Iran Nuclear Deal? & Birthright Citizenship | 5.16.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary: Iran Nuclear Deal & Birthright Citizenship | 05.16.25

Released on May 16, 2025 by The Daily Wire

---

Introduction

In the May 16, 2025 episode of Morning Wire, hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe delve into two pressing national issues: the potential Iran nuclear deal brokered by President Trump and the Supreme Court's ongoing deliberations on birthright citizenship. Additionally, the episode touches on President Trump's intervention in college athletics. This summary captures the key discussions, insights, and notable quotes from the episode, providing a comprehensive overview for those who haven't listened.

---

1. Iran Nuclear Deal

President Trump's Announcement

The episode kicks off with President Trump announcing that the United States is nearing a historic nuclear deal with Iran.

• John Bickley [00:04]: "President Trump reveals the US Is close to a nuclear deal with Iran."

• President Trump [00:07]: "This is a very, very nice step. And there's a violent step. The violence like people haven't seen before. I don't want to do the second step."

Context and Implications

Cabot Phillips, Daily Wire senior editor, provides an in-depth analysis of the deal's background and its significance.

• Georgia Howe [01:21]: "Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with more. So Cabot, this has massive implications for the Middle East. But for people who have not been following this story, can you just give some context?"

• Cabot Phillips [01:32]:

  "For decades, Iran has been attempting to construct nuclear weapons and the US now considers them a nuclear threshold state. That means they are very close for obvious reasons. That's of major concern to the West. We're talking about a country whose leaders routinely refer to the US as the Great Satan and a government which spends billions of dollars every year funding terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis."

Phillips outlines the four rounds of negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran, emphasizing the potential terms of the deal.

• Cabot Phillips [02:14]:

  "The general idea is that Iran will agree to never produce nuclear weapons in the future in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions and obviously for peace. They would agree to hand over existing stockpiles of enriched uranium, only enrich uranium to low levels consistent with civilian use and allow third-party inspectors to supervise their entire nuclear process."

Critics and Challenges

While the deal appears promising, Phillips highlights significant reservations among Republicans and concerns about Iran's compliance.

• Cabot Phillips [03:02]:

  "There certainly are critics of this agreement. They say there's no way to make sure that Iran will actually hand over all of its nuclear materials. And we just don't know if they'll even allow nuclear inspectors to look at all of their facilities."

A notable Republican dissent is mentioned:

• Cabot Phillips [03:50]:

  "52 GOP senators and nearly 180 GOP House members signed a letter this week to President Trump saying, 'the scope and breadth of Iran's nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium.'"

President Trump's Stance

Trump remains firm on the deal's primary condition.

• President Trump [03:02]:

  "It's not like I have to give you 30 pages worth of details. There's only one sentence. They can't have a nuclear weapon."

Regional Developments

Zimmerman's Middle East tour underscores the administration's strategy of "peace through strength."

• President Trump [04:37]:

  "My priority is to end conflicts, not start them. But I will never hesitate to wield American power if it's necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners."

---

2. Supreme Court and Birthright Citizenship

Supreme Court Hearings

The episode transitions to the Supreme Court's oral arguments challenging President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship.

• Georgia Howe [05:58]:

  "The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case challenging President Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship."

Legal Perspectives

Mary Margaret Olihan, Daily Wire White House correspondent, breaks down the case's intricacies.

• Mary Margaret Olihan [06:20]:

  "Trump's executive order interprets the 14th Amendment to deny automatic citizenship to children who are born in the US if their mother was unlawfully in the country or if their father isn't a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident."

Solicitor General's Argument

• John Sauer [06:54]:

  "Since January 20th, district courts have now issued 40 universal injunctions against the federal government, including 35 from the same five judicial districts. This is a bipartisan problem that has now spanned the last five presidential administrations."

Liberal Justices' Stance

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Justice Sonia Sotomayor express strong opposition to the administration's stance.

• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson [07:52]:

  "It seems to me that your argument says we get to keep on doing it until everyone who is potentially harmed by it figures out how to file a lawsuit, hire a lawyer, et cetera. And I don't understand how that is remotely consistent with the rule of law."

