Morning Wire - Trump Rips NATO & Teachers Union Exposed | 7.8.26

Episode Date: July 8, 2026

President Trump heads overseas – and immediately shakes things up with NATO, Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s Senate campaign collapses with backlash now growing against Democrats and media outlets who propped him up, and the agenda for the nation’s most powerful teachers union leaks, sparking blowback for its hyper-partisan goals – including the impeachment of President Trump. Reporting from Cabot Phillips. Plus, we speak with Benham Ben Taleblu & Corey DeAngelis. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.- - -Ep. 2880- - -Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3- - -Today's Sponsors:Boll and Branch - Sleep cooler this summer with Boll & Branch during their Annual Summer Event. For a limited time, get 20% off sitewide at https://BollAndBranch.com/wire Zocdoc - Go to https://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

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I was very disappointed with NATO. And frankly, if it weren't held in Turkey, it's possible that I would have attended. I'm Daily Wire, Executive Editor John Bickley, with Georgia Howell. It's Wednesday, July 8th. This is Morningwire. As Graham Platner's Senate campaign collapses, the backlash grows against, Democrats and media outlets who propped him up. The focus of today should be to respond to the gravity

of what so many of us have read, and I think that the only appropriate response is for the campaign to come to an end. And the agenda for the nation's most powerful teachers' union is leaked, and it's sparking strong blowback for its hyper-partisan goals, including impeaching Trump. We have two fundamental choices in America today.

Do we roll up our sleeves and do the work necessary to rescue our democracy, or do we choose authoritarianism? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. NATO is back in the headlines with the president's trip to Ankara Turkey

to meet with world leaders. And the question the world is asking is what happened to the once unshakable alliance? Joining us to discuss as Ben-in-Bin-Talablu, senior director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy's Iran program. Thanks so much for coming on.

Great to be with you, bro. Thank you. So first, Trump really making his presence felt immediately yesterday. What did we hear from him and how our allies responded? Surely he made his presence felt, but also Turkish president, Rejeptaya Berdegwan, went quite out of his way to make Trump feel welcome stylistically and substantively. Certainly the Turks wanted something from the U.S. The big question that was dangled here was over sanctions relief for the prospect of waiving sanctions, sanctions which, by the way, are congressionally mandated, pursuant to older legislation, which the Trump administration actually

enforced in term one previously as it related to the S-400 purchase, the strategic air defense system that the Turks had purchased. And so I think any NATO member is a bit shaky today, despite the plusing up of some of their defense commitments, because of the prospects of waving sanctions on Turkey, despite the lingering presence of this Russian air defense system. This all is in the context of this growing tension between the U.S. and NATO. Trump making real threats to just pull out. What did we hear on that front, and what do you foresee actually happening with this situation? Well, the kind of persistent threats about the future of NATO, there's a little bit more meat on the bone here than just,

kind of panic in Washington whenever the Trump administration, like previous administrations, by the way, chastises the Europeans for not meeting their defense commitments. Those defense commitments have been things that the European politicians have promised to meet in terms of defense spending, in terms of evolving military applications and capabilities of this alliance. But ultimately, this entire meeting is happening against the backdrop of at least a six-month policy review about the future of the U.S. force posture. in Europe under NATO auspices. So the president is trying to at least make good on some of his threats when it comes to the future of U.S. forces in Europe and the strategic direction of the Transatlantic

Alliance, which certainly implicates NATO. Now, in regard to the U.S. force posture, the placement of our forces in Europe as part of NATO, I know it's impossible to predict, but where do you see that going? Do you see the signs that will actually pull out troops and munitions out of Europe? you know, call me crazy, but I see a lot of this as public bargaining, just like I see a lot of the president's rhetoric, or hopefully the president's rhetoric about, you know, waiving sanctions as bargaining, trying to see if there's room to go soft so that he doesn't have to go hard later on some country that he believes is a NATO partner, a NATO ally, and a potential U.S. strategic partner in the Middle East. But ultimately here, I don't think the president is going to

be doing a 180 when it comes to this style of his criticism of NATO. Substantively, though, think there will be more continuity than change when it comes to the future of U.S. European relations and of U.S. NATO relations. The challenge, of course, is that as you feign a different style, you might induce a different substance from your ally. And we're seeing that change in substance by European policymakers, which seem a bit more willing than ever before to stand up to the president, despite their increased commitments, at least on paper, to meet defense spending needs. Have we seen any legitimate action from our Europe? European allies to beef up their defense? Or is Trump right that Europe is in some ways just

