--:-- [Theme music fades out]
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire, I'm John Bickley.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Why shop at Burlington? Maybe it's the deals that are new each time you drop by. Maybe it's the brand names you'll be shocked Burlington has in store. Or maybe it's the quality of the items, the amazing selection, and the newest trends. If you like to save, but also like to stay in style, Burlington is your answer. And the question you'll be asking yourself is, why go anywhere else? Burlington. Deals. Brands. Wow.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is seeking help from European leaders after his Oval Office meeting went off the rails. Your country's in big trouble. Wait a minute. No, no. You've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble. I know. You're not winning. You're not winning this. How are EU leaders reacting to the U.S. deal potentially falling through? We are at a crossroads in history today. This is not a moment for more talk. It's time to act.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 3rd, and this is Morning Wire. One of Wall Street's wokest is now scrubbing its DEI language and refocusing on meritocracy. What does the change mean for the financial industry? And hundreds gather outside Maine's statehouse, calling on Governor Janet Mills to protect women's sports. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: When your metabolism is working correctly, you feel the benefits in every aspect of life. With Lumen, the world's first handheld metabolic coach, you can gain insight and stay on track when it comes to improving your health. By simply breathing into your Lumen each morning, you'll discover if your body is burning fats or carbs. The app then provides personalized nutrition plans and lifestyle guidance based on your unique metabolism. Take the next step in improving your health. Go to lumen.me slash wire to get 20% off your Lumen. That is L-U-M-E-N dot me slash wire for 20% off your purchase. Thank you, Lumen, for sponsoring this episode.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: After a catastrophic meeting in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Zelensky traveled to the UK in an effort to get more support from European leaders. Joining us to discuss what's happened since the unprecedented Oval Office skirmish between Trump and Zelensky is Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Good morning. First of all, my sources are saying this was not planned, that Trump and Vance were just reacting to Zelensky's, quote, antics and bad behavior. He showed up at the White House wearing a casual black outfit, rolled his eyes and crossed his arms throughout the meeting and he repeatedly argued with both the president and the vice president in the Oval Office while asking for help for his country. And when Zelensky suggested before the White House media, so the whole world, that Trump and Vance didn't understand the realities of both the Russia Ukraine war and Vladimir Putin himself, they were unsurprisingly insulted.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Here's a bit of that drama unfolding for those who missed it. We tried the pathway of Joe Biden of thumping our chest and pretending that the president of the United States' words mattered more than the president of the United States' actions. What makes America a good country is America engaging in diplomacy. That's what President Trump is doing. I gave you the javelins to take out all those tanks. Obama gave you sheets. You got to be more thankful because let me tell you, you don't have the cards. With us, you have the cards. But without us, you don't have any cards.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: I'm told that after that blow up, Trump sent a message to Zelensky through National Security Advisor Mike Walts and Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling them the meetings for the day were done and it was time for the Ukrainians to go home Now senior White House officials said it was and I quoting absolutely not an ambush or preplanned And he said that they expected the economic deal getting signed and a, quote, demonstration to the world that we are partners with Ukraine and leading a movement to peace.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Well, Trump appears to have ruled out a security guarantee backed by the U.S., arguing in favor of the minerals deal, Heading into the meeting with Zelensky on Friday, Trump officials had said that the deal was as good as done and they just needed the leader's signatures. One of the officials that I spoke with said that Trump wants to end a brutal war, but it's really not clear what Zelensky wants. That official also said, and I'm quoting again, POTUS and VP were disrespected and right to defend our nation from Zelensky's stupid attitude that is built on years of Biden simply throwing more and more American money at Ukraine with no endgame, no path for victory, and no path for peace.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Okay, so as of today, where do things stand and how does this meeting in the UK play into it? Well, Zelensky is now seeking the help of European leaders, as Georgia mentioned. He met with a handful of European Union leaders yesterday, and that includes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, France's Emmanuel Macron, and Italy's Georgia Maloney, among several others. Starmer led the meeting and talked tough about playing hardball with Russia, but he also stressed that the U.S. is an important and reliable ally. He says the U.K. is prepared to back a peace deal but they still need the U.S. With boots on the ground and planes in the air together with others Europe must do the heavy listing but to support peace in our continent and to succeed this effort must have strong U.S. backing and let me be clear we agree with the president on the urgent need for a durable peace. Now we need to deliver together.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Starmer also said that Europe must up its support of Ukraine and he announced a $2.7 billion loan to Ukraine with the use of Russian frozen assets. And meanwhile, I'm told that President Trump really does want to deal with Ukraine, as he has repeatedly said. But that will only come when the Ukrainian leader prioritizes peace. And that means agreeing to a deal with the US. Trump said Friday that Zelensky is, not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.
--:-- Mary Margaret Olihan: Well, a remarkable sequence of events. And once again, Trump looking to hammer out a deal in his trademark way. Definitely not the Biden presidency anymore, is it? No, it's not. Mary Margaret, thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: What's the secret behind wildly successful businesses? It's not just great products or brilliant marketing. It's the unsung hero, the business behind the business. It's time to make those business goals a reality. For millions of entrepreneurs, that hero is Shopify. Upgrade your business and get the same checkout we use with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash morningwire, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash morningwire to upgrade your selling today. Shopify.com slash morningwire.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: A viral new report in the Wall Street Journal claims the era of woke is over at behemoth asset manager BlackRock. That shift could have significant ripple effects throughout the financial industry. Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham is here now to explain.
