Morning Wire - Harris’ Border Photo Op & Looming Dock Workers’ Strike | 9.30.24

Episode Date: September 30, 2024

Kamala Harris back pedals on a major policy during her first border visit as both campaigns ramp up, tomorrow’s dock worker strike could throw international shipping into chaos, and Israel takes out the head of Hezbollah sending the Ayatollah into hiding. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Responsible Man: Be the man America needs you to be. Shop Responsible Man, and get an exclusive discount with code WIRE at https://responsibleman.com Black Rifle Coffee: Give back by drinking America's coffee! Get an exclusive discount with code DAILYWIRE: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kamala Harris backpedals on a major policy during her first visit to the border in years. She didn't speak to agents. She spoke to two members of management, and she was there for 20 minutes for a photo op. That's all she did. We break down the latest happenings from the campaign trail. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howl. It's Monday, September 30th, and this is Morning Wire. American dock workers are poised to strike tomorrow, potentially grinding international shipping to a near standstill.

It would be a 6% reduction in our country's gross domestic product. We have to get this figured out before Tuesday. What do the workers want and how long could the strike last? And Israel calls Iran's bluff by taking out the leader of terror group Hezbollah, while Iran's supreme leader goes into hiding. Taking out Nostrala is a call to everybody, including the Ayatollah, that they are on the hit list. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.

Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Men, it's time to take charge of your health with Emerson multivitamins by Responsible Man, a new DailyWire Ventures Company. The Emerson Multivitamin is packed with 33 key ingredients that support your immune system, sharpen your brain, while also keeping your heart and muscles strong. American made and designed for men who mean business, the Emerson Multivitamins separates the men from the boys. Right now, take advantage of their Labor Day sale. Visit Responsibleman.com and use CodeWire for 50% off your order. That's Responsibleman.com CodeWire. With the final sprint to the White House underway, the race remains historically tight,

with Kamala Harris making her first visit to the border in years. Here with the latest from the campaign trail is Daily Wire Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips. So Cabot, first off, where does the race stand now? Yeah, with 35 days to go, this remains the closest presidential race on record. After factoring in the latest polling from this weekend, the average margin between Trump and Harris across the seven battlegrounds stands at, get this, just 1.3%. Harris is ahead by a point in Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Trump is up in North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona. And in the all-important Pennsylvania, the last three polls are all a dead

tie. And in Las Vegas, betting markets have Harris with a 50% chance of winning, Trump with a 49% chance of winning. Again, it is historic just how tight things are. Right. So let's get to the big news from over the weekend. Kamala Harris, finally visiting the southern border. What did we hear from the VP while she was there? Well, despite being appointed the so-called border czar by President Biden, this was her first true visit to the border since becoming VP. And there's a reason it's happening now 35 days out. Immigration is arguably her biggest weakness with voters. The latest polling from CNN shows Trump with a 14-point lead on the topic. So clearly, she's trying to address this head on. Speaking near Tucson, Harris adopted a far more hawkish immigration stance than we've

ever seen from her in the past. Those who cross our borders unlawfully will be apprehended and removed and barred from reentering for five years. We will pursue more severe criminal charges against repeat violators. So criminal charges for illegal immigrants, that is just a stunning reversal from a woman who, for years, famously has campaigned on decriminalizing illegal border crossings. For example, here she is during the 2020. the presidential race.

It is wrong to somehow suggest that an undocumented immigrant is a criminal. Right. So a lot of reasonable questions about that and the sincerity of it. What sort of reception is she getting for that new tone? So the problem for Harris is, again, that she has been the borders are and has overseen the largest influx in legal crossings in history. So the argument from Republicans is pretty straightforward. Why have you not done these things already? They're also arguing that she's only moving further to the right to try and win the election. They say that Harris is only changing her tune now because she knows how unpopular her policies have become. To that point, she tweeted about the border 15 times in the last three days. That is more than the

