Rhode Island Shooter’s Past & Progress With Iran? | 2.18.26

Summary

Morning Wire — February 18, 2026

Episode Title: Rhode Island Shooter’s Past & Progress With Iran?
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Key Guests: Cabot Phillips (Daily Wire Senior Editor), Benham bin Taliblu (Foundation for Defense of Democracies), Cameron Arkand (Daily Wire Political Reporter)

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Episode Overview

This episode dissects three major stories making headlines:

• The tragic Rhode Island ice rink shooting and its ties to ongoing debates around transgender issues, mental health, and media coverage.
• Updates and analysis from nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, delving into military posturing and the Iranian government's violent crackdown on dissent.
• Early maneuvering in the pivotal Texas Republican Senate primary, including President Trump’s influence on 2026 midterm races and the broader implications for control of Congress.

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1. Rhode Island Ice Rink Shooting & Media Controversy

[00:04 – 07:10]

Key Points & Developments:

• On Monday afternoon in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a shooter opened fire during a high school hockey game, targeting his ex-wife, son, and injuring three others, including in-laws. The victims remain in critical condition.
• The shooter, identified as 56-year-old Robert Dorgan, who identified as transgender (Roberta), took his own life during the incident after a bystander intervened heroically.
• The violence was caught on a game livestream, showing spectators and players fleeing, and a bystander ultimately subduing the shooter, which law enforcement credited for swiftly ending the attack.
• Dorgan’s family history included ongoing conflict over his transgender identity, exacerbated by mental health issues and online activity featuring violent rhetoric.
• Social media posts leading up to the shooting included threats, support for violence, anti-Semitism, and references to his familial disputes.
• Hosts and correspondents highlight that the case follows a pattern of recent high-profile mass shootings involving transgender individuals, a trend that some say is underplayed or omitted by mainstream media.

Notable Quotes & Moments:

• Daughter of the shooter (outside police station, deeply emotional):

  “My father was a shooter, shot my family… He's dead now. He has mental health issues.” — Shooter’s daughter [03:48]

• Cabot Phillips on social media activity:

  “A social media account appearing to belong to the alleged shooter contains thousands of posts, many of which contain violent pro trans rhetoric… Just 24 hours before the rampage, the account responded to a post criticizing a Democratic member of Congress who was transgender, saying, ‘keep bashing us, but do not wonder why we go berserk.’” [05:10]

• On media response:

  “This week, for example, a number of mainstream outlets refused to comment on the fact that the shooter was transgender.”

• John Bickley on coverage bias:

  “It might be a hard reality to face, but we have to look at this if we want solutions.” [07:05]

Memorable Heroism:

• Police praise a bystander whose direct intervention stopped further bloodshed.

Contextual Analysis:

• The episode stresses the friction between trans identity, mental health struggles, and family disputes, as well as the asserted reluctance of major media to address those complications directly.

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2. US-Iran Nuclear Talks: Progress or Posturing?

[08:12 – 12:21]

Key Points & Insights:

• US and Iran held nuclear negotiations in Geneva, with both sides reporting 'progress,' but much of the detail remains behind closed doors.
• Benham bin Taliblu notes Iran’s strategy: publicize positive developments to dampen both U.S. resolve (i.e., Trump’s potential for military action) and internal Iranian dissent, signaling to protesters that diplomacy—not U.S. intervention—is likely.
• Amid talks, the US is reinforcing its military presence, including a second carrier strike group and a significant bump in missile defense and electronic warfare assets, intensifying the standoff.
• Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is actively suppressing domestic protests; an estimated 417 executions occurred in just January and February, with a mass killing compared to WWII rates.
• Bin Taliblu gives probabilities for outcomes: under 20% for a meaningful new deal, 70% for a U.S. strike against Iran, and 10% for more military containment and sanctions.

