Morning Wire - Biden Approval & Texas School Shooting | 5.25.22

Episode Date: May 25, 2022

A mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas leaves at least 19 children and at least one teacher dead, President Biden’s approval drops among Democrats, the World Health Organization considers a controversial global pandemic treaty, and the White House addresses conflicting messaging on China and Taiwan. Get the facts first on Morning Wire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Americans put more importance on the economy, two new polls show President Biden's approval numbers have fallen again to record lows. Especially concerning, the president is losing support among Democrats. What we're seeing is a return to the 1970s Jimmy Carter malaise on almost every single issue. We have the numbers and what they mean for the midterms. I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, May 25th, and this is Morning Wire. The World Health Organization is meeting this week in its concerns. considering a controversial proposal, a global treaty to handle future pandemics.

But what would that treaty mean for American autonomy? It doesn't just give the World Health Organization control over a pandemic. It allows them to call out a potential or actual health emergency. And there's been mixed messaging coming out of the White House about the U.S. policy toward Taiwan. How are Taiwan and China reacting to the president's comments? And before we get to those stories, a tragic developing story in Uvaldi, Texas, where a mass shooting at Rob Elementary School on Tuesday left at least 18 children and two adults dead. The 18-year-old suspect, a student at a nearby high school, is also dead.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott addressed the tragedy on Tuesday. He shot and killed horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher. He himself is deceased. President Biden spoke about the shooting Tuesday evening, calling for lawmakers to, quote, turn this pain into action on gun control. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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and get two pounds of free American Wagyu burgers and free shipping added to your order. Just use code wire at good ranchers.com slash wire. Good Ranchers, American Meat delivered. As fears of a looming recession continue amid record inflation and market sell-offs, President Biden's approval ratings have reached new lows. Here with more on all the polling

and how Democrat voters are contributing to the latest dip as Daily Wire's senior editor Cabot Phillips. So Cabot will get into the issues at play here, but first, give us the top line. How low have these numbers dropped? Well, according to the Associated Press, just 39% of Americans approve of the job President Biden is doing. That is the lowest point the AP has recorded since he took office. It also signals a six point drop since last month alone and a 24% drop since this time last year when he was at 63%. And just as important, the poll also found that only 20% of voters say the country is moving in the right direction.

This time last year, that number was 54%. And it's not just that one associated press poll either. NPR released a similar poll of their own and found the exact same results last week with just 39% approving of Biden's job. So a dramatic decline across the board. And consistent with multiple polls. Exactly. Let's get into some of the specific issues.

Where do voters approve and disapprove of the president's performance? Yeah, it's more bad news there. On the biggest issue from midterms, the economy, voters disapprove of Biden's performance by a two to one margin. And even more drastically, just 18% of Americans say his policies have helped the economy,

while 51% say they have directly hurt the economy. And if you look closer, even among Democrats, just 37% say he's helped the economy within his own party. We've also seen poor Marx on immigration with just 38% approving of his job there, while 45% approve of his handling of Russia relations. As you noted there, one of the things that's really jumping out here

is the president's approval within his own party. Tell us more about that. So it might not be as concerning for the president, politically speaking, if it was just Republican voters who didn't approve of him. But that's not what we're seeing. While Republican disapproval of the president is holding steady at around 90, 95%. Some of the biggest drops in approval were actually concentrated among Democrat voters. And that is much more concerning. For context, throughout 2021, his approval with Democrats never dropped below 82%.

Today, it's at just 73%. one in four Democrats now disapprove of their party's president. That is significant for a variety of reasons. The poll also found that just 33% of Democrats say the country is on the right path. Back in April, just a month ago, that number was up at 49%. And it's also worth noting the president's dip among young voters, who've traditionally been a solid voting block for Democrats, but a recent Harvard poll found that just 41% of voters under the age of 29 approve of Biden's performance.

That is the lowest mark among young voters for any Democrat president, in more than three decades. And about the same for the population overall. How does this all play into the midterms? Yeah, traditionally an unpopular president will deplete turnout for the party in power and obviously increased turnout for the other side. And based on the data we're seeing regarding voter attitudes, that's good news for Republicans. Right now they hold a seven-point lead on voter enthusiasm, with 61% saying they're

extremely or very excited to vote in midterms. I should also point out that in the 10 states that have held primary so far, 60% of the votes cast have been for Republicans. Though some attribute that to certain Democrat race is having one clear frontrunner and depleting turnout, regardless, voter enthusiasm based on every metric we've got right now, is on the side of Republicans. Definitely seems that way based on all the latest numbers. We'll be tracking this all closely as November approaches. Cabot, thanks for the reporting. Anytime.

