--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. Between two-factor authentication, strong passwords, and a VPN, you try to be in control of how your info is protected. But many other places also have it, and they might not be as careful. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats. If your identity is stolen, they'll fix it. Guaranteed or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit LifeLock.com slash podcast for 40% off. Terms apply.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- John Bickley: President Biden announces massive tariffs, some as high as 100%, on $18 billion worth of Chinese goods. The fact is, American workers can outwork and outcompete anyone, as long as the competition is fair. Chinese companies don't need to worry about a profit, because the Chinese government subsidized them and subsidized them heavily. Why did Biden reverse course on tariffs? And will it add fuel to inflation?
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with guest host Katie Pavlich, editor at Town Hall VIP. It's Wednesday, May 15th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Brandon: [Producer] Hey guys, Balanced Nature is our go-to way to get whole food ingredients every day. They use an advanced cold vacuum process that encapsulates fruits and vegetables into whole food supplements without sacrificing their natural antioxidants. The capsules are completely void of additives, fillers, extracts, synthetics, pesticides, or added sugar. The only thing at Balance of Nature fruit and veggie capsules are fruits and veggies. Go to balanceofnature.com and use promo code WIRE for 35% off your first fruits and veggies set plus $10 off each additional set.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Katie Pavlich: On Tuesday, President Biden announced sweeping new tariffs on Chinese imports that he says will strengthen national security and American manufacturing. The move has prompted questions about further inflation and retaliation from China. Here to discuss the economic and political fallout is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, we talked a few weeks back about these looming tariffs. And on Tuesday, President Biden made it official, announcing a broader package than originally expected. In total, the plan will raise tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports. The new rates include a near tripling on electric vehicles, which will go from 27% to 100%. It also includes 50% tariffs on solar panels and semiconductors, along with 25% for steel and aluminum products.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, the White House says the tariffs are a matter of national security and will not only weaken China's grip on the global supply chain, but also encourage manufacturers to begin producing critical technologies here at home. The Biden administration has for years now accused Beijing of manipulating the global economy by subsidizing their own manufacturing industry as part of a broader effort to flood the global market and in turn put Western manufacturers out of business.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here President Biden yesterday speaking to that point: "We not going to let China flood our market making it impossible for American auto manufacturers to compete fairly."
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And what sort of response do we expect to see from China? Yeah, if recent history is any indicator, they will enact similar measures of their own. Remember, President Trump imposed a series of much larger tariffs that targeted a staggering $300 billion worth of Chinese imports. And in that case, Beijing responded quickly, slapping $100 billion worth of tariffs of their own on American exports.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They haven't made any such announcement yet, but Chinese officials said Tuesday the country would take, quote, all necessary actions to combat the move, which they said violates World Trade Organization rules and threatens, quote, the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, for their part, critics say tariffs are inevitably paid for by consumers and will only result in higher prices here at home on a slew of products.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, this is quite the reversal from President Biden, who had opposed tariffs on China in the past. You're right. It is worth noting Biden quite literally campaigned on a platform against tariffs just like these, which at the time he called senseless.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In 2019, for example, he tweeted, quote, "Trump does not get the basics. He thinks his tariffs are being paid by China. Any freshman econ student could tell you that the American people are paying his tariffs."
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And here he was speaking on the campaign trail: "Iowa farmers have been crushed by his tariff war with China. He thinks that being tough is great. Well, it's really easy to be tough when someone else absorbs the pain."
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So walk us through the political implications of this announcement. Well, the timing of this move less than six months before Election Day could certainly be viewed as politically motivated, especially when you take into account the popularity of these policies in Rust Belt swing states.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We talked yesterday about the neck and neck polling in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Those are all states with large working class and union populations, two voter blocks who favor tariffs like this.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And remember, on average, just 35 percent of Americans approve of Biden's handling of foreign affairs, including America standing with China. Democrats are well aware of those facts. And Biden is clearly hoping here to outflank Trump on the topic of China and be the candidate perceived as toughest on Beijing.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, for his part, President Trump said this weekend that he would go even further and implement 200 percent tariffs on electric vehicles from China. He claims Biden is flip flopping on the issue because he's trying to catch up to the former president.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It was announced last night that Biden finally listened to me. He listens to me. You know, he does a lot of things. He listens about he's about four years late. But he says he's going to put a 100 percent tariff on all Chinese electric vehicles. Isn't that nice? Should have done this four years ago.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And one final note, this all comes as the latest CPI report is set to drop this morning. It's expected to once again show stubbornly high inflation across the board. So expect to hear quite a bit on that in the coming days. We'll certainly cover those numbers here.
--:-- Kevin: [Reporter] If you need a better way to simplify your business finances, then you need to check out Ramp. Ramp is the corporate card and spend management software designed to help you save time and put money back in your pocket. Businesses that use Ramp save an average of 5% in the first year. And now you get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com slash wire. That's ramp.com slash wire. Cards issued by Sutton Bank and Celtic Bank, member of FDIC Terms and conditions apply.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Over half of recent immigrants to the United States are unemployed, a data point that suggests immigrants aren't the economic boon that some officials have claimed. That and more was revealed in a new report on immigration by the Center for Immigration Studies. Here to discuss the numbers is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, CIS compiled a lot of interesting data and packaged it in a report out this week. And as Katie said, one data point that stood out is on migrant employment. Not only do we have an immigration crisis, but a severe unemployment rate among migrants as well.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The report says, quote, "only 46% of the foreign born who arrived in 2022 or later were employed in the first part of 2024." Now, there's a substantial economic cost to having so many people unemployed, no matter who pays it.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And how many of these migrants are looking for work? Barely any. According to the CIS analysis, only about 8% of the 2.5 million new arrivals say they are actively looking for work.
