--:-- Georgia Howe: The Biden administration is running a diplomatic blitz across the Middle East in hopes of keeping larger nations like Iran out of the conflict. What is the current state of the war and how is Iran responding to it?
--:-- John Bickley: I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, October 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The numbers from the latest campaign finance reports are out. Which candidates are winning the race for political dollars? And college campuses continue to erupt in anti-Israel demonstrations, even as alumni pull millions in donations.
--:-- John Bickley: For these administrators to have their hand out to take federal money, taxpayer money, and at the same time be silent or silently condone this kind of terrorism is just, it is grotesque.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Sound effects: News theme music]
--:-- Georgia Howe: As Israel continues its war against Hamas, the Biden administration and other Western allies are fearful the conflict could expand to include Iran and other Middle Eastern nations, prompting new diplomatic efforts across the region.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Here to discuss the conflict is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Hey, Cabot. So we'll get to this potential second front of the war opening up. But first, what's the latest out of Gaza?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, there is a lot. So on Monday, the Israeli military continued their war on Hamas, stepping up their targeted airstrikes in Gaza. The latest count, the IDF says they've killed at least six senior Hamas military leaders, including the group's intelligence chief in the region.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Also among the dead are a large number of civilians, many of whom have been trapped in Gaza after Hamas' leadership ordered them to stay put despite calls for evacuation from the Israeli military.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On Monday, the IDF released shocking videos showing Hamas launching rocket attacks from civilian enclaves, essentially daring Israel to strike back, knowing civilians would likely be killed as a result.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Despite those orders to stay in the war zone from Hamas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians have fled south away from the fighting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: They're now congregating along the Egyptian border. However, Egypt has closed the Rafah border crossing there last week, keeping civilians in and aid supplies out.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On Monday, Hamas issued a statement calling on, quote, our brothers in Egypt to allow aid to enter for our people in Gaza and to transfer those injured for treatment.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the U.S. is currently working with Egypt to broker a deal that would open the border and allow for aid to enter and at least some people to get out.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Rafal will be open. We're putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Blinken was in Tel Aviv on Monday meeting with the Israeli war cabinet when Hamas launched a series of rocket attacks aimed at the city, prompting the group, which included Prime Minister Netanyahu, to hunker down in bunkers as air raid sirens went off throughout the evening.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: One more note, on Monday, Israel's top domestic security official took the blame for the terrorists' initially successful attack last week, saying, quote, Despite a series of actions we carried out, we were not able to create a sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The responsibility is on me. Prime Minister Netanyahu has since vowed to investigate the intelligence failures that ultimately led up to the attack.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Right. Now throughout the last few days we seen growing concern from Western allies that the war could spill over into Lebanon and beyond Walk us through the situation there
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah it is precarious to say the least
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Now since the war began the fear in Washington has been that other Arab nations particularly Iran would join Hamas in their war on Israel
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Remember Iran sponsors the terror group Hezbollah, which operates extensively in Lebanon, up along Israel's northern border.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: We've already seen a number of skirmishes along that border. Hezbollah announced yesterday, for example, that they had attacked five Israeli positions and allegedly inflict casualties.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: The fear is that ultimately those skirmishes could lead to an all-out war on the northern front. And Iran has done little to ease those concerns.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On Monday, the country's foreign minister vowed that its so-called axis of resistance will respond to, quote, war crimes.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And then if Israel invades Gaza, quote, no one can guarantee control over the situation and prevent the conflict from spreading.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So, ominous words there.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the U.S. has taken those threats very seriously.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yes, they have. So, throughout the week, the Biden administration has issued warnings to Iran through intermediaries in Qatar, Oman, and China.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: As part of that effort to deter Iran from further entering the conflict, the U.S. dispatched a second carrier group to the Mediterranean and also moved additional land-based warplanes to the region as a clear show of force.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And for their part, Israel has rushed reinforcements to the Lebanese border and also evacuated civilians in 28 towns around the region.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So they're clearly taking the threat very seriously as well.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: On Sunday, President Biden spoke with CBS and had a simple message for Iran.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: What is your message to Hezbollah and its backer, Iran? Don't. Don't, don't, don't. Don't come across the border. Don't escalate this war.