Morning Wire - Debate Bias Concerns & Fundraising Battles | 6.25.24

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

Concern over CNN bias grows as both presidential candidates prep for Thursday's debate, the Trump campaign takes the lead in the fundraising race, and the Supreme Court will decide on state laws banning transgender procedure for children. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Shopify: "Get a $1 per month trial at https://www.shopify.com/morningwire" ZBiotics: "The drink before drinking with ZBiotics. Get 15% off your order with promo code WIRE at http://www.ZBiotics.com/Wire" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And sometimes, a smooth, silky latte just wins. It's exceptional but effortless. Like actually effortless. Simply press, brew, and explore. Nispresso, what else? Keep exploring at Nespresso.com. Trump and Biden take dramatically different approaches to prep for the first debate, while concerns grow about CNN rigging the event.

I pointed out statements that Jake Tapper himself has made in the past. He's allowed to say them on air, but apparently I'm not allowed to repeat them. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with guest host Carol Markowitz, host of the Carol Markowitz show. It's Tuesday, June 25th, and this is Morning Wire. A massive reversal of fortunes as the Trump. campaign for the first time takes the lead in the fundraising race. We have the strongest poll numbers we've ever had.

And I mean, the fundraising is at levels that I don't think anybody has ever seen before. And the Supreme Court says it will weigh in on the controversial topic of transgender medical procedures on children. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Is your business selling a little or a lot? Shopify helps you do your thing.

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CNN debate. And absolutely nobody will be surprised to learn that the two contenders are going about it in extremely different ways. President Biden is spending the four days leading up to the standoff in Atlanta ensconced at Camp David doing debate prep, while President Trump will spend the time out on the campaign trail. Here to discuss the dueling approaches and heightened concerns about bias at CNN as Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Hey, Dave. So let's start with President Biden. What are he and his team doing to get ready. Morning, John. When a candidate spends this much time away from the trail and fundraisers, it's a sign that they want his delivery on their core messages to be exact and precise. On offense, these issues for Biden will likely be threats to democracy and abortion, on defense,

the border, and inflation. And with no cross talk between the candidates possible because the mics can be shut off, you can really script your answers to the questions you know you're going to get. in some form the way an actor does. Now, you've got to remember your lines. Yeah. But another key part of the campaigns prep is actually a slew of over 1,600 events and digital ads to try to prime the pump on that core messaging. Also organizing things like watch parties to try to start getting what has been a somewhat

sleepy base motivated. Now, President Biden comes into this amid growing concern about his physical and mental capacities. What's the sense now of the bar he has to reach? to sort of quiet those worries. It's a good question. There's concern for a lot of Republicans that with expectations set too low than if Biden doesn't randomly start going into

Jimmy Cagney impressions, he seems like he's fine. It would take something pretty dramatic for the media as a whole to point out any senior moments, but viewers, they'll judge for themselves. And switching to the challengers' corner, what will Trump be up to over the next few days as he makes his way to Atlanta? It looks like it's just going to be

event after event. He said in Philadelphia this weekend that it's the best debate prep because the voters ask you questions. If Biden is the team coming into the contest fresh off of a bye week, Trump plans to be coming in hot out of a game seven. He'll very likely just keep saying what he says on the trail in a more bite-sized form. Now, a lot of concern is being raised this week about bias at CNN effectively rigging the debate, a viral clip about one of the debate moderators, Jake Tapper, kind of brought the point home on Monday. happened there. Yes, so Carolyn Leavitt, a Trump spokeswoman is on CNN Monday with host Cassie Hunt, and their exchange about Tapper got testy. Give it a listen. So it takes someone five minutes to Google

Jake Tapper, Donald Trump, to see that Jake Tapper has consistently consistently... We're going to stop this interview if you're going to keep attacking my colleagues. Ma'am, I'm going to stop this interview if you continue to attack my colleagues. I would like to talk about Joe Biden and Donald Trump, who you work for. Yes. If you are here to speak on his behalf, I will have this conversation. I am stating facts that your colleagues have stated in the past. Now, I'm sorry, guys. We're going to come back out to the panel. Caroline, thank you very much from your time. You are welcome to come back at any point. She is welcome to come back and speak about Donald Trump. And Donald Trump will have equal time to Joe Biden when they both join us now at next early, later this week, in Atlanta for this debate.

