Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. As President Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address tomorrow, a new NPR-PBS Marist poll shows Americans are doubtful of the U.S. political system. Here's NPR's Domenico Montanaro.
Chapter 2: What are Americans' views on the political system ahead of the State of the Union?
Roughly two-thirds of the more than 1,400 respondents polled say the system of checks and balances in the country just isn't working. That comes as President Trump has spent the better part of his first year in office trying to consolidate power. An even higher 78% say they see a serious threat to democracy. That includes 9 in 10 Democrats, 8 in 10 Independents, and even 61% of Republicans.
Of course, what they see as those threats in many cases is very different. Other polling has found that Democrats and Independents are concerned about the backsliding of liberal democracy in the country, while many Republicans believe voting systems are not as strong as they should be. That's an idea that President Trump has pushed to explain away his 2020 presidential election loss
despite evidence to the contrary. Domenico Montanaro, NPR News, Washington.
Moving now to the Trump administration's tariffs on foreign-made products. With the Supreme Court's decision to strike down many of them, NPR's Stephen Passaja reports that Americans' consumers are unlikely to get their money back.
When it comes to who pays for tariffs, importers, exporters, and yes, consumers split the cost.
But we may not all be splitting the recovery if we can get the recovery.
Robert Shapiro is with the law firm Thompson Coburn. He says importers are the ones eligible for refunds since they pay the actual tariff charge. And getting companies to share with customers could require lawsuits.
I think it's really going to depend on what arguments are made on that. So if you're a company that said, here's your tariff surcharge, I think you're more likely to be in a position where someone's going to have a claim to recover.
This also depends on companies winning their own refund lawsuits. Stephen Passaha, NPR News.
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Chapter 3: How are tariffs affecting consumers and businesses in the U.S.?
For NPR News, I'm Ari Daniel.
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