Trump Suspends Immigration After Guard Attack, Holiday Economy, Retail Spending

Summary

---

Up First from NPR – Episode Summary

Date: November 28, 2025
Hosts: A Martinez
Reporters: Brian Mann, Scott Horsley, Alina Selyuk

---

Episode Overview

This episode of NPR’s Up First covers three major stories:

1. President Trump’s response to the deadly attack on National Guard members in Washington, D.C., which includes a proposed suspension of immigration from certain countries.
2. Declining consumer confidence and how Americans feel about the state of the economy heading into the holiday season.
3. The paradox of record-high expected retail spending despite economic unease.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. National Guard Attack and Trump’s Immigration Response

• [02:09] News broke that army specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, from West Virginia, died after an attack in Washington, D.C. A second Guard member remains in critical condition.
• [02:56] President Trump expressed condolences and described Beckstrom as “an incredible person in every single way.”
  • Quote (Trump, 02:56): “She’s no longer with us. She’s looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It’s just happened. She was savagely attacked. She’s dead.”
• [03:23] The alleged shooter, Rakmanula Leconwal, was an Afghan national who previously worked with U.S. forces and intelligence.
• [03:27–04:09] Leconwal had been vetted and granted asylum under U.S. programs for Afghans who assisted American operations.
• [04:13] Trump announced a plan to pause migration from "all third world countries" and ordered a review targeting immigrants from 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Venezuela.
• [05:00] FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials blamed vetting failures and political predecessors for allowing Leconwal into the country.
  • Quote (Kash Patel, 05:05): “Because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet… this individual and countless others.”
• [05:14] Reporters challenged the inadequacy narrative, pointing out that Afghan refugees underwent repeated vetting and reviews, found to be generally thorough despite imperfections.
• [05:45] Experts emphasized that the vast majority of Afghan refugees in the U.S. live peacefully.

---

2. Consumer Confidence and Economic Unease

• [05:57] The holiday season arrives as U.S. consumer confidence drops to its lowest point in seven months.
• [06:30] Factors causing unease include high prices, tariffs, and recent government dysfunction (notably a six-week shutdown).
• [06:30] A Fox News poll found three out of four Americans have a negative view of the economy, with most blaming the president.
  • Quote (VP J.D. Vance, 06:58): “We get it and we hear you and we know that there’s a lot of work to do, there’s a lot of wood to chop.”
• [07:20] Jobs data is mixed: some hiring strength, but unemployment is creeping up, and inflation remains persistent, especially after new tariffs were enacted.
• [07:23] After Republicans suffered election losses, the White House rolled back some import taxes on consumer goods.
• [08:20] The stock market is strong (Dow +9%, S&P +13% since Trump’s return) but gains favor the wealthy.
  • Quote (Fed Governor Chris Waller, 08:44): “While the booming stock market is supporting spending by a narrow band of well off consumers, it does not reflect financial conditions for most Americans and that is… a vulnerability for the economy.”
• [08:56] Spending among low and middle-income families is cautious; businesses catering to them struggle.
• [09:13] Business investment is high in artificial intelligence, raising questions about long-term returns and potential job impacts.

---

3. Holiday Retail Spending Paradox

• [09:34] Despite gloom, the National Retail Federation expects U.S. holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion for the first time.
• [10:15] NPR’s retail correspondent Alina Selyuk explains that this is partially due to retailers offering deeper discounts to entice hesitant shoppers.
  • Quote (Alina Selyuk, 10:15): “…retailers are really eager to get us to loosen up and to spend, which means they might roll out some steep sales this weekend.”
• [10:47] Americans love the holidays and, despite economic jitters, are keen for joyful experiences—driving higher spending, especially during sales events.
• [11:19] Consumer behavior has shifted: Shoppers are bargain-hunting, choosing store brands over name brands, and being selective with non-essential purchases.
  • Quote (Jessica Betancourt, store owner, 12:03): “Customers have maybe pulled back to not buy some of those add-on items… so they’re coming in and buying dog food, but maybe not buying two dog toys to go with it.”
• [12:27] The contradiction persists because most spending is driven by wealthier households; discount stores and luxury brands are thriving while mid-tier retailers struggle.
• [13:13] Despite everything, jobs are still available and wages are growing faster than inflation, fueling consumer budgets for the holiday season.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the National Guard attack:
  • President Trump: “She was savagely attacked. She’s dead.” (02:56)
• On political responsibility for the economy:
  • Vice President J.D. Vance: “There’s a lot of wood to chop.” (06:58)
• On the stock market vs. real economy:
  • Fed Governor Chris Waller: “It does not reflect financial conditions for most Americans.” (08:44)
• On changing shopping habits:
  • Jessica Betancourt: “…not buy some of those add-on items that they would have normally bought.” (12:03)

---

Important Segments & Timestamps

• [02:09] – Details on attack and victim, Sarah Beckstrom
• [02:56] – Trump’s response and public grief
• [03:27–04:09] – Alleged shooter’s background and vetting process
• [04:13] – Policy changes and review of green cards from 19 countries
• [05:00] – FBI Director blames Biden administration
• [06:30] – Consumer confidence collapse, political fallout
• [07:23] – Inflation, tariffs, and economic policy shifts
• [08:20] – Stock market performance, who benefits?
• [09:34] – Record holiday retail projections
• [10:15] – Retailers’ strategy: Deeper discounts
• [11:19] – Shoppers’ selective spending habits
• [12:27] – Divergence in spending: who buys what, and where?

