--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- John Bickley: The Republican National Convention has taken a big tent approach, stirring some controversy but also gaining support among some unexpected groups. When you cut through the lies, you realize the truth. American families were better when Donald Trump was president. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, July 17th, and this is Morning Wire. The head of the Secret Service comes under even more scrutiny as more damning details about the fatal failure at the Trump rally come to light. The Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president. So the buck stops with you? The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service.
--:-- John Bickley: And Republicans say Biden's foreign policy has created global conflict, chaos and instability and offer a new vision for 2025. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. Text WIRE to 989898 for a free no-obligation info kit on gold and to get your hands on that limited edition golden truth bomb today.
--:-- John Bickley: Nikki Haley delivered an address at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday, just days after her surprise appearance was announced, and amid a group of speakers that generated some controversy among viewers. We go now to John recording on the ground in Milwaukee. The unconventional convention programming, including Teamsters President Sean O'Brien and influencer Amber Rose, has been the source of a lot of buzz and debate so far at the GOP-nominating Jamboree.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to discuss some of the names on that lineup and why they are causing so much conversation is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. So let's start with one-time Trump rival Haley. What was the significance of her last-minute addition to the convention?
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, John. Haley being here is, for one thing, a clear sign of unity. But also, after the choice of J.D. Vance for VP, who is very skeptical about the U.S. being involved in foreign conflicts, especially in Ukraine, this is meant to soothe the more hawkish Republican voter and almost give them permission to support Trump.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's some of what she said about foreign policy. I want to tell you a few things about the commander-in-chief I know and worked with. As ambassador to the United Nations, I had a front row seat to his national security policies. We sure could use those again. Think about it. When Barack Obama was president, Vladimir Putin invaded Crimea. With Joe Biden as president, Putin invaded all of Ukraine. But when Donald Trump was president, Putin did nothing. No invasions, no wars.
--:-- John Bickley: We also heard from Ron DeSantis, who again has a core base of supporters who might still harbor hard feelings about the somewhat brutal nature of the primary. And then there was Tom Cotton. So in general, the night might almost be thought of as establishment night after the new right Monday where we saw figures like Tucker Carlson. The idea of course is one big happy family. Right So let move on to Sean O'Brien.
--:-- David Marcus: How different is it for this kind of union boss to address any Republican event let alone the nomination of Donald Trump? There was a time very recently when seeing a top union official at a GOP convention would be like seeing a polar bear in the Bahamas. And in fact, the Teamsters vice president had a fairly scathing response when it was announced. But this is very much in line with Trump's outreach and appeal to blue collar voters, many of whom are unionized.
--:-- John Bickley: It does not appear that more traditional Republicans, such as you might find at National Review or the Wall Street Journal, are particularly thrilled about this. They remain anti-union. But importantly, the Teamsters are not a public sector union like the teachers union. So this move, along with the selection of Vance, who is very critical of large corporations, it may signal a shift in how the party thinks about unions, at least in the private sector.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah. Then there was Amber Rose. For listeners unfamiliar with her, who is she and why did her appearance wrinkle so many conservatives? Amber Rose is probably best known for dating rappers and championing radical feminist rallies. I mean, you can imagine the more conservative Republicans didn't think this was someone who well represents their vision for America.
--:-- David Marcus: But in fact, she gave a patriotic and very pro-Trump speech. Here's a bit of that. I realize Donald Trump and his supporters don't care if you're black, white, gay or straight. It's all love. This is the challenge and the tension. Having a big tent requires no shortage of tolerance.
--:-- John Bickley: Indeed. Finally, it wasn't an official RNC event, but Moms for Liberty held a town hall in the vicinity featuring DeSantis as well as Sarah Sanders and others. How did that go?
--:-- David Marcus: I went to check it out live and it was packed. It was in this majestic 1920s movie theater. And from the national anthems sung full-throatedly by the crowd to the end, they really were energized and wrapped by the event. In just a couple of years, this group has absolutely moved to the forefront of conservative activism with its message of parents, not the government, deciding how to raise their kids.
