--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): 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.
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): President Trump moves to choke off federal funding to cities allowing cashless bail while touting his efforts in D.C. We're ending it, but we're starting by ending it in D.C. and that we have the right to do through federalization. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): It's Tuesday, August 26th, and this is Morning Wire. The saga of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia continues as the alleged MS-13 member turns down a plea deal and is taken into custody. He's gambling that enough activist judges will create new laws from the bench to allow him to go back to his normal life. And Cracker Barrel is backpedaling after the continued backlash over the chain's rebrand. Cracker Barrel needs to feel like the Cracker Barrel for today and for tomorrow. And again, the things that you love are still there. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Its matching technology immediately starts showing you people who actually fit what you're looking for. Want to reach out to someone who catches your eye? Well, ZipRecruiter makes it super easy to connect with top candidates right away by letting you send them a personalized invite to apply message. They've even got templates ready to go to encourage your favorites to throw their hat in the ring. Ditch the other hiring sites and let ZipRecruiter find what you're looking for, that needle in a haystack. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a qualified candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address. ZipRecruiter.com slash wire. Again, that's ZipRecruiter.com slash wire. ZipRecruiter, the smartest way to hire.
--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host (John Bickley): As part of his ongoing crime crackdown, President Trump signed a slew of executive orders Monday, pushing back on what he calls soft on crime policies. Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips has the latest on Trump's law and order efforts.
--:-- Guest (Cabot Phillips): So Cabot, tell us about these latest policies from the White House.
--:-- Guest (Cabot Phillips): Yeah, amid the ongoing crime drop in DC, Trump clearly feels emboldened to now take further action. Let's look at the numbers a bit. Yesterday was the 11th straight day without a murder in the Capitol and the seventh straight day without a single carjacking in the entire city. For context, there had been 190 carjackings in the last six months alone. So they stopped quite literally overnight. And now as a result, Trump is pushing for harsher punishments for criminals in the city, including the thousand plus who've been arrested as part of this ongoing crackdown. On Monday, he signed an executive order aimed at eliminating cashless bail in the district. So remember, D.C. and many other Democrat-run cities have essentially outlawed cash bail entirely. That means the suspects are released from custody while they wait trial without posting any bail, as the name implies. Supporters say the policy combats so-called systemic racism and protects the poor, but critics say it allows for dangerous criminals to be released right back onto the streets. For their part, the White House pointed to thousands of cases in which criminals committed rape or assault only to be released hours later often never appearing for their final trial date Somebody kills somebody they go in don worry about it no cash come back in a couple of months we give you a trial You never see the person again. And I mean, they kill people and they get out.
--:-- Guest (Cabot Phillips): That order also calls for D.C. law enforcement officials to, quote, work to ensure that suspects are taken into federal, not local custody. And that's important because federal judges are more likely to eliminate bail entirely and keep suspects in custody before a trial, especially for those more serious crimes. And as more proof that Trump wants to take his crackdown nationwide, the president went a step further, taking aim at other cities around the country who also have cashless bail. That separate order threatens to withhold federal funding, grants, and even government-backed project approvals for jurisdictions that keep cashless bail policies in place. For more on this nationwide push, we spoke with Tennessee Senator Bill Haggerty.
--:-- Guest (Bill Haggerty): I think it'll have a positive effect not only on Washington, D.C., but on the nation as a whole, because these big city mayors that complain, these governors in blue states that don't want any sort of aid or assistance, somehow seem to favor crime. The criminals certainly seem to make out better than the victims in every circumstance in these blue cities and these blue states. President Trump is making an example, as he should.
--:-- Guest (Bill Haggerty): Now, the president has also talked about deploying the National Guard to other cities. Has he made any moves on that? Yes, he has. Trump also on Monday signed another order that directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to establish specialized National Guard units that would be, quote, specifically trained and equipped to deal with public order issues. Now, under that order, each state will be tasked with training their National Guardsmen in, quote, quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate, as appropriate under law. That order also requires each state to establish quick reaction forces within their Guard units. Those can be deployed immediately to help with those broader efforts. Here's Hegseth talking about the military's work in D.C., the border, L.A., and elsewhere.
