic ties shaping Trump's Middle East diplomacy?
the Saudis, the Emiratis, and the Qataris are going to fall all over themselves over who can outdo themselves to welcome the president. And then they will outdo themselves over the number of deals that they can announce as the president is there or as he's departing.
Now, Trump also plans to visit Al Udeid air base outside of Doha in Qatar, where he'll speak with U.S. troops stationed there.
Okay. So, Franco, I heard Cook there say a lot about these countries knowing what Trump wants, but what about what Gulf leaders want? I mean, Saudi Arabia has been calling for an independent Palestinian state. Will the war in Gaza be part of this discussion?
Well, I mean, I'm sure it'll be part of the conversation and talks about updates on ceasefire efforts, but it's more likely to be behind closed doors because, again, there's just been such little progress as of late. Now, the Qataris, for example, have been involved in those talks, hosting negotiations in Doha between Hamas and Israel.
And one reason Cook says that Gulf leaders shower Trump with such lavishness and big business deals is it insulates them. It insulates them from any extra pressure that the U.S. may want to impose on them to either take action on Gaza, for example, if they're reluctant to do so.
I will say that it's worth noting that the president did confirm on social media last night that a deal has been struck with Hamas to release the last American hostage who's been held since October of 2023. Right.
And we will have more on that hostage release in a moment. But this trip feels... A little bit like a replay of the first one Trump took during his last administration, right?
Yeah, it does feel a little bit like deja vu. I mean, on that last trip, the Saudis really rolled out the red carpet for Trump and announced billions of dollars in investments. On this trip, Trump will boast new investments, including a promise by the Saudis to invest $600 billion in the U.S., and pledges from UAE to spend $1.4 trillion.
And just this weekend, the White House acknowledged, as you noted, that they're in discussions with the Qataris about possibly accepting a luxury plane that could serve as a temporary Air Force One until the new one is finished. ABC was the first to report this. And if it happens, it would be one of the first or the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the U.S. government.
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