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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, editor-in-chief of Daily Wire, and welcome to Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe. It's Thursday, August 1st.
--:-- 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.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Kamala Harris is rallying her base in important swing states, while reversing course on an issue she's historically pulled poorly on. I will proudly put my record against his any day of the week, including, for example, on the issue of immigration.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, August 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Iran is threatening revenge after a senior Hamas leader is assassinated while visiting Tehran. Now the U.S. State Department is urging restraint and sounding the alarm over an escalation to all-out war. The U.S. was not involved in the planning of the attack, and this was an action taken by the IDF based on Israeli intelligence.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: As Kamala Harris prepares to announce her running mate, the vice president's campaign has focused on illegal immigration, hoping to flip the script on the issue. Here to break it all down is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot. So the vice president debuting a new campaign message this week that's focused on really a very surprising topic. Tell us about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, it would hardly be a surprise to see the Harris campaign hone in on abortion or health care. But they're now going all in on a very different issue, illegal immigration. After years of saying there was no crisis at the border and advocating for looser penalties for illegal immigrants, Kamala Harris is now singing a very different tune, saying she's the one who's tough on the border and Donald Trump is too weak.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Taking the stage in Atlanta this week, these were some of the first words out of the vice president's mouth. Donald Trump has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk. And when I am president, I will work to actually solve the problem.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And have a listen to this ad the Harris campaign just debuted in Nevada. On the border, the choice is simple. Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of border patrol agents. Donald Trump blocked a bill to increase the number of border patrol agents.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, look, it is worth noting, Donald Trump and other Republicans did oppose the border veil she talking about but it because they argued it did not go far enough to address the border crisis. It was the Biden administration who shut down a number of border security measures that Trump and Republicans were calling for.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that really is the big problem here for Harris. Her words simply do not line up with her record. For example, on funding for the Border Patrol, as a senator in 2018, Harris sent a letter to, quote, urge her colleagues to reject President Trump's proposal for funding to hire new Border Patrol personnel.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Throughout her tenure in Congress, she also routinely fought against the Trump administration's border legislation and then while running for president, went even further to the left. She famously and repeatedly said that those crossing the border illegally should not be considered criminals.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And she raised her hand in support of free health care for illegal immigrants. Right. And look, she can deny it all she wants, but Kamala Harris was put in charge of addressing the border crisis by Joe Biden and oversaw the single largest increase in illegal crossings in history.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So it's certainly a risky strategy to lean into this topic, but it gives you an idea of how important this issue is and how much of a liability it's become for Democrats. Remember, poll after poll shows voters trust Trump over Harris to stop the crisis.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So shifting gears a bit, the vice president is expected to soon make her pick for a running mate. What are we hearing? Well, there seems to be a pretty clear short list.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: First, there's Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Kelly is from a border state and has echoed the Harris campaign's message this week on illegal immigration, repeating that claim that Trump is the one preventing border security.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He's also got the benefit of fairly broad name recognition from his days as an astronaut. Then there's Kentucky's Andy Beshear, one of the few Democratic governors in a deep red state. Kentucky went for Trump by 26 points last election, but he won re-election last year by a comfortable margin.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And Democrats say he could counteract J.D. Vance's messaging in Appalachia. And finally, there is the favorite for the job, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. He is widely popular there, and some polling has even shown that a third of Trump supporters approve of the job he's done as governor.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That is very significant in a state that could ultimately decide this race. But it is worth noting some on the left have raised questions over whether him being Jewish could turn off the progressive faction of the Democratic Party, which has recently embraced pro-Hamas anti-Semitic rhetoric.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We should have the pick by Tuesday when Harris will kick off a multi-state campaign swing. That next major piece should fall into place very soon.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for reporting, Kevin.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Fresh and odor-free all day. Head to Roan.com slash wire and use promo code wire to save 20% off your entire order. That's 20% off when you head to R-H-O-N-E.com slash wire and use code wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hamas's top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, died on Tuesday. He was killed in what Hamas and its state sponsor, Iran, have said was an Israeli assassination operation.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Haniyeh's death came hours after Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut. Here to talk about the deaths of the terrorist leader and what it means for the conflict in the Middle East is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So Tim, what does this strike mean for Hamas? It's definitely a major loss. Hania had been at the top of Hamas for decades, and so he had a lot of institutional knowledge and experience that can't be easily replaced.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And even more notable, Hania was killed in the middle of Iran's capital city of Tehran. Morning Wire spoke to Victoria Coates, vice president of national security and foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation.
--:-- Victoria Coates: Taking this kind of direct action against Iran against the high value target in the capital city is unprecedented. And I think in many ways this is a response for the Iranian action in April when they for the first time directly attacked Israel from Iran.
--:-- Tim Pierce: As Coates said, this could be Israel's response to Iran's unprecedented April 13th and 14th barrage against the Jewish state. Iran launched over 300 missiles, rockets, and drones into Israeli territory.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I should note here that while Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for Haniya's death, Israel hasn't taken credit. That isn't unusual, however. Experts who spoke with us said that the evidence suggests Israel's fingerprints are on this.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So what would be the goal for Israel targeting Haniya in that way? Yeah, Morningmar spoke to Behnem Ben Talablu, an expert on Iran and the Middle East at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies about that.
--:-- Behnem Ben Talablu: It's designed to throw the group off balance, quite unlike the attack that killed Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah operative in Beirut's hours before this was reported.