• Justice Sonia Sotomayor [08:32]:

  "It was about giving citizenship to the children of slaves, not to the children of illegal immigrants..."

Conservative Justices' Reactions

While not fully endorsing the Trump administration's arguments, some conservative justices show skepticism towards the use of nationwide injunctions.

• Justice Clarence Thomas [09:21]:

  "We survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions."

President Trump's Commentary

Trump dismisses birthright citizenship as an avenue for permanent residency under false pretenses.

• President Trump [09:06]:

  "Birthright citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent citizens of the United States of America and bringing their families with them."

Implications

The case is pivotal in determining the limits of executive power and the interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

---

3. President Trump's Intervention in College Athletics

Commission on College Sports

Addressing the turmoil in college athletics, President Trump announces the creation of a commission to streamline and regulate the sector.

• Georgia Howe [10:07]:

  "President Trump plans to create a commission to study ailing issues in college athletics with the possibility of signing an executive order."

Issues in College Sports

Cody Campbell, co-host of Daily Wire's Crane and Company, elaborates on the current challenges.

• Cody Campbell [10:36]:

  "College athletics has experienced a bit of turmoil over the last few years... President Trump is getting involved and it's specifically about the sort of economic, you know, wild, wild west that we see there."

Commission's Mandate

The commission aims to address various aspects of college sports, including player transfers, compensation, and regulatory oversight.

• Cody Campbell [11:20]:

  "The commission is going to... deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports, including the frequency of player movement in the transfer portal, the unregulated booster compensation to paid athletes, the debate of college athlete employment, the application of Title 9 specifically in regards to revenue sharing and even conference membership makeup and conference television contracts."

Nick Saban's Role and Perspective

Legendary coach Nick Saban is appointed as co-chair, bringing his expertise to the commission.

• Nick Saban [12:13]:

  "To be honest with you, I don't really know much about this commission. I don't really know what this commission would do. I think we've got to figure out who's got the will to do it."

Saban emphasizes the need for structured reforms without altering the fundamental nature of college athletics.

• Nick Saban [12:33]:

  "I don't think it's in best interest of the players to necessarily be employees. And I think authentic name, image and likeness is good for players, but I don't think pay for play is necessarily what we want."

Criticism and Support

While some applaud Saban's appointment, others question the move's timing and potential motives, especially in light of ongoing NCAA settlements.

• Cody Campbell [13:06]:

  "Other people, though, see this as being a bit hypocritical given the amount of money Coach Saban himself made from college sports."

Interplay with NCAA Settlement

The pending House vs NCAA settlement remains a crucial backdrop, with potential implications for the commission's initiatives.

• Cody Campbell [13:23]:

  "There is a settlement that is expected within the coming weeks or really even within the coming days... it's quite likely that this new endeavor would not interfere with that at all."

Legal Challenges

Steve Berman, plaintiff's attorney, criticizes the administration's involvement as undermining athletes' rights.

• Steve Berman [Quoted by Cody Campbell]:

  "College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefiting massively from nil deals. They don't need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions of dollars."

---

Conclusion

The May 16 episode of Morning Wire provides listeners with a thorough examination of significant national issues, from international diplomacy with Iran to critical Supreme Court deliberations on citizenship and domestic concerns in college athletics. Through insightful analysis and direct quotes from key figures, the hosts deliver a compelling narrative that informs and engages, staying true to Morning Wire’s mission to offer trustworthy and straightforward news coverage.

---

Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth analysis in upcoming episodes of Morning Wire.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

President Trump reveals the US Is close to a nuclear deal with Iran.

[President Trump]

This is a very, very nice step. And there's a violent step. The violence like people haven't seen before. I don't want to do the second step.

[Georgia Howe]

What other developments came out of the president's Middle east tour?

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, May 16th, and this is Morning Wire.

[Georgia Howe]

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments challenging birthright citizenship. What are the wider implications of the case?

[Cabot Phillips]

We've got judges cosplaying as presidents. Look, judges aren't presidents. They're not politicians. They're not there to make executive decisions.

