Morning Wire XX
[0] Amid rising economic uncertainty in the U .S. and crises abroad, President Biden's approval ratings have collapsed.
[1] What's driving the decline, and what does it mean for the president and his party?
[2] I'm John Bickley with Georgia Howe.
[3] It's Wednesday, September 8th, and this is Morning Wire.
[4] 2021 will be the deadliest year ever at America's southern border.
[5] What's leading to the unprecedented number of deaths?
[6] And how is it impacting Border Patrol rescue efforts?
[7] And after weeks of silence, the entire board of directors, including actress Ava Longoria and super producer Shonda Rhymes, have resigned from the Hollywood Anti -Harassment Group Times Up.
[8] What will this mean for the Me Too movement going forward?
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
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[17] Following months of turmoil in Afghanistan and rising economic uncertainty at home, President Biden's approval ratings have taken a significant dip in numerous polls.
[18] Here with details on what's causing the drop and what sort of impact it might have is Daily Wire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
[19] So, Cabot, walk us through these polls.
[20] How big of a decline are we talking about?
[21] Bigger than anything we've seen since President Biden took office by far.
[22] So according to real clear politics, the president's approval rating is underwater, with 49 % of Americans disapproving of his performance as president, and just 45 % approving.
[23] Now, that might not sound terrible, but when you zoom out and look at the broader context, you can see just how steep the decline has been.
[24] Four months ago, the president was at 54 % approval and 41 % disapproval, while one month ago, 50 % approved and only 44 % disapproved.
[25] So there's been a huge swing in just a short period of time.
[26] So he's gone from a solid positive gap to underwater in a few months.
[27] Yeah, exactly.
[28] And we have some sort of sense of what's causing this slide, right?
[29] Yeah, polling data offers some insights there.
[30] So new presidents typically enjoy some kind of honeymoon phase with the American public.
[31] Right.
[32] So it is natural for approval ratings to dip, but not dip like this.
[33] The two main reasons, according to pollsters, are Afghanistan and inflation.
[34] The majority of Americans view Biden as being responsible for the debacle in Afghanistan.
[35] So in the last month alone, we've seen, on average, a 20 -point dip in the number of Americans who approve of his foreign policy.
[36] 20 points.
[37] Wow, that's a pretty steep drop.
[38] Yeah, it's drastic, and we're seeing the same thing on the economy, too.
[39] For the first four months of its presidency, Biden was earning high marks for his economic policies.
[40] But over the summer, as inflation began to impact the cost of basic goods and the economy remained locked down, a lot of Americans change their opinion.
[41] Now, just 45 % of Americans support his handling of the economy, while 50 % disapprove.
[42] I spoke earlier with Alex Cohnett.
[43] He's a political strategist and polling expert at Firehouse Strategies.
[44] he thinks these low numbers are here to stay.
[45] People want this pandemic over and they want the economy to fully reopen.
[46] Until that happens, I think you're going to continue to see the president's poll numbers suffer.
[47] What sort of impact do we expect us to have on midterm elections?
[48] Well, to put it simply, an unpopular president is just bad news for the party that's hoping to retain power during midterms.
[49] Here's what Conan had to say about 2022.
[50] Midterm elections are all about the president.
[51] There's a referendum on Biden.
[52] And if the president's poll numbers are in the low 40s, that's going to be a bad year for Democrats.
[53] I think Republicans, when we look at poll numbers right now, we should feel very confident about our chances of retaking the House in the Senate next year.
[54] According to experts, presidential approval ratings are often helpful in predicting voter turnout for the party in power, in this case Democrats.
[55] And if that's the case, it's looking bad for the left.
[56] For example, one batch of polls this week surveyed voters in swing districts that are currently held by Democrats.
[57] They found that in those districts, Biden's approval rating is seven points lower than his disapproval rating.
[58] Yeah, bad news for Biden.
[59] And Democrats, they're already facing an uphill battle in the midterms.
[60] If you look back over the last 50 years, there have only been two times where the party in power didn't lose seats in the House.
[61] So historically, whichever party controls the White House struggles in midterms, and that's regardless of whether the president is popular or not.
