‘No Kings’ Sweeps U.S. & Pentagon Preps Ground Op? | 3.30.26

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: ‘No Kings’ Sweeps U.S. & Pentagon Preps Ground Op?
Date: March 30, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Key Contributors: Megan Basham, Cabot Phillips, Cameron Arcan

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Episode Overview

This episode addresses the sweeping “No Kings” protest movement erupting across major U.S. cities and abroad, associated escalations into violence, and underlying funding mechanisms. The hosts also cover new developments regarding potential U.S. ground operations in Iran, threats to domestic military infrastructure, the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding standoff, and the impact of government pay disruption on air travel.

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1. “No Kings” Protests: Roots, Violence, and Funding

Main Discussion Points

• Protest Scope:
  Protests labeled “No Kings” have surged in major coastal U.S. cities and in London, some devolving into violence.
  [02:40]

• Protest Focus:
  Initially unclear, the protests are largely anti-Trump, invoking issues like immigration, executive orders (notably regarding transgender troops), rising gas prices, the Iran war, and even the Epstein files. Protesters voice a “grab bag” of grievances, adapting to the issue of the day.
  [03:05 – 04:05]

  “Really just whatever the issues of the day are, they will use those as the impetus of protesting.” – Megan Basham [04:05]

  “It’s become a little bit comical...you have no Kings protests in places like London where the protesters do rather famously have a king.” – Megan Basham [04:16]

• Escalation and Violence:
  In Portland, protesters broke into an ICE facility, attacked federal agents, and graffitied death threats. In Los Angeles, similar threats (“kill ICE”) were seen in daylight.
  [04:37 – 05:27]

• Protest Symbols and Foreign Influence:
  The protests feature numerous flags, including communist, Iranian regime, and Palestinian flags, sparking questions about the movement’s true backers.
  [05:27]

• Funding Sources:
  Though promoted as grassroots, investigative reporting links “No Kings” to major left-leaning organizations and unions, including Soros-linked foundations (Indivisible, MoveOn.org, 5051 Movement), AFL-CIO, and Federation of Teachers. These activities often surge near elections, possibly as mobilization efforts.
  [05:51 – 06:41]

  “What you find is really a well funded, well organized network...drawing from an established ecosystem of left wing groups.” – Megan Basham [05:54]

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2. Pentagon Preps Ground Operation in Iran

Main Discussion Points

• Troop Movements and Political Implications:
  Around 50,000 U.S. troops are now in the Middle East, with the Trump administration considering an additional 10,000 ground troops. There’s an explicit effort to avoid a prolonged occupation (“not interested in being in Iran a year down the road”).
  [08:15]

  “Defense officials have made clear that any such operation...would not be a full-scale years-long invasion...but a much more limited weeks-long effort.” – Cabot Phillips [08:55]

• Possible Targets:
  Plans under review include seizing Kharg Island (crucial to Iranian oil), and raids on the Iranian coast to neutralize missile systems threatening commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
  [09:16]

• Negotiation vs. Attack:
  Some in D.C. believe the threat of ground operations is intended more as negotiating leverage than a signal of imminent war. Public support for boots on the ground remains low (10-20%).
  [09:40]

• Iranian Response:
  Iran has promised that any American troops on Iranian soil would face “captivity, dismemberment and disappearance.”
  [10:14]

  “They are, quote, counting the moments. Should these threats be carried out to destroy your army...” – Cabot Phillips [10:19]

• Military Capability & Recent Attacks:
  Despite being weakened (naval power diminished by 90%), Iran demonstrated capacity by striking Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, injuring American troops and damaging a critical command aircraft. Ukrainian intelligence claims Russia provided satellite support to Iran for the strike.
  [10:31 – 11:33]

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3. Domestic Military Security Breach

Main Discussion Points

• Drone Swarm Incident:
  On March 9, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana went into lockdown due to sophisticated drone incursions. Repeated swarms avoided detection and jammed signals, targeting highly sensitive areas (home to B52 bombers and the nuclear command).
  [11:42 – 12:56]

  “They possessed, quote, long range control links and resistance to jamming... after entering the base’s airspace, quote, dispersed across sensitive locations...” – Cabot Phillips [12:42]

• Suspected Foreign Adversaries:
  Indications are that the drone activity outstripped Iran’s capabilities, leaving Russia and China as the likely suspects.
  [12:46]

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4. Homeland Security Shutdown, Pay Impacts, and Airport Delays

Main Discussion Points

• Legislative Deadlock:
  Congress remains locked in a funding battle over DHS. The House passed a continuing resolution including full funding, rejecting the Senate’s carve-outs for ICE and Border Patrol.
  [13:41 – 14:51]

