0:03

Joe Biden and Donald Trump face

0:05

off tonight in the highly anticipated

0:07

presidential debate, and both candidates are

0:09

expected to take drastically different approaches

0:11

on the big stage. I'm

0:14

Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with

0:16

guest host Carol Markowitz. It's Thursday,

0:18

June 27, and this is Morning

0:20

Wire. A

0:25

smuggling group with ties to ISIS

0:27

has reportedly trafficked hundreds of illegal

0:29

immigrants into the U.S. Individuals

0:32

from ISIS and other affiliated groups

0:35

have recognized it as a weak

0:37

point in our defense, and they're

0:39

using this opportunity to try to

0:41

sneak in. And while

0:43

inflation remains front and center in the

0:45

race for the White House, a group

0:47

of Nobel economists try to flip the

0:49

script on Bidenomics. Thanks for

0:51

waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned, we have the news

0:53

you need to know. After

1:23

months of waiting, the first debate of the 2024 election is here,

1:25

with Donald Trump

1:37

and Joe Biden set to square off

1:39

this evening. Here to

1:41

discuss is a man who will be

1:44

on the ground in Atlanta tonight for

1:46

the event, Daily Wire senior editor, Philip

1:48

Saykabbit. For the most important night of

1:50

the election to date, very high stakes

1:52

and high stress, what are

1:54

we hearing from each side? So, we'll start

1:56

with President Biden, who has been holed up

1:58

in Camp David all week preparing with his

2:00

top advisors. Incumbent presidents have

2:02

historically fared poorly in the first debate of

2:04

their re-election campaign. For

2:06

lack of a better term, they're often rusty,

2:09

having spent the last three and a half

2:11

years surrounded by supportive, deferential staff and yes

2:13

men, and really only sitting for handpicked interviews.

2:15

With that in mind, Biden aides have reportedly

2:18

encouraged the president to keep the focus of

2:20

the debate not on his own record, but

2:22

on Donald Trump. According to

2:24

numerous reports, Biden wants to portray himself as the

2:26

adult in the room and draw out what they

2:29

call the quote, true Trump, meaning the

2:31

bombastic name calling version we often see

2:33

on the campaign trail. Remember, in the

2:35

first 2020 debate, Trump famously interrupted Biden

2:38

and moderator Chris Wallace incessantly throughout the

2:40

evening in a performance that was

2:42

widely panned by voters. Biden

2:44

wants to do everything he can to get

2:46

that version of Trump tonight, so expect him to

2:48

focus in on things that get under his

2:51

skin, like the 2020 election results in January

2:53

6th, the fact he's now a convicted felon, and

2:55

the sexual assault case brought against him in

2:57

recent years. One thing he's likely to

2:59

stay away from though is policy. The White House

3:01

may claim publicly that Biden has had the

3:03

most successful first term in modern history, but

3:06

they are well aware of the fact that

3:08

vast majorities of Americans disapprove of the job

3:10

he's done on virtually everything from

3:12

the economy, immigration and foreign policy. And those

3:14

are all things that we expect to hear

3:17

plenty of from Trump, correct? Exactly. While

3:19

the two men are neck and neck in

3:21

national polls, Trump leads by a wide margin

3:23

when voters are asked which candidate they trust

3:25

more on virtually every policy topic, including the

3:28

economy and immigration. Trump wants to make this

3:30

a debate between each of their terms in office.

3:33

Expect him to ask voters that famous electoral question, are

3:35

you better off now than you were four years ago?

3:38

The Trump campaign for their part released this short

3:40

ad just ahead of the debate, giving us a

3:42

good idea of what we might hear tonight. The

3:45

place is not going away. People can't afford

3:47

groceries. It has skyrocketed. Shelter up 20 percent.