Notable Quotes:

• Benham bin Taliblu on Iran’s messaging:

  “The Iranians have been quite keen to shape the information space after every single round of talks, keen to say things are going well so that they can potentially dilute President Trump's resolve or willingness to use military force.” [08:33]

• On executions and regime violence:

  “This is a regime that believes it can shoot its way through the crisis. And as Washington entertains more negotiations, the regime is trying to avoid getting caught in a two front war at home and abroad all at once.” [10:52]

• On likely next steps:

  “If I had to put some numbers on it, I would say less than 20% chance of a meaningful deal, about a 70% chance of a strike… with a huge question mark over what is the political aim of that strike and the duration of that strike.” [11:45]

Memorable Moment:

• Stark comparison of Iranian regime’s execution rate to WWII atrocities.

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3. 2026 Texas GOP Senate Primary & The Midterms

[12:54 – 17:01]

Key Points:

• The Texas Republican Senate primary is drawing national attention as President Trump holds back from endorsing any one candidate, expressing support for all three: Attorney General Ken Paxton, incumbent Senator John Cornyn, and Wesley Hunt.
• The primary election requires a candidate to secure more than 50% to avoid a runoff.
• Senate primary implications: Texas remains a massive battleground, with no Democratic senator elected since the 1990s, though Democrats express optimism and are pouring resources in.
• On the Democratic side, Jasmine Crockett and James Talarico are vying for the nomination, with expectations that if Paxton wins the GOP primary, Democrats see a stronger path to victory.
• Trump’s selective endorsements are notable; in other races, he has weighed in directly, highlighting the strategic importance of retaining and growing GOP majorities amid slim margins in both Senate and House.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps:

• President Trump, from Air Force One, on his approach to the Texas primary:

  “I like all three of them, actually… Those are the toughest races… So we'll see what happens. But I support all three in this race.” [13:29]

• Cameron Arkand on the state’s general election context:

  “Texas is a huge state with a lot of people, so we could obviously see the implications of that nationwide.” [15:33]

• On broader stakes:

  “If you're Trump, you want to keep those majorities, you want to grow them, because right now he's got 5,347 in the Senate and only 218 in the House. That's not a lot to work with for some of his future agenda items.” [15:42]

Memorable Moment:

• The “let them fight it out” approach from Trump, emphasizing his wait-and-see strategy in a messy and expensive race.

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Segment Timestamps Overview

| Segment | Start | End | |-------------------------------------------|----------|----------| | Rhode Island Shooting & Media | 00:04 | 07:10 | | Iran Nuclear Talks & Military Tension | 08:12 | 12:21 | | Texas GOP Primary & Midterm Stakes | 12:54 | 17:01 |

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Takeaways

• The Rhode Island shooting once again ignites debate over media transparency, mental health, and transgender-related violence—matched by divisive reactions in coverage and public dialogue.
• US-Iran negotiations may be stalling, with both sides posturing for their respective domestic and international audiences, and the specter of violence—both regime oppression and possible US military action—looming.
• The Texas Senate primary is a microcosm for national Republican strategy: with divided loyalties and massive spending, its outcome will set the tone for a fiercely contested 2026 midterm cycle.

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Morning Wire remains sharply focused on bringing details and analysis the hosts feel mainstream outlets downplay or miss, providing context, direct reporting, and expert voices to explore complex and contentious issues.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

Another tragic shooting by a trans identifying suspect sparks national debate and claims of a media cover up as more details emerge.

[Georgia Howe]

There was no indication from the family or friends that any violence was underway or that they were in fear of this specific individual.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 18th. This is Morning Wire.

[Georgia Howe]

Nuclear talks between the US And Iran wrap up with what both sides describe as progress. Even as American warships converge on the.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Region, it doesn't seem that the Islamic Republic has been too heavily invested in trying to restore air defenses largely believed to be still open to adversary air forces.

[John Bickley]

And as we close in on the 2026 midterms, a Republican Senate primary in Texas is shaping up into a major.

