--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and I'm here with my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us, folks.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: China strikes back, cutting off shipments of rare earth minerals and magnets after Trump paused most tariffs for everyone but them. Well, the United States also has considerable and profound economic leverage over China. So China would be very wise to pursue the path of de-escalation. How has the White House reacted and how do Americans view the president's trade war?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm here with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, April 14th, and this is Morning Wire. The Supreme Court weighs in on several of Trump's executive actions. How is his agenda faring and what's next on the docket?
--:-- Georgia Howe: We called on the Supreme Court to rein in these activist judges like Judge Boesberg, who was completely out of line. And President Trump welcomes El Salvador's president to the White House today. after what Trump's calling a model deal.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: President Trump will host a number of foreign leaders for trade negotiations this week as Congress prepares to pass a crucial spending package. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here to break down the high stakes week ahead in Washington.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot. So let's start with the latest from this trade war. What did we see over the weekend?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, two big developments on that front. First, after the president paused tariffs on every country but China, Beijing predictably responded by raising their own tariffs on U.S. goods from 84% to 125%. They went a step further Sunday, halting the export of rare earth minerals and magnets.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For context, China produces upwards of 60% of the world's rare earth minerals and 90% of all rare earth magnets, which are crucial for high-tech chips, semiconductors, batteries, and car manufacturing.
--:-- John Bickley: The White House says the fact America is so reliant on Chinese products in the first place shows just how crucial it is that we increase American manufacturing, or at least form stronger trade alliances elsewhere.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Stateside President Trump made big news over the weekend, announcing that electronics like smartphones and laptops will temporarily be exempt from tariffs. That's a major relief to tech giants like Apple, NVIDIA, and Microsoft.
--:-- John Bickley: The White House said those exemptions would be temporary. Presumably, they're sending a message to Beijing that they better make a deal before they become permanent. So easing those tariffs for now, but using them as leverage.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Exactly. So it's been a wild ride for the stock market over the last few weeks. We've documented that here. How are people responding? How have Trump's tariffs played with the American people so far?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, it's still early. Remember, the White House has been saying all along there will be short-term pain and that it will take time for these measures to fully pay off. But to this point, it's been a mixed bag with the public.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On the negative side for Trump, a big CBS poll this weekend showed that just 42 of Americans favor tariffs compared to 58 who oppose while his approval rating on the economy fell to 44.
--:-- John Bickley: Similarly the University of Michigan closely watched consumer sentiment index fell 11% to its lowest point since the height of COVID. Americans cited the potential for rising inflation and unemployment as their biggest areas of concern.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For their part, though, the White House says those concerns are being driven more by fear-mongering from the media and Democrats. They argue that inflation is falling and markets are recovering, and that President Trump will soon secure historic deals with trading partners that will benefit the economy.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on CNN. Right now, 130 countries, 130 countries have responded and we're negotiating with them. The small business owner has experienced over the last few weeks the start of a process that's settling down really quite quickly.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And as for the good news for the president, that CBS poll I mentioned earlier found that nearly 60 percent of Americans believe he's using tariffs as a negotiating tool. So that message does seem to have gotten through.
--:-- John Bickley: But most notably, Quinnipiac found that Republicans and Democrats are now tied on the question of which party cares more for the needs of people like you. For decades, Democrats have had a massive times 20-point lead on that question. So it's big.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It appears more and more Americans view Republicans as caring about the needs of average folks. That is a generational shift that's indicative of where Trump is trying to take the party economically.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, before we go, and related to the public perception of Trump, he made a high-profile appearance this weekend that really made a splash. What happened there?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, Trump dominated social media Saturday night after making a surprise appearance at the UFC event in Miami. Have a listen.
--:-- [Audio clip of Trump's entrance]
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And making the entrance right now to a standing ovation, the 47th president of the United States of America. Is there anybody else that has a walk-in?
--:-- John Bickley: The Daily Wire's David Cohn was there covering the event. He said the crowd was never louder than when Trump made that entrance.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Worth noting, the president was joined ringside by a number of cabinet members, including Marco Rubio, RFK Jr., Cash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elon Musk.
--:-- John Bickley: I know you're a little jealous you weren't there ringside.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Kevin, thanks for reporting.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Trump administration is at the center of several high-stakes battles before the Supreme Court. The rulings are testing the limits of executive power on issues ranging from deportations to federal regulations.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Joining us now to break down how the administration has fared so far before SCOTUS and what's ahead is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, Megan, let's start with the big picture. We know that the lower courts have been challenging Trump at just about every turn, and the administration has been filing emergency appeals to the Supreme Court along the way. What are some of the big results we've seen?
--:-- John Bickley: Yes, and at this point, SCOTUS has ruled on six of those emergency applications. And I'd have to say that the president is faring mostly pretty well.
--:-- Megan Basham: One of the most significant rulings we've seen far has been on that Alien Enemies Act. Now, it's a somewhat unique situation where both sides, the administration and the ACLU, are claiming victory.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The administration argued that illegal alien gangs like Trande Aragua pose such a national security threat that under the authority of that 1798 act they can remove the gang members rapidly without hearings because they not citizens.
