Trump’s Hormuz Deadline & ICE Reinforces TSA? | 3.23.26

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: Trump’s Hormuz Deadline & ICE Reinforces TSA?
Date: March 23, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley & Georgia Howe

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Overview

This episode covers three major breaking stories:

• President Trump's dramatic ultimatum to Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz blockade and the looming risks of escalation.
• The domestic fallout of the ongoing DHS shutdown, with TSA agents absent from airports and ICE stepping in to fill the gap.
• A new analysis exposing how mainstream and tech platforms systematically sideline conservative news, impacting public perception of current events.

With a tone blending urgency, clear-eyed reporting, and pointed commentary, the podcast digs into political, economic, and media dimensions shaping American headlines.

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Key Discussions & Insights

1. Trump’s Ultimatum to Iran: Strait of Hormuz Crisis

Timestamps: 00:33 – 07:05

• Situation Summary:

  • Iran continues to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy markets.
  • President Trump issues a 48-hour ultimatum: fully open the strait or face US strikes on Iranian power plants, breaking prior restraint against targeting civilian infrastructure.
  • Trump’s threat: “…if Iran does not fully open without threat the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the US will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first.” (03:02, Cabot Phillips quoting Trump)
  • White House has previously avoided such targets due to risk of wider energy turmoil.

• Iran’s Reaction:

  • Iranian officials call Trump’s threat a violation of international law, insisting, “If the enemy damages our power plants, nothing can stop us from continuing our operations to destroy the energy, oil and industrial infrastructure of the US and its allies in the region.” (04:05, Cabot Phillips)
  • Strategic calculus: Iran aims to keep its leverage with the blockade but faces the risk of internal unrest if crippled by US strikes.

• Global & Domestic Economic Impact:

  • Gas prices spike to a national average of $3.94/gallon (from $2.98 at war’s onset), the sharpest one-month rise since Hurricane Katrina. (05:20, Cabot Phillips)
  • Economic ripple: Rising fuel costs mean higher inflation; the Federal Reserve now likely to hike (rather than cut) interest rates—a “dramatic reversal.”
  • Pressure mounts on President Trump to resolve the conflict swiftly as economic anxieties intensify.

• Missile Strike on Diego Garcia:

  • Iran attempts long-range strike on US-British base Diego Garcia; missiles miss, but range (2,000 miles) is a “first,” putting even Central Europe in reach.
  • “Up until this war began, Iran had completely denied having missiles that could travel this sort of distance.” (06:18, Cabot Phillips)
  • White House sees the attack as vindication for considering direct action.

Notable Quote:
“We have unlimited ammunition, we have the greatest equipment in the world, and we are decimating Iran. It's about time.”
— Ben Shapiro (00:41)

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2. TSA Absenteeism, ICE Reinforcements & Shutdown Politics

Timestamps: 08:11 – 12:33

• Crisis at Airports:

  • The DHS partial shutdown enters a second month with TSA agents unpaid but considered “essential.”
  • High absentee rates—up to 30% at some airports—cause multi-hour security lines and missed flights.
  • Effects are uneven and unpredictable: “One airport might be functioning relatively smoothly while another is seeing multi hour security lines or even checkpoint shutdowns. And that unpredictability is what’s frustrating travelers the most.” (08:35, Megan Basham)

• Political Stalemate:

  • Democrats refuse funding for DHS, demanding reforms to ICE—banning face masks, requiring personal identification.
  • Republicans argue these measures would expose ICE agents to harassment and threats.
  • “We know the Democrats are going to want to dox those ICE agents, go to their homes, harass their kids. That's a problem.” (10:39, Sean Duffy)

• Republican Response:

  • GOP frames the struggle as Democrats holding American air travelers “hostage” for political leverage.
  • Emphasis on Trump’s election as a mandate to secure the border and enforce immigration policy (11:04, Megan Basham).

• ICE Steps In:

  • The Trump administration moves to have ICE agents assist at airports, backfilling TSA shortages.
  • “Starting as early as this week, ICE agents are going to step in and help fill the staffing gap that we’re seeing with TSA.” (11:34, Megan Basham)
  • Suggestion that ICE officers free up TSA agents for more critical functions.