[Donald Trump]

I just haven't made a decision on that race yet. It's got a ways to go.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up with MORNING wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know. In doing almost five years of this show, I've never read any ads, but I am so passionate about this specific brand that I asked if I could do my personal endorsement. Our sponsor is Quince, and Quince makes elevated basics with real materials that are timeless and they hold up to real life. In at least three cases I can think of, I have both the original designer item and I have the Quint's version, and the quality and cut is virtually identical between the two. It is uncanny. I have often wondered how they're able to do it in terms of the quality and price. It turns out Quints works directly with safe and ethical factories, but they cut out the middleman. So you're not paying for that designer label and you're not paying for the brick and mortar store. Refresh your wardrobe with quints. Go to quince.comwire for free shipping on your order. 365 day returns also now available in Canada. That's Q-U I N C E.com wire to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com wire tragic new details have emerged following Monday's deadly shooting at a Rhode island ice rink.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with the latest Acabot. So we touched on this story briefly yesterday. A lot more details have emerged and a lot of controversy about this case, including the media coverage. Let's start with what we've learned about what transpired. What do we know now?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah. On Monday afternoon, friends and family had gathered for a high school hockey game in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Just a few minutes into the game, a lone Gunman descended from the back row of the bleachers, walked down and opened fire, killing his ex wife and one of his sons and injuring at least three others, including his former father and mother in law. All three victims are still in critical condition. A live stream from the game captured the shooting. We're not going to play that footage for obvious reasons, but in that footage you can see the players drop their sticks as they realize what's unfolding and scramble off the ice. You then see panicked spectators attempting to flee. But you also see one heroic bystander who, instead of running for safety, ran towards the shooting. You can see him jumping on top of the shooter and seemingly bringing an end to his carnage. Police later praised that man, saying his actions, quote, led to a swift end to this tragic event. During that ensuing scuffle, though, the gunman was able to get off another shot and take his own life. Hours later, one of the gunman's daughters spoke briefly with reporters outside of the police station. It's pretty hard to listen to, but here's what she had to say.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

My father was a shooter, shot my family.

[Cameron Arkand]

He's dead now.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

He has mental health issues.

[John Bickley]

So like you said, really hard to listen to. She mentions mental health issues. What have we learned since about the gunman?

[Cabot Phillips]

So police have since identified the shooter as 56 year old Robert Dorgan, a man who identified as transgender and went by the name Roberta. We're still waiting for a full investigation into potential motives. What exactly led up to this shooting. But it does appear that his gender identity played a role. For example, back in 2020, shortly after he underwent transgender surgery and started identifying as a woman, his then father in law demanded that he move out of the family's home. Dorgan claimed to police that the father in law threatened to, quote, have him murdered by an Asian street gang while allegedly using a, quote, derogatory term for transgenders and saying that no such person, quote, is going to stay in my house. The father in law was charged with intimidation of witnesses and victims of crimes, but the case was ultimately dropped. However, Dorgan's transgenderism was clearly an ongoing point of friction for this family. In 2021, his then wife cited, quote, gender reassignment surgery and narcissistic personality disorder traits as grounds for their divorce.

[John Bickley]

So apparently a long history of mental illness and other psychological struggles. Now, there's also reports about his social media activity. Tell us about that.

[Cameron Arkand]

Right.

[Cabot Phillips]

A social media account appearing to belong to the alleged shooter contains thousands of posts, many of which contain violent pro trans rhetoric. Just 24 hours before the rampage, the account responded to a post criticizing a Democratic member of Congress who was transgender, saying, quote, keep bashing us, but do not wonder why we go berserk. A number of other posts included mocking language of his wife for having an issue with him becoming transgender. And then there were a handful of other posts that included vile anti Semitic language and outright praise for Hitler.

[John Bickley]

Now, particularly on the heels of the case in Canada, this has really sparked more debate about the transgender element of this shooting. Speak to us about that. What have we seen in terms of.

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, it is just hard to ignore, John. In recent years, we've seen a spate of high profile mass shootings carried out by transgender individuals. Earlier this month, again, as you mentioned, there was a trans high schooler in Canada who killed his parents before going to school and murdering six more students, injuring a dozen others. Then there was the Annunciation Catholic school shooting, in which a trans shooter killed two children and injured 18 more. There was a nightclub shooting in Colorado springs that left five dead and 26 injured. A warehouse rampage in Maryland that killed three more. And of course, the Covenant School shooting here in Nashville, where the trench shooter left a manifesto outlining their hatred of traditional Christian values. If you look at the numbers based on per capita capita data, transgenders are just considerably more likely to carry out mass shootings than any other group. Now, pro trans activists have really tried to downplay this trend. This week, for example, a number of mainstream outlets refused to comment on the fact that the shooter was transgender.

