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--:-- Host John Bickley: The Los Angeles Dodgers have sparked national backlash after disinviting, then re-inviting a controversial drag group that mocks Catholics and Jesus while dressed as nuns. They're literally openly mocking other people's religion, and you're giving them the stage to do it. What caused the team to cave to activist pressure, and how are Catholic groups responding? I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, May 24th, and this is Morning Wire. New polling spells bad news for President Biden and potentially hopeful news for Republican challengers. Why do a majority of Americans feel the country is heading in the wrong direction? And a bombshell report from The Wall Street Journal details convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's attempt to blackmail Bill Gates over an affair. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Los Angeles Dodgers have reversed course for a second time and re-invited a controversial drag organization to participate in its Pride Night event. Not only will the drag group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, take part in the event on June 16th, they'll also receive a Community Hero Award on the field. Here to tell us more about the controversy is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, who are the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence? So, it's an LGBTQ activist group that performs in drag as, quote, queer nuns. And, that's their terminology. They use a lot of Catholic iconography, including crucifixes. They will bless a, quote unquote, congregation with sex toys. They also simulate oral sex while dressed as nuns. The events they host are also really highly controversial. For example, at Easter, they hold annual, quote, hunky Jesus contests, and participants will dress as Jesus and twerk. They'll pole dance and they'll perform other sexually suggestive dances, all while carrying crosses and wearing crowns of thorns. This group's motto is go and send some more. Now, it claims that it's a charity organization, and Morning Wire looked into its activities, and one of the causes it donates to is the Center for Trans Youth Health and Development at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Now, that's a center that provides transgender surgeries and puberty blockers to children and teens. So, pretty obvious why Catholic groups were upset that the Dodgers were going to honor this group with their Hero Award.
--:-- Megan Basham: It sounds like the team initially heard that criticism. Why did they change their mind on Tuesday and then re-invite this group? Well, you know, they weren't very specific in their announcement. They said that after a lot of feedback from, quote, diverse communities, they wanted to extend their sincerest apologies to the group for disinviting them. And the Dodgers expressed their gratitude for the group life work. They didn't say what they meant by life work, but the team did promise that they will work with LGBTQ partners to better educate themselves.
--:-- Megan Basham: I imagine some Catholic organizations may have also put out some statements. What are they saying? Yeah, they sure have. Archbishop Salvatore Cordelione said that decent people would not mock and blaspheme sisters who serve others selflessly. And he added, quoting here, so we know now what God's the Dodger admin worships. A statement from the Diocese of Orange County was somewhat milder, but still pretty pointed. It said, again, quoting, the decision to openly embrace a group whose demeaning behavior is anti-Catholic and anti-Christian is misguided and disrespectful.
--:-- Megan Basham: Morning Wire also spoke to Brian Birch. He's the president of Catholic Vote, which is the organization that initially asked the Dodgers to drop their affiliation with this group. He pointed out that the team may be taking a huge risk here, and they plan to rally Catholics and their wallets. He said that his group is going to raise a million dollars, and directly quoting here, we will pummel this decision in advertising that the Dodgers can't ignore.
--:-- Megan Basham: There is a risk, though, here. Many Dodger fans are Hispanic. 30% or more of a Los Angeles Hispanic. They, of course, have a special devotion to the Blessed Mother. And this radical organization regularly mocks Our Lady and, of course, sexualizes her. And so the more I think Catholics in Los Angeles learn about this, the more they will be really ashamed that their baseball team has chosen to engage and to honor this organization. And you have to know, he is probably right. Los Angeles is home to the largest Catholic diocese in the country, and it's also home to some 5 million Catholics.
--:-- Megan Basham: Have any of the players and or staff weighed in? You know, not yet, but we have reached out to several. Pitcher Clayton Kershaw is a well-known Christian, and I believe a number of the other players are specifically Catholic. I also know that general manager Dave Roberts is a Christian who's on record saying that his relationship with Christ is the most important thing in his life, but no statement from him so far about this.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, really no statements from any of them so far. Well, it's going to be interesting to see how the fans receive this. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Coming up, new polling shows major headwinds for President Biden's re-election bid. As the 2024 presidential race begins to take shape, New polling offers key insights into voter sentiment on the state of the country, President Biden and the candidates looking to unseat him. Here with the results and how they could shape the race is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so every month, Harvard University surveys thousands of Americans on a range of topics, tracking their approval of politicians and their overall outlook on the country. Typically, the metric that gets the most attention in the Harvard poll is the all-important right track, wrong track question, which asks voters if America is heading in the right direction. And this month, the survey found just 31% of Americans viewing the country as on the right track. For context, when President Biden took office, those numbers were in the high 40s and low 50s each month. So a lot of pessimism among voters, it sounds like.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: What does this mean for President Biden? Well, historically the right track, wrong track metric is helpful in predicting the success of a president re-election campaign. For example, Presidents Carter, H Bush, and Trump each came into their re-election efforts at a time when the majority of voters felt the country was on the wrong track and all of them lost. So it's definitely a concern for Biden.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And the more you dig into the numbers, the more grim his electoral outlook becomes. Even among Democrats, just 55 percent say we're on the right track, while that number shrinks to 20% among independents, who are obviously crucial in presidential races. And just as concerning, just one in four Americans say their personal financial standing is heading in the right direction, while half say they're getting worse.