Morning Wire XX
[0] In his first public event since parting ways with Fox News, Tucker Carlson moderated a summit of GOP presidential candidates in Iowa.
[1] Who blew up the Nord Stream pipeline?
[2] We break down some of the key moments from the event.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe, and John Bickley is on vacation this week.
[4] It's Monday, July 17th, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] Ray Epps, a man who became the focal point of rumors about FBI involvement in the January 6th riots, is suing Fox News for spreading what he calls conspiracies about his involvement.
[6] Soon as President Trump is finished speaking, we are going to the capital.
[7] It's that direction.
[8] What does Epps hope to accomplish with the lawsuit and where do the charges against him currently stand?
[9] And the union representing many of Hollywood's A -list actors has joined the writers and gone out on strike.
[10] If we don't stand tall right now, we are all going to be in trouble.
[11] We are all going to be in jeopardy.
[12] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[13] Stay tuned.
[14] We have the news you need to know.
[15] With six months to go until the first 24 primary votes are cast, GOP presidential candidates descended on Iowa for a forum hosted by Tucker Carlson.
[16] Here with more is Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[17] So, Cabot, you are on the ground in Iowa for this event.
[18] What can you tell us?
[19] Yeah, this was the first event to draw this many candidates to one spot.
[20] and was sort of the kickoff for campaign season in Iowa.
[21] The event drew the likes of Ron Dostantis, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Tim Scott, and Vivek, Ramoswamy, among others.
[22] While the annual family leadership summit typically focuses on religious liberty and social issues, this year was different, as Tucker Carlson focused the majority of the candidate conversations on the war in Ukraine, President Biden, and January 6th.
[23] Candidate forms like this are typically friendly affairs with sort of softball questions for the candidates, But what really stood out was the combative nature of Carlson's interview style.
[24] Right.
[25] So Carlson didn't really hold back at all.
[26] Yeah, that's putting it lightly.
[27] He really pressed candidates who said they wanted more support for Ukraine.
[28] He especially went after South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence on that front.
[29] Right.
[30] There was a back and forth with Pence that went viral.
[31] Tell us about that.
[32] This was probably the biggest moment of the weekend.
[33] It came from a 60 -second clip that just really dominated the conversation online and in the media this weekend.
[34] It came after Pence said that he wanted to see increased American support for Ukraine.
[35] Have a listen to how Pence answered Tucker's questioning of that support.
[36] Every city in the United States has become much worse over the past three years.
[37] And yet your concern is that the Ukrainians who've received tens of billions of U .S. tax dollars don't have enough tanks.
[38] I think it's a fair question to ask, like, where's the concern for the United States in that?
[39] Well, it's not my concern.
[40] Tucker, I've heard that routine from you before, but that's not my concern.
[41] I'm running for president of the United States because I think this country's in a lot of trouble.
[42] Anybody that says that we can't be the leader of the free world and solve our problems at home has a pretty small view of the greatest nation on earth.
[43] We can do both.
[44] Now, the controversy here came from that line where Pence said, quote, it's not my concern.
[45] Trump supporters and many others on the right used that clip to say the VP was referring to the degradation of American cities as not being his concern.
[46] But it is worth pointing out.
[47] If you listened to the answer in full.
[48] While perhaps clunky, it does appear he was implying the war in Ukraine was not his only or main concern.
[49] Regardless, though, that moment drew more attention than any other from the weekend and could have a major impact on his chances in the primary.
[50] Now, one face we didn't see in Iowa over the weekend was President Trump.
[51] Tell us about his absence.
[52] Yeah, the president opted out of the forum, which is not all that surprising.
[53] While other candidates have been crisscrossing the country, holding a number of smaller events in early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Trump has taken a different approach.
[54] While he has held a few campaign rallies which have drawn massive crowds, he's relying more on his enormous social media following and media presence to get his message out.
[55] To that point, Trump has also implied that he'll skip the GOP primary debates, saying that he's the clear frontrunner and does not need to spar with candidates polling at 1 or 2%.
[56] I talked to dozens of Iowa voters over the weekend, many of whom that we'll hear from later this week, and the reactions to that strategy were mixed, while the number of Trump voters did say that he deserves to sit the debates out.
[57] Far more said that it came off as arrogant to them and that he still needed to earn their support even if they did approve of the job he did as president.
