Vance Calls Out Europe & DEI’s Collegiate Demise | 2.17.25

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary Episode: Vance Calls Out Europe & DEI’s Collegiate Demise | 02.17.25

Introduction In the February 17, 2025 episode of Morning Wire, hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe delve into pivotal developments shaping the political and cultural landscape. The episode centers on Vice President J.D. Vance's confrontational stance against European leaders, the Trump administration's aggressive overhaul of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education, and sweeping federal government layoffs spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

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1. Vice President Vance's Critique of Europe

Timestamp: 00:03 – 05:12

Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a forceful speech at the Munich Security Conference, sharply criticizing European leaders for straying from Western values. Vance accused European nations of embracing censorship, implementing open borders, and retreating from foundational democratic principles.

Notable Quotes:

• Georgia Howe (00:09): “You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail, whether that's the leader of the opposition or a journalist trying to report the news.”
• Vance (02:00): “The threat from within... retreating from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”

Vance emphasized religious freedom, citing incidents where Christians faced persecution in countries like Sweden, Scotland, and England. He went further to liken European censorship of right-wing journalists and politicians to Soviet-era tactics, challenging leaders to uphold democratic ideals.

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2. European Leaders’ Response and Impact on Peace Talks

Timestamp: 05:12 – 06:13

European leaders reacted strongly to Vance’s remarks. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Vance’s interference, declaring that Germany would not accept advice from external entities on managing their democracy. Scholz accused Vance of meddling in European elections and fueling the rise of far-right, neo-Nazi groups. Similar denunciations came from leaders in France and Belgium.

Meanwhile, President Trump publicly endorsed Vance’s speech, reinforcing a unified front on immigration and censorship issues.

Notable Quote:

• Donald Trump (05:02): “I thought he made a very good speech. Actually, a very brilliant speech. Yeah. And Europe has a big immigration problem. Just take a look at what's happened with crime.” (05:12)

The tensions extended to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, where European leaders expressed concern over Trump potentially brokering peace talks without their involvement. French President Emmanuel Macron initiated an emergency summit to address these fears, highlighting the strained transatlantic relations during the early weeks of Trump's administration.

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3. DEI Programs in Higher Education Under Fire

Timestamp: 06:16 – 10:19

On January 21st, President Trump issued an executive order banning federally funded colleges and universities from employing DEI programs. Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham elaborates on the mixed responses from academic institutions:

• Compliance: Schools like those in North Carolina and Arizona State University have halted DEI initiatives, aligning with the executive order.
• Resistance: Institutions such as Mount Holyoke College refuse to comply, arguing the order's illegality and maintaining their commitment to multiracial democracy values.
• Malicious Compliance: Some universities, like the University of Michigan School of Nursing, have superficially renamed DEI programs (e.g., to the Office of Community Culture) while maintaining underlying policies.

Notable Quotes:

• Georgia Howe (02:30): “There is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump's leadership. We may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square. Agree or disagree?” (03:16)
• Megan Basham (08:24): “One of the themes of Trump's first month has been just how much momentum he has right now in Washington and with the American people.” (14:07)

Legal challenges are mounting as organizations like the American Association of University Professors and the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education argue that the executive order infringes on free speech and is overly vague. The potential for DEI initiatives to persist under different guises remains a significant concern.

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4. Federal Government Restructuring and Layoffs

Timestamp: 10:19 – 14:31

The Trump administration, under the direction of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (referred to as "Doge"), is executing a dramatic reduction of the federal workforce. To date, approximately 75,000 government employees have accepted buyouts, with an additional 14,000 furloughed, primarily from departments such as Agriculture, Energy, Health and Human Services (HHS), Interior, Veterans Affairs, and the General Services Administration.

Notable Quotes:

• Donald Trump (14:07): “Nobody in history has ever gotten more bad publicity than me. I could do the greatest things... But you know what I have learned, Elon? The people are smart. They get it.” (14:16)
• Tim Pearce (12:15): “A lot of that reshaping focuses on getting rid of the DEI agenda that Trump campaigned so hard against.” (12:15)

Leaked strategy documents reveal a three-phase plan:

1. Phase One: Revoke Biden-era executive orders and shut down DEI-related agencies.
2. Phase Two: Identify and target "corrupted branches" intertwined with the DEI agenda.
3. Phase Three: Implement mass layoffs to further shrink the government’s size and scope.