  “This vote was largely along party lines... This is a very clear rebuke of the Senate.” – Cameron Arcan [13:57]

• Trump’s Position:
  President Trump rejected the Senate deal and called for ending the Senate filibuster to pass his legislative agenda (notably the Save America Act, a voter ID initiative).
  [14:59]

• TSA & Air Travel:
  Amid the funding shortfall, Trump ordered back pay for TSA, aiming to alleviate long airport wait times. While some improvement is noted, 500 TSA agents have resigned, raising concerns over future staffing.
  [15:43 – 16:46]

  “TSA officers are expected to receive back pay starting this week... but... 500 agents have fully quit their job.” – Cameron Arcan [15:56; 16:46]

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5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “What makes Trump a king? That’s what he campaigned on, bringing prices down on everything, everything’s gone up. I mean, the Epstein files, he should be released…” – No Kings protester [03:40]
• “Americans are largely split along party lines about airstrikes on Iran, but polling shows that support for boots on the ground is in the 10 to 20% range, so it’s not popular.” – Cabot Phillips [09:53]
• “Russia had taken satellite images of that base, Prince Sultan, in the days just before it was targeted by Iran.” – Cabot Phillips [11:29]

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6. Timestamps for Key Segments

• No Kings Protests – Overview & Interviews: 02:40 – 06:51
• Pentagon/Iran Ground Op Discussion: 07:55 – 11:33
• U.S. Base Drone Incident: 11:33 – 12:56
• DHS Funding Battle & TSA/Airport Issues: 13:33 – 16:54

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7. Tone and Context

The tone is direct, urgent, and news-centric, with a critical eye towards progressive activism and the current administration’s responses at home and abroad. There’s an emphasis on connecting protest funding to established political networks and on unpacking the real-world consequences of Washington’s legislative deadlock.

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Conclusion

Listeners are brought up-to-date with the latest on major protest activity and its wider implications for domestic security and policy, U.S. military readiness, and ongoing political gridlock affecting essential services. The episode delivers a blend of on-ground reporting, political analysis, and security briefings—delivered in the brisk, factual style that Morning Wire is known for.

Transcript

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[John Bickley]

A series of orchestrated and well funded no Kings protests take over major cities on both coasts and some devolve into violence.

[Host/Announcer]

Who's behind the protests and how are officials responding to the rioting?

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 30th. This is Morning Wire.

[Host/Announcer]

As US Troops amass in the Middle east, new reports suggest a ground operation could be in the works. Will President Trump order boots on the ground? And what form might that take?

[Cabot Phillips]

I think the president's been very clear

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about this, that we're not interested in being in Iran a year down the road.

[Cameron Arcan]

Two years down the road. We're taking care of business. We're going to be out of there soon.

[John Bickley]

And what can travelers expect at the airport this week after another House vote and Trump's order to pay pay tsa.

[Cabot Phillips]

We'll be there as long as they need us until they get back to normal operation and feel like those airports are secure.

[Host/Announcer]

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

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[Host/Announcer]

Kings protests are back, drawing large crowds in cities from Portland to New York and even overseas in London. And in some places they've turned violent.

[John Bickley]

Here with more on these protests that have taken over big cities here and abroad is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham. So, Megan, we first saw these no Kings demonstrations last June and then again in October. First, what exactly is this new round of protests about?

[Megan Basham]

You know, that's a really good question, John, because it wasn't always entirely clear what the first round was about. You heard them bring up issues like immigration. They objected to executive orders that required military members not to identify as transgender. And so really just kind of a grab bag of ideas that seem to amount to overall anti Trumpism. And I would say that that hasn't changed a whole lot as our reporter Breca Stole found when she spoke to some of these protesters in D.C. who are now bringing up different issues like gas prices and the war in Iran. What makes Trump a king? What makes him a king? That's what he campaigned on, bringing prices down on everything, everything's gone up. I mean, the Epstein files, he should be released. I mean, what are, what's holding them up? We don't have to worry about losing

[Cabot Phillips]

our rights as women as, as any

[Host/Announcer]

marginalized group, tariffs, the Iran war, oil prices going up.

[Megan Basham]

So really just whatever the issues of the day are, they will use those kind of as the impetus of protesting. And at times, as Georgia mentioned, it's become a little bit comical, for example, when you have no Kings protests in places like London where the protesters do rather famously have a king.

[John Bickley]

Right. So I wanted to drill down on the immigration Focus for a moment of some of these protests that have turned into riots there. It seems like we're increasingly seeing criminal behavior under the banner of no Kings like we saw this weekend, correct?

