Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: Marines Sink Narcos & Europe’s Rising Right
Date: September 3, 2025
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Duration covered: 00:34–15:35

Overview

This episode of Morning Wire covers three major news stories:

1. President Trump’s military crackdown on Venezuelan drug cartels and increased use of the military in domestic and immigration policy.
2. The surge of right-wing, nationalist parties across Europe’s largest economies, with a focus on immigration as the driving issue and establishment backlash.
3. The FDA revoking emergency use authorization for the COVID vaccine, Trump’s demands for transparency from Big Pharma, and the fallout at the CDC.

1. U.S. Military Operations Against Drug Cartels & Domestic Security

Key Points:

• Trump’s Strike on Narco Boat:
  President Trump announced a military strike against a Venezuelan cartel drug boat, marking a dramatic continuation of his "peace through strength" strategy.

  • “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug carrying boat. A lot of drugs in that boat.” — President Trump (read by John Bickley, 03:13)

• Escalation of Military Action:

  • Deployment of eight warships and 2,000 Marines for enhanced counternarcotics operations in the Pacific and Caribbean.
  • Trump previously designated Venezuelan drug cartels as terrorist organizations, granting the military broader latitude for offensive action.
  • "Now the question becomes if and how they will respond." — Cabot Phillips (03:30)

• Legal Pushback on Domestic Military Use:

  • Federal judge Charles Breyer ruled Trump’s earlier National Guard deployment in Los Angeles illegal and unnecessary.
  • The ruling bars federal military involvement in law enforcement duties (arrests, crowd control, evidence collection, etc.).
    • “He’s trying to prevent Trump from expanding his crime crack down to cities around the country.” — Cabot Phillips (04:43)
  • The administration is set to appeal; the order is on hold for ten days.
  • Trump plans to deploy guardsmen to Baltimore and Chicago.

• Military Lawyers as Temporary Immigration Judges:

  • In response to a massive immigration court backlog (3.5 million pending cases), up to 600 Defense Department lawyers will serve as temporary immigration judges.
  • The White House aims to double processing speed for deportations.
    • “This move will potentially double the number of immigration judges overnight.” — Cabot Phillips (06:03)

2. Europe’s Political Shift Rightward

Key Points:

• Surging Right-Wing Parties:

  • For the first time, right-wing parties are leading in France, Germany, and the UK.
  • Trend traced back to Italy’s 2022 right-wing shift.

• Immigration as the Central Issue:

  • Massive influx—estimates of 25–30 million immigrants since 2015—fueling public backlash.
    • “Immigration is the number one factor driving all of these movements, all these parties and a lot of these protests.” — Alvino Mario Fantini, European Conservative (08:16)
  • Cultural resentment intensifies as immigrants perceived to receive public assistance over citizens.
    • “If they didn’t see newcomers getting free handouts, ... I think it’d be different.” — Fantini (08:56)

• Rise of Nationalist Parties:

  • UK: Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, leads recent polls and elections.
  • France: National Rally now the largest parliamentary party.
  • Germany: Alternative for Germany (AfD), formerly fringe, now tops polls.

• Establishment Backlash & Suppression:

  • Use of legal, media, and intelligence tactics to marginalize right-wing leaders.
    • E.g., Marine Le Pen barred from office for five years; AfD classified as extremist and excluded from state TV.
  • “I think societies, countries, here, political parties are going to move further and further to the right. ... All of this is going to be used by those in power to justify clamping down even more.” — Fantini (10:50)

• Growing Dissent over Free Speech:

  • UK comedian Graham Linehan arrested for critical online posts about transgender topics.
  • J.K. Rowling responds publicly:
    • “What has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.” — J.K. Rowling (cited by Megan Basham, 11:36)

3. COVID Policy Shakeups: Vaccines, Big Pharma, and CDC Turmoil

Key Points:

• FDA Ends Emergency Use Authorization (EUA):

  • Only high-risk groups (65+ or underlying conditions) can get COVID shots without a doctor’s prescription; healthy individuals now require physician recommendation.
    • “We don’t have data in healthy Americans, so we’re not recommending it.” — Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner (12:40)

• Mandates Now Legally Impossible:

  • "No longer is [vaccine mandate] possible given the new landscape that we’ve created." — Dr. Makary (13:07)
  • Possible impacts: decreased uptake and insurance complications; cost for some could jump to $150+ per dose.

• Trump Demands Big Pharma Transparency:

  • Calls for public release of key COVID vaccine data, expressing skepticism over results kept from public view.
    • “I want the answer and I want it now. I have been shown information from Pfizer and others that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not?” — Donald Trump (read by Amanda Presta Giacomo, 13:40)
  • First public questioning of Operation Warp Speed.

• CDC Leadership Shakeup:

  • RFK Jr., as HHS Secretary, dismissed CDC Director Susan Menarez and several top CDC officials resigned in protest.
  • Former CDC directors pen critical op-ed, met with rebuttal from NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who blames earlier leadership for politicizing health responses.
    • “[Efforts] to restore gold standard science is actually what harms public health.” — Jay Bhattacharya (14:26)

• Host’s Reflection:

  • “There’s been a lot of public support behind really shaking things up at the CDC. So Kennedy probably feels he’s got a mandate of sorts.” — John Bickley (15:24)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• John Bickley (03:13):
  “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug carrying boat. A lot of drugs in that boat.”

• Alvino Mario Fantini (08:16):
  “Immigration is the number one factor driving all of these movements, all these parties and a lot of these protests... and that’s just going to grow.”

• Dr. Marty Makary (12:40):
  “We don’t have data in healthy Americans, so we’re not recommending it for healthy Americans.”

• Donald Trump (read by Amanda Presa Giacomo, 13:40):
  “I want the answer and I want it now. ... Why not?”

• J.K. Rowling (cited, 11:36):
  “What has the UK become? This is totalitarianism. Utterly deplorable.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:35] Trump’s military strike on Venezuelan drug boat
• [03:30–05:36] National Guard deployments and legal challenges
• [05:44–06:24] Defense Department lawyers as temporary immigration judges
• [07:25] Rise of right-wing parties in Europe
• [08:16] Immigration as animating issue (Fantini quote)
• [09:17] Nationalist polling victories in UK, Germany, France
• [10:50] Establishment backlash (Fantini quote)
• [11:36] Free speech controversy in UK, J.K. Rowling quote
• [11:44–13:32] FDA COVID vaccine rules update, mandates ended (Makary quote)
• [13:40–14:26] Trump on Big Pharma, CDC leadership shakeup
• [15:24] Host's reflection on public support for CDC shakeup

Conclusion

This episode covered significant developments in U.S. military operations against drug cartels, the evolving dynamics of European politics with a pronounced rightward shift, and impactful changes in U.S. COVID policy and health agency leadership. The show highlights how issues of security, immigration, free speech, and governmental transparency are creating political upheaval on both sides of the Atlantic.