--:-- John Bickley: Voters in more than a dozen states made their picks for the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, and Biden and Trump won big. They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one. And they tell me, the pundits and otherwise, that there's never been one like this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We break down the election-shaping outcomes, including in some other key races.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, March 6th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: Republicans and Democrats in 15 states took to the polls yesterday and went a long way in settling the nominations for both parties. The biggest day of the primary season wrapped up yesterday with 31 total primaries or caucuses taking place last night.
--:-- John Bickley: Here to tell us what happened is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So, what did we see yesterday? Overall on the Republican side, the night was a dominant one for former President Trump. Nikki Haley was able to stop a Trump sweep. She eked out a win in Vermont and opened primary by about four points. But that's not likely to change the trajectory of the primary.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The night started off in Virginia, where the race was called after Trump took a lead of over 30 points. And that was essentially how the night went, with the exception of Vermont. Trump went on to take North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and the rest.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Trump doesn't yet have enough delegates to declare himself the GOP nominee outright, but he is well on his way to becoming the Republican candidate in 2024.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's a bit from Trump last night. We've watched our country take a great beating over the last three years. We wouldn't have Russia attacking Ukraine. We wouldn't have Israel being attacked. We had no inflation. Inflation is destroying the middle class. We have murderers that are being deposited into our country. We have drug dealers at the biggest and highest levels that are coming into our country. We're going to stop them. We're going to close our borders. We're going to have to deport a lot of people, a lot of bad people, because our countries can't live like this. Our cities are choking to death. Our states are dying. And frankly, our country is dying. And we're going to make America great again, greater than ever before.
--:-- Tim Pierce: His speech ignored Haley completely. Instead, he covered general election issues, immigration, crime, the economy, and targeted Joe Biden.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Speaking of Biden, the president had an expectedly good night being essentially in a one-race situation. In one upset though Biden lost the Democratic primary in American Samoa to entrepreneur Jason Palmer, an obscure candidate that qualified for the ballot in just 16 states and territories.
--:-- Tim Pierce: There were also some warning signs for the Biden camp in Minnesota. He won the primary, but a large chunk of voters went uncommitted. It echoes what we saw in the Michigan Democratic primary last week. Then 13% of the vote went uncommitted after activists organized a protest vote over Biden's Israel policy.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Along with Michigan, Minnesota also has a sizable Muslim population. Biden also had a relatively weak performance in Oklahoma. He earned about 75% of the vote there. In a red state like Oklahoma, that's not likely to matter in the general, but it does highlight the dissatisfaction with Biden within his own party.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, what about down-ballot races? Anything interesting happen there?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, in the California Senate race to replace retiring Dianne Feinstein, Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey are headed to a runoff. Congresswomen Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, both Democrats, were eliminated in the jungle primary.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The result is good news for Schiff, who should be able to consolidate the Democratic vote and beat Garvey in the deep blue state in November.
--:-- Georgia Howe: In North Carolina, Republicans picked Mark Robinson to be their candidate for governor. He's a fiery orator and risen fast in politics in the last six years since he was a worker in a furniture manufacturing plant.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Democrats who are running state attorney general Josh Stein hope to capitalize on Robinson's stances on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's Robinson last night. We're not going to allow these folks to drag this campaign into the mud. Those who want to go into the mud, feel free. Where we're going is we're going towards the substantive issues that all North Carolinians face. The things that will make North Carolina great, that will take her to our next level of success.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, while the Republican primary isn't officially over, this was essentially the last stand for Nikki Haley. How did she fare last night?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, her run is basically over. She scored a win in Vermont, but she didn't change the fundamentals of the race. It's a disappointment for the Haley camp, but not unexpected.
--:-- Tim Pierce: She said recently she planned to continue through Super Tuesday. Now that we're through and Haley's odds haven't improved, We'll see what she decides to do.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She notably did not speak after the primary results yesterday, but her campaign did issue a statement expressing pride that Haley is the first female to win now two Republican primaries.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, there has been some speculation as to why Haley remained in the race even after she lost her home state in South Carolina. One possibility is that she wants to be on standby in case something catastrophic happens to Trump. Another theory is that she wants Republicans to have a chance to vote for someone other than Trump.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But regardless of the reason, her chances at the GOP nomination this year are very likely dead.
--:-- John Bickley: All right. Well, Tim, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The impoverished nation of Haiti was plunged into turmoil this week as violent gangs overran prisons and attacked international airports, threatening to topple the country's already fragile government.
--:-- John Bickley: Here with the details is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, Cabot, we're getting some disturbing reports out of Haiti. What do we know right now?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, just stunning developments in a country that's been wracked by corruption, natural disaster, and poverty.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: In recent years, violent gangs have grown to dominate huge swaths of Haiti's largest cities. For example, according to UN estimates, 80% of the territory in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince is under the control of various gangs.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Those gangs have routinely wreaked havoc on the country, assassinating politicians, paying off local officials, and kidnapping everyone from aid workers to missionaries and businessmen.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And this week the chaos reached new levels as hordes of heavily armed gang members stormed two of the country's largest prisons, killing a number of guards and freeing nearly 5,000 inmates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And on Monday night, they launched separate attacks on the country's two largest airports, exchanging gunfire with police and soldiers, grounding planes, and forcing the U.S. to cancel all official flights into the country.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: U.S. officials also reported heavy gunfire around our embassy and urged all American citizens to flee the country immediately.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what's the local government doing about it?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, authorities ordered an immediate mandatory curfew and issued a 72-hour state of emergency as the military and police forces scoured the country for escaped inmates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But they are overwhelmingly undermanned and outgunned, with just 9,000 active police officers for a country of 11 million people.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: A key ally of Haiti, Kenya, vowed to send 1,000 of their own police officers as part of a U.S.-funded security effort.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But for the time being, the gangs are acting with impunity throughout the country.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, what are the gangs hoping to accomplish?
