Evening Wire: Vivek On The Ballot & Alito Slams Jackson | 5.5.26

Summary

Podcast Summary: Evening Wire: Vivek On The Ballot & Alito Slams Jackson | 05.05.26

Podcast: Morning Wire
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Date: May 5, 2026
Episode Theme:
The episode covers high-stakes political developments on primary day, critical judicial battles shaping U.S. voting rights, government crackdowns on fraud, the relaunch of a classic American fitness program, and several key stories in national politics, tech, crime, and media. The tone remains brisk, fact-driven, and unflinchingly direct—matching Morning Wire’s style.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Primary Day Highlights & Ohio Races

• Polls are open with several closely watched races, especially in Ohio (01:15).
• GOP Senator John Husted faces his first defense of the seat, likely against Democrat Sherrod Brown, who lost his Senate seat two years ago (01:23).
• Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy is leading as the Republican favorite for governor and discussed the primary on Daily Wire that morning:

  “We’re cautiously optimistic that we will shatter recent norms for what those primary outcomes are... Let’s see where the results come in.”
  —Vivek Ramaswamy (01:42)

• Democrat Amy Acton runs uncontested for Health Director (01:57).

2. U.S.-Iran Tensions and Ceasefire Thresholds

• President Trump claimed the U.S. intercepted over 100 Iranian missiles, but gave no details on benchmarks for ending the ceasefire (00:28).
• General Dan Kane underscored the uncertainty:

  “The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade... It feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something...”
  —Gen. Dan Kane (01:02)

3. Medicaid Fraud Probe in Ohio

• VP J.D. Vance orders his fraud task force into action after a Daily Wire investigation uncovers a suspected billion-dollar Medicaid fraud (02:06).

  “These shocking allegations, if true, show why the fraud task force’s work [is] so important... Take immediate action to prosecute any fraudsters involved.”
  —VP J.D. Vance (02:20)

4. Political Endorsements and Sanctuary City Policies

• Former VP Kamala Harris endorses Karen Bass for Los Angeles Mayor, crediting her with lower crime and homelessness rates (02:46).
• Harris highlights Bass’ resistance against Trump’s immigration stance; LA promotes its sanctuary status with taxpayer-funded signs, though criticized as unenforceable by U.S. Attorney Bill Asale (03:10).

5. New Taxes in Virginia Discussed

• Governor Abigail Spanberger signals openness to taxes on modern services (03:21).

  “Every idea, as long as it’s reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be entertained... There are worthy conversations to be had.”
  —Gov. Abigail Spanberger (03:35)

6. Supreme Court Redistricting Clash: Alito vs. Jackson

• The court’s 6-3 ruling restricts race-based redistricting, notably impacting Louisiana’s congressional map (04:26).
• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissents, calling the decision “unwarranted and unwise.”
• Justice Samuel Alito rebuts fiercely:

  “The dissent ... levels charges that cannot go unanswered. The dissent would require ... elections in Louisiana be held under a map ... held to be unconstitutional.”
  —Justice Alito (04:51) “Jackson’s legal arguments [are] baseless, insulting and trivial at best.”
  —Justice Alito (05:30)

7. Return of the Presidential Fitness Test

• President Trump signs an order reviving the classic fitness test for schools, highlighting a return to competitive standards (05:38—06:53).

  “Today I sign ... the new revitalized Presidential Fitness Test Award, a certificate in recognition of achievement of the gold standard of physical fitness.”
  —President Trump (06:32)

8. Amazon Disrupts Shipping Industry

• Amazon launches its supply chain services to outsiders, triggering UPS and FedEx share drops and altering the logistics landscape (06:53).

9. U.S.-Vatican Diplomacy: Rubio Sent to Rome

• Friction over U.S. actions in Iran prompts Pope Leo to criticize President Trump (07:18). Trump responds with an assertion about his role in Leo’s papacy.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Catholic, is dispatched to soothe tensions, aiming to display the administration’s alignment with Vatican interests (07:27).

