Cohosting @wmalnews’ #MorningsOnTheMall with the talented @VinceCoglianese Thursday and Friday morning.

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— Beverly Hallberg (@bevhallberg) January 2, 2020

Mornings on the Mall

Friday, January 3, 2020

Hosts: Vince Coglianese and guest host Beverly Hallberg of Independent Women’s Forum

Executive Producer: Heather Hunter

Michael Pregent, Gen. Jack Keane, Saagar Enjeti, Dan Gabriel, Larry Michael, Philip Van Cleave, Steven Mosher and Beverly Hallberg joined WMAL on Friday!

5am – A/B/C IRAN:

• Iran vows vengeance after US airstrike kills top Iranian general. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the U.S. after an airstrike on an airport in Baghdad killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force. The Pentagon confirmed that President Trump ordered the attack that killed Soleimani, a military mastermind whom Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed equally as dangerous as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself in October during a U.S. raid on a compound in northwest Syria. Khamenei declared three days of public mourning for the general’s death.
• Donald Trump tells Americans to flee Iraq NOW after drone strike which he ordered killed Iranian terror General Qassem Soleimani, plunging Middle East into crisis. (Daily Mail) — Donald Trump advised all Americans to flee Iran immediately after he ordered a drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. The president retweeted a warning from the State Department on Friday morning that advised Americans to leave the Middle East nation. ‘Due to heightened tensions in Iraq and the region, we urge U.S. citizens to depart Iraq immediately. Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all consular operations are suspended. U.S. citizens should not approach the Embassy,’ the tweet read. Trump’s initial response to reports that an American airstrike killed the Iranian military leader was to tweet a photo of the American flag.
• Pentagon confirms U.S. drone strike killed Soleimani, claim he was actively developing plans to kill American diplomats & service members and that he approved the attacks on the embassy in Iraq.

5am – D         2020 DEM SHAKEUP: CASTRO OUT, MARIANNE WILLIAMSON LOSES HER STAFF:

• Julian Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration, has ended his presidential bid. The 45 year-old did not announce his plans but said in the video, “I’m not done fighting.” Castro was the only Latino candidate to run for president in 2020.  The Texas Democrat stood at 1.2%, according to an average of polling from Real Clear Politics, and struggled to raise money among a crowded Democratic field.
• Julián Castro Ends Presidential Run: ‘It Simply Isn’t Our Time.’ Julián Castro, the former housing secretary who was the only Latino candidate in the Democratic primary, said Thursday he would end his bid for the presidency, capping a yearlong campaign where he struggled in polls but remained a policy pacesetter on immigration and fighting poverty. […]  Mr. Castro was outspoken when Senator Kamala Harris of California made a surprise exit from the race in early December, saying that “Kamala was treated very poorly” and had been “held to an unfair standard” by the media. “The media’s flawed formula for “electability” has pushed aside women and candidates of color,” he said that day on Twitter. “Our party’s diversity is our strength.”

• Marianne Williamson lays off her entire presidential campaign staff

5am – E         SANDERS TAKES AIM AT BIDEN BEFORE IOWA CAUCUSES:

• Ascendant Bernie Sanders turns his focus to Joe Biden as Iowa nears. “It’s just a lot of baggage that Joe takes into a campaign, which isn’t going to create energy and excitement,” Sanders said. “He brings into this campaign a record which is so weak that it just cannot create the kind of excitement and energy that is going to be needed to defeat Donald Trump.”
• Bernie Sanders Won’t Reveal Cost Of Medicare-For-All Because ‘It’s Such A Huge Number.’ “I don’t give a number and I’ll tell you why — it’s such a huge number and it’s so complicated that if I gave a number, you and 50 other people would go through it and say, ‘Oh … ‘” Sanders told a Post reporter.

6am – A/B/C A Pentagon statement says the US military has killed Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at direction of President Trump. 

• THE LEFT’S REACTION TO KILLING IRAN LEADER / FEARS OF WAR:
• Marianne Williamson @marwilliamson: Prayers for peace. Killing of Qasem Solemani by US military was one of the most reckless irresponsible actions ever directed by a US President. Congress deserves condemnation for allowing it (NDAA) and Americans need to understand this: War with Iran would be totally disastrous.
• Ilhan Omar attacks Trump for killing a terrorist that murdered hundreds of American soldiers. Omar promotes a conspiracy theory that Trump is doing this to distract the public: Ilhan Omar @IlhanMN: Ilhan Omar Retweeted Chris Murphy: So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will.
• Sen. Chris Murphy ‏@ChrisMurphyCT: Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question. The question is this – as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?
• Obama admin responds to Trump killing two top terrorists: Ben Rhodes ‏@brhodes Trump may have just started a war with no congressional debate. I really hope the worst case scenario doesn’t happen but everything about this situation suggests serious escalation to come. 5:58 PM – 2 Jan 2020 Democrat Andrew Yang comes out against killing terrorists:
• Andrew Yang @AndrewYang War with Iran is the last thing we need and is not the will of the American people. We should be acting to deescalate tensions and protect our people in the region. 6:14 PM – 2 Jan 2020 https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1212920212594610176

6am – D         INTERVIEW – MICHAEL PREGENT – Former Intelligence Officer and senior fellow at Hudson Institute – analyzed the death of Qassem Soleimani.