[58] Now, what else did you hear from Iowans about where they stand on 2024?
[59] It was really fascinating on that front.
[60] So it is a bit anecdotal, but of the 50 or so folks that I spoke with, the overwhelming majority said they had not yet made up their mind on who they're supporting.
[61] Iowans understand the importance of being the first primary state and really take pride in hearing from every candidate before making a final decision.
[62] And historically, that attitude has meant late swings in the polls.
[63] For example, at this point in the 2016 race, Iowa polls showed Scott Walker doubling every other candidate in the field while Donald Trump was in seventh behind the likes of Mike Huckabee and Rand Paul.
[64] So all that to say, it's early.
[65] And Iowans tend to wait until the last minute to make up their minds.
[66] I got the impression on the ground that this year might be no different.
[67] Well, we're going to do a much more in -depth segment on Sunday with some interviews you did with candidates.
[68] so listeners can look forward to that.
[69] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[70] Anytime.
[71] Coming up, Ray Epps sues Fox News.
[72] Arizona rancher Ray Epps accused Fox News in a lawsuit last week of spreading conspiracies about his involvement in January 6th.
[73] Epps focused on former Fox host, Tucker Carlson in particular, saying Carlson's lies have destroyed the Epps lives.
[74] Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to break down the EPS saga and the lawsuit against Fox News.
[75] Tim, first off, can you recap what EPS has to do with January 6th?
[76] EPS was one of thousands of Americans who traveled to Washington, D .C., to protest the 2020 election.
[77] He believed the election had been stolen from former President Donald Trump, and Epps took part in several Stop the Steel rallies on January 5th and 6th.
[78] He was caught on video both days encouraging protesters to enter the Capitol building in protest of the election.
[79] Here's some of what that sounded like.
[80] Tomorrow, we need to go.
[81] into the Capitol.
[82] Into the Capitol.
[83] Zed!
[84] Zed!
[85] Zat!
[86] Sets!
[87] Epps is also on video speaking to Ryan Samuels moments before Samuels breaches a police barricade.
[88] There's some suspicion about what Epps said, but both Epps and Samuels say Epps tried to calm Samuels down.
[89] After the riot, the FBI identified EPS as a suspect in its J6 investigation, but days later, Epps' image disappeared from the FBI's website.
[90] That, combined with mystery of the FBI's role in the riot, Fed's suspicions that the DOJ was protecting Epps.
[91] The DOJ has arrested hundreds of people, but for some reason, no charges were brought against Epps, despite the clear footage.
[92] Epps had also admitted to directing the crowd to the Capitol, and even at times, others in the crowd could be heard accusing him of being a Fed for encouraging others to enter the capital.
[93] He didn't enter the capital himself, but he did venture onto restricted grounds.
[94] Now, what's Epps' side of the story?
[95] Epps denies any ties to the FBI.
[96] And while he admits he made a lot of mistakes that day, he says he was convinced of false election theories by former President Trump and Fox News.
[97] Epp said that he approached the FBI as soon as he found out he was a person of interest and expressed he wanted to help in any way he could.
[98] That's why his image disappeared off the FBI website.
[99] And in addition to directing the crowd toward the Capitol, Epps says he spent a lot of time trying to calm protesters down.
[100] Here's another clip of Epps.
[101] Take a step back.
[102] Take a step back.
[103] We're holding ground.
[104] We're not trying to get people hurt.
[105] They don't want to get hurt.
[106] You don't want to get hurt.
[107] Let's back up.
[108] Epp said in his lawsuit that the DOJ had notified him in May that he would be charged.
[109] Morning Wire spoke with American Greatness Senior Writer Julie Kelly about what that could mean.
[110] I think whatever charges come down from the DOJ will be very telling.
[111] Is this a C -Y -A move by the DOJ?
[112] Will they simply file misdemeanor counts against Ray Epps?
[113] or will they go after him for, say, the most common felony, which is obstruction of an official proceeding?
[114] Why would Ray Epps avoid the obstruction felony when he was at the first breach point when he stayed at restricted areas well after the building was evacuated?
[115] Now, what does he want to accomplish with his lawsuit against Fox?
[116] Is this just about clearing his name?
[117] There may be more to it than that.
[118] Here's what Kelly said.
