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Colorado is trying to silence free speech again. A state law forces businesses to use customers preferred pronouns even if they're biologically inaccurate. With the help of Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian bookstore and a sports apparel company are challenging the law, but a court recently ruled against them. They appealed the ruling, and with ADF's help, they'll keep fighting another attempt by Colorado to skirt the First Amendment. Learn more about how you can support free speech by Texting Wire to 83848 or going to joinadf.com wire.
John Bickley
President Trump heads to China for a high stakes sit down with Xi Jinping. I think you're going to see that good things are going to happen.
Seamus Bruner
This is going to be a very exciting trip.
John Bickley
I'm Daily Wire Executive Editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, May 13th. This is Morning Wire.
Georgia Howe
A mayor in California resigns after being charged with acting as an agent of China. How is China trying to influence our domestic policy? What we know is that she is guilty. It just makes the point the spies are among us.
John Bickley
And how are Americans feeling about Trump's handling of the economy? We talked to a pollster who's taken the pulse of the public.
Georgia Howe
Thanks for waking up with Morning wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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Georgia Howe
President Trump arrives in Beijing later today for a highly anticipated face to face with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He's expected to address Iran and other pressing issues.
John Bickley
Joining us now is D.C. bureau Chief Tim Rice. Tim, thanks for coming on.
Tim Rice
Thanks for having me, John.
John Bickley
So it's a big foreign policy week for the president with this big Beijing trip and a lot more. What can you tell us about that? What's the latest on the foreign policy front?
Tim Rice
Yeah, absolutely. So the president is making his way to China as we speak. That's obviously going to be a big visit. But before we get into that, I do want to talk about Iran. They said that our proposal was tantamount to a full surrender on their part and takeover of their country by Western powers. So they, their counter proposal included, you know, basically the opposite of that, lifting all sanctions on Iran, releasing and freeing Iranian frozen assets and giving Tehran full control over the state of Hormuz. President Trump and his administration roundly rejected this. And the president is taking an increasingly harsh tone on the Iranians saying we don't play games. So it's going to be very interesting to see where that resolves. Sort of a holding pattern, but a very stressful holding pattern, especially if you're, you know, in the State Department or in the, in the nascent Iranian government. Now, of course, it's hard to listen to the president striking such a hard tone on Iran without keeping in mind this China trip. Right. So China is, of course, one of Iran's biggest allies. Certainly China isn't sending troops, but they're absolutely watching it and they're interested in the Middle East. Right. So that's going to be an unexpected kind of, you know, wrinkle and element to this trip. They're going to talk about trade. They're going to talk about AI. And one other thing to note as our own, our White House correspondent, Mary Margaret Olahan has been all over the president has promised to talk to Xi Jinping about Jimmy Lai, the Catholic media tycoon who has been unjustly imprisoned by the Chinese government in Hong Kong for running a newspaper that was critical of the Chinese regime. So a very high stakes visit and definitely one to watch. And as if that wasn't enough, also on the foreign policy front, the president joked, maybe didn't joke this week that he is seriously considering, that's a quote. Seriously considering making Venezuela the 51st state. Now, of course, the president does this every once in a while. Canada, Greenland. He. No shortage of ideas for a 51st state. He says this would be good because we could use their oil reserves and it would drive gas prices down. For her part, Venezuelan President Delsey Rodriguez said they would prefer to remain independent.
John Bickley
Maybe there can be a bidding war for who gets to be the 51st state. We'll see who wins.
Tim Rice
They should all be here. Yeah.
John Bickley
Now, back here at home, there have been some significant personnel changes on the president's team. You guys have been tracking that, the D.C. bureau, what's happening there?