--:-- Megan Basham: Yeah, I mean if you remember as far back as 2023 BlackRock and those other big asset managers like Vanguard and State Street were at least beginning to downplay their commitment to ESG which you know quick reminder it an investing strategy that involves prioritizing left social goals over financial returns But at that time, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink told Fox News that his main reason for abandoning the term ESG was for PR perceptions. It's been weaponized by the far left and weaponized by the far right, and we lose a conversation. Look, our job is to do what our clients are asking them to do. And we do a very good job. And despite all the narrative last year, we were awarded over $400 billion in net new assets.
--:-- Megan Basham: But now it looks like BlackRock is dropping wokeness for real. So its 2025 annual report filed last Tuesday is missing the DEI commitments that were boilerplate for BlackRock investor letters in recent years. Instead, it now has strong meritocracy language. It talks about attracting the best people from across the world and supporting top talent and fostering diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink. And according to the journal, BlackRock is dropping its internal DEI hiring requirements as well. An internal memo said managers no longer have to make sure to interview a certain number of minority candidates for jobs either.
--:-- Megan Basham: And then a couple more concrete data points. The firm has backed out of the group Net Zero Asset Managers, which is a U.N.-sponsored climate coalition. And while it launched 30 ESG funds between 2019 and 2023, BlackRock has not launched any since the first quarter of 2024. So that was prior to the election. What prompted the change? Well, you know, part of it was certainly public image. When your average suburban mom starts to know the name of BlackRock and associate it with wokeness, that's an issue. But also some concrete losses started to accrue for BlackRock from that association. Several red states sued the company for placing its political views above its fiduciary duties in managing pension funds. Others passed laws against ESG investing of public funds and promised to stop doing business with BlackRock altogether. And then you had the Republican-led House subpoenaing BlackRock for hearings.
--:-- Megan Basham: I think Fink is a true believer in these progressive policies, and he seemed to believe for a while that he could carefully navigate the issue by using different rhetoric. But I think when Donald Trump not only won the election, but the popular vote, it was clear at that point that a new era was dawning, and it wasn't going to be possible to simply wait it out. Now, how much influence do you think this will have in the rest of the industry? Oh, I think it's going to be huge. I mean, BlackRock is the largest asset manager in the world. It sets the terms in this business. If they think that wokeness is now bad for business, other investment managers, large and small, are going to follow their lead. And you're already seeing a lot of them like Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Citigroup doing just that.
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, a huge turnaround from the conversations we were having back in 2021, 2022. Yeah. Megan, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: Following Trump's public showdown with Maine's governor, a state lawmaker has been silenced by her Democrat colleagues. Meanwhile, resident backlash culminates with a grassroots protest outside the statehouse. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presta-Giacomo.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: So Libby was censured last week for a Facebook post calling attention to the state policies that allow males to participate in girls sports Her posts included images of a transgender high school boy celebrating a first win in girls pole vaulting at Maine's Class B state championship, a win that helped the high school take first place overall. It was Libby's post that sparked this whole debate about Maine reaching all the way to the White House. On Tuesday, Democrats demanded Libby remove the post and apologize, arguing that it was inappropriate for her to include images of a minor. Libby tried to argue on the House floor that it's unfair and unsafe to permit males and girls sports, and she also said that she was merely reposting public images that were already shared online.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: However, Libby was repeatedly interrupted and ultimately censured. The chair understands that the member does not intend to submit an apology to the body. That is correct. The member will not be able to cast a vote or speak on the floor until the member has come back into compliance with House Rule 401, Part 11. After her censure, Libby used social media to give the speech that she wasn't allowed to give on the floor. Here's some audio of that.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: This championship was not just another competition. It was a stark reminder of how Augusta Democrats have utterly failed to protect Maine girls. Young female athletes who have trained for years to compete on a level playing field are now being forced to step aside while biological males claim titles and scholarships meant for them. If we do not speak up, who will? Libby received a lot of support online. She's outpaced the governor and social media followers. And Maine's House Speaker, who led the censure effort, he's since completely deleted his ex-account, presumably due to backlash.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: And then we have this protest that took place outside the statehouse over the weekend on Saturday. Tell us about that. Yes, it's estimated that about 500 people showed up to that rally, which was dubbed the March Against Mills. Residents expressed a lot of support for Libby. They held up signs about protecting female sports, and they listened to speeches from numerous female athletes, Republican state lawmaker Katrina Smith, and others. One of those speakers was high school student Julia Dietrich. She made headlines last week when she spoke out at a school board meeting about this issue.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: The time has come for female athletes across the state of Maine to take a firm stand against the Maine Principals Association and the governor's policies that are failing us. Show up for your games, your meets, your tournaments, but refuse to compete. Let the silence of the scoreboards and stillness of the field send a message louder than words ever could. What's particularly notable about the rally was how organically it happened. It appears the rally popped up after three residents who were angry with Mills' refusal to back down on these transgender policies. They created a Facebook event for a protest. That gained traction with thousands. And then those residents harnessed a Change.org petition initiating a recall of Governor Mills. That petition has garnered more than 24,000 signatures, and they included a link to the March Against Mills event.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: By contrast, reports say only dozens showed up at a protest in support for Mills following her spat with Trump. Now, nationally, polling clearly shows that Americans are on Trump's side and very strongly opposed to Mills and Maine Democrats' position here. A New York Times poll from January found that only 18 percent of Americans believe that trans-identifying male athletes should be allowed in female sports. And as we've documented, this was a big contributing factor in Trump's 2024 win. Yeah, that's right. Well, we'll continue to track this saga. It's not going away anytime soon.
--:-- Amanda Presta-Giacomo: Thanks so much for reporting.
--:-- Host: John Bickley: And if you enjoyed what you heard this morning, share this episode with a friend.
