Loading summary
John Bickley
Still waiting in line.
Stamps.com Advertiser
Again, that's time you'll never get back. Save time and money with stamps.com over 4 million businesses have skipped the line with stamps.com join them to save up to 90% off carrier rates from your computer or phone right now. Print postage for certified mail, registered mail and packages in seconds. Then schedule a pickup right from your home or office for a limited time. Go to stamps.com and use code podcast for a free welcome gift. Taxes and fees apply.
John Bickley
After the Democrats major setback in Virginia Republicans are winning the redistricting battle, but control of the House is far from secure. Where does the electoral math stand now?
Daily Wire Contributor
There are a lot of other options
Tim Pierce
around the country, even if not in Virginia.
Daily Wire Contributor
I have no doubt that Democrats are looking to explore all of them.
John Bickley
I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, May 11th. This is Morning Wire.
As President Trump prepares to head to Beijing this week, Iran submits its formal response to the latest U.S. peace proposal.
Donald Trump
They're militarily defeated in their own minds. Maybe they don't know that, but I think they do.
John Bickley
And the UK Shifts hard to the right as the left wing Labour Party loses big in sweeping local elections. Will Keir Starmer be forced out and will Nigel Farage follow in Trump's footsteps?
Tim Pierce
I think overall what's happened is a
Georgia Howe
truly historic shift in British politics.
John Bickley
Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
Matt Walsh
There comes a point every summer where sleeping turns into a negotiation with your thermostat. And apparently the problem is not always the temperature. It's the bedding. Several people here at the Daily Wire, including our hosts Matt Walsh, Andrew Klavan and Michael Knowles, have talked about switching to bowl and branch bedding and never wanting to go back. And after looking into it myself, it makes sense. Boll and Branch makes breathable summer bedding designed to actually night. Their sheets are made from 100% organic cotton woven specifically for airflow, not just softness. And unlike a lot of the gimmicky cooling fabrics out there, the cooling comes from the way the material is made. No chemical coatings, no synthetic materials. Pretending to be high tech. What we keep hearing is the same thing. The bedding feels light, soft, breathable and noticeably more comfortable the second you get into bed. The Wafa bed blanket is lightweight, breathable and adds the perfect layer that is both functional and decorative. And 94% of Bolen branch customers say the sheets get softer with every wash. Sleep cooler this summer with Bolen Branc Get 15% off your first order plus free shipping at bolenbranch.com wire with code wire that's Boland Branch B O l l a n-branch.com wire codewire to unlock
John Bickley
15% off the battle for control of Congress may come down to the fight over congressional maps. And Democrats are now facing some major setbacks.
Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham is here now with more. So, Megan, just a few weeks ago, it seemed like the congressional maps were all going in Democrats favor while what happened?
Megan Basham
Yeah, you know, it seems very much like a Ferris Bueller life comes at you fast kind of moment for the Democrats here. So House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had made it clear for months that their strategy was to get blue states to redraw those maps to pick up more Dem seats wherever possible. Think in states like California, Maryland, but especially in Virginia. There they went all in to get a referendum passed that gerrymandered the state so that it would go from six Democrat and five Republican seats to 10 Democrat and only one Republican seat. Now, Jeffries called this an all hands on deck effort and said Democrats were willing to do, quote, whatever it takes to get that new Virginia map. And what it ultimately took was around $60 million at a time when the DNC is already pretty cash strapped. And it also took the biggest star power that the party could muster. Barack Obama spent some significant political capital to get this map passed by voting
Daily Wire Contributor
yes, you can push back against the
Georgia Howe
Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms. And we're counting on you.
Megan Basham
So Democrats thought they pulled it off. But as we reported on Friday, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that this new map violated the state's constitution, meaning all of that money and effort was for naught. Now, Democrats say they are going to appeal to the Supreme Court, but most legal experts say that's not going anywhere.
John Bickley
Well, and Republicans have also been redrawing maps, especially after the Supreme Court ruling just a few weeks ago, which of course was the National Supreme Court, not the same court in Virginia. Do those new maps stand a better chance?
Megan Basham
Yeah, it looks like they do because it looks like they don't violate their state constitutions in the same way that Virginia's did. And after that Supreme Court ruling two weeks ago, striking down racially gerrymandered districts, President Trump personally began urging red states to look at their congressional districts for potential redraws. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was quick off the block. He immediately signed a new congressional map that could hand Republicans as Many as four additional seats there. And Democrats are now suing. But Republicans are arguing that Democrats started this escalation. So here's how DeSantis responded to Jeffries.