10. Palisades Fire: Suspected Arson and Class Tensions

• Suspect Jonathan Rinder Nash targeted Luigi Mangione, expressing class resentment prior to the $150B fire that destroyed 7,000 properties and killed 12 people. Nash pleads not guilty (08:07—08:57).

11. Rising AI Threats to U.S. Banks

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen warns banks against rapidly evolving AI-driven cyberattacks (08:57).

  “You should [be worried],” Bessen says flatly when asked about AI hackers compromising bank accounts (09:16).

12. Sharp Drop in Food Stamp Rolls

• Stricter eligibility rules—raising work requirements and tighter checks—have led to a drastic decrease in SNAP enrollment, with Arizona reporting a 50% reduction (09:51).

13. Morning Wire and Staff Win National Media Awards

• Morning Wire wins the Media Research Center’s Outstanding Podcast Award; Jenny Terr recognized for immigration reporting in Colorado and Minnesota (10:20).

• “The Daily Wire is actually the only news organization to win a watchdog award every year since its creation half a decade ago.”
  —Curtis Hauck, Newsbusters (10:56)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Vivek Ramaswamy: “I don’t want to count the chickens before they hatch, Ben, but let’s see.” (01:42)
• Justice Alito: “The dissent ... levels charges that cannot go unanswered.” (04:51)
• VP J.D. Vance: “I’m directing the task force to look into it and take immediate action...” (02:20)
• President Trump: “I sign the very first copy of the new revitalized Presidential Fitness Test Award...” (06:32)
• Treasury Secretary Bessen: “You should.” (09:16)
• Jenny Terr’s Achievement: “[Recognized] as a leading voice in immigration reporting.” (10:36)

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Useful Timestamps for Sections

• Iran Ceasefire & General Kane: 00:28–01:15
• Ohio Primary & Vivek Ramaswamy: 01:15–01:57
• Medicaid Fraud/Vance: 02:06
• Harris Endorses Bass: 02:46
• Spanberger Taxes: 03:21
• Alito vs. Jackson Supreme Court: 04:26–05:38
• Presidential Fitness Test Returns: 05:38–06:53
• Amazon Disrupts Logistics: 06:53–07:18
• Rubio to Vatican: 07:27–08:07
• Palisades Fire Arson Charges: 08:07–08:57
• AI Threatens Banks: 08:57–09:51
• Food Stamp Cuts: 09:51–10:20
• Awards for Morning Wire and Jenny Terr: 10:20–10:56

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Keep up with Morning Wire for concise, in-depth, and award-winning coverage on the stories shaping politics, security, and American life.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

Americans in several states head to the polls for key primaries. Justice Alito slams Ketanji Brown Jackson. And Morning Wire wins a big award. I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Tuesday, May 5th, and this is Eveningwire.

[Georgia Howe]

The Trump administration avoided drawing a hard line today on when the US Might renew its assault on Iran. Daily Wire foreign affairs reporter Cassia Akiva has the latest.

[Cassia Akiva]

On Tuesday, President Trump revealed that the US had intercepted over 100 missiles fired at an aircraft carrier about two weeks ago. But he declined to say what action Iran could take for the US to drop the ceasefire.

[Unidentified Interviewer]

They've fired at US ships several times in the last 24 hours. What do they need to do to violate the ceasefire?

[General Dan Kane]

Well, you'll find out because I'll let you know.

[Cassia Akiva]

The Daily Wire put a similar question to leaders at the Department of War this morning. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Kane said he would leave it to the White House to decide.

[General Dan Kane]

The threshold of restarting is a political decision above my pay grade. What I'll say is it's low harassing fire. Right now it feels like Iran is grasping at straws to try to do something across the southern flank.

[John Bickley]

It's primary day around the country and

[Unidentified Reporter]

one place we're watching is Ohio.

[John Bickley]

Polls will be open there until 7:30 this evening. A couple races to watch.

[Unidentified Reporter]

GOP Senator John Husted will have to defend his seat for for the first time, likely against former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Brown lost his seat two years ago to Republican Bernie Moreno for governor. Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy is the odds on favorite for Republicans. He spoke with the Daily Wire's own Ben Shapiro this morning.