Trump supporters saw this as foreshadowing for what could happen to Trump. For example, with the moderators in control of those mics. And look, there is maybe some unwritten etiquette about not insulting people who work at the network you're appearing on. But in this case, Jake Tapper is very much a part of the story. CNN has exclusive rights to the debate, is enforcing its rules. They aren't just calling balls and strikes. They're throwing them, too. So it's not only legitimate, but necessary to interrogate the objectivity of the news outlet in charge, especially since, to Leavitt's point, Jake Tapper has basically said all this bad stuff and more about Trump. The dehumanizing rhetoric of Adolf Hitler is once again alive and well on a national political stage.

This time, of course, in the United States, this time given life by former president and current Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump. John, the moderators are going to have to walk a very fine line between outraging Republicans by going too hard after Trump or outraging Democrats by going to go to easy on him, which would be viewed as surrendering to the MAGA mob. It's a very big deal for a struggling CNN that now and then loses in the ratings to Bananza in prime time. They have a lot of incentive to get this right. Yeah, I might have been one of those people that was watching Bonanza. Yeah, me too. I mean, not just Thursday night, though. Right. Dave, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. While everyone's focused on the debate, another major contest is underway, fundraising. And for the first time, Donald Trump has the advantage over Joe Biden.

Here to discuss the numbers and how each side is spending its money as Daily Wire Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips. Hey, Cabot. It's a really a stunning turnaround that has major implications for this race. How are the numbers shaping up now? So looking back to 2020, Democrats and Joe Biden simply dominated when it came to fundraising. They pulled in more than $1.6 billion compared to right around a billion for Trump and Republicans. And up until recently, they had enjoyed a similar advantage. Throughout the campaign, while Trump has held a slight lead in the polls, the Biden campaign has found solace in their fundraising dominance. But in recent months, that has all changed. In April, Trump out fundraised Biden for the first time, though Biden still held the advantage when it came to cash on hand.

But according to the most recently published FEC reports, not only did Trump again out fundraised Biden by a margin of $141 million to $85 million last month, importantly, he now has more cash on hand. And latest count, the Trump war chest is $171 million, while Biden's is $157 million. So again, a dramatic shift there. What's driving this fundraising surge for Trump? Is it the conviction in Manhattan? Yeah, the short answer is yes. We're still waiting to see exactly what sort of impact it'll have on voter sentiment. But the financial impact is already clear.

If you look at the numbers in the weeks before Trump's conviction, he was bringing in about a million a day. In the 48 hours post-conviction, he brought in nearly 30 times that amount. So Trump may be livid at Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg for prosecuting him, but for all intents and purposes, Bragg might be the single greatest Republican fundraiser in history. And it's worth noting that conviction also mobilized around half a million folks who had never given to the campaign. According to the FEC, a quarter of Trump's two million donations last month came from first-time givers. That is, again, simply unheard of in modern political history. Yeah, lots of. first here for the campaign. Now, as to where this is all going, how is each candidate spending

their money? To this point, Biden has spent considerably more money than his opponent. Last month, for example, he outspent Trump by a nearly four to one margin, selling out $30 million to Trump's $8 million. He's also committed tens of millions of dollars to TV ads this coming month. So he's clearly trying to go on the offensive, which makes sense, given his lagging approval ratings and polling deficit in battleground states. Now, zooming out, historically speaking, and incumbent presidents have had a key advantage when it comes to campaign spending. They don't have to win a primary. But because Trump locked up the nomination so quickly, he has been able to spend the last

few months completely focused on Biden and importantly saving up his money for the final push. It is worth noting, however, that Trump's largest campaign expense to date has not been TV ads or campaign infrastructure. It's been legal fees. Last year, he spent nearly $50 million on lawyers and court expenses. His ongoing trials will continue to drain his campaign coffees. much to the delight of Democrats. Yeah.

