Morning Wire XX
[0] On the day of his first state of the union address, President Joe Biden is facing his lowest poll numbers since taking office.
[1] Will the president enjoy a wartime boost to his approval?
[2] We take a look at the state of the president on the day of his state of the union.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Tuesday, March 1st, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] It's day six of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
[6] As the battle for Kiev continues, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are fleeing their embattled country.
[7] Meanwhile, in Russia, economic sanctions begin to take their toll.
[8] We have updates on the continuing conflict.
[9] And we speak to a financial expert about the long and short -term effects of sanctions, the importance of the swift banking system, and the potential unintended consequences it could all have on the West and cryptocurrency.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
[13] This show is brought to you by Good Ranchers.
[14] Over 85 % of the grass -fed beef sold in stores and on.
[15] online is imported from overseas.
[16] You're paying a premium for imported goods that don't even get USDA graded.
[17] That's why you should get all your beef, chicken, and seafood from Good Ranchers.
[18] They sell beef that's USDA Prime and Upper Choice, chicken that's better than organic and premium seafood.
[19] Good Ranchers deliver steakhouse quality to your door.
[20] These are real American people trying to help real American businesses.
[21] You can do good while you eat good.
[22] Support American business one delicious bite of steak at a time.
[23] So head on over to good ranchers .com slash wire or use code wire at checkout to get their biggest offer ever.
[24] $30 off your first order plus free express shipping.
[25] Visit good ranchers .com slash wired today.
[26] As Russia continues its violent invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of Americans now say President Biden could have done more to prevent the conflict.
[27] Here with more on the political fallout of the war in Ukraine is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
[28] So Cabot, we've talked in the show before about how President Biden is struggling in the polls, but that was before this latest conflict.
[29] So what's the latest on the numbers?
[30] How has this impacted the president's standing with American voters?
[31] Yeah, historically when there's a military conflict raging, people on both sides of the aisle often put their differences aside and rally together around the president, but that's just not happening here.
[32] President Biden, like you said, already came into the week with a 37 % approval rating.
[33] That's about the lowest point he's seen.
[34] And it now appears to be going down even further with the news coming out of Ukraine.
[35] According to a Washington Post ABC poll, just 33 % of Americans approve of his handling of the conflict, while 47 % disapprove.
[36] And another poll from Gallup found that even among Democrats, just 64 % in the party approve of the job he's doing in Ukraine.
[37] And among independents, the key voting block for midterms, remember, that number falls to 35%.
[38] So he's really struggling right now with the vast majority of voters when it comes to Ukraine, there's not really any other way to spin it.
[39] Now, the president started his term with relatively healthy approvals for foreign policy.
[40] So how significant is this downturn?
[41] Yeah, just 12 months ago, 56 % of Americans approved of his foreign policy, while just 40 % disapproved.
[42] But today, those numbers have completely flipped.
[43] It's now 56 % disapprove and 40 % approve.
[44] And this is especially concerning for Democrats because President Biden really campaigned on the fact that he would bring a strong, steady presence to American foreign policy.
[45] For example, in one tweet back in 2020 during the campaign, he said, quote, Vladimir Putin doesn't want me to be president.
[46] He doesn't want me to be our nominee.
[47] If you're wondering why, it's because I'm the only one who's ever gone toe to toe with him.
[48] But according to that earlier poll from ABC, just 23 % of Americans say that our country has gotten stronger on the world stage since Biden took office.
[49] Now, there's another poll that's getting a lot of attention that compared President Trump's foreign policy to President Biden's.
[50] So what did that poll show?
[51] Yeah, over the weekend, President Trump spoke at the conservative conference CPAC and kind of implied that things in Russia would have gone differently if he were in charge.
[52] And according to a poll from the Harvard Center for American Political Studies, a lot of Americans agree with them, most actually.
[53] Sixty -two percent of those surveyed said that Putin would not have invaded Ukraine if Trump were still in office.
[54] Sixty -two percent.
[55] And even 38 percent of Democrats agreed with that sentiment.
[56] The poll also found that 59 percent of Americans believed that Putin moved on Ukraine now because he saw, quote, weakness in President Biden.
[57] There was another interesting poll from Gallup that gauged Americans' view of Russia.
[58] Obviously, there's been a lot of rhetoric in the media the past few weeks about conservatives supposedly supporting Russia and the Putin regime.
[59] But this poll contradicts that.
[60] It found that the same number of Republicans and Democrats, 88 percent each, view Russia unfavorably.
[61] So not a lot of merit to the claim that Republicans are pro -Russia at this point in the conflict.
[62] Now, if we're talking about political fallout, obviously we have the midterms coming up.
[63] Do we expect Ukraine to have any effect on the midterm races?
