Putin and Trump get set for a phone call about the war, Trump-chartered deportation flights continue despite legal roadblocks, and the UK and Germany cover up early intel on the origins of COVID-19. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan by texting WIRE to 64000.Old Glory Bank: Go to https://oldglorybank.com/wire today to open your account and put your money in the hands of people you can ACTUALLY trust.
Chapter 1: What is the Trump-Putin phone call about?
Trump and Putin are set today to discuss peace and dividing up assets with Ukraine.
As both President Putin and Zelensky said on our first call just a few weeks ago, only President Trump could drive this to an end.
What can we expect from the high-stakes call between the two leaders?
I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, March 18th, and this is Morning Wire. Trump pushes ahead with deporting violent gang members, despite legal efforts to bring them back to the U.S.
Chapter 2: What are the legal challenges to Trump's deportation flights?
These are heinous monsters, rapists, murderers, kidnappers, sexual assaulters, predators who have no right to be in this country and they must be held accountable.
And new reports show both the U.K. and Germany had intel that the COVID virus was created in a lab but chose to suppress it.
Chapter 3: Did the UK and Germany cover up COVID-19 origins?
This is one of the most significant cover-ups. I mean, it's hard to find a bigger one.
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Chapter 4: What are the expectations for the Trump-Putin ceasefire call?
President Trump will hold what could be a pivotal phone call with Russia's Vladimir Putin today as the two sides move closer to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips is here with the latest on what to expect. So Cabot, this really could be the end of the war. What are we expecting them to talk about?
So today's conversation will likely center on a potential ceasefire. At the moment, it seems that Putin will only agree to a ceasefire if he has assurances that the U.S. would pause new weapons shipments to Ukraine in the meantime and that Ukraine would not be allowed to mobilize new forces during that 30-day period.
But there are plenty of folks, including Vladimir Zelensky, who say Putin is exaggerating his openness to a ceasefire.
Now, where does Zelensky stand?
So over the weekend, he told reporters that, quote, the Russians say we support a ceasefire, but, and then after the but, they start coming with various details to delay the process. He says Putin is well aware that Western support for Ukraine is starting to dwindle and he wants to drag out the ceasefire process.
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Chapter 5: What territorial concessions might Ukraine have to make?
to allow his side to gain as much territory as possible ahead of negotiations so that, you know, he'll have more leverage. And to that point, Moscow has recently launched a counteroffensive in the Kursk region, territory in Russia that had fallen into Ukrainian hands last summer after a surprise incursion. Putin says thousands of Ukrainian troops there are currently surrounded.
He called on them to, quote, lay down their arms and surrender in exchange for their lives. So the longer a ceasefire is delayed, the more time Putin will have to close in on those troops. and the more leverage that he would likely have once talks begin. For that reason, among others, Zelensky is calling on Trump to exert pressure on Moscow to accept a ceasefire now.
Over the weekend, he issued a plea for, quote, maximum additional sanctions on Russia if they continue to stall. For his part, Trump said, quote, Speaking from the Kennedy Center, President Trump addressed his looming call with Vladimir Putin.
We're getting down to a very critical stage, and we want to get the whole Russia-Ukraine thing done. And I think Ukraine wants it. I know they want it. Everybody wants it. It's tremendous death. The bloodshed is unbelievable.
Now, assuming Putin does agree to a ceasefire today, and that's a big if, what is he going to be looking for during the formal peace talks?
Well, the biggest debate will be over territorial concessions. At this point, it's pretty clear that Ukraine will need to cede land to the Russians in order for this war to end. The question is really just how much. Putin has shown a clear willingness to continually throw young and old Russians into the front lines and is unlikely to end the war if it means coming back empty-handed.
Specifically, he wants to formally retain control of Crimea as well as the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. For his part, Zelensky had insisted that he would never cede land to Putin. This week, he said, quote, we do not recognize the occupied territories as territories of Russia, and we will never recognize them.
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Chapter 6: How are European countries preparing for post-war peacekeeping in Ukraine?
But at this stage, it's all but guaranteed that he'll have to agree to some land being lost in order to end the war. As the Trump White House sees it, the cost of retaking that land is just too high, even if it is unfair. Here's Trump National Security Advisor Mike Waltz speaking to CBS about that difficult reality.
We have to ask ourselves, is it in our national interest? Is it realistic? Are we going to drive every Russian off of every inch of Ukrainian soil, including Crimea? We can talk about what's right and wrong, and we also have to talk about the reality of the situation on the ground.
The other big points of contention surround peacekeeping forces in Ukraine following a potential agreement. Putin has said from day one that he will never agree to a deal that includes NATO membership for Ukraine. And to this point, most of Europe and the US seem to agree that they will not be given member status.
So that makes it likely that Ukraine will push for European peacekeepers within their borders after the war. European leaders have already agreed to send boots on the ground. Now the question becomes if Putin will sign off on a deal that includes such a security guarantee. Hopefully we'll get some more answers later today.
Well, there's a lot riding on this call. Hopefully we see some progress. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
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Chapter 7: What is the controversy surrounding the deportation of Trin de Aragua gang members?
A showdown over a plane load of suspected Trin de Aragua gang members has pitted immigrant activists against Trump. The administration is moving forward with deportation of over 250 individuals despite legal moves from the ACLU.
Here to discuss the situation is Daily Wire senior editor Ash Short. So Ash, can you first clarify the timeline and why these deportations became so controversial?
Sure. On Friday night, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allowed suspected gang members in the country illegally to be deported without a judicial hearing. The signing wasn't promoted, but the media caught wind of it on Saturday morning. The left-wing ACLU then jumped in and filed a court order trying to stop the deportations.
By Saturday afternoon, however, the planes were already in the air. By the time Judge James Boasberg's order was issued, the flight was already outside U.S. airspace. That's according to a senior administration official speaking to Axios. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, dismissed the ruling, saying he and Trump will not stop until America is safe.
We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming.
Okay, so these individuals believed to be a part of Trend de Aragua are now in El Salvador. Does this order mean that they now have to be brought back to the U.S.?
That's the legal battle that's now taking shape. The Trump DOJ filed a response in court saying, quote, plaintiffs cannot use these proceedings to interfere with the president's national security and foreign affairs authority. They also asked to vacate the hearing and stop interfering with the executive branch.
The other legal issue here is the use of the Alien Enemies Act and whether it gives the president the authority to deport illegal immigrants without a judicial hearing. But the White House welcomes the fight. In fact, Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt addressed the topic in her press briefing on Monday.
This administration acted within the confines of the law, again, within the president's constitutional authority and under the authority granted to him under the Alien Enemies Act. We are quite confident in that, and we are wholly confident that we are going to win this case in court.
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