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--:-- John Bickley: Democrat insiders are increasingly worried about the direction of Joe Biden's presidential campaign, saying he has a losing message. So now I think you're seeing that fear among Democrats where it's, what do we do? There is no other option.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, June 20th, and this is Morning Wire. Californians are set to vote on some game-changing ballot initiatives on crime and taxes, but Governor Newsom is trying to take the issues out of voters' hands. The fact that now Gavin Newsom is resorting to this scheme is completely unacceptable.
--:-- John Bickley: And former President Trump is floating some unusual tax proposals that could be very popular with working-class voters. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- John Bickley: According to new reporting, there is growing dissension in the orbit of Joe Biden over the direction and focus of his campaign for the presidency. Here to discuss the concerns being raised is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Hey, David. So what is the main concern here in terms of the campaign's central messaging?
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. The dissenting voices in Biden world are worried that there's too much emphasis being placed on January 6th and Trump's alleged threat to democracy. This is a central line of attack that Democrats have used not just against Trump, but against Republicans in general for three years. It's the favored approach of Mike Donilon, a longtime Biden aide and possibly his most trusted.
--:-- David Marcus: According to Axios, the inner circle of the campaign still has faith in Donilon's theory that this is a very important issue to voters. But other Democrats worry that voters are far more concerned with practical issues such as inflation and the border. And they give Trump much higher polling numbers on those.
--:-- John Bickley: Right. Why is Donilon so certain that this democracy narrative will actually work even when polls show that Biden is struggling right now? I mean, there are certainly Democrats who feel this fear of Trump becoming a dictator or whatever it is so viscerally that it's hard for them to imagine that the vast majority of people don't also feel it. And when push comes to shove in November, those people they believe won't vote for Trump.
--:-- David Marcus: But Donald and his allies also understand that the media will amplify this message for them like a Mexican border blaster. And that's a much easier message to coordinate with entertainers and celebrities, for example, than explanations for inflation or the migrant crisis or anything else on the laundry list of things Americans are worried about.
--:-- David Marcus: So how have we seen this play out so far in terms of the media and entertainment worlds promoting this line of argument? It been laid on pretty thick We had Rachel Maddow appear on The View and basically agree with Joy Behar that Trump might take them off the air if elected a claim for which they gave no actual basis.
--:-- John Bickley: John Oliver took to his show the other day to argue that a second Trump term would be much worse than the first because he would be unbridled or something along those lines. In a way, they operate like a Greek chorus narrating the events of the election. But it's not clear that the audience, which is to say the voters, are buying their song of doom and gloom.
--:-- David Marcus: To that point, what are the main arguments from the Democrats who fear this tactic is failing? Obviously, there's the fact that Biden is trailing in many of the polls, especially in swing states. But there's also evidence that voters feelings about January 6th have not significantly moved, at least since congressional hearings that actually moved the needle slightly towards Trump on the issue.
--:-- David Marcus: The critics of all this focus on democracy and norms also see that the 91 indictments against Trump have made this a two-sided issue, even if there is some evidence that Trump's conviction hurt him slightly among independents. Ultimately, and this is to the point John Oliver was trying to stress, Americans have a rare opportunity to choose between back-to-back administrations. So if they're looking at it that way, as a straight comparison of record, then January 6th might not matter much.
--:-- John Bickley: The Biden campaign is not going to stop hammering this. Scary Trump is a rare place where they can play offense in a cycle where they play so much defense that they just created a task force to tackle so-called cheap fakes. But look, we might see Biden go a little less dark Brandon and let his surrogates play this democracy card.
--:-- Brandon: Yeah, well, a defensive campaign is often a losing campaign. Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: California Governor Gavin Newsom is working overtime to prevent several issues from going before his state's voters, addressing everything from crime to taxes. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Alordi is here with the details. Hey, Maraid. So it looks like Gavin Newsom here may be sort of afraid of how voters might respond to these ballot initiatives.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Hi, John. Well, he certainly doesn't seem to want California voters weighing in on these issues. So one situation is a ballot initiative on raising taxes. Governor Newsom is currently suing to keep an initiative off the November ballot that would make it harder for California to raise taxes.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: That case is currently before the California Supreme Court. The governor is up against business groups and taxpayer advocates who are fed up with the state's high taxes. So some background here, currently California state legislature can raise taxes as long as two-thirds of both chambers approve the tax hike. However, under the initiative, voters would also have to approve any new tax hikes.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: This ballot measure also essentially says you can't disguise a new tax as something else like a fee or a fine. In another situation, the California legislature is trying to block another ballot initiative that would toughen penalties for theft and drug crimes.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: We spoke to Dr. Human Hamati, an entrepreneur and board certified ophthalmologist based in Santa Monica, who is very active in California politics. Here's what he had to say about Newsom fighting the crime and tax ballot initiatives.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: He's been very aggressive in terms of keeping any sort of ballot measures from the citizens that would limit his powers or force his hand in the case of limiting taxation or forcing the government's hand in terms of prosecuting criminals off the ballot. But it looks like in every case he failing People are realizing what he up to People are dumb And on top of that I think the courts are recognizing this is undemocratic
--:-- John Bickley: So tell us more about this ballot initiative on crime that is essentially a response to Prop 47 correct Correct And just to remind our listeners Prop 47 is the 2014 ballot initiative backed by George Soros that lowered certain crimes to misdemeanors down from felonies, including drug possession and theft of less than $950 in goods.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Newsom supported Prop 47. He and other supporters of the ballot initiative claimed it would save money by putting fewer people in prison. Well, it's certainly done that, but Californians have paid a heavy price elsewhere. Prop 47 has allowed organized retail theft rings to run rampant. Even if they are arrested, they are rarely prosecuted. Meanwhile, open-air drug use has skyrocketed.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: So now there's momentum against Prop 47. Law enforcement, businesses, and local elected officials from different parts of California are all campaigning against Prop 47. One of these efforts is a ballot initiative to crack down on shoplifters and drug dealers.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Under this initiative, a thief with two prior convictions could be charged with a felony for the third theft no matter how much they stole. Also, the combined value of stolen property could add up to a felony charge. On drugs, the initiative would make possessing fentanyl with a loaded gun a felony, and dealers could be charged with homicide if their clients overdosed.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: And how close is this crime initiative to getting on the ballot? So the Crime Crackdown Ballot Initiative has 900,000 signatures. That's hundreds of thousands more than were required. But now Democratic lawmakers are trying to kill the initiative by passing legislation to convince the public they are combating crime.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: But the legislation is nowhere near the level of a crackdown the initiative would be. For example, on theft, it would only toughen penalties for organized criminals who steal more than $50,000 worth of product.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: Newsom is scared to death that this is going to pass and prosecutors would have to actually prosecute criminals. And instead, what he's doing in order to manipulate voters is to pass a bunch of watered down, what he calls anti-crime legislation that really have no teeth whatsoever.
