Trump Receives Fallen Troops, Hegseth Grilled On The Hill, Arizona Primary Results

**Leila Fadel** (0:02)
President Trump goes to Delaware to receive the bodies of American soldiers.

**Michel Martin** (0:06)
He is struggling to answer questions about the war with Iran.

**Donald Trump** (0:09)
Do you know something that I don't know?

**Michel Martin** (0:11)
Well, they continue to attack our allies.

**Donald Trump** (0:13)
You don't know what the dialogue is behind the scenes.

**Leila Fadel** (0:15)
I'm Leila Fadel with Michel Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. Both Democrats and Republicans wanted answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about a war Congress never voted to authorize.

**Pete Hegseth** (0:30)
This is a regime hell-bent on nuclear ambitions.

**Justin Logan** (0:33)
Guys, we need straight answers.

**Pete Hegseth** (0:35)
We need straight answers.

**Leila Fadel** (0:37)
Hegseth went to Capitol Hill asking for billions more for the war.

**Michel Martin** (0:41)
And Arizona Republicans picked candidates who denied the 2020 election results in their primary yesterday. Why do Democrats think they have a better chance of beating MAGA Republicans in the midterms? Stay with us. We'll give you news you need to start your day.

**SPEAKER_6** (0:59)
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**Michel Martin** (1:58)
President Trump will travel to Dover Air Force Base today to attend the dignified transfer of the remains of US service members killed by Iranian strikes.

**Donald Trump** (2:06)
I'll be going to Dover for something that I feel is, is it's a great honor for me to do it.

**Leila Fadel** (2:14)
Honoring those killed in action is one of the most solemn responsibilities for a president, but for Trump, the rising number of casualties has added significance. It highlights the mounting questions about the Iran war.

**Michel Martin** (2:27)
And PR White House correspondent Franco Ordonez is with us now to tell us more about this. Good morning, Franco.

**Franco Ordonez** (2:32)
Good morning, Michelle.

**Michel Martin** (2:33)
You know, the American public has always been ambivalent about this war, but the criticism has generally been framed in economic terms. I'm wondering if the losses of these troops might change that.

**Franco Ordonez** (2:44)
Yeah, I mean, if the casualties continue to rise, it could change a lot. It could change. I mean, the public does not like seeing US citizens killed in a war, especially a war that they don't necessarily understand or maybe don't think is necessary right now.
I was talking with Justin Logan, who directs foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. And he told me that the challenge of, you know, reduce munitions, for example, is kind of this abstract idea to most Americans. But what's not abstract at all is Americans coming back in flag-draped coffins.

**Justin Logan** (3:17)
I think the president knows he's playing with fire here. The public doesn't like this conflict, but they're not that exercised about it as yet.
He knows that the one way to get them exercised about it is to have large amounts of Americans coming home in flag-draped coffins.

**Franco Ordonez** (3:34)
You know, and Logan noted that the death of one of those service members, a young woman from Texas who's 19, seems to be striking a chord with people in the sense that there are young people dying in this war where their goals are unclear. And he said that the more Americans who die, the more questions are going to be asked about what the aims of the war, in fact, are.

**Michel Martin** (3:54)
Reporters asked Trump about his long-term plan in Iran yesterday, noting that Iran doesn't seem to be showing any indication that it wants to stop fighting. How did he respond?

**Franco Ordonez** (4:04)
I mean, Michel, he got a little testy arguing with the reporters that they don't actually know what's really happening and again insisting that Iran is anxious to stop the fighting.

**Donald Trump** (4:13)
Why do you know something that I don't know?

**SPEAKER_8** (4:15)
Well, they continue to attack our allies.