Now, there's a separate fundraising battle taking place that's often being overlooked. That's the Senate and House races across the country. What's the latest there? Yeah, important to remember, control of Congress will be up for grabs in November as well. With the number of Democrats facing re-election in states that Trump is very popular. But at this point, Republican candidates are still trailing in the majority of those states. Now, from a fundraising perspective, the Democratic House and Senate committees each have more cash on hand than their Republican. counterparts. But that gap is being closed quickly. The Republican Senate

editorial committee broke records last month bringing in $12.4 million. That is the first time this cycle they've outfund-raised Democrats. So it appears the post-verdic cash infusion is making its way down ballot as well. Well, a lot at stake and a lot of money at play here. Kevin, thanks for reporting. Anytime. The Supreme Court is taking up a case on state laws that restrict medical providers from giving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and conducting other transgender procedures on children. The Biden administration is citing with the plaintiffs who want the court to overturn such bans. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now with more. Hey Megan, so next Paul Scudas term, certainly a lot more interesting. What would you say are the broad

outlines of this controversial case? So the case is U.S. v. Scrimetti, and the Scrimetti there refers to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scrimetti. So his state enacted a law that bans medical providers from administering cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries to any minor for the purpose of changing their sex. Healthcare providers who break that law risk losing their medical licenses. And to maybe get just an early sense of how Tennessee

is planning to defend its law before SCOTUS, this was what Scrimetti told Newsmax last month. We regulate health care in so many different ways to make sure that kids are getting the right treatment, to make sure that all Americans are getting appropriate treatment. There are things that are prohibited. There are things that people have to wait to do. And this is a situation where kids just aren't legally able to consent

to these lifelong consequences. They could face sterility. They could never be able to have children because of a decision they make in their childhood. And the state has every right to regulate that. Now, on the other side of the issue is a 13-year-old female who believe she's a transgender boy and was given puberty blockers. She's joined by two other children with similar histories,

and they, along with their parents and a doctor who specializes in trans-identifying children, are challenging the law because they say that these kinds of medical interventions are necessary for the children's well-being. The Biden administration joined their suit, arguing that because different appellate courts have issued different rulings on state bans all across the country, really, it's quoting from them, creating chaos across the country

for adolescents, families, and doctors. And it is fair to say that given that Tennessee is one of 22 states that restrict medical providers from administering gender transition procedures to kids, that this is going to have an impact on really almost half the country. So we've seen a lot of media criticism

of the court this term in a way that many experts have said seems designed to try to influence the outcome of the cases. Do you think we'll see that same kind of pressure again? Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that yes, we will. So recently, CNN heavily covered a left-wing activist filmmaker who secretly recorded a dinner with Justice Alito, where he said that he would like to see the nation return to godliness. Well, because of that, some Democrats, like Elizabeth Warren, are questioning his ability to be impartial, though it is worth noting that Alito's Catholicism is

well-known, so maybe shouldn't be surprising that he voices approval for godliness. And then Justice Thomas has also come in for a lot of negative coverage as well, with allegations that vacations he took with some wealthy friends who flew him on their planes and had him stay at their summer homes amounted to gifts. It's worth noting, though, that those friends have had no business before the court and such trips are actually not required to be disclosed, and liberal justices have taken some similar vacations. Certainly seems like different treatment for different justices. So, Megan, when can we expect a ruling on this case?

Yeah, it's going to be a little bit of a wait. So with the court hearing the arguments in October, we're looking at maybe late June or early July 2025 before this decision comes down. Well, hopefully some of the heated rhetoric around the court would have settled down a little by then. Maybe. Megan, thanks so much for your reporting.

Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know. With vacation, weddings, birthdays, and reunions, there's so much going on. Get the most out of your spring plans by stocking up on Zbiotics now. Zbiotics pre-alcohol probiotic is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. Zbiotics produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down.

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