Tim Rice
Yeah. So yesterday afternoon, FDA Commissioner Marty Makari resigned as the nation's top drug regulator. He, as President Trump, was kind enough to leak the screenshot of the text that Makari sent him. So apparently Makari resigned via text. I'd probably do it over an email, but hey, you know, he's a doctor. I'm not. The official unofficial story going around Washington is that Makari wanted to resign because he couldn't get on board with the president's call to re legalize certain flavored vapes. But I think the biggest thing, and probably the final nail in the coffin was that the pro life movement has been pretty unhappy with Makari from the beginning, winning because they've said he's not done enough to combat the spread of abortion drugs. Right now, the deputy FDA commissioner is expected to take take over. We'll see if the president nominates anybody else. He's been on a bit of a nominating spree recently. There's something like 15 or 20 different people he sent to the Senate and a lot of them are getting approved. But the one that everyone's talking about and the one that everyone's going to watch is Kari Lake, former Arizona Senate candidate and current embattled head of Voice of America, has been appointed Ambassador to Jamaica. So congratulations to Carrie Lake on her. On her. On her trip to Jamaica, permanent vacation. That's right.
John Bickley
We have a lot more going on with the White House, of course, that you guys have been reporting on daily. What else is on the docket for the White House this week?
Tim Rice
Yeah, so just two other stories that I think are really worth noting. One of them, again, I mentioned our White House correspondent, Mary Margaret Olahan. She broke this story over the weekend. The White House marked Mother's Day by launching a website called moms.gov and this is a site that primarily connects expectant mothers with crisis pregnancy centers. This is partially the Trump administration continuing its push to promote big families and defend life. But it's also a direct rebuke to the Biden administration, which very infamously launched something called like reproductive rights.gov, which was a taxpayer funded website that directed these same vulnerable mothers, expectant mothers, to Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics. So that's probably the biggest thing and just one other fun one to close on. Everyone in Washington is wondering who's going to be the Republican nominee, Vice President J.D. vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio. President Trump, as only President Trump could, decided to throw an early and major wrench into this by asking a group of people gathered in the White House to cheer. Based on what? Vance and Rubio were right behind him and they said, who do you want for 2028? Cheer for JD cheer for Marco Rubio. And then he said, that's a pretty good showing. But this is not an endorsement. So definitely a sign of it's going to be a really long road to that nomination. And I do not envy either the vice president or the Secretary of State.
John Bickley
Indeed, you guys have your work cut out for you as always, tracking all this stuff. Tim, thanks so much for joining us.
Tim Rice
Thanks for having me, guys.
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John Bickley
A mayor in Los Angeles County, Eileen Wang has quit her job and now faces prison after admitting she was acting as an agent for China.
Georgia Howe
Joining us now to discuss is Seamus Bruner, Director of research at the Government Accountability Institute. Seamus, thanks for coming on.
Seamus Bruner
It's great to be with you.
Georgia Howe
So, can you break down this case for us? What exactly happened in Arcadia?
Seamus Bruner
Yeah, so the mayor, Eileen Wang, has been working at the direction of CCP operatives. I mean, they ran this website where she would post all kinds of pro CCP messaging. There's no genocide in Xinjiang. All kinds of stuff like, the CCP is not a brutal regime. And then she would respond to her, I guess, effectively, CCP handler, saying, it is done. Thank you, leader. Clearly at the direction. If she were just merely saying pro CCP messages, I guess that would be protected as free speech. However, this obviously crosses a line where you're taking directions from a foreign adversary like China. So she's resigned, she's indicted. I have a question about why that didn't happen sooner. She had a boyfriend. Fiance. Who was indicted two years ago for the exact same activity, acting as a foreign agent of the ccp. And it also makes me wonder what the heck's going on in California. You have so many Chinese spy CCP agents infiltrating the highest levels. It goes up to the governor's office. Senator Dianne Feinstein famously had a chauffeur who was a CCP spy working for her for well over a decade. You've got Eric Swalwell, who's got his own scandal with Fang Fang. Well, several scandals. But Fang Fang, Christine Fang, the CCP spy. So there's, I mean, countless examples. I mean, we could. We could spend an hour talking about whether, you know, what the Biden family did for China. They got some $31 million. Hunter Biden, as we reported, from individuals linked to the highest levels of CCP intelligence. We've got CCP infiltration of our university system, whether it's Harvard or the UPenn Biden center and the University of Delaware. They both took millions of dollars from the CCP and then, in return, sent out a letter signed by faculty saying that the Department of Justice needs to close investigations into CCP espionage and intellectual property theft in the university system. The state is riddled with Chinese agents in infiltrating and penetrating the highest and I guess, the lowest levels. That's the kind of. The other interesting thing about this Arcadia story is they're not just targeting the highest levels, they're going right down to the city council level.
