Morning Wire XX
[0] The Biden administration is running a diplomatic blitz across the Middle East in hopes of keeping larger nations like Iran out of the conflict.
[1] What is the current state of the war and how is Iran responding to it?
[2] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire, editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[3] It's Tuesday, October 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] The numbers from the latest campaign finance reports are out, which candidates are winning the race for political dollars.
[5] And college campuses continue to erupt in anti -Israel demonstrations, even as alumni pull millions in donations.
[6] For these administrators to have their handout 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.
[7] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[8] Stay tuned.
[9] We have the news you need to know.
[10] As Israel continues its war against Hamas, the Biden administration and other Western allies are fearful the conflict.
[11] could expand to include Iran and other Middle Eastern nations, prompting new diplomatic efforts across the region.
[12] Here to discuss the conflict is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[13] Hey, Kabat.
[14] So we'll get to this potential second front of the war opening up.
[15] But first, what's the latest out of Gaza?
[16] Yeah, there is a lot.
[17] So on Monday, the Israeli military continued their war on Hamas, stepping up their targeted airstrikes in Gaza.
[18] 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.
[19] Also among the dead are a large number of civilians, many of whom have been trapped in Gaza after Hamas' leadership order them to stay put, despite calls for evacuation from the Israeli military.
[20] 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.
[21] Despite those orders to stay in the war zone from Hamas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians have fled south away from the fighting.
[22] they're now congregating along the Egyptian border.
[23] However, Egypt has closed the Rafa border crossing there last week, keeping civilians in and aid supplies out.
[24] On Monday, Hamas issued a statement calling on, quote, our brothers in Egypt to allow aid to enter our people in Gaza and to transfer those injured for treatment.
[25] Now, according to Secretary of State Anthony 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.
[26] Rafa will be open.
[27] We're putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, the mechanism by which to get the assistance in.
[28] 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 Deniahu, to hunker down in bunkers as air raid sirens went off throughout the evening.
[29] One more note, on Monday, Israel's top domestic security official took the blame for the terrorists' initially successful attack last week.
[30] 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.
[31] The responsibility is on me. Prime Minister Nanyahu has since vowed to investigate the intelligence failures that ultimately led up to the attack.
[32] Right.
[33] Now, throughout the last few days, we've seen growing concern from Western allies that the war could spill over into Lebanon and beyond.
[34] Walk us through the situation there.
[35] Yeah, it is precarious to say the least.
[36] 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.
[37] Remember, Iran sponsors the terror group Hezbollah, which operates extensively in Lebanon, up along Israel's northern border.
[38] We've already seen a number of skirmishes along that border.
[39] Hezbo announced yesterday, for example, that they had attacked five Israeli positions and allegedly inflicted casualties.
[40] The fear is that ultimately those skirmishes could lead to an all -out war on the northern front.
[41] And Iran has done little to ease those concerns.
[42] On Monday, the country's foreign minister vowed that its so -called access of resistance will respond to, quote, war crimes, and then if Israel invades Gaza, quote, no one can guarantee control over the situation and prevent the conflict from spreading.
[43] So ominous words there.
[44] Yeah.
[45] And the U .S. has taken those threats very seriously.
[46] Yes, they have.
[47] So throughout the week, the Biden administration has issued warnings to Iran through intermediaries in Qatar, Oman, and China.
[48] 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.
[49] as a clear show of force.
[50] And for their part, Israel has rushed reinforcements to the Lebanese border and also evacuated civilians in 28 towns around the region.
[51] So they're clearly taking the threat very seriously as well.
[52] On Sunday, President Biden spoke with CBS and had a simple message for Iran.
[53] What is your message to Hezbollah and its backer, Iran?
[54] Don't.
[55] Don't, don't, don't.
[56] Don't come across the border.
[57] Don't escalate this war.
[58] That's right.
[59] And look, it's worth noting here.
[60] 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.
[61] He also claimed that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.
[62] So he's really walking a tight road between supporting Israel's war while drawing a line on how far he thinks they should go.
[63] Yeah, people paying very close attention to his messaging on this very important issue.
[64] Kappa, thanks for reporting.
[65] Anytime.
[66] Coming up, the fundraising race for the presidential campaigns picks up.
[67] The campaign finance numbers for the third quarter of 2023 dropped on Monday.
[68] Here to go through some of the numbers and what they mean is Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce.
[69] So, Tim, we had a big third quarter with two Republican debates and two Trump indictments.
[70] Where is everyone sitting when it comes to cash?
[71] Former President Trump is still the man to beat by polling and by money raised.
[72] The Trump campaign reported raising $24 .5 million.
[73] from the start of July through the end of September, about twice as much as any other GOP candidate.
[74] Trump also finished the quarter with a huge advantage in cash on hand with nearly $38 million.