Despite significant workforce reductions, the overall federal workforce remains over 2.4 million. Additional layoffs targeting the IRS and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are imminent. Judicial interventions, such as the temporary restraining order blocking the layoff of 2,200 USAID employees, indicate ongoing legal battles.

Public opinion remains favorable towards Trump and Musk’s initiatives, with high approval ratings and resilient public support despite widespread media opposition and political pushback.

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Conclusion

In this episode of Morning Wire, John Bickley and Georgia Howe provide a comprehensive overview of the Trump administration's assertive moves both domestically and internationally. Vice President Vance's confrontational approach in Europe and the aggressive dismantling of DEI programs in higher education highlight a broader strategy to redefine American values and reduce governmental size. Simultaneously, the federal workforce is undergoing unprecedented reductions under Elon Musk’s leadership, signaling a transformative shift in governance. The hosts emphasize the significant resistance from European leaders, academic institutions, and legal entities, but also underscore the enduring public support for Trump and his administration’s policies.

For listeners seeking a detailed analysis of these critical issues, this episode offers insightful commentary and firsthand reports on the evolving political dynamics shaping the United States and its global relations.

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Note: This summary excludes non-content sections such as advertisements, intros, and outros to focus solely on the substantive discussions of the episode.

Transcript

[John Bickley]

Vice President Vance travels to Germany, where he calls out European leaders for abandoning Western values.

[Georgia Howe]

You cannot win a democratic mandate by censoring your opponents or putting them in jail, whether that's the leader of the opposition or a journalist trying to report the news.

[Cabot Phillips]

How was the VP's blunt speech received? And why is French President Macron calling an emergency meeting over Ukraine?

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Editor in Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Monday, February 17th, and this is Morning Wire. The world of academia is responding to Trump's efforts to root out DEI from higher education. While some schools are complying, others say they plan to resist.

[Cabot Phillips]

And Trump has taken a slash and burn approach to shrinking the government while promising more to come.

[Tim Pearce]

Modernizing our federal government, using technology to make it more efficient.

[Georgia Howe]

I mean, this is a long overdue process.

[Cabot Phillips]

Which departments have been most impacted?

[John Bickley]

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

[Cabot Phillips]

Leaders in Europe expressed deep frustration with Donald Trump and J.D. vance over the weekend, slamming their calls to end censorship and their plans to end the war in Ukraine.

[John Bickley]

Here are the details. Amid all the international drama is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Philip say Cabot. So Trump and Vance really shaking up Europe. Maybe not so surprisingly. Let's start with Vance, who ruffled some feathers with a high profile speech in Germany. What did we hear from the vice president?

[Kevin]

Yeah, the vice president appeared at the Munich security conference over the weekend and stunned lawmakers and military leaders from across Europe, calling them out to their face, accusing them of embracing censorship and open borders and, quote, retreating from their fundamental values. The core focus of the gathering was originally intended to be the war in Ukraine, but Vance said that conflict ultimately pales in comparison to the broader, quote, threat from within. Have a listen.

[Georgia Howe]

While the Trump administration is very concerned with European security and believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine, the threat that I worry the most about vis a vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.

[Kevin]

Among the values that Vance honed in on was religious freedom, which he says is under attack in Europe. He listed off recent examples of Christians being jailed for peaceful protests in Sweden, Scotland and England. He then called out leaders in Germany and Belgium for censoring right wing journalists and politicians, comparing them actually to Soviet.

[Georgia Howe]

Era tyrants now within living memory of many of you in this room, the Cold War positioned defenders of democracy against much more tyrannical forces on this continent. And consider the side in that fight that censored dissidents, that closed churches, that canceled elections. Were they the good guys? Certainly not.

[Kevin]

The VP then laid out an offer for the assembled leaders of Europe.

[Georgia Howe]

Just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite. And I hope that we can work together on that in Washington. There is a new sheriff in town, and under Donald Trump's leadership. We may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square. Agree or disagree?

[John Bickley]

Well, as you said, very direct challenges there on censorship. Now, the vice president also weighed into immigration. What did he say on that issue?

[Kevin]

Yes, he did. Vance said that of all the problems facing Europe and the west more broadly, none is more pressing than mass migration. The VP called out politicians for allowing it and for slandering and censoring those who oppose it.

[Georgia Howe]

Today, almost one in five people living in this country moved here from abroad, and we know this situation. It didn't materialize in a vacuum. It's the result of a series of conscious decisions made by politicians all over the continent and others across the world over the span of a decade.

[John Bickley]

Again, very direct language there. So what sort of response did that speech garner from those in attendance?

