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[0] Russia strikes civilian targets, including a children's hospital, while Ukraine continues its fierce resistance.
[1] What options are being considered by the Biden administration?
[2] And can the U .S. get more involved without risking all -out war?
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Thursday, March 10th, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] Gas prices are rising.
[6] No one's disputing that.
[7] But who's to blame for the skyrocketing costs?
[8] We examine the messaging coming out of the White House.
[9] And President Biden takes steps to regulate the cryptocurrency market.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
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[25] As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues leaving hundreds of civilians killed and millions more displaced, pressure continues to mount on the Biden administration to increase U .S. involvement in the conflict.
[26] Here with more on how the White House has responded so far and what they're considering moving forward is Daily Wires Cabot Phillips.
[27] So, Cabot, first, walk us through where the Biden administration stands right now.
[28] Well, President Biden is in a really precarious spot here.
[29] On one hand, he wants to show the world and the American people that he's, willing to stand up and take action when a tyrannical regime is, you know, bombing children's hospitals and invading allies.
[30] But on the other hand, he knows that too much action could draw the U .S. into the conflict directly, which he's repeatedly said he'll do everything to avoid.
[31] Keep in mind, they've already gone with all the obvious options here.
[32] They've passed sanctions.
[33] They've punished Russian oligarchs and shut down Russian oil imports.
[34] And none of those things have seemed to deter Putin at all.
[35] So now the administration is trying to come up with steps that will do enough to make a difference, but not enough to get us into war.
[36] And the list of things in that category is pretty small.
[37] So what are the options that are being considered at this point?
[38] Well, the main issue discussed on Wednesday involved sending fighter jets to Ukraine.
[39] Remember, one of the key deficiencies right now in Ukraine's military is the capability of their air force.
[40] And President Zelensky has made it clear that he wants the U .S. and other NATO countries to send planes.
[41] Throughout the week, the Biden administration has been under pressure from members.
[42] Congress of Congress and other European countries to meet that demand.
[43] And for the most part, they've seemed receptive to the idea, but now they're hitting some snacks.
[44] The main issue is whether sending jets directly to Ukraine would turn the U .S. into a combatant under international law and, again, lead us into direct involvement.
[45] Right.
[46] And what was their rationale for turning down that plan from Poland that would have sent those jets to Ukraine?
[47] Yeah.
[48] So all week, the Biden administration and the Pentagon had reportedly been negotiating a deal with Poland that would have transferred Polish jets to Ukrainian pilots.
[49] Talks stalled of it, and then out of the blue on Tuesday, Poland announced a proposal where they'd send 28 mig fighter jets to a U .S. base in Germany, and we would in turn give Poland 28 F -16s or F -35s with, quote, corresponding capabilities.
[50] U .S. officials were openly stunned by that offer, though.
[51] Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said, quote, we do not believe Poland's proposal is a tenable one, and that the idea, quote, raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance.
[52] He talked about the potential negative consequence of sending jets to Ukraine on ABC.
[53] You don't want to escalate this conflict any bigger and any worse than it already is.
[54] You're talking about Russia, a nuclear armed power.
[55] The consequences for escalating this conflict can be devastating, not just for the people of Ukraine, but for the European continent.
[56] Press Secretary Gensocki agreed, saying that while the Biden administration does want to ultimately help get planes to Ukraine, they want to do it, quote, the right way and in a manner that is not escalatory.
[57] Another potential option that we've heard discussed involves establishing a no -fly zone over Ukraine.
[58] Does that seem likely?
[59] There's been a lot of talk about no -fly zones, but also a lot of misunderstanding on the actual implications.
[60] For example, polling shows that while the majority of Americans support implementing a no -fly zone over Ukraine, very few Americans support military intervention there, which is contradictory because they're intertwined.
[61] Right now, even though Ukraine has repeatedly called on foreign nations to create a no -fly zone, it's unlikely that Biden takes that step for two reasons.
[62] First, it would essentially constitute an act of war, because while the announcement of a no -fly zone itself isn't inherently an act of war, the enforcement of the no -fly zone would mean shooting down Russian planes, which obviously would be.
[63] The other problem is a political one, as there is a question over whether Biden himself has the power to implement a no -fly zone.
[64] On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy joined with Democrats and saying that such a declaration would require an act of Congress.
[65] And Congress doesn't seem keen on the idea right now.
[66] So not a lot of great options.
[67] No. Cabot, thanks for their reporting.
[68] Any time.
[69] That's Daily Wires, Cabot Phillips.
[70] Coming up, the politics of skyrocketing gas prices.
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[77] Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, President Biden announced that the U .S. would cut off supplies of oil from Russia amid the war in Ukraine and warned that gas price.
[78] would increase as a result, calling it Putin's price hike.
[79] Joining us to discuss how the president's messaging on gas prices is going to play out with the American public is columnist David Marcus.
[80] Morning, David.
[81] So are Americans going to accept this message about Putin's price hike?
[82] Good morning.
[83] And no, they're not.
[84] It's certainly true that the sanction of Russian oil could exacerbate the problem, but gas prices have been on the rise since long before the invasion.
[85] Anyone who drives a car knows that.
[86] March of 2021, the average price was $2 .82 a gallon by October.
[87] That was $3 .40.
[88] And now it's over $4.
[89] It's true that the price increase has really ramped up over the last month, more than 50 cents in just four weeks.
[90] But the reality is it's been pretty steadily creeping up since President Biden took office.
[91] All right.
[92] So the trend of increased gas prices over the last year is clear enough.
[93] How then has the administration framed this in terms of the war?
[94] Here they're using some very careful language that they aren't saying prices have gone up since the invasion, but rather prices have gone up since Russia began amassing forces.
