Trump’s Big Flip on Ukraine, and a Defiant Jimmy Kimmel

Summary

The Headlines – Trump’s Big Flip on Ukraine, and a Defiant Jimmy Kimmel

The New York Times | September 24, 2025
Host: Tracy Mumford

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Overview

This episode of The Headlines delivers a concise examination of several developing stories: an impending government shutdown and the political standoff driving it, Donald Trump’s dramatic reversal on Ukraine policy at the United Nations, the fallout from Jimmy Kimmel’s controversial late-night monologue and subsequent clash with the FCC, and a roundup of headlines including a Trump assassination attempt trial and San Francisco’s blossoming robot fight scene.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown Looms: Partisan Standoff Intensifies

• Correspondent: Katie Edmondson, from Washington
• Summary:
  • The U.S. faces the threat of a government shutdown, similar to earlier in the year but with “very different” political dynamics (01:09).
  • Trump cancels negotiations: President Trump called off a planned meeting with Democratic leaders, escalating tensions (01:19).
  • Democrats hold firm: This time, Democrats are unwilling to compromise unless Republicans reverse summer cuts to Medicaid and health care programs and extend Obamacare subsidies (01:50).
  • Schumer’s stance:
    • “He’s made the case that voters have seen what Republicans' agenda is...and that voters don’t like it and want Democrats to push back and fight for them on things like health care.” — Katie Edmondson (01:50)
  • Stakes: Without action, insurance premiums could spike for millions.

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2. Trump’s UN Speech and Sudden Ukraine Policy Flip

• UN General Assembly:

  • Trump delivers a long, unscripted, grievance-filled speech—four times over his allotted schedule (03:02).
  • Mocked the UN and global climate action:
    • “The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions...” — Donald Trump (03:19)
  • Railed against immigration; makes false claims about Sharia law in the West (03:28–03:52).

• Foreign Reception:

  • Despite open antagonism toward the UN, Trump drew global leaders seeking private meetings—including Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (04:31).

• Sudden shift on Ukraine:

  • Before: Trump insisted for months that Ukraine would “have to give up land to Russia.”
  • Now: Trump signals Ukraine can “win all of Ukraine back in its original form,” catching allies—including Zelensky—off guard (04:48–05:13).
    • “A little bit.” — Volodymyr Zelensky, when asked if he was surprised by Trump’s statement (04:48).
  • International reaction:
    • David Sanger: Allies see the move as a possible attempt by Trump to “wash his hands of the entire war and say, ‘I tried to bring peace. I can’t bring peace. You guys go fight it out.’” (05:24)
    • European officials question whether Trump’s motives are genuine or a play to distance himself and possibly reset relations with Russia.

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3. Jimmy Kimmel’s Defiant Return and FCC Fallout

• Kimmel’s comeback:

  • Jimmy Kimmel resumes his late-night show after a network pause, though 20% of ABC affiliates (including those aligned with Sinclair) refuse to air it (06:26).
  • Addresses controversy:
    • “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.” — Jimmy Kimmel, in an emotional apology (06:43)
    • Speaks out against pressure from the Trump administration:
      • “A government threat to silence a comedian the President doesn’t like is anti-American. That’s anti-American.” — Jimmy Kimmel (07:15)

• FCC Chairman stands firm:

  • Brendan Carr: Suggests the FCC could take regulatory action over Kimmel’s statements, raising bipartisan free speech concerns (07:42).
  • Cecilia Kang, NYT reporter:
    • Explains Carr’s strategy to “correct imbalances” in media, targeting shows like The View for “bias” and defending his aggressive approach on conservative media (08:02).

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4. Other Headlines

• Assassination Attempt Trial:

  • The man who plotted to kill Trump found guilty; the trial spotlighted questions about Secret Service protocols after multiple attempts on the President’s life (08:40).

