--:-- [Theme music fades out, and the host, John Bickley, speaks]
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--:-- John Bickley: An embattled President Biden sounded an optimistic tone in his first State of the Union address in the Congressional House chamber. What were the president's new priority issues, and will his message resonate with Americans? I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, March 2nd, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Ukrainian resistance continues as Russian forces ramp up attacks on high-profile targets, including civilian areas. Is the regime guilty of war crimes? And a pressure campaign against Russia's wealthy elites may be making headway. How has Europe targeted Russia's oligarch class? And how are the billionaires responding?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. This show is sponsored by Birch Gold Group. Inflation is destroying the dollar. Birch Gold Group can help protect your IRA or 401k with a precious metals IRA. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim a free info kit on physical gold and silver. There's zero obligation. Text the word WIRE to 989898 to protect your savings today.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: 13 months after taking office, President Biden addressed the nation Tuesday night in his first State of the Union address. The president offered new plans of action against Russia and called for action on inflation, abortion, immigration, and more. Here with more on the speech is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So Cabot, obviously people keep a close eye on the State of the Union, but things were heightened here given the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. So let's start there. What did the president have to say on that front?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, the president started the speech by first praising the Ukrainian people for their, quote, courage and determination that inspires the world. He then asked members to stand as a show of their support for the Ukrainians, as well as the Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., who was sitting up top with the first lady. He drew applause from both sides after addressing Vladimir Putin, saying he was more isolated from the world now than he's ever been.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, much of what he said on Ukraine was encouragement rather than concrete proposals, but there were some specifics on Russian oligarchs and U.S. airspace. We're joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We're coming for you, ill-begotten gains. And tonight, I'm announcing that we will join our allies in closing off American airspace to all Russian flights, further isolating Russia and adding additional squeeze on their economy.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The president then announced that he'd worked with 30 other countries to release 60 million barrels of oil to supposedly lessen energy dependence on Russia. Now, that drew strong applause from Democrats, but it is worth pointing out that the U.S. goes through 20 million barrels a day, so it's not really expected by experts to make much of an impact.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Okay, so let's move to the domestic side of things. Tell us about the main themes he touched on there.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, as expected, he did address the economy, which has quickly become the most important issue for many voters as inflation is at record levels. We've talked about that plenty on the show. He said the best way to help fight inflation, though, was by investing in American manufacturing, making homes and cars more energy efficient, and reducing childcare costs. It's unclear exactly what he meant on those points and how those things would decrease inflation. But more importantly, the fact that he addressed the issue is noteworthy. He's been largely silent on inflation for the last few months. And it really shows how Democrats recognize this is a major problem for them in the midterms.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: One hot button social issue that got a lot of attention was a comment he made about transgenderism in response to laws on parental consent in schools in several Republican states. The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families. It's simply wrong. And I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I'll always have your back as your president so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Another big moment came when the president addressed defunding the police. We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police. It's to fund the police. Fund them with resources and training. resources and training they need to protect our communities. Obviously, that's quite the reversal from what Democrats have been pushing since 2020. And again, it plays into what we've talked about on the show, how defund the police is now deeply unpopular with Americans and leaders on the left are backtracking.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, this year was unique in that there were a slew of responses to the address, not just one from the opposing party. Tell us about those.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So the traditional GOP response was given by Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa. She responded by hitting the president on inflation, saying his speech offered little in terms of solutions to the record rates that we've seen. She went on to address the immigration crisis and the president's COVID response. There were also responses given by Representative Colin Allred of the Congressional Black Caucus. Marjorie Taylor Greene gave a so-called America First response. And Rep Rashida Tlaib delivered the so-called progressive response. The Daily Wire's Ben Shapiro delivered his own address in response in which he refuted the president's claim that the state of our union is strong. Instead of calling it, quote, pathetic. He went on to criticize the president's withdrawal from Afghanistan and his handling of inflation, immigration, and COVID.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So some strong pushback from some high-profile names. We'll see how the rest of the public responds. We'll see.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for the reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips. Coming up, Russia shifts its military strategy in Ukraine. You can get this show and all of the content you love wherever you are. All on the Daily Wire app. Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news. And you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows. Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts no matter where your day takes you.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: After more than six days of fighting and heavy resistance, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been far less successful than Russian President Vladimir Putin may have predicted. But this is leading to concerns that the violence could escalate in response. Here with the latest news from Ukraine is Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Well, the main news out of Ukraine is that there's been a real shift in the military strategy being employed by the Russians. And this is probably because the first few days of the invasion didn't go as planned. A massive 40-mile-long convoy of Russian vehicles and equipment is bearing down on Kyiv, all while Russia is ramping up the aggression of air-based attacks, with multiple missile strikes being reported across the country. Six people were hurt in one strike in Kharkiv, with footage showing massive levels of damage, while another targeted Freedom Square in the city, home to the regional government's headquarters. At least 10 people died in this attack, with at least 20 more injured, based on initial reports.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So the human cost to this invasion is really rising. Right, and not only that, according to Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, the types of attacks are getting more extreme. For example, Russia stands accused of using so-called vacuum bombs during their invasion. Vacuum bombs can you tell us more about that? Yeah, they're also known as thermobaric bombs, which create a pressure wave and subsequent vacuum which ruptures the victim's lungs. These sorts of explosives are banned by the Geneva Convention. Multiple human rights groups have also accused Russian forces of using cluster munitions, with Amnesty International also accusing them of attacking a preschool in northeastern Ukraine with civilians sheltering inside.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And the latest waves of more devastating attacks are just adding to what was already an all-out humanitarian crisis, with shortages of food, water, and medical aid reported. And this is now leading to calls to investigate Putin for war crimes. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said that he'll open an investigation as soon as possible, and he did open one just hours afterwards. Ukraine's President Zelensky went one step further, accusing Russia of state terrorism, calling one Russian attack which hit an administrative building in Kharkiv as well as residential areas, an act of, quote, frank, undisguised terror.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And this all ties into growing outrage both inside Ukraine and among the international community. And then there is further outrage when it comes to the emotional impact this conflict is having. One example was given by Ukraine's ambassador to the UN, who read a conversation between a Russian soldier and his mother, sent just moments before the soldier was killed. I'm not in training sessions. What are you talking about? What happened? Mama, I'm in Ukraine. There is a real war raging here. I'm afraid we are bombing all of the cities together, even targeting civilians. We were told that they would welcome us, and they are falling under our armored vehicles, throwing themselves under the wheels and not allowing us to pass. They call us fascists. Mama, this is so hard.