• Musk’s Offer:

  • Elon Musk posts on X (formerly Twitter) pledging:
    “…quote, pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is so negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country.” (11:59, Megan Basham)
  • Legal feasibility is unclear, but it signals the level of public concern.

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3. Big Tech’s Conservative News Blackout

Timestamps: 13:05 – 17:31

• Study Findings:

  • New report by Media Research Center (MRC): Out of 620 top Apple News stories in January, 440 were left-wing, zero conservative.
  • February saw token improvement: out of 552 top stories, only 8 were from conservative outlets.
  • “So a 2% improvement.” (13:58, Ben Shapiro, dryly)

• Methodology:

  • MRC used All Sides, a third-party political bias ranking group, for classification.
  • Despite growing influence and scoops from right-leaning outlets, platforms systematically exclude them from user feeds.

• Impact on Public Perception:

  • Apple and Google amplify stories from the left even as trust in mainstream media plummets.
  • Washington Post's positive obituary for the Ayatollah, widely circulated via Apple News, contrasts the coverage slant (“framed the Ayatollah as this bushy, bearded lover of poetry,” 15:57, Ben Shapiro).
  • The anti-ICE narrative is showcased by headlines like "ICE shoots man in leg," without context.

• Wider Consequences:

  • “So politically, it's no surprise as to why the President's numbers crater on that issue in particular.” (16:22, Ben Shapiro)
  • Democrat positions are broadcast to “tens of millions, hundreds of millions” for free, emboldening their negotiating stance.

Notable Quote:
“It’s kind of a miracle that we’ve come this far without any help from these guys.”
— Ben Shapiro (15:27), on the conservative media’s survival and impact

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• “The next 12 hours or so has the potential to be historic.”
  — Cabot Phillips (03:02), on Trump’s ultimatum
• “Flights get delayed leaving those cities, which means they arrive late somewhere else, and that disrupts connections across the network.”
  — Megan Basham (09:05), on the travel domino effect
• “We have families that are trying to go on vacation, and they're stuck in lines for two, three hours at a time.”
  — Sean Duffy (10:39), underscoring public frustration
• “Tell Miranda Devine that. Okay, I dare anyone to go to Miranda Devine's office and tell her that she didn't break the Hunter Biden story.”
  — Ben Shapiro (15:14), on conservative outlets breaking news

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 00:33 – 03:58: Iran crisis, Trump’s ultimatum, and Iranian response
• 05:20 – 06:10: Economic fallout and gas price surge
• 06:10 – 06:57: Iranian missile strike on Diego Garcia
• 08:11 – 09:58: DHS shutdown and TSA absenteeism
• 11:25 – 11:59: ICE agents to reinforce airports; Musk’s offer
• 13:05 – 14:41: MRC data: media/tech bias against conservatives
• 15:26 – 16:22: Impact of legacy/Big Tech bias during wartime

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Conclusion

This episode of Morning Wire dissects a tense moment in foreign policy, unpacks domestic disruptions from the federal shutdown, and exposes media bias that shapes how Americans understand the news. The hosts and guests draw a direct line between political strategy, media framing, and the real-world experiences of travelers, consumers, and voters.

Listeners walk away with a structured, fact-forward overview of fast-moving events—illustrating why trust in legacy channels is fraying, and why alternative coverage matters.

Transcript

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[John Bickley]

The clock is ticking on President Trump's ultimatum to Iran. With just hours left in the country's power plants in the crosshairs, we have

[Ben Shapiro]

unlimited ammunition, we have the greatest equipment in the world, and we are decimating Iran. It's about time.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, March 23rd, and this is Morning Wire.

[Georgia Howe]

With more airports at a crisis point over unpaid TSA agents staying home, President Trump sends in ice.

[Sean Duffy]

Look at the line there. We have ICE agents who are trained and can provide assistance to agents.

[John Bickley]

And as the debate over epic fury and DHS rages in D.C. a new analysis finds that big tech is blacking out conservative reporting on the stories.