[119] Epps's motivation appears to be to exonerate himself from his conduct on January 6th.
[120] In this 53 -plus -page lawsuit, he sort of blames Fox News and their alleged lies about a stolen election for the reason why he was at the Capitol on January 6th.
[121] It also looks like he is trying to distance himself from Ryan Samsell, the first person to actually breach the exterior barricades.
[122] And Ray Epps whispered into Ryan Samson's ear right before that happened.
[123] And there's now some controversy as to exactly what Ray Epps said.
[124] The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages from Fox News.
[125] The Epses say that the network spreading conspiracies has ruined their lives.
[126] They were forced to sell their 5 -acre ranch and wedding venue business for cheap because of death threats and harassment and are now living out of an RV in an undisclosed location.
[127] And I should point out, we haven't actually seen an indictment against Epps.
[128] but we should learn a lot more when he is officially charged.
[129] All right.
[130] Well, Tim, thanks for joining us.
[131] Thanks for having me. The Hollywood Actors Guild, SAG AFRA, has voted to go on strike.
[132] They join the Writers Guild, which has been on the picket lines since May 2nd.
[133] Daily Wire Culture Reporter, Megan Basham, joins us now to give us the latest on the historic Tinsletown Showdown.
[134] So, Megan, what are the points of contention?
[135] Well, it's very similar to the Writers Guild complaints.
[136] The number one issue is residuals, and that's what the actors get paid.
[137] when a film or TV series is replayed.
[138] So streaming really changed the game on that.
[139] It used to be that the performers got a certain amount of money every time a rerun aired on TV, but on streaming, residuals are based on the number of subscribers a streaming platform has.
[140] So the actors want a bigger payout when a streaming movie or series is a big hit.
[141] And they also want a higher minimum rate, generally, they say, to keep up with inflation.
[142] And then one serious sticking point that is a little bit different for the actors is AI, which the union has called an existential threat.
[143] They're worried that those computer -generated images are going to take work away from them.
[144] So what they want is to be able to control their digital likenesses.
[145] Now, how far apart are the two sides in the negotiation?
[146] Pretty far apart right now.
[147] So the Trade Association representing the studios says that it's offered the union the highest increase in minimums in 35 years.
[148] And they also say they've offered a 76 % increase in foreign residuals on the bigger streaming shows.
[149] The actor's side says that's not nearly good enough.
[150] Disney CEO Bob Eiger told CNBC last week that Hollywood still hasn't recovered from pandemic losses.
[151] And with the economy still shaky, he says the actors aren't being reasonable.
[152] There's a level of expectation that they have that is just not realistic.
[153] And they are adding to a set of challenges that this business is already facing that is quite frankly very disruptive.
[154] So they're not being realistic?
[155] No, they're not.
[156] I respect their right and their desire to get as much as they possibly can in compensation for their people.
[157] But you also have to be realistic about it with a business environment and what this business can deliver.
[158] Well, Variety asked SAG after President Fran Dresher, who you may remember from that 90s sitcom The Nanny about Iger's comments.
[159] And she had a pretty sharp response.
[160] I found them terribly repugnant and out of touch, positively tone deaf.
[161] It's so obvious that he has no. clue as to what is really happening on the ground with hardworking people that don't make anywhere near the salary that he's making.
[162] So we're going to see the impact of all of that immediately.
[163] Obviously, most TV series had shut down with a writer's strike, and now some major films are also being put on hold.
[164] Gladiator 2.
[165] I think there's also a new Brad Pitt race car movie.
[166] It also means that the actors can't walk those red carpets or promote the films that they're currently releasing.
[167] So Oppenheimer, that's Christopher Nolan's huge new movie about the creation of the atom bomb, just had to cancel its New York red carpet premiere.
[168] So how long have these strikes lasted in the past?
[169] So the last time we saw performers striking against the studios was in 1980, but at that time it was just the actors.
[170] The last time that actors and writers were both on the picket lines at the same time, while that happened way back in 1960.
[171] And that really did change the way that Hollywood did business.
[172] It actually created that residual system to begin with.
[173] So we could potentially see some big changes.
[174] Yeah.
[175] All right.
[176] Well, Megan, thanks so much for reporting.
[177] Anytime.
[178] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[179] Thanks for waking up with us.
[180] We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.