Trump's Shutdown Travel, SNAP Benefits Gap, NYC Mayoral Race

Up First from NPR

NPR

Daily News, News

4.5 • 52.8K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2025

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

President Trump returns to Washington D.C. after a week of international travel and a weekend at his resort in Florida while the government shutdown enters its second month. SNAP benefits ran out over the weekend, leaving millions without food aid as courts press the administration to use emergency funds. And New York City voters head to the polls tomorrow in a heated mayoral race between Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomo that could shape the future of the Democratic Party.

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 Krishnadev Calamur, Russell Lewis, Andrea de Leon, Mohamad ElBardicy and Martha Ann Overland.

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas

We get engineering support from Stacey Abbott. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	President Trump shrugs off the government shutdown. He says ending it is up to the Democrats.
0:06.6	All they have to do is vote to open the country.
0:09.1	He spent the weekend at his Florida resort. What's the White House strategy for reopening the government?
0:14.4	I'm Michelle Martin with Steve Inskeep, and this is up first from NPR News.
0:20.8	Food assistance for more than 40 million Americans ran out over the weekend.
0:25.5	The idea that SNAP benefits wouldn't continue has never really been on the table before.
0:30.6	A court ordered the White House to use emergency money to fund supplemental nutrition,
0:34.4	so when will families actually get it.
0:36.4	Also, Tuesday is election day in many places, which means the end of voting in New York.
0:41.4	Frontrunner Zoran Mondani has excited supporters dismayed some Democrats and drawn criticism from
0:46.8	the political right. Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day.
0:56.5	This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.
1:01.1	When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with
1:05.9	no hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's apply.
1:12.3	President Trump, who prides himself on dealmaking, is signaling no interest in a deal with Democrats.
1:18.3	He spent the weekend in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago resort, far from Washington, D.C.
1:22.2	It was one of five trips he's taken since the government shutdown began.
1:26.1	Last night on Air Force One, a reporter asked
1:28.3	the president, what's his role in ending the shutdown? He said it's up to Democrats.
1:32.4	All they have to do is vote to open the country, and we only need five Democrats. In other words,
1:38.2	he's hoping a few Democrats defect and reopen the government with no deal on the health insurance
1:42.5	subsidies the Democrats have been holding out for.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 6 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.