[Ben Shapiro]

Zero coverage whatsoever because the networks won't cover it. And so who are the apps in bed with the networks?

[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]

as the economic impact of the war in Iran grows. President Trump has offered a new threat to the regime, drawing a dramatic red line.

[John Bickley]

Cabot Phillips, host of Wired in Live, joins us now. Hey, Cabot. So a lot happened over the weekend regarding the Iran war. And in the coming hours, a lot to track very carefully. We have this ultimatum. Let's start there. Clock is ticking on this. Where do things stand with Trump's big red line?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, the next 12 hours or so has the potential to be historic. So the Iranian regime has continued their blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. As we talked about all month long, that has wreaked havoc on the global energy supply. But on Saturday, President Trump issued an unprecedented threat to the regime, saying, quote, if Iran does not fully open without threat the Strait of Hormuz Within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the US will hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with with the biggest one first. And remember, the US up to this point has largely avoided targeting Iranian energy facilities, including power plants and oil refineries, focusing instead on military targets. A major concern from the White House from the start was that those sorts of strikes would create even more turbulence in the global energy sector. But it appears that Trump is now willing to take that risk. At the moment, the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked. The Iranians have not budged. And that means the 48 hour timeline will soon expire in just a few hours. So buckle up.

[John Bickley]

Indeed, it feels like this could end up being a breaking point, but we'll see. How have the Iranians responded so far?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, as you can imagine, as they've done with every other threat to this point, they struck a defiant tone saying, quote, if the enemy damages our power plants, nothing can stop us from continuing our operations to destroy the energy, oil and industrial infrastructure of the US and its allies in the region. The country's foreign minister followed up with a statement of his own saying that such strikes from Trump would violate, quote, international humanitarian law because it, quote, concerns civilian objects. Now, for obvious reasons, that is ironic coming from a regime that just slaughtered thousands, maybe tens of thousands of protesters in the streets. But zooming out here, from a strategic standpoint, there is no doubt the Iranians are boxed in here. On the one hand, maintaining the blockade of this strait is undoubtedly their best shot at maintaining leverage. The thought is that they want to prolong the war as long as possible and use the blockade to negotiate a more favorable peace agreement at the end. But on the other hand, if they maintain the blockade and Trump follows through with this threat, they risk Decimating their economy. Losing that production capability obviously could cripple them. And if power goes out across the country, it could make an uprising of their own people even more likely.

[John Bickley]

All right, so the Iranians under a lot of pressure to say the least. Yeah. Now there's growing economic concerns here at home. What is the latest on the economic fallout in the U.S. yeah, this won't

[Cabot Phillips]

be news to most folks listening, but gas is going up fast. Right now the national average is $3.94 a gallon. the start of the war, it was $2.98. That represents the largest one month increase in gas since Hurricane Katrina. The bottom line is higher gas prices equals higher inflation. And that means not only higher prices, but higher interest rates. Before the war, the expectation was that the Federal Reserve would continue cutting rates throughout the year. But given all of this economic uncertainty, the Fed is now expected to go the other way and actually raise rates. Traders now give about a 75% chance of rate hikes this summer. That is, it's hard to overstate. Just a dramat reversal. And for President Trump, who we know obsesses over interest rates, inflation data and market returns, it is even more pressure for him to wrap this conflict up as soon as possible.

[John Bickley]

Now, before we go over the weekend, we saw a particularly concerning Iranian missile strike that was also revealing in many ways. What did we see there?

[Cabot Phillips]

So the Iranians launched two intermediate range ballistic missiles targeting Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean. That is a joint US And British facility. Thankfully, those strikes did not hit their target. But here's why the attempt was so concerning. Diego Garcia is 2,000 miles away from Tehran. And this attempted strike proves for the first time that the regime is capable of sending missiles far beyond the Persian Gulf. Keep in mind, 2,000 miles, that puts much of Central Europe in range. And it's worth noting, up until this war began, Iran had completely denied having missiles that could travel this sort of distance. So the White House says it is just further proof of why this operation was necessary to begin with. Right.

