Anti-ICE Protests Grow & Storm Response Scrutiny | 2.3.26

Summary

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Morning Wire Episode Summary

Episode Title: Anti-ICE Protests Grow & Storm Response Scrutiny
Date: February 3, 2026
Hosts: Jon Bickley, Georgia Howe
Podcast: Morning Wire by The Daily Wire

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Overview

This episode of Morning Wire explores three key stories:

• Escalating anti-ICE protests and the resulting pressure on businesses to take public stances
• The current status of the government shutdown and negotiations in Congress
• Frustration and scrutiny over Nashville’s response to severe power outages caused by Winter Storm Fern

The tone is factual with moments of pointed critique, especially regarding political and civic leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. Nationwide Anti-ICE Protests and Pressure Campaigns

Segment begins around [02:39]

• Protest Tactics & Business Pressure:

  • Pressure tactics by activists are escalating, now targeting businesses—especially Target—urging them to publicly condemn ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and ban ICE agents from their premises ([03:03]).
  • Notably, Target has not taken a stand or commented on ICE, but activists want public condemnation and explicit policy changes ([03:31], Tim Pierce).

• Protest Actions:

  • Demonstrations took place at several Target locations and the headquarters in Minneapolis, specifically calling out the new CEO, Michael Fiddle Key ([03:39]).
  • Protest slogans included, "People united will never be defeated" ([03:25], frontline activists).

• Contrast in Approaches:

  • Tom Homan, the administration’s "border czar", is keeping a low profile, seeking behind-the-scenes partnerships between ICE and local law enforcement to avoid high-profile operations inside businesses ([04:10], Tim Pierce).
  • "You can't fix problems if you don't have discussions." ([04:10], Tom Homan)

• Irony Noted:

  • Both anti-ICE activists and federal officials share an interest in keeping ICE operations out of public places—albeit for different reasons ([04:10], Tim Pierce).

• Cultural Impact - The Grammys:

  • Anti-ICE sentiment was prominently featured at the Grammys. Many artists made political statements, wore “ICE Out” gear, and received applause ([05:16]).
  • Notable Quote:
    • "No one is illegal on stolen land." – Billie Eilish ([05:36])
    • Eilish’s anti-ICE comments sparked debate online, highlighting perceived hypocrisy over property ownership ([06:04], Tim Pierce).

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2. Congressional Stalemate: Government Shutdown & the SAVE Act

Segment begins around [07:31]

• Shutdown Status:

  • President insists on passing current spending bills as-is, aiming to quickly reopen the government ([07:50]).
  • Short-term solution separates Homeland Security funding to allow for continued negotiations on immigration enforcement ([08:52]).

• Lawmakers' Strategy:

  • Continuing resolution, if passed, extends funding until February 13 ([09:05]).
  • Debate continues over potential reforms, such as shifting from administrative to judicial warrants for immigration arrests and implementing more body camera requirements for officers ([09:05]).

• The SAVE Act:

  • House Republicans sought to include the SAVE Act (requiring documented proof of citizenship for voter registration) in the spending package ([09:57]).
    • "This would just take that policy nationwide." – Michael Knowles ([10:06])
  • Critics argue it’s reminiscent of Jim Crow-era restrictions, though similar laws are already in place in several states ([10:06]).

• Outlook:

  • Both parties motivated to resolve the shutdown to avoid negative public perception ([11:02]–[11:44]).

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3. Nashville’s Winter Storm Response Under Fire

Segment begins around [12:15]

• Extent of Outage & Community Anger:

  • Over 20,000 Nashville residents remained without power more than a week after Winter Storm Fern ([12:15], Jon Bickley).
  • High-profile locals, including Reese Witherspoon and John Rich, criticized the slow utility response ([12:45], Lyndon Blake).

• Causes of Power Crisis:

  • The Nashville Electric Service (NES) prioritized tree canopy conservation over essential tree trimming, resulting in numerous downed lines during the storm ([12:45], Lyndon Blake).
  • Insufficient manpower: too few vegetation workers to clear fallen trees and too few linemen to repair lines ([13:37], Davis Hunt).
    • “There’s kind of two concurrent bottlenecks happening: lack of vegetation workers and lack of linemen.” – Davis Hunt, Nashville Pamphleteer ([13:37])

• Leadership Criticism:

  • Mayor Freddie O’Connell was slow to address the crisis, in contrast to his rapid response to ICE enforcement issues in 2025 ([14:11], Lyndon Blake).
    • "After the storm hit … O'Connell took five whole days to get together the Winter Storm Recovery Fund." – Davis Hunt ([14:30])
  • When compared: after a major ICE raid, a relief fund was established within 24 hours; after the storm, five days ([14:30]).

