The Daily Signal - Biden Withholds Weapons From Israel, GOP Lawmakers Introduces Bill to Remove Hamas Sympathizers, Stormy Daniels on Witness Stand | May 9

Starting point is 00:00:02 I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Thursday, May 9th. Here are today's headlines. President Joe Biden says he will not supply Israel with offensive weapons if Israel launches an offensive in the city of Rafa in Gaza. Israel's planned offensive in Rafa has drawn criticism for weeks. The city has a large civilian population since many Palestinians have fled there to escape the fighting elsewhere. Israel says that Rafa is high. Hamas's last stronghold in Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very clear that Israel will carry out a military operation in Rafah that is aimed at dismantling Hamas.

Starting point is 00:00:56 But during an interview with CNN that aired on Wednesday, President Joe Biden says that he won't send weapons to Israel if they carry out that offensive in Rafah. Take a listen. I made it clear that if they go into Rafah, they haven't gone on Rafi yet. They go into Rafa. I'm not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafa, to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem. We're going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks like came out of the Middle East recently.

Starting point is 00:01:34 But it's just wrong. We're not going to supply the weapons and the artillery shells used that have been used in the cities. Artillery shells as well. a to their shelves. Now, Israeli lawmakers and Jewish groups are firing back at the president for his remarks. According to Jewish insider, Robert Saffloff of the Washington Institute for Neri's policy said Biden's decision to withhold the weapons runs the risk of lengthening the fighting, causing more civilian casualties, undermining chances of a hostage or ceasefire deal,

Starting point is 00:02:11 running out the clock on a Saudi agreement and extending the Gaza fighting so long that it hurts Biden's reelection chances. And he added that it is not easy to come up with a lose, lose, lose, lose policy option, but I fear this is it. But even before Biden's comments, NBC News reported that the White House had halted a shipment of offensive weapons last week. Florida Democrat Representative Jared Moskowitz told Jewish insider that if Hamas is watching American television, which I guarantee you they are, they're seeing more division and their power growing in this country, which means less pressure on Hamas. On Monday, Israel told civilians in Rafa to evacuate the city. The Associated Press reports that Israel tanks have entered Rafa and that Israeli military has begun

Starting point is 00:03:04 carrying out strikes on targets within Rafa. The House passed a bill this week that directs the government not to count illegal aliens in the U.S. census. The bill is called the Equal Representation Act, and it would specifically restore a question about U.S. citizenship to the 2030 census. The bill has the power to potentially reshape congressional representation and the electoral college, since representation in a district is based on population. And with millions of illegal aliens residing in the United States, the legislation aims to protect Americans' electoral power and congressional representation by ensuring that foreign citizens are not counted in the 2030 census.

Starting point is 00:03:49 But the issue is partisan, since many illegal aliens who have crossed the border now reside in blue states and cities. Counting them on the census could lead to those Democrat-leaning areas receiving more representation in Congress. Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Haggerty introduced the Senate version of the bill in March and most Republicans supported it, but it didn't pass. Republicans would likely have to gain control of the Senate once again in order for the bill to pass there. Stormy Daniels was back on the witness stand in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan today. You'll remember that Daniels signed a $130,000 non-disclosure agreement with Trump's former

Starting point is 00:04:33 attorney Michael Cohen near the end of the 2016 presidential election. The agreement was allegedly to keep Daniels quiet over an alleged sexual encounter that she had with Trump and which Trump denies. There are no video cameras in the courtroom, but there are reporters inside, so this is what we know from their reporting. Trump's lawyer questioned Daniels on the stand today, according to NBC News. The attorney asked Daniels about the porn films that she has written and directed and told Daniels, you have a lot of experience making phony stories about sex. To which NBC News reports that Daniels retorted, whoa, that's not how I would put it. The sex in the films is very much real, just like what happened to me in that room with Trump. And she added, if that story wasn't true, I would have written it to be a lot better.