---

Summary in a Nutshell

This Up First episode confronts the shock of a deadly National Guard attack and the political reaction—President Trump moves to sharply restrict immigration from multiple countries. Meanwhile, a “tale of two economies” emerges: Consumer confidence is shaky due to inflation, tariffs, and government dysfunction, yet overall holiday retail spending is on pace to set records, mostly driven by wealthier Americans. For most, economic caution is the new reality—bargain hunting, scaling back extras, but not sacrificing the joy of the holiday season.

---

Transcript

[A]

One of the two National Guard members shot allegedly by an Afghan man in Washington, D.C. has died. In response, President Trump says he wants to permanently suspend immigration from certain countries. We'll hear which ones could be affected. I'm A. Martinez, and this is up first from NPR News. With the holiday season in full swing, consumer confidence in the US has dropped to its lowest level in months. High prices, tariffs and the recent government shutdown have all contributed to these feelings, and many blame the president and his administration. We get it and we hear you, and we know that there's a lot of work to do. There's a lot of wood to chop. Yet despite these worries about the economy, retail sales this holiday season are expected to top $1 trillion for the first time. So how do those two things square up together? Stay with us. We'll give you all the news you need to start your day.

[B]

This message comes from Saatva, official mattress and restorative sleep provider for Team usa. Over the years, technique changes like the spinning start to the shot put and flip turns in swimming have led to far better results. But it wasn't until recently that athletes started embracing quality sleep as a means to improve performance. You can benefit from quality sleep, too. Visit saatva.com NPR and save up to $625 support for NPR.

[C]

And the following message come from NBC News, a news source that brings clarity to the stories that matter by asking tough questions and holding every fact up to the light coverage that steadies stories that connect NBC News reporting for America. This message comes from Schwab at Schwab, how you invest is your choice, not theirs. That's why when it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices. You can invest and trade on your own, plus get advice and more comprehensive wealth solutions to help meet your unique needs. With award winning service, low costs and transparent advice, you can manage your wealth your way at Schwab. Visit schwab.com to learn more.

[A]

One of the National Guard members shot during an attack Wednesday in the nation's capital has died. Sarah Beckstrom was 20 years old. In the wake of this violence, the Trump administration is also launching a sweeping reexamination of thousands of refugees and migrants allowed into the US and given green cards. The move targets legal residents from Afghanistan and at least 18 other countries. NPR's Brian Mann joins us now. Brian, first tell us about Sarah Beckstrom.

[D]

Yeah. She was an army specialist from Somersville, West Virginia. She joined the service in 2023. And speaking last night, President Trump described her as an incredible person in every single way. He made the announcement. Bextrom had died during a conference call with military leaders.

[A]

She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now. Her parents are with her. It's just happened. She was savagely attacked. She's dead.

[D]

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrissey said Beckstrom showed strength and character that defined the very best of the West Virginia national guard. A second guard member, 24 year old Andrew Wolf, is still in critical condition after undergoing surgery. And Trump said last night that Wolf is fighting for his life.

[A]

Okay, now about the alleged gunman. Any clues on why?

[D]

We don't know. A motive for this attack. Federal officials say Rakmanula Leconwal drove across the US from his residence in Washington State, then allegedly attacked these Guard members with a handgun. Laconwal served in Afghanistan alongside US Forces. A non profit group that works with refugees called Afghan Evac issued a statement saying leconwell was part of an elite counterterrorism group that had ties to the CIA. Yesterday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe confirmed was allowed into the US And I'm quoting here, due to his prior work with the US Government, including the CIA. He applied for asylum in the Biden years and was granted asylum protection in April of this year under the Trump administration.

[A]

And President Trump has had a lot to say about immigration policy.

[D]

Absolutely. President Trump posted yesterday on social media that he plans to pause migration into the US from what he described as all third world countries. He called for an effort to decide, denaturalize migrants and deport foreign nationals. In a separate statement posted on social media, John Edlow, head of U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services, said he's launching a full scale rigorous examination of every green card for aliens from every country of concern that appears to target 19 countries that include Afghanistan, but also completely unrelated countries like Haiti, Sierra Leone and Venezuela. The Trump administration's narrative here appears to be that leconwell was allowed into the US without proper vetting, suggesting this could be a widespread problem. Here's FBI Director Kash Patel speaking yesterday.

