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--:-- Georgia Howe: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm Georgia Howe, and I'm here with Daily Wire editor-in-chief, John Bickley. It's Thursday, November 9th.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us, Georgia. We've got a lot to cover today.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Let's start with the news. Donald Trump held a rally in Florida while five GOP presidential contenders took to the debate stage Wednesday night in Miami.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And we'll get into the details of that debate in a minute. But first, let's talk about accountability. We need it in our country, and we need it in our politics.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. And it's not just about holding politicians accountable. It's about holding ourselves accountable as well.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Who gained ground in the race for the White House?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, Georgia, we'll get into the details of the debate and the latest polling numbers in a minute. But first, let's talk about the House Republicans subpoenaing members of President Biden's family.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, John. The House Oversight Committee has issued subpoenas to several members of the Biden family, including Hunter and James Biden.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And recently censured Democrat Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib is doubling down on the anti-Israel comments that led to her reprimand.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. Tlaib has been defiant in the face of criticism, saying that she will not be silenced and that her comments were not intended to be anti-Semitic.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's talk about the debate. Five GOP presidential hopefuls took the stage last night in Miami, hoping to gain momentum against frontrunner Donald Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right, Georgia. And it was a lively debate, with several candidates taking aim at Trump and each other.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so last night featured a much smaller stage than in debates past, with Mike Pence no longer in the race and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum failing to qualify this go-around.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right, Cabot. And it was a crowded stage, with several candidates vying for attention.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On stage was, however, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, and Chris Christie.
--:-- John Bickley: Not on stage, very noticeably, was former President Trump, who again skipped out, saying he'll wait for the field to narrow before he debates.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Which is 67 days until Iowa, the five candidates on stage, are clearly desperate to make a splash in any way possible.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that did come out a few times throughout the evening.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there were a number of viral moments where things got especially personal.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Let's start there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that is one way of putting it. These candidates know they've got to mix things up to get attention, and that led to some pretty heated personal attacks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While Vivek Ramaswamy vowed last debate to be the uniter in chief and bring people together, he took a very different approach this time.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He took aim at his GOP counterparts and the Republican National Committee, as well as the moderators from NBC.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We've become a party of losers at the end of the day. I mean, since Ronald McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022, no red wave that never came.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Think about who's moderating this debate. This should be Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk. We'd have 10 times the viewership asking questions that GOP primary voters actually care about and bringing more people into our party.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ramaswamy, who it's worth noting, began to fall in the polls last month after peaking around 8 to 10% nationally, also went after Nikki Haley throughout the evening.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: At one point, he called her, quote, Dick Cheney in heels while appearing to make fun of Ron DeSantis as well for supposedly trying to make himself appear taller.
--:-- Georgia Howe: At another point, he controversially brought up Haley's daughter, which drew a heated response from the former UN ambassador.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In the last debate, she made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So you might want to take care of your family first. Leave my daughter out of your voice.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that's actually the point. You have her supporters cropping her up. That's fine. Here's the truth. You're just scum.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The easy answer.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, pretty intense moment there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, for her part, Haley also drew attention for an answer on abortion.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, at one point, the discussion shifted to abortion, specifically the role it's appeared to play in driving Democrat voters to the polls since Roe was overturned.
--:-- Georgia Howe: While some candidates like Ron DeSantis have vowed to take federal action to restrict abortion access, Haley essentially said it's a state issue that would be impossible to address at the federal level, given the need for 60 votes in the Senate.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: There are some states that are going more on the pro-life side. I welcome that. There are some states that are going more on the pro-choice side. I wish that wasn't the case, but the people decided.
--:-- Georgia Howe: No Republican president can ban abortions any more than a Democrat president can ban these state laws.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So let's find consensus. We don't need to divide America over this issue anymore.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's get to DeSantis, who came into last night in second place, but with sort of falling support in the polls as of late.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, another candidate desperate for a bump right now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: DeSantis, for the most part, avoided the personal dust-ups, but did, however, take aim at the man ahead of him, Donald Trump.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Donald Trump's a lot different guy than he was in 2016. He owes it to you to be on this stage and explain why he should get another chance.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He should explain why he didn't have Mexico pay for the border wall. He should explain why he racked up so much debt.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He should explain why he didn't drain the swamp. And he said Republicans were going to get tired of winning. Well, we saw last night, I'm sick of Republicans losing.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, the big question here ultimately is what sort of impact, if any, this debate will have on the primary.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Former President Trump has only solidified his standing as frontrunner, still bringing in around 60% in primary polls.
--:-- Georgia Howe: As usual, while Trump was absent from the debate, he made sure to hold an event of his own while his counterparts took the stage.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But with 67 days to go until the first votes are cast, the race appears to be Trump's to lose.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In the meantime, another debate in the books.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for reporting, Cabot.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's talk about the House Oversight Committee's investigation into the Biden family.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Hey, John. The Oversight Committee wants interviews with eight people who are either Biden family members or closely associated with the Bidens.