freeloading off our military expenditures? You know, beefing up is always going to be a promissory thing. But when rubber hits the road about things where there is their interest or areas in the world where they have a greater economic interest, you know, where NATO allies, for example, are more reliant on Persian Gulf energy. We haven't seen them put their money where their mouth is or even be willing to put their limited military capabilities where their mouth is. It's been about two months now of the Europeans, particularly a conversation between the French and the Germans, talking about what a countermining mission might look like in the Persian Gulf and St. Rheurmoos, what an international escort mission

might look like. But all of those things, which again are not just budgetary promises, are real concrete actions that they could take, still remain confined to the world of political rhetoric. And that induces more kind of counterproductive hedging away from the alliance, in my view, from the president and it's a rinse and repeat cycle. Lots to keep an eye on. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you. When was the last time you replaced your bedding? Not your mattress, your actual bedding.

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Thanks Zock-D-D-D-O-C for sponsoring this message. Top Democrats are continuing to pull their support for Maine Democrat Graham Platner following a damning sexual assault allegation. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is the most recent top Democrat to pull his support from Platner. Here with Morris Cabot Phillips, host of Wired In. So Cabot, things are looking worse and worse for Platner. Where do things stand now? Yeah, the walls appear to be closing in on Grand Platner right now. Every time my phone buzzes, I assume that it's a notification saying that he's dropped out. That is where we are right now. Now, at this point, it seems to be a matter of when, not if that happens. So let's just recap for our listeners how we got to this point.

So Politico published their account from one of Platner's ex-girlfriends, a woman named Jenny Rassikot. She said that Plattner raped her back in 2021. In that story, which is very difficult to read, she says that a, quote, deeply intoxicated Platter, broke into her house and then forced himself on her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop. She says that in the morning, he claims that he did not remember what had happened, and that she ultimately told him that what happened was not consensual, and she said, I never want to see you again. And then ultimately, she never had any communication with him after that. And there were also text messages of her telling women, some version of what happened, and basically warning them to stay away from this man.

She also said that she was initially reluctant to come forward because she agreed with Platner politically, but that she changed her mind after other women told similar stories and then ultimately were ignored by top Democrats. And it's worth pointing out her story has pretty much cost Platner whatever support he had left, despite his denial of these allegations. Right, and as you mentioned, the endorsements were pulled within hours of this coming out and it kept getting worse. How much worse did it get just since yesterday? Yeah, it went from a trickle to a tsunami. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand,

who runs the Democrats' Senate campaign arm, both called for him to drop out and said they would not spend a penny on his race if he's on the ballot. And if that wasn't bad enough, his top progressive backers, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ruben Gallego, as well as New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, all told him to call it quits. And then maybe most importantly, so did Bernie Sanders, the leader of the party's far-left wing. When the scandals first started popping off, the Reddit posts, the Nazi tattoo, other allegations

of sexual assault, Sanders stood by Platner when other Democrats pulled back, but he lost even his most ardent supporter, and that, again, was the final straw. Now, are Democrats going to be able to replace him in that race? So it's complicated. The short answer is yes, as long as Platner is officially off the ballot by 5 p.m. Monday. The party then has until July 27th to choose a new nominee. And it would be a sort of Joe Biden Kamala Harris situation. So no new primary.

The voters not having a say. Just the state's party leaders handpicking his successor. And it's being reported that Plattenor wants his replacement to be as far left as he is. The New York Post, for example, had a story that Platner essentially told party leaders, hey, I'll step down, but I have to have a say in who is replacing me. And again, it remains to be seen who they pick and just how much influence Platner will have over that decision in the coming days. Now, a lot of Democrats burned through a lot of their political capital by supporting Graham

up until pretty much the last minute. Previously, they'd said this was all Republican propaganda, that he had these sexual assault allegations. What changed about this one? Yeah, a lot of folks would say that this was a predictable outcome, given everything that had already come out about him, that a guy like this with this many skeletons, there's never really going to be an end to these stories. Democrats were able to convince themselves, though, for a while, that none,

of his past mattered in the Trump era of politics, where, you know, it's kind of harder to cancel politicians. If you remember a few weeks ago, Democrats were quick to dismiss that New York Times report in which another one of Platner's ex-girlfriends, Lindsay Feifield, said that Plattener was physically and emotionally abusive. She said Plattener allegedly pinned her arm behind her back, yanked her out of a car, and ultimately locked her in a room for hours. Democrats immediately went after Feifield, trying to say that because she had worked for conservative groups in the past, that this was, you know, a politically motivated attack and not a legitimate story. She has since made clear that she provided the Times ample evidence and sources that they

appear to have refused to look into. Well, and that brings us to Rassikot's story because apparently that Times article motivated her as well. Can you unpack why? Yeah, this is a fascinating element here. So Rassikot says that she actually stepped forward precisely because the media, including the New York Times, appeared to be intent on making this story about Lindsay Fyfield being a, supposedly politically motivated rather than the substance of what she was alleging. And Rassacott was actually in that same original New York Times story.

