Americans' views on immigration take a positive swing | The Excerpt
On Monday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: Americans' views on immigration took a positive swing this year. Paste BN Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire discusses how states are scrambling for funds after President Trump's cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. Trump says the U.S. will send Patriot missiles to Ukraine. New flooding hits Texas. Paste BN Money Reporter Bailey Schulz breaks down the Federal Trade Commission's crackdown on 'Made in USA' claims. Chelsea have won the FIFA Club World Cup.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson, and today is Monday, July 14th, 2025. This is Paste BN's The Excerpt. Today, checking in on American's immigration views, plus how states are scrambling for funds after Trump's cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and what does made in the USA really mean?
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American's views on immigration took a massive positive swing this year amid President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown, according to new Gallup Polling. The share of Americans who thought immigration should decrease 55% reached a five-year-high point in 2024. This year it has dropped to 30%, and positive views of immigration have hit a record high of 79%. The Trump administration ramped up its promise to carry out widespread deportations in June, sending out mass immigration agents to raid restaurants, farms, and hardware stores, and touching off widespread protests. It has also unveiled a new Alligator Alcatraz detention facility for migrants in the Florida Everglades. His administration has also faced a slew of legal challenges. During former President Joe Biden's administration, Americans views on immigration took a dip amid a surge of migration and reports of disarray on the southern border.
States are scrambling for funds after President Trump's cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. I spoke with Paste BN's Senior National Political Correspondent Sarah D. Wire to learn more.
Thanks as always for joining me, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
So how must states now fit Medicaid and SNAP cuts into their budgets?
Sarah D. Wire:
The bill passed by Congress and signed into law requires states to take on a greater share of the Medicaid costs, including administrative costs and hospital costs, and for the first time it's going to require them to take on a percentage of the cost of food assistance, including SNAP.
Taylor Wilson:
And what else, Sarah, are states facing as the administration pushes off a lot of these costs onto the states to help whittle down federal government spending?
Sarah D. Wire:
They're seeing some really explicit things, such as the Medicaid and SNAP cuts. There's also some more implicit things. For example, right around July 1st, the administration quietly announced they weren't going to pay about a quarter of the money for some education costs. They just weren't going to pass it on to the states like they were supposed to. Same thing with FEMA. They're waiting a little bit longer to respond in hopes that the state can deal with some disasters themselves.
Taylor Wilson:
How heavily do states rely on federal funds in their budgets, Sarah? Do we have any numbers to put this in context here?
Sarah D. Wire:
About a third of most states' budgets come directly from the federal government. And so states are looking at these cuts and this almost 1000-page bill that just passed and they're trying to figure out exactly what it does, because the federal budget pays for everything from hospital stays to fixing potholes.
Taylor Wilson:
How much of this new responsibility can states actually take on, and I mean, what's the solution? I know we've heard about raising taxes, I guess, on the state level is one example.
Sarah D. Wire:
I spoke to at least half a dozen local elected officials about what they were going to do, and they're kind of panicking. I've heard the word triage and tsunami, people talking about having to pit one vulnerable group against another. This is going to be hundreds of millions of dollars, and they don't have a lot of time because of how states budget. They're already working on the next fiscal year budget.
Taylor Wilson:
Sarah, did you speak with any state officials or lawmakers who defended the federal government's approach here?
Sarah D. Wire:
The Tennessee House Speaker pointed back to when Tennessee had to make some cuts back in 2011, and he said he understands that when you have to try to balance a budget, you have to make tough decisions. He says that the state's going to do what they have to do once they examine what the cuts are going to mean for them, but he said that he really understood that the federal government was going to have to make some hard choices and the state was just going to have to deal with it.
Taylor Wilson:
Great story as always from you, Sarah. Folks can find a link to the full version in today's show notes. Sarah D. Wire is Paste BN's Senior National Political Correspondent. Thank you, Sarah.
Sarah D. Wire:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
President Trump said The US will send Patriot air defense missiles to Ukraine that will be reimbursed by the European Union. Trump did not specify how many weapons systems the United States would provide and told reporters it had not been agreed upon yet. He stressed that the US would not pay for them. He then heaped criticism on Russian President Vladimir Putin, his latest in recent weeks.
