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[0] The fate of Kyle Rittenhouse is now in the hands of the jury after the prosecution and defense gave their closing arguments Monday.
[1] Georgia Howe is on assignment in Kenosha for the verdict.
[2] That's right, John.
[3] I am in Kenosha, and I was there for the final day of the trial.
[4] And I have a firsthand report.
[5] I'm John Bickley.
[6] It's Tuesday, November 16th, and this is Morning Wire.
[7] Claims of dysfunction and lack of focus are plaguing Vice President Kamala Harris, at the same time as President Biden is facing the low.
[8] lowest poll numbers of his presidency.
[9] What's behind the reports about the vice president?
[10] And how is the White House responded?
[11] And a new Harvard poll shows fewer Americans than ever approve of President Biden's handling of the border.
[12] What's driving the shift?
[13] And how could it influence Biden's approach to immigration going forward?
[14] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[15] Stay tuned.
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[26] Closing arguments in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial took place on Monday in a polarizing case that's gripped the nation.
[27] While the prosecution laid out its final arguments against the then -17 -year -old written house, the defense presented its case for self -defense.
[28] Georgia, you were in the courthouse in Kenosha for the closing arguments.
[29] Set the scene for us.
[30] Well, the courthouse was pretty packed, and speaking with people, it feels like the locals are very evenly split on this case.
[31] So the prosecution was up first.
[32] What were the main points they made in the closing arguments?
[33] The prosecution actually pivoted a little bit from last week.
[34] In his final argument, lead prosecutor Thomas Binger actually leaned into the active shooter angle, which was new today.
[35] That really wasn't a huge focus in the trial last week.
[36] He claimed that the men who pursued and were eventually shot by Rittenhouse were, quote, heroes for attempting to subdue Rittenhouse out of alleged concern that he was an active shooter threat.
[37] The central strategy with that line of argument is they want to frame Rittenhouse as the initial aggressor and paint Rosenbaum, Gross Kruits, and Huber as acting in self -defense.
[38] Their legal argument is that Kyle cannot claim self -defense if he initiated the dangerous situation.
[39] And as you might imagine, this was disputed by the defense.
[40] The prosecution also questioned whether Rittenhouse should have resorted to deadly force.
[41] They accuse him of, quote, bringing a gun to a fist fight.
[42] Overall, the prosecution focused on dressing down Rittenhouse for making poor choices that evening.
[43] They talked about how he lied about being an EMT, and when he said Rosenbaum pulled a gun on him, that was incorrect, and they argued that he was 17 and shouldn't have inserted himself into a dangerous situation.
[44] Overall, they really took aim at Rittenhouse as a person, and they presented the deaths as his fault, which some people in the courtroom likely found pretty effective.
[45] They did have some missteps, though.
[46] The prosecution downplayed the damage from rioters, which I think might not play so well with a jury of Kenosha residents.
[47] For example, he said that the men written house shot were, quote, heroes several times, which I think came across as a little bit saccharin, especially given the extensive criminal histories of those men.
[48] So I think that stuff might have been a little bit of a turnoff for the jury.
[49] And how about the defense?
[50] What were the key arguments there?
[51] Overall, the defense was a little bit less methodical and a little bit less clear in delivery than the prosecution.
[52] However, I think the video evidence did cut in favor of the defense.
[53] So, for example, we saw a slow motion video of Rittenhouse first being pursued by Rosenbaum and then cornered between two cars.
[54] Then we saw Rittenhouse being pursued by what appeared to be a mob.
[55] He was kicked in the head.
[56] He was hit with a skateboard.
[57] It was actually pretty hard to watch, and I think that's what made it effective.
[58] And keep in mind, the defense only needs to prove that Rittenhouse was afraid for his life in the moment he used the firearm.
[59] So in some ways, that's a lesser burden to prove than homicide.
[60] Okay, so what should we expect now?
[61] Any indications of when the verdict will be reached?
[62] Well, the jury's going to begin deliberations at 9 a .m. today.
[63] And I will say, I personally found both sides compelling.
[64] So it wouldn't surprise me if the deliberations take a little bit of time, especially because this case is such a roar shock test in a lot of ways.