3:49

Energy costs up 30 percent. Israel

3:53

has declared it is at war. Russia's

3:55

full scale invasion of Ukraine. Bad for working

3:57

families, bad for American jobs, bad for the

3:59

world. for the world order and stability. And

4:04

while the Trump camp says they want to focus on the issues,

4:06

don't be surprised if he goes off script

4:08

and hits Biden for his age and mental

4:10

fitness. At that point, a number of Trump

4:13

surrogates and even Trump himself have said the

4:15

president will be given some sort of stimulant

4:17

before he takes the stage. They

4:19

want to get him good and strong. So

4:21

a little before debate time, he gets a shot

4:23

in the ass and that's, they

4:26

want to strengthen him up. I

4:28

say he'll come out all jacked up, right? A

4:31

trademark Trump there. Right. Now

4:34

much has been made about the low expectations

4:36

for President Biden coming into this debate. Talk

4:38

to us about that. Yeah, it's no secret

4:41

that President Biden has struggled to shake the

4:43

perception among voters that he's dealing with mental

4:45

decline. We've all seen the videos of him

4:47

looking confused or lethargic in public appearances. Yeah.

4:50

For more on that, we caught up with Michael Wadley,

4:52

chair of the Republican National Committee. It's

4:54

not about whether he can stand up and talk for

4:56

90 minutes or not. It's about what he says. It's

4:59

about his vision for America, which is not

5:01

the right vision, his path for America,

5:04

which is absolutely the wrong path. And

5:06

so we really think that this is not

5:08

about how he speaks. It's about what he

5:10

says. And while some

5:12

folks will wait until the fall to really tune

5:14

into this presidential race, head to head

5:17

debates like this one are one of the few singular events

5:19

that can really shake things up. If you

5:21

look at the numbers since the 70s, the first

5:23

presidential debate has on average resulted in a one

5:25

to three point swing in the polls. So with

5:28

a race neck and neck, this is a crucial evening

5:30

for both campaigns, a chance for one of them to

5:32

pull away. Indeed. And you'll be

5:34

right there covering it for us. Kevin, thanks for reporting.

5:36

Anytime. And a reminder, The Daily

5:39

Wire will have live coverage before and after

5:41

the debate this evening. You can

5:43

watch on The Daily Wire Plus app and dailywire.com.

5:46

Hey, guys, producer Brandon here.

5:48

Black Rifle Coffee is a veteran founded

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your ID. Visit blackriflecoffee.com to

6:15

learn more. An

6:19

ISIS-linked smuggling group has reportedly trafficked

6:21

hundreds of illegal immigrants into the

6:24

US in recent years. Dozens

6:26

of these migrants are unaccounted for

6:28

and likely somewhere in the country,

6:30

alarming the Department of Homeland Security.

6:33

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce is

6:35

here to talk about this terror-tied

6:37

smuggling operation. Hey, Tim, so let's

6:39

start off with the migrants linked

6:41

to ISIS, the terror group. What

6:43

do we know about them? Well,

6:46

according to NBC News, there are about 400 immigrants

6:49

in the country that the DHS has

6:51

labeled subjects of concern. All

6:53

of them entered the US through an

6:55

ISIS-linked smuggling operation. Authorities have arrested

6:57

over 150 of them, likely

7:00

on some immigration-related offense. Many

7:02

of those still at large are being tracked, but

7:04

officials have yet to locate about 50 of

7:07

these immigrants. And how did they get in?

7:09

How exactly did they enter the US? I'm

7:11

assuming the southern border. Right, and

7:13

most of them crossed over from Mexico.

