Evening Wire: Iranian Ports Sealed & Swalwell Resigns From Congress | 4.13.26

Summary

Morning Wire: Evening Wire – Iranian Ports Sealed & Swalwell Resigns From Congress (4.13.26) Podcast by The Daily Wire | Hosts: Georgia Howe & John Bickley | Date: April 13, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of Evening Wire provides a sweeping roundup of the day's most significant news, with a particular focus on the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports—a move escalating geopolitical tension in the Middle East—as well as Hungary’s political shift, the legal and career fallout for U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell, and rapid developments in AI, culture, and sports. The tone is urgent and factual, typical of Morning Wire's news-forward style, aiming to give listeners the highlights and underlying implications of each story.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. U.S. Blockades Iranian Ports (00:48–02:44)

Details:

• The U.S. Navy began enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports with 15 deployed warships, increasing military pressure to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
  • President Trump warns any Iranian vessel nearing the blockade “will be immediately eliminated” ([01:13]).
  • Ongoing diplomatic engagement is underway despite the military escalation.
• The move triggered a spike in global oil prices (above $100/barrel). The blockade’s economic impact is immediate and significant.

Notable Quotes:

• President Trump:
  “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon… If they don’t agree there's no deal—there’ll never be a deal. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon and we're going to get the (dust) back. Either we'll get it back from them or we’ll take it.” ([01:24])
• On oil exports:
  “Many ships are heading to our country right now as we speak to load up with the best. Really, I guess you could say, somebody said the best and sweetest. I don’t know exactly what sweet is, but when it relates to oil, it’s a good thing.” ([02:27])

2. Geopolitical & Regional Responses (01:57–03:35)

Events:

• U.K. calls a multi-country meeting to form a coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Absent: the U.S.
• President Trump urges Europe to “build up some delayed courage and just grab it” ([quoted 01:57]).
• Military clashes intensify between Israel and Hezbollah as ceasefire talks loom.
• Middle Eastern U.S. allies scramble to rearm; Saudi Arabia and Qatar look beyond the usual U.S. suppliers.

3. Hungary’s Political Shift (03:35–04:23)

• Viktor Orban concedes defeat after 16 years as Hungary’s Prime Minister.
• Peter Magyar, formerly of Orban’s Fidesz party, forms TISA and wins a landslide, promising anti-corruption reforms and closer ties with the EU.
• Turnout was nearly 80%—the highest since the fall of communism.

Notable Quotes:

• “His election was cheered by European officials and former President Barack Obama, who called Magyar’s win a victory for democracy.” (Joel Niedler, [03:44])

4. Eric Swalwell Resignation & Legal Woes (04:23–05:08)

• Rep. Eric Swalwell resigns amid legal investigations:
  • DHS probe over illegal employment of a Brazilian nanny, whose work permit lapsed, but was paid using campaign funds.
  • Simultaneous sidelining of his California governor bid due to sexual misconduct allegations.

5. The AI Compute Bottleneck (05:08–06:02)

• AI adoption is surging, but data centers are struggling to keep up with the increased computation demand.
  • Companies forced to raise prices and scrimp on expansion.
  • OpenAI scraps its Sora video platform to reprioritize resources.

Key Point: The rapid growth of consumer AI is hitting a wall due to global infrastructure and power constraints.

6. Trump vs. Pope Leo XIV (06:35–07:22)

• President Trump criticizes Pope Leo XIV for allegedly condoning nuclear weapons and urban crime, doubling down after a pointed Truth Social post.
• Trump also briefly posts an image of himself as Jesus, later deleted.
• Pope Leo responds, emphasizing peace:
  “Blessed are the peacemakers is a message that the world needs to hear.” ([07:18])

7. Legal Update: Trump’s Defamation Lawsuit Dismissed (07:24–08:11)

• A federal judge dismisses Trump’s lawsuit against Dow Jones (Wall Street Journal) over an Epstein-related report, citing lack of proof of actual malice.

8. White House Report on DEI Impacts (08:11–08:51)

• White House study links aggressive DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) practices post-2016 to decreased productivity and depressed wages/job creation in certain industries.

