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--:-- Georgia Howe: Why shop at Burlington? Maybe it's the deals that are new each time you drop by. Maybe it's the brand names you'll be shocked Burlington has in store. Or maybe it's the quality of the items, the amazing selection, and the newest trends. If you like to save, but also like to stay in style, Burlington is your answer. And the question you'll be asking yourself is, why go anywhere else? Burlington. Deals. Brands. Wow.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth continues to take fire. But the commander-in-chief is standing by him. Pete's doing a great job. Everybody's happy with him. Meanwhile, military recruitment rebounds after years of decline. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Thursday, April 24th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- John Bickley: The Trump administration is taking steps to phase out eight synthetic food dyes and issuing warnings about a popular ingredient. Sugar is poison, and Americans need to know that. It is poisoning us. And Trump de-escalates, backing off tariffs and his attacks on the Fed, sending stocks surging. I would like to see him lower interest rates. This is a perfect time to lower interest rates. But no, I have no intention to fire him. 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 is standing by embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as new data shows soaring military recruitment after years of decline. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here to break down the trend and what's behind it. Hey, Cabot. So we'll get to these recruitment numbers in a second, but let's start with Secretary of Defense Hegseth, who is once again facing public pressure. What's the latest there?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, there's no doubt his tenure at DOD has been tumultuous so far. First, there was what Democrats refer to as signal gate. Then last week, a number of senior advisers at the Pentagon were fired after an investigation allegedly found they'd been leaking sensitive information to the press. And this week, the negative stories continued after the New York Times reported Hegseth had allegedly shared details of airstrikes on Yemen in a separate signal chat that included his wife and brother. Now, Hegseth's team says his wife is a trusted confidant and that his brother works at the Pentagon, but the story gave yet more fodder to those who want him let go. But importantly, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have stood by Hegseth's side, offering their support publicly.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Trump mentioned there those recruitment numbers. What are we seeing on that front?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, John, we're seeing a stunning turnaround. Overall, recruitment started to dip in 2021 and 22. And by 2023, the Pentagon was in a full blown crisis. That year, the Army fell 25% short of their recruitment goal, the Navy was 20% below target, and the Air Force failed to reach their goal for the first time in nearly 25 years, falling 10% short. 2024 did see a slight rebound with the Air Force and Army hitting their target numbers but it worth noting the Army lowered their goal that year by 15 So the numbers are a bit deceiving And the Navy still fell about 10% short of their target. But that all appears to be really changing now.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Tell us what we've seen so far this year.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, six months into fiscal year 2025, every single branch is on pace to smash their recruiting goals. The Navy is tracking towards their best year in two decades. The Air Force has seen a 20% spike compared to last year. And the Army, their only problem is finding enough space for all their new recruits. Last year, they had 55,000 enlistments. With six months to go, they're already at 52,000. After years of falling short, they could now double their target in 2025. According to Army Vice Chief of Staff James Mingus, quote, we've seen momentum unlike anything in a decade. And it really is remarkable.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What's behind this dramatic spike?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, it depends on who you ask. Some say it's a reflection of larger enlistment bonuses and Pentagon efforts to work with potential recruits who in years past may have been rejected. For example, the Army and Navy each implemented prep courses to help enlistees get in better shape physically or prepare for the entrance exam. The White House says the explanation, though, is simple. Young people are rallying around President Trump's patriotic outlook and are responding to his reorienting of the military. Here he is this week from the White House.
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--:-- Donald Trump: Since November 5th, it's all happened. Enrollment in the military is at a record. We're setting records. And six months ago, we couldn't get anybody. And now we're setting records. That's a sort of testament to what's happening in terms of the spirit of our country.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Hegseth has been adamant for years that young people were being turned off by the military's embrace of wokeness and that the Pentagon was more focused on diversity, equity and inclusion than they were creating warfighters. Here he is on Fox this week.
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--:-- Pete Hegseth: These recruiting numbers don't surprise me. They don't surprise me one bit. They're a reflection of a yearning from the American public, of young people, to be proud of their country, to be proud of their military, to make sure when they serve, they're given everything they need.
--:-- Georgia Howe: To give you an idea of that new message, have a listen to this video featuring J.D. Vance, which the White House called the newest Marine recruitment ad.
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--:-- J.D. Vance: No more diversity training. We believe the real strength and the real diversity in the United States Marine Corps is that you all come from every walk of life, come from every corner of America, and you have got the strength and the purpose to win the nation's war.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The latest numbers from the Reagan National Defense Survey showed that this year, Americans' confidence in the military jumped up 6%. That represents the first time that number has gone up since 2018.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Absolutely.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr wants to phase out numerous artificial food dyes and colorings by the end of 2026 Here to explain the plan is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo So Amanda RFK is moving very quickly to implement the Make America Healthy Again agenda, starting with American food. So first, what exactly is he trying to ban?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Right. So the Department of Health and Human Services is banning petroleum-based synthetic dyes. That would be red dye number three and red 40, blue one and two, yellow five and six, and green three. Now those are very common in cereals, candy, baked goods, soft drinks, and other junk foods that are commonly consumed by children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what kind of response have we seen from the food industry?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, Kennedy did say that food companies are coming to the table to work out timelines on these bans. Now, that is going to cost them money to phase this stuff out, but having inconsistent standards in different states would be even worse for these companies. It would be challenging to market nationally and to adhere to different state regulations. But Kennedy said that it was actually those local bans that brought these food companies to the table. It gave HHS leverage to make demands of these companies at the national level.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You welcome.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Stocks soared Wednesday after reports that President Trump has no intention of removing Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq closing the day up multiple points. Joining us now to discuss the latest on the market and how trade deals and the Fed factor in is economist E.J. Antony of the Heritage Foundation. E.J., thank you so much for joining us.
--:-- E.J. Antony: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Look, we've seen a clear de-escalation in terms of tariffs from the Trump administration. There's been a lot of public negotiating going on from Trump and his team, including some mixed messages over the last few weeks. First, what are you seeing right now with the Trump trade policies?
--:-- E.J. Antony: Well, a couple of things. One is, I think, a resolution to a lot of that mixed messaging that you mentioned. Right. I mean, it was frankly chaos to start. A lot of that is getting resolved. Not all of it, but a lot of it. So that's really good. It's a very welcome development to have Trump and Besant really taking the lead in terms of negotiations. So less so Greer, Navarro, Lutnik. That's all a really welcome development again.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, as Georgia mentioned after the president said he's not interested in removing the Fed chair, the stock market surged yesterday. Are there signs of more confidence now in the approach of the Trump administration or not?
--:-- E.J. Antony: Well, at the end of the day, markets really hate uncertainty, full stop. Even if you're going to get bad news, if it's at least certain, you can prepare, you can plan, whether on the consumer side or the firm side, it doesn't matter. So the real problem has been the uncertainty. The market doesn't really like Jerome Powell, but the idea of removing him creates a tremendous amount of uncertainty. And that's the last thing markets need right now on top of the uncertainty they already have.
--:-- Georgia Howe: E.J. and Tony, thanks so much for joining us.
--:-- E.J. Antony: Yeah, absolutely. My pleasure. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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