--:-- Tim Pierce: This is not designed to rob the group of a certain localized military capability or specific knowledge. It's designed to show the full capacity of Israel to engage in deterrence by punishment and to strike in a place that is the capital city of the head of the snake. Basically, it's the crown jewel.
--:-- Tim Pierce: One thing to note is that this was an incredibly precise strike. We don't yet know many of the details, but Hania was killed at a safe house surrounded by top Iranian troops.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Coates on how the strike could have been pulled off. What probably took place is that they used one of the F-35Is that we've sold to the Israelis to go up into probably a rocky airspace and then were able to fire off a precision missile into literally Hania's bedroom in what was supposed to have been a safe house in Tehran.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, this is an incredibly embarrassing incident for Iran, given that a top leader of one of its terror proxies was assassinated in its capital city. What kind of official response can we expect to see?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. And the strike was carried out during a time of heightened security for the inauguration of Iran's new president. It's extremely embarrassing for Iran, and the Ayatollah has already pledged revenge.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's Talibalu again. How Iran may react here is very interesting because this attack took place in the country's capital. The last time the regime engaged in that gigantic missile and drone barrage was when allegedly it was not its own consulate, but it alleged that its consulate was attacked in Syria.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So if that's what they'll do for a fake consulate, imagine what they might do for an attack on their territory. After we spoke with Tal Blue, the New York Times reported that Iran's supreme leader has already ordered plans for a counter-strike against Israel.
--:-- Tim Pierce: According to the report, Iran is, quote, considering another combination attack of drones and missiles on military targets in the vicinity of Tel Aviv and Haifa that would avoid civilian targets.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Iran is also weighing whether to involve its proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq for maximum effect. Now, was the United States involved or aware that the strike was taking place? The Biden administration has said it was left in the dark here.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's worth mentioning that after the April barrage from Iran on Israel, the Biden administration urged Israel to restrain itself from responding. The U.S. argued that because no life was lost, the risk of escalation wasn't worth it.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, it's not clear whether this could eventually lead to direct U.S. involvement in the Middle East, but that has been a concern of the Biden administration.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, in the meantime, we're going to be keeping an eye out for Iran's response. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good to be on.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Controversy continues at the Olympics, as two boxers who failed to meet the gender eligibility tests a year ago are cleared to fight in the women category during this summer games.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire sports reporter and Crane Company co David Cohn.
--:-- David Cohn: Hey Dave, Hey John. So first there a lot of confusion about why some transgender athletes are allowed to compete at the Olympics but not others. Can you provide some background for us?
--:-- David Cohn: Certainly. The International Olympic Committee, the IOC, complies with the governing bodies for each different sport, essentially passing the buck. And this is why, for instance, say a swimmer like Leah Thomas was ruled ineligible to compete in the women's category this Olympics because FINA, the international governing body for world aquatics, altered its trans policy to keep men out of women's sports.
--:-- David Cohn: A spokesperson for the IOC, Mark Adams, has addressed the lack of a uniform policy on gender. He said that while, and this is, quote, everyone would love to have a single answer, yes or no, it's instead incredibly complex.
--:-- David Cohn: And it's likewise very complex for boxing, correct? It definitely is. The two fighters in question here, Emain Khalif of Algeria and Lin Yuting of Taiwan, were disqualified from the Women's World Boxing Championships in New Delhi last year after failing to meet gender eligibility tests.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, that event, the World Championship, was run by the International Boxing Association, which has been banished from Olympic boxing since before the Tokyo Games.
--:-- David Cohn: This ban is due to a years-long dispute between the IOC and the IBA, which is a Russian-led boxing organization, over alleged failures of governance and integrity. So that led to the Olympic Committee appointing its own officials to run boxing at two straight summer games.
--:-- David Cohn: Now, the IOC acknowledged Monday the tournament rules for Paris are descended from those in place eight years ago at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, meaning Khalif and Lynn are competing in their second consecutive Olympics.
--:-- David Cohn: So they're now back despite failing those gender eligibility tests in 2023. What did those tests consist of? So at the time of their disqualifications, the president of the IBA alleged that the boxer's chromosome tests came back as XY rather than XX.
--:-- David Cohn: The organization says it reached its conclusions after a comprehensive review that was intended to uphold the fairness and integrity of the competition. Now, questions have been raised as to whether these two fighters experience any chromosomal abnormalities.
--:-- David Cohn: But based on the information provided by the IBA, that does not appear to be the case. Also, here's a paragraph from NBC News, John. Now, keep in mind, NBC owns the television rights deal to the Olympic Games.
--:-- David Cohn: They said Khalif and Lynn both have always competed as women, and there's no indication that either identifies as transgender or intersex. The latter, of course, referring to those who are born with both sex characteristics that don't fit strictly into male or female gender binary.
--:-- David Cohn: Following the disqualification last year, Khalif told Algeria's In Ahar TV that some, quote, did not want Algeria to win a gold medal. Khalif called this a big conspiracy and said, we will not be silent about it, unquote.
--:-- David Cohn: We will see if any female fighters speak out against this. Lastly, though, John, I found this information interesting as well. There are betting odds for both fighters. Lynn is favored in the 119-pound event, and Khalif is favored in the betting odds in the 145-pound division.
--:-- David Cohn: Well, a lot of renewed interest in how those two boxers perform now. Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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