9. Amazon Expands Online Auto Sales (08:51–09:29)

• Amazon Autos, launching in 2024, grows to 130+ cities and multiple brands, streamlining the auto buying process online.

10. Melania Trump’s Foster Care Initiative (09:29–10:38)

• New campaign “A Home for Every Child” aims to close the gap between foster children and licensed homes; overturns Biden-era restrictions on Christian foster parents.

Notable Insights:

• Seeks to achieve a one-to-one child-to-home ratio, sets up national reporting and scorecards.

11. Rory McIlroy Wins the Masters (10:38–11:22)

• Rory McIlroy defends his Masters title with a tight victory, marking his sixth major championship.

Notable Quote:

• McIlroy:
  “I can’t believe I waited 17 years for one green jacket and now I get two in a row. It was a tough weekend.” ([10:48])

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Iran:
  Trump: “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon… we’re going to get the dust back. Either we’ll get it back from them or we’ll take it.” ([01:24])
• On European resolve:
  Trump: “European countries need to, quote, build up some delayed courage and just grab it.” ([01:57])
• On the Papacy:
  Trump: “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our city. I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.” ([06:43]) Pope Leo XIV: “Blessed are the peacemakers is a message that the world needs to hear.” ([07:18])
• On foster care:
  Alex Adams (HHS): “I’ve never talked to a state child welfare director who said their biggest issue was that they had too many families going to foster.” ([10:05])
• On Masters victory:
  McIlroy: “I can’t believe I waited 17 years for one green jacket and now I get two in a row.” ([10:48])

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Important Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------|--------------| | U.S. Blockade of Iranian Ports | 00:48–02:44 | | Oil Price Surge & UK Coalition | 01:49–02:44 | | Israel–Hezbollah Conflict | 02:44–03:14 | | Hungary Election | 03:35–04:23 | | Eric Swalwell Resignation | 04:23–05:08 | | AI Infrastructure Bottleneck | 05:08–06:02 | | Trump–Pope Leo XIV Clash | 06:35–07:22 | | Trump Lawsuit Dismissal | 07:24–08:11 | | White House DEI Report | 08:11–08:51 | | Amazon Autos Expansion | 08:51–09:29 | | Melania Trump’s Foster Care Initiative | 09:29–10:38 | | Rory McIlroy Wins Masters | 10:38–11:22 |

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Conclusion

This episode underscores the mounting global tensions—and shifting power structures—stemming from U.S. foreign policy, European politics, and technological disruption. Domestic stories like Amazon’s retail expansion, DEI effectiveness in the workplace, and the transformation of the foster system showcase rapid change in American life. The tone is brisk, factual, and at times bracingly candid, delivering the Daily Wire’s signature, unapologetic take on the news of the day.

Transcript

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[Georgia Howe]

Trump's blockade of Iranian ports takes effect Hungary votes out Viktor Orban and Eric Swalwell's reputation troubles continue to snowball. I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley. It's Monday, April 13th, and this is Evening Wire.

[Daily Wire Host]

The American naval blockade of Iranian ports took effect this morning. Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Cassia Kiva has the latest.

[Trump Administration Official]

The US Navy deployed 15 warships to enforce the US blockade of Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal. These include an aircraft carrier, multiple guided missile destroyers and an amphibious assault ship, with more ships expected to join. President Trump warned on Truth Social today that any Iranian naval vessels approaching the US Blockade will be, quote, immediately eliminated. Speaking to reporters outside the Oval Office, Trump made clear that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains his top

[Donald Trump]

prior iran will not have a nuclear weapon. If they don't agree there's no deal, there'll never be a deal. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon and we're going to get the dust back. We'll get it back. Either we'll get it back from them or we'll take it.

[Trump Administration Official]

Meanwhile, a US Official told the Daily Wire on Monday, quote, there is a continued engagement between the US And Iran and forward motion on trying to get to an agreement.

[Georgia Howe]

Following the clampdown on the Strait of Hormuz this morning, oil prices surged past $100 a barrel. Daily Wire contributor Tim Pierce has more.