Starting point is 00:05:28 Daniel said that she did not ask for money from Trump, but did ask for money to tell her story. Daniel said it was Trump's lawyer Cohen who approached her about signing. the non-disclosure agreement. And she says that she thought the agreement was a perfect solution. Daniel's attorney, Clark Brewster, told NBC News that his client did a remarkable job of getting her testimony across today. We do not know who will be testifying tomorrow, but it likely will not be Cohen, since it's unlikely that attorneys would want to interrupt his testimony over the weekend, and he's a witness who will likely be on the stand for more. multiple days. So stay tuned. During Biden's interview with CNN that we discussed earlier,

Starting point is 00:06:17 the president also discussed inflation. And Biden claimed that when he took office in January of 2021, inflation was 9%. No president's had the run we've had in terms of creating jobs and bringing down inflation was 9% when I came to office. Nine percent. But look, people have a right to be concern. But the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that inflation was 1.4% in January of 2021. Inflation did reach 9% in June of 2022 under President Biden. The New York Post reports that since Biden took office, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that the average price of goods and services has increased 19%. A Republican lawmaker has introduced a bill to send foreign students who are arrested for protesting back home.

Starting point is 00:07:08 The Daily Caller reports that Tennessee Republican Representative, Andy Ogles, introduced the Study Abroad Act this week. If the bill becomes law, a student here on a student visa who is arrested for rioting or unlawful protest or whom authorities have arrested while establishing participating in or promoting an encampment will be sent home. Ogles told the caller that the ability to receive higher education in the United States, is truly a privilege. Previously known for their prestige and unparalleled academics, many elite American universities have damaged their hard-earned reputations by opening their doors

Starting point is 00:07:47 to impressionable terrorist sympathizers. Hundreds of students have been arrested at pro-Palestine protests across America at some of America's most elite universities in recent weeks. Ogles went on to say that it is time to send a clear message to foreign Hamas, sympathizing students rioting. If you bring chaos to our universities, you can study abroad somewhere else. Might I recommend Iran, Qatar, or Gaza, they seem for your speed. Finally, last night, the effort to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson from his position failed. Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Green introduced the motion to oust Johnson. She had criticized him for backing large government appropriations bills and for bringing the foreign aid bill to the House floor for a vote, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine.

Starting point is 00:08:43 So Wednesday night, Green triggered that vote on her motion to vacate the speaker. Then Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise called for a vote to table the motion, and the House voted 359 to 43 to table it. 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voted in defense of Johnson. Ten Republicans voted alongside Green to move forward with the effort to remove Johnson. Those 10 GOP members include Andy Biggs of Arizona, Eric Burleson of Missouri, Eli Crane of Arizona, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Paul Goser of Arizona, Thomas Massey of Kentucky, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama,

Starting point is 00:09:28 Chip Roy of Texas, and Victoria Sparts of Indiana. After the vote, Green told the press that she was still proud of her actions. With that, we're going to leave it there for today's show. Thank you so much for joining us

Starting point is 00:09:40 on the Daily Signal podcast. And tomorrow morning, I am so excited that we are welcoming one of our own to the show. Daily Signal senior reporter Mary Margaret Ola-Han is the author of the brand new book

Starting point is 00:09:52 D-Trans, true stories of escaping the gender ideology cult. And she sits down and shares some of those stories with us on the show and explains how so many young people are being lured in to the gender ideology movement, or as she puts it, cult. Make sure to catch that conversation tomorrow, Friday morning. And if you have a minute, make sure that you leave the Daily Cibille podcast of five-star rating and review. We love hearing your feedback.

Starting point is 00:10:18 And be sure to hit that subscribe button if you never miss out on new shows. With that, have a great. rest of your Thursday. We'll see you right back here Friday morning for the conversation with Mary Margaret O'Lahan as we discuss her book, D-Trans, True Stories of Escaping the Gender Ideology Cult. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you. Executive producers are Rob Blewey and Kate Trinko. Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Mary Margaret O'Lehann and Tyler O'Neill. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more or support our work, please visit

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The Daily Signal - Biden Withholds Weapons From Israel, GOP Lawmakers Introduces Bill to Remove Hamas Sympathizers, Stormy Daniels on Witness Stand | May 9

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