[Kevin]

The reaction was tepid, to say the least. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example, spoke the morning after Vance and said his country, quote, would not accept advice from outsiders on how to run their democracy. He went on to accuse Vance of meddling in European elections and encouraging the rise of far right, supposedly neo Nazi political parties. Other leaders from Germany, France, and Belgium took to the stage with similar denunciations of Vance's address. But importantly, President Trump was apparently a big fan. Here he is in the White House Saturday.

[Donald Trump]

I thought he made a very good speech. Actually, a very brilliant speech. Yeah. And Europe has a big immigration problem. Just take a look at what's happened with crime.

[John Bickley]

All right, so clear unity on this message between Trump and Vance. And this latest address is hardly the only thing European leaders are upset about with the Trump administration. Correct.

[Kevin]

Right. They are scrambling to get a seat at the table in the peace talks between the U.S. russia and Ukraine. Remember, President Trump had a phone call with Vladimir Putin last week, and he'll reportedly meet with Putin face to face in the coming months. Now, European leaders are fearful that Trump will broker a peace deal without their input. In response, French President Emmanuel Macron called an emergency meeting in Paris on Monday that'll be attended by leaders from across the eu, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who called it a, quote, once in a generation national security moment. For their part, the White House says peace talks have stalled in the past because there were simply too many cooks in the kitchen. They clearly want to move forward without much input from the Europeans. Now, we'll be watching that emergency summit very closely this week to see what happens.

[John Bickley]

Well, Trump promised to disrupt the status quo, so not surprised to see European leaders a bit rattled here in these first few weeks. Kevin, thanks for reporting.

[Kevin]

Anytime.

[John Bickley]

On January 21st, President Trump signed an executive order banning federally funded colleges and universities from employ DEI programs. Now some schools are complying, while others say they won't give in.

[Cabot Phillips]

Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham is here now to explain how higher ed is responding to the DEI shutdown. So, Megan, we're about a month out now from Trump's order. What does this actually look like on the ground? Are schools making substantial changes?

[Megan Basham]

You know, on the surface at least, it looks like they are. So what we're seeing all across the country is schools closing down the DEI websites and ending so many of those related initiatives. State schools in North Carolina, for example, have stopped requiring students to take DEI classes to graduate. And Arizona State's administration has directed its researchers to stop working on those projects that fall under the rubric of DEI and also receive federal funding. And then you have Missouri State University. They've closed down their Office of Inclusive Engagement and cut DEI programs. But on the other side of the coin, you do have some schools that are leaving the DEI programs in place for now, saying that they plan to resist. Just one example, the president of Mount Holyoke College told the Associated Press that her school won't comply because she doesn't believe that Trump's orders are legal. And she said that Mount Holyoke is not going to rename their DEI programs either, because that would quoting here validate this notion that our values are wrong. And I don't believe that the value of saying we live in a multiracial democracy is wrong. And she's kind of backed up somewhat by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Now, it's the biggest and best known outlet that exclusively covers colleges and universities. And it's clearly staking out a position in favor of dei. Basically, it's promising to act as a sort of clearinghouse of information for those schools that are planning to resist. And I'd be remiss here if I didn't mention what some are calling malicious compliance. And by that, they mean that the schools are canceling race related events and programs that don't fall afoul of the DEI order in order to make headlines. So to give you just one example, in Ohio, the University of Akron canceled the Rethinking Race forum that's been held annually for nearly 30 years. And nothing in an event like that is covered by this order. But there has been a flurry of media coverage pointing to its cancellation as evidence that the Trump administration is trying to muzzle racial discussions.

[Cabot Phillips]

So the claim there is. These are stunts that are designed to create blowback for that order, Correct?

[Megan Basham]

Exactly.

[Cabot Phillips]

Now, for those schools and groups that are actively resisting, what does the resistance look like?

[Megan Basham]

Primarily, what it means is that they're leaving the programs in place while they file legal challenges. So, just two weeks ago, two higher ed groups, the American association of University Professors and the national association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, filed lawsuits arguing that Trump's orders are too vague, go too far, and violate free speech protections. So they're asking the court to block the Department of Education from enforcing Trump's order.

[Cabot Phillips]

Now, an issue we've seen in the past, particularly in K through 12 settings, but also with some things like college admissions, is schools will make some sort of superficial changes, but then just continue their practices under a different name. Could we see DEI just go underground?