• San Francisco’s Robot Fight Club:

  • Underground, ticketed robot boxing matches are gaining popularity among the city’s tech-obsessed youth.
  • Tech entrepreneur: “It felt like something that should be happening in like 2040.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“He’s made the case that voters have seen what Republicans' agenda is… and that voters don’t like it and want Democrats to push back and fight for them on things like health care.”
— Katie Edmondson, Capitol Hill correspondent (01:50)

“The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions to…”
— Donald Trump, UN speech (03:19)

“A little bit.”
— Volodymyr Zelensky, on being surprised by Trump’s Ukraine policy reversal (04:48)

“A government threat to silence a comedian the President doesn’t like is anti-American. That's anti-American.”
— Jimmy Kimmel, late-night monologue (07:15)

“He has suggested that ABC's daytime talk show The View should be investigated for being too biased.”
— Cecilia Kang, media correspondent, on FCC interventions (08:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Government Shutdown Update – 00:45–02:16
• Trump at the UN / Ukraine Flip – 03:02–06:15
• Jimmy Kimmel’s Return / FCC controversy – 06:15–08:40
• Assassination Attempt Trial – 08:40–09:36
• San Francisco Robot Fight Club – 09:36–End

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Episode Tone

The reporting strikes an urgent, analytical tone, blending policy breakdowns, political analysis, and cultural commentary. Direct quotes and present-tense recaps capture the energy of the day’s confrontations—on the Hill, at the UN, and on late-night TV.

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This summary reflects the major content of the episode and the nuances in the day’s top stories, providing context and key quotes for listeners who may have missed the episode.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, September 24th. Here's what we're covering.

[C]

This is Katie Edmondson reporting from Washington. And right now we are days away from a government shutdown barring any major changes here on Capitol Hill.

[D]

By refusing to even sit down with Democrats, Donald Trump is causing the shutdown. This is a Trump shutdown work.

[B]

If the government is shut down, it.

[D]

Will solely be blamed on Democrats because.

[B]

We'Re not playing politics with this at all.

[C]

This probably sounds pretty familiar to you because we were in a similar situation back in March, but it feels very different this time.

[B]

President Trump has canceled a meeting at the White House where he was supposed to talk with top Democratic leaders about a compromise to keep the government running right now. Funding set to run out. On Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that he decided the talks would not be productive, escalating a standoff with Senate Democrats whose votes Republicans need to pass a spending bill. Katie says while Democrats felt the need to compromise back in March to avoid the chaos and hardship of a shutdown, right now they're standing their ground.

[C]

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, has made the case that they're in a very different position now. He's made the case that voters have seen what Republicans agenda is. They're seeing the impacts of that so called big beautiful bill and that voters don't like it and want Democrats to push back and fight for them on things like health care. Democrats are saying if you want our votes, you have to sit down and negotiate with us.

[B]

The big demand Democrats are making in exchange for their cooperation is to reverse cuts to Medicaid and other health programs that Republicans made over the summer. They also say Congress must extend health insurance subsidies that are part of Obamacare. Without that extension, millions of Americans premiums will go up next year. Some could even double. At the United nations yesterday, the assembly will hear an address by his Excellency Donald Trump, President, President of the United States of America. President Trump addressed the UN General assembly in a scathing and meandering speech that went on nearly four times longer than his allotted speaking slot.

[E]

All I got from the United nations was an escalator that on the way up stopped right in the middle. If the first lady wasn't in great.

[B]

Shape, she would have fallen from the get go. Trump aired a list of grievances from complaining about an escalator that shut down and his malfunctioning teleprompter.

[E]

The carbon footprint is a hoax made up by people with evil intentions to.

[B]

Ripping the UN's efforts to address climate change.

[E]

The number one political issue of our time, the crisis of uncontrolled migration. It's uncontrolled. Your countries are being ruined.

[B]

Trump also told the gathering of world leaders that their countries were, quote, going to hell and falling apart because of their immigration policies. And he falsely claimed that Muslim leaders in the west were planning to institute Sharia.

[E]

Proud nations must be allowed to protect their communities and prevent their societies from being overwhelmed by people they have never seen before. With different customs, religions, with different everything.

[B]

Trump's speech underscored the hostile approach his administration has taken towards the un pulling the US out of the organization's Human Rights Council and clawing back a billion dollars in funding. But despite his open digs at the UN and at many member countries, after his speech, a number of world leaders rush rushed to try and get one on one meetings with Trump. One of those meetings was with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

[E]

You know, I know your staff read the post from President Trump, but in part he said this. I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back in its original form. Are you surprised to hear that?

[D]

A little bit.