[64] Well, traditionally, the economy and immigration are leading issues for midterm voters, not as much foreign policy there.
[65] So much of the impact will be determined by how long the conflict rages and obviously what the outcome ends up being.
[66] But in the short term, there is no doubt it's helping Republicans' odds of retaking the House and Senate.
[67] A new poll from ABC and the Washington Post now shows, Republicans with a 49 -42 advantage in early midterm voting.
[68] And among registered voters who say they're likely to vote in November, obviously those are the most important voters, that advantage jumps to 54 -41 in favor of Republicans.
[69] So we'll have to check back in after tonight's State of the Union to see if voter sentiment changes after the speech, but not a lot of great news for Democrat leaders right now.
[70] Well, we'll be sure to get an update tomorrow after the address.
[71] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[72] Anytime.
[73] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[74] Coming up, the latest on the battle for Ukraine.
[75] If you're with Verizon, AT &T, or T -Mobile, you're paying too much.
[76] Switching to Pure Talk saves the average family over $800 a year.
[77] Go to PureTalk .com, find the right plan for you, and enter promo code, Wire, to save 50 % off your first month.
[78] The Russian invasion of Ukraine has carried on for more than five days, while pushback from the international community continues to grow.
[79] Here with the latest updates on the conflict is Dailywires Ian Howarth.
[80] So, Ian, what are the updates in Ukraine?
[81] Well, there have been quite a few significant developments since we talked yesterday.
[82] One major shift was news that Belarus, an ally of Russia, could join the invasion of Ukraine.
[83] This isn't a massive surprise given that Russian troops use Belarus as the launch point for the northern front.
[84] The Belarusian border was the location chosen for initial peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
[85] A Ukrainian delegation arrived to take part in the talks on Monday, all while Russia captured two more Ukrainian cities, and the country's second -largest city, Kharkiv, came under heavy rocket fire.
[86] The first round of peace talks concluded on Monday evening in Ukraine, with the only real outcome being an agreement on topics for future talks.
[87] So no ceasefire.
[88] No, and shortly after, explosions were reported in Ukraine's capital city, Kiev.
[89] And with reports that the Russians have deployed 75 % of their assembled combat power in Ukraine, there have been no noticeable changes in the Russian position, according to U .S. officials.
[90] So we've heard reports that men aged 18 to 60 have been ordered to stay in Ukraine.
[91] Where are the other citizens going?
[92] Well, one UN refugee agency stated that up to 4 million Ukrainians could be displaced.
[93] The latest numbers suggest at least 360 ,000 people have already fled the country.
[94] Poland alone has reportedly taken in at least 200 ,000 Ukrainians.
[95] Interestingly, there are also reports that at least 20 ,000 Polish citizens have crossed into Ukraine to aid in their defense, but that remains to be confirmed.
[96] Now, is there any indication that either Russia or Ukraine is changing their official stance in terms of making concessions?
[97] Well, on the Ukrainian side, they're not really budging.
[98] On Monday, President Zelensky signed an official application to join the European Union, a move that certainly won't calm Putin down.
[99] Zelensi said, quote, our goal is to be with all Europeans and, most importantly, to be equal.
[100] I'm sure that's fair.
[101] I am sure we deserve it.
[102] And this is all while Zelensky remains in Kiev, despite reports that Russia has sent 400 mercenaries into the situation.
[103] to assassinate him.
[104] Wow.
[105] And when it comes to Putin, if anything, he has escalated his rhetoric.
[106] In an economic summit on Monday, for example, he called the West an empire of lies.
[107] He also ratched up fears of nuclear war by putting his nuclear forces on increased alert.
[108] As economic sanctions from the West went into effect, the Russian ruble has also crashed, losing 40 % of its value.
[109] In an effort to prop up the ruble, the Russian central bank raised its key interest rate to 20 % and ordered companies to sell 80 % of their foreign currency revenues.
[110] Now, it's definitely going to be interesting to watch the longer -term impacts of the sanctions.
[111] But one thing before you go, as you alluded earlier, it's been hard to verify some of the information coming out of the conflict zone.
[112] But there have been some high -profile incidents of fake news on social media.
[113] So what have you seen in that regard?
[114] Yeah, I think one event that's a good example of this is the Snake Island story.
[115] So last week, Zelensky said that 13 soldiers on a small island south of Odessa had died, quote, heroically after Russian warships attacked.
[116] reports that they told the Russian warship to, quote, go -f -yourself, went viral, especially on social media.
[117] But now the Ukrainian Navy is reporting that the soldiers are actually alive and well, having been forced to surrender after repelling two attacks by Russian forces.
