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--:-- Georgia Howe: President-elect Trump is breaking records in announcing his cabinet picks and bringing the house down in a raucous UFC appearance. So Donald Trump making his way to watch the UFC, which he absolutely loves, and doing so with some sort of victory lap.
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, November 18th, and this is Morning Wire. With MSNBC reportedly up for sale and CNN considering mass layoffs, legacy media finds itself at a cultural crossroads. Turn off MSNBC. Turn off CNN. And then go get a broadcast like ours or like Morning Wire on the other side. And the Department of Defense fails its seventh audit in a row, sparking calls for massive reform and catching the attention of Elon Musk's Doge.
--:-- 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: With Inauguration Day fast approaching, President-elect Donald Trump continues to fill out his cabinet at a record-setting pace. Here with more is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So a packed weekend, President Trump wasting no time staffing his administration. Catch us up to speed here.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, no president in modern history has announced cabinet appointments this quickly after an election. In the first 12 days after winning, he made 12 cabinet appointments. Now, it's important to note Trump enters office for a second time with a very different Republican Party surrounding him. In 2016, many party leaders and policymakers were no doubt skeptical of him and his MAGA movement. And that left his options fairly limited for key appointments. As a result, a number of cabinet hires ended up openly rebelling against him and really stifling much of his first-term agenda. But today, the party is totally united behind him and his cabinet has been filled with a wide array of folks with one thing in common, a total commitment to the Trump agenda.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Folks in Trump's camp have told me for months now that they learned a lot of lessons in the first term and if they won this time, would be ready to hit the ground running. And the pace of these appointments is evidence of that strategy. Yeah, clearly.
--:-- John Bickley: So we've reported on several of these appointments, but more have streamed in over the weekend. Tell us about these latest cabinet appointments.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, over the weekend, Trump tapped North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary and Energy Czar, as well as fracking executive Chris Wright for Energy Secretary. Trump has promised that his administration will tap into our nation's vast oil potential and as he says, "drill baby drill." And these two men will no doubt help do it. Trump says he will make America energy independent and ultimately reduce our reliance on foreign sources. And then on Saturday, the president appointed Caroline Levitt, a familiar voice for Morning Wire listeners, as White House press secretary. At 27 years old, Levitt will be the youngest person to ever hold the position. She'll essentially serve as the public face of the administration.
--:-- John Bickley: Let's follow up on a pick that got a lot of attention last week, a lot of blowback, also a lot of excitement about it, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who is tapped for attorney general. Tell us the latest on that.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that pick was immediately cheered by the GOP base. But Republican lawmakers, especially those in the Senate, have been slower to get on board. Remember, Gaetz had been under an ethics investigation in the House for alleged sexual misconduct and drug use. GOP senators say they want to see those findings from that report before making a decision on whether to confirm him. So things could get messy.
--:-- John Bickley: That was a packed weekend for the president-elect, but he also had some fun making a high-profile appearance in New York. Yes, he did. Trump returned to the Madison Square Garden for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and arguably got a more raucous welcome than any of the fighters.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Forty-five, soon to be forty-seven, president-elect Donald Trump. Trump. Mr. Bithulke, home, could hear the sound in this room. It is so loud in here. It is so loud.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, in the past, professional athletes were not exactly the biggest Trump supporters, or at least not openly. But if last night was any indication, that has changed. All night long, fighters warmly embraced him or thanked him in their post-fight speeches. And after the main event, John Jones, widely considered the greatest fighter of all time, had this to say.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: I also want to say a big, big thank you to President Donald Trump for being here tonight. USA! USA! USA! USA!
--:-- John Bickley: And then to cap off the night, Jones hopped over the cage and put his heavyweight championship belt on Trump as the sellout crowd continued to chant USA.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So a number of athletes getting in on the Trump victory celebration this weekend. Like you said, not something we were seeing back in 2016. Now things have changed.
--:-- John Bickley: Kevin, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: When you're building something great, the last thing you want is paperwork slowing you down. For over 20 years, LegalZoom has helped millions of entrepreneurs launch, run, and protect their businesses. From reliable business formation to experienced guidance in legal and tax matters, their network of experienced attorneys nationwide has your back. Launch your business today at LegalZoom.com and use promo code MYR10 to get 10% off any LegalZoom business formation product, excluding subscriptions and renewals.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The legacy media is facing a reckoning following Donald Trump's overwhelming victory on November 5th, with CNN planning widespread layoffs, including top talent and MSNBC reportedly being up for sale. Here to break it all down is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, Megan, a lot of people view this election not just as a loss for Democrats, but also as a repudiation of the media. What's happening in the industry as a result?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, I think the bloodbath would be an apt phrase here. If you look at MSNBC, its primetime ratings fell by 54 percent immediately after the election. And owner Comcast is now reportedly looking to sell it along with some of its other cable channels. And then you look at CNN. Now it's been in turmoil for a while, but they lost about 36 of their viewership since November 5th. And there are reports that hundreds of positions, including those of the network's highest paid stars, are on the chopping block.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So are these news execs just looking around and realizing they've lost half of America?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, it's actually more than half. And yeah, I think it was a glaring sign that the cultural center of gravity is just not aligned with their coverage. I think you couple that with surveys that show the public's trust in media is at an all-time low. And it's not surprising that a lot of analysts are openly saying this election is a referendum on the industry itself. But there are also some technological disruptions driving this, of course. Obviously, social media is a growing factor. And we saw this cycle how important podcasts have become. And then to give you just some numerical comparisons for that, 6.3 million people watched Harris's interview with CNN. Their town hall with Trump got just over 3 million. Meanwhile, the audience for Joe Rogan's Trump interview has been estimated at around 38 million.