[75] President Biden jumped started his campaign this quarter, bringing in nearly $25 million.
[76] He also ramped up spending to nearly $13 million after he spent just $1 million the quarter before.
[77] But the additional spending didn't help as stagnant poll numbers.
[78] They've sagged on key issues such as immigration, the economy and crime.
[79] He finished the quarter with over $32 million cash on hand.
[80] Now, how's the rest of the GOP field stacking up when it comes to donations?
[81] The DeSantis campaign is still in second place to Trump.
[82] He raised $15 million between his various fundraising committees this past quarter.
[83] Nikki Haley has been trying to unseat DeSantis for that second place spot.
[84] She raised $11 million this quarter and has nearly $12 million cash on hand.
[85] 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.
[86] 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.
[87] It said it would start spending again when elections get closer.
[88] The rest of the Republican field is trailing pretty far behind.
[89] Vivekrab Maswamy reported $4 .2 million cash on hand for his self -funded campaign.
[90] Chris Christie had a good quarter fundraising for him and finished with nearly four million dollars.
[91] Former Vice President Mike Pence looks like he's in trouble with just 1 .2 million and about 600 ,000 in unpaid debts.
[92] 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.
[93] Right.
[94] I also want to ask you about the most pressing contest in the GOP.
[95] That's for speakership of the House.
[96] What's the latest there?
[97] The House is expected to go to the floor to vote today.
[98] And as it stands, Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is the current favorite.
[99] He's been able to win over some hesitant Republicans.
[100] Alabama's Mike Rogers endorsed Jordan yesterday after suggesting he was open to a compromised candidate with Democrats.
[101] Jordan also got the approval of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and several of his top allies.
[102] Now, what about a race that was just decided over this past weekend?
[103] Tell us about what happened in Louisiana.
[104] Yeah, Louisiana's Republican Attorney General, Jeff Landry, won the open primary handily.
[105] He locked up over 50 % of the vote in the open primary and kept the election from moving on to a runoff.
[106] He'll take over the governor's office from Democrat John Bell Edwards, who is term limited.
[107] Here's a bit from Landry's victory speech.
[108] Tonight's election says that our state is united, and it's a wake -up call.
[109] It's a message that everyone should hear loud and clear that we, the people at this state, are going to expect more out of our government from here on out.
[110] All right.
[111] Well, Tim, thanks so much for keeping us up to date.
[112] Thanks for having me. What I want to know, Sean, is who's funding these student groups?
[113] I hope that the DOJ is investigating where the money is coming from.
[114] Are there terror groups who are part of these networks?
[115] That was Senator Josh Hawley talking to Fox News about a rash of campus groups voicing their support for Hamas.
[116] 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.
[117] Here to tell us how major university donors are reacting is Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham.
[118] So, Megan, maybe start out by putting this in context.
[119] What sort of controversial statements have some students or professors been making?
[120] 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.
[121] 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.
[122] Now, I think we need to be clear there that decolonization that they're talking about, those photos include murdered babies, raped women, so really just very horrifying stuff.
[123] Nevertheless, these Northwestern students said they stand in solidarity with Hamas, who they called Palestinian Freedom Fighters, and another student group called the Martyrs.
[124] Now, student groups at Columbia released a statement saying Israelis are the extremists.
[125] They said there can be no future safety for Israel until it's held accountable for its occupation.
[126] And maybe the highest profile example right now is Harvard.
[127] There, over 30 student groups signed a statement saying, and I am quoting, the apartheid regime is the only one to blame.
[128] 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.
[129] 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.
[130] And to reiterate, this is just a handful of examples.
[131] There are many more at other schools across the country?
[132] So are donors reacting to the statements themselves or more to the administrator's silence about them?
[133] 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.
[134] 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.
[135] 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 anti -Semitism.
[136] 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.
[137] This is not at the end of the day about free speech.
[138] This is about a university condone 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.
[139] That condemnation should not be so hard.
[140] Unfortunately, if you lack moral courage, it is hard.
[141] 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.
[142] And those statements primarily include pulling their funding.
[143] Yeah, exactly.
[144] So Huntsman and his family have been major donors to pen for years to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
[145] Huntsman said in a letter that pens 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.
[146] So along with Huntsman and Rowan, billionaire hedge fund managers Bill Ackman and Ken Griffin are taking aim at Harvard.
[147] Both have said that its statements have been unacceptable and at least a dozen CEOs have joined them.
[148] And Griffin has given over half a billion dollars to the school, including 300 million just this year.
[149] So as we noted here, this is a very big financial deal for these schools.
[150] Well, it's going to be interesting to see if these universities get more clear on their message as a result.
[151] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[152] Anytime.
[153] Thanks for waking up with us.
[154] We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.