[62] So if things continue on this trajectory, don't be surprised if some Democrat members of Congress, start to distance themselves from Biden ahead of the midterms.
[63] Interesting.
[64] Yeah, we'll see.
[65] Cabot, thanks for the update.
[66] Anytime.
[67] That's DailyWire Managing Editor Cabot Phillips.
[68] Coming up, deaths at America's southern border reach record levels in 2021.
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[73] More people have lost their lives trying to reach the U .S. illegally in 2021 than in any year in U .S. history.
[74] Here to tell us why is Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
[75] So, Ben, 2021 has seen a historic number of crossings at the southern border, and now deaths.
[76] Tell us what's going on here.
[77] Sure.
[78] So if this keeps up the dead.
[79] death rate at the southern border will virtually double.
[80] Experts say in terms of the number of people who will die trying to reach the U .S. illegally, this year is shaping up to be the deadliest year in history.
[81] That means it broke the record that was set last year.
[82] In 2020, Border Patrol agents found the remains of 253 people near the U .S. Mexico border.
[83] This year through July, the number of bodies they've recovered increased to 383 and counting.
[84] So well ahead of 2020 already.
[85] Right.
[86] Right.
[87] When people think of deaths, they often think violence, but what's the cause here?
[88] The crossing itself is mostly to blame.
[89] The vast majority succumb to the dangers of crossing the desert this summer when temperatures reached 110 degrees.
[90] The leading causes of death are hypothermia, which is heat stroke, as well as exposure and dehydration.
[91] What's really driving this?
[92] What's caused the, what, 150 % increase this year?
[93] Yeah, there are a few key factors driving up this year's death toll.
[94] For one thing, human smugglers have changed their tactics.
[95] Instead of having foot guides accompany these groups to the border, they're now guiding people by cell phones.
[96] That makes it easier for people to get lost.
[97] A second, human smugglers are notoriously indifferent to human life.
[98] They have no qualms about leaving people behind who can't keep up, and those people tend to be the weakest and most vulnerable.
[99] For example, Border Patrol agents found a five -year -old girl from Guatemala wandering alone near the Tijuana River in June.
[100] Sometimes that's done as a distraction.
[101] For instance, surveillance footage has caught smugglers throwing babies overboard to distract border patrol agents while the rest of the group escapes.
[102] And finally, more people believe the promise that if they arrive on U .S. soil, they'll be allowed to stay.
[103] That's enticed more people to risk crossing the desert.
[104] The CBP has had more than 1 .5 million encounters at the border so far this year, and the increased numbers of illegal immigrants mean a larger number who won't make it.
[105] So more people crossing the desert with less guidance and more about.
[106] abandonment that's caused more deaths.
[107] That's right.
[108] Is Border Patrol doing anything about this?
[109] They are.
[110] They've made a record number of rescues this year, more than 10 ,000 people.
[111] That's more than the previous two years combined.
[112] They've erected numerous rescue beacons, which are high visibility towers topped with flags, that have a solar -powered rescue button which summons emergency responders.
[113] They've also set up nearly 1 ,000 emergency placards in the Rio Grande Valley alone.
[114] Those give migrants instructions on how to call 911.
[115] and most importantly, they're telling would -be migrants not to enter the country illegally.
[116] Dr. Corrine Stern, a medical examiner in Webb County, Texas, had a message based on her years of examining fallen immigrants' cadavers.
[117] There is a safer way to do it than coming across the border.
[118] And even if you say to yourself, oh, it's worth my life, I'm willing to risk my life, think about your family.
[119] We have to remember that policies that encourage people to set out on this dangerous path have a human told.
[120] Indeed.
[121] Thanks, Ben.
[122] Anytime.
[123] That's Daily Wire reporter Ben Johnson.
[124] The rash of resignations continues for a Hollywood anti -harassment group Times Up.
[125] This weekend, the entire board of directors, including actress Eva Longoria, and Gray's Anatomy and Bridgeton creator Shonda Rimes, announced they were leaving their posts.
[126] Here to explain the latest developments and how they're impacting the entertainment industry is Daily Wire Entertainment Reporter.
[127] Megan Basham.