That's Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Coming up, the World Health Organization considers a controversial global treaty to handle future pandemics. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news, and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you. The World Health Organization launched its 75th World Health Assembly this week in Geneva, Switzerland. But a controversial proposal for a pandemic treaty has some American.

concerned. Joining us to discuss the treaty and what it would mean for Americans next time a pandemic breaks out is Daily Wire contributor, Dr. Humann Hamadi. So Dr. Hamadi, what do we know about this treaty? Well, what we know about the World Health Organization's pandemic treaty is that they're very interested in managing pandemics and controlling pandemics and preventing pandemics on a global level rather than on a national level. Right now, decisions have largely been made at a national level. World Health Organization has certainly had its input, but each country has had its ability to make decisions for itself. The purpose of this treaty would be to have a global umbrella, and that global umbrella would be responsible for disease surveillance, disease prevention and mitigation measures,

as well as for, and this is very controversial, potentially for distribution of vaccines and treatments, and even maybe development of vaccines and treatments. And part of their framework thus far has included concepts of equity, wherein countries and individuals may receive those treatments and vaccines, not based on need, but based on socioeconomic and demographic factors. All of that has put a lot of fear in many people in the U.S. because that could translate into lack of access for Americans, which happens to be the place that usually gets a lot of these treatments first. Now, in pragmatic terms, what kind of decisions would the who be able to make for American citizens that would have traditionally been made by the American government?

Well, you know, nothing yet has been completely finalized, but thus far they're talking about creating a global vaccine passport, potentially enabling a global vaccination mandate for any future infectious diseases that pop up. They're talking about potentially having globally made decisions based on transit and gatherings and things that, again, have been made at a national or local level. And that's what instills a lot of fear. and Americans. We're people who are accustomed to making decisions on our own, and we're people who also have had a lot of resistance to any form of mandates, especially those that inhibit our freedom to move and gather. And so to have those decisions made by people who we have not elected,

who we don't even, you know, approve of necessarily, and we have no transparent visibility into, is quite frightening for many people, including myself. Now, even if the U.S. did refuse to participate in the treaty, if other countries decided to join onto this, would that affect Americans' ability to travel internationally? For example, if they didn't have the requisite proof of vaccination that the WHO recommends? I'm glad you asked me about this. This is actually a major concern. Imagine you're an American. America hasn't signed onto this treaty. We aren't part of the global vaccine passport system. We don't have any vaccination mandates. Even if we do, they're not part of the global

verification system that is digitally tracked. All of a sudden, an American wants to travel abroad, into one of the treaty countries or treaty continents, no less, and we're told we can't until we show without proof. And that can create major friction. I think the fact, if America doesn't participate, it may mean the end of this entire treaty, because without U.S. participation, there could be major, major ramifications for the global economy,

not just public health. All right. Well, this is definitely something we're going to continue to monitor. Dr. Maddie, thanks so much for coming on and talking with us. It's my pleasure. Thanks for having me. That was pharmaceutical entrepreneur and attending physician at the University of Southern California, Dr. Humann Hamadi. President Biden said Monday that the U.S. would respond militarily if China attempts to invade Taiwan. A marked departure from decades-long U.S. policy.

Biden's remarks were immediately walked back by the White House and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Daily Wires Tim Pierce is here to tell us more. So, Tim, what is the official U.S. position on? Taiwan. Hey, Georgia. The U.S. stance towards Taiwan has been what's typically called strategic ambiguity, but the president's comments on Monday were pretty straightforward. The president traveled to Tokyo earlier this week for a summit with leaders of Australia,

India, and Japan. During a Monday press conference, Biden said the United States would use its military to defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion. The idea that it could be taken by force, just taken by force, is just not appropriate It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine. And so it's a burden that is even stronger. The White House hustled afterward to put out a statement saying U.S. policy towards Taiwan has not changed. The statement went on to claim that Biden had, quote, reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.

Defense Secretary Lord Austin made similar comments when asked about Biden's remarks. during a press conference later that day. As the president said, our one-China policy has not changed. He reiterated that policy in our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also highlighted our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to help provide Taiwan the means to defend itself. So again, our policy has not changed.

So doing some damage control, it sounds like. But the president has indicated in the president, past that these are his real feelings about the issue. Yeah, according to the Washington Post, this is the third time in the past nine months that he has made these same remarks. At a CNN town hall in October, Biden had this to say. So are you saying that the United States would come to Taiwan's defense if China attacked? Yes, we have a commitment. And here is former press secretary, Jen Saki, the next day, walking those comments back. The president was asked if the U.S. would come to Taiwan's defensive attack by China, and he said, yes, we have a commitment to

do that? Is there a shift in the most policy as it relates to Taiwan and defense agreements? Well, there has been no shift. The president was not announcing any change in our policy, nor has he made a decision to change our policy. There is no change in our policy. Now, do we have a sense of how Taiwan and China have interpreted this? Yeah, Taiwan's foreign ministry thanked Biden for the support. Chinese officials, however, issued a strong rebuke, and it should be noted that during the summit, China and Russia conducted a joint military exercise in what Japan called a provocative and unacceptable move. Here's China's foreign ministry spokesman responding to Biden's comments on Monday.

China expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the U.S. remarks. Taiwan is an in an inalienable part of Chinese territory. All right. Well, Tim, thanks so much for reporting. My pleasure. That's Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce. Other stories we're tracking this week. The FBI says its agents foiled an ISIS plot to assassinate former president George W. Bush. According to a recently unsealed FBI document, first reported by Forbes,

the suspect in Ohio-based Iraqi man who was in the U.S. through an asylum claim, recruited a team of ISIS assassins who planned to enter the country through the southern border. The suspect traveled to Dallas last year to take video around Bush's home and allegedly targeted the former president for his role in the Iraq war. And according to Ukrainian officials, 200 bodies were found in the basement of a destroyed apartment in Maripool, a city that has been devastated by Russian strikes. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and you stand with our mission, consider subscribing, leaving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.

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