--:-- John Bickley: And this was a clear sign that Moms for Liberty is going to have a role to play, not just in this election, but in the GOP for some time to come. Another significant voting demographic that's found its home with Republicans. Yeah. Dave, thanks for reporting.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
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--:-- John Bickley: Cards issued by Sutton Bank and Celtic Bank, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply. More details continue to emerge regarding the glaring security failures at Saturday's Trump rally and multiple investigations of the Secret Service are underway. Here to discuss those failures and the fallout is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well. So Amanda, what are the latest developments regarding this Secret Service failure? I mean, where to begin? Secret Service has now confirmed that they did receive warnings from local police about the would-be shooter acting suspiciously before Trump even went on stage.
--:-- John Bickley: We also know that three counter snipers from Beaver County were actually stationed inside the very building that was used by the shooter. Local law enforcement officers were tasked with securing the areas surrounding the Secret Service perimeter, and that included this building not even 200 yards away from Trump.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Piecing together numerous reports, it seems snipers did report the suspicious actions of the shooter, Thomas Crooks, to state police up to 30 minutes before he fired off his first shot. Crooks actually left and came back to the building three times before the assassination attempt started.
--:-- John Bickley: The first time he was at the building, he appeared to be scoping out the roof. The second time, the snipers saw Crooks with a rangefinder and reported his activity to the command post. Then Crooks left and came back a third time, this time with a backpack, and walked toward the back of the building.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: By the time the snipers called for backup, Crooks was on top of the roof and able to fire on Trump and his supporters. Wow So just looking though at the aerial photos the building where Crooks took his shot was quite close to the stage It's about 150 meters. Why was it not secured by Secret Service?
--:-- John Bickley: So the building fell just outside the Secret Service's inner perimeter, and they left the outer perimeter to local officials. That's according to Secret Service Chief Kimberly Cheadle. The local law enforcement that was tasked with securing this area said that they were short-staffed and just not prepared to handle such a big undertaking.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Notably, no one was stationed on the roof. That open rooftop sparked a lot of commentary from people with security backgrounds. Here's Dallas Alexander, a sniper with 17 years experience, talking about the issue.
--:-- Dallas Alexander: It immediately made no sense to me. You cannot, in broad daylight, get onto a rooftop within, it looked like, maybe a couple hundred yards. If that, you can't get into that position with a gun when there's a president speaking. Like, you don't even need to be a sniper. You could be a seventh grader. Like, what do we need to do for security here?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, let's look at these rooftops that are almost within zero-aring range of a rifle. And here's Representative Corey Mills, a former Army sniper, expressing his astonishment about the security failures.
--:-- Corey Mills: The amount of negligence, the amount of mistakes that was made here, I have a very difficult time not leaning myself towards this was intentional as opposed to fecklessness. This was too easy of a solution. And when I think about 160 yards shot, I'm uncomfortable with having to say it. Trust me, my whole point is that I would like to look at this and say, where was the mistake made? How can we correct it in the future? Why was this actually done?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Cheadle has received intense backlash for these failures. People want to know how Crooks was able to apparently scale this building somehow, take position on a roof within a line of sight of President Trump, and fire off numerous shots before Secret Service covered Trump and eventually got him off stage.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Cheadle during an interview with ABC News, giving a rather bizarre reason for why the rooftop was not covered. That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so there's a safety factor that would be considered there, that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I will note that there were police counter snipers on other roofs that were sloped. In fact, according to a Washington Post analysis, those roofs were even more sloped than the roof the shooter was on.
--:-- John Bickley: There have been calls for the chief to resign, and Cheadle herself has called the breach unacceptable. Still, though, she says that won't happen. The president and Homeland Security secretary said today they had 100 percent confidence in you. But there are some members of Congress calling on you to resign.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I appreciate the secretary's comments, and we're going to continue to be transparent and communicate with people. You plan to stay on? Absolutely. I do plan to stay on.
--:-- John Bickley: Keep in mind, a Trump supporter was killed and two others were critically injured. There are now multiple investigations into the security failure. There's one from the FBI. Biden has ordered an independent review. And House Speaker Mike Johnson says Congress will also conduct a full investigation. So hopefully we get some answers soon.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, the sheer amount of errors that all had to coincide for this to happen is extremely concerning.
--:-- John Bickley: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You're welcome.
