Trump Begins High Stakes China Summit, CIA Whistleblower on COVID, AOC Tops '28 Poll: AM Update 5/14

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Air Force One greeted on the tarmac by a formal welcome ceremony with hundreds of Chinese children waving American and Chinese flags, a military honor guard, and a military band. The visit marking the first trip by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade, with trade, Taiwan, artificial intelligence, and the war with Iran all expected to be on the agenda. The major diplomatic meetings beginning Thursday morning in Beijing, with President Trump arriving at the Great Hall of the People just before 10 a.m. local time, greeting President Xi Jinping, and then sitting down for a bilateral meeting. President Trump also expected to take part in a bilateral tea before attending a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People Thursday evening. The summit coming at a politically and economically delicate moment for both leaders, President Trump arriving as his sweeping tariff agenda faces legal setbacks at home, while the ongoing war with Iran continues to drive up energy prices and test public patience. President Xi Jinping facing pressure of his own, especially as the U.S. conflict with Iran disrupts oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, driving up energy costs for China's manufacturing heavy economy. An expected focus of discussions, establishing new economic channels between Beijing and Washington, with a U.S. China Board of Trade and a U.S. China Board of Investment. House Oversight Chairman James Comer yesterday on Fox laying out the balancing act for President Trump. I think this is a very important trip. Obviously, it's historic. But we have a lot of problems with China. They steal our intellectual property. They manipulate their currency. They don't abide by any environmental laws. They're funding our greatest enemy right now, Iran. But having said that, we really need to have a trade agreement, a fair trade agreement with China. We need China to buy more agriculture goods from the United States. We need China to import American. energy. China has already received the message that the United States is serious with all the tariffs that have been slapped on China. And if