--:-- Guest (Pete Hegseth): We're really proud to be a part of defending the nation's capital and ensuring it is safe and beautiful and working with law enforcement. And Mr. President, let me tell you, the morale of the troops getting out there talking to them, they love this mission. They're grateful to be doing it.
--:-- Guest (Pete Hegseth): Now, finally, tell us about this flag-burning order that has ruffled some feathers. Yeah, President Trump topped things off Monday by signing an executive order aimed at prosecuting those who, in his words, desecrate the American flag, an act he says is meant to, quote, intimidate and threaten violence against Americans. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled multiple times that burning the American flag is protected speech under the First Amendment. So, despite his wishes, Trump cannot ban it outright. But he can go after flag burners in other ways. This order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to, quote, vigorously prosecute those who violate our laws in ways that involve desecrating the flag and to pursue litigation to clarify the scope of the First Amendment in this area. Essentially, it's calling on authorities to find other potential crimes committed by flag burners. They could go after them for reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, trespassing, etc. The White House also importantly will crack down on foreign nationals burning the flag, calling on the DOJ and State Department to revoke visas for non-citizens who do so. Well, Trump did hint that this would be an issue he would focus on.
--:-- Guest (Cabot Phillips): Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest (Cabot Phillips): Absolutely.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): Kilmar Abrego Garcia may soon be deported to Uganda after he turned down a deal that would have secured him residency in Costa Rica. ICE detained the illegal alien who lives in Maryland on Monday and could send him out of the country as soon as Wednesday. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about Abrego Garcia's case.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): Hey, Tim, so it looks like there's a legal battle going on between Abrego Garcia and the Trump administration over his deportation to Uganda. Walk us through what happened here.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): Yeah, on a request from ICE, Abrego Garcia showed up to an ICE office in Baltimore on Monday Before he was taken into custody, he spoke to a crowd of supporters. Here's some of that. He needed an interpreter to translate. God is with us and God will never leave us God will bring justice to all of the injustice that we are suffering After the arrest Abrego Garcia attorney said a lawsuit had already been filed In the last five minutes, Mr. Abrego Garcia has filed a new lawsuit in the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland challenging his current confinement and challenging deportation to Uganda or to any other country unless and until he's had a fair trial. Abrego Garcia actually had an offer to go live in Costa Rica if he agreed to plead guilty to human smuggling charges here, but he turned that down. This case will be handled by Judge Paula Zinnis, an Obama appointee who has already overseen a lot of Abrego Garcia's legal matters. In July, Zinnis sided with him over the government and barred eyes from taking Abrego Garcia into custody after his release from a jail in Tennessee. Instead, Zina said he should be placed on essentially a monitored release.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): All right, so what can you tell us about the Abrego-Garcia lawsuit? I spoke to Tennessee Star reporter Tom Papert about that. His reporting actually led to Abrego-Garcia being charged with human smuggling in Tennessee. Here's what he said.
--:-- Guest (Tom Papert): Kilmar Abrego-Garcia filed what's known as a habeas corpus petition. This requires the federal government to produce the evidence that they are using to justify his continued incarceration. In Maryland, there is a standing order requiring 48-hour delays any time a habeas corpus petition is filed. In addition to that, however, Judge Paula Zinnis, the Maryland District Court Judge overseeing Abrego Garcia's immigration lawsuit, previously filed an order requiring ICE to give Abrego Garcia's attorneys a 72-hour notice if it intends to deport him. Interestingly, the new lawsuit was just assigned to Judge Paula Zinas. That's right, the very same judge. So while Judge Zinas may hold off of Brigo Garcia's deportation temporarily, it looks like he's going to be headed to Uganda, or at least somewhere else outside the United States.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): Now, yesterday, there was also a major case won by the DOJ against a prominent drug lord. What exactly happened in that situation?
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): Yeah, the Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael Zambada, known as El Mayo, pleaded guilty yesterday to drug trafficking. Zambada was a top official in the Sinaloa cartel. He's expected to be sentenced to life in prison in January. Here's Attorney General Pam Bondi on that.
