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--:-- Host John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of Daily Wire, and I'm here with Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us, John.
--:-- Host John Bickley: It's Monday, October 30th. Let's get right into it. Over the weekend, former Vice President Mike Pence dropped out of the presidential race. We'll talk about that in a minute. But first, let's take a look at the state of the GOP primary.
--:-- Host John Bickley: With less than three months to go until the first votes are cast, the field has begun to narrow. Here with more on the state of the race and the latest on a new primary challenge to President Biden is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So, the GOP field has winnowed down a bit here since we last spoke. Tell us first about that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, so historically, the field begins to thin out before votes are even cast. And this year is no different. Last week, GOP businessman Perry Johnson became the first candidate to suspend his campaign. Despite an enormous war chest, thanks to his personal wealth, Johnson just failed to gain any traction in the polls and ended up actually accusing the RNC of rigging the race against him by keeping him from the debate stage.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And while his departure was hardly unexpected, we did see a big name drop out over the weekend, as former Vice President Mike Pence called it quits on Saturday.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: While Pence had universal name recognition coming in, he struggled right out the gate to gain support from GOP voters, many of whom expressed anger over his refusal to help former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 race.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Here he is breaking the news at a Republican-Jewish coalition event.
--:-- [Audio clip of Mike Pence's speech plays]
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It's become clear to me, this is not my time. So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So where does the remaining field stand with Iowa fast approaching?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, as a political junkie, I would love to report on a back and forth battle to the finish line, but that's just not the reality right now. President Trump continues to hold a historic primary lead, proving essentially impervious to any attack from his opponents or prosecutors in the courtroom. The latest polls have him around 60% among primary voters, and no single candidate to this point has been able to coalesce the non-Trump vote.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared to be in the best spot to give him a real challenge, but he has continued to struggle, falling from the high 20s over the summer to the low double digits this week. He's now sitting around 12% nationally.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has taken firm hold of third place. She's pulling in the high single digits. But again, there just doesn't seem to be enough non-voters to go around at this point. And time is clearly running out for its challengers.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Right. Though it's already an election cycle like no other. So, who knows? So let's get to the Democratic primary. We've got a new face in the race. Who is that?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. So we've talked on the show. Polling does show that six in 10 Democrat voters say they want an option besides Biden on the ticket. And this week they got one. On Friday, Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, no relation, officially entered the race.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Phillips had publicly called for a Biden alternative throughout the last few months. And when none emerged, he took matters into his own hands.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And it's worth noting, Phillips does not appear to be running to the left of Biden. He's not offering a far-left progressive wishlist or anything. Instead, his campaign launch for New Hampshire actually focused on issues the White House has largely ignored or downplayed.
--:-- Host John Bickley: For example, he specifically promised to fix the chaos at our border, not something you usually hear from President Biden or other Democrats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He went on to say that he wanted to address skyrocketing crime rates and also fight inflation.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, it's worth noting, Democrat leaders across the country were very quick to condemn him, calling him an attention seeker and rabble rouser.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But his presence does add another wrinkle to the primary.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, one reason we're seeing a primary challenge for Biden is because of this growing unpopularity within his own party and with independents. Walk us through the numbers on that front.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, he's been losing support over the last year. That much is now clear from the data. A new Gallup poll this weekend, for example, found that his approval rating among Democrats fell 11 points this month to 75%. That might sound good, but that's actually the lowest mark in this poll since he took office.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And even more concerning for Biden from a general election standpoint, his approval rating among independents sits at just 35%. Among all Americans, Gallup has him at 37% approval. That's about eight points lower than where President Trump was heading into the 2020 race.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And also of the six head-to-head polls released in the last two weeks, there's not a single one right now where Biden leads Trump nationally.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Well, not a single one.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah. Now, obviously, those numbers could shift from now to next November, but there is no question that President Biden is limping into the election season.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, we're not seeing a lot of momentum right now for the president. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a second stage of the war against Hamas on Saturday night. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the latest news out of Israel.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So, Tim, tell us about this second phase of the war.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's the start of Israel's ground operations in Gaza. Netanyahu announced the new phase on Saturday evening after Israeli forces moved into northern Gaza. By Sunday, it looked as if the IDF had prepared to encircle Gaza City.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Israeli air forces and mortar teams also dropped hundreds of bombs on military targets in the north and south.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In particular, Israel began to target Hamas' extensive tunnel network that crisscrosses the country and houses some of the terror group's main infrastructure, such as headquarters and arms and supply storage.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We don't have a full picture of the pounding Gaza has taken. Detailed information is scarce since Israeli forces knocked out internet access and phone lines in the region.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And the number of dead and injured Palestinians and Hamas fighters coming from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry aren't reliable, according to the U.S. and Israeli governments.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Right. But from what is available, experts say that the operation is more restrained than they would expect if Israel was conducting a full military invasion.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So this second phase may be an attempt to pressure Hamas to surrender its estimated 200 hostages rather than a full invasion.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, what's going on with the civilians in Gaza? Has the evacuation effort been successful?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Not really. There have been significant roadblocks. Hamas has made efforts to keep civilians in Gaza, and Egypt has been resistant to taking in refugees who are trying to get out.
--:-- Host John Bickley: However, hundreds of thousands have been evacuated.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Humanitarian groups have said the situation is severe for Palestinian civilians. Thousands of Palestinians looted the United Nations relief and works agency warehouses of tons of food and water.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And the UN officials have said that they need at least 40 trucks of supplies coming into Gaza daily to keep up with demand.