--:-- Ian Howarth: And Ukraine is obviously pushing for more. Earlier this week, we reported that they are pushing for EU membership. And the update here is that the European Union has accepted Ukraine's application and will start a special admission process to try and quickly integrate the country into the EU. It's a significant development. And again, not something probably Putin saw coming.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Exactly. And here in the US, the Biden administration recently announced that it would be revoking diplomatic privileges for 12 Russian spies accused of espionage. We should note, though, that this process had apparently been going on for months, starting long before Russia invaded Ukraine. And so we are still in the situation where Ukraine is holding off Russian attacks. But as those attacks continue to escalate, Ukraine's leadership is going to ramp up pressure on the US and its European allies to do more, whether doing more means energy sanctions, military intervention, or something different altogether.
--:-- Ian Howarth: It was a really dynamic situation in Ukraine. Thanks for the updates.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, John.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Vladimir Putin has been censured by international leaders over his decision to invade Ukraine, but now it looks like he could be facing mounting displeasure from powerful figures within his own country as well. Elite members of Russian society are beginning to speak out against the Russian president. Here to explain why Russia's oligarch class is growing unhappy with the situation in Ukraine, is Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, to start, can you explain for us the term oligarch? It's not a term we hear very often in the U.S.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, really, we're just talking about a class of Russian business moguls who are wealthy and powerful enough to influence national politics. So these are men who accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars collectively when Russian industry was privatized after the fall of the Soviet Union. So we're talking about things like oil companies, of course, but there also aluminum production, telecom systems, banking systems, even diamond mines. In fact, one of the most profitable diamond mines in the world. So they were able to scoop all of that up way below market value. Now today, these tycoons control massive industries in Russia and Putin needs their support. So they have the power to have a direct impact on policy.
--:-- Megan Basham: So what specifically is prompting the oligarchs to start questioning Putin's decision to attack Ukraine?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, basically it's the economic sanctions the U.S. and other nations have placed on Russia in the last few days. Those are directly impacting their net worth. Well, and in addition to these sanctions, several European countries have also applied other kinds of pressure directly to these oligarchs, correct?
--:-- Megan Basham: Right, that's correct. Already the UK, Canada, more than 15 other countries have instituted travel bans that are keeping those Russian private planes from flying over their airspace. And they've also promised to block what they call golden passports. And those allow these very super wealthy Russians to buy citizenship in Western nations. So in the meantime, the oligarchs' assets are also being frozen. One unnamed U.S. official said the White House is going to collectively hunt down their yachts, jets, fancy cars, and luxury homes. And a number of these oligarchs also own extensive property in England. So on Monday, British Parliament introduced an economic crime bill directly targeting those assets. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of that new law, quoting here, there is no place for dirty money in the UK. Those backing Putin have been put on notice. There will be nowhere to hide your ill-gotten gains.
--:-- Megan Basham: And is there any evidence that this pressure campaign is working? Have any of these oligarchs spoken out publicly against Putin?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, mostly it's rumors at this point, but there are a couple of bits of hard evidence that we can point to that they're not happy. Over the weekend, two oligarchs, Mikhail Friedman, chairman of Alpha Bank, and Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, openly broke ranks with the Kremlin. They didn't directly ask Putin to end his campaign against Ukraine, but they did both call for peace. And now additionally, some of the daughters of these oligarchs, women who are in their late teens, early 20s, they've been posting anti-war messages to social media. Now, one of them is Sofia Abramovich, whose father is Roman Abramovich. He's the man known as Putin's banker. And she posted this message to Instagram. I'm quoting here, the biggest and most successful lie of the Kremlin's propaganda is that most Russians stand with Putin.
--:-- Megan Basham: And in the meantime, her father transferred control of his Chelsea soccer club, a British soccer team, to a foundation because he was worried it would be seized. Russian television personality Vladimir Soloviv, who's known for being very pro-Putin, he also complained on Friday that he might lose access to his Lake Como property in Italy. So what you're seeing here is that these Mughals have estates in Italy. They moor their yachts in Greece and Monaco. They send their children to elite British boarding schools. So they really see themselves as part of the international elite, and they enjoy that life. It's very hard to imagine that they're willing to give all of that up to just become pariahs in the world community.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Well, it'll be interesting to see just how much sway they have with Putin.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yep, my pleasure. That's Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham.
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--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening and give us a five-star review. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know. If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