[John Bickley]

And Trump drafts coaching legend Nick Saban to bring some order to big dollar college athletics.

[Nick Saban]

You know, when President Trump spoke at commencement at Alab, you know, he said, all my friends are saying college football is really messed up. You know, let's get together so I can figure out or we can figure out, you know, how to fix it.

[Georgia Howe]

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

[John Bickley]

After months of tense negotiations, President Trump says Iran is on the verge of signing a historic nuclear deal.

[Georgia Howe]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with more. So Cabot, this has massive implications for the Middle east. But for people who have not been following this story, can you just give some context?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, for decades, Iran has been attempting to construct nuclear weapons and the US now considers them a nuclear threshold state. That means they are very close for obvious reasons. That's of major concern to the West. We're talking about a country whose leaders routinely refer to the US as the Great Satan and a government which spends billions of dollars every year funding terror groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Now, over the last four years, President Biden attempted to revive the Obama era nuclear deal with Iran. He waived sanctions as a show of goodwill. But ultimately, Iranian officials never really came to the table for formal negotiations and a deal was never reached. But now, after four rounds of formal talks between the White House and Iran, President Trump says they are now ready to cut a deal.

[Georgia Howe]

So this is potentially very fast progress. What do we think this deal is going to look like?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, the general idea is that Iran will agree to never produce nuclear weapons in the future in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions and obviously for peace. A top advisor to the country's supreme leader told NBC that they would commit to never making making nuclear weapons. They would agree to hand over existing stockpiles of enriched uranium, only enrich uranium to low levels consistent with civilian use and allow third party inspectors to supervise their entire nuclear process. In exchange, they want the US to lift all economic sanctions, which really have just hobbled the entire Iranian economy for decades. Now, President Trump has also said he wants to see them cut funding to those terror groups they support. But it's unclear right now if that part will be included in the final deal. But for Trump, the top line of the deal is clear. Have a listen.

[President Trump]

It's not like I have to give you 30 pages worth of details. There's only one sentence. They can't have a nuclear weapon.

[Cabot Phillips]

Now, there certainly are critics of this agreement. They say there's no way to make sure that Iran will actually hand over all of its nuclear materials. And we just don't know if they'll even allow nuclear inspectors to look at all of their facilities. And it's worth noting many Republicans do want a deal, but not one that allows Iran to continue enriching any uranium, even low levels, for civilian use. To that point, 52 GOP senators and nearly 180 GOP House members signed a letter this week to President Trump saying, quote, the scope and breadth of Iran's nuclear buildout have made it impossible to verify any new deal that allows Iran to continue enriching uranium. So we'll have to see if the White House draws a red line on enrichment or allows those lower levels to take place.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, why is Iran willing to make this deal now?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, if you ask the White House, they say it's proof that President Trump's peace through strength approach is working. And it's really striking. If you listen to Trump's message to the Iran Iranians on this deal, he told them, we can go two ways, either the nice way or the not nice way, AKA the military approach.

[Georgia Howe]

Now, the backdrop to all of this is President Trump has been in the Middle east for the past few days. What else has been going on?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, on Thursday, he started the day in Qatar, where he met with government officials and business leaders and touted the trillion plus dollars of investments the Qataris and others in the region have agreed to spend on American products. He also stopped at America's main military installation in the region, speaking to troops before a banner with three big words, peace through strength. Have a listen to some of that speech.

[President Trump]

My priority is to end conflicts, not start them. But I will never hesitate to wield American power if it's necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners. And this is one of our great partners right here. When we're threatened America's military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it.

[Cabot Phillips]

And after that, he made his final stop in the United Arab Emirates, where he again met with more business leaders to push for further investments in the American economy. And for people watching the video version of this show, which all of you should be doing, you can see that he was greeted with a traditional hair dance. Yes, that is a real thing. It was very cool to see. That video has since gone viral. So Trump getting quite the warm welcome in Abu Dhabi.