[B]

After their sit down, Trump made a dramatic 180 on his policy towards the war in Ukraine, which even Zelensky was not expecting. After months of insisting that the country would have to give up land to Russia as part of a peace deal that he himself would help broker, Trump suddenly shifted, saying without explanation that he thought Ukraine could retake its territory.

[F]

It's hard to know how permanent this policy change is.

[B]

My colleague David Sanger, a Times White House correspondent, has been talking to Ukraine's allies about what they make of this shift.

[F]

The Europeans, on the one hand, welcome the fact that the President isn't about to go force President Zelensky to give up territory. But they do wonder about the President's motives. Some of them think he simply wants to wash his hands of the entire war and say, I tried to bring peace. I can't bring peace. You guys go fight it out. In fact, at the end of his Truth Social, he said, I wish you both well. Some believe that in fact what he wants to do is back away enough to say that he's basically a neutral player here and try to reopen relations with Russia. We don't know if that's his long term plan, but certainly the Europeans believe it is.

[D]

Welcome back to Jimmy Kimmel Live. We are still on the air in most of the country, except, ironically, for Washington, D.C. where we have been preempted. We are off the air in Nashville, New Orleans, Portland.

[B]

Jimmy Kimmel made a highly anticipated return to TV last night with his late night show's first episode back since it was paused by network executives a week ago. Notably, the show still didn't air on about 20% of local ABC stations, including those run by the conservative media giant Sinclair.

[D]

But I do want to make something clear because it's important to me as a human, and that is, you understand that it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.

[B]

In a sometimes emotional monologue, Kimmel said he understood why his comments about the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk, which set off outrage among conservatives, was were, quote, ill timed or unclear or maybe both. But he spoke out forcefully against what he said was an attempt by the Trump administration to censor him.

[D]

Look, I never imagined I would be in a situation like this. I barely paid attention in school. The one thing I did learn from Lenny Bruce and George Carlin and Howard Stern is that a government threat to silence a comedian the President doesn't like is anti American. That's anti American.

[G]

Even with Jimmy Kimmel's return to the airwaves, the FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, is feeling resolute and emboldened.

[B]

My colleague Cecilia Kong's been covering how the head of the Federal Communications Commission fueled the Kimmel controversy by suggesting his agency could take federal action over Kimmel's on air comments. Democrats and even some Republicans argued Carr was threatening free speech. But Cecilia says he's not backing down.

[G]

He feels like this is all part of a long strategy he's had to try to correct imbalances that he sees in the mainstream media and specifically broadcast television with programming that comes from networks that are, in his view, liberal. He has suggested that ABC's daytime talk show the View should be investigated for being too biased. And he has been on various cable shows and radio shows defending his actions and saying that really he's not going anywhere and that there's more to come.

[B]

In Florida, the man who plotted to kill President Trump last year and was discovered hiding in the bushes near one of his golf courses with a semi automatic rifle, was found guilty yesterday of attempted assassination. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Ryan Ruth chose to represent himself, which turned the rare trial of a would be presidential assassin into even more of a spectacle. At one point the judge tried to explain certain rules of evidence and Ruth said, I have no clue what that means. Ruth was a building contractor who moved around a lot. According to prosecutors, he lived out of his car for weeks while he cased Trump's golf course and looked up his schedule of campaign events online. He left a note with his friend that said, quote, dear world, this was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I failed you. He was arrested just two months after another attempt on Trump's life in Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear. The back to back close calls raised questions about the performance of the Secret Service. And finally recently in San Francisco, a crowd poured in on a Friday night, clamoring for a spot around an underground boxing ring. It cost 100 bucks just to get in the door. The audience was roaring. The referee was slapping the mat. The contestants who were kind of lurching around the ring were robots. The organized robot fight featured humanoid robots about the size of a third grader and with about the same amount of coordination and dexterity. The Face off, which we'll repeat this weekend, is the latest in a surge of live events in San Francisco aimed at drawing in the city's very young, very techy crowds. The Bay Area has always been a tech mecca, but young people who work in AI and robotics specifically are now pouring in. And event organizers hope they need a break from their screens every once in a while. A tech entrepreneur who works in robotics, he focuses on robots that inspect vineyards, said watching the fight felt like the future, saying it felt like, quote, something that should be happening in like 2040. Those are the headlines today on the Daily how the president and his inner circle are making millions through business deals that intersect with America's national security interests. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.