Morning Wire - Trump Punishes Iran & El-Sayed Senate Radical? | 7.10.26

Episode Date: July 10, 2026

The US takes out key Iranian military targets and several members of Iran’s revolutionary guard, a controversial AOC-backed candidate is poised to take the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan, and Democrats scramble to pick up the pieces in Maine after Platner suspends his campaign. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.- - -Ep. 2884- - -Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3- - -Today's Sponsors:Good Ranchers - This month, you can get $50 off your first order when you head to https://GoodRanchers.com and use our code WIRE at checkout. Zocdoc - Stop putting off those doctors appointments and go to Zocdoc.com/WIRE to find and instantly book a doctor you love today. - - -Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacymorning 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

With President Trump washing his hands of the Iran talks, the U.S. takes out key military targets and several members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. They want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know if they're going to honor the deal. Let's see you. Is the U.S. effort to degrade Iran's military changing the equation? I'm Daily Wire, Executive Editor John Bickley, with Georgia Howell. It's Friday, July 10th. This is Morning Wire. One of the tightest Senate races in the country heats up in Michigan, with a controversial AOC-backed candidate poised to take the Democratic nomination. Most polls agree that I am dominating the field among young people, 83 to 6 at this point. And as Democrats scramble to pick up the pieces in Maine,

an internal battle threatens to upend the process. Not only do you not want to alienate his supporters in those progressives, but you've got to appeal to independent voters. That's how you win me. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. The U.S. has taken out more strategic targets in Iran

and several members of its elite military force after the conflict reignited in the Strait of Hormuz. Joining us now is Steve Yates, Senior Research Fellow for National Security Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Steve, great to have you on. It's a pleasure. Thank you for having me. So look, we've seen a rapid escalation of

between the U.S. and Iran this week, Trump declaring the ceasefire's dead, maybe the Iran deals off the table. Are we looking at a temporary escalation or has the ceasefire really effectively collapsed? Well, I don't expect the ceasefire or a deal to be what delivers an ultimate outcome, but I do expect the president is going to keep his options open. He's going to hit hard. He's going to be very, very blunt. And then he's going to leave the door open to continued talking. He's sort of intimated that Kushner Wittkoff could be going and meeting with other people in the not too distant future.

But I think that's just part of his style for how he's looking to try to manage this into a landing place, which is not yet to find. You say you don't think this is actually the means by which a true agreement is going to be reached. Where do you see this going? Does this have to be regime change? Well, I do think that the IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard, has to be degraded further. They are committed in a messianic way to a mission that really is incompatible with making peace with the United States, Israel, and other neighbors in its near abroad. When you have that reality, I just firmly believe that wars only end when power compels one side to acquiesce. So what I mean is we're going to have to hit them hard enough and degrade the IRGs. far enough that maybe the people of Iran finally have a prospect that it's safe to step outside and express their view.

I see. So in terms of the strikes that we have seen over the last 48 hours, have they been effective? What kinds of targets are we choosing? Do you think this is moving in that direction of really degrading the RGC? It's definitely degrading the points from which Iran has been engaging in what I would consider to be harassment attacks. They haven't been controlling the Strait of Hormuz or the Gulf. They have been basically controlling it by terror, by a threat. So it's not necessarily what they're capable of. It's the fear that they're able to create, which is terrorism 101. I think that we are degrading their ability to deliver that, but you never get to zero.

There's just going to be weapons in the world and remnants that can do this kind of thing. I do think that we need to hit especially all the islands that are in the Gulf, that there's a repositories of weapons and other means of control that the IRGC has been using. Karg Island remains a juicy target. It might be very difficult to take and control and operate for our purposes, but it should be taken out of the hands of Iranian control, and that is ultimately the checkmate when it comes the economic sustainability for the regime. Yeah, Karg Island, a key focus for good reason, as you've highlighted.

You believe that we can at least eliminate Iran's ability to control the island. though maybe not take over it ourselves. That requires boots on the ground, correct? Yeah, that's what people tell me. I do think that we can do a lot more with technology and unmanned devices in 2026 than when a lot of the armchair quarterbacks are trying to talk about things that were sort of the Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan. It's a fundamentally different field of technology and capabilities now.

