Iran Talks Sputter & Spencer Pratt to the Rescue? | 6.2.26
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00:22 free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Californians take to the polls today to decide, which candidates will compete for governor and L.A. mayor come November. Have upstart Republicans Spencer Pratt and Steve Hilton shaken things up enough in the Deep Blue State to be on the ballots? I'm not going to sit here and tell you Spencer Pratt can save L.A. What I can tell you is the status quo is destroying it,
00:54 and we need to try something different. I'm Daily Wire, executive editor John Bickley. Georgia's off today. It's Tuesday, June 2nd. This is Morning Wire. The U.S. standoff with Iran takes a turn for the worse, with new strikes and stalling talks. Is the ceasefire on the verge of collapse, or will Trump finally rain in Iran? The Iranians have been violating the ceasefire that began on April 8th quite continuously.
01:24 So we actually have justification to go back into military operations. The president is certainly full aware of that. And officials impose a 9 p.m. curfew in New Jersey after anti-ice riots lead to over a dozen arrests. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. There comes a moment for almost everybody at some point in adulthood where you realize life got very real, very fast. Maybe it's buying a house. Maybe it's getting married.
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02:50 The eyes of the nation will be on California tonight as the votes are tallied in some really consequential primaries, including for governor and mayor of L.A. Both of those contests have Republicans who have vastly outperformed expectations already. Joining us to break it all down as Daily Wire opinion editor and host of the Big Ben Show, Ben Dominic, Ben, great to have you on.
03:10 Great to be with you. So let's start with L.A. A lot of people focused on this race. You know, six months ago, the idea of Spencer Pratt being a serious contender for mayor there would have sounded like a joke. What has changed? Well, what's changed is that people in L.A. are frustrated, and they're frustrated for very logical and obvious reasons. Karen Bass was someone who was sitting atop a political machine that she worked to her advantage. She was someone who was viewed as kind of a kingmaker, a queen maker within the L.A. experience.
03:44 But then the Palisades fire happened, and she happened to be out of the country at the time for reasons that don't seem to make very much sense even to this day. Yeah. And there were all sorts of responses to that fire that sparked questions about corruption, about the inability of the fire response to handle it, about why that blaze was still even burning days after it had been identified. about why the reservoir was essentially empty. Spencer Pratt is riding high on all the different sort of motivations that are coming from voters out of that experience. And I think that this is not really even a political response.
04:23 It's much more of a capacity to govern response. It's an response to incompetence. It's a response to leadership that doesn't seem to be leading, doesn't seem to be handling any of the problems the people in Los Angeles face every day. He obviously has a very uphill battle ahead of him as a Republican, very unlikely to ultimately win this thing, but we'll see. What's the coalition forming around him and does it just fall apart if he loses today?
04:52 I don't think it falls apart. And the reason that I don't think it falls apart is because it's actually something that has tapped into, I think, a lot of online sentiment, these AI videos that have become an item of frustration and complaining from the Bass campaign and from other Democrats. And look, Los Angeles is notoriously corrupt. It's just, it is. It's a place that has all sorts of problems going back for years, decades, even, even before Karen Bass. And I think a lot of people will blame the ultimate result of this on that one way or the other, whether there's proof of it or not. But one thing that I do think is true about Spencer Pratt is that he's tapped into frustration
05:31 that is far deeper than just the experience with the Palisades fire. I think it is really a rejection of the Democratic elite political class that has run California for decades and run it from the perspective of many people, even those who might be politically independent or even Democrat leaning into the ground. Final question on Pratt. Do you think he actually has a chance to make this runoff? What's your prediction? I think that it's very likely that Pratt ends up in the number two spot.
05:58 We've seen Nithia Rahman and her campaign really fun. ball off. She has not been able to generate any kind of approval from the voters. She really doesn't have a rationale for running. And the things that she's staked out positions on, this is, again, the more radical leftist candidate in the race, are things that are at odds with just rational thought of having these homeless encampments outside of schools, not having any real answer for what she would do differently than Karen Bass. And I think ultimately, Pratt's likely to end up in that second spot. And then we'll see how things shake out. Of course, the odds are against him, but he's running a campaign that is based as much on message and on the motivations that are
06:36 inspiring a lot of outside voters as it is a real hope at actually winning. Now, looking at the race for governor, we have Steve Hilton contending for the number two spot there, which would get him in the final ticket. How is he looking going into today? Well, the situation with Hilton is an interesting one, because you see this spark that came up under Javier Bessera, the candidate who really had not in spite. a lot of people when Eric Swalwell exited the race. They just kind of defaulted his voters did to Becerra and the fact that Tom Steyer, despite
07:10 spending millions and millions of his billions and billions of dollars, has not been able to inspire anyone to come alongside him. I think that Hilton will ultimately end up getting into this runoff because it's a top two finished situation, but it is kind of close at the end. And a lot of that has been because there is another Republican in the race who is drawing away some support from him. I think that the only way, the only hope that Republicans really have of making any kind of noise in the governor's race is if Hilton gets into this runoff. He probably will, but it could be close. Well, no matter how things shake out tonight in the vote, Pratt and Hilton have
07:46 both proven there's a lot of energy on the conservative side still in California. We'll see if that builds even more in the coming months. Ben, thanks so much for coming on. Great to be with you, as always. mornings where you're exhausted and can't figure out why? Sometimes it's your betting. That's why we can't get enough of Bowling Branch. Their summer bedding is designed to stay cool, breathable, and comfortable all night long. The sheets are made from 100% organic cotton and woven specifically for airflow, not just softness. And unlike a lot of products that advertise cooling technology, the cooling from Bowling Branch comes from the way the fabric is actually made.