• Iran vows vengeance after US airstrike kills top Iranian general. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday warned that a “harsh retaliation is waiting” for the U.S. after an airstrike on an airport in Baghdad killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
• The Pentagon confirmed that President Trump ordered the attack that killed Soleimani, a military mastermind whom Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed equally as dangerous as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself in October during a U.S. raid on a compound in northwest Syria. Khamenei declared three days of public mourning for the general’s death.

6am – E         Tulsi Gabbard draws crowd while surfing in New Hampshire. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) drew a crowd in Hampton, N.H., on Wednesday as she joined a group of surfers in the frigid Atlantic Ocean. The avid surfer and 2020 candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination told reporters that she highly recommends early morning surfing, even in cold weather. “There is absolutely no better way to start the day and to start the year,” Gabbard said, adding: “If we could go surfing every day, and bring everybody out, that’d be awesome.” Gabbard, who has remained in the single digits in national polling since launching her presidential campaign, is campaigning in New Hampshire ahead of the state’s first-in-the-nation primary contest. She has yet to qualify for the next Democratic debate, held in just under two weeks. The Hawaii Democrat also failed to qualify for December’s debate after sparring with her fellow contenders onstage at previous contests.

6am – F         ROE V WADE: Over 200 members of Congress are asking the Supreme Court to consider overturning, Roe v. Wade, which guarantees the right to an abortion, in a brief urging the court to uphold a Louisiana law severely restricting abortion. The 39 senators and 168 House members submitted the amicus brief in the case of June Medical Services LLC v. Gee which the high court will consider this spring.

7am – A         INTERVIEW — SAAGAR ENJETI — Host of THE HILL TV SHOW “Rising w/ Krystal and Saagar” – discussed the U.S. military killing a top Iranian military leader and 2020 candidate fundraising.

• 2020 DEM FUNDRAISING: President Trump’s campaign has announced it raised $46 million in the final quarter of 2019.  Trump’s total in the final three months of 2019 is far bigger than any quarterly total announced so far by any Democratic candidate. The Republican National Committee has seven times the amount of cash on hand as its Democratic counterpart and the president’s quarterly figure tops Bernie Sanders, who brought in $34.5 million, Pete Buttigieg, who raised nearly $25 million and Joe Biden, who raised $22.7 million.
• Julian Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary in the Obama administration, has ended his presidential bid.

7am – B/C     2020 DEMS REACT TO TX CHURCH HERO:

• Michael Bloomberg on the Texas church hero: “It’s the job of law enforcement to carry guns that kill. We just can’t let the average American have guns in a crowded place…gun control saves lives…”
• An audience member brings up the Texas church hero while at an Elizabeth Warren event, asks, “Will you support a universal conceal carry law for everyone in the country who’s willing to be licensed and checked by the government?” arren responds:  “No”  Warren’s supporters cheer

7am – D         INTERVIEW – DAN GABRIEL – former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and filmmaker of the documentary “Mosul” — analyzed the U.S. military killing Qassim Soleimani, a top Iranian military leader, at the direction of President Trump.

7am – E         INTERVIEW – LARRY MICHAEL – The Voice of The Redskins — discussed the new coach and leadership changes.

• Redskins, Ron Rivera envision ‘right fit’ as new era begins in D.C. (ESPN) – ASHBURN, Va. — New Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera understands the history of coaches under owner Dan Snyder. There have been six previous full-time hires. All six have exited with a losing record. Rivera wasn’t fazed. Now, he’ll try to do what established coaches such as Marty Schottenheimer, Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan failed to do: win in Washington … under Snyder. “I believe in me and I’ll bet on me,” Rivera said at his news conference Thursday. The Redskins announced Rivera’s hiring Wednesday morning, signaling quite a new start to their year. But Snyder, who has owned the team since 1999, wants more than that. He wants change after enduring a 3-13 season that has riled up an irate fan base. The Redskins haven’t won a playoff game since the 2005 season. And they haven’t won 11 games in a season since 1991. Snyder fired team president Bruce Allen — who had been with the team for a decade — on Monday to kick off what could be massive change in the organization. The Redskins have been beset by issues, which more often than not reach the media and help create a negative atmosphere, multiple players have said over the years.

8am – A         INTERVIEW – Philip Van Cleave – the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) – discussed the Virginia budget hearings yesterday on gun control funding.