• Preparedness Disparity:

  • Nashville had only 100 linemen on standby, whereas Duke Energy in Charlotte had 18,000—a stark contrast highlighting preparedness failures ([15:16], Lyndon Blake).

• Resident Sentiment:

  • “Well, this was a major test for Mayor Freddie O’Connell and for a lot of us, it was a failure.” – Georgia Howe ([15:36])

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |:-------------:|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------| | [03:25] | “People united will never be defeated.” | Protesters | | [03:31] | “They want the company to publicly condemn ICE and ban agents from conducting operations on Target property …” | Tim Pierce | | [04:10] | “You can't fix problems if you don't have discussions.” | Tom Homan | | [05:36] | “No one is illegal on stolen land.” | Billie Eilish | | [10:06] | “… this would just take that policy nationwide.” | Michael Knowles | | [13:37] | “There’s kind of two concurrent bottlenecks happening: lack of vegetation workers and lack of linemen.” | Davis Hunt | | [14:30] | “O'Connell took five whole days to get together the Winter Storm Recovery Fund.” | Davis Hunt | | [15:36] | “Well, this was a major test for Mayor Freddie o’Connell and for a lot of us, it was a failure.” | Georgia Howe |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:39] — Start of anti-ICE protests discussion
• [05:16] — Grammys segment with anti-ICE speeches
• [07:31] — Shutdown status & government funding debate
• [09:57] — The SAVE Act & voting legislation
• [12:15] — Nashville power outage fallout and response scrutiny

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Conclusion

The episode delivers a critical look at the entwined crises of protest, politics, and public accountability:

• Anti-ICE activism is growing more confrontational, with high-profile protests targeting businesses and cultural moments amplifying calls for action.
• Congress faces pressure to resolve a shutdown as immigration remains a flashpoint and both parties push for a quick outcome.
• Nashville’s leadership comes under fire for a sluggish and underprepared storm response, sparking frustration across the community and raising tough questions about priorities and crisis management.

Through candid reporting and pointed commentary, Morning Wire brings context and analysis to pressing national debates, reflecting its signature blend of fact-focused, right-leaning journalism.

Transcript

[Michael Knowles]

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[Georgia Howe]

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[Michael Knowles]

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[Tim Pierce]

We'll be back.

[Georgia Howe]

I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive editor Jon Bickley. It's Tuesday, February 3rd, and this is Morning Wire.

[Jon Bickley]

The House plans to vote on reopening the government today, hoping to minimize any damage.

[Michael Knowles]

We'll demonstrate that and we'll push forward our priorities on the integrity of election. We're going to get this job done.

[Georgia Howe]

Get government reopened and in the aftermath of Winter Storm fern frustration grows as thousands of Americans remain in the dark.

[Davis Hunt]

The amount of unpreparedness runs pretty deep. It's convenient to blame it on nes because they're the most visible, but it goes way, way deeper than that.

[Jon Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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[Jon Bickley]

The Anti Ice Protest Campaign is growing, with left wing activists now putting pressure on businesses to denounce ice.

[Georgia Howe]

Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to talk about the latest in the anti ICE campaign. So Tim, we've seen these kind of pressure tactics before where advertisers are pressured to cut ties with right wing creators. What kind of pressure are businesses now feeling with regards to federal law enforcement?

[Tim Pierce]

Yeah, businesses that don't even have ties to ICE are under pressure to take an explicit stance against the agency. Target seems to be the main mark for demonstrators right now over the weekend. Similar to the protests that stormed into city's church, dozens of activists marched through targets all over Minneapolis. Here's what some of that sounded like from frontlines TPUSA People united will never.

[Michael Knowles]

Be defeated if we don't get it. If we don't get it.

[Georgia Howe]

Now Target hasn't made any sort of show of support for ICE or commented one way or the other. So what do these protesters want them to do?

[Tim Pierce]

They want it to get on the anti ICE bandwagon. They want the company to publicly condemn ICE and ban agents from conducting operations on Target property or even entering stores. Activists even went to Target headquarters in Minneapolis on Monday and called out its new CEO, Michael Fiddle Key, who officially stepped into the top job on Sunday.

[Georgia Howe]

Now the activist's approach seems to contrast pretty starkly with Tom Homan's. He arrived in Minneapolis last week but has kept a pretty low profile this whole time. Do we have any sense of what progress he's made?

