Why Trump Is Gathering Republicans in Texas, and Iran Targets U.S. Warships

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Tracy Mumford (0:27)

From the New York Times, it's The Headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today is Wednesday, September 9th. Here's what we're covering.

Shane Goldmacher (0:38)

I'm here in Dallas for the first day of the unusual midterm convention that President Trump has decided to throw for the Republican Party. It's the first time in modern history that there's been something quite like this.

Tracy Mumford (0:53)

My colleague Shane Goldmacher is in Texas, where Republicans are gathering today for the kind of high-profile event that normally only happens during the run-up to a presidential election. President Trump will be headlining both nights of the GOP midterm convention, which one person involved in planning it told the Times is as much about boosting Trump himself as it is about boosting the party.

The event is a chance for Republicans to raise money. Attendees, including lawmakers, are being charged $25,000 each. And it's also being pitched as a way to galvanize voters ahead of the midterms, where the GOP is expected to face steep losses.

Shane Goldmacher (1:34)

But part of the story of this convention is who's not attending. There are a number of key Republicans who have decided not to come here to Texas to work here because President Trump is a potential drag on their chances to win this fall. President Trump's approval ratings are down. Gas prices have been up. Grocery prices have been up. Some of the issues that voters said they put Republicans back in power to deal with have been unaddressed. So one of the things we're watching is who is in fact in Dallas and who is not in Dallas to get a sense of can Republicans win this fall by pulling Donald Trump closer to them, or do they need to push him away a little bit? It's going to be a tricky balance for the party.

Tracy Mumford (2:23)

In the Middle East in recent days, there's been a burst of new attacks, with Iran targeting American warships for the first time. It started over the weekend with Iran attempting to attack two US military vessels. US. Central Command retaliated.

Yesterday, a similar cycle seemed to play out again. The US military said Iran attempted to hit a Navy warship. And in response, the US said it destroyed multiple Iranian oil tankers.

Erika Solomon (2:53)

So this was a line that Iran had been very hesitant to cross before. They were very reluctant to do the kind of strikes that could inflict heavy casualties for American forces, which is why we hadn't really seen them launch a major strike on a US warship.

Tracy Mumford (3:08)

Erika Solomon covers Iran for The Times.

Erika Solomon (3:11)

Regional experts and political analysts in Iran that I've been speaking to say that what we're seeing is basically Iran trying to signal it's ready and willing to escalate. From Iran's perspective, they don't feel they have much to lose from expanding the conflict right now. They're feeling really an economic squeeze from the US naval blockade, the country suffering from a fuel shortage crisis, the economic despair is just really palpable, and Iran is really worried that this could stoke dissent that could be exploited by their enemies. So they are very willing right now to instead let the war expand. Another thing you hear Iranian commentators say a lot is that this is the moment to do it. They're convinced President Trump is going to launch a new round of war against them anyway once the US midterm elections are over. If his party wins, he'll feel emboldened. If they do poorly, they're worried he won't feel there's much reason not to go heavy on Iran. So, from their perspective, if they want to inflict a political cost on President Trump, they need to do that now.

Tracy Mumford (4:11)

Meanwhile, in the face of the new wave of attacks, the global price of oil reached $100 a barrel this morning. That's nearly 40% more than it was right before the war started.

Diesel has spiked particularly high as the fighting's continued. It hit a record this month of nearly $6 a gallon.

SPEAKER_5 (4:36)

I do not believe the British people want us supporting the occupation by accepting products from settlements in our shops and supermarkets.

Tracy Mumford (4:44)

Yesterday, Britain, along with France and Canada, took a major step in turning up the political pressure on Israel over the treatment of Palestinians.