[118] So it is important to keep in mind that information during conflict is notoriously difficult to verify, considering the inherent chaos and fast -moving nature of warfare.
[119] And one interesting factor I think we should remember is that this is the first conflict to happen between European nations during the era of social media, which is proving to be.
[120] both a blessing and a curse for reporters concerned onlookers and military propagandists alike.
[121] Right.
[122] Well, Ian, thanks for the overview.
[123] Thanks, Georgia.
[124] That's Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[125] Western countries continue to ramp up sanctions on Russia and have moved to block it from the swift banking system.
[126] But will these measures be effective?
[127] Joining us to discuss is Vivek Ramoswamy, entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author.
[128] Vivek, thanks for joining us.
[129] Glad to be on.
[130] So as Georgia mentioned, Russia is now being blocked from the Swift banking system.
[131] Many aren't familiar with that system.
[132] So first, can you explain its significance for us?
[133] Sure, and this is a topic that's been in the news for the last couple of days, the idea of taking Russia off the Swift system.
[134] Swift is really kind of like an antiquated plumbing system.
[135] It's the system that allows banks to effectively send messages to one another that allows the entire wire transfer architecture to work.
[136] to wire money from one institution to another.
[137] It's broken.
[138] I'll tell you, I've started companies have had many hundreds of millions of dollars of financings that use wire transfers.
[139] And I can tell you, it's surprising.
[140] My first time I did it is clunky, how long it takes for a wire to come in.
[141] It comes in chunks and pieces.
[142] But that's effectively a network effect that's so strong that once you have enough banking institutions and countries that are participating in that same ecosystem, it becomes really hard to change it.
[143] It also makes it very costly for somebody if you pull them off of that system.
[144] Now, here's the thing, though, It's not today the only plumbing system that exists.
[145] China has its own alternative to SWIFT.
[146] It's nascent.
[147] There's not that many people using it by comparison, but it's called CIPS or SIPs.
[148] Russia actually has a nascent alternative too.
[149] And what I worry about is actually taking Russia off of this really awful, antiquated system is going to actually catalyze the transition to making those alternatives actually come to life and actually develop real network effects of their own.
[150] And then, of course, the quiet, unspoken variable that bridges the gap is crypto, which Russia can effectively use its reliance on crypto and blockchain -based approaches to transfer money.
[151] In the meantime, in a way that bridges it to plugging into the Chinese or alternative SWIFT system.
[152] Now, along with cutting Russia out of SWIFF, the West has also imposed a series of sanctions.
[153] Sanctions have often failed to work in the past.
[154] Can these new sanctions actually be effective?
[155] Look, I do think there are effective sanctions that can be implemented.
[156] I think that there are costs to those sanctions, too.
[157] You know, obviously, if you impose sanctions and there's stronger sanctions than he anticipated, then that will have a greater effect on blunting his power.
[158] If you provide greater financial support to Ukraine or greater military support to Ukraine, then that will make it more costly and less likely for Putin to succeed.
[159] But I think that that's different than I think the main lessons we need to take away from this, which are creating the very conditions for the cost -benefit analysis he did in the first place.
[160] Right.
[161] And you've made the point that the West's reliance on Russian energy, in part because that the green movement has actually helped create those conditions.
[162] Now, we've already seen the ruble fall by some 40%.
[163] Is Russia going to survive this?
[164] Is the Russian economy in true crisis, as we're hearing a lot of experts say?
[165] Yeah, look, I think there's no doubt they're in crisis.
[166] There's no doubt the steps that we have taken collectively, Europe and the United States, NATO allies, have weakened Russia financially.
[167] And given the state of affairs that we were in a week ago, the question is, it could break one of two ways.
[168] Either they're actually able to weather this storm, and they're strengthened by it for all of the reasons that I mentioned, that they actually realize that they need to be participating in alternative financial systems that are more closely tied in with those built by China, et cetera.
[169] Or in the short run, the bone is so brittle that it's going to break in a way that Russia, you know, comes out of this even weaker and Putin's really, you know, eating the consequences of his decision.
[170] Well, Vivek, thank you so much for talking with us today.
[171] Yeah, hopefully we do it again soon.
[172] That was Vivek Ramaswamy.
[173] Another story we're tracking this week, more mask mandates are being lifted across the country.
[174] Starting Wednesday, New York's public school children will no longer need to wear masks.
[175] California is also lifting its school mask mandate starting on March 12th, though officials say they still strongly recommend mask wearing.
[176] And today, masks are also optional in the U .S. Capitol complex, including for those who attend the State of the Union address.
[177] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening.
[178] And give us a five -star review.
[179] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[180] Thanks for waking up with us.
[181] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
[182] If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to Daily Wire members.
[183] Get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at Dailywire .com slash subscribe.