[Megan Basham]

Yeah, we could. And I think actually you're already seeing that if you look at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Right after Trump's order, on January 20th, it announced that it was shutting down its DEI program. But a Washington examiner report published last Thursday found that the school simply renamed the DEI program. So it's now the Office of Community Culture. But those same DEI policies are still in effect, and I expect we'll see that kind of thing elsewhere.

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, there are a lot of college deans trying to hold onto their jobs right now, so.

[Megan Basham]

Right.

[Cabot Phillips]

I think you're probably right. Megan, thanks for reporting.

[Megan Basham]

Anytime.

[Cabot Phillips]

Mass layoffs and resignations at the federal government continue as the Trump administration closes in on its one month mark. The strategy to trim and reshape the federal government is being carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.

[John Bickley]

Here to talk about how Doge's mission has gone so far and how the government has already changed, as Daily Wire reporter Tim Pearce. Tim? So first, we've seen tens of thousands of federal workers leave the government since Trump took office just over three weeks ago. How many are there and where exactly did they leave from, yeah, a lot.

[Tim Pearce]

And from all over. Most of those who were on their way out of the government took President Trump's buyout offer that totaled about about 75,000 people. Another 14,000 have been let go, and the vast majority of those were in probationary positions. The top departments affected by the cuts are that of Agriculture, Energy, hhs, Interior and Veterans affairs, as well as the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration. And the cuts aren't even close to being over. According to politico. Another roughly 200,000 probationary employees are expected to be axed. The next agencies to see layoffs, according to reports, are the IRS and Housing and Urban Development. Both are expected to see reductions of thousands of people as soon as next week. Now, a lot of these cuts depend on how the courts rule on a number of challenges. And there's been no shortage of lawsuits. According to a New York Times tracker, there have been nearly 20 lawsuits filed over budget freezes and firings. Just one example, on February 7, a D.C. district Court judge issued a temporary restraining order that blocked, at least for now, the placement of 2200 USAID employees on administrative leave.

[John Bickley]

All right, so as it stands now, about 90,000 people are on, on their way out. That seems like a lot, but we're talking about a workforce of over 2.4 million people, not counting the military and Postal Service. But of course, we're only a few weeks in. How is Doge prioritizing what to cut? Right.

[Tim Pearce]

The biggest cuts are still to come, at least that's according to some leaked Doge strategy documents that were obtained by the Washington Post. According to the Post, Doge has laid out a three phase strategy to reshaping the federal workforce. And to your question, a lot of that reshaping focuses on getting rid of the DEI agenda that Trump campaigned so hard against. The first phase of the plan is the rescission of Biden's executive orders, as well as targeting a host of DEI infected agencies to be shut down. The second phase is sifting through the bureaucracy and calling it, quote, corrupted branches that are either expressly part of the DEI agenda or tied to it. That's the phase that we're in now. The third phase still to come will include mass layoffs where we could see a much bigger impact as far as the size and scope of government.

[John Bickley]

So those are the promised larger cuts that are coming. We've talked about pushback in the courts, but Democrats have also been out rallying against Doge and trying to turn up the sort of political pressure against these cuts. How has that worked so far?

[Tim Pearce]

Not well. And it's worth noting that much of that pushback has come from the media as well. And still Trump is receiving his highest marks ever. And Doge is above water in public approval polling, according to the latest Trafalgar poll. One of the themes of Trump's first month has been just how much momentum he has right now in Washington and with the American people. And Trump and Musk don't appear to be close to backing up. Off. Here's the two. In an interview with Sean Hannity that is set to air later this week, Elon called me.

[Donald Trump]

He said, you know, they're trying to drive us apart. I said, absolutely. No. They said, we have breaking news. Donald Trump has ceded control of the presidency to Elon Musk. President Musk will be attending a Cabinet meeting tonight at 8:00. And I say it's just so obvious. They're so bad at it. I used to think they were good at it. They're actually bad at it because if they were good at it, I'd never be president. Because I think nobody in history has ever gotten more bad publicity than me. I could do the greatest things. I get 98% bad publicity. But you know what I have learned, Elon? The people are smart. They get it.

[Tim Pearce]

Yeah, they do.

[Donald Trump]

They get it. They really see what's happening.

[Tim Pearce]

So they're projecting a lot of confidence with where they're at.

[John Bickley]

They seem committed to only be picking up the pace, not slowing down. Tim, thanks for joining us.

[Tim Pearce]

Thanks for having me on.

[Cabot Phillips]

Thanks for waking up with us. And if you enjoyed what you heard this morning, please, please consider sharing this episode with a friend.