Morning Wire XX
[0] Republican presidential candidates faced off for a second time last night and tried to separate themselves from the pack.
[1] I'm the only one up here who's gotten in the big fights and has delivered big victories.
[2] I vote Donald Trump off the islands right now.
[3] We discuss the highs and lows of the second Trumpless debate.
[4] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor -in -chief John Bickley.
[5] It's Thursday, September 28th, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] A New York judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump is liable.
[7] for fraud in a move that could shut down the former president's ability to do business in the state.
[8] And overdose deaths hit record numbers.
[9] What's driving the tragic spike in cases?
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[11] Stay tuned.
[12] We have the news you need to know.
[13] Republican presidential candidates took the stage in California last night for the second primary debate looking to gain ground on frontrunner Donald Trump.
[14] Here to discuss is Daily Wire's senior editor Cabot Phillips.
[15] Cabot in that time, chaotic event last night at Reagan Library.
[16] A lot happened.
[17] Walk us through this debate.
[18] Yeah, there's a lot to get to.
[19] So Trump is up big, as we've discussed, and the seven candidates on stage last night know that, and we're clearly looking for a way to stand out before it's too late.
[20] Then I kicked off with a discussion on the economy, particularly the United Auto Worker Strike, which has dominated the headlines this week.
[21] Rather than focusing on the strike itself, though, candidates devoted much of their focus on President Biden, blaming him for creating the economic situation that they say led to the strike in the first place.
[22] Here's South Carolina Senator Tim Scott on that front.
[23] I'll say this.
[24] Joe Biden should not be on the picket line.
[25] He should be on the southern border working to close our southern border.
[26] But one of the standout answers on the strike came from North Dakota Governor Doug Bergam, who didn't get a lot of airtime.
[27] The reason why people are striking in Detroit is because Joe Biden's interference with capital markets and with free markets.
[28] We're subsidizing the automakers, particularly we're subsidizing electric vehicles.
[29] That's why they're striking because they need two -thirds less workers to build an electric car.
[30] Now, we also saw a number of dust -ups between the candidates.
[31] Tell us about some of that.
[32] Yeah, dust -ups is a nice way of putting down.
[33] It was interesting.
[34] The debate started a bit more friendly than last month's showdown, but about halfway through, that all changed.
[35] And things got very heated.
[36] In one moment that quickly went viral online, Nikki Haley had this to say about very, fake Ramoswamy.
[37] Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.
[38] But that was just the tip of the iceberg.
[39] At other moments, Haley went after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, accusing him of banning fracking in his state, which he vehemently denied.
[40] At another point, Senator Tim Scott took Amid Haley for installing $50 ,000 curtains in her ambassador's residence, which she also denied.
[41] Then there was another heated moment between Ramoswami and Scott over the former's business ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
[42] Throughout the night, moderators really struggled to keep the conversation on track as candidates routinely talked over one another and blatantly ignored requests to stay on topic.
[43] It was chaotic at times, to say at least.
[44] One of the issues candidates were clearly eager to discuss was immigration, which dominated much of the evening.
[45] What were some of the things they had to say on that front?
[46] Yeah, nearly everyone on stage was an agreement that the southern border is in crisis and must be secured.
[47] When asked about the war in Ukraine, for example, Governor DeSantis quickly turned to the border crisis.
[48] own country is being invaded.
[49] We don't even have control of our own territory.
[50] We have got to defend the American people before we even worry about all these other things.
[51] And I watch these guys in Washington, D .C., and they don't care about the American people.
[52] For his part, Ramoswami said we should militarize the border and also end birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants.
[53] Stop funding sanctuary cities and end foreign aid to Mexico and Central America to end the incentives to come across.
[54] I favor ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country.
[55] And then there was Chris Christie, who used the border conversation to take aim at former President Trump.
[56] He said he was going to build a wall across the whole border.
[57] He built 52 miles a wall and said Mexico would pay for it.
[58] Guess what?
[59] I think if Mexico knew that he was only going to build 52 miles, they might have paid for the 52 miles.
[60] So let's get to Trump.
[61] He was absent from the stages as we said, but was still mentioned several times.
[62] Yeah, he was the elephant not in the room, but his presence was still very much felt.