She told Politico that she was disappointed that her account was presented as pretty much, quote, just a readover. And so she decided to tell her story in full despite her reservations, because this is a woman who openly said, I'm a progressive, I agree with grand planters politics. And that was actually one thing that kept her from coming forward. Well, and it sounds like her story was the one that ended up breaking through. Cabot, thanks for reporting. Absolutely.

Here we go. Someone's already claiming this is our year. Someone else said that last year too. A round of Jamison, Ginger, and Lime arrives at a table. Smooth enough for kickoff, smooth enough for extra time. New friends pulling up a stool. Debates about whether that was a handball. Cheers rising like a roar around the room.

Because match days are about the shared moments. How did Jameson to your match day lineup? Jameson, it's what you bring. Please enjoy our products responsibly. The annual conference for the nation's most powerful teachers union wrapped up yesterday. But the hyper-partisan agenda they've endorsed has already sparked blowback. Joining us now is Corey DeAngelis, a heritage research fellow who's been closely covering the organization's actions. Corey, thank you so much for coming on.

Hey, thanks so much for having me. So you've gained access to this agenda for the National Education Association, and you've released it to the public. Before we dive into that, just how influential is the NAA? They're the largest labor union in the country, and they happen to be the largest teachers union in the country, and they have over $400 million in revenues every single year, of which less than 10 percent of it actually goes towards representing teachers every year. Most of it goes towards political activity. Well, 400 million. So they plan to call for the impeachment conviction and removal of President Trump. That's a direct quote that you've highlighted. They're directing a stunning amount of their dues to this. What do we know about their? plans on this? And is this actually the kind of thing that an organization like this can actually do legally? Yeah, it sounds like an insurrection to me. But yeah, they can legally use money for

political activities. It's crazy. We actually have, the N.EA has a federal charter. They've had it for over 100 years. They have the backing of Congress. There is a bill right now to get rid of that federal charter, and Congress should move to do so because they are so outright partisan. and 98% of their political contributions go to Democrats every single election cycle. It's a money laundering operation. And for this one bullet item to call for the removal of the president of the United States, they're dedicating over $5.2 million in dues resources towards it. That's coming out of everyday teacher's paychecks.

You've highlighted a business item 24, which revolves around educational reparations. What exactly does that mean? beats me, but if you go and look into it, it says something about, you know, erasing student loan debt for African-American students and giving them more taxpayer dollars. I'd say that's a violation of the Civil Rights Act saying that because you are a certain race, that you should get particular benefits for your education. I think we should look at everybody in a colorblind way, which should be all Americans should get a certain benefit or we should be picking winners and losers based on immutable characteristics.

And here we have it, the union is in. entrenched in DEI policy, in racist policy. And that's just another reason why, one, teachers who are on board with this, they need to leave their union. And this is also why we need school choice to empower parents to get away from these activists to control too many classrooms. What are the implications of all these goals for everyday Americans? How does the NIA actually impact most Americans in their agenda? Well, if they're spending more time focused on the LGBTs, that means less time for the ABC. So they're focused so much on political activism.

Our education rankings are in the tank. I mean, we spend $21,000 per student per year in American government schools, and that amount has increased 170% in real terms since 1970, but the money doesn't make its way into the classroom. It's being used for a political agenda, and that's why only a fit the kids are proficient in math now, despite how much we spend. we're an international embarrassment.

We spend more than any other country on earth, basically, and our outcomes are not at the top. So we should push Congress and lawmakers to focus on the student as opposed to the system, allow for school choice competition. Maybe then the NEA and their activists will say, hey, we should focus on student outcomes as opposed to activism. That's the only way we improve things through competition. And teachers, they need to leave.

They need to say no more. using my money for a political agenda. How about we use it for math reading and writing? We always appreciate your expertise. Corey DeAngelis, thank you so much for coming on me. Absolutely. Thanks so much. 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 with more news you need to know. If you want a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to Maybe take a long weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies.

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