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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: 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.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley kicked off her presidential campaign this week, becoming former President Trump's first primary challenger. For a strong America, for a proud America, I am running for president of the United States of America. We break down her messaging and look at the growing list of other potential candidates. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, February 16th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Ohio residents remain uneasy about air and water quality after officials say they're cleared to return home after a catastrophic chemical spill on February 3rd. Since then, I now have the chemical burns and reaction rash on my face and my throat is getting irritated again and feeling very uneasy, very uneasy. And the Army came up dramatically short on their recruitment goals last year, but officials say new woke initiatives have nothing to do with it. We break down these new initiatives and what's driving the drop in recruits.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: On Wednesday, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley launched her candidacy for president, becoming the first Republican to challenge Donald Trump for the 2024 nomination. Here with more on what she's running on and who else could soon join her in the field is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, she first gained attention on the national stage in 2011, when she was elected governor of South Carolina, becoming the first woman and the first minority to hold that post. She held the position until 2017, when she stepped down after being appointed ambassador to the United Nations by President Trump. Now, Haley's been teasing a 2024 run for the last year or so, and on Wednesday, she made it official at a campaign launch in Charleston, South Carolina.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: During a speech to a few hundred supporters, Haley introduced herself as the proud daughter of Indian immigrants, and tried to strike a patriotic, optimistic tone, saying despite what Democrats might say, America's not a racist country, and she's proof. Take it from me, the first minority female governor in history, America is not a racist country.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The 51-year-old Haley also took aim at the age of President Biden, not only calling America's leaders, quote, past their prime, but calling for a mental competency test for politicians over the age of 75. Now, one of Haley's biggest advantages will be where she's from. South Carolina is the third Republican primary state after Iowa and New Hampshire, and the winner there almost always does well in the end Dating back to 1980 with the exception of 2012 every candidate to win South Carolina went on to win the nomination
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But critics say her biggest struggle will be carving out a base of support within the party and separating herself from Donald Trump. Haley's gone back and forth a bit on her thoughts of Trump since serving in the administration. She criticized him strongly after the January 6th riots before later saying, quote, we need him in the Republican Party. And then she said later that she wouldn't run if he was in the race. So don't be surprised if that's a line of attack used by her opponents, especially Trump himself.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, let's talk about Trump. He announced his candidacy back in November. What does his campaign look like so far? So the former president started formally campaigning two weeks ago with back-to-back events in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Now, the former president has had a similar message to what we've heard over the last few years, that he'll take on the D.C. establishment, stand up to China and Russia, and root out the fraud that he says prevented him from winning the 2020 election.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the other big name we hear floating around. What can you tell us there? So to this point, DeSantis has stayed quiet on the record when it comes to whether he'll run. But behind closed doors, it's widely presumed that he will be jumping into the race this spring. Now, before COVID, DeSantis was already a fairly popular governor in the South, but his handling of the lockdowns and the economic success of his state really catapulted him onto the national stage.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Critics have questions about his ability to fundraise and engage in the sort of retail politics necessary to win a primary, especially in states like Iowa and New Hampshire. But there's no question that he would enter the race with polling strength that's almost unheard of for candidates who've never held office at the federal level or aren't part of a political dynasty. At the moment, he and Trump are neck and neck in most polling, but the two are miles ahead of everyone else.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, let's talk about everyone else. Who are the other candidates that might jump into this race? So obviously there's just conjecture at this point, but you can kind of tell when a candidate is gearing up for a race. Some names we're hearing are Mike Pompeo, the former Secretary of State under President Trump, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. He's been to a number of events recently in early primary states, North Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and of course, former Vice President Mike Pence. But keep in mind, this far out, it's anyone's guess who will eventually win out.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So don't put too much stock in polling. Remember, at this point in 2016, Jeb Bush and Scott Walker were considered the clear frontrunners. Donald Trump was at 4%. So a lot can change from now to Election Day.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips. Coming up, the latest on the train derailment disaster in Ohio.
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--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The city of East Palestine, Ohio, is still dealing with the aftermath of a massive train derailment that caused harmful industrial chemicals to leak into the region. Crews have burned off some of the chemicals, and evacuated residents have been told that they can return home. Daily Wire investigative reporter Maraid Elordi is here with the details for us.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Hi, Georgia. Well, the latest is that concerns are mounting among residents about whether their neighborhoods are as safe as officials claim. As we've reported, this 100-car freight trend derailed on February 3rd in East Palestine, Ohio. Residents were evacuated but told they could return five days later. But many residents are extremely anxious about returning home.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Dangerous chemicals have been released into the air some of which like vinyl chloride are known to cause cancer and others cause nausea headaches and dizziness Meanwhile the stench of chemicals has lingered for nearly two weeks in some places causing nagging headaches among some residents Also, animals like chickens and fish have died suddenly since the train crash. And now what are state and town officials saying?