[63] The most notable moment on that front came from DeSantis, who largely refrained from going after Trump in the first debate, but that was not the case last night.
[64] Where's Joe Biden?
[65] He's completely missing in action from leadership.
[66] And you know who else is missing an action?
[67] Donald Trump is missing an action.
[68] He should be on this stage tonight.
[69] He owes it to you to defend his record, where they added $7 .8 trillion to the debt.
[70] That set the stage for the inflation that we have not.
[71] Former Vice President Mike Pence also took aim at Trump, saying his former running mate wanted to consolidate more power in the executive branch in a dangerous manner.
[72] But the Trump attack that might have got the most attention, for better or worse, came from Chris Christie, who's made attacking the former president a key plank of his strategy.
[73] You're not here tonight, not because of polls, and not because of your indictments.
[74] You're not here tonight because you're a, afraid of being on the stage and defending your record.
[75] You're ducking these things.
[76] And let me tell you what's going to happen.
[77] You keep doing that?
[78] No one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore.
[79] We're going to call you a Donald Duck.
[80] Now, as we mentioned earlier, the former president declined to appear on stage, at least for now.
[81] Trump instead opted for a rally in Michigan, where he spoke to factory workers and offered his support to striking union members.
[82] And as expected, he made sure to get in a few shots at his primary opponents as well, calling them job candidates looking to secure a spot in his cabinet.
[83] They want to don't do anything.
[84] Secretary of something.
[85] They even say VP.
[86] I don't know.
[87] Does anybody see any VP in the group?
[88] I don't think so.
[89] So a huge night in the GOP primary.
[90] Now the question becomes just how voters will react.
[91] And if anyone on stage can move the needle and close the gap with Trump, time is running out.
[92] Right.
[93] Iowa is coming up fast.
[94] Kappa, thanks for reporting.
[95] Anytime.
[96] A New York judge ruled this week that Donald Trump committed fraud in his business dealings by inflating the values of his assets.
[97] The summary judgment came in response to New York Democrat Attorney General Letitia James' fraud case against the former president.
[98] Joining us to discuss the ruling is former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy.
[99] Andy, thanks so much for joining us.
[100] Georgia, it's my pleasure.
[101] Can you break down this case and ruling in layman's terms for us?
[102] Yes, well, looking at the decision, two things can be true.
[103] one is that you can show that Trump over a period of about, well, more than a decade, he persistently overstated the value of his assets.
[104] But at the same time, he's being prosecuted under what's really a monstrous statute in the sense that there is no requirement in the law that you show any intent to defraud.
[105] and there's no evidence in the case that anyone who gave Trump a benefit on the basis of the inflation of his assets ended up losing his or her or its shirt.
[106] You know, all of the payments were made, premiums were paid.
[107] There's no evidence that any particular victim was defrauded.
[108] And what New York says in response in defense of its statute is that the purpose of the statute is not necessarily.
[109] to vindicate victims in the public.
[110] It's a vindication itself of the state's interest in having an honest marketplace.
[111] But it really does seem that disgorging him and essentially putting him out of business in New York, which is what the objective here obviously is, is a pretty draconian penalty in a situation where they can't show that there's a single victim that actually lost money here on account of what Trump did.
[112] So just to be clear on the claims, the state is saying that in one example, that Trump inflated the value of the Mar -a -Lago property specifically, with the result being that he was able to borrow against that value fraudulently, correct?
[113] Yeah, and with respect to Mar -a -Lago, in particular, what the Trump people say is how can you possibly value Mar -a -Lago as the court did at only between 18 and 27 -5 million dollars?
[114] when the Trump people had an expert who said that it may be worth as much as $1 .5 billion, and Trump, therefore, says that his estimates, which ran in the range of between $400 and $625 or so million, were actually conservative.
[115] What the Trump people who are making this argument don't note is that Trump, in acquiring Mar -a -Lago, made commitments that he would use it only as a club, as opposed to, say, develop it with, you know, big single -family residences.
[116] And as a result of that, he got a big tax break because the club rate was lower than the rate would have been if it was housing.
[117] And there were other encumbrances as well.
[118] And what the law requires is that when you state the present market value of something, you have to state it with whatever encumbrances are on it that restrict its use.