[128] So Megan, last time we talked about this, the news had just broken that two times up leaders helped ex -New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, discredit an accuser.
[129] But at that point, no one had resigned yet, and all the big -name actresses who were involved with the group weren't talking about the scandal.
[130] The story seems to have changed a lot in the past few days.
[131] Yeah, it definitely has.
[132] So just to review quickly from the last time we covered this, Georgia, one of Cuomo's staffers, a woman named Lindsay Boylan, claimed he touched her in inappropriately and tried to kiss her.
[133] Right.
[134] Well, in the course of that investigation, it came out that Times Up's then CEO Tina Chen and chairwoman Roberta Kaplan advised Cuomo on a letter that smeared Boilin.
[135] So pretty bad form given that this went directly against the Times Up mission to support women against powerful men.
[136] At that point, a group of employees and volunteers published a letter blasting them.
[137] But the A -list stars involved with Times Up stayed quiet.
[138] And that was the last time we spoke, Georgia.
[139] A few days after that, Kaplan resigned, but Chen, a former Obama staffer, hung on.
[140] But then the Washington Post obtained leaked texts that showed Chen not only advised Cuomo, she also directed staff to stand down from issuing any statements of support for Boylan.
[141] Well, at that point, there was no way Chen could spin what she'd done, so she resigned too.
[142] And those leaked texts were apparently also the final straw for all those big Hollywood names and power players who made Times Up the industry force it was, your Eva Longoria, Shonda Rhymes, Ashley Judd, and quite a few others.
[143] And they did what they needed to do to salvage their own brands.
[144] In a bit of a Labor Day news dump, they announced together on Saturday that they were all collectively resigning from the board of directors.
[145] So is this going to be the end of Times Up?
[146] Yeah, you know, I think probably so.
[147] The organization still has some money in the bank, and it may continue in some iteration for a while, but its reputation is destroyed, and any leadership it still has is in shambles.
[148] So along with the board of directors resigning, the interim leaders set out an email to the global division on Sunday saying basically your arm of the organization isn't going to exist going forward, so you don't even need to bother resigning.
[149] And to give you an idea just how devastating all of this has been, on Monday, the editor -in -chief of the very influential trade publication, The Wrap, released an op -ed where she said this of the whole debacle.
[150] So quoting here, the idea that powerful Hollywood women could strike a loud and decisive blow on behalf of gender equity has died.
[151] Everything that made times up what it was has been quietly dissolved.
[152] Oof.
[153] Any sense of how this is going to affect the larger Me Too movement in Hollywood?
[154] Well, I'm sure there's still going to be your individual accusations, but as far as influential Hollywood women formally organizing around this idea of holding predators like Harvey Weinstein, accountable, I think that's probably done now, at least for a little while.
[155] The Times Up brand has become toxic, and it's closely associated with me, too.
[156] So without people like Eva Longoria and Shonda Rhymes and all their A -list influence, Times Up really doesn't have much power.
[157] Well, if that's the end for Times Up, it's a pretty awkward and abrupt ending.
[158] Yep, I have to agree with you.
[159] Thanks again for being here, Megan.
[160] Thanks for having me. Daily Wire entertainment reporter, Megan Basham.
[161] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[162] Over 200 Seattle police officers may be forced to resign over their refusal to comply with the city's vaccine mandate.
[163] Mayor Jenny Durkin's mandate requires all city employees to be vaccinated by October 18th or face termination.
[164] Seattle lost around 260 officers in the last 18 months over the push to defund the police.
[165] The Satanic Temple Organization is attempting to use the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act to challenge Texas' new abortion ban by establishing a, quote, abortion ritual.
[166] The group claims that the same provision that allows Native Americans to use peyote for religious rituals should entitle persons who share the Satanic Temple's beliefs about abortion to use abortion drugs like misoprostol.
[167] And the NFL is bringing back league -wide social justice messaging this season.
[168] Players are allowed to wear one of the following six messages on their helmets.
[169] In racism, stop half.
[170] hate, it takes all of us, Black Lives Matter, inspire change, or say their stories.
[171] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[172] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[173] Thanks for waking up with us.
[174] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
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