[65] Obviously, this has been a very polarizing case with some expecting rioting if the verdict goes in the favor of written house.
[66] What was it like outside the courthouse?
[67] Well, there were actually fewer protesters outside the courthouse than I expected.
[68] Maybe half a dozen in the morning, about 15 in the evening.
[69] But it was also really, really cold out.
[70] Fingers crossed, the cold keeps people out of the streets.
[71] Georgia, thanks for the reporting.
[72] Yeah, absolutely.
[73] Coming up, Vice President Kamala Harris faces growing scrutiny from the media.
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[77] With President Biden's approval rating steadily declining, other members of his administration are coming under fire.
[78] One person who's been the subject of some critical reports is Vice President Kamala Harris.
[79] Here to tell us more as Daily Wire's Ian Howarth.
[80] Ian, what's going on here with the reports about the vice president?
[81] Well, it's pretty widely understood that President Biden's presidency is in trouble.
[82] His approval ratings have hit new lows of around 40 percent, and they look like they're going to continue to drop as he keeps moving to the left on policy, despite initially running as a moderate.
[83] But in an interesting turn of events, his vice president has come under media scrutiny after initially escaping a lot of criticism since entering office.
[84] Remember, the legacy media basically ignored the vice president despite the fact that she was tasked with overseeing the illegal immigration crisis as borders are, but didn't visit the border for three months.
[85] Do you guys visit the border?
[86] Not today.
[87] But I have before, and I'm sure I will again.
[88] But now even the legacy media seems to be questioning the popularity and the ability of Carmelah Harris.
[89] Okay, so what's contributing to this?
[90] Well, first off, there's Harris's approval ratings.
[91] She currently has an approval rating of 28%.
[92] 28%.
[93] Have we seen a VP approval rating this low, at least at this point?
[94] These are notably low numbers, lower than many of her predecessors, and even lower than former President Donald Trump's worst polling numbers at the end of his presidency, by 10 whole percentage points.
[95] This really isn't anything new, though, much in the same way as the primaries in 2020.
[96] Harris was lauded by the media as a leading candidate, but ended up dropping out before California even voted because she was polling in single digits.
[97] On Sunday, CNN published an article titled, aspiration and dysfunction inside Carmelha Harris' frustrating start as vice president.
[98] Insiders revealed for the first time tension and frustration behind the scenes between Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House.
[99] According to some sources, Harris is now being actively sidelined while others said she's ill -prepared for any future role she could take, and others are saying that her staff have failed her.
[100] But the reality is pretty clear.
[101] Carmel Harris was unpopular before she was vice president, and she's unpopular now.
[102] It does look like the Biden administration is aware of this, though.
[103] For example, White House press secretary Jen Saki tweeted out at 8 .20 p .m. on a Sunday evening, quote, for anyone who needs to hear it, VP is not only a vital partner to POTUS, but a bold leader who has taken on key important challenges facing the country, from voting rights to addressing root causes of migration to expanding broadband.
[104] So the White House is going to bat for Harris there.
[105] Before you go, can you explain why Harris's decline has broader implications for the Democratic Party, especially as we approach election season.
[106] Yeah, if we zoom out here, Carmelah Harris' numbers are definitely going to be causing panic beyond her own office.
[107] According to the latest data, Republican congressional candidates are holding their largest lead in midterm voting preferences in the last 40 years of ABC News, Washington Post polls.
[108] At the same time, President Biden seems to be hitting a new low in approval ratings with every day that passes, and so the Democratic Party is scrambling to find a new face for 2022 and 2024.
[109] But based on reports, the two names being considered are Carmel Harris, who is even more unpopular than President Biden, and Pete Buttigieg, whose biggest headlines were regarding his two months paternity leave.
[110] So unless something happens which adjusts the popularity of the alternatives, the fate of the Democratic Party in the next few elections, looks like it's still hanging on the fate of one man. That's President Joe Biden.
[111] Yeah, it's going to be an interesting few years, that's for sure.
[112] Ian, thanks for the update.
[113] Absolutely.