[119] And obviously those kinds of encumbrances are going to diminish the value.
[120] All right.
[121] Now, what does that actually mean for Trump's ability to do business, at least in New York?
[122] It means for the time being, his certificates to do business are being withdrawn.
[123] So essentially, the court is putting him out of business.
[124] Is there a precedent for this case?
[125] Obviously, the law as written allows for this type of thing.
[126] I think there are precedents in New York for the governmental authorities picking out someone that they don't like and, you know, really putting the screws to them.
[127] I think there's a precedent for the state going after unpopular businesses.
[128] I've never heard of a situation where the attorney general of the state, which is an elected position in New York, campaigns that if you elect me, I will use the powers of my office against Donald Trump, against a name person.
[129] I think, to me, that's unprecedented and frightening.
[130] All right.
[131] Well, Andy, thanks so much for coming on today.
[132] It's my pleasure.
[133] Thanks so much.
[134] That was former federal prosecutor, Andy McCarthy.
[135] Both New York and San Francisco are on track to see record numbers of deaths from drug overdoses.
[136] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade, Alorty is here with the details.
[137] So, Marade, this is a grim milestone for New York City.
[138] Tell us about the overdose numbers.
[139] Hi, Georgia.
[140] Yes, that's right.
[141] New York City saw a total of 3 ,026 New Yorkers die from a drug overdose in 2022.
[142] So that's a 12 % increase from 2021 and the highest number since the city started tracking deaths in 2000.
[143] The overdose death rate jumped to more than 43 deaths per 100 ,000 New Yorkers.
[144] These stats are from city data released on Monday.
[145] More from the data, Black New Yorkers had the highest overdose death rate at 62 deaths per 100 ,000 residents.
[146] They also had the biggest rate increased from 2021 to 2022.
[147] So out of the five boroughs, the Bronx had the highest overdose death rate last year with about 74 deaths per 100 ,000 residents.
[148] As far as which age groups bore the brunt of the deaths, middle -aged adults from 55 to 64 had the highest death rate of any age group.
[149] So is this a function of more New Yorkers using drugs, or is it just stronger drugs that are more likely to cause overdose?
[150] Well, it's both.
[151] So according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, drug -related deaths have been climbing steadily in the 2000s, but there's a distinct acceleration in the mid -20 teens, and that coincides with the period when fentanyl started flooding the streets.
[152] By last year, fentanyl was present in 81 % of overdose deaths in New York City.
[153] More than half of the total deaths also involved cocaine.
[154] Even with the growing crisis, which started in the 90s and more rural areas and later spread to cities, overdose deaths in New York City were always under 1 ,000 until, 2016, that's when they spiked to over 1 ,400.
[155] And when the pandemic hit in 2020, deaths spiked again to over 2 ,100 fatal overdoses.
[156] And now we're at over 3 ,000.
[157] Right.
[158] So what's the city's current strategy for addressing this?
[159] Well, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin -Vosin is urging all New Yorkers to carry naloxone or Narcan, the opioid overdose, reversing medication.
[160] He also urged drug users to not take drugs alone and to seek treatment, and the city's investing in, quote, harm reduction programs.
[161] So harm reduction is a catchphrase that refers to programs that aim to make it easier to do drugs in a safer manner.
[162] For example, New York has sites providing clean syringes.
[163] And in 2021, New York City became the first city to allow medically supervised drug consumption sites.
[164] Now, as we mentioned at the top, San Francisco is also seeing record fatal overdoses.
[165] How does San Francisco compare to New York?
[166] That's right.
[167] Well, San Francisco is on track to see 845 overdose deaths this year, which would beat the record 725 deaths the city saw in 2020.
[168] And San Francisco also just beat its own record for the deadliest month since at least 2020 in August, which had 84 accidental drug overdose deaths.
[169] Fentanyl was involved in 66 of those deaths.
[170] So far this year, a total of 563 people are suspected to have died from a drug overdose in San Francisco.
[171] It's jaw -dropping to look at the numbers.
[172] It really is.
[173] Mairee, thanks for reporting.
[174] Thanks, Georgia.
[175] Thanks for waking up with us.
[176] We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.