[Georgia Howe]

A very memorable visual for sure. Cabot, thanks for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

[David Cohn]

Made in America means something to our country's private equity investors. When you invest 700 billion annually in American companies and the 13 million workers and families they support, you're investing in the success of Main Street. That's money powering growth in manufacturing, tech, energy, and innovation. And it starts with private equity backing American ambition. Learn how private equity keeps American businesses [e-mail], paid for by the American Investment Council.

[Georgia Howe]

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Thursday in a case challenging President Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship. The pivotal case calls into question whether lower courts have the power to block executive branch actions.

[John Bickley]

Joining us to break down the case is Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olihan. Hey, Mary Margaret. So tell us about the president's efforts to end birthright citizenship.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Well, good morning, John. And yes, the court took up this case in April, and it it hinges on three lower court cases issuing nationwide injunctions blocking Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. Now, Trump's executive order interprets the 14th Amendment to deny automatic citizenship to children who are born in the US if their mother was unlawfully in the country or if their father isn't a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. The order is currently on hold while the Supreme Court considers it. And the Trump administration is arguing that the lower courts exceeded their authority. Here's U.S. solicitor General John Sauer speaking on this topic.

[John Sauer]

Since January 20th, district courts have now issued 40 universal injunctions against the federal government, including 35 from the same five judicial districts. This is a bipartisan problem that has now spanned the last five presidential administrations. Universal injunctions exceed the judicial power granted in Article 3, which exists only to address the injury to the complaining part.

[John Bickley]

So let's start with the left side of the court. Where do the liberal justices stand on this issue?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Well, the liberal justices clearly didn't agree with the Trump administration's arguments. They believe Trump's order is at odds with many, many years of Supreme Court precedent. To be clear, the birthright citizenship issue was being indirectly considered. The main objectives of the case are the nationwide injunctions, and those were the focus of Thursday's arguments. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said that the Trump administration arguments seem to turn the justice system into, and I'm quoting here, a kind of catch me if you can regime. Here she is explaining that thought.

[Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson]

Justice Pagan says, let's assume for the purpose of this that you're wrong about the merits that the government is not allowed to do this under the Constitution. And yet it seems to me that your argument says we get to keep on doing it until everyone who is potentially harmed by it figures out how to file a lawsuit, hire a lawyer, et cetera. And I don't understand how that is remotely consistent with the rule of law.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

One moment I found particularly interesting. Justice Sotomayor argued that the Trump administration was violating not only precedent but also the, quote, plain meaning of the 14th amendment. Here's that exchange.

[John Sauer]

It was about giving citizenship to the children of slaves, not to the children of illegal immigrants who really were not even a very discreet at that time.

[Cabot Phillips]

And that's the service Congress who argued against the 13th amendment just because cause of that.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

At one point, Justice John Roberts had to actually ask Justice Sotomayor to let him hear the rest of Sauer's answer.

[John Sauer]

We are not claiming that because we're conceding that there could be a, an inappropriate case.

[Cabot Phillips]

Only a class only. Can I hear that? Can I hear the rest of his answer?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Meanwhile, Justice Kagan pointed out that many lower courts are ruling against Trump's executive order. This is not a hypothetical, she says every court is ruling against you.

[John Bickley]

All right, now what about the conservative justices? Do they seem open to the administration's arguments?

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Well, some of them seem skeptical, but Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out that the United States, quote, survived until the 1960s without nationwide injunctions. Here's Justice Thomas on that point.

[Cabot Phillips]

We survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions.

[John Sauer]

That's exactly correct. And in fact, those are very limited, very rare, even in the 1960s. It really exploded in 2007 in our circ petition in Summers against Earth Island Institute. We pointed out that the 9th Circuit had started doing this and we a whole bunch of cases involving environmental claims.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Trump himself sounded off from the Middle east, saying in a truth social post, and I'm quoting here, birthright citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent citizens of the United States of America and bringing their families with them. All the time laughing at the quote Suckers that we are, the United States of America is the only country in the world that does this. For what reason, nobody knows. But the drug cartels love it.

[John Bickley]

Well, a very consequential case in the hands of the high court. Now, Mary Margaret, thank you so much for reporting.

[Mary Margaret Olihan]

Thanks for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

President Trump plans to create a commission to study ailing issues in college athletics with the possibility of signing an executive order.