[Vivek Ramaswamy]

Look, I mean, the primaries are usually quite competitive. I would say we're cautiously optimistic that we will shatter recent norms for what those primary outcomes are. So we'll see where the results come in. I don't want to count the chickens before they hatch, Ben, but let's see.

[Unidentified Reporter]

Additionally, former Ohio Health Department Director Amy Acton is running uncontested for the Democrats. Results are expected to start rolling in shortly after polls close.

[Georgia Howe]

Vice President J.D. vance is taking action after a bombshell report by Daily Wire investigative reporter Luke Rosiak after Rosiak broke open a story of what appears to be a billion dollar Medicaid fraud scheme in Ohio. As we reported on this show yesterday, the VP said his fraud task force was on it. Vance said in a statement, quote, these shocking allegations, if true, show why the fraud task force's work so important. I'm directing the task force to look into it and take immediate action to prosecute any fraudsters involved and stop all further payments as appropriate.

[John Bickley]

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has endorsed Karen Bass for reelection for mayor of Los Angeles. Daily Wire immigration reporter Jenny Terr has the details.

[Jenny Terr]

In a statement praising Bass, Harris credited the mayor's leadership with LA's quote, first ever two year decline in homelessness and a drop in crime not seen since the 60s. Harris also said that Bass refused to quote back down from President President Trump's immigration agenda. Bass supports LA's sanctuary city policies. She also approves spending $250,000 in taxpayer funds on signs that claim federal agents are barred from city property. For his part, US Attorney Bill Asale has said that the signs have no legal weight and are essentially useless.

[Georgia Howe]

Virginia Democratic governor Abigail Spanberger recently sat down for an interview with a local ABC affiliate, where she admitted to being open to a wide slate of new taxes on goods such as gym memberships, streaming services and dog grooming.

[Abigail Spanberger]

I think that the every idea, as long as it's reasonable and makes some amount of sense, should be entertained and should be discussed. And so as you mentioned the one on streaming services you used to buy a dvd, there'd be a sales tax. I think they're worthy conversations to be had about what does revenue generation look like into the future as our economy changes in so many ways, you tell

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[Unidentified Reporter]

Justice Samuel Alito slammed Ketanji Brown Jackson over what he called her, quote, baseless and insulting voting rights. Rant Daily Wire Homepage managing editor Jordan Schroeder has the details.

[Jordan Schroeder]

In an order Monday, the high court allowed its landmark Voting Rights act ruling to take effect immediately. The Six3 decision, authored by Alito, struck down Louisiana's congressional map and sharply limited the ability of states to consider race when drawing congressional maps, reigniting redistricting battles nationwide ahead of the 2026 midterms. The routine order took an unexpected turn, however, when Justice Jackson issued a lone dissent, calling the court's action quote unwarranted and unwise she wrote that the court had spawned chaos and accused the court of overreaching into the implementation of the law. But Justice Alito was having none of it and responded by writing, quote, the dissent in the suit levels charges that cannot go unanswered. The dissent would require the 2026 congressional elections in Louisiana be held under a map that has been held to be unconstitutional. Alito finished by calling Jackson's legal arguments faceless, insulting and trivial at best.

[Georgia Howe]

President Trump is bringing back the presidential Fitness Test Daily Wire Lifestyle reporter Lauren

[Lauren Baer]

Baer has more Many listeners who attended public school prior to the 2010s will remember the annual assessment of fitness, which included things like the infamous mile run, push ups, sit ups and flexibility measures. Students who performed in the top 15th percentile nationwide across all categories of fitness received a patch of recognition from the federal government. The program was phased out in 2012 by the Obama administration in favor of a new program emphasizing non competitive lifelong habits with no awards. The change was intended to avoid embarrassment for less athletic students. In 2025, President Trump directed authorities to develop a plan to reboot the program. And in an executive order signed today in the Oval Office, President Trump directed public schools to re implement the program in the coming school year.

[General Dan Kane]

Today I sign a proclamation recognizing national youth, sports and fitness, and I'll also sign the very first copy of the new revitalized Presidential Fitness Test Award, a certificate in recognition of achievement of the gold standard of physical fitness.

[Lauren Baer]

The program remains optional, but several states have already signed on.