last three and a half years combined. As the union representing border patrol agents put it this weekend, quote, Harris has ignored the border problem she created for over three years. She goes down there for 20 minutes for a photo op and decides to repeat some of the things we've said before. Where has she been the last three and a half years. And it is worth noting her latest flip on this issue has actually been denounced by immigration groups on the left. They say her rhetoric is dehumanizing and xenophobic. So she could win over some folks in the middle, but she also risks alienating her base, which opposes stricter border enforcement. So switching gears a bit, we saw some significant developments in North Carolina. What's the latest there? So the Trump campaign has long argued that

states must do more to secure their voter rolls and remove folks who are ineligible due to moving states, a lack of citizenship or death. And North Carolina announced some major updates on that front. The state's board of elections spent the last two years auditing their voter rolls and announced this week that they found nearly 750,000 residents who were not eligible to vote. That is around one-tenth of the state's entire voter roll. Republicans say they want to see other states launch similar audits to ensure that everyone voting is in fact eligible to vote. And one more ballot note, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been fighting to remove himself from the ballot in battleground states after dropping out and endorsing Trump. He's been successful doing so in Arizona,

Nevada, North Carolina, and Georgia. But federal courts ruled this weekend that his name must remain on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin. So potentially a bit of a blow to the Trump campaign there. One final note, the vice presidential debate will be taking place tomorrow night. Put it on your calendar. There's a lot to keep up with, but this will be a huge night for both campaigns. We'll have a lot more on that tomorrow and Wednesday and plenty of live coverage at DailyWire. Yes, we will. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

Anytime. Hey, guys, producer Brandon here. Black Rifle Coffee helps you wake up each morning feeling dialed in and ready to make the most of your day. And now's your chance to get 20% off your purchase using code DailyWire at Black Rifle Coffee.com. All of their explosive coffees are roasted right here in the USA by a veteran-led team of expert roasters obsessed with crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Every black rifle purchase makes it possible for black rifle coffee company to help provide funding, training, and equipment to our nation's military and first responders. Head to their site now for 20% off your purchase with code DailyWire. Tomorrow, tens of thousands of dock workers on the East Coast are planning to walk off the job, closing major ports and potentially crippling the supply chain.

Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Alorty is here with the details. Hey, Marade. So the strike is set to begin tomorrow. Hi, John. That's right. About 45,000 dock workers will walk off the job at 36 ports along the East and Gulf coasts, including five of North America's 10 busiest ports like Port Authority, New Jersey. The union and port ownership are in a stalemate over both higher wages and the union's objections to automating port operations. The strike will upend the country's supply chain, shutting down nearly half of all imports. Depending on how long the strike lasts, Americans could see delays, shortages, and even price spikes through election day and well into the holiday season.

What kinds of products would be affected by the supply chain disruptions at these ports? So it'll be a wide variety of products. Banana imports will be affected. Coffee and cocoa imports will also be affected. Medical drugs would see slowdowns, tens of billions of dollars in clothing, furniture, vehicle imports. Baltimore's ports sees the most car shipments of any port in the country. And even Christmas trees from the National Tree Company, which expects to see a a lot of their goods stranded. All right, so really running the gamut of potential goods there. Right.

Now, there's a political angle here as well, which the strikers are very much aware of, of course, economic turmoil would not be good for Kamala Harris to say the least. What is the administration saying? Well, it's unclear why Biden won't invoke the Taft-Harley Act to intervene, though some have speculated that the president is unwilling to go out of his way to help Harris after Democrats ousted him from his re-election campaign over the summer. Others have wondered whether Biden is courting the doctor. Dock Worker Union at a time when the union vote is not coming easily to Democrats.

Harris is the first Democratic presidential candidate to not get the Teamsters endorsement in nearly 30 years. Nearly 60% of the union's 1.3 million members support Trump. We've also heard a lot about the boss of the dock workers union who's really calling the shots here. Can you fill us in on him? Yes. So Harold Daggett has led the International Longshoremen's Association since 2011, and he made over $900,000 last year. Back in 2004, federal prosecutors alleged a mob conspiracy to elect Daggett the head of the union, but he was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing.