--:-- John Bickley: The latest on all this is that negotiations between Newsom and the anti-Prop 47 people have broken down. Maybe not surprising there. And meanwhile, we're still hearing about really shocking lawlessness in California cities, correct?
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Absolutely. In San Jose over the weekend, several people in ski masks were seen jumping on a police car and smashing the windshield. In Los Angeles County, a huge brawl broke out at a high school graduation for 100 students, 30 of whom were on probation. And in the Bay Area, about 20 suspects dressed in dark clothing, including face coverings, were caught on video smashing through the doors of jewelry store and looting it while a person was inside.
--:-- Dr. Hamadi: Dr. Hamadi noted that his own area of Santa Monica has been deeply affected. Under Newsom, what's happened here locally in Santa Monica, which I think is emblematic of what's happening throughout much of the state, is that crime has become rampant and homelessness as a result has also become rampant and the two go hand in hand.
--:-- John Bickley: We should note too, meanwhile, people are leaving California in droves. California's population has dropped by over half a million people in the last three years, while more red states like Florida, Texas, and South Carolina have seen their populations grow. We'll be tracking both of these initiatives, taxes and crime, both major issues for Californians.
--:-- Maraid Alordi: Mara, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, John.
--:-- John Bickley: As the race for the White House heats up, the Biden and Trump campaigns are offering dueling tax proposals that would directly impact millions of American households. Here with more on the competing visions is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Hey, Kevin, so money is on everyone's mind even more than usual amid all the inflation. We've got a slew of tax proposals being debated this week. Break it down for us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, tax policy is not always the most exciting campaign topic, but it is always one of the most impactful At the moment a debate is raging in Washington over the all corporate tax rate Back in 2017 then Trump slashed that rate from 35 to 21 but it could soon be moving again If Democrats and President Biden have their way, it'll go back up to as high as 28%. If Republicans get theirs, it'll go even lower, potentially down to 15%.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, keep in mind, over the course of a decade, each percentage point represents about $130 billion in either tax cuts or hikes. So there's a lot at stake. Yeah. President Biden says the tax should be raised to ensure corporations pay their fair share, while Trump and Republicans say lower rates mean lower prices for Americans.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They argue that raising the corporate rate will discourage businesses from operating in the U.S. and ultimately benefit competitors like China. More on that, I spoke with Brandon Arnold, executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union. A higher corporate tax rate would really harm American competitiveness. When corporations have their costs go up, They've got to find a way to cover those costs. And the way they usually do so is either by reducing wages for their workers or by raising prices at a time when Americans have, frankly, had enough of inflation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, President Trump obviously wants to extend those cuts, and he's also now floating the idea of just eliminating income tax altogether. Tell us about that. Yeah, an ambitious proposal for sure. Last week, during a meeting with Republican lawmakers, Trump reportedly threw out the idea of doing away with the income tax entirely and replacing it with massive tariffs on all imported goods.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But in order to make up for the $4.2 trillion that comes in through income tax every year, you likely need 100 to 130% tariffs on every good coming into the country. Detractors say it will result in exorbitant costs across the board and crushed demand for imports. For his part, Trump says it would spur domestic manufacturing and reduce our reliance on foreign countries.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But it's not clear how serious of a proposal this is. We're still waiting for more details from Trump on that part. All right. One final tax proposal before we go, the one involving service workers. Yeah, this went viral last week when President Trump at a campaign event in Nevada vowed to eliminate taxes on all tips for those working in the service industry.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For those hotel workers and people that get tips, you're going to be very happy because when I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips, people making tips. Critics of the idea say tips are income and there's no reason they should be treated any differently. They point to estimates that eliminating such taxes would cut federal revenue by a quarter trillion dollars each year.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Supporters, however, say that money is better served in the hands of those who actually earn it and argue that service workers are struggling to make ends meet after years of inflation and deserve a break. Now, it's worth noting, if elected, Trump could certainly encourage lawmakers to adopt such a proposal. But according to Arnold, it will be a hard sell.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I don't think he's going to find a very sympathetic Congress to doing so, whether the Congress is controlled by Republicans or Democrats. And the reason is this is really more of a political position than it is an economic one. There's no real good economic or policy reason why tips should not be subject to taxation and other forms of income should be. But there are already some lawmakers looking to make it a reality. On Tuesday, Republican congressmen Matt Gaetz and Thomas Massey proposed the Tax-Free Tips Act, which would codify Trump's plan, but we'll have to wait and see if it gains any real traction.
--:-- John Bickley: For their part, Trump supporters have started a grassroots marketing campaign writing on receipts, vote Trump, he won't tax tips. It's got a ring to it. Kevin, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