--:-- Georgia Howe: They sent subpoenas to the president's son, Hunter, and brother James, as well as Rob Walker, a Biden family associate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The other five were sent a written request to appear voluntarily before the committee.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That includes James' wife, Sarah Biden, and Hunter's wife, Melissa Cohen.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And also Tony Bobulinski, Hunter's former business partner.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Why the distinction between subpoenas and voluntary requests?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, that's partly because of process and partly because of necessity or a lack of necessity in the case of Tony Bobulinski.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He's expected to answer the request and appear voluntarily.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Oversight Chairman James Comer appeared on Fox Business on Wednesday and explained the rest.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Before you subpoena, you're supposed to request that they come in.
--:-- Tim Pierce: We've already requested that Hunter Biden and Jim Biden come in, and obviously they haven't cooperated with our investigation at all, so we were ready to subpoena.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We've sent a simple letter of request to come in to be interviewed for the rest of the Biden family members.
--:-- Tim Pierce: If they fail to respond to our request, then I will predict on your show that they will be subpoenaed very soon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Has there been any response from the White House?
--:-- Tim Pierce: So White House Press Secretary Corrine Jean-Pierre was asked about the subpoenas right after they were filed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This is an investigation that has been going on for a year now and has turned up zero evidence of wrongdoing by the president because there is none.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But Republicans continue to double down on a baseless, a smear campaign against the president and his family.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's worth noting that experts such as former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy and George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley would disagree with the press secretary's framing.
--:-- Tim Pierce: They say it's not necessary to prove a direct benefit to Joe Biden for the president to potentially be involved in a crime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Benefits going to a family member could satisfy the legal standard.
--:-- Tim Pierce: All right, so final question. What do these subpoenas mean for the impeachment inquiry into President Biden?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, it's a sign that the committee is about ready to wrap its investigation, and then it will be up to the House to weigh the evidence.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Comer again. It'll be up to the Republican Conference and Republican Judiciary Committee to determine what the next steps are.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But I will tell you, you know, this is the biggest corruption scandal in my lifetime from any political office.
--:-- Tim Pierce: This is something that I think every American would agree needs to never happen again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We need to get rid of the Bidens and the Menendezes in Washington.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And this is the first step.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Things really ramping up here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for joining us, Tim.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's talk about Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.
--:-- David Marcus: Hey, John. So has Tlaib shown any remorse for using this phrase?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Mourning and no much the opposite.
--:-- David Marcus: In fact, she said that she will not be silenced, will not let her words be distorted, and that she was merely criticizing the government of Israel by repeating the Hamas mantra.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This even after 22 Democrats voted for the censure as a way both of showing solidarity with Israel, but also to distance the Democrat Party from these remarks, which the Biden White House has also done.
--:-- David Marcus: But look, she also has her so-called squad and the progressive caucus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And as we've seen on the streets and on college campuses, a decent number of Democrat voters who not only think what she said was fine, but who chanted themselves.
--:-- David Marcus: So clearly she thinks she's done nothing wrong.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In fact, here's how she defended her comments following the censure.
--:-- David Marcus: Trying to bully or censor me won't work because this movement for a ceasefire is much bigger than one person.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's growing every single day.
--:-- David Marcus: And here was squad member Cori Bush on the House floor trying to link the rebuke of Tlaib to racism.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That is not surprising because this is the place where our black and brown staff members repeatedly speak of experiencing racism and sexism, Islamophobia, get pushed off of elevators, xenophobia and more right here in this workplace.
--:-- David Marcus: Pretty emotional there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So let's talk a bit more about the phrase, from the river to the sea.
--:-- David Marcus: Why is it so offensive, not just to Jews, but to those who support Israel in general?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I mean, part of it obviously is the provenance, right? Quoting Hamas is considered by many to be basically the same as quoting Hitler or the KKK.
--:-- David Marcus: But more broadly, it is obviously and only a call for the end of the Jewish state of Israel.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Talib claims that isn't how she intends it, but John, words mean things, and those words quite literally mean a Muslim-Palestinian state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea.
--:-- David Marcus: Obviously, that leaves no room for Israel and Jews.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In the wake of the brutal and savage attacks of 10-7, to use this phrase comes off to a lot of people as a justification of those evil actions.
--:-- David Marcus: And while Tlaib condemned the violence itself, eventually, it isn't clear if she thinks killing Jews is an acceptable way to achieve a Palestinian state.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What should we make of how the vote split up here?
--:-- David Marcus: 22 Democrats crossed the aisle to censure one of their own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Does this send a signal that Democrats will remain behind Israel, or is it a sign of slipping support?
--:-- David Marcus: And look, as we well know, getting 230 votes for anything in this narrowly divided Congress is close to a miracle.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it is significant.
--:-- David Marcus: And in general, most Democrats are not calling for a ceasefire, at least yet.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And they back allowing Israel to do what it needs to do.
--:-- David Marcus: There have been some, including Senator Dick Durbin, who have called for the ceasefire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But so far, those voices are still outliers.
--:-- David Marcus: Well, Congress has only censured members about two dozen times in its history.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So a significant symbolic move here.
--:-- David Marcus: Indeed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for reporting, Dave.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
