Morning Wire - Evening Wire: Europe’s Glacial Response & Tax Cuts Tested | 4.15.26

Episode Date: April 15, 2026

Trump Accounts seem to be off to a strong start—just in time for Tax Day, European leaders lay post-war plans to police the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. Border Czar fires back at the Catholic Church over immigration. Get the facts first with Evening Wire. - - - Ep. 2735 - - - Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3  - - - Today’s Sponsor: Balance of Nature - Join hundreds of thousands of customers in one simple routine that’s changing the world. Go to https://BalanceofNature.com to subscribe and save over 30% today.  - - - Privacy Policy: ⁠https://www.dailywire.com/privacy⁠ morning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump accounts seem to be off to a strong start just in time for tax day. European leaders lay post-war plans to police the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. border czar fires back at the Catholic Church over immigration. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley. It's Wednesday, April 15th, and this is Evening Wire. The White House touted the impact of Trump's working family's tax cuts today as Americans across the country are filing their returns. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt laid out the benefit.

this morning. More than 53 million filers claimed at least one of President Trump's signature new tax cuts. The average refund this filing season is more than $3,400. The Trump administration has issued more refunds in larger refunds than in any year of the history of our country. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson and SBA Administrator Kelly Loughler joined Levitt for the announcement. Here's Bessent on the early success for the new Trump accounts. We have had Five million families file for Trump accounts for their children. 1.2 million of those are eligible for the $1,000 seed bonus. So we look forward to that picking up more and more.

For those of you who haven't done it, it's easy to remember. Form 45, 47. You can do it while you're filing your taxes. You can do it at any point during the year. The accounts will officially launch on July 4th. Accounts for kids born from 2025 to 2028 will receive a one-state, $1,000 seed investment from the Treasury Department. The accounts act similar to an IRA, with families able to contribute a maximum of $5,000 per year. President Trump says the conflict with Iran is, quote,

very close to over. Here's a clip from an interview this morning on Fox Business Mornings with Maria. I had to divert because if I didn't do that, right now you would have Iran with a nuclear weapon. And if they had a nuclear weapon, you would be calling everybody over there, sir. And you don't want to do that. Post Maria Barteromo pressed Trump saying, quote, you keep saying was, is this war over? I think it's close to over. Yeah. I mean, I view it as very close to over. The president added that if he, quote, pulled back right now, it would take around 20 years to rebuild, though he also said, quote, we're not finished yet. This comes after the military

released an audio recording of one of the warnings given by U.S. Navy ships enforcing the blockade. Here's a bit of that. Turn around and prepare it be boarded. If you do not comply with this blockade, he will use force. The whole of the United States Navy is ready to force. After weeks of pressure from the Trump administration, leaders in Europe are putting together a broad coalition of countries to police the Hormuz Strait.

Daily Wire Foreign Affairs reporter Cassie Akiva has more. The European plan would include sending military vessels and minesweepers to the street to reopen and protect shipping lanes. It may also include Germany, which has faced high hurdles to overseas military involvement since the Second World War, but has deeper pockets than most of the other expected major players. One notable absence, the plan will be the U.S. French President Emmanuel Macron said this week that, quote,

belligerence in the current conflict, which includes the U.S., Israel, and Iran, will be excluded. The French president and UK Prime Minister Kyr Starmer are expected to lead dozens of countries in an online conference to discuss plans for the Strait of Hormuz after the war ends. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to block shipping beyond the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. continues its blockade on Iranian ports. IRGC leader, Major General Ali Abdallah, he said Iranian forces would attempt to block, quote, any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea. Abdullahi said any move by the U.S. to create insecurity for Iranian shipping vessels would,

quote, constitute a prelude to a violation of the ceasefire. U.S. borders are Tom Homan fired back at high-ranking clergy who appeared on 60 minutes and criticized the Trump administration's immigration policies. Daily Wire Immigration reporter Jenny Tehr has the story. The clergy members called ICE, quote, a lawless organization that, quote, violates guarantees of our Constitution to terrify people. Homan, who is a lifelong Catholic himself, warned the church to, quote, stay out of immigration, arguing that religious leaders lack of foundational understanding of the atrocities occurring at the border.

I'm not going to speak for the president. I'm speaking for myself, a lifelong Catholic. I wish they stay out of immigration. They don't know what they're talking about. Because if they wore my shoes for 40 years and talked to a nine-year-old little girl that I'd rate multiple times or stood in the back with a tractor trailer and 19 dead aliens at my feet,

including a five-year-old boy that baked to death, I think their opinion would change. Illegal immigration is not a victimist crime. Trump had the most secure border in the lifetime of this nation right now. Be saving thousands of lives a year because he had secure border. Erica Kirk was forced to skip a Turning Point USA event Tuesday night that featured VP J.D. Vance

after what organizers described as very serious threats against her. Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has more. The vice president addressed Erica Kirk's absence at the start of the event, saying he spoke with the Secret Service and ultimately told Kirk to, quote, do what she needs to do for herself and her family. A TPUSA official told the Daily Wire late Tuesday that the organization's security had been monitoring threats to Kirk in the days leading up to the Georgia event. Kirk's travel location was doxed in numerous times and people were trying to track her arrival and departure, the official said, noting that there were multiple direct threats against Kirk herself specifically.

