Politics and views in the United States

President Trump gives Iran a timeline on diplomacy amid stalled nuclear talks. Americans feel the pinch of higher prices, despite Trump's assertion that tariffs are working as expected and a former DHS official says enforcement is off the rails.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Iran is a hotspot right now.

They have a good relationship with the representatives of Iran and good talks are being had.

It's proven to be over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal.

We have to make a meaningful deal.

Otherwise, bad things happen.

Following a meeting of his new board of peace, President Donald Trump says his representatives are making progress towards a deal on Iran's nuclear program.

With a huge US military buildup in the region, Trump says he wants a diplomatic solution and is giving Iran 15 days to make a deal.

Military observers say an initial strike could come as early as this weekend.

Previous talks deadlocked, although the Iranian government's position has been weakened by for now suppressed internal protests and previous military blows against its nuclear sites and regional proxies.

Trump withdrew from a nuclear deal in his first term, which could be making the Iranians distrustful.

Domestically, the president took his economic message to the Cusa Steel plant in Rome, Georgia.

Trump took a victory lap saying the once struggling facility shows what tariffs can accomplish arguing construction and manufacturing jobs are growing.

But new data shows the US trade deficit is rising sharply and research from Yale says the president's import taxes are costing the average Household $1,700 annually.

Terry Holt is with the cost coalition.

Whether you're a Republican like me or a Democrat, you're feeling the negative effects of the Trump policies every day.

Whether it's in health care, at the grocery store, or whether it's in your small business or whether you're volunteering at a food bank.

A new YouGov poll is confirming voters across party lines are dissatisfied with Trump's handling of the economy and his approval on the issue is now lower than former President Joe Biden's was at the same point.

Job growth increased last month but was nearly flat last year.

In fact, the US lost more than 150,000 blue collar jobs since Trump returned to power.

House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, says the state of the economy will be a priority when Congress returns from recess next week.

We can continue to press forward, to do what we have to do to lower the high cost of living in this country, to make life more affordable, to ensure people who are working hard and playing by the rules cannot just survive, which is hard to do in this environment, but can thrive.

In the wake of numerous immigration sweeps, Democratic governors are highlighting the issue in their state of the state addresses.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker specifically criticized ICE and said the Trump administration is quote, "dripping authoritarianism bit by bit into our veins."

Janet Napolitano was the Homeland Security Secretary under President Barack Obama.

She says the current raids are excessive, unnecessary and unprecedented.

We had a very strong, not only border policy, but what to do about interior enforcement within the country.

And we're seeing all of those guardrails have disappeared.

And then the federal government just big footing into states or cities.

ICE officers are now under criminal investigation for possible perjury about the shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis last month.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

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