08:20 I just received my dream comforter from Bowling Branch. Really, that's what it's called dream. And it is absolutely delightful. It's soft to the touch and the perfect way to keep me cool and also cozy this summer, especially here at the humidity in Nashville. And that's what makes this such an easy recommendation. Better sleep affects everything, your energy, your focus, your mood, your day. Sleep cooler this summer with Boland Branch. Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at bolandbranch.com slash wire with code wire. That's Bolandbranch, B-O-L-L-A-N-D-Branch.com slash wire code wire to unlock 15% off. Bolandbranch.com slash wire, code wire. Exclusions apply. The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be on the verge of collapsing.
08:59 Joining us now is Cabot Phillips host of Wired in Live. Hey, Cabot. So we appeared to be on the verge of a 60-day ceasefire extension. Now it looks like it's about to implode. What changed her? Yeah, the reality is the gap between Trump and Iran never really closed. There was just a lot of talk and rumors that papered over that fact. Things were mostly at a stalemate on Friday and that once something went wrong,
09:21 the whole thing sort of stalled. And according to Iran, that trigger was Israel. Over the weekend, Iran said that it suspending talks in all messages through mediators after Israeli strikes on Hezbollah over the weekend. For their part, the Israelis said they were responding to violations of the ceasefire from those terrorists with Hezbollah. It looked like the hot war between Israel and Hezbollah was resuming at full speed until Donald Trump appeared to de-escalate the situation.
09:45 The president posted on truth social yesterday that following a, quote, very productive call with Nanyahu, as well as Hezbollah leaders, that there would be, quote, no troops going to Beirut, and that Hezbollah had, quote, agreed that all shooting will stop, that Israel will not attack them and they will not attack Israel. Now, whether that holds true and its potential implications for rekindling, the Iran negotiations remain to be seen, the situation is still very much in flux.
10:09 And to that point, President Trump actually refuted claims that talks were dead, claiming on truth social that they were still moving forward, quote, rapidly. Right, so Iran is giving Lebanon as the reason that they're ceasing these talks. But of course, there's other complications going on here, as you mentioned. Unpack that for us, if you would. Yeah, President Trump has yet to waver on his demand that Iran give up its entire uranium stockpile, roughly 10 warheads worth of material. And that has, and it will almost certainly continue to be the toughest issue to get through.
10:38 To put it simply, Trump is not budging and neither are the Iranians. They know that that is their main point of leverage internationally. In fact, they won't even agree to nuclear talks being part of any ceasefire extension framework. Their second priority is money. And that involves demands for control of the straight and unfreezing of billions of Iranian assets. Both of those issues have also been non-starters for the Trump administration so far. So unless something changes, even if talks resume, both sides are still kind of a stalemate. The question really is who blinks first.
11:07 Yeah, it's always a game of chicken in these negotiations. Now, the question of who we're actually negotiating with in Iran got even more complicated over the weekend. New reports on that front. Who is in charge? Well, quite frankly, that is a question not even U.S. negotiators can really answer right now, and it's starting to become a pretty big obstacle in moving things forward. There have been reports that after the death of Ayatollah Ali Hameini back in February, the IRGC has effectively seized large parts of the government and cut the president of Iran and his cabinet,
11:37 whom we've been negotiating with for months, out of major decisions. This has gotten to the point where over the weekend, the Iranian president reportedly submitted his letter of resignation out of frustration with the IRC's dominance in the government. though whether that actually happens remains to be seen. So while the diplomacy has stalled, we have seen a new round of shooting between the U.S. and Iran. Bring us up to speed on that front. Yeah, things escalated again pretty quickly over the weekend.
12:03 On Saturday, U.S. Central Command said Iran fired two ballistic missiles overnight and American forces stationed in Kuwait. Both missiles were immediately intercepted, following those missile attacks, and another exchange where Iran shot down U.S. drones. The U.S. military retaliated, taking out Iranian air defenses, a ground control station, and a pair of attack drones. And how has the situation changed in the Strait of Hormuz now?