[John Bickley]

They've maintained that Iran has continued to be a major threat to the region and our interests. And here's evidence of that fact. Kevin, thanks so much for reporting.

[Cabot Phillips]

Absolutely.

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[John Bickley]

travelers are facing long security lines and missed flights as the partial shutdown of Homeland Security enters its second month. Democrats say they will not vote to fund DHS without changes to immigration enforcement, but Trump says they've actually now forced him to ramp up ICE presence at airports.

[Georgia Howe]

Here with the details is Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham. So Megan, give us the 30,000 foot view of what's going on here.

[Megan Basham]

Yes, Georgia. Well, you know, obviously this stems from the shutdown over DHS because Democrats don't want to fund dhs, which of course oversees tsa. However, TSA officers are considered essential employees, so that means they still have to work even as they're not getting paid, and then they'll receive back pay once the shutdown ends. But as it's dragging on for weeks now, probably not surprising, a lot of TSA officials are deciding they don't really like that deal. Travel analyst Francesca Page, host of the beyond the Map Travel podcast, spoke with Morning Wire, and she told us that at some airports, absentee rates have climbed to 30% or even higher. And these effects are being felt across the country. Flights get delayed leaving those cities, which means they arrive late somewhere else, and that disrupts connections across the network. And what's especially challenging right now is that impact isn't uniform. One airport might be functioning relatively smoothly while another is seeing multi hour security lines or even checkpoint shutdowns. And that unpredictability is what's frustrating travelers the most. So honestly, this is hitting the biggest airports hardest, and because of that, it's affecting the entire national system.

[Georgia Howe]

Now walk us through the politics here. All of this is stemming from Democrats not wanting to pass that DHS funding. What's their case there?

[Megan Basham]

So Democrats are unhappy about ICE arrests and immigration enforcement more broadly. So they're saying no money for TSA unless Republicans are prepared to make major changes to ice, including banning them from wearing face masks and also requiring them to wear name tags, personal identification on their uniforms. Now, Republicans counter that this would open up ICE agents to harassment, doxing, potentially even violent threats. This is what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told ABC on Sunday.

[Sean Duffy]

We know the Democrats are going to want to dox those ICE agents, go to their homes, harass their kids. That's a problem. And I think there's a bigger issue here that Democrats actually want to defund ICE or they want to defund cbp. And so the common sense Democrats have to come to the table, figure out a solution to again, let these lines flow. This is spring break. We have families that are trying to go on vacation and they're stuck in lines for two, three hours at a time.

[Megan Basham]

So the upshot is you're hearing from a lot of Republicans that Democrats are willing to hold our air travel hostage basically in order to get what they want when it comes to immigration reforms. And Republicans say that the American people elected Donald Trump to secure the border and to enforce immigration. So they're digging in as well.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, and that brings us to the next wrinkle, which is the Trump administration now wanting to have ICE fill in for TSA at the airport. Tell us about that new development.

[Megan Basham]

Yeah. Georgia border czar Tom Homan has been out making the rounds on cable news, including cnn, saying that starting as early as this week, ICE agents are going to step in and help fill the staffing gap that we're seeing with tsa.

[Ben Shapiro]

There are roles we can play to

[Cabot Phillips]

release TSA officers from the non significant

[Ben Shapiro]

roles, such as guarding an exit so they can get back to the scanning machines and move people quicker.

[Megan Basham]

And then another possible solution. On Saturday, Elon Musk posted this to X. He said that he will, quote, pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is so negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country. Now, legally, it's not entirely clear that he can do this if a private citizen is allowed to pay the payroll of federal staffers. But the offer underscores just how serious this issue has become.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, we are definitely hoping for the best for every traveler out there. Megan, thanks for reporting.

[Megan Basham]

Yep, my pleasure.

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[Georgia Howe]

AI the public perception of the war in Iran and the DHS shutdown is being significantly shaped by legacy media's coverage and platforms distributing those stories. A new analysis from the Media Research center found that just 2% of Google News top morning stories last month came from conservative outlets, while Apple News served its users 0 conservative sources in its top stories over the course of 100 days.

