Morning Wire - Iowa Caucus Kick Off & DC Houthi Strike Protest | 1.15.24

Episode Date: January 15, 2024

2024 Presidential election kicks off in Iowa, The border showdown between the Biden administration and Texas hits new snag, and protests over the U.S. strikes on Iran-backed Houthi militants took a violent turn in D.C. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. Ramp: "Now get $250 off when you join Ramp.Go to http://www.ramp.com/WIRE" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first contest in the 2024 presidential primary takes place today. Voters in Iowa gathered together to decide which Republican candidate will be on the ballot. This is go time. All eyes are on Iowa. And you get it. We've gone door to door, getting people to commit to caucus to us. I'm leading by 30 and 35 and 40 points in every poll. They can't find a bad one. Will Trump run away with it as expected? We look at the final polls. I'm Daily Wire, editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howl.

It's Monday, January 15th, MLK Day, and this is Morning Wire. The showdown over the border between the Biden administration and Texas takes a dramatic turn. And protests over the U.S. strikes on Iran-backed Houthi militants take a violent turn this weekend, as demonstrators nearly breached an exterior gate at the White House. What prompted the protests, and how is the Biden administration responding? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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terms and conditions apply. The 2024 presidential election officially kicks off today, with caucus goers in Iowa making their pick in the GOP primary. Here with more on what to watch for and how today's results will impact the race for the White House's Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips. Hey, Cabot. So it's finally here. What can we expect to see out of Iowa?

Well, I would love to build suspense and tell everyone it's a toss-up, but that's just not the case. It's been months now since we've seen a single poll showing anyone within 20 points of Donald Trump. It's really his to lose at this point. On Sunday, we got to see the final poll from the Des Moines Register, the gold standard for polling in the state, and it showed Trump sitting at 48 percent, more than doubling his closest competitor. That gives him the largest lead in modern history for this specific poll. Behind him were Nikki Haley at 20, Rondisantas at 16, and Vivek Ramoswamy at 8%. Importantly, just 5% said they were undecided, so it does not appear there's much room for late

movement in a state that historically has been famous for last minute swings. So we're not necessarily bracing for a surprise here. No, not exactly. The big question most people are asking is not really if Trump will win, but by how much. We're going to be watching tonight very closely to see if he can get to 50%. If he fails to do so, his opponents will likely argue that the majority of Republicans still want someone else, and they'll also claim that he underperformed. Now, it is worth noting that Iowa is experiencing a frigid cold front this week. The high in Des Moines, get this to is negative two degrees.

So conventional wisdom suggests that that'll actually give an edge to the candidate with the highest levels of voter enthusiasm, which in this case, unsurprisingly, is Trump. According to that, Des Moines Register poll, 89% of his supporters say they are extremely or very enthusiastic to vote for him. For Ronda Santis, that number was 62%. And for Nikki Haley, it was just 39%. So Iowans are really going to be tested by the elements when it comes to just how badly they want to get out in caucus.

Right. We've talked a lot about the battle. for second place there. What's the latest on that very hotly contested fight? Yeah, as far as suspense goes, the struggle for second place is really the one to watch. DeSantis and Haley each want to come out of Iowa painting themselves as the only viable non-Trump alternative. For his part, DeSantis is looking to coalesce the support of evangelical voters

who are much more fractured than in years past in Iowa. The Florida governor has focused much of his time of late in northwest Iowa, which is home to a large conservative evangelical population, and he's routinely touted the support of multiple Christian leaders in the state. DeSantis also benefits from very strong favorability ratings among Republicans there, with 58% viewing him positively and 36% negatively. That's compared to a 48 to 46 split for Haley, meaning DeSantis has a net favorability rating that is 20 points higher than Nikki Haley.

That is very significant. And now that he's third in most polls, a second place finish would actually seem much more impressive now than it would have looked back in the fall when he and Trump were well ahead of the field. So second place could actually be spun as a victory for his campaign. Remember, Iowa is all about perception. Yeah, it is. And what about Haley?