[Tim Pierce]

Yeah, he hasn't been out in public much and he said that that's because the kind of progress he is looking for is easier when it's done out of the public eye. He did give a press conference late last week though and sounded optimistic. Here's some of that. This administration is absolutely focused on identifying removal aliens that pose a public safety threat and national security threats. You can't fix problems if you don't have discussions. I will note a bit of irony here is that the anti ICE activists and Tom Homan may actually be on the same page regarding Target. The border czar's message since the early days of last year has been that if state and local officials don't help the federal government enforce immigration law for dangerous illegal aliens, then agents will be forced to go into places like Target to conduct its business. That kind of invasive action by ICE is much less necessary if local law enforcement cooperate. And that appears to be the kind of partnership Homan is attempting to set up in Minneapolis.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, shifting gears a bit. ICE was a major theme at the Grammys on Sunday night, and now some of the artists who made speeches are getting some backlash. What happened there?

[Tim Pierce]

Right as is typical for these award shows, the vast majority of the stars affirm the politics of the far left and ICE was the main punching bag. On Sunday night. A lot of stars were wearing special ICE out gear and award winners frequently made anti ICE statements to a lot of loud applause from the audience. Here's what that sounded like from Billie.

[Georgia Howe]

Eilish no one is illegal on stolen land. Yeah, it's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. And I just, I feel really hopeful.

[Michael Knowles]

In this room and I feel like.

[Georgia Howe]

We just need to keep fighting and.

[Michael Knowles]

Speaking up and protesting and our, our.

[Georgia Howe]

Voices really do matter and the people matter.

[Michael Knowles]

And.

[Michael Knowles (Sponsor Segment)]

I say sorry now if you're.

[Tim Pierce]

Not watching the video and can't read lips. Eilish, during that brief pause in the audio, said something that sounds like duck ice. Of course, Eilish took heat online for her comments with plenty of users on X pointing out that she doesn't appear too eager to turn over her $2.3 million horse ranch in Glendale over to any dispossessed owners of that land anytime soon.

[Georgia Howe]

Tim, thanks for reporting.

[Tim Pierce]

Good to be on.

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[Georgia Howe]

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been frantically working to end the government shutdown before its effects start to really be felt.

[Jon Bickley]

Joining us now with the latest is Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan. Morning, Cameron. So let's start with the president. He waded into the shutdown yesterday to try to prevent hiccups in the House. What did he say?

[Michael Knowles]

So the president said no changes to the spending bill as it stands right now. As we saw over the weekend, the government did shut down, but the Senate was able to pass spending bills per an agreement between the White House and Chuck Schumer, basically saying, hey, we're going to separate homeland security funding. We're going to pass a short term solution to fund that department while we work out some possible restrictions onto immigration enforcement. But for now, he's telling the House we don't want anything added. We want to get the government back open. So here's some of what the president said in a true social post. He said there can be no changes at this time, saying he's working hard with Speaker Mike Johnson on on this right now. Obviously we could see an end to the shutdown today, but these situations can be very, very fluid. The goal for the president is he wants this to get out of the House without it going back to the Senate so that way the government can reopen and they can go back to these homeland security negotiations.

[Jon Bickley]

All right, so some real pressure now from the president to get this thing passed without further headaches. Obviously, this all started over a split on the funding for the Department of Homeland Security. You mentioned that. What can we expect with that debate going forward?

[Michael Knowles]

So something that's really critical with this is a continuing resolution, if passed as it stands right now, would go until February 13th. A lot of lawmakers aren't too keen on whether or not that's gonna be enough time. Meanwhile, you have people like Chuck Schumer have a whole laundry list of reforms they wanna see to. Federal immigration enforcement. For example, a pivot from a lot of administrative warrants, less of a process to judicial warrants for immigration arrests, which could really make it a lot more difficult for immigration authorities to get the numbers that they're seeking and some of the arrests that they're wanting to get as well. So obviously on the safety end, though, Kristi Noem did announce that officers that are in Minneapolis are gonna start wearing body cameras. We could also potentially see some other compromise changes as this goes down. We'll end up seeing what actually comes out of these talks maybe in a couple of weeks.

[Jon Bickley]

Now, I know some Republicans were pushing for the SAVE act to be included in this spending package. What is that legislation? Remind us, and what comes next for it?