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the largest gang in the country is led by Jimmy Terizier, who is actually a former high-ranking police officer in Haiti.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He claimed responsibility for the uptick in violence and called for all gangs in the country to unite against the government.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He claimed their goal is to capture the country's police chief and government ministers and overthrow the existing government led by Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Henri was appointed after the assassination of the country's previous prime minister in 2021 and has sparked controversy of his own.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Despite promises to the contrary, Henri has repeatedly delayed parliamentary and presidential elections, which have not been held in Haiti for over a decade, meaning the country currently has no elected officials.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: For his part, Henri was in Kenya when the attacks occurred, seeking support for a UN-backed security mission that would bolster Haiti's police presence.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Henri's current whereabouts are unknown, though a spokesman for the U.S. State Department urged him to return to Haiti and regain control.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, all of this is happening despite a really overwhelming amount of aid that's been coming in from around the world even prior to this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, that is certainly an important point there. Since 2011, the international community has sent more than $13 billion worth of aid to Haiti, nearly half of that money coming from the United States.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But according to the World Food Program, over that same time frame, the number of Haitians facing food insecurity has tripled, with nearly half of the population going hungry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And last year, the murder rate there doubled.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I spoke with numerous folks who've worked on the ground in Haiti offering aid. Each of them described just how difficult it is to get resources to the Haitian people themselves.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Some reported being forced to pay extortion fees and bribes by customs workers and police.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Others said their shipments of food and clothing were routinely stolen by government officials and then sold on the black market.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there's a lot of problems and no quick fix for a country that is on the verge of yet another upheaval.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. When it gets that bad, it's really hard to know what to do.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: A new report suggesting that criminals from Venezuela may be emigrating en masse to the U.S. is gaining national attention.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Hey, Amanda. So a new report from the Venezuelan Violence Observatory connects the nation's record low homicide rate with its increased immigration out of the country. Tell us about that report.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so Venezuela's violent death rate has hit a 22-year low, according to the observatory. This was connected to Venezuelans, including the country's criminals, fleeing over the economic crisis.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: In 2023, the observatory measured the violent death rate at 26.8 per 100,000. That was down from 35.3 for every 100,000 just the previous year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That 2023 rate is just a third of the 2016 violent death rate.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Roberto Brise Le, the director of the observatory, specifically connected this to criminals and gangs emigrating out of Venezuela.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He said when the younger people fled the country, this left fewer opportunities for criminals to commit crimes, and therefore they also left.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: So the claim from this organization is that these criminals are fleeing on their own, but there are other reports that indicate something more nefarious than that, correct?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. A 2022 intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security that was received by Border Patrol reportedly documented the Venezuelan government under the leadership of Nicolás Maduro, purposefully freeing inmates, including those convicted of murder, rape, and extortion, and then sending them on a journey toward the U.S.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The document suggested this operation could have been facilitated by Venezuela's intelligence apparatus.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This was all reported by Breitbart at the time. DHS and Border Patrol have refused to comment publicly on the veracity of that report.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now, this sort of alleged tactic has been connected by some politicians to the Mariel Boatlift in 1980.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Famously, Fidel Castro loosened immigration policies so Cubans could flee to the U.S., but it was later discovered that a number of those exiles had been released by Castro from Cuban jails and insane asylums.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Texas Rep. Troy Nels alluded to this in a letter to the Homeland Security Secretary.
--:-- Georgia Howe: He wrote that our adversaries take pride in emptying their prisons filled with the most violent and sick individuals, and then sending them to our southern border where they know they'll have no trouble getting in.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Venezuelans who've been in the U.S. for some time now have expressed similar concerns about this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And a Venezuelan journalist named Nitu Perez Asuna, who was exiled from the country, she says she believes this is part of the Maduro plan.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: She said, quote, The Biden administration has to turn around and see Venezuela is exporting these delinquents as a means of destabilizing public security.
--:-- Georgia Howe: She added that this is likely being done to try to gain leverage with the U.S. to ease economic sanctions.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Last pertinent note in connection to all of this, the Venezuelan government for weeks now has stopped accepting flights from the U.S. filled with migrants who've crossed our border illegally.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's been confirmed by News Nation.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Right. Do we have the numbers on how many Venezuelans have actually been let into the U.S. in recent years?
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it's been estimated that at least 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the past decade or so, and that's largely due to the political and economic turbulence.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: As far as the U.S., it was reported in September that Venezuelans were the largest group of nationals arrested for illegally crossing, we're talking hundreds of thousands.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That surpassed even the number of Mexicans illegally crossing our border.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: And we have to note that the Biden administration has also expanded how many Venezuelans are being allowed to stay in the U.S.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the total numbers in the country just keep growing.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: And in the backdrop of all this, there's been increasing news coverage of violent criminal acts by illegals here in the U.S.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And that includes some Venezuelans, correct?
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Yeah, some really troubling stories. Most notably, we have the murder of Lakin Riley, that 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The suspect in that gruesome case is Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal from Venezuela.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: And just days ago, another illegal from Venezuela was arrested for sexual crimes against a 14-year-old girl in Virginia.
--:-- Georgia Howe: There were also migrants who recently made news for brutally attacking NYPD officers.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Some of those migrants were reportedly from a violent street gang in Venezuela.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, an alarming trend that's gaining more attention now nationally.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