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. And look, it's worth noting here, while President Biden has been publicly supportive of Israel's goal of wiping out Hamas, he's also warned against Israel reoccupying Gaza at the end of a potential invasion, saying it would be a, quote, big mistake.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: He also claimed that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So he's really walking a tightrope between supporting Israel's war while drawing a line on how far he thinks they should go.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, people paying very close attention to his messaging on this very important issue.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Kappa, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Anytime. Coming up, the fundraising race for the presidential campaigns picks up.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The campaign finance numbers for the third quarter of 2023 dropped on Monday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here to go through some of the numbers and what they mean is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So Tim, we had a big third quarter with two Republican debates and two Trump indictments. Where's everyone sitting when it comes to cash?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Former President Trump is still the man to beat by polling and by money raised.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The Trump campaign reported raising $24.5 million from the start of July through the end of September, about twice as much as any other GOP candidate.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Trump also finished the quarter with a huge advantage in cash on hand with nearly $38 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: President Biden jump-started his campaign this quarter, bringing in nearly $25 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He also ramped up spending to nearly $13 million after he spent just $1 million the quarter before.
--:-- Tim Pierce: But the additional spending didn't help his stagnant poll numbers.
--:-- Tim Pierce: They've sagged on key issues such as immigration, the economy, and crime.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He finished the quarter with over $32 million cash on hand.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, how's the rest of the GOP field stacking up when it comes to donations?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The DeSantis campaign is still in second place to Trump.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He raised $10 million between his various fundraising committees this past quarter.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Nikki Haley has been trying to unseat DeSantis for that second place spot She raised $6 million this quarter and has nearly $10 million cash on hand
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tim Scott reported the second most cash on hand, about $13 million, but was also a big spender in the third quarter, reporting over $12 million in expenses.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Despite that, he failed to move in the polls, and now his super PAC canceled $40 million worth of ads for the fall because, as the PAC told donors, quote, the electorate isn't focused or ready for a Trump alternative.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It said it would start spending again when elections get closer.
--:-- Tim Pierce: The rest of the Republican field is trailing pretty far behind.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Vivek Ramaswamy reported $4.2 million cash on hand for his self-funded campaign.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Chris Christie had a good quarter fundraising for him and finished with nearly $4 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Former Vice President Mike Pence looks like he's in trouble with just $1.2 million and about $600,000 in unpaid debts.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, a little tricky keeping track of everyone's balance sheet, but it just gives you an idea of how enthusiastic each donor base is.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I also want to ask you about the most pressing contest in the GOP.
--:-- Tim Pierce: That's for speakership of the House. What's the latest there?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The House is expected to go to the floor to vote today.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And as it stands, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is the current favorite.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He's been able to win over some hesitant Republicans.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Alabama's Mike Rogers endorsed Jordan yesterday after suggesting he was open to a compromise candidate with Democrats.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Dordton also got the approval of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and several of his top allies.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, what about a race that was just decided over this past weekend?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tell us about what happened in Louisiana.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Yeah, Louisiana's Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry won the open primary handily.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He locked up over 50% of the vote in the open primary and kept the election from moving on to a runoff.
--:-- Tim Pierce: He'll take over the governor's office from Democrat John Bel Edwards, who is term limited.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Here's a bit from Landry's victory speech.
--:-- [Sound effects: Victory speech music]
--:-- Tim Pierce: Tonight's election says that our state is united, and it's a wake-up call.
--:-- Tim Pierce: It's a message that everyone should hear loud and clear, that we, the people of this state, are going to expect more out of our government from here on out.
--:-- Georgia Howe: All right, well, Tim, thanks so much for keeping us up to date.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What I want to know, Sean, is who's funding these student groups?
--:-- Georgia Howe: I hope that the DOJ is investigating where the money is coming from.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Are there terror groups who are part of these networks?
--:-- Josh Hawley: That was Senator Josh Hawley talking to Fox News about a rash of campus groups voicing their support for Hamas.