[John Bickley]

Right. Like the New York Times.

[Cabot Phillips]

Exactly. They simply said that they went by two different names. But many on the right say it is an important angle to these stories. They say that the growing trend is further proof of the mental illnesses often associated with transgenderism and the oftentimes violent rhetoric that goes along with trans ideology.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Right.

[John Bickley]

It might be a hard reality to face, but we have to look at this if we want solutions. Kabba, thank you so much for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

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[Georgia Howe]

The US and Iran held nuclear talks in Geneva Tuesday, and both sides are reporting progress.

[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss is Benham bin Taliblu, the senior director of the Iran Program at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Benham, thanks for coming back on.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Pleasure to be with you. Thank you.

[John Bickley]

So we had these big talks yesterday in Geneva. What are you hearing? How did things go from both sides?

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Well, it seems like again, the Iranians are taking a page from their playbook in 2025. The Americans, just like in 2025, also have been tight lipped about it. But the Iranians have been quite keen to shape the information space after every single round of talks, keen to say things that are going well so that they can potentially dilute President Trump's resolve or willingness to use military force. But there's also another factor here that has been not really discussed as to why the Iranians keep taking to the media after every round. And that is they are trying to take the wind out of the wings of Iranian protesters. They're trying to clip dissent and tell the Iranian people, hey, look, that guy who promised helping on the way, who said to make Iran great again, is actually quite keen to talk to us rather than to help you out. And there is a lot of political signaling going on in what are supposed to be technical negotiations to maximize Iran's nuclear disarm.

[John Bickley]

Obviously, this is a very complicated negotiation process for the Trump administration. We've seen the deployment of more forces to the Middle East, a show of force in that way. What can we glean from what action we've actually taken in terms of the armed forces?

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Well, in terms of the assets that President Trump has been bringing more and more into the CENTCOM area of operations. There is a second carrier strike group coming into the region as we speak. And by the way, that actually has the biggest US Vessel in the world, the USS Gerald Ford, very large aircraft carrier. There's already more missile defense assets in the region. There's already more electronic warfare assets in the region as well as many, many more strike fighters, including by us and by our allies. All of this Sharpens the knife against the neck of the Islamic Republic. But lest we forget, this regime is doing things physically as well. It's hardening what's left of its nuclear infrastructure. It has more and more missiles that it's been producing, many of which are stored in underground missile bases across three different island chains in the west, center and east of the country. So there's two physical stories quietly taking shape. The Iranians are trying to build back better and survive a potential another round of conflict, while the Americans are trying to bring more assets into the theater to get Tehran to back down.

[John Bickley]

This standoff is being triggered, of course, by the repression of the Iranian regime of people demonstrating against the government. There's been a blackout, but do we know what's going on on the ground?

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Unfortunately, we do know. We do know there is executions that are still being carried out. Donald Trump once mentioned that that was his red line. But there have been about 417 reported executions in the month of January and February alone this year by the governments of the Islamic Republic. The regime, under the COVID of darkness, killed anywhere from 36 to 43,000 Iranians in a two day period that goes back to numbers and rates that we see from World War II and the Holocaust, particularly with Babi Yar in Ukraine. This is a regime that believes it can shoot its way through the cris. And as Washington entertains more negotiations, the regime is trying to avoid getting caught in a two front war at home and abroad all at once. So most unfortunately, while everyone is focusing on the military hardware and talks, the Islamic Republic is cracking skulls at home.

[John Bickley]

Where do you see this going? Is this going to ultimately be another Trump administration strike against Iran in the coming days or weeks?