[95] This pushes the timetable way back.
[96] But, you know, tellingly, this wasn't really something they were warning about prior to the invasion.
[97] There's also another problem with this angle.
[98] Voters appear to blame Biden for the Ukraine crisis itself.
[99] A recent poll showed that 62 % of Americans said Putin would not have.
[100] invaded if Trump was still president, and 59 percent cite Biden's weakness as a cause of the invasion.
[101] Now, we've seen that the administration is looking to other nations, including some questionable ones like Iran and Venezuela, to make up the oil gap here.
[102] What about in the U .S.?
[103] Are they signaling that they're going to open up domestic production?
[104] No, they're not.
[105] And frankly, they've painted themselves in a political corner here.
[106] One of Biden's first acts when he took office was to kill the Keystone XL pipeline revoking its permit on day Now the president is suggesting his energy approach has always been friendly to fossil fuels.
[107] The best thing Biden could do for the country and for his political prospects would be to call for massive domestic production, but he can't.
[108] Why can't he do that, especially since it would be a move that could maybe help him in his party in the polls?
[109] The short answer is that the Democratic Party is still largely steered by the green agenda, and increasing oil production is seen as a betrayal of that agenda.
[110] It's a real bind and a serious problem for the Democrats.
[111] As for Republicans, are they in a position to be able to capitalize on this in the coming months?
[112] Absolutely.
[113] It's a gift for the GOP.
[114] Inflation and high gas prices are realities that no political messaging can spin.
[115] Ultimately, when their funds are dwindling, voters are simply not going to accept that it's all Russia's fault.
[116] The buck stops with the president.
[117] It's just the political reality.
[118] All right.
[119] Well, David, thanks for bringing us the reality check.
[120] Hey, you know, we could all probably use that more often.
[121] Yes, we could.
[122] That was Daily Wire contributor, David Marcus.
[123] For months, the White House has faced growing pressure to clamp down on the relatively unregulated world of cryptocurrency.
[124] On Wednesday, President Biden announced an executive order suggesting he may do just that.
[125] Here to discuss the order and how this is being linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is DailyWire's Ian Howarth.
[126] Ian A New Executive Order issued Wednesday, what can you tell us?
[127] Well, this has been a long -awaited announcement that lays the groundwork for the regulation of the cryptocurrency market.
[128] So what specifically does the order do?
[129] Well, it's important to understand that this is an order that is likely going to be the first in a string of actions relating to cryptocurrency.
[130] On a high level, it's directing the federal government to weigh up the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies, focusing on six key areas.
[131] These are the protection of consumers, the stability of the financial market, preventing illegal or illicit activity, encouraging U .S. competition, achieving financial inclusion, and innovating responsibly.
[132] The order also includes a call to explore a digital version of the U .S. dollar.
[133] One theme behind this order is the idea of protecting consumers, referencing stories where investors have fallen victim to crypto scams or cyber attacks.
[134] The Biden administration thinks there is a role for the federal government to play here, as well as regulators ensuring that there is, quote, sufficient oversight and safeguard against any systemic financial risks posed by digital assets.
[135] And you've mentioned before that the Russian invasion of Ukraine could be a factor in the regulation of cryptocurrency.
[136] Yeah, and this is where the illicit activity portion comes in.
[137] The Biden administration is claiming to want to root out illegal activity in the crypto world, with Biden calling for a, quote, unprecedented focus of coordinated action from federal agencies.
[138] This applies to both the finance sector, but also to so -called national security threats posed by cryptocurrencies.
[139] And this is coming after a few U .S. lawmakers have raised concerns that Russia might use cryptocurrencies to avoid economic sanctions, even though the size of the asset market and the traceability of digital tokens would make this pretty difficult to achieve.
[140] And another key feature of this order involves exploring a digital version of the dollar.
[141] This follows China's lead on investigating centralized cryptocurrencies, known as central bank digital currencies or CBDCs.
[142] Biden isn't saying whether the US should launch its own, instead he's saying that we should urgently research the possibility of one.
[143] CBDCs, I feel like I'm going to have to get familiar with that term.
[144] So did the cryptocurrency market respond to this news?
[145] What's pretty surprising here is that the market responded positively, probably because it's removing a major source of uncertainty for the crypto industry.
[146] The CEO of one crypto firm called this a watershed moment, comparing it to the government wake up.
[147] to the commercial internet in the late 90s, and multiple cryptocurrencies surged in price.
[148] Bitcoin, for example, rose to about $42 ,000 in response.
[149] But again, this order is probably the first of many, so we will have to keep looking to what the Biden administration's long -term attitude to cryptocurrency is as time goes on.
[150] Yeah, it's interesting stuff.
[151] Thanks, Ian.
[152] You got it, John.
[153] Daily Wires, Ian Howarth.
[154] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[155] Scientists say they found the sunken shipwreck of Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, which sank off the coast of Antarctica in November of 1915.
[156] The vessel was located 10 ,000 feet below the surface of the Waddell Sea, about four miles south of its last recorded location.
[157] The ship is reportedly upright, intact, impeccably preserved, with the ship's name clearly visible.
[158] The Knights of Columbus has raised more than $4 .5 million in relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees.
[159] The Knights established Mercy Huts at the Poland border where refugees are given food, water, shelter, and medical supplies.
[160] The director said the group has no overhead and 100 % of donations go to the relief effort.
[161] And on Wednesday, Ukraine's government announced a ban on the export of wheat, grain, and other food staples in an attempt to secure the domestic food supply.
[162] The export ban is expected to affect the global food supply chain as Ukraine is one of the world's largest producers of grain.
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