[Unidentified Reporter]

Shares for UPS and FedEx plunged this week on the news that Amazon has opened its entire shipping network to customers. After spending decades mastering logistics, Amazon launched supply chain services on Monday and will now allow companies to use its extensive distribution network for their own business. The venture puts the massive online retailer in direct competition with other shippers that used to benefit from increased business.

[Georgia Howe]

Because of Amazon, Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to Rome to make peace with the pope. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham has the story.

[Megan Basham]

Pope Leo has criticized the Trump administration over U.S. operations in Iran, prompting the president to respond at one point suggesting that the Vatican chose him as a response to Trump's presidency. If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican, the president said in a fiery truth. Social Post VP Vance has already taken some steps toward reconciliation, but now the administration is sending Rubio to the Vatican to help bridge the divide. Both Vance and Rubio are practicing Catholics. While social media chatter has made the disagreement appear close to insurmountable, administration officials hope the visit will show that their goals are more aligned with the Vatican's than it may seem.

[Unidentified Reporter]

Prosecutors say the suspected arsonist behind the Palisades fire became fixated on Luigi Mangione before the blaze. Daily Wire reporter Zach Jewell has the story.

[Zach Jewell]

Jonathan Rinder Nash frequently searched phrases like free Luigi Mangione and expressed anger at capitalism and the wealthy in the weeks preceding the Palisades fire. Court filings also claim the suspect, an Uber driver, ranted to passengers in the days leading up to the fire, describing himself as, quote, pissed off at the world and suggesting the attack would be driven by resentment toward the rich, comparing it to Mangione's alleged crime. Rindernesh has pleaded not guilty to federal arson charges tied to the fire, which destroyed roughly 7,000 homes and businesses, caused an estimated $150 billion in damage and left 12 people dead. He has been held without bail since his arrest.

[John Bickley]

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen is warning that US Banks face a rising threat from AI driven cyber attacks. Daily Wire assistant editor Andy Valdez has more.

[Andy Valdez]

Bessen appeared on Fox News saying financial institutions must actively strengthen defenses in the wake of rapidly advancing AI. He emphasized that recent developments represent a quote, step change in large language model capabilities and stress the need for the US to stay ahead while balancing innovation with security. When asked if Americans should worry about AI hacking their bank accounts, he replied bluntly, quote, you should. The concern stems from AI systems like anthropic Smithos Model, which identifies thousands of serious vulnerabilities across widely used software, highlighting a twofold Banks and security teams can deploy these tools to detect and fix weaknesses, but hackers can also exploit them to accelerate attacks.

[Georgia Howe]

The number of people on food stamps has plummeted recently as states put in place new rules against fraud and waste. Federal data shows that since the Trump administration enacted new restrictions on the program last year, states have significantly reduced SNAP recipients. Some states, such as Arizona, have seen drops as large as 50%. Some of the rule changes include raising the age for work requirements from 54 to 64 and tightening eligibility to ensure illegal aliens are not improperly on snaprolls.

[John Bickley]

And we owe you a massive thank you. The Daily Wire is celebrating two trophies from the Media Research Center's annual Watchdog Awards. Morning Wire received the coveted Outstanding Podcast award, which means a ton to this whole team here as we show up every day to deliver the news you need to know.

[Georgia Howe]

And there's actually more to this story as Daily Wire immigration reporter and Morning Wire regular Jenny Terre also won an award for Outstanding Reporter and was recognized, quote, as a leading voice in immigration reporting. The MRC awarded Jenny for her coverage of the migrant gang Cris in Aurora, Colorado, and for her reporting at the front lines of Trump's deportation effort in Minneapolis.

[Unidentified Reporter]

And as Newsbusters managing editor Curtis Hauck pointed out, the Daily Wire is actually the only news organization to win a watchdog award every year since its creation half a decade ago. And we're really proud to continue that tradition.

[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 it, earlier today, we covered some major stories, including the US Shepherding oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Supreme Court weighing in on mail order, abortion, drugs, and the House Judiciary Committee digging into the Democrats main fundraising platform. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another full edition of MORNING WIRE.