Georgia Howe
Well, I was going to ask you about that. So to what end? What kind of work was she doing for the CCP from that station?
Seamus Bruner
Yeah, well, so they ran this website in the town of Arcadia that was putting out pro CCP propaganda. So it's kind of, I mean, at the highest levels and lowest levels, spreading a pro Beijing message. That's just one. You don't think that the city of Arcadia could do a whole lot for the ccp, but there's another case going on right now developing over in Maryland with a state delegate from Maryland who's been accused of acting on behalf of the ccp. He's proposing legislation in Maryland that says that no new data centers can be built without the AI companies disclosing and divulging all of their top proprietary corporate information. So it runs the full spectrum of the types of things they're trying to get done, whether it's, you know, with the Bidens, they really wanted to close down these espionage cases in which the Biden doj, they did close those down. So, you know, there's a number of items that is on the Chinese agenda for what they want American politicians to
Georgia Howe
do well, and it looks like they're pretty prolific in pushing those items across America. Seamus, thanks so much for coming on.
Seamus Bruner
Thank you.
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Georgia Howe
With the Iran conflict quickly approaching the three month mark and gas prices and inflation inching up, President Trump's approval is way down, particularly on the economy.
John Bickley
Joining us now is Brent Buchanan, founder and CEO of the Signal Polling Group. Brent, great to have you back on.
Brent Buchanan
Hey, good to be here.
John Bickley
So President Trump's approval rating on the economy is significantly underwater in recent polls, from 20 to even 30 points in some polls. Is public perception of him really that grim and what's driving this downward trend from your perspective?
Brent Buchanan
Well, you're seeing a degradation of the political environment in general, but it's not necessarily affected the generic ballot, which is are you going to vote for the Republican or Democrats at for Congress. So one thing that we saw, let's go a step above Trump's image and that is how do people view the direction of the country? And in just one month, we have seen a 25 point net drop among strong Republicans, the direction of the country, yet they're still voting for the Republican candidate for Congress. And so the reason that I frame it in this way is that this whole narrative that the President's image and the direction of the country are indicative of what's going to happen in the election just isn't true anymore. And so, yes, his image has decreased, but not as bad as the direction of the country has decreased. Yes, the generic ballot has dropped a little bit, but Republican votes only went to undecided, not to Democrats. So there's still a lot of fluidity in all of this. And I don't think that somebody's approval on Donald Trump's handling of the economy is the be all, end all that. Maybe it was 20 years ago in politics.
John Bickley
Now, this downward trend for Trump on the issue of the economy does look like it correlates directly with Iran. Is that too simplistic or is that just the truth?
Brent Buchanan
No, I believe that the Iran issue, for two reasons, has driven a decrease in his image. One is younger men who took a chance on him in the 24 election that he was going to be different. He was not going to create new wars, he was going to end wars. And then also gas prices. It's simply the one price that everybody sees every single day when they're driving around, whether you purchased it or not. And it is the in your face reminder.
John Bickley
Right? You simply cannot ignore it. Looking ahead, what kinds of events or conditions could meaningfully shift polling in either direction? For example, if we actually wrap up the Iran conflict relatively soon and we do see a return of lower gas prices, could that significantly shift things, or is it already too late for that?
Brent Buchanan
Well, I'm not an economist, so I don't know how long increased diesel prices will impact the cost of everything else. But if by the summer we're not talking about an Iran war, you're starting to see prices come down, which is something that voters don't remember. All of us, look, going back to Covid, almost can't remember what it was like when prices were stable. They've only ever gone up since the COVID pandemic started, especially when the stimulus efforts began. And so I think it could create a unique scenario where voters are actually starting to see prices come down now. Do they come down to what they were before the Iran war? I don't know. But it's a direction that voters are not used to seeing on their receipt.