[A]

This individual is in this country for.

[D]

One reason and one reason alone.

[A]

Because of the disastrous withdrawal from the Biden administration and the failure to vet.

[D]

Anyway in any way, shape or form.

[A]

This individual and countless others.

[D]

But sources including that nonprofit group Afghan Evac have told NPR that Leconwal would have been scrutinized repeatedly in Afghanistan and also before coming to the U.S. experts say refugees allowed into the U.S. were vetted and that process was later audited by the FBI and other agencies. They found it to be an imperfect but thorough and competent review process. And experts also point out the fact that the majority of refugees from Afghanistan are living in the U.S. peacefully.

[A]

That's NPR's Brian Mann. Brian, thanks.

[D]

Thanks so much.

[A]

Now that the Thanksgiving table has been cleared, retailers have their eye on Christmas, but a lot of shoppers are a little uneasy this year. A report this week from the Federal Reserve suggested consumer spending had dipped since the last Fed meeting in October. Only wealthy shoppers are spending money with abandon. NPR Scott Horsley is here to sort out the good, the bad and the lingering question marks in today's economy. Scott? Okay, so we've heard from lots of people who aren't feeling too thankful about the economic situation right now. So is that rumble being felt and heard at the White House?

[E]

It is. Consumer confidence has dropped to its lowest level in seven months. There's a lot of grumbling about high prices, tariffs and political dysfunction in the wake of the six week government shutdown. And that gloomy sentiment is weighing on the president's approval rating. A Fox News poll last week found three out of four people have an negative view of the economy and most blame the president. That does have the administration on the defensive. In an interview with Breitbart last week, Vice President J.D. vance urged people to be patient.

[A]

My message to the American people who are still feeling like things are unaffordable, who are still feeling like things are rough out there is, look, we get it and we hear you and we know that there's a lot of work to do, there's a lot of wood.

[E]

To chop, but there's not a lot of faith right now that patience is going to pay off. In that consumer confidence survey, people across the political spectrum said they think economic conditions will be worse six months from now, not better.

[A]

Wow. Worse, not better. What are people worried about?

[E]

Well, partly it's the job market. You know, the jobs report we got last week was not terrible. It showed hiring in September was stronger than expected, but it also showed hiring in July and August was weaker than we had thought. And the unemployment rate has been creeping up. Of course, the other big worry is the cost of living. You know, beef prices are up, electricity prices are up, inflation has been steadily climbing since the president announced his worldwide tariffs back in April. You know, after Republicans took a beating in the election earlier this month, we actually got a tacit admission from the White House that tariffs do raise prices. The administration agreed to roll back some of its import taxes on things like coffee and bananas. Right now, policymakers at the Federal Reserve are divided over which of these two things is the bigger concern, the softening job market or stubborn inflation?

[A]

Scott, the president loves to tout and talk about the stock market hit record highs this year. But I've always wondered what the stock market has to do with the actual economy.

[E]

Well, that's a good question. The stock market is doing well even with some of the recent ups and downs. Stocks are up for the year. The Dow is up more than 9% since Trump went back to the White House. The S and P is up more than 13%. But most of those gains flow to the wealthiest Americans who own the lion's share of stocks. Fed Governor Chris Waller says wealthy people are also doing the lion's share of the spending right now.

[A]

While the booming stock market is supporting.

[C]

Spending by a narrow band of well off consumers, it does not reflect financial conditions for most Americans and that is.

[A]

A vulnerability for the economy.

[E]

We've been hearing from a lot of restaurants and retailers that low and middle income families are much more cautious about their spending right now, which is of course a challenge for those businesses. And because personal spending is such a big part of gdp, it could be a challenge for the broader economy as well.

[A]

All right, so that's personal spending. What about business spending?

[E]

Businesses are spending a ton of money in one area and that's artificial intelligence that is propping up gdp. But some skeptics are starting to wonder if all that massive investment's ever going to pay off and if it does, whose jobs might be eliminated in the process.

[A]

That's NPR's Scott Horsley. Scott, thanks.

[E]

You're welcome.

[A]

Today is Black Friday, and with consumer sentiment the lowest in months, there's an unusual juxtaposition happening with spending. The National Retail Federation says sales this holiday season will top $1 trillion for the first time in how do those two things square with each other? To answer that, we've got NPR's Alina Selyuk here to tell us. Alina, you're a retail correspondent. This has got to be like the Super Bowl.

[F]

For a football reporter, it's a pretty big day. I am also looking forward to tomorrow.

[A]

Tomorrow? Wait, wait, why tomorrow is that when people stop asking you about all the Black Friday great deals, are you going.