[Daily Wire Contributor Tim Pierce]

U.S. central Command said it will enforce the move while allowing ships without ties to Iran to pass. This has prompted the United Kingdom to announce it will host talks with 35 other countries this Thursday to try and form a coalition around reopening the strait. France, Germany, Italy and the uae, among others, will be included. While the US Is not planning to attend, this follows President Trump saying last Wednesday that European countries need to, quote, build up some delayed courage and just grab it. Today, the president touted the countries that are turning to the US for oil.

[Donald Trump]

Many ships are heading to our country right now as we speak to load up with the best. Really? I guess you could say somebody said the best and sweetest. I don't know exactly what sweet is, but when it relates to oil, it's a good thing. But they're coming to our country right now.

[Daily Wire Host]

Fighting intensified between Israel and Hezbollah this week ahead of a second round of ceasefire talks scheduled for Tuesday. Israeli strikes have focused on southern Lebanon and have taken out over 100 militants and dozens of combat sites within the past week. The military has also located and confiscated hundreds of weapons, including from caches found in civilian buildings. Iran had previously demanded that Israeli strikes on Hezbollah stop as a precondition for peace talks with the US but talks moved forward last week regardless.

[Georgia Howe]

The United States allies in the Middle east are in a scramble to rearm after weeks of fending off cheap Iranian ordinance, taking advantage of the ceasef to do so. Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have turned to countries like South Korea and Britain to find cheaper and readily available weapons. The Gulf states are typically prominent customers of the US defense industry.

[Daily Wire Host]

Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister for the past 16 years, conceded defeat on Sunday. Daily Wire senior editor Joel Niedler has more.

[Joel Niedler]

The man who toppled the longtime Hungarian leader had been a member of Orban's Fidesz party for more than two decades. Peter Magyar broke with the prime minister and created his own political party, TISA, in 2024 in a landslide election. The center right TISA now stands to hold over 2/3 majority in the Hungarian Parliament. Magyar campaigned on anti corruption and to bring Hungary closer to the European Union. His election was cheered by European officials and former President Barack Obama, who called Magyar's win a victory for democracy. According to Hungary's National Election Office, voter turnout in the election was nearly 80%, the most since Hungary abandoned communism.

[Daily Wire Host]

California Congressman Eric Swalwell resigned from Congress today, but his legal troubles continue to grow. DHS launched a probe alleging that the representative illegally hired a Brazilian nanny. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan has the story.

[Eric Swalwell]

Swalwell allegedly hired the nanny in 2021, but continued to employ her long after her work permit expired in 2022. The nanny appears in multiple social media posts with the congressman's family extending into 2023 and 2024. FEC records also show that the nanny was paid using campaign funds. Swalwell announced yesterday that he would be ending his campaign for California governor, mainly due to separate allegations of sexual misconduct.

[Daily Wire Host]

Progress in consumer AI could be reaching a threshold as companies run short on computing power. Daily Wire reporter Breca Stoll has the details.

[Daily Wire Reporter Breca Stoll]

Demand for AI is skyrocketing as it's adopted across industries, and as a result, so is the demand for compute Data centers provide the electrical power, cooling and infrastructure to power consumers favorite AI models like Grok, Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT. But running data centers requires massive amounts of energy and power, causing AI companies to raise their subscription prices and even cut back on other strategic investments. OpenAI recently scrapped its video generating platform Sora to free up computing space as companies face mounting hurdles in building new data centers. From supply shortages to political pushback, the rapid growth of AI might be slowed by the COMPUTE bottleneck.

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[Daily Wire Reporter Breca Stoll]

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[Georgia Howe]

President Trump tore into Pope Leo XIV in a lengthy truth social post on Sunday. When questioned by reporters, Trump doubled down

[Donald Trump]

we don't like a pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a pope that says crime is okay in our city. I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.

[Georgia Howe]

The president also posted an image on social media that's been interpreted as depicting himself as Jesus, which was later taken down. Pope Leo has suggested that the US War in Iran is unjust and that members of the Trump administration have, quote, abused the gospel to justify it. The pope responded to Trump's comments on Monday.