--:-- John Bickley: So this was Axios CEO Jim VandeHei on MSNBC recently talking about this. I mean, I think all of us have to come to grips with legacy. Media is just not as important as it thinks it is. You have to go into the world as it is, not as you wish it to be. And basically, the way people get information is shattered into 20, 30 different pieces. And so if you just look empirically at the numbers, Joe Rogan's more important than any of us. He just has a much bigger, hyper-connected audience that listens to his every word.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, that said, I don't think you can entirely separate this question of bias and medium. Part of the reason that podcasts and X have become so relevant is because so many people do feel that that's where they're going to get fair coverage. And it's not across the board because Fox isn't suffering here. Their primetime audience has actually grown 21 percent since election night, and they were already beating the tar out of the competition to use a technical ratings jargon there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, just a thought, though, it's possible that left wingers are just taking a temporary break for now and that right wingers are energized now.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, I think that's true. But there is evidence that these execs are seeing some major long-term structural problems. If you look at print media, Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos acknowledged in an op-ed that the Washington Post and the New York Times win prizes. But he said, increasingly, we talk only to a certain elite. And he promised to change that. And then you have the owner of the Los Angeles Times. He announced on X that he plans to replace the entire editorial board, which he called Very Left. And then there are also reports that ABC is looking for a Trump supporter to join the ladies on The View, all of whom backed Harris.
--:-- John Bickley: Interesting. Well, I'll believe it when I see it.
--:-- Megan Basham: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: Anytime.
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--:-- John Bickley: The Department of Defense, which is the largest agency in the U.S. government, has failed its seventh audit in a row. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: So the DOD has a massive budget of $824 billion, and the department was unable to fully account for that taxpayer money in its annual federal audit. Technically, the audit said the department earned a disclaimer of opinion overall from the 28 reporting entities, which just means it was unable to provide sufficient information to auditors to form an opinion about that.
--:-- John Bickley: Interestingly, though, Michael McCord, the Undersecretary of Defense and Chief Financial Officer, he refused to say the department failed the audit. He said at a press briefing on Friday that half of the opinions the department received were clean. He likened that to a report card being half good and half bad and said, "I don't know that you can call the student or the report card a failure." He also emphasized that the department is making progress. He said the momentum is on their side to earn a clean audit by 2028, so years from now, which would be mandated under the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Now, we noted at the top that this is now the seventh failure. How does this keep happening?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, that's the question everyone is asking. The fact is the Pentagon has actually never passed an audit since it was first legally obligated to back in 2018. Also worth noting, this audit cost the American taxpayers $178 million to conduct. So that's a lot of money for no solid results.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Since this has been a problem for a long time, we have seen some politicians on both sides of the aisle trying to get some accountability at the Pentagon and cut back on waste. For example, Republican and Democrat lawmakers, including Chuck Grassley, Bernie Sanders, and Rand Paul, introduced the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 last year. That bill would direct any DOD component that fails to complete a clean audit to return 1% of its budget to the Treasury.
--:-- John Bickley: Here's Grassley on that. In one instance, I think it's unconscionable that a defense contractor could make 4,000% profit. Every dollar wasted by the Department of Defense is either a waste of taxpayers' money or is weakening our national security.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Okay, so you mentioned McCord's goal of receiving a clean audit in the future a few years from now. Do we know what the plan is for achieving that?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, McCord wasn't entirely clear about that. He did say that there needs to be reform and said that there are different ways to get at solving that problem. But he also said, and this is a direct quote, "our strongest path forward is to keep a lot of continuity in what we're doing." So perhaps, you know, not really looking to change a whole lot.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: But we do have change coming. The incoming Trump administration has vowed to take on government waste. It's going to launch its new government efficiency task force dubbed DOGE. Have we heard a response from that group?
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, well, one of the men who's been tasked with leading Doge, Vivek Ramaswamy, has already taken note of this DoD failure. And here's what he told Fox News. There's something deeper going on here. This is about restoring self-governance and accountability in America as well. Most of the people making these decisions, from health care to the Department of Defense, are failing on effectiveness because they have no accountability. Ramaswamy also flagged this issue on X, and he said, "Doge is coming. A lot of people very interested to see how sweeping the changes it recommends will be."
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- John Bickley: You're welcome.
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--:-- John Bickley: Hey, guys, producer Brandon here. Black Rifle Coffee helps you wake up each morning feeling dialed in and ready to make the most of your day. And now's your chance to get 20% off your purchase using code DailyWire at BlackRifleCoffee.com. All of their explosive coffees are roasted right here in the USA by a veteran-led team of expert roasters obsessed with crafting the perfect cup of coffee. Every Black Rifle purchase gives back to those who serve our nation. Your support makes it possible for Black Rifle Coffee Company to help provide funding, training, and equipment to our nation's military and first responders. Head to their site now for 20% off your purchase with code DailyWire.
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--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