But it's not zero risk. And we have very low tolerance for risk, publicly. And so if we have one casualty or one prisoner, we start to buckle a little bit these days. And so with that as sort of the leavening of this, I think that taking it out of their control is within our capability, I think, reasonably, controlling it, occupying it, running it, that's where we're in proximate distance of these missiles that could come from anywhere in Iran at any given time. And like I said, you don't get to zero risk, and that's more problematic. Looking ahead next few weeks, what are you looking for to see signs of progress or regress,

not just the conflict but the negotiations? Well, I think the negotiations will meet a better conclusion when there are fewer members of the IRGC leadership coming to the table. And so whether it is unleashing our allies to do what they are uniquely capable of doing, whether we take operations, obviously there are several. layers of Iran's leadership that were eliminated in the early stages and those that survived are watching copiously for lessons to avoid that fate. And so it might be harder to locate and eliminate some of these targets in this point in time than it was earlier in the conflict. Nevertheless, I think that we have asked our allies to hold back while negotiations were

underway, and maybe it's time to go ahead and let the dog hunt because this is a situation where it's pretty obvious. The IRGC is the long tent in the poll. Whatever the other remnants of the regime are, I don't believe that there are moderates, but they are less dangerous if it takes longer to negotiate with them. Is there anything about this the last few days, the current stage of the conflict that you feel is being underreported or misunderstood? Well, to me, a big missing link in all of this is the lack of widespread Internet access inside of Iran. Not for the regime. elements to be able to communicate, but for the wider world to be able to see and hear from the Iranian people, it has been a conspicuous absence from this, and it leaves unanswered. Where would they be? Why are they not in the street? I think they have an answer to that. We are just not able to hear it. And if we could, I think that might reassure more Americans and

maybe others in the international community about what we're really dealing with as we try to transition from the major military options. Well, we appreciate your expertise, and we will look forward to having you again on the show. A pleasure. Thanks very much. July is National grilling month. The kids are home, and somehow people are hungry all day long. That's exactly why I love having good ranchers in the freezer. Whether it's burgers on a weeknight, steaks on the weekend, or something quick for the grill, I don't have to make another grocery store run. You can enjoy every cookout knowing it's 100% American meat from local farms and ranches. What we really appreciate here at the Daily Wire is facts, and that means knowing where your food comes from. Good Ranchers delivers

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just under a month to go before the Democratic primary. Voters will choose between Representative Haley Stevens, the more moderate establishment-backed candidate in Abdel Asaid, a Bernie Sanders and AOC-backed, former county health official running well to her left. The winner takes on the Republican nominee Mike Rogers, who's running unopposed. And he joins us now. Congressman, thanks for coming on. Hey, thanks for having me. It's great to be here. First, you don't know yet who your general election opponent is going to be, does that change how you're campaigning right now? Or are you already treating El Saeed as the likely nominee? We're out campaigning because either of these Democrats we're going to beat. But El Saeed is so concerning because this is where the energy of the Democrat

party is today. Matter of fact, the DSA and I think it was the Workers Party said that they're coming into Michigan. They're sending ground troops into Michigan to go door to door and get their base whipped up and all the polling shows that he's ahead. And that's where the energy is. And that's what I, you know, people don't understand this, the Democrat Party in America is in trouble. And this guy, I think, should be at the head of the parade for why it's in trouble. You know, I worked on a shop floor. I helped build cars in Michigan. And, you know, when I was growing up, our school was in the top tier. We were a manufacturing machine. We did in defense industrial-based work, all of that has been wiped away by really horrific Democrat policies.

And these workers know it. And so we have a huge contingent of our supporters are these, these, you know, working class, working family voters. So it's going to be close because it's Michigan, but I'm telling you, they're not going to, I just don't think they're going to put up with another doing something we've been doing for 32 years, sending the same people back who think the same, talk the same, vote the same, and expect a different result. We believe, just by the connection we've made around the state, that people are ready for this change. Now, you mentioned the auto industry, Michigan, of course, is the capital, or the auto capital of the world. How have tariffs affected the auto industry in Michigan? How is the industry doing just, you know, as compared to a year ago,

and how is that affecting the race? What the tariffs have done, and I've been to probably a if not more, small, first, second, third tier suppliers to the automobile business and manufacturing of all sorts. What we're seeing now is reshoring is actually happening. And these folks are getting new jobs, getting new contracts. A guy who hadn't put a second shift on in 20 years is adding a second shift. They're getting new lines in their factory that they hadn't done in 30 years. It's because these companies are coming back saying, hey, I want to get in on, you.

making sure I don't get some of these tariffs on the manufacturing side. So the manufacturing-oriented, car-oriented tariffs are having a positive impact right here in Michigan. They're creating new jobs. And by the way, that means wages go up. That's really important. Now, would El-Said be more of the same, or is he actually ultra-progressive? I'm thinking about that clip that was released recently where he said, we do need to defund the police. He's been trying to walk back from that claim.