John Bickley
Now we're looking at a lot of the headwinds for Republicans. Democrats also are facing some major headwinds themselves. The fraud issue has really become front and center here at the Daily Wire. We've reported a lot on that. That's become a talking point for basically every Republican in the country. Is that having an effect?
Brent Buchanan
It would if we talked about it more. The problem is it's been talked about some. You guys have covered it a ton. But if we're talking about what is getting across all the media outlets, this has not been there since the Minneapolis and Minnesota efforts really peaked and then have waned in attention since then. It is a great issue. Government waste and spending is a great topic for turnout for Republicans. It fires people up on an issue that they already believe is happening, which is that government is wasting their money and enriching certain people at their expense. And then there's the whole other issue of immigration. It is what we see in our polling is the top issue for low propensity Trump voters. And so I really hope that that's another topic that we bring to the forefront because these are great contrasts with Democrats.
John Bickley
Well, the summer is fast approaching, so the clock really ticking for the Iran conflict to get wrapped up and for Republicans to unify around some of that messaging you talked about. Thank you so much for joining us.
Brent Buchanan
My pleasure.
Georgia Howe
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.
John Bickley
To enjoy the show ad free and join our mission, become a member@dailywire.com we'll be back this evening. More news you need to know.
Seamus Bruner
You said this place was steps from the water.
Daily Wire Host (Ad Read)
We just haven't found the steps yet.
Tim Rice
How much did we save?
Georgia Howe
Enough.
Seamus Bruner
Enough to get lost.
Georgia Howe
Or you could book a stay with Hilton.
Brent Buchanan
Welcome to your oceanfront room just steps from the water.
Georgia Howe
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Daily Wire Host (Ad Read)
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Georgia Howe
Hilton for the stay.
Date: May 13, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Guests: Tim Rice (DC Bureau Chief), Seamus Bruner (Gov. Accountability Institute), Brent Buchanan (Signal Polling Group)
On this episode, the Morning Wire tackles three major stories shaping America’s political landscape:
[02:30] President Trump lands in Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. Topics on his agenda include Iran, trade, AI, and the case of imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
Iran Negotiations:
China as Key Iran Ally:
Human Rights Issue:
Other Diplomatic Notes and White House News:
White House’s Mother’s Day Pivot:
[09:10] Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang resigns after admitting to running propaganda and reporting directly to CCP operatives.
Nature of the Espionage:
Pattern of Infiltration in California and Beyond:
Broader Agenda:
[13:54] Pollster Brent Buchanan breaks down Trump’s dramatically declining approval numbers on the economy.
Key Findings:
Drivers of Downturn:
Outlook and Potential to Recover:
Key Political Wedge Issues:
Tim Rice, on White House orientation:
“President Trump and his administration roundly rejected this [Iran’s proposal]. And the president is taking an increasingly harsh tone on the Iranians, saying we don't play games.” [03:24]
On Venezuela as 51st State:
“No shortage of ideas for a 51st state... says this would be good because we could use their oil reserves and it would drive gas prices down.” – Tim Rice [04:41]
Seamus Bruner, on CCP infiltration:
“The state is riddled with Chinese agents infiltrating and penetrating the highest and I guess, the lowest levels.”
[11:20]
Brent Buchanan, on economic sentiment:
“It is the in your face reminder.” — referring to gas prices dragging on Trump’s economic approval [15:48]
Brent Buchanan, on political headwinds:
“Government waste and spending is a great topic for turnout for Republicans. It fires people up on an issue that they already believe is happening.” [17:39]
The episode’s coverage is direct, somewhat wry (especially when discussing political maneuvering), data-driven regarding polling, and marked by a sense of urgency about foreign interference and the high-stakes moment in international relations.
This summary covers the pivotal news and analysis from the episode, delivering the facts and flavor for listeners seeking the Morning Wire’s signature “get the news you need to know” approach.