--:-- Tim Pierce: These are bad numbers for those that argue that heavy immigration is a net benefit for the U.S. economy. Here's a viral moment from New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday, saying that tens of thousands of unemployed migrants are a burden on his city.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Those jobs that we are in high demand, we could expedite. How do we have a large body of people that are in our city and country that are excellent swimmers, and at the same time, we need lifeguards? And the only obstacle is that we won't give them the right to work to become a lifeguard.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I should also mention the top line of the CIS report. The number of foreign-born people living in the United States grew by over 5 million people in the past two years. That's the largest two-year increase ever recorded.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The relative percentage of foreign-born to native-born people in the U.S. has increased steadily since about 1970, and it now sits at around 16% of the population. In absolute numbers, that means that 51.6 million foreign-born people currently reside in the U.S., and that number is on track to grow to nearly 63 million in 2030 and over 82 million by 2040.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I should also note that these are conservative estimates based on imprecise immigration numbers. The actual numbers are likely higher and potentially much higher.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah. Now we've seen some recent reports that the U.S. may receive help combating mass migration south of the border. What do we know? That's right. The newly elected president of Panama, Jose Raul Molino, has promised to shut down migration through the Darien Gap.
--:-- Tim Pierce: We've reported on Darien before. It's the strip of land that connects North and South America. It's a swampy, largely undeveloped, and thickly forested stretch that has turned into a major thoroughfare. According to one estimate, over half a million migrants crossed through the gap last year.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The foot traffic has taken a toll on the environment, but more than that, the heavy immigration has also drawn criminal gangs to the area. That's the main reason Molina wants to shut the gap down to migrants.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, some experts are skeptical that Panama can marshal the resources needed to shut down its border. We'll see what happens after he takes office this summer.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for joining us.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Thanks for having me.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Katie Pavlich: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees has voted to gut funding for the school's diversity, equity and inclusion department and give that money to campus police instead. The DEI office will lose millions of dollars and campus safety will be beefed up in the wake of anti-Israel protests. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So Maraid, first tell us what UNC is doing. Hi Katie. So it looks like UNC Chapel Hill is essentially eliminating its diversity Office with this move UNC Chapel Hill board voted unanimously to redirect $2.3 million in diversity funding towards campus safety and police.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: This was at a special meeting on Monday to address the university's budget. The beefed-up funding for campus police comes in the wake of weeks of anti-Israel demonstrations on UNC's campus. Several UNC protesters have been arrested. And, of course, pro-Palestinian encampments and other demonstrations are going on at campuses across the country. Police have had to get involved at many schools.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So what is UNC saying about this decision? So UNC Chapel Hill's Budget Committee introduced the amendment to slash the diversity budget. The Budget Committee Vice Chairman Marty Kodis had some strong words about DEI.
--:-- Marty Kodis: I think that DEI in a lot of people's minds is divisiveness, exclusion, and indoctrination. We need more unity and togetherness, more dialogue, more diversity of thought.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The budget vice chairman also emphasized that UNC needs to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, quote, "not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university's operations, because he said that drains resources."
--:-- Maraid Elordi: We should note anti-Israel protests have roiled the campus for weeks. Last month, police detained more than 30 people at a pro-Palestinian encampment where protesters took down the American flag and replaced it with a Palestinian flag.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: The budget committee Vice Chairman pointed out that, quote, "when you destroy property or you take down the U.S. flag and you have to put up gates around it, that costs money. He said it's imperative that they have the proper resources for law enforcement to protect the campus."
--:-- Maraid Elordi: We also heard from Board Chairman David Boliak. He said there's administrative bloat at the university and any cuts they can make from administration to rubber meets the road efforts like public safety and teaching is important.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Okay, so it sounds like the university board was pretty eager to defund the department. Right. It doesn't seem like there was a ton of pushback.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And there's a broader anti-DEI effort happening in the North Carolina university system, too, correct?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: That's right. So UNC Chapel Hill is the flagship school, of course, of North Carolina's public university system. And the UNC system is currently approaching a broader vote next week to replace its diversity policy.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: This move would reverse a 2019 DEI regulation for the university system's 17 schools and likely eliminate a number of DEI jobs at those schools. If approved, this new policy would take effect immediately.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: And of course, this comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision last June on affirmative action. In fact, the court ruled against UNC's affirmative action admission policy specifically, along with Harvard's affirmative action policy.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: That decision has had a profound impact on the admissions processes at schools across the country over the last year. Right. There appears to be a reckoning of sorts happening with affirmative action. And now, DEI.
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Maraid, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Thanks, Katie.
--:-- [Music transitions to a closing theme]
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Hey, thank you for listening this morning. We created this show to bring more balance to the national conversation. If you love our show and stand with that mission, consider subscribing, giving us a five-star rating, and most importantly, sharing our podcast with a friend.
--:-- [Closing music continues to play]
--:-- Katie Pavlich: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Closing music fades out]
--:-- Announcer: Introducing the new and improved Jeremy's Razor, featuring a top to bottom redesign for an exceptionally smooth and close shave. Enjoy an ergonomic handle designed for superior durability. And the new coated stainless steel blades are sharper so they last longer. The new increased flexibility allows the razor to better contour to your face to help prevent nicks and cuts. Plus, the lubricating strip has argan oil and aloe. So what are you waiting for? Get started today with the trial kit. Pledge to fight the left and build the future with Jeremy's Razors. Go to jeremysrazors.com and order yours today.
--:-- Announcer: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