Daily Wire Contributor
You want to come down here and spend money and in Florida, roll the dice and your chances, but don't think that you can come down here, issue threats to us, and somehow you're going to make us flinch. That is not happening. And in fact, it did not happen.
Megan Basham
Republicans are also pushing aggressive redraws in states like Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, potentially some other Southern states. In fact, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee just signed a new map in Daily Wire's home state that will likely give Republicans another seat there.
John Bickley
Okay, so after all of that movement, where do things stand now with the electoral math?
Megan Basham
Yeah, so there's a lot of different estimates coming from different political analysts, but most agree that Republicans will end up gaining seats in the double digits. Some say 11. Others put it at more like 19 seats. So potentially devastating for Democrats long term. Now, obviously, Democrats are fuming and they're trying to use this issue now to motivate their base. On CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, California Congressman Ted Lieu almost suggested that the Virginia Supreme Court deliberately lured his party into this expensive referendum.
Ted Lieu
The court could have stopped this by not having the election in the first place.
John Bickley
They suckered the people of Virginia.
Ted Lieu
It was a complete disgrace.
Megan Basham
Also over the weekend, Jeffries told Ms. Now, formerly msnbc, that these new maps have returned America to the Jim Crow
Daily Wire Contributor
era, to the backlash that has resulted in the elevation of Donald Trump, MAGA extremism and this behavior that we're seeing coming out of the Supreme Court of the United States to throw the American south back into the Jim Crow era.
Megan Basham
But I think we have to remember that while these new districts may help Republicans, they are still facing an uphill battle here to hold on to the House. Back in 2018, President Trump's approval was around 39% and they lost 40 seats in those midterms. And that's about where he's hovering now. So know not really surprising that odds makers like polymarket are still overwhelmingly favoring the Democrats to take the House.
John Bickley
Right.
And still several months for things to take a turn in any direction. Megan, thanks for reporting.
Megan Basham
Yep, my pleasure.
Matt Walsh
When it comes to artificial intelligence, sitting still is not a strategy because your competitors are already moving. That's where Netsuite comes in. Netsuite by Oracle helps businesses actually put AI to work in practical ways. Right now, it's the number one AI cloud ERP trusted by more than 43,000 businesses. And what makes it powerful is that it connects everything financials, inventory, hr, commerce, CRM into one unified system that connected data matters because it makes AI smarter. Instead of guessing, it can actually help automate routine tasks, deliver useful insights, help cut costs and support faster decisions with actual information behind them. From software and IT services to healthcare equipment, manufacturing, financial services and many other great American industries, NetSuite delivers a customized solution for your business. This isn't some extra AI tool bolted onto your workflow, it's built directly into the system running the business. If you're running a fast growing company trying to stay competitive right now, this is exactly the kind of platform you want in place. If your revenues are at least in the seven figures, get our free business guide demystifying AI at netsuite.com MorningWire the guide is free to you at netsuite.com Morningwire netsuite.com MorningWire Officials say the U.S.
John Bickley
has met all of its military objectives in Iran, but one final piece remains Iran's cache of highly enriched uranium.
Daily Wire contributor Tim Pierce is here with the latest on Iran and Trump's big visit to Beijing later this week. Hey Tim. So on the Iran conflict, we've seen oil prices fall and markets rally in the past week. The administration has really talked up hopes for a peace deal, but we haven't seen an agreement yet. Where do negotiations stand now?
Tim Pierce
Yeah, they seem to be moving, but slowly. Iranian media reported yesterday that Tehran has finally responded to a US Peace proposal. Just a few hours later, though, President Trump took to true social to call it totally unacceptable. Before that setback, Trump officials insisted that there are serious conversations taking place and that Iran's nuclear program is at the center of those. Here was Energy Secretary Chris Wright on CBS yesterday.
Daily Wire Contributor
Well, the military objectives that we set out to achieve, those are achieved. The ending of the Iranian nuclear program is a different matter and again most likely achieved by negotiation, but doesn't necessarily have to be achieved by negotiation.