[114] Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[115] Following a year that saw an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border, new polling shows Americans' approval of President Biden's handling of immigration policy has hit a record low.
[116] Here with details on the poll and an update on the president's latest attempt to address the border crisis is Daily Wire's Cabot Phillips.
[117] Cabot, tell us about this new poll.
[118] What kind of numbers are we seeing?
[119] Yeah, Harvard has a running poll that tracks Americans' approval of the president on certain key issues.
[120] In this case, on immigration, the poll found that just 35 % of Americans approve of Joe Biden's handling at the border.
[121] That's the lowest marquee gets on any policy issue.
[122] Now, it's helpful to look at tracking polls like this for evidence of trends more than anything.
[123] And the clear trend is regression across the board.
[124] During the summer months, anywhere from 49 to 53 % of Americans supported as immigration policies.
[125] So we're talking about a pretty steep drop off in just three months.
[126] Yeah, it's pretty sharp.
[127] Overall, there wasn't actually a single policy issue where the president was above 50 % approval.
[128] The economy was at 40%.
[129] Foreign Affairs, 39%, handling of crime, 38%.
[130] And maybe most consequentially, just 36 % say the country's on the right track.
[131] So some grim numbers for the president.
[132] Yeah.
[133] And for context, those numbers were almost completely flipped back in the summer when just 39 % of people thought the country was on the wrong track.
[134] So again, a complete flip thing.
[135] That figure is especially big because it gives a good idea of how Americans will vote heading into midterms.
[136] naturally, if they don't like the direction of the country, it increases the odds that people will vote for the party not in power, in this case, Republicans.
[137] Yeah, that's traditionally a key indicator of voting trends.
[138] What else do we learn in the poll?
[139] One key finding was that Americans have really soured on the idea of open borders.
[140] Remember, President Biden maintained a softer tone on immigration throughout his campaign, and he essentially promised to loosen things up at the border once he took over.
[141] But following a year where we did see record numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border, Americans have totally swung the other way.
[142] This poll found that 68 % of voters actually want to see stricter immigration laws to stem the flow of illegal immigrants.
[143] And while President Biden has blamed the surge on conditions in Central and South America and even climate change, the American people see it differently.
[144] 65 % say his policies have directly encouraged people to come here illegally.
[145] So about two -thirds say his policies have actually inflamed the situation.
[146] Yeah, and one more key finding in that poll that really seems to refute a lot of the Democrat messaging on immigration.
[147] 71 % of Americans say those who cross the border illegally should be deported.
[148] 71%.
[149] 71%.
[150] So essentially, President Biden campaigned on ending a lot of Trump -era immigration policies, but right now, according to polling, those policies are actually popular with most Americans.
[151] Yeah, one of those Trump policies the president campaigned on reversing was remain in Mexico.
[152] And as we discussed on the show a few weeks ago, that policy was actually reinstated.
[153] Yeah.
[154] Are there new updates?
[155] So that policy said migrants detained at the border would be sent back to Mexico while they waited for their court dates in the U .S. The Biden administration tried to rescind that order last month, but federal courts said that they didn't have the power to do so, meaning they had to start re -implementing it.
[156] But then two weeks ago, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, released a new, much longer, more detailed memo saying the Biden administration would be making another attempt at rescinding Remain in Mexico.
[157] So now we're waiting to see if the courts will once again put a hold on things or if they've been able to work through those past legal issues and actually make it something they can rescind.
[158] But it is worth pointing out.
[159] Remain in Mexico is actually quite popular.
[160] In that same Harvard poll, 67 % of Americans said President Biden was wrong to try and rescind it in the first place.
[161] So, you know, immigration was really a flashpoint for Democrats when Trump was in office, but now it seems to be working against them.
[162] Yep, that's what the poll seems to show.
[163] Cabot thanks as always.
[164] Anytime.
[165] That's DailyWire's Cabot Phillips.
[166] Another story we're tracking this week, British authorities have declared a deadly car explosion outside a busy hospital in Liverpool to be an act of terrorism.
[167] Four men have been arrested in connection to the bombing, which took place Sunday.
[168] British intelligence have now increased the country's terrorism threat level to severe.
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