[Michael Knowles]

So the SAVE act was a piece of legislation that some members of the House wanted to be included into the spending package as it stands right now, which would have sent it back to the Senate. Now, that doesn't seem like it's gonna happen because you did see the House already passed the SAVE Act. Instead, you have a bunch of lawmakers now calling on Mitch McConnel to get that out of his committee independently and to the Senate for a floor vote and then to the president. Now, what that act actually does is it's called documentary proof of citizenship. And what that means is when you go and register to vote, you have to, instead of just checking a box, actually prove that you are a citizen of the United States. Now you have people like Schumer, as we mentioned, saying that this is like a Jim Crow era relic. Right? But this has already been a law in a few states already. We've seen this already in practice. This would just take that policy nationwide.

[Jon Bickley]

So what comes next? What should we expect today and the coming days in this process?

[Michael Knowles]

So the hope is that the government shutdown will end today. Obviously, when it comes to Congress, things can change very rapidly. But the goal, at least to the president is to the House gets this out and it gets to his desk. Keep in mind, the House already voted to back these spending bills last month before we saw some of the action in Minneapolis which resulted in that Senate deal. So already a lot of movement to begin with here. And we had a government shutdown last year. So not a great look to keep this dragging on really for either party at this point. Right.

[Jon Bickley]

Both parties motivated to get this thing moving forward. Cameron, thank you so much for reporting.

[Michael Knowles]

Thank you.

[Georgia Howe]

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[Jon Bickley]

Dailywire the response to the crippling power outages from Winter Storm Fern has frustrated many communities across the country, including here in the Nashville area. It's been more than a week, and more than 20,000 residents are still without power in the Music City. It's a situation declared unacceptable.

[Georgia Howe]

Daily Wire reporter Lyndon Blake joins us to explain the holdup. So, Lyndon, welcome to the show.

[Lyndon Blake]

Thanks for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, as one of the many residents who lost power for a week, what was the holdup in Nashville?

[Lyndon Blake]

So you are one of many people that have had frustrations with how Nashville's handled this. You had celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, John Rich speaking out about the lack of urgency it seemed that Nashville Electric Services had. So the holdup really came down to a lack of preparation. And now Nashville Mayor Freddie o' Connell is calling it unaccept. So here's what went wrong. It was kind of a twofold. First, you had the NES CEO, Teresa Boyles Applin. She focused this past summer on saving Nashville's tree canopy instead of trimming back those trees that were clearly too close to power lines. So then when you have a natural disaster like we had with Winter Storm Fern, you have a lot of these trees on top of the power lines, and you can't get to the power lines until you get rid of the trees. So there was a lack of enough people to come get those trees off the power lines. Here's Davis Hunt, the editor in chief of the Nashville Pamphleteer, with more the.

[Davis Hunt]

Added difficulty they've had is they didn't have enough vegetation workers. So a lineman goes in and repairs the line, but you typically have vegetation workers go in and clear out the trees so that the linemen can work. And so there's kind of two concurrent bottlenecks happening there, lack of vegetation workers and lack of linemen.

[Lyndon Blake]

So again, NES CEO, her comments about trying to save Nashville's trees came back to the forefront with all the trees that fell during the storm on top of the power lines.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, as a resident here, it wasn't just that the branches came down. It was also that we didn't really hear anything from leadership. So what has the mayor said?

[Lyndon Blake]

Yeah, well, the mayor's finally spoken up. It took a little while for him to which led to more people being frustrated and being like, where is the leadership in the city when so many people without power. There was a big difference in how Mayor o' Connell responded to the ICE enforcement that happened last year in Nashville and how he responded to this year's ICE storm.

[Davis Hunt]

You have the ICE raids, the ICE immigration enforcement operation that happened on May 4th in Nashville. That was a Sunday. By the following Monday, the next day, May 5, Mayor O' Connell had put together the Belonging Fund in partnership with a local nonprofit, which was designed to route resources to people affected by the immigration enforcement operation. Right. In contrast, after the storm hit. But Sunday night, o' Connell took five whole days to get together the Winter Storm Recovery Fund. They just didn't take the storm seriously or the threat of the storm seriously. And I grew up here, so if you grew up here, you have the memory of the 1994 storm. People still talk about it yearly, anytime it snows. So there is still this reminder of that and how bad that was.

[Lyndon Blake]

To put this in perspective, when Nashville started out with 100 linemen on standby, you had Duke Energy in Charlotte, North Carolina, on standby for Winter Storm Fern with at least 18,000 linemen. That to me was like, whoa. That just shows one state that was ready to go to work and one state that was already operating behind the ball.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, this was a major test for Mayor Freddie o', Connell and for a lot of us, it was a failure. Lyndon, thanks for reporting.

[Lyndon Blake]

Thanks.

[Jon Bickley]

Thanks for waking up with us. And for those listening to the show, you can also now watch the show free on Daily Wire. Plus, we'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.