What kind of candidate is he really? Oh, this guy is as leftist as you get. I mean, he, but here's the thing. That energy of the party is there. That's the energy that Bernie Sanders, who's coming next week with AOC to campaign for, for Abdul. That's where the energy of the party is. I mean, I'm worried that this is a permanent fixture in the Democrat Party,

and it is crazy versus common sense. And that's why we're going to win. this even in a tight seat like Michigan, I just don't think people who get up and work for a living are ready for the government to take away their, you know, negotiated health care, you know, tell them exactly what kind of education their kids have to have. I mean, you start giving up these rights. You'll never get them back from the government. And these people know it. They're, they're about leave me alone. They're like, protect my family, protect my freedoms, protect our factories and leave us alone. Man, that is not the message that the Democrats are

trying to sell here in Michigan. All right. Well, Congressman, thank you so much for coming on today. Thanks for having us. Graham Platner's decision to pull out of the Maine Senate race has sparked a bruising internal battle for control of the Democratic Party in the state. Joining us now to discuss the messy situation in Maine as Daily Wire Opinion Editor Ben Dominic, host of the Big Ben Show. Ben, great to have you back on. Good to be with you. So quite the week for Democrats and the media. First, we haven't had the chance to get your response to Platteners.

announcement yet. You've made the case that this could have been seen as actually a mistake by him. He could have dug in more, tried to get more political capital out of it. What have we learned now about why he finally caved? Well, I suspect, and a lot of people around who have been covering this campaign suspect that there were going to be a lot more stories that were going to come out. One of the things that was very interesting in terms of a development that has been widely reported now is that Platner was originally supposed to give a statement that was far more big tent, welcoming, trying to get along with the Democratic establishment. He refused to do so.

Instead, he took to the video that he ultimately released with an attitude of defiance, one that basically said none of these things are true. I'm being absolutely smeared. But you can't count on a situation where I'm going to be able to win in the fall. And so this is all about winning and that that's what he's trying to do. That's a very different message than the Democratic establishment wanted to deliver. Democrats have seen this bite them in the past. I think it's certainly going to bite them now.

The fact that Platner was willing to go is something that Chuck Schumer is happy about. Lots of D.C. Democrats are happy about. But I think ultimately he's going to become a martyr for the DSA cause. And I'm sure we'll be welcoming him to the podcaster ranks soon enough. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised by that. And you're right that in the video he does portray himself as the victim of people that are in power. Now, the big question, who will the Democrats install to replace him on the ballot? Who are the likely options so far?

You have a situation here where there are just so many different options that the Democrats could go with. You know, I think that, you know, the one that is probably the most scary to Republicans is Tony Jackson. But I think that the ultimate decision that Maine has to make and the Democratic establishment has to make is whether they're going to respond to the grand platinum situation by nominating a woman instead, which is something that would probably make a lot of sense for them to do. They have a number of different options on that front. And I think that, frankly, at the end of the day, Democrats are almost going to end up writing off this seat. This is a situation that is so bad.

It's gone so sideways for them. And it's so advantageous for someone like Susan Collins, who despite being there for 30 years now really is sitting in the catbird seat, I think that she ultimately could, you know, come out of this situation, winning, you know, running away because you can't really stand up a campaign with just a handful of months to go. Right. And with no Democratic voters actually having voted. to support that candidate. Do you see this being a long-term damaging situation for the Democrats in terms of the battle for control in the party that's really heightened this year? I think that this is a situation that Democrats have really never experienced in the last

quarter century. They've never seen this kind of revolt from in their midst. The last time that you had someone really topple, you know, an establishment figure within the Democratic Party. It was Barack Obama in 2008, and he was someone who toppled Hillary Clinton because she ran a bad campaign. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1992 when Bill Clinton knocked off a number of different Democrats who thought that they were going to be able to just slide into the presidency. I think this time around, things are very different for Democrats. They haven't experienced their own Tea Party movement, and this is the most, this is the closest

thing I think we've ever seen to it, you know, which is basically a movement that is organic, that is fomented by an activist class that enables them to connect, to communicate, and to fundraise to a greater degree. And that is something that, you know, has launched them not just, you know, into the Congress and the person of AOC and the squad, but of course, now the mayor of New York City and potentially, you know, a nominee in Michigan as well. A number of different people have come out of this and gone on to better success. And I think that you're going to see this be a real thorn in the side of Democrats going

forward, who really, in order to win, just given the way that polling is for Republicans, Democrats just have to be normal in order to get the kind of historical trend behind them that you would normally see in a midterm election. But we'll see how this goes in November for Democrats. Ben, thank you so much for joining us. Always appreciate your insights. Great to be with 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 our Daily Wire subscribers. To enjoy the show, ad-free and join our mission, become a member at Dailywire.com. We'll be back this evening.

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