--:-- Tim Pierce: In particular, humanitarian groups say Gaza is about to run out of fuel. Israel searches every truck of supplies sent into Gaza, creating a bottleneck and has blocked any fuel from coming in.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Israel is facing pressure from Arab countries and the UN to relax its blockade for humanitarian reasons, but Israel officials are concerned that any supplies sent into Gaza may be stolen by Hamas for the war effort, especially fuel that can be used for rockets.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Right. And that comes amid reports also that Hamas is hoarding some crucial supplies and even keeping it from civilians, correct?
--:-- Host John Bickley: Right. According to reporting from the New York Times, the terror group appears to have three to four months worth of supplies, including food, water, and medicine, for its 40,000 members stored away in the terror tunnels beneath Gaza.
--:-- Tim Pierce: That includes up to 264,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel. The group has created stockpiles of supplies over the years sent by its state sponsors, such as Iran and Qatar, and from taking it from humanitarian shipments.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Taking a step back from Israel and Hamas, since the war broke out, there's been a significant uptick in public displays of anti-Semitism.
--:-- Tim Pierce: We're now even seeing some reports of pogroms in Russia.
--:-- Host John Bickley: What's going on there?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, a crowd of people stormed an airport in the Russian Republic of Dagestan on Sunday evening. They gathered after word got out that a flight had landed in Mahachkala from Tel Aviv.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Hundreds of people waving Palestinian flags and shouting anti-Semitic slogans stormed the airport and the tarmac, reportedly looking for Jews.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Some were even seen checking the passports of travelers.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Russia sent security forces in to control the situation, but the plane from Tel Aviv was locked down for a bit while the crowd was outside.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Netanyahu responded in a statement that he expects Russian law enforcement to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they may be.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The Dagestani government sent out a statement urging residents to not succumb to the provocations of destructive groups and not to create panic in society.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, it sounds terrifying.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Tim, thanks for joining us.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Anytime.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Some 300 anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested on Friday night at Grand Central Station in New York City.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The New York Post reports that rioters climbed the Brooklyn Bridge, blocked traffic, and even damaged cop cars.
--:-- Host John Bickley: The protest, which at times numbered as much as 7,000 people, coursed its way through the city, finally landing at the train terminal, shutting down service and leading the police to make hundreds of arrests.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Here to discuss the protest is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me, John.
--:-- Host John Bickley: So, how significant an act of civil disobedience was this for New York City?
--:-- David Marcus: Good morning. Look, this was clearly a large protest, but it paled in comparison to the George Floyd protests in 2020 or the anti-war protests of 2004 that numbered over 100,000.
--:-- Host John Bickley: This was clearly very organized. Hundreds all had the same T-shirt saying, "Not in my name."
--:-- David Marcus: So, yeah, the activists got themselves out there. But what they failed to do was get the normal public out there with them.
--:-- Host John Bickley: And that is significant.
--:-- David Marcus: Progressive organizations and politicians are working very hard to conflate condemnation of Israel with the leftist parade of so-called anti-racism or LGB and T rights.
--:-- Host John Bickley: But thus far, the pure atrocity of what Hamas committed on 10-7 has been a deal breaker for a lot of people who would otherwise paint a sign and go chant truth to power on the streets.
--:-- David Marcus: Right. Now, in Europe, we saw very different scenes in which there were hundreds of thousands on the street protesting against Israel.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Why did it reach that kind of critical mass there, but not here?
--:-- David Marcus: I think there's a few reasons. These countries have larger Muslim populations, but also, obviously, the United States and Israel have a unique relationship.
--:-- Host John Bickley: But they also both view themselves as unique, essential, and exceptional countries.
--:-- David Marcus: For Americans, as the global leader, and for Israel, not just as a safe haven for Jews, but as an entity that helps to protect Jews across the globe.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Europe in general, and we see this at the United Nations, expresses much more relativism in regards to this conflict.
--:-- David Marcus: Thus far, from polling and from seeing the lackluster attempts to bring about big crowds, Americans are pretty clear about which side they're on here.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Now, the demand of these protesters is a ceasefire and really an end to Israel's campaign to root out Hamas.
--:-- David Marcus: Why is that something that both Israel and the U.S. so soundly reject?
--:-- Host John Bickley: I mean, in a word, deterrence.
--:-- David Marcus: Those calling for Israel to back down here are also asking them to invite further attacks, possibly even more depraved than the atrocities we saw on 10-7.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That isn't something that Israel and its allies can accept at this point.
--:-- David Marcus: Prime Minister Netanyahu has called this the second war of independence for Israel. He views this as an existential threat, and there's likely no number of protesters anywhere who can keep him and his country from pursuing its aim to destroy Hamas.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Yeah, they made their commitment to doing that very clear.
--:-- David Marcus: Finally, this has become a political challenge for President Biden, who saw a dramatic drop in public approval from Democrats over the past month.
--:-- Host John Bickley: How can he thread the needle between Democrats who support Israel and those who are demanding a ceasefire?
--:-- David Marcus: That's the $64,000 question, John. Clearly, some deep divides exist among Democrats on this issue.
--:-- Host John Bickley: We've seen this with New York Congressman Richie Torres, an ardent supporter of Israel, and his neighbor, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is clearly in the Palestinian camp.
--:-- David Marcus: Traditionally, Democrats like Biden have been fulsome supporters of the Jewish state.
--:-- Host John Bickley: But the Obama approach, which is favored by his White House, has been to appease Iran.
--:-- David Marcus: Ultimately, this is why public support for Israel, which polling puts at around 75 percent, is so important here.
--:-- Host John Bickley: That will guide Joe Biden's hand, whether he wants it to or not.
--:-- David Marcus: Right. Meanwhile, Israel has begun their ground campaign. So things are really getting going over there.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Dave, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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