--:-- Megan Basham: Meanwhile, alumni like former U.S. ambassador and major UPenn donor John Huntsman are cutting off funds to universities over their failure to condemn anti-Semitism.
--:-- Megan Basham: Here to tell us how major university donors are reacting is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Megan, maybe start out by putting this in context.
--:-- Megan Basham: What sort of controversial statements have some students or professors been making?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, you know, to give you just a few examples, at Northwestern, a so-called human rights club put out a statement accusing Jews of controlling the media through quote-unquote Zionist propaganda.
--:-- Megan Basham: And they said that, and I am quoting here, for each difficult image of what decolonization looks like, there are thousands more of what settler colonialism looks like.
--:-- Megan Basham: Now, I think we need to be clear there that decolonization that they're talking about, those photos include murdered babies, raped women.
--:-- Megan Basham: So really just very horrifying stuff.
--:-- Megan Basham: Nevertheless these Northwestern students said they stand in solidarity with Hamas who they called Palestinian freedom fighters And another student group called them martyrs
--:-- Megan Basham: Now student groups at Columbia released a statement saying Israelis are the extremists
--:-- Megan Basham: They said there can be no future safety for Israel until it's held accountable for its occupation.
--:-- Megan Basham: And maybe the highest profile example right now is Harvard.
--:-- Megan Basham: There, over 30 student groups signed a statement saying, and I am quoting, the apartheid regime is the only one to blame.
--:-- Megan Basham: So a few weeks ago, the University of Pennsylvania hosted a literature festival called Palestine Rights, and that featured speakers who have called for the destruction of Israel.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, Penn President Liz McGill did eventually distance the school from those speakers, saying that the university doesn't endorse them or their views, but it did take several weeks and really a lot of outcry before she did so.
--:-- Megan Basham: And to reiterate, this is just a handful of examples.
--:-- Megan Basham: There are many more at other schools across the country.
--:-- Megan Basham: So are donors reacting to the statements themselves or more to the administrator's silence about them?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, I mean, I would certainly say both, but they are primarily concerned with the lack of moral clarity that administrations are showing us on this issue.
--:-- Megan Basham: So administrators at these schools have issued delayed, and I think you can say in most cases, pretty tepid statements in response to these student groups.
--:-- Megan Basham: Investment manager Mark Rowan published an essay last week urging university donors to, he said, close their checkbooks to schools who have refused to condemn that kind of antisemitism.
--:-- Megan Basham: And this was him on CNBC last Thursday explaining why he's no longer going to be funding the Wharton School of Business at Penn, for example.
--:-- Megan Basham: This is not, at the end of the day, about free speech.
--:-- Megan Basham: This is about a university-condoned conference, university professors, university supported, and the inability of leadership to exercise any sort of moral clarity with respect to saying, this is hate, this is anti-Semitism, this is racism, but we're going to allow it.
--:-- Megan Basham: That condemnation should not be so hard.
--:-- Megan Basham: Unfortunately, if you lack moral courage, it is hard.
--:-- Megan Basham: He, John Huntsman, and others have said that schools taking the position that the speech of individual professors and students is protected doesn't preclude them, the donors, from putting out their own clear statements.
--:-- Megan Basham: And those statements primarily include pulling their funding.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, exactly.
--:-- Megan Basham: So Huntsman and his family have been major donors to Penn for years to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
--:-- Megan Basham: Huntsman said in a letter that Penn's quoting here, silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel, when the only response should be outright condemnation is a new low.
--:-- Megan Basham: So along with Huntsman and Rowan, billionaire hedge fund managers Bill Ackman and Ken Griffin are taking aim at Harvard.
--:-- Megan Basham: Both have said that its statements have been unacceptable and at least a dozen CEOs have joined them.
--:-- Megan Basham: And Griffin has given over half a billion dollars to the school, including $300 million just this year.
--:-- Megan Basham: So as we noted here, this is a very big financial deal for these schools.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, it's going to be interesting to see if these universities get more clear on their message as a result.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Megan Basham: Anytime. Thanks for waking up with us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