--:-- Megan Basham: And as we've reported here last week, SCOTUS lifted a lower judge's block on those deportations, but it did add some guardrails. Detainees must now receive notice and a chance for judicial review.
--:-- John Bickley: Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated that ruling on Fox News. This is a landmark victory for the rule of law. And this is what we've been arguing on behalf of President Trump from day one. These are enemies of our state, of our country, and they should be deported.
--:-- Megan Basham: And what about the cases relating to federal workers?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, that was another big win, though again, a bit of a win on technicality. A lower court had ordered Trump to rehire about 16,000 provisional federal workers that he had fired from agencies like Agriculture, Defense and Veteran Affairs.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, in a 7-2 ruling, SCOTUS found that the organization suing lacked standing since individual workers weren't part of that lawsuit. So it overturned the lower court ruling.
--:-- John Bickley: So as with a couple of these other rulings, it's part of a trend of the court putting the brakes on what many are calling judicial activism from these lower courts.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, there have been some setbacks, though. Tell us a little about those.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Oh, yeah, there definitely have. And that has led to some significant grumbling from conservatives about Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, who have tended to be the two that are siding with the liberal justices.
--:-- Megan Basham: The administration had asked SCOTUS to block orders from two federal judges who required Trump to reinstate two Biden-appointed board members that he had fired from two independent agencies, the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, last Wednesday, Roberts did put a temporary hold on those orders, but it wasn't the clear ruling that the administration was looking for. So it's a partial setback because essentially it leaves the issue unresolved and it will likely have big implications for how much control Trump has over these federal agencies and whether he's able to continue pursuing that aggressive agenda through executive actions.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, just looking forward, what's still on the docket?
--:-- Georgia Howe: So next week, the court is set to hear arguments regarding the president's claim of immunity from prosecution over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. And we still have challenges to executive orders on birthright citizenship and federal funding cuts.
--:-- Megan Basham: So still several major rulings ahead. But I think it's worth noting that so far, the court has been pretty restrained. And a lot of analysts are pointing out that Chief Justice John Roberts is steering the court toward narrow technical rulings in order to avoid any blockbuster showdowns with Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, always fascinating to see how SCOTUS navigates these issues. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, arrived in Washington on Sunday and is expected to meet with President Trump later today. The administration has worked closely with the Salvadorian leader on immigration and the detainment of suspected foreign gang members.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss what we can expect today and the latest news on Trump immigration agenda.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, so first what do we know about what going to happen today? Why is Bukele in Washington?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, for a lot of handshaking and dealmaking I think we can expect him and Trump to show off and consolidate the alliance they built over the last few months.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The two leaders have really been on positive terms. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said the relationship has become a model for others to work with the Trump administration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Trump himself had some pretty high praise for Bukele over the weekend. I think he's doing a fantastic job and taking care of a lot of problems that we have that we really wouldn't be able to take care of from a cost standpoint.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And he's doing really, he's been amazing. We have some very bad people in that prison, people that should have never been allowed into our country, people that murdered drug dealers. Some of the worst people on earth are in that prison.
--:-- John Bickley: Trump was talking there about the migrants who were deported from the U.S. over suspected gang ties that are now sitting in a high-security prison in El Salvador. There's been about 250 of them sent so far.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But in addition to immigration, trade may also be on the agenda. Trump and Bukele haven't mentioned this publicly, but El Salvador is technically under a blanket 10% tariff that Trump put into place last week.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That'll put a dent in El Salvador's overall exports, about a third of which are to the U.S. So a significant percentage of their trade impacted there.
--:-- Tim Pierce: What about the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador? As we reported, the Supreme Court ruled he has to be returned. Is he still down there?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is still in El Salvador. The White House confirmed that in a court filing over the weekend.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The Trump administration deported Garcia over his suspected gang ties, but someone made a clerical mistake in allowing Garcia to be deported back to his home country of El Salvador. He had previously claimed that he would face violence if he returned there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The administration has wrestled with the courts over when Garcia should be returned to the U.S.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Administration attorneys have said his situation is complicated because the U.S. doesn't have jurisdiction over prisoners in El Salvador.
--:-- John Bickley: Regardless, Garcia's return seems like an obvious topic to be discussed during Bukele's time in Washington.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. Now, there's a new report out there that says as many as 800 visas of foreign students have been revoked so far by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. What's the latest on that front?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's not surprising. Rubio said last month that his department was in the middle of reviewing cases and revoking visas daily.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The revocations continue to make headlines, very often in coverage critical of the administration.
--:-- John Bickley: Rubio addressed that at the cabinet meeting last week. If you come to this country as a student, we expect you to go to class and study and get a degree. If you come here to, like, vandalize a library, take over a campus and do all kinds of crazy things, you know, we're going to get rid of these people and we're going to continue to do it.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Rubio also said that the administration is working well getting other countries to take back their citizens who are in the U.S. illegally. For those who don't, Rubio said there is a cost to that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We have countries that refuse to do it or kind of ignore our calls. All of them are doing it. The ones that are not are paying a price.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And we've also found cooperation in other countries that are willing to take some of these people, some very dangerous criminals.
--:-- John Bickley: You can expect more news on this to come later today from Bukele's meeting with the president. We'll certainly be watching, Tim. Thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me on. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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