7:15

They were released by US Customs and

7:17

Border Patrol into the country because they

7:19

didn't show up on the FBI's terror

7:22

watch list. That list is obviously not

7:24

comprehensive, though, and recently, federal officials have

7:26

scrambled to arrest immigrants linked to

7:28

terrorists or terror groups long after those migrants

7:30

entered the US. A good example

7:32

of that took place earlier this month when

7:34

ICE and the FBI arrested eight Tajik nationals

7:36

with ties to ISIS. Like those 400

7:39

earlier, we know very little

7:41

about the Tajik men, including what specifically

7:43

prompted their arrest or what they may

7:45

have had planned. According to the

7:47

New York Times, federal agents moved on the

7:49

eight men after officials grew concerned about the

7:51

potential for a terror attack in at least

7:54

one location. And this is all

7:56

part of a threat environment that FBI

7:58

Director Chris Wray described recently. as being

8:00

one of the worst in his career. When

8:02

I sat here last year, I walked

8:05

through how we were already in a

8:07

heightened threat environment. When I look

8:09

back over my career in law enforcement,

8:11

I would be hard-pressed to think of

8:13

a time when so many different threats

8:16

to our public safety and national security

8:18

were so elevated all at the same

8:20

time. But that is the case

8:22

as I sit here today. And

8:25

here's Ray in March detailing to Senator

8:27

Marco Rubio about how the border plays

8:29

into the threat environment, as well as

8:31

concerns about terror-linked smuggling groups taking advantage

8:34

of lax border policies. From

8:36

an FBI perspective, we are seeing a

8:38

wide array of very dangerous threats that

8:40

emanate from the border, and that includes

8:43

everything from the drug trafficking. The FBI

8:46

alone seized enough fentanyl in the last

8:48

two years to kill 270 million people. That's

8:53

just on the fentanyl side. An awful lot of the

8:55

violent crime in the United States is

8:57

at the hands of gangs who are themselves

8:59

involved in the distribution. The

9:01

Biden administration has taken actions lately to,

9:04

as it argues, decrease illegal immigration into

9:06

the U.S. That's been primarily done by

9:08

expanding options for immigrants to legally migrate,

9:10

though, and that hasn't been effective at

9:13

keeping out immigrants with terror ties. Part

9:15

of the Tajikistan group, for example, was

9:17

caught and released by border patrol agents.

9:20

Yeah, and what kind of response are

9:22

we seeing to this on Capitol Hill?

9:24

Well, this has obviously been a top

9:26

priority for Republicans who have battered the

9:29

administration over its border policies. Here's

9:31

House Intel Committee Chair Mike Turner on

9:33

Fox News earlier this month, blaming President Biden

9:35

for the terror threat. The administration

9:38

has let in individuals who have ties

9:40

to ISIS and al Qaeda and other

9:42

terrorist groups and organizations. That's why you

9:44

hear Director Ray saying that we're

9:46

at the highest level of threat for a

9:48

terrorist attack, and it's all a result of

9:50

Biden's policies. Certainly a troubling

9:52

situation, Tim. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for having

9:55

me. the

10:00

debate the world has been waiting for is

10:02

here, and you won't want to miss it.

10:04

Daily Wire Backstage, the presidential debate, live on

10:07

the Daily Wire Plus app and dailywire.com. Join

10:10

Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles,

10:12

Andrew Klavan, and Jeremy Boring for

10:14

our exclusive Daily Wire Backstage coverage.

10:16

Get expert analysis and unfiltered commentary

10:19

on this pivotal debate. The exclusive

10:21

Daily Wire Backstage pre-show starts at

10:23

8.30pm Eastern, followed

10:25

by a live simulcast of the presidential

10:27

debate and an in-depth post-show analysis. Be

10:30

part of the conversation as we break down

10:32

the candidates' performances and what it means for

10:34

the future of our nation. Don't miss out,

10:37

watch on the Daily Wire Plus app or

10:39

at dailywire.com. Americans

10:42

have seen inflation skyrocket under Joe

10:44

Biden, a trend that's done major

10:46

damage to his poll numbers. But

10:49

this week, Axios ran a story

10:51

headlined, 16 Nobel economists

10:53

see a Trump inflation bomb. The

10:56

warning from the group has drawn comparison to the

10:58

infamous letter from 51 intelligence

11:00

experts falsely painting the Hunter

11:02

Biden laptop as Russian disinformation.