[Benham bin Taliblu]

I do believe it's more likely than the President will strike. I do believe the Iranians will nonetheless trying to try to paint the picture of having gotten really close to a deal. I'm not a poly market man and I'm also not good with numbers, but if I had to put some numbers on it, I would say less than 20% chance of a meaningful deal, about a 70% chance of a strike with a huge question mark over what is the political aim of that strike and the duration of that strike, and then about 10% of mudding along and limping along, military containment plus more sanctions.

[John Bickley]

Well, it's hard to imagine the current status quo to go on too much longer, but we'll see. Benon, thank you so much for coming on. We really appreciate your expertise.

[Benham bin Taliblu]

Always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

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[John Bickley]

The 2026 midterms are starting to heat up, with a critical Republican Senate primary in Texas getting nationwide attention and President Trump already getting involved in several contests.

[Georgia Howe]

Daily Wire political reporter Cameron Arkand is here with more. So, Cameron, let's start with this Texas race. President Trump weighed in while on Air Force One on Monday night. What did he say?

[Cameron Arkand]

So the president is not making any specific endorsement as of yet. He said he's not decided as of right now, but he did say he is supportive of all three of those candidates. Let's take a look at what he had to say on Air Force One.

[Donald Trump]

I like all three of them, actually. I like all three. Those are the toughest races. They've all supported me. They're all good. And you're supposed to pick one. So we'll see what happens.

[Cameron Arkand]

But I support all three in this race. Clearly, we've got Attorney General Ken Paxton up against incumbent center John Cornyn and Wesley Hunt. This has been an incredibly messy primary at this stage, and voters can start voting as of this week. But if no candidate hits above 50% in that primary, it goes to a runoff in June. Obviously, we've seen a whole slosh of not only political but personal attacks in this race as well. So it makes a lot of sense that Trump has basically said, you know, let them fight it out. I'm going to support whoever wins this race as of now.

[Georgia Howe]

So this is a three way primary. Can you explain what that means for the general?

[Cameron Arkand]

So the March 3 primary has three major candidates in it right now, but according to Texas election laws, you have to get over 50% of the vote in order to become a party's nominee. So as we move forward, whoever, if no one gets over 50% in that March 3rd primary, there's gonna be a runoff between the top two candidates. Now, the polling on this has been mixed right now, but it seems like Ken Paxton and John Cornyn might be the candidates that make it to that runoff. Now, what does this mean for the general election? Now, there's only two major candidates on the Democratic side, Jasmine Crockett and James Tall Rico. Now, this race is shaping up to be very, very expensive. Crockett got into the race because she believed she had a better shot at winning if Paxton were to win the primary. Now, what that means broadly is this is a lot of spending in a state that hasn't even elected a Democratic senator since the 90s. But Democrats are confident that in this cycle that they can pull this off. We've seen this before with Ted Cruz running against Beto o'. Rourke. Didn't work out so great. However, this does mean a lot of resources. Texas is a huge state with a lot of people, so we could obviously see the implications of that nationwide.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, Democrats are perpetually hopeful about Texas. Now, Trump waded into some other closely watched races recently. What should people know about the other races we're looking at?

[Cameron Arkand]

Yeah, so he's endorsed in a ton of races, which is what makes the Texas decision to kind of stay out of it so notable. He even endorsed Representative Julia Letlow over incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana just a couple of weeks ago. In New Hampshire, we also saw the president endorse John Sununu over former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown in that competitive race. But the reason for this, and this is really the important part here, is Republicans have very narrow majorities in both chambers right now. And so it would be critical for the president and for Democrats to either, if you're Trump, you want to keep those majorities, you want to grow them, because right now he's got 5,347 in the Senate and only 218 in the House. That's not a lot to work with for some of his future agenda items. Meanwhile, Democrats want to essentially make President Trump a lame duck president in the most dramatic way possible in 2026 by making sure that they win both of those chambers. So this is why this so critical here. And we're gonna see the president really show his influence in both official and unofficial capacities soon. Trump is set to go to Georgia this week to discuss the economy. Obviously, that's a key swing state going into November.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, a lot of races to watch. Cameron, thanks so much.

[Cameron Arkand]

Thank you.

[John Bickley]

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