[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss is the president of mrc, David Bozell. Thank you so much for coming on. So as I understand it, your team wanted to figure out why left wing outlets absolutely dominate online news rankings despite having trust ratings in the single digits often. And you found that extremely few and sometimes literally zero conservative outlets were included in the top stories lists on some of these news platforms like Google and Apple. Is that correct?

[Ben Shapiro]

Yeah, well, Apple was the most egregious. So we studied Apple. In the month of January, they had 620 stories in the top 20 slots aggregated through January, 440 of them were outlets considered to be left wing. Now we're not. We didn't want to be judge, jury and executioner. We're not deciding what is a left wing outlet, what is a center outlet, what is a right wing outlet. We use a company called All Sides. 440 Apple stories were considered left wing by all Sides. The rest were center zero right wing. Now the month of February, they improved, right? They had 552 stories. I think it was 400 of them even were left wing stories. Eight were right wing stories. So a 2% improvement.

[John Bickley]

Oh wow, that's great.

[Ben Shapiro]

Look, I mean, I guess it's progress, but look, so I say that sarcastically. They're doing it because the ftc, the Federal Trade Commission, and Andrew Ferguson, the chairman over there, sent Tim Cook a letter and said, now wait a minute, how is it that you're going to advertise this phone to be purchased, right? You're also going to get this neutral arbitration of the news that you can curate yourself when in reality the numbers prove otherwise completely. And the conservative ecosystem has come such a long way. We're breaking stories all the time. That's one of the big criticisms the left has like, well, the, you know, the right wing doesn't break any stories. Tell Miranda Devine that. Okay, I dare anyone to go to Miranda Devine's office and tell her that she didn't break the Hunter Biden story.

[John Bickley]

Or our Luke Rosiek.

[Ben Shapiro]

Right, exactly. Tell Luke that. You know, who's doing this on a daily basis. It's kind of a miracle that we've come this far without any help from these guys.

[Cabot Phillips]

Right.

[John Bickley]

And as we've documented here at the Daily Wire, active hostility from the Biden administration for four years where they were trying to take us out.

[Megan Basham]

Out.

[John Bickley]

As to how this bias operates in the real world. We have the Iran war going on. And when you look at it from the framework of your study, it's no wonder that many Americans have a negative perspective on that operation. How have you seen this play out, particularly with the Iran war?

[Ben Shapiro]

Iran's still a little fresh. I mean, obviously there's been push pulling from the jump. Take the Washington Post obituary, right, which framed the Ayatollah as this bushy, bearded lover of poetry.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, I laugh, but it's horrible.

[Ben Shapiro]

That's the kind of thing that gets into Apple and gets broadcast to 125 million people a month. Minnesota Star Tribune is a terrific example of this. Okay. They rocketed up the top 50 website charts in the month of January. Why? Because they were linked by Google News five times and linked by Apple News 11 times. So the whole anti ICE framework, right, with headline gems such as ice shoots man in leg. Never mind that as a Venezuelan national who's running from the ice guys, and he turns around, slips, sliding through the ice, and he realized he can't win and so he attacks him and they shoot him in a lot. And so politically, it's no surprise as to why the President's numbers crater on that issue in particular. Right. It's no surprise that the Democrats feel emboldened to shut down DHS because they know their message is being broadcast to tens of millions, hundreds of millions of people a month for free. The shutdown story is another 10 coverage of the shutdown story on some of these apps. 0. 0 coverage whatsoever. Why? Because the networks won't cover it. And so who are the apps in bed with the networks? So that's why politically, this stuff is so important.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, absolutely, it is. David, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate the work you guys do appreciate it.

[Georgia Howe]

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. Ready to buy a car, a home, or just want to take control of your money? Your FICO score matters, and 90% of top lenders use it to make decisions. Check your FICO score for free today without hurting your credit score. Visit myfico.com free or download the MyFico app today. MyFico gives you the score lenders use most, plus credit reports and real time alerts to help keep you on top of your credit. Visit myfico.com free and take the mystery out of your FICO score.