11:05

Joining us to discuss is E.J. Antoni,

11:07

economist with the Heritage Foundation. E.J., thank

11:09

you for coming on. My pleasure.

11:12

Thank you for having me. First, what

11:14

are the main economic concerns these 16

11:17

economists have raised about a Trump second

11:19

term? Well, ironically, a

11:21

lot of the concerns that they're

11:23

raising are things that we're seeing

11:25

under Biden right now, not even

11:28

things that we previously saw under

11:30

Trump, such as too much government

11:32

spending, fueling ever growing deficits and

11:34

therefore more inflation. But a

11:37

lot of the Trump proposals that

11:39

they cite, they unfortunately just have

11:41

things backwards where they talk about

11:43

increasing tariffs, for example, without acknowledging

11:45

that former President Trump would like

11:47

to have a corresponding decrease in

11:49

income taxes. In other words, net

11:51

neutral. But for some reason, they

11:53

ignore that second part and treat

11:55

everything as a cost increase as

11:57

long as Trump proposed it. And

12:00

what specific policies are they pointing to?

12:02

Well, aside from tariffs, you know,

12:04

they cite the fact that President

12:07

Trump would like to extend the

12:09

tax reform that he enacted, but

12:11

then also make that permanent. And

12:14

they say that that would add to

12:16

the deficit. Now, of course, they neglect

12:18

the fact that after that tax reform

12:20

was passed at the end of 2017,

12:23

we saw tax revenues

12:25

to the Treasury not only increase,

12:27

but increase to record highs. And

12:29

so the idea that just because

12:31

you cut tax rates, you will

12:34

automatically get a decrease in tax

12:36

revenue that was yet again debunked

12:38

during the first Trump administration. Now,

12:41

some counter arguments to the Trump team's

12:43

discussions about national debt have been that

12:45

the debt really spiked in the last

12:47

year of Trump as a result of

12:49

COVID. Is that a valid point?

12:52

Well, unfortunately, the debt did

12:54

absolutely explode in 2020 as

12:57

a response to COVID. There's no doubt about that.

13:00

If you simply allowed that emergency spending

13:02

to expire in 2021 and in 2022,

13:04

then you'd actually

13:07

have a balanced budget today.

13:09

But instead of doing that,

13:11

what the Biden administration did

13:14

is simply replace that one

13:16

time emergency spending with new

13:18

spending. And so it

13:20

made these multi-trillion dollar deficits, not

13:22

just a one off that you have

13:24

during an emergency or a recession, for

13:27

example, but it made them permanent. It

13:29

made it part of the D.C. establishment.

13:31

As we mentioned at the top, inflation

13:34

has really impacted polling for President Biden.

13:36

How have we seen concerns about the

13:39

economy influence the strategies for both Biden

13:41

and the Trump campaigns? Well,

13:43

it seems to me that because

13:46

people's real incomes, in other words,

13:48

their incomes adjusted for inflation, what

13:50

those incomes can actually buy, because

13:52

those incomes rose so much under

13:55

Trump and because those real incomes

13:57

have declined so much under Biden,

13:59

That's a very powerful talking point

14:02

for the Trump campaign. On the

14:04

Biden campaign side, they're essentially trying

14:06

to cast blame for inflation everywhere

14:09

other than themselves. Blame it on

14:11

supply chains, blame it on Putin.

14:13

Putin does not control the money

14:15

supply and supply chain problems have

14:17

at this point all been resolved.

14:19

So we should not only expect

14:21

inflation to come down, but prices

14:23

to come down if those things

14:25

were actually responsible for inflation. Clearly

14:27

they are not. This seems to

14:29

be a very powerful talking point for the

14:31

Trump campaign, which is why they continue

14:33

to hammer Biden on it. And it

14:36

seems to very much resonate with the

14:38

American people. Yes, the polls continue to

14:40

indicate. EJ Antony, thank you so much

14:43

for joining us. Thanks

14:47

for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more

14:49

news you need to know.