But Daggett is still alleged to have ties to the Genovese Mafia family in a racketeering case, and he's also pushed to get rid of the Waterfront Commission. That's an agency that was founded to combat mafia control of the Port Authority. And we should note, the ILA has been a major Democratic Party donor in the past, and Daggett personally endorsed Biden. However, Daggett has begun lashing out at the president as negotiations have broken down between the union and the White House. He's criticized Biden for helping the West Coast dock workers union avoid a strike last year. Even a one-day strike will take six days to recover from, according to industry insiders.

So that's what we're looking at right now, assuming we don't get a surprise deal or Biden doesn't step in. Well, development that could affect all of us. Marie, thanks for trekking this force. Thanks, John. The leader of terror group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was confirmed. dead on Saturday following an Israeli airstrike targeting him on Friday afternoon in Beirut, Lebanon. Joining us to discuss is Arii Lightstone, former advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. Ari, thank you for coming on. So Hezbollah's leader was killed by an Israeli air strike Friday in a

not-so-secret bunker. I wanted to start by reading a tweet from Jared Kushner, who weighed in on what just took place. He said, quote, September 27th is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords' breakthrough. Do you agree with this assessment, and what does he mean by this? It's 100% true. The fear of Iran and their proxies' actions have dictated the decisions of leaders throughout the Middle East and the West for more than 40 years. What Israel did just on September 27th by taking out the head of the snake, Nasrallah, the head of Khazbalah, they demonstrated that the bark of Iran and its proxies is far worse than the bite, and a it opens up an opportunity for the rest of the leaders in the region to make decisions that are in

their own interest and not out of fear of the bully on the block because the bully does not have the abilities that was previously thought. Now, we've seen immediate fallout from Iran, which is making threats again, but a lot of analysts have noted the location in which Iran's supreme leader made his declarations. Can you explain what happened there? Yeah, the Iran's supreme leader is now in hiding because what has happened is Israel said if you attempt to kill Israelis or Jews anywhere in the world, Israel will come and find you. And it was always assumed to be up to a point. The Iranians and their proxies are now terrified. How much does Israel know? And what extent will Israel act on that information? Now there's been constant warnings from the Biden administration

directed at Israel about potential escalation from their actions. What are we seeing right now in terms of the response from both the Biden administration and Israel's enemies? Well, look very carefully. Prime Minister Nathaniel went to Washington, D.C. in July. He met with President Biden, met with candidate Harris and candidate Trump. There is something that he learned on that trip that made him decide not to play defense, but to play offense in a way that we have not seen Israel play in either of our lifetime.

What is very clear is that he believes that Kamala Harris will not support Israel's ability to defend itself. It's also very clear that he does not believe that President Biden is home right now. And I think he believes that President Trump, while fully supportive of this endeavor, would like it to be done before January. Final question, we saw continued strikes from Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon Sunday. I know it's impossible to predict, but what do you expect to happen in the next few? days? Well, I think two things are going to happen. The second Israel takes their foot off the gas. And what I mean by foot off the gas is allowing any movement of terrorists anywhere in between Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, all the way up into Iran, that will be seen as a moment of weakness. And the terrorists will strike harder and faster than

they're striking right now. As long as Israel keeps its foot on the gas, it'll keep the terrorist guessing, and the leverage will be in favor of Israel. And the question would be, will the United States of America permit or blessed this continued aggressiveness against terrorists or will it continue to tell Israel to slow down and how long will Israel be able to resist American pressure? Well, we'll see in the coming days. Ari, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Another story we're tracking. The fallout from Hurricane Helene continues. Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestiakamo reports.

Hurricane Helene has caused widespread devastation across the southeast, leaving at least 84 people dead with that estimate expected to climb in coming days. The storm has destroyed homes and left millions without power. The damage estimates range from $15 to $100 billion. More than 1,000 people needed rescuing from the flooding in Tampa. In South Carolina, 40% of the state lost electricity. In Tennessee, 54 people had to be rescued from the top of a hospital building. And in North Carolina, neighborhoods were turned into lakes with one village called

chimney rock being completely destroyed. Ashville, a North Carolina city home to about 94,000 people, was also hit particularly hard. Officials said they suffered biblical level flooding, garnering comparisons to Hurricane Katrina. The death toll there has risen to 30 people. President Joe Biden has approved disaster declarations in numerous states. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.