[Pope Leo XIV]

I have no fear, neither the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the

[Eric Swalwell]

message of the gospel.

[Pope Leo XIV]

But I do believe that the message of the gospel, blessed are the peacemakers,

[Ryan Reynolds]

is a message that the world needs to hear.

[Daily Wire Host]

Today, a federal judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump against Dow Jones Company, publishers of the Wall Street Journal Daily Wire homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has the story.

[Jordan Schroeder]

U.S. district Judge Darren Gales, an Obama appointee, said that Trump failed to meet the legal standard of proving, quote, actual malice in a Wall Street Journal article about a letter linked to Jeffrey Epstein that bore Trump's alleged signature. Gales found that reporters made reasonable efforts to verify the story, including contacting Trump and federal officials, and said the complaint did not show the publication knowingly reported false information or acted recklessly, though he allowed Trump until April 27th to amend and refile. Trump's legal team said they intend to calling the lawsuit a quote powerhouse.

[Georgia Howe]

A White House study released today appears to show the detrimental effects DEI practices have had on business. Researchers measured the productivity of state industries believed to be heavily influenced by dei. They measured the data against those same industries in other states where hiring practices tracked closely with national trends. According to the study, after 2016, DEI practices are associated with significantly lower productivity. By 2023, the industries that heavily pursued DEI were approximately 2.7 percentage points less productive than those that did not. The White House said that over time, DEI practices led to more expensive and lower quality goods, as well as depressed wages and job creation.

[Daily Wire Host]

Amazon is vastly expanding their new system for purchasing cars online. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez has more.

[Andy Valdez]

The Amazon Autos program launched in 2024 to limited markets in partnership with Hyundai. Now it will expand to over 130 cities, including brands like Kia, Mazda, Subaru, Chevrolet and Jeep. The program allows buyers to shop cars from participating dealerships and complete most of the paperwork from home. Many dealerships are skeptical that buyers would purchase a car without seeing it in person, but Amazon sees this as a chance to corner a major new segment of the retail market.

[Georgia Howe]

First lady Melania Trump is leading a new initiative that's set to change the foster program for the better. Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan has the exclusive the Daily Wire

[Daily Wire Reporter Breca Stoll]

converse report that 14 states and the

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

District of Columbia have joined a Home for Every Child after President Trump signed an executive order in November building on the first lady's Foster the Future program. Now this program seeks to rectify the massive gap in licensed foster homes for children in the United States because, as we are told, for every 100 children in care, there are only 57 licensed foster homes. The states involved have each committed to organizing their child welfare systems around changing that national metric to a one to one ratio while also reporting data back to HHS in order to for the first time, see national reports and scorecards. This will also undo Biden era requirements that excluded foster parents who espoused Christian views on gender ideology. Assistant Secretary Alex Adams told me, I've never talked to a state child welfare director who said their biggest issue was that they had too many families going to foster. And he added that, quote, the message we send to prospective foster parents is so critical.

[Daily Wire Host]

And Rory McElroy clinched a win in the Masters tournament yesterday. For the second year in a row season sports reporter and host of that's so Criminal. Lyndon Blake has more.

[Jordan Schroeder]

It was a tense and unpredictable final round at Augusta national golf club, where McElroy lost his early lead, briefly fell behind and then rallied with key shots late in the round to finish at 12 under par, narrowly beating Scottie Scheffler by one stroke. The win gives McElroy his sixth major title and places him among a historic group of golfers who have successfully defended their Masters titles. McElroy said, quote I can't believe I waited 17 years for one green jacket and now I get two in a row. And that quote it was a tough weekend.

[Georgia Howe]

Those are your Drive Home updates this evening. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire.com and in case you missed, earlier today we covered some major stories, including the US Navy blockading Iranian ports after peace talks ended without a deal. Eric Swalwell suspending his campaign for California governor amid sexual misconduct allegations and protests over crippling fuel costs erupting in Ireland. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of Morning Wire,

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