--:-- Guest (Pam Bondi): Elmayo will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He will die in a U.S. federal prison where he belongs. Elmayo was one of the most prolific and powerful drug traffickers in this world. His partner was El Chapo. They were co-founders of the Sinaloa cartel. They brutally murdered multiple people and flooded our country with drugs. Their reign of terror is over.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): This, of course, comes as President Trump has made targeting these cartels and those top officials a top priority of the administration. Right, and Zimbada is a big one to take down, so a major win for them. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest (Tim Pierce): Good to be on.
--:-- Host (John Bickley): The fallout over Cracker Barrel's redesign has continued, and now the company is apologizing. The incident is the latest in a string of high-profile cultural debates over corporate branding. Here with the latest is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Guest (Megan Basham): So, Megan, I feel like it was totally predictable. Customers were not going to like this rebrand, but they went ahead and they did it anyway. And now it seems like, just like everything else, it's become a flashpoint in the culture war. So can you just refresh us on what happened with Cracker Barrel? And then I'm going to ask you about how it became political
--:-- Guest (Megan Basham): So what happened was they rolled out this rebrand that did away with the barrel in Cracker Barrel and they got rid of the old character Uncle Herschel who's been a part of the company's branding for 45 years. They also redesigned the restaurants themselves, getting rid of that dark, warm wood aesthetic and the lattice wall dividers. And instead, they're going with white walls, tile floors, and a lot of customers didn't like it. There's been a lot of jokes about how this looks like an Ikea and that the logo looks like clip art. So you're hearing words like inauthentic, bland. In fact, the backlash was so fierce that company CEO Julie Messino went on Good Morning America to defend the redesign. I actually happened to be in Orlando last week with all of our managers. We bring them together once every other year. And the number one question that I got asked, Michael, was how can I get a remodel? When can I get a remodel? How do I get on the list? Oh, really? So because the feedback and the buzz is so good, not only from our customers, but from our team members. So the upshot of all this, after rolling out the rebrand, Cracker Barrel lost nearly $100 million in corporate market share. And on Monday, not surprising, they released a statement basically apologizing, saying that they could have done a better job letting customers know what they were doing with the redesign. So clearly people didn't like the rebrand, but how did it become a political debate?
--:-- Guest (Megan Basham): Well, I think largely because people see this as an effort of the company to try to distance itself from its traditional Southern roots, from its association with family values. Back in the 90s, the company famously required restaurant staff to display normal heterosexual values. Well, in recent years, Cracker Barrel has taken a very hard turn from that. In 2023, its social media accounts sparked controversy when they posted images of those iconic white rocking chairs decked out in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride Month. The chain also took Duck Dynasty merchandise out of its stores when star Phil Robertson, who was an outspoken Christian, described homosexuality as a sin. And then a few days ago, it was revealed that Cracker Barrel's former management training leader was heading that division at the same time that he was serving on an advisory council for the LGBTQ activist group, the Human Rights Campaign. So I think what we've seen recently with Target and Bud Light is that a lot of social conservative consumers are fed up with what they see as kowtowing to these left-wing activist groups. Andrew Beck, the founding partner of brand consultancy Beck & Stone, told me that the problem with Cracker Barrel is that it's being led by business leaders who don't really understand their customer base. It isn't just a redesign of a logo. It was never just a redesign of a logo. It was the redoing of their stores. It was the beginning of new tactics on social media. The entire communication strategy is attempting to reach a customer that looks more like the people, i.e. the agencies, the advisors and the consultants that were recruited to do this change than it does the actual customers of Cracker Barrel. That's, to me, the most glaring error. There's no shared cultural context between the work and between the customer's experience at the store. So clearly conservative consumers are feeling empowered to flex their muscle these days in the marketplace. Well, just from a business standpoint, just such a foolish move.
--:-- Guest (Megan Basham): Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Guest (Megan Basham): My pleasure. Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to like and subscribe. We'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Theme music fades in]
--:-- Host (Georgia Howe): Thanks for waking up with us.