What's her path to victory? Well, there's no question that Nikki Haley has gained ground in the last few months going from Afterthought to second place now in polling. But with that climb comes rising expectations. Her standing at second in the polls could actually come back to bite her if she ends up finishing third because obviously it would make it look like her momentum was more of a mirage. But it is interesting how Haley's base of support different. from that of Trump and DeSantis.

While the latter rely almost entirely on Republicans, according to that register poll, 39% of her support comes from independence, and 11% actually comes from Democrats. That is 10 times more support among Democrats for Haley than any other Republican candidate. Now, Democrats and independents are allowed to caucus tonight, but they will have to register as Republicans.

So one more extra hurdle for a lot of Haley supporters. Now, you've worked on presidential campaigns yourself in the past. Give us an idea of the importance of Iowa in the grand scheme of things. Yeah, Iowa has historically been crucial in weeding out lesser candidates, but a win does not always guarantee success in the end. In the last three true primaries, the GOP winners in Iowa were Ted Cruz, Rick Centaurum, and Mike Huckabee, none of whom went on to be the nominee in the end. One more thing worth noting, Iowa does not have a winner-take-all system, meaning the state's 40 primary delegates will be awarded based on percentage of the vote. So all that to say, we've got a long way to go until the nominee is chosen, but I'm just happy that we're finally getting things going here.

Yeah, it's finally begin. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Anytime. Texas has taken control of a stretch of the U.S. southern border in Eagle Pass. The town, a hotspot for illegal immigration, is the center of a legal battle between Texas and the federal government over border enforcement and authority. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss. So, Tim, what has Texas done in Eagle Pass? Hi, Georgia. Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent National Guardsmen and State Troopers to take over Shelby Park. The park is about 50 acres and is used by Border Patrol agents to stage inspections of illegal immigrants. It also has a boat ramp that the Border Patrol uses to launch patrols of the Rio Grande. Texas law enforcement took it over on Wednesday night and since then, Border Patrol agents have complained that Texas will no longer allow access to the park for immigration enforcement. Here's Abbott on Friday explaining a bit more. First, with the regard to what's going on, I think you're talking about what's going on in Eagle Pass, right?

Yeah. So Texas has the legal authority to control ingress and egress into any geographic location in the state of Texas, and that authority is being asserted with regard to that park in Eagle Pass, Texas, to maintain operational control of it. Eagle Pass has been hammered by the border crisis, and Abbott has used Eagle Pass, especially to test the boundary between state and federal authority on immigration. Last year, Texas installed a 1,000-foot-long floating at Bowie Wall to stop migrants from crossing the Rio Grande into Eagle Pass. It's still in place today, though the Biden administration is suing to take it down. Well, now the Biden administration recently went to courts again over Shelby Park,

and part of the argument there is that by taking it over, Texas has endangered migrants. What can you tell us about that argument? Yeah, this claim really exploded in the media after the bodies of a migrant woman and two children were pulled from the river on Friday. The Biden administration has suggested that the migrants died because Texas law enforcement refused federal agents access to Shelby Park. According to administration officials, border patrol agents tried to get access to the park on Friday to check out a report of migrants struggling

to cross the river, but the agents were turned away. Mexican authorities later pulled the bodies out of the river. For its part, Texas said it did all it could. According to the Texas military department, a National Guard unit was standing by and went to search for the migrants in response to the port. They couldn't find anyone and stopped a search after Mexican authorities pulled several bodies from the river. Now, we should note that migrant deaths in the Rio Grande are fairly common. Last year, nine bodies were pulled from the river near Eagle Pass in one day. Hundreds have drowned in the past few years and hundreds more have died along the border from heat and dehydration. While these deaths are tragic, the southern border has proven to be a dangerous place and the number

of fatalities has grown alongside the increase in illegal immigration. Well, immigration has become a very hot-button issue with voters, especially going into 2024. What are the polls showing? That this could be a major problem for the Biden administration. According to an Associated Press, NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published last week, 55% of Republicans and 22% of Democrats say this is a major issue, and possibly more concerning to Democrats as the racial demographic breakdown. According to that same poll, the number of Hispanics that say immigration is a major issue.