[John Bickley]

Here to tell us more is David Cohn, co host of Daily Wires, Crane and Company. Hey, David. So we've got a lot of chaos in college sports right now. We've talked about this a little bit before. Now President Trump is getting involved and it's specifically about the sort of economic, you know, wild, wild west that we see there. Tell us what's happening here.

[Cody Campbell]

Certainly, as you and many of your listeners know, college athletics has experienced a bit of turmoil over the last few years. And it's not just with college athletes being able to participate in their own name, image and likeness, what we call nil, but direct compensation from the universities and some of these collectives. Well, President Trump gave a commencement address week before last at the University of Alabama, and he was introduced by legendary head coach Nick Saban. Trump went on to deliver this instantly viral line.

[President Trump]

It is clear to see the next chapter of the American story will not be written by the Harvard Crimson. It will be written by you, the Crimson Tide.

[Cabot Phillips]

True.

[President Trump]

That's true.

[Cody Campbell]

Now, shortly after this interaction with Coach Sabin, the president announced he was creating a commission. And that commission is going to, and I'm reading here verbatim, deeply examine the unwieldy landscape of college sports, including the frequency of player movement in the transfer portal, the unregulated booster compensation to paid athletes, the debate of college athlete employment, the application of Title 9 specifically in regards to revenue sharing and even conference membership makeup and conference television contracts.

[John Bickley]

There's a lot going on there. Now, Coach Saban has a seat at this table, correct?

[Cody Campbell]

President Trump has named Nick Saban the co chair of this commission, with the other co chair being Cody Campbell. He is the chairman of Texas Tech's Board of Regents and he created Texas Tech's Nil Collective. Now, Coach Saban had not given any public comments on this before the day before yesterday. Here's a bit of what he had to say.

[Nick Saban]

To be honest with you, I don't really know much about this commission. I don't really know what this commission would do. You know, I think we know what needs to be done. I just think we've got to Figure out who's got the will to do it.

[Cody Campbell]

Now, Coach Saban has long called for more guardrails in the system. And here's a little bit more of what he had to say to Paul Fine Bomb this week.

[Nick Saban]

I don't think it's in best interest of the players to necessarily be employees. And I think authentic name, image and likeness is good for players, but I don't think pay for play is necessarily what we want.

[Cody Campbell]

Many people believe Nick Saban is the best person to lead this initiative given his on field success with seven national championships over the years with Alabama and lsu and the fact that he has recently retired as of last year. Other people, though, see this as being a bit hypocritical given the amount of money Coach Saban himself made from college sports.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, and Affleck commercials as well.

[Nick Saban]

Yes, that's how you hold up a trophy.

[John Bickley]

So hanging over all of this is this pending settlement between the NCAA and the House. They call this the House settlement. Is that going to affect any of these decisions and what the commission is doing here?

[Cody Campbell]

That's a really great question. So House versus the NCAA is a class action antitrust lawsuit that in effect would allow college athletes to participate in revenue sharing from the TV deals, you know, vi universities basically, and not just from booster collectives and the sort. There is a settlement that is expected within the coming weeks or really even within the coming days. So it's quite likely that this new endeavor would not interfere with that at all. But that didn't stop the plaintiff's attorney in this case, and his name is Steve Berman, from blasting Saban and Trump and their discussions they're having. I want to read this quote here from Berman. College athletes are spearheading historic changes and benefiting massively from nil deals. They don't need this unmerited interference from a coach only seeking to protect the system that made him tens of millions of dollars. On the other hand, though, the NCAA would love the involvement from the government now. You know, we have talked ad nauseam with Senators Tommy Tuperville and Ted Cruz on our show Crane and Company. There have been no bills put forward that have gained traction in Congress. So I think President Trump is now saying, well, I'll take matters into my own hands.

[John Bickley]

My massive settlement on the horizon. Fascinating stuff happening.

[Cody Campbell]

It is fascinating.

[John Bickley]

Dave, thanks so much for joining us.

[Cody Campbell]

Thanks for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with more news. You need to know.