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: If you take a step back and look at the numbers, for the vast majority of Trump's term in office, the number of folks who reported heading in the wrong direction financially hovered in the low 20s. You can see a clear spike in the number of people saying they're worse off starting at the beginning of 2021 and continuing to present day. So very bad news for President Biden.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes, it is tough to find positive news here for the president. We see similar data when it comes to approval rating, as he currently sits at 43% in the Harvard poll and is down in the high 30s and other national surveys. And when you look at key issues, he's down as well. Just 39% approve of his handling of the economy, 38% on immigration, 37% on inflation, and 39% on crime. All four of those are among the top issues among voters. The only issue where he gets majority approval is on COVID response, which isn't important to most voters at this point.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, switching gears, is the picture any more optimistic for the Republicans? Yeah, there's some interesting data there. So if you look at Donald Trump, he leads the way in the GOP horse race with 56% support among primary candidates. No one else but DeSantis is above 4%. Trump also has the highest favorability rating at 46%, but he also has the highest unfavorable rating by a wide margin of 47%.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, much of that can be attributed to his universal name recognition and just the fact that very few people at this point are without an opinion on the former president. Ron DeSantis, who's reportedly jumping in the race this evening and will likely serve as Trump's biggest challenger, is just behind him with a 45% favorable rating. But importantly, just a 37% disapproval rating. Of the two dozen politicians in this survey, no one had a better net favorable rating than DeSantis.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So now the question becomes if that number holds as voters become more familiar with him. And one more interesting nugget, the most popular figure by a wide margin in the poll was Elon Musk. For all the negative media coverage he's received, Musk remains quite popular among the general public. Keep that in mind as Governor DeSantis is said to announce his presidency in a Twitter space this evening, joined by Elon Musk.
--:-- Host John Bickley: All right. Well, Cabot, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Host John Bickley: According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein sought to influence Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates into supporting a philanthropic venture by threatening to reveal an extramarital affair. The revelation provides insight into how Epstein developed and maintained relationships with some of the most powerful people in the world, even after his 2008 conviction for procuring a prostitute below the age of 18. Here to discuss is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning. It would appear that back in 2010, while competing in a bridge tournament, Gates met Russian National and CardWiz Mila Antonova, and the two began a brief affair. In any event, Epstein became aware of the affair and subsequently paid for Antonova to attend a software coding school. Then in 2017, he sent an email to the amorous Gates asking to be reimbursed for that tuition. This at a time when the software guru had declined to support a philanthropy set up by Epstein.
--:-- David Marcus: So the obvious implication here being that this was a kind of light blackmail, or at least a threat to make the affair public. Yeah. Now Gates has in the past apologized for several meetings with Epstein over the years. What's been his response to this report? So Gates is basically saying what he said about all his interactions with Epstein, that he only ever met with him to discuss charities. And in his defense, Epstein was very involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors with a lot of rich people.
--:-- David Marcus: But it's important to note that the Gates spokeswoman who talked to the journal did appear to at least partly confirm the claims about Epstein trying to gain leverage on him. She told the journal that I'm quoting here, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates. As you noted, by 2017, when this alleged shakedown took place, Epstein had already been convicted of sex with a minor. So you can see why Gates was resistant to get in bed with him financially, so to speak.
--:-- David Marcus: And it does look like Epstein was not so subtly saying, maybe you should reconsider because it would be a shame if anyone found out about this affair. Right. Does this fuel the already existent suspicion that this is how Epstein operated more generally ingratiating himself to the wealthy and powerful and essentially getting dirt on them? Yes, and I think that's why the story has been such a bombshell.
--:-- David Marcus: There's always been this shroud of mystery around Epstein and his private island where allegedly underage girls were gathered and, you know, where there are all kinds of sexual shenanigans. We know that Epstein entertained just the cream of the crop of the wealthy and powerful, such as former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, among others. And there have been rumors of blackmail, but this is really the first time we've seen genuine evidence of such an effort.
--:-- David Marcus: So Epstein famously died, we are told, by his own hand in prison back in 2019, but that did not put an end to the speculation surrounding him and those in his orbit. Will this revelation amp up investigation into his past? Almost certainly. For those who follow or cover Epstein closely, there was an enormous amount of frustration after his suicide, as well as some healthy doubt among some as to whether it really was suicide, because it was thought that a trial might implicate some pretty big names, but that was not to be.
--:-- David Marcus: The upshot, as we see in the journal's reporting, is that there are still journalists and investigators who are digging deeply into Epstein and his associations with powerful people such as Gates. Now, Epstein's longtime associate, Delaine Maxwell, was convicted of procuring underage girls for the billionaire and is currently in prison. Could she hold the key to further revelations? Yes, she most likely could. Her case is under appeal now, one that most legal experts see as a long shot.
--:-- David Marcus: So maybe when the dust settles one way or the other, she'll have something to say. But for now, reporters like those at The Wall Street Journal, they're just going to keep digging. And we'll see what else is uncovered.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Another story we're tracking this week. E. Jean Carroll, the columnist who recently won a defamation case against Donald Trump After Trump denied her claims of sexual battery and rape, he's suing the president again for allegedly defamatory comments he made during a CNN town hall earlier this month. Carol was awarded $5 million by a Manhattan jury in her first civil court battle and is now demanding $10 million. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
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