Tim Pierce
So the success or failure of these negotiations seems to hinge on whether Iran is ready to give up its nuclear program and terrorism. For its part, Iran's ambassador to China said yesterday that Beijing should be the guarantor of any peace agreement that should favor Iran, since China has been an ally of Iran and is the single largest customer of Iranian oil.
John Bickley
Now, speaking of China, as we mentioned in the episode yesterday, actually, President Trump is traveling to Beijing this week for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. What can we expect out of that meeting?
Tim Pierce
Yeah, a lot of focus on that big meeting for good reason. Trump and Xi will sit down for a two day summit that starts this Thursday, according to senior U.S. officials. Talks will cover Iran, of course, including China's role in providing revenue to the regime. They'll also discuss Taiwan trade and a host of other topics that Washington and Beijing have been at odds on. Trump actually talked with journalist Cheryl Atkison in an interview that aired yesterday.
Donald Trump
My relationship is very good with President Xi. I don't know the other leaders, but President Xi is a good man, smart man, loves China. I think it's going to be an amazing trip.
Tim Pierce
Obviously not a lot in that response, except that Trump wants to at least project a good working relationship with Xi ahead of the summit.
John Bickley
Right.
Tim Pierce
But there's good reason to think that the meeting will be tense and it probably should be. There's a lot at stake over the future of the U S China relationship and it's noteworthy that ahead of the summit, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant will visit Japan and South Korea and talk trade and economic security. On Fox News, he suggested that Beijing should face tough questions over its trade relationship with Iran.
Georgia Howe
Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism and China has been buying 90% of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism. But more importantly, the threat of attacks from Iran has closed the strait. We are reopening it. So I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation.
Tim Pierce
So going back to Iran, reopening the Hormuz Strait seems like it will be a big part of the summit. On the other hand, Beijing will want to discuss tariffs and technology, especially because of the tension over the components that power AI.
John Bickley
No shortage of things to discuss between the world's two largest economies for sure. Tim, thanks so much for joining us.
Tim Pierce
Good to be on
Ted Lieu
small towns to big cities. Comcast is connecting millions of Americans to affordable, reliable and secure wi fi at prices that are clear and consistent with a new five year price guarantee backed by AI Innovation, resilient design and cybersecurity technology. The Comcast Network is built to keep families and businesses connected and their data safe. Learn more about how Comcast is investing in a more connected america@comcast corporation.com investment
John Bickley
the UK has just swung hard to the right after the left wing Labour Party lost over a thousand seats in local elections with the Reform Party led by Nigel Farage racking up major wins.
Joining us now to talk about the right word swing in the UK is Bev Turner, host of GB News Late Show Live. Bev, great to see you Great to see you, John. So we just had these pretty cataclysmic elections in the UK for Keir Starmer and his left wing Labor Party. Kind of hard to overstate how much of a wipeout this really was. Let's start there. How bad were the results for Starmer?
Bev Turner
So just to explain it to predominantly, I guess, an American audience, this is a bit like our midterms. So these aren't our MPs at the moment here. He hasn't been voted out, but these are our local councillors. So they run the local area. So these aren't the guys sat in Westminster, but a lot of people are there because they want to be politicians. So these elections were very important and they were very important to test the temperature of the nation. And Labour have been absolutely obliterated in these elections. So they lost 1500 councillors. The reform Party, that's Nigel Farage's right wing party, they gained 1500 councillors. The Conservatives, who were in power for 14 years, they lost 500. And the Green Party, which I've explained to you before, is not necessarily about saving the world anymore, it's about saving Muslims. They gained 450 seats as well. So absolutely seismic shift in terms of politics locally. But the importance of this is that it's signposts what could happen in the general election in two years.
John Bickley
Yeah. So an important distinction here for our American audience is you mentioned the Conservative Party versus the Reform UK Party, both right of center but very different parties. Can you unpack that for us?
Bev Turner
Well, some would say the Conservative Party haven't been a Conservative Party for many years. They were in power for 14 years before the general election. That was nearly two years ago now. And they had prime ministers including Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss. But Nigel Farage, who's never been Prime Minister, looking extremely likely now that he might win in the next election, is of course the guy who was the architects of Brexit. And also he has been campaigning on the idea that a secure border should be the basics of expectations of citizens of a country. I mean, it's radical, I know. And also talking about a smaller state, less bureaucracy, lower taxes where possible. Very much a sort of Republican ticket. Quite Trumpian, actually. And just like Donald Trump as well, Nigel is very, very divisive. Now as we sit here just less than kind of three or four days after the election, Keir Starmer as the Prime Minister is clinging onto power. John, with the most desperate look in his eyes, because it's actually embarrassing. Now the country's crying out for an election, but there's a process we have to go through to get rid of him, and nobody seems to want to trigger that. There is one backbench MP that no one has ever heard of called Catherine west, who said that she's going to trigger this leadership campaign. And guess what? She's Australian. So it's taken an Aussie within the British Parliament.