President Donald Trump:
We will send them Patriots, which they desperately need because Putin really surprised a lot of people. He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. But there's a little bit of a problem there. I don't like it.
Taylor Wilson:
Trump made those comments while speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews yesterday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing Trump to allow his country to purchase Patriot missile air defense systems from the United States as Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks. Shipments of the missile systems that were previously approved were paused by a Pentagon review of US military stockpiles and then resumed last week by Trump.
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Heavy rain and a new wave of flooding in central Texas yesterday prompted swift water rescues and hampered the grim search for victims of the flood that swept through the region more than a week ago, killing at least 132 people. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said water rescues were taking place in a number of counties amid this latest weather. The city of Kerrville posted video on social media of water rushing across streets yesterday. Kerrville was in the heart of the deadly flooding earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem yesterday defended FEMA's response to those floods, saying this is the fastest in years that resources were deployed to help in a natural disaster. Noem, appearing on NBC News' Meet the Press, denied that a memo she issued in June requiring her approval of all FEMA expenditures over $100,000 had slowed the agency's reaction to the tragedy. She also denied claims that FEMA call centers were not fully staffed.
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What does it mean to be made in the USA? The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on deceptive claims. I spoke with Paste BN Money reporter Bailey Schulz for more.
Thanks as always for hopping on, Bailey.
Bailey Schulz:
Yeah. Thank you for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
See now, Bailey, folks see this tag during purchases, Made in USA, but what does it actually mean?
Bailey Schulz:
What the FTC says is that a company must make, quote, "all or virtually all," unquote, of its product in the US to be considered made in the USA. So what does that mean? That could mean that final assembly or processing is in the US. That can mean all "significant processing" takes place in the US. And then products with all or virtually all components that are made or sourced in the US can also qualify. And so we're trying to figure out what that all means.
I spoke to an expert who said it's a flexible measure. So the FTC is taking into account all sorts of things, like how much of the product's manufacturing costs are based in the US, how important forward inputs are to the product. So they're weighing all these different things, and then what she told me is that this is determined on a case by case basis.
Taylor Wilson:
Well, you mentioned the Federal Trade Commission. How has the FTC been cracking down on false or unsubstantiated marketing around made in USA claims in recent years?
Bailey Schulz:
This year we're really seeing the FTC leaning into this messaging, going so far as to name July Made in USA Month. Also this month, we saw them send out warning letters to a number of companies reminding them to comply with the rules. As far as recent action, we've also seen the agencies are cracking down on a number of companies that they do find have been breaking the rules. A couple of recent examples, 2023, Instant Brands, which manufacturers Pyrex brand kitchen and home products, they were ordered to pay almost $130,000 fine after the FTC said that they made some false claims. Then we saw Williams-Sonoma last year, 2024, they were charged with a $3.2 million civil penalty, and that was the largest to date.
Taylor Wilson:
You mentioned they're cracking down in particular this summer. Why so much focus this summer and this moment, Bailey?
Bailey Schulz:
I did speak to experts about this and the likely reason behind this is now because the FTC is working under the Trump administration, and we've really seen this push from the administration for an increase in US-based manufacturing through tariffs. And so this crackdown on false made in the US claims really aligns with this administration's goals.
Taylor Wilson:
So in terms of the consumers in this conversation, Bailey, do Americans actually prefer products made in the US?
Bailey Schulz:
We do see that when Americans are surveyed and asked, "Do you prefer American-made?" A lot of times they say yes. There's one survey from Integris that I found, which is an IT service provider, and they found that about three-fourths of the US consumers say they really prefer American-made goods.
Taylor Wilson:
And does that preference actually influence spending?
Bailey Schulz:
That's a little trickier, where same survey and nearly two-thirds of those consumers said that they actually weigh other factors like price, quality, more so in their purchasing decision than whether or not it comes from the US.
Taylor Wilson:
Folks can find the full story with a link in today's show notes. Bailey Schulz covers money for Paste BN. Thanks, Bailey.
Bailey Schulz:
Thanks for having me.
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Taylor Wilson:
Chelsea have won the FIFA Club World Cup. The English soccer team lifted the trophy yesterday after hammering French Club PSG three-nil in front of a massive crowd at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. You can read more from the game and the tournament over at Paste BN Sports.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson. I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.