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Well, Ohio Health Director Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff said Tuesday that he doesn't think the air quality is the source of the headaches and sore throats that locals are reporting. Air sampling showed low amounts of chemicals, if any, he said. Vanderhoef also said that some of the chemicals can be smelt at a non-hazardous level. But many residents still feel uneasy.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: One woman says she had her home tested soon after it was considered safe to go back home. I had a company called CTEH come and test my air. And they walked all throughout my home and detected less than 0.1 VOCS ppm, which is considered to be safe and nothing in the air. Well, while they were leaving, I stopped them because a train was coming by, and I asked them to test the air while the train was coming by, and they detected over 60 VOCS ppm.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So I have an eight-month-old baby, and you're going to say that every time a train comes by, those chemicals are being kicked back up into the air? I have no idea what we could be breathing in every time a train comes by. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Wednesday that the train company, Norfolk Southern, needs to pay. They are responsible for this. They're responsible for a very serious train wreck that occurred with some very toxic material.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: So we're going to hold their feet to the fire. We're going to make sure they pay for everything as we move forward. DeWine also said that although initial water quality tests did not show any issues, residents should drink bottled water until more testing can be done. We're getting those tests back. The first one came back, indicated that the water was in fact safe. So, look, all we can do is give people the facts and give them the test.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: DeWine also criticized the fact that the train was not categorized as a high hazardous material train, so the railroad was not required to notify anyone in Ohio that it was traveling through the state. DeWine also said that President Biden called him last week and offered, quote, anything we need. Meanwhile, Ohio's new Senator J.D. Vance teamed up with Florida Senator Marco Rubio to send a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg questioning how well the department balances safety with hyper-efficiency using minimal employees.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Now, what about the response on the ground? Do we have any updates on how the cleanup is going? Yes, there's a massive ongoing response by federal, state, and local authorities. Kirk Kohler, the on-scene coordinator of the emergency response for the Ohio EPA, said they have had, quote, boots on the ground all day, every day since the onset of this incident. Part of their response involves controlling the gross contamination still present at the site of the wreckage.
--:-- Maraid Elordi: Crews are also working to stop the flow of chemicals in water using containment booms in the creek and pushing chemicals downstream. Meanwhile, though, a lot of residents are still wary of returning home. Some have been staying at Airbnbs, draining their finances as they figure out their next steps. Certainly a disaster for these families. Absolutely.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, we are going to continue to monitor. Maureen, thanks for reporting. Thanks, Georgia. That was Daily Wire investigative reporter Mairead Elordi.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: The U.S. Army maintains that progressive initiatives are not to blame for the branch coming up tens of thousands of enlistees short of their recruitment goals last year. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Hey, John. Well, let me just say that recruitment has been a challenge for all branches of the U.S. military. And traditional thinking typically ties recruitment slumps to low unemployment but that seems to not be the case here Now the Army the largest branch is struggling the most by a long shot It came up 25 short about 15 soldiers shy of its 60 recruitment goal in 2022 That was the worst recruiting year in decades. 25%.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, this comes amid an increased push for diversity policies from the Pentagon and the White House. It also comes amid all the controversy over vaccine mandates. Are those issues playing a role here? Well, Army officials say no. They say that surveys they've conducted on 18 to 29-year-olds to try to help identify these problems showed that wokeness is not to blame for their failure in recruitment.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Major General Alex Fink, head of Army marketing, told the Associated Press that concerns about wokeness only account for about 4 to 5 percent of those rejecting to sign on. Officials actually said that more than double that number, about 13 percent of those young people surveyed, they were more concerned about things like racism and sexism in the military.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Officials also dismissed pretty much out of hand that the now lifted COVID vaccine mandate was a major deterrent. So instead, officials are blaming young people's fear for their own physical safety and saying that they just don't want the stress of Army life. They also cited a lack of trust of the U.S. military, and Fink said the Army is seen by young people as, quote, revered but not relevant.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Republicans haven't agreed with this line of thinking. Here's what Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton had to say about the recruitment slump and military wokeness back in December. When you have a recruiting base in particular that comes from rural America or working-class America, and there's so much attention being paid to these kind of left-wing social engineering fantasies, fantasies, it's unfortunately not surprising that some young men and women want to take a pass. They join the army to learn how to kill the bad guys. They don't join the army to learn how to speak like they're in a faculty lounge.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: What are some of the policies that have really prompted this pushback? Well, there've been quite a few. We learned last year that U.S. military academies were teaching forms of critical race theory and so-called anti-racism objectives affecting all of the service academies. There was also a pretty shocking training video associated with the Navy about preferred pronouns and inclusion that got around. Using the right pronouns is a really simple way to affirm someone's identity. It is a signal of acceptance and respect.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And about two years ago, a Space Force commanding officer was fired after he spoke out about apparent CRT and Marxism-rooted training he was receiving. Now, in 2021, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said flat out that CRT is not taught within the military. But then General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended the studying of CRT and so-called white rage in a pretty memorable moment before Congress.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I want to understand white rage, and I'm white. So what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? The basic argument of those against wokeness infiltrating the U.S. military is that these initiatives and objectives not only stress differences instead of cohesion, but they take focus away from vital training. They also worry about these initiatives creating de facto gender and racial quotas that could ultimately hurt our strength and readiness.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: Well, a 25% shortfall on recruits is no small issue. Let's hope we see some progress here. Amanda, thanks for reporting. Anytime. That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Host Georgia Howe: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