issue has nearly doubled from 27% last year to 47% this year. And as hot air points out, on this issue, according to a Trafalgar poll last month, only 3% of Hispanics support amnesty for illegal immigrants. So some bad signs for Democrats here. Well, it'll be interesting to see if Democrats pivot on this issue as they go into the election. Tim, thanks for reporting. Thanks for having me. A protest in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, grew violent as crowds attempted to break down the security fence outside the White House. Some White House staff had to be moved to more secure locations as law enforcement sought to quell the protests and secure the area around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The incident occurred after the U.S. bombed military sites in Yemen, controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.

Here to discuss the protest and how it could impact President Biden's Middle East policies going forward as Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Hey, Dave, first off, can you just walk us through the events of Saturday night? How unruly did the protesters get? Morning, John. It seemed to start off like any of the other protests we've seen recently, but as crowds approached the White House, they began shaking and pushing the temporary fencing put up by the Secret Service, which admitted that portions of that fence had been damaged. Ostensibly, this was a pro-Palestinian protest, but with a new twist, as the crowd could be heard chanting, Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around, which, along with almost

rhyming, is a reference to Houthi rebels attacking shipping in the Red Sea, in response to which, as you said, the United States and its allies launched powerful strikes against the Yemeni terrorists. So as the conflict is expanding on the ground in the Middle East, so too is it expanding rhetorically here at home. Yeah. So were the White House or President Biden himself at any real risk here, and does this represent an escalation of tactics by these protesters? Well, Biden was at Camp David, so he was well out of harm's way.

There certainly was violence as police officers were assaulted and had objects thrown at them in addition to the damage done to the White House barricades. D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith really slammed the protesters in a statement saying that while peaceful protest is a right, quote, violence, destructive behavior, and criminal activities will not be tolerated, end quote. Although it must be said that as of Sunday there were no reports of arrests for criminal behavior, that's very curious given the gravity of the offenses in the District of Columbia, even a misdemeanor conviction for assaulting a cop results in 180 days in jail with a felony charge punished by 10 years.

But obviously, that is only a deterrent if people are actually arrested. Right. There was pretty scant news coverage of this event, especially in the establishment media. The New York Times, for example, ignored it. Is it fair to ask if that would have been the case had this been right-wing protesters doing all this? Of course, it's fair. And, of course, if the proud boys or some other right-wing, group was trying to break down the barricade to the White House while chanting F. Joe Biden,

as the pro-terrorist protesters were doing, it would be a huge news story. But this is the same New York Times that published a false story about Israel bombing a hospital in Gaza and killing hundreds, based only on the word of Hamas. The liberal media has really struggled to find its footing here. Typically, they're fairly supportive to the Palestinian cause, but the pure brutality of October 7th, and now the constant attacks by the Houthis on international shipping done in solidarity with Hamas have made that support far less tenable. And often the answer from the left-wing media has just been to ignore things like Saturday's violence. Yeah.

How much of a headache is this becoming for the White House, given that a very large number of Democrats actually support Israel? Is Biden basically stuck between two wings of his party? Oh, he's absolutely stuck between two wings of his party. Progressive Democrats in Congress are not only continuing to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, but are now even saying that Biden's multilateral attacks on Yemen are unconstitutional because he didn't get approval from Congress. And it's a problem because the far left, the people chanting F. Joe Biden Saturday night

are a core part of his electoral coalition, but so are pro-Israel moderate Democrats. The tightrope the president is walking here is getting thinner and thinner under his feet. And one does have to wonder if we are approaching the moment when it finally snaps. Yeah, difficult balancing act getting even harder, it seems. Yep. Dave, thanks for joining us. Thanks for having me. Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.

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