[F]

To ask me that?

[A]

Yes, the script says I must ask you that, so go ahead.

[F]

I'm so glad you asked. I would say that this year generally discounts are expected to be deeper than in the past. And it's actually exactly because of what you said earlier that shoppers are not feeling so hot about the economy and their financial prospects. And so retailers are really eager to get us to loosen up and to spend, which means they might roll out some steep sales this weekend. Next.

[A]

Perfect. Now we started with some good news. Now to that big question. How is it that people are both anxious about the future and also planning to spend more than ever? That kind of doesn't seem to square up.

[E]

Well.

[F]

You might think it's just because of higher prices, but these forecasts suggest people are planning to shop more, too. And one reason is actually simple. It's that people love the holidays. We saw this with record setting Halloween sales. Talking to shoppers, I kept hearing how people just wanted to have this joy this time with family, a reprieve from worrying about inflation and tariffs and the government shutdown. But to be clear, I do want to say that spending we're seeing now is not like the free for all we were seeing during the pandemic. With those stimulus dollars, shoppers are really focused on getting the best deal.

[A]

Yep, I'd rather get two pairs of sneakers than one if I can get a good deal.

[B]

Right?

[A]

I mean, so is it like buying stuff on sale? Is that kind of what is going on?

[F]

That's. Yeah, that's definitely a big part of it. We've also seen it at the grocery store. Like people really rejecting higher prices on name brands, snacks and sauces. This has been a huge year for store brands. And another example is this clear hesitancy to throw that one more thing into your basket. Like, here's an example I heard from Jessica Betancourt. She runs Clems General store in Massachusetts. Customers have maybe pulled back to not buy some of those add on items that they would have normally bought. So they're coming in and buying dog food, but maybe not buying two dog toys to go with it. So maybe for the holiday that means fewer stocking stuffers or also a lot fewer treat yourself kind of gifts this year. Like, normally I would buy hand creams for women in my family and this year actually skipped buying myself one like I usually do.

[A]

I would normally buy a velvet tracksuit, but, you know, I need to have.

[F]

One over here now.

[A]

Okay, so you're scaling back. Overall though, we're spending a record amount of money. Are we back at that contradiction that we were kind of talking about?

[F]

I think we are. And the key here is who is doing the shopping. Most of the spending has been propped up by wealthier people while others are trying to tighten their budgets. So you see these two things happening at the same time. You see discount stores like TJ Maxx and Dollar General doing really well, but so is Coach on the higher end and Ralph Lauren, which is luxury. And overall, experts will point out what's happening is that for now, people have jobs, unemployment is not skyrocketing and wages have been growing faster than inflation. And that's where people are getting their budgets for the holidays. I think there might be crowds at the mall this weekend, so you should start thinking about the velvet tracksuit now.

[A]

Oh, I never stop thinking about it. It's NPR's Alina Selyuk. Alita, thanks a lot.

[C]

Thank you.

[A]

And that's up first for Friday, November 28th. I'm Emartinez. Do you sometimes find yourself endlessly scrolling on your podcast app trying to decide what to listen to next? Well, we can help.

[B]

We want to be your stand in friend to really pick some of the gems that might not be ones that pop up on your feed but are still really worth a listen. They're the episodes that make you want to take the long way home right.

[A]

This weekend on the Sunday Story. Lauren Gonzalez from NPR's Pod Club newsletter has some recommendations for your next great podcast Listen. That's this weekend right here in Up First. Today's episode of Up first was edited by Jerry Holmes, Julia Redpath, Emily Kopp, H.J. mai and Alice Wolfley. It was produced by Ziad Buch, Nia Dumas and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Andy Huether. Our technical director is Stacey Abbott. Our executive producer is Jay Shailer. Join us again on Monday.

[B]

This message comes from the Council for Interior Design Qualification. Interior designer and CIDQ President Siyavash Madani explains the value of having an NCIDQ certification.

[D]

An NCIDQ certified interior designer must complete a minimum of six years of specialized education and work experience and pass the three part NCIDQ exam. All three exams emphasize and focus on health, safety and welfare of the occupants. It's really about the implementation of design. Good design is never just about aesthetics. It's about intention, safety and impact. We take the responsibility of protecting the public seriously. A space needs to be functional, safe and accessible.

[B]

To learn more about NCIDQ certification or to hire a Certified Designer, visit CIDQ.org NPR this message comes from Carvana. The Carvana Value Tracker shows you your car's worth. Check it anytime, track changes and sell when the timing feels right. Use Carvana Value Tracker to track your car's value today. This message comes from NPR sponsor Shopify. Start selling with Shopify today. Whether you're a garage entrepreneur or IPO ready, Shopify is the only tool you need to start, run and grow your business without the struggle. Go to shopify.com npr.