--:-- John Bickley: Global conflict, chaos and instability. That's how the newly adopted Republican platform describes the Biden administration's foreign policy approach. We go now to the RNC, where John discusses with a foreign policy expert. Joining us now in our Morning Wire booth at the RNC is Aryeh Lightstone, former senior advisor to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Thank you so much for joining us. So much fun to have you in person for the first time.
--:-- John Bickley: John, it's great to be here in person. It's great to be here. This is really exciting. It's electric. Yeah, you can really feel it. And we've noted that with a lot of people we've talked to, that this is different. This feels different this go around.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Now, you were the lead author of the foreign policy section of the Republican platform this year. You've said a lack of clarity from the administration on foreign policy has damaged our interests around the globe. How so?
--:-- John Bickley: It's almost impossible to calculate how much America has lost in our standing around the world not because people love America not because people admire America but people are confused by America And what that means is we were very confused eight years ago. What does it mean to be America first? Ukraine has Ukraine first policy and Saudi Arabia has a Saudi Arabia first policy. And what they want to do is they want to calibrate that policy based upon the number one superpower in the world, which is the United States of America.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: But when they don't know what our policy is, when they don't understand what our policy is when they don't think we understand what our policy is, they're not positive how to go ahead and move forward on that one. So when you see Saudi Arabia has moved away from trading the petro on the dollar, why do they do that? It's one of the greatest defeats that America's had and nobody's talking about it.
--:-- John Bickley: One peace deal was done in the last four years in between Iran and Saudi Arabia, brokered by China. What a devastating loss by the United States of America. They didn't do that because Saudi Arabia wants to run to China, they did that because Saudi Arabia doesn't know who America is anymore.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: And bring that back with distinct clarity will change all of that rapidly. What are the challenges facing a Republican administration in 2025 on the foreign policy? Day number one is going to be Iran. Iran was on the ropes. It was crippled, unable to fund terror and unable to advance their nuclear program. That's where they were on January 19th, 2021. Today, on January 20th, 2025, they will be with a nuclear weapon or on the cusp of nuclear weaponry, as well as with tens of billions of dollars to fund malfeasance around the world directly against the United States of America and directly against our allies.
--:-- John Bickley: And the administration is going to have to make a decision on day number one. What level of credible military threat will the administration be prepared to threaten? The question is how credible is that threat? Do you fear the Biden administration has done irreparable harm with the relationship of the U.S. to its allies and adversaries?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Not irreparable because America is still the greatest force for good in the history of humanity and we haven't been replaced yet. While that happens, I think that America will be irreparably harmed if we don't come up with a foreign policy that will be an American foreign policy. Not a Democrat foreign policy, not a Republican foreign policy, but American foreign policy. because at some point in time, our allies will decide that the alliance is not worth it if they have to change it every four years.
--:-- John Bickley: And it will be a friendship, but it won't be an alliance that you can count on and that you can bake on. And one of the things I think it's important for your listeners to understand is this isn't a business deal. It's not a transaction. You walk into a supermarket, you pay and you walk out. An alliance is a 15 to 25 year plan. And if you can't rely on a 15 to 25 year plan, then it's not really alliance, which is why you see others running towards China.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: You might not like China, but they will have the same policy in 25 to 50 years. And right now they can't say the same thing about the United States.
--:-- John Bickley: Speaking of China, where do you see that threat? How high is that threat level?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: We are living in I think some of the most challenging five months that we've ever lived through. I think our adversaries are watching very closely in a moment of enormous irony. I think the assassin's bullet missing President Trump by millimeters, which I can only attribute to an act of God blessing the United States of America.
--:-- John Bickley: I think that actually put our adversaries on notice. President Trump's polls are through the roof. I think that the adversaries around the world are going to look and see what happened in the period of time where Obama lost, where Hillary lost and Trump assumed office. And there was a lot of chaos in the world during that period of time. And Trump came in and cleaned up the mess.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: I think our adversaries are going to be nervous about being the ones to cause the mess. Right now, with Trump's poll numbers where they are and the addition of the very dynamic J.D. Vance, I think puts our adversaries on notice that they may have a five-month window over here, but five months in one day and things are going to change.
--:-- John Bickley: Let's end it there. Aryeh Lightstone, thank you so much for joining us.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Thank you, John. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