The official told the Daily Wire, quote, the event venue itself was fine, especially once VP was on site, but it was the travel portion that was of chief concern. Her children are one parent away from being orphans, and so we take securities assessments and advice seriously. Meanwhile, Vance took a moment at the event to slam those who've unfairly criticized Erica. You know, she's trying to make sure that Charlie's legacy doesn't die. And in that context, everybody is attacking her over everything and they're lying about her. And it's one of the most disgraceful things that I've ever seen in public life.

I was there with her. I was holding her hand. My wife was hugging her while we loaded Charlie's body onto Air Force 2 and said the Lord's prayer. that people telling you that Erica wasn't grieving her husband are full of shit. And we need to be honest about that fact. This episode is sponsored by Balance of Nature. Does anyone else feel like nutrition is getting way too complicated? We used to just eat food.

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and their phytonutrients in a simple, consistent routine. They even rolled out brand new freeze-dried snacks that go through a similar process so you're not trading convenience for quality. My family and I can't get enough of Balance of Nature's freeze-dried strawberries. They're super tasty and super convenient. Save over 30% when you subscribe at balance of nature.com. Join the hundreds of thousands of customers in one simple routine that's changing the world. The state of Virginia has joined a growing list of states giving away their electoral votes for president to the winner of the national popular vote. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan has the details.

Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB-965 into law, entering her state into the national popular vote interstate compact. The move sparked outrage across the state as critics said the law threatens to make Virginians votes for President, Noel, and Void. The Compact is a coalition of blue states that would like the Electoral College abolished and a national vote system implemented to choose the president. Defenders of the current constitutional framework say such a system would unfairly favor urban interests and give deep blue cities overwhelming control over the presidential elections. Artemis 2 was a huge success, but NASA says its goal of putting humans on the moon by 2028 will still be a huge challenge. The first Artemis flight originally scheduled for 2016 faced multiple long delays, which delayed the project series. Now NASA is hoping to make up for lost time with rapid development. The 28 deadline is in part motivated by China's stated goal of putting humans on the moon by 2030,

but the U.S. now working toward being the first nation to establish a lunar base. According to NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, the strategy is now increasing launch rates to quickly troubleshoot the problems. Amazon is also reaching for the stars by acquiring satellite operator Global Star in a deal valued at $11 billion. Here's Daily Wire's senior editor Joel Needler. The deal marks a major push into the fast-growing space communications market and intensifies competition with SpaceX Starlink.

The acquisition folds Global Stars assets, infrastructure, and spectrum rights into and Amazon's satellite broadband effort known as Project Leo, which aims to deliver direct-to-device connectivity for phones, aircraft, and other users. Amazon plans to begin rolling out its own service in 2028 pending regulatory approval, but it currently trails Starlink, which has roughly 9,000 satellites in orbit. The deal strengthens Amazon's position overall as several tech giants race to build global space-based internet networks. Controversial looks-maxer clavicular was rushed to the hospital last night. Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Amanda Harding has the story. 20-year-old looks-maxing influencer Braden Peters, better known as clavicular, appeared to overdose

during a live stream Tuesday night while visibly impaired. Peter shared an update Wednesday morning, confirming that he was home. He posted on X that the incident was brutal and said, quote, all of the substances are just a cope, trying to feel neurotypical while being in public. But obviously that isn't a real solution. The incident follows recent controversy, including his walking out of a 60 Minutes Australia interview over questions linking looks maxing to in-cell culture and his associations with Andrew Tate. And is Lulu Lemon using forever chemicals in its products? Daily Wire Lifestyle reporter Lauren Bear has more.

The state of Texas is launching a formal investigation into Lulu Lemon. The investigation will specifically examine whether Lulu Lemon's products contain P-Fest that consumers would not reasonably expect based on the company's marketing. Per and polyfluoral alcohol substances are a class of synthetic chemicals widely referred to as forever chemicals due to their extreme resistance to breaking down in the environment or the human body. Experts warn the chemicals can accumulate over time persisting in blood, liver, and kidneys for years. Studies have linked PFAS exposure to a wide range of health risks, including certain cancers,

liver toxicity, reduced fertility, immune system suppression, and developmental issues. The Texas investigation will also look into the company's internal safety standards, testing protocols, and supply chain practices to determine whether its products comply with its own stated guidelines. Those of your drive home updates this evening. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com. And in case you missed earlier today, we covered some major stories, including tensions building across the Middle East, inflation data revealing the widespread effects of rising gas prices,

and an explosive report released Tuesday suggests the Biden-D-OJ-G coordinated with abortion rights activists to target pro-life advocates. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire.