--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Day two of the DNC features former president and first lady Obama. Chicago! It's good to be home! I don't know about you, but I'm feeling fired up. What message did Michelle and Barack have for today's party loyalists? I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, August 21st, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): The Harris Walls Democratic Platform aims to fast-track citizenship for illegal border crossers while also backing a Biden-Harris program riddled with fraud. Essentially, what they're trying to do is eliminate any distinction between citizens and foreign nationals. And fact-checking Joe Biden and DNC speakers. What did they get right and what did they get wrong?
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): If you need a better way to simplify your business finances, then you need to check out Ramp. Ramp is the corporate card and spend management software designed to help you save time and put money back in your pocket. Businesses that use Ramp save an average of 5% in the first year, and now you get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com slash wire. That's ramp.com slash wire. R-A-M-P dot com slash wire. Cards issued by Sutton Bank and Celtic Bank, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): After giving President Biden a very late night send off on day one, day two of the Democratic National Convention featured the Obamas taking center stage and pumping up Kamala Harris while taking aim at Donald Trump. Here to discuss the Obama night at the DNC is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, thanks for having me on.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So another loaded night of speakers at the DNC, but the Obamas were obviously the big focus. What did we hear from them?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, we heard a lot, both directly stated and in subtext. So we should start with Michelle Obama, who took the stage to what sounded like the most raucous response of the week until her husband came on, that is. Notably, she began by effectively painting the Biden administration as one that was not inspiring, that did not offer hope. That was a word she and her husband repeated over and over. It was really reminiscent of the 2008 presidential race.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The former first lady said, we're now finally feeling like hope is returning. And made clear that she's been extremely pessimistic until recently. Take a listen. You know, we're feeling it here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country we love. A familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long. America, hope is making a comeback.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But the real thrust of her speech was to, really in the most harsh terms possible, paint Donald Trump as a racist and misogynist. Here is one of those moments. For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, it was interesting. The former first lady focused the meat of her speech on Donald Trump. And did not really get to Kamala Harris until the closing portion when she encouraged Democrats to rally around the VP, even if she is not perfect. It could be viewed as a sort of backhanded compliment. Have a listen. We cannot be our own worst enemies. We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right. We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: She ended her speech with a call in response to the audience, encouraging them to, quote, do something to make sure Harris gets elected. Don just sit around and complain. Do something. All right. So that was Michelle's speech. And then we heard from the former president. Yes, we did.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And he immediately began with the same message we heard from his wife, hope. Chants of yes, we can also broke out repeatedly. Again, it's strikingly reminiscent of the 08 campaign. He also referenced his own and Harris's ethnic identity, emphasizing that they both have a, quote, funny name.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He then went on to throw Biden a bone by saying his first decision as the nominee in 2008 was his best one, picking Joe as his running mate. But his big point of praise was to suggest that Biden's best moment was, quote, putting selfish ambition aside to hand the keys to Harris.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He then, like Michelle, quickly turned to attacking Trump. Who will fight for me? Who's thinking about my future, about my children's future, about our future together? One thing is for certain, Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. He also, again, like Michelle, made sure to underscore the need to do something. Do not vote. Vote. We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America's ready for a better story. We are ready for a president, Kamala Harris.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Now, as he's planning to do all week, Trump did some counter-programming ahead of the DNC yesterday. He was in Michigan, a key battleground state. And we saw an attempt to create a racial narrative about where he was campaigning. What happened there?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, this was interesting. It turned into a really viral moment to the benefit of Trump. The former president held a campaign rally in Howell, Michigan, where he hammered Harris on crime and illegal immigration. But the Harris campaign tried to criticize him for going to Howell, Michigan at all.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: That's because a few weeks ago, about a dozen demonstrators there allegedly chanted racist things during a march downtown. That prompted a number of establishment media reports decrying Trump's decision to hold a rally in a town with supposed links to white extremism.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: After a speech, a reporter asked Trump for a response to that criticism. Here's what he had to say. Who was here in 2021? Joe Biden. Thank you. Thank you, everybody.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): So, another day of the DNC in the books and a full turn now from Biden to the candidate who's now replaced him on the ticket. Right. Kevin, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Anytime.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): The Democratic Party platform released on Monday touts policies that would further loosen U.S. immigration laws. The final draft of the platform includes a path to permanent residence for illegal aliens, as well as endorses a Biden-Harris immigration program plagued by fraud.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Here to talk about the Democratic Party's immigration priorities is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, let's start with this proposal by Democrats to legalize illegal aliens. What does it say?
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Sure. The Democratic platform calls on Congress to pass the U.S. Citizenship Act. It was introduced by Biden and Harris in 2021 and would essentially provide a pathway to permanent residence for millions of illegal aliens. It's very permissive. Very few crimes would exclude an illegal immigrant from eligibility.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The migrant cannot have committed a felony in the past decade or three or more misdemeanors in five years. But that does not include immigration offenses, marijuana crimes, nor acts of civil disobedience. Those are okay under the act.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And if the migrant has incurred multiple misdemeanor charges on one day, those are taken together to only count as one charge against their eligibility. Critics of the bill have called it a pathway to mass amnesty, but portions of the bill go even further.
--:-- Tim Pierce: For instance, under the new law, migrants who enter the U.S. illegally would be offered alternatives to detention and community support instead of jail time. It would also make it illegal for a business to consider a job applicant's citizenship status and hiring. Offending employers would risk thousands of dollars in fines.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors could become permanent residents if they graduated high school or serve in the military. Afterwards, they would be eligible to work for Congress and receive federally backed mortgages.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, also in their platform, the party is touting the success of the CHNV parole program. Can you first just tell us what that stands for and then what that program does?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Sure. The CHNV acronym stands for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, all the nationalities that are given special treatment under the program for immigration parole.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The program allows up to 30,000 immigrants a month from the target countries to enter the U.S. as long as they can meet the criteria, such as pass a background check. The Department of Homeland Security froze that program earlier this month over concerns of rampant fraud.
--:-- Tim Pierce: An investigation by the Federation for American Immigration Reform found that, quote, the department has been rubber-stamping parole applications without verifying information provided by sponsors or parolees.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): How many immigrants have come into the country using that program?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, first off, I should note how immigration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela has exploded in recent years. In fiscal year 2020, border agents arrested just over 17,500 illegals from those four countries.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The next year, when Biden took office, apprehensions jumped up to roughly 181,000. And then in fiscal year 2022, they blew up again to over 600,000.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The administration created the CHNV program essentially to give those immigrants more legal ways to enter the country and therefore bring down the number of apprehensions.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Well, quite a program to be touted on the party platform. Tim, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Good to be on.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Joe Biden's late night DNC address included numerous misleading and false statements relating to Donald Trump, energy, immigration, the economy, and other issues. Here to fact-check the president's speech is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So, Amanda, this speech was pretty aggressive from Biden, definitely conveying a lot of anger, and it included more than a few debunked talking points. Yeah, it really did.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And more specifically, there were a lot of widely debunked statements made about Trump. So I'll just start there. Biden told the DNC crowd that Trump has promised a, quote, bloodbath if he loses the election. But Trump was not speaking of violence as Biden really misleadingly suggested last night.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Trump made the comment in reference to the auto industry and tariffs. He said he would put a 100 tariff on any CCP-owned cars being produced in Mexico and said that that wouldn't happen if he loses the election and therefore there would be an economic bloodbath for the U.S.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, in that same breath, Biden also claimed that Trump said he would be a dictator on day one. He's promising a bloodbath if he loses in his words and that he'll be a dictator on day one in his own words. Again, not true.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Even far-left outlets have acknowledged that Trump during a Fox News interview said that he would not be a dictator and then joked that this would exclude day one when he would drill baby drill and close the border.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There was also the fine people on both sides lie echoed by Biden. He told the DNC that Trump said this about neo-Nazis at a rally in Charlottesville in 2017. This also has been repeatedly debunked even far-left sites like Snopes have said this is not true.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Trump explicitly said that he was not talking about neo-Nazis or white supremacists who he said should be, quote, condemned totally.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, what about policy? How did Biden do on that front? There was a lot of misleading information, if not outright lies. For example, Biden claimed Trump wants to cut Social Security and Medicare. Trump did not do that when he served in the White House, and he has repeatedly stated that he won't do that if he's elected again.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: There was an inaccuracy about charging stations for electric vehicles. Biden said thanks to him and Kamala Harris, a union was installing 500,000 charging stations across the U.S. Turns out, though, there are not even 20 of those stations completed, and already $7.5 billion has been spent.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, on immigration, Biden tried to blame Trump for the border crisis and even suggested the border is more secure now than it was under Trump. He made this case by citing a drop in border encounters in June and July and said that Trump and Republicans rejected a largely Democrat-backed border bill.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: That's certainly missing some important context. Under Biden and Harris, border apprehensions hit an all-time high, averaging around 2 million per year. And that estimate doesn't include the more than 1 million parole migrants or gotaways.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, just last year, the number of observed gotaways was 1.7 million. That number is higher than the number of total gotaways recorded in an entire decade from 2010 to 2020.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And regarding the border bill legislation, Republicans and Trump argued that the bill codified Biden's open border policies. They've instead pushed for a bill called H.R. 2. Now, that would re-implement a lot of Trump-era border policy that Biden quickly undid when he became president.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Right. And finally, Biden made the toughest pitch of the night when he boasted about the economy. Biden bragged that hourly wages have technically gone up during his tenure, but the missing context there is obviously inflation.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Proportional to inflation, hourly earnings increases went much further in Trump's economy. Now, under Trump, Americans saved around 8.7% of their monthly paycheck compared to just 5.9% under Biden.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Biden also touted a lowering inflation rate. And yes, it's definitely down from that staggering 9.1% it hit back in 2022 to now around 3%. But there's really not a lot of relief for Americans. Inflation compounds, so goods and services are continuing to cost a lot more. Right. Grocery shopping is definitely where I'm noticing inflation the most.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You're welcome. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Is your business selling a little or a lot? Shopify helps you do your thing. However, Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell at every stage of your business from the launch your online shop stage all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet's best converting checkout, which is 36% better on average compared to the other leading commerce platforms. Get a one-dollar-per-month trial period at shopify.com slash morningwire. That's shopify.com slash morningwire.