[Megan Basham]

Yeah, that's absolutely right, John. Just to give you one example, in Portland this weekend, hundreds of protesters broke into an ICE facility. Some of the things that happened once they were through the gates is that the crowd threw projectiles at federal agents. They tackled at least one officer. Protesters were also seen scaling the building, kicking out a security camera, spray painting graffiti, including threats like death to ICE scum, other vulgar messages like that. And you can see a little bit more of that mayhem here. And then meanwhile, Fox News obtained footage of an ICE protester spray painting kill ice in Los Angeles in broad daylight,

[John Bickley]

an alarming direct call for violence that unfortunately we're getting used to hearing these days. Now, in a lot of this protest footage we see flags, communist flags, foreign regime flags, the Iranian regime, the Palestinians. That's prompted more questions about who's really behind all of this. We've talked about the funding behind this movement before, but remind our listeners who exactly is bankrolling no Kings.

[Megan Basham]

Yeah, John, so no Kings kind of presents itself as a grassroots, organic movement, but if you look beneath the surface as a number of outlets, including the Daily Wire have done, what you find is really a well funded, web, well organized network of organizations that are drawing from an established ecosystem of left wing groups. The Soros Linked Foundation, Indivisible, for example, is a major funder and organizer. There are also other Soros backed organizations like the 5051 movement, moveon.org no Kings protests have also been linked to labor unions like the AFL CIO and the Federation of Teachers. So I would guess that a big reason that you're starting to see those groups mobilize right now is because of course, we have midterm elections coming up.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, elections and nice weather have a funny way of coinciding with these protests, though. There's nothing funny about the trend towards violence among some of the groups involved. Megan, thanks so much for reporting.

[Megan Basham]

Yep, my pleasure.

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[John Bickley]

as President Trump weighs whether to deploy ground troops in Iran, new details have emerged regarding a mysterious security breach on a military base within the United States.

[Host/Announcer]

WIRED IN LIVE host Cabot Phillips joins us now to break it all down. So, Cabot, we're starting to get a better idea of what a ground operation in Iran could look like. What are we hearing?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, as we speak, the latest deployment of US Marines has just arrived to the region, bringing the total number of US service members in this conflict up to 50,000, about 5 to 7,000 of whom are ground troops. And the Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration is currently considering deploying 10,000 more ground troops in the coming weeks. This comes as negotiators from Turkey e, Egypt and Saudi Arabia met in Pakistan for new discussions. On Sunday, Pakistan offered to host negotiations between the US And Iran as well, though the two countries still have not sat down. The State Department is also urging citizens to leave Iraq immediately amid Iran backed terror threats in the country. Now, the White House has repeatedly stressed that President Trump has not yet made up his mind about deploying those ground forces, but that the Pentagon is ready if the order is given. And that's where these plans come into play. Defense officials have made clear that any such operation, though, would not be a full scale years long invasion, Asian like we saw in Iraq or Afghanistan, but a much more limited weeks long effort.

[Host/Announcer]

Do we know where those ground forces would potentially be deployed?

[Cabot Phillips]

So among the plans currently being reviewed by the president are the seizure of Kharg island, which is home to crucial oil infrastructure for Iran. There are also separate plans for raids on the Iranian coast to find and knock out missile systems that are targeting commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. That particular operation would reportedly include Marines and Special Forces units. Now, some in Washington believe this threat of ground troops from Trump has more to do with negotiating leverage than legitimate military plans. But it still looks to be a real possibility. This conflict has so far claimed the lives of 13 US service members and injured more than 300 others. So obviously a ground operation would present a dangerous new front militarily and also politically. Americans are largely split along party lines about airstrikes on Iran, but polling shows that support for boots on the ground is in the 10 to 20% range, so it's not popular. There is a lot for President Trump to balance. For their part, the Iranian military issued a statement saying they are, quote, counting the moments. Should these threats be carried out to destroy your army, they Also said that any boots on the ground would face, quote, captivity, dismemberment and disappearance.

[Host/Announcer]

So very menacing threats there. Does Iran have the military capability to actually follow through on that?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, there's no doubt their military has been severely weakened since this conflict started. Most of the country's largest naval vessels are, are now at the bottom of the ocean and missile launches are down over 90% since the first day of the war. But that does not mean they aren't still capable of inflicting damage. On Friday, for example, an Iranian missile and unmanned drones struck Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia that injured at least 12American troops, some of them severely. It also significantly damaged a number of American refueling planes and an E3 sentry that is one of the most important and expensive planes in the US Arsenal. The quarter billion dollar craft is basically an airborne command center that track drones, aircraft and troop movements from both sides. And on that strike in particular, there's reason to believe that Russia could be providing significant support to the Iranians. Speaking over the weekend, Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian intelligence showed with quote 100% certainty that Russia had taken satellite images of that base, Prince Sultan, in the days just before it was targeted by Iran.