John Bickley
We love Australians here.
Bev Turner
Well, I love Australians, too. I genuinely. I've never met an Australian I didn't like. But it's taken somebody with the backbone of an Australian to come out and say, guys, enough, we have to start to kick him off his perch. But he doesn't look like he wants to go anywhere at the moment.
John Bickley
Now, it's notable that you said, look, we had reform pick up hundreds of seats, but also the Green Party, that is very much pro Palestine, pro Muslim agenda. Like you said, a very divided country in many ways.
Bev Turner
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, the Greens issue is so interesting because you've got a lot of councils now which have many Muslim councillors, so they have control of huge budgets in these towns. Some of these councillors who are very pro Muslim, pro Palestine, have said some horrendously anti Semitic things in their campaigning. They now are creeping towards the House of Commons. And on the other side, you've got reform members, voters, councillors trying to stop them. Fascinating times in the uk, John, but at the moment, the people who are celebrating are the Farage fans. There are those people who want to get a sense of national identity, to work out who we are as a country, who we want to be. Can we keep our businesses open, which are closing at record rates? Can we return law and order? You know, can we put schools back in a place where the kids aren't just being taught about pronouns, et cetera, all the time? You know, it's very much. It feels like we are following in the footsteps of, of what America did with electing President Trump.
John Bickley
Definitely very similar signs, for sure, there. We'll see if this landslide defeat of labor ends up being a tipping point. Bev, thank you so much for talking with us. Pleasure.
Thanks for waking up with us. The reporting that fuels this show is only possible because you tune in every day and because of our Daily Wire
subscribers to enjoy the show ad free and join our mission, become a member@dailywire.com com we'll be back this evening with more news you need to know.
Episode Title: Republicans Pull Ahead In Redistricting & Britain Rebukes Labour
Air Date: May 11, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe
Guests: Megan Basham, Tim Pierce, Bev Turner
Key Topics: Republican redistricting victories in the U.S., negotiations with Iran and China, and the dramatic shift rightward in U.K. local elections.
This episode covers three major political developments:
[02:45] – [07:41]
Virginia Referendum Fallout
GOP Redistricting Across the South
National Impact
[08:50] – [12:13]
Iran Negotiations Stalled
Upcoming U.S.-China Summit
[12:43] – [17:27]
Labour Routed, Right Ascendant
Farage’s “Trumpian” Appeal & Labour’s Reckoning
Tensions and Divisions
“All of that money and effort was for naught.”
Megan Basham [04:15]
“Don’t think that you can come down here, issue threats to us, and somehow you’re going to make us flinch. That is not happening.”
Ron DeSantis (via contributor) [05:24]
“The court could have stopped this by not having the election in the first place. They suckered the people of Virginia. It was a complete disgrace.”
Rep. Ted Lieu [06:38]
“The ending of the Iranian nuclear program is a different matter... most likely achieved by negotiation, but doesn’t necessarily have to be.”
Chris Wright [09:44]
“President Xi is a good man, smart man, loves China. I think it’s going to be an amazing trip.”
Donald Trump [10:55]
“Labour have been absolutely obliterated... absolutely seismic shift in terms of politics locally.”
Bev Turner [13:15]
“It feels like we are following in the footsteps of what America did with electing President Trump.”
Bev Turner [17:23]
Throughout, the hosts and guests retain a brisk, analytical, and at times wry tone, framing events as both pivotal and turbulent for the year’s upcoming elections. The U.S. segment highlights the tit-for-tat escalation in redistricting, the global section sets a high-stakes diplomatic stage, and the U.K. coverage underscores the volatility and polarization reflected on both sides of the Atlantic.
Overall: The episode paints 2026 as a year of rapid political reversals, with the right surging in both the U.S. and U.K., institutions under scrutiny, and international high-wire diplomacy in play.