• Governor Northam wants to allocation millions to take away our guns and citizens came out to ask legislators face-to-face if they are going to support that budget item. There were four hearings yesterday, January 2: NoVA, Blacksburg, Hampton Roads, and Richmond.
• Virginia Governor Northam Increases Corrections Budget In Anticipation Of Jailing Gun Owners. (Daily Caller) — As if Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s wholesale attack on law-abiding gun owners wasn’t enough, the disgraced public official and his Michael Bloomberg-bought allies in the General Assembly now want the state’s hard-working taxpayers to foot the bill for their unconstitutional schemes. The budget bill (HB30) includes an appropriation of a quarter million dollars to carry out a host of gun control measures that Northam and his anti-gun allies hope to enact. The $250,000 is appropriated to the Corrections Special Reserve Fund in order to provide for the “increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment” of Northam’s gun control measures. Among the enumerated laws that this allocation is meant to fund is a ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms, the criminalization of private firearms transfers, and gun confiscation orders issued without due process. Aside from the insult of forcing law-abiding Virginia taxpayers to pay for the diminution of their rights, the gun control allocation is a severe waste of resources. Northam’s Bloomberg-backed gun control measures will not make Virginia safer.
• Virginia governor’s call for 18-person gun ban force comes under fire. (Washington Examiner/by Paul Bedard) — Virginia’s pop-up gun sanctuary movement has turned its attention to fighting the governor’s call for a $4.8 million, 18-officer team to enforce his proposed “assault weapons” ban. Two key groups issued an alert this week to push gun owners to four budget hearings Thursday around the state, asking them to quiz state legislators if they will vote to ban or confiscate weapons. “We understand that this is short notice. But it would have a significant impact if many of our members could show up and make a 3-minute statement and ask questions of the legislators in attendance,” said the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

8am – B/C     INTERVIEW – GEN. JACK KEANE – retired 4 star General, Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and Fox News Senior Strategic Analyst – discussed President Trump ordered the attack that killed Soleimani, a military mastermind whom Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had deemed equally as dangerous as ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who killed himself in October during a U.S. raid on a compound in northwest Syria.

8am – D         INTERVIEW – STEVEN MOSHER – an internationally recognized authority on China and author of “Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream Is the New Threat to World Order” – discussed China’s attacks on Christians, Hong Kong protesters, China’s imperial ambitions and Bloomberg’s conflicts of interest.

• BOOK: Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order  (Published: November 27, 2017). Steven Mosher exposes the resurgent aspirations of the would-be hegemon–and the roots of China’s will to domination in its five-thousand-year history of ruthless conquest and assimilation of other nations, brutal repression of its own people, and belligerence toward any civilization that challenges its claim to superiority.
• ABOUT MOSHER: Steven W. Mosher is president of the Population Research Institute and an internationally recognized authority on China. He is also the author of numerous books on China, among them Broken Earth: The Rural Chinese, A Mother’s Ordeal: One Woman’s Fight Against China’s One-Child Policy, and Hegemon: China’s Plan to Dominate Asia and the World, as well as several edited volumes and hundreds of scholarly articles, editorials, and opinion pieces.
• CHINA ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: Activist Chinese Pastor Gets Nine-Year Prison Sentence. Before his detention, Wang Yi wrote an essay saying the Communist Party’s ideology is ‘morally incompatible with the Christian faith’
• HONG KONG PROTESTS: 400 protesters in Hong Kong arrested after thousands join New Year’s Day rally. Several protesters were carrying U.S. flags to show gratitude for President Donald Trump’s backing of legislation to support human rights in Hong Kong. HONG KONG — Around 400 protesters were arrested after a police-approved march attended by tens of thousands of people on New Year’s Day escalated into violence, authorities said. The arrests, which police said were for unlawful assembly and possession of offensive weapons, came after officers fired several rounds of tear gas as anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous city continued into the new year.
• BLOOMBERG AND CHINA: Bloomberg’s business in China has grown. That could create unprecedented entanglements if he is elected president. The billionaire, whose core business sells financial information to investors, has led efforts since 2015 to make it easier for U.S. companies to trade in Chinese currency, a move embraced by China’s largest banks. He expanded one of his company’s financial indexes, which could steer $150 billion into China while earning his firm an undisclosed amount in fees.All told, mainland China accounts for 1 percent of Bloomberg LP’s revenue and Hong Kong for another 4 percent. Overall, Bloomberg LP’s $10 billion in annual revenue far surpasses that of the Trump Organization, which was at least $435 million in 2018, according to Trump’s financial disclosure.
• CHINA’S IMPERIAL AMBITIONS: The New Colonization: China Is Building Enormous Self-Sustaining Chinese Cities All Over The African Continent

8am – E         Hustler Sends Christmas Card To Lawmakers Featuring Picture Of Donald Trump Being Shot.