12:25 Well, Iran is moving back to its pre-ceasefire demand of a total blockade of the strait, save for IRGC-approved shipping. And now it's threatening to expand this blockade beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The regime is threatening to use its proxy terror group in Yemen, that's the Houthis, to shut down the choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden near Yemen. So they are seemingly ready to make it much worse in the strait. Now, this has certainly been a setback for the president's peace agenda. What's his message been in the last few days?
12:54 Well, publicly at least, Trump is completely unbothered by all these complications. His message over the past few days has pretty much been telling everyone to relax. He said in one interview that a deal would come, quote, slowly but surely. And if it doesn't, the U.S. will, quote, finish it militarily. So in other words, he's in no hurry, but still has. that big stick that he's carrying. Whether that confidence remains as we get closer to the midterms, that'll be seen. But for now, he says he's staying the course. Trump always confident in these negotiations. Cabot, thanks so much for reporting.
13:25 Absolutely. Tensions remain high in New Jersey as volatile protests continue outside an ice facility that have already led to more than a dozen being arrested. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Terry Tair joins us now with the latest. Hey, Jenny. So we've been tracking this over the last few days and things have really spiraled outside of this Delaney Hall. Bring us up to speed. How did this all come about? Yeah, so this has been going on for over a week now.
13:52 Protesters had a mass outside of Delaney Hall detention center and ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey. And they were demanding better conditions for the detainees there. They want better food. They want better access to medical care, better access to their court hearings. And so they came out. They protested for days. Some of those protests grew violent. They were engaging with ICE officers outside of the facility while they were also trying to block the entrances and exits of that facility.
14:20 And it took the governor about a week to actually respond. She sent in state police. And in doing so, she also created this, quote unquote, peaceful, protected protest zone, basically protecting those protesters who are there who are causing chaos and forcing those federal officers to respond by deploying chemical agents, to try to push back the crowd in riot gear. And this continues to be an escalating situation. The governor says there's been protesters who have come from out of state even.
14:51 The mayor of Newark actually finally also responded and declared that there would be a curfew from about 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. so that protesters couldn't form in large groups there anymore at night because that's when things have been really heating up. Here's the governor's response to this. My focus is on protecting people's right to protest peacefully and ensuring everyone's safety. We know what ICE has done in other states. We know the fear they've caused. I will not give ICE a pretext to expand operations at Delaney Hall or across our state.
15:28 So still the criticism directed at ICE rather than the rioters. Now, a big focus for these protests has been the conditions inside the facilities you said. Are these legitimate complaints or is this kind of political, hyperbole that we've seen before. Right. So a lot of this centers around this claim that there is a hunger strike going on, claims of worms in the food and spoiled food being served to these detainees. Senator Andy Kim was caught up with one of the protests that he was tear gassed. And he and, you know, the governor and other Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries have come out and said they're trying to shut down the facility, that it shouldn't be there, and that conditions are just too poor for things to carry on. Now, as far as those claims of a hunger strike, we actually,
16:10 talk to some sources about this, and they are very familiar with what's going on inside that facility. And what's really happening, according to our sources, is that these isotanies, yes, they are refusing to eat. They're given meals for the day. And those meals are given to them frequently. They're given the allotted calorie amount they should, according to DHS. And what they're doing instead is they're just opting to go to the commissary store and they're buying up things like Snickers and Honeybuns, and that's what they're eating throughout the day and they're surviving off of. So if you call that a hunger strike, I'm not really sure that's what it is. ICE has seen an increase in those commissary purchases in recent weeks. So this seems to be
16:52 a little bit different than what the narrative is. Yeah, sounds like it. How is the Trump administration responding to all this? The Department of Homeland Security has come out and said that This is a hoax that these claims about poor conditions, namely that hunger strike, they're not really what's happening. They've actually let in some New Jersey inspectors to take a look at the facility. Now we don't know the findings yet. Again, they've sent in ICE, Homeland Security investigations, special operators to go out and try to control those crowds. And they were doing so for days before, again, local police came out and actually responded. So they have been using riot control measures.
17:29 They've been deploying chemical agents. DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen also has responded saying that he's floating a plan to possibly hold up international flights. So pulling customs officers from international airports that are in sanctuary cities like Newark and saying that we're not going to process those travelers into the United States, which is a huge, huge issue with the upcoming FIFA World Cup. And that's something that Cheryl has brought up. She's very concerned about this. She calls this plan ridiculous. Now, it's still a possibility. It's not been actually a confirmed plan.
18:07 He's just said that he's in talks with the White House about it. It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out. Meanwhile, we'll see if there's more arrests in Newark. Ginny, thank you so much for reporting. Thank you. Thanks for waking up with us. The reporting that fuels this show is only possible because you tune in every day and because of all of our daily wire subscribers.
18:27 To enjoy the show, add free and join our mission. become a member at dailywire.com. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
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