[Host/Announcer]

Now all of this comes amid some pretty concerning reports about drone activity over a U. S. Base here stateside. What have we learned?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. So back on March 9th, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, not in the Middle east, this is here in the US Was temporarily put under a shelter in place order after reports of suspicious drone activity over the installation. Keep in mind, this base houses long range B52 bombers and is also the headquarters of the Air Force Global strike command which helps oversee our nuclear arsenal. The shelter in place order was lifted within 12 hours. But we now know that those drone incursions not only continued over the next week, but but expanded. According to a Pentagon report obtained by ABC, throughout March 9th to 15th, sophisticated drones began to appear in swarms of 12 to 15 and operated in a way that implied an attempt to, quote, avoid the operators being located. And these were not your run of the mill hobbyist drones. The Pentagon report says they possessed, quote, long range control links and resistance to jamming and then after entering the base's airspace, quote, dispersed across sensitive locations on the base. And to make this story even more concerning, the drones displayed blinking lights, meaning they were not trying to be subtle, they wanted to be seen. Officials say they could have been operated and deployed by an adversary looking to test our military and how they would respond and that these drones are almost certainly beyond the capabilities of Iran. So that leaves Russia and China as obvious potential culprits.

[Host/Announcer]

Well, absolutely threatening for sure. Kabat, thanks for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

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[Host/Announcer]

Homeland Security shutdown could go on another two weeks as many members of Congress have flown home for Meanwhile, President Trump's

[John Bickley]

executive order to pay TSA should get lines moving again. Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arcan joins us to discuss. Morning, Cameron. So let's start with this apparently never ending funding battle. We had another vote Friday in the House. What's the latest there?

[Cameron Arcan]

Yes. So the House of Representatives voted late on Friday night to fund the entirety of the Department of Homeland security with a 60 day continuing resolution rejecting a compromise in the Senate passed earlier that morning. This vote was largely long party lines. It was 213 to 203 with only three Democrats voting to cross the aisle. Now this is a very clear rebuke of the Senate because keep in mind the Senate deal carved out ICE and Border Patrol from that funding. Now some of that was already funded through the one big beautiful Bill act, but there's still a lot of personnel in ICE and Border Patrol that are still not getting paid right now. While House Democrats did approve of the Senate deal, it did seem to be dead on arrival when President Trump publicly expressed his disapproval for the measure. In terms of the House measure, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it would also be dead on arrival for their solution.

[John Bickley]

All right, so it looked like we're heading to deadlock again. Where does the president stand on all of this? Now that we have this House bill passed, what is he calling for?

[Cameron Arcan]

So he's not thrilled about where things are right now. Now, the president told Fox News the other day that the Senate deal was not appropriate given the ICE and Border Patrol call. And as part of this, he has doubled down on his call to get rid of the Senate filibuster. That's that 60 vote threshold to move forward in most legislation in that chamber. Now this also ties back to his desire to pass the Save America act, which is that voter identification bill. Opponents worry that getting rid of the filibuster would make it easier for Democrats to pass some items that they want with some moderate Republican support. However, you have people who want to get rid of the filibuster saying that this is very necessary to pass the rest of President Trump's legislative agenda.

[John Bickley]

All right, so a major decision really looming for Republicans in the Senate. So this brings us to the airport chaos. We've seen some progress on that front in the last few days and Trump has now taken action. What should we expect this week?

[Cameron Arcan]

Yeah, so obviously people should still be keeping an eye on their flights. Some airports are still dealing with hours long wait times. However, ICE has done a significant job of cutting back some of those wait times at many airports around the United States, while others have still remained calm. Now, the important part here is TSA officers are expected to receive back pay starting this week. Now, the goal with that is to hopefully reduce the number of call outs to make sure that people are now going to get paid once again. And hopefully that will lead to shorter wait times across the board without needing the assistance of extra DHS help. But the important aspect of this here too is this could create some long term implications for TSA as 500 agents have fully quit their job. And there also could be some retention and recruitment issues down the road.

[John Bickley]

Well, I think I can safely say Americans are done with these hours long lines at the airport. So let's hope there is real progress this week. Cameron, thanks so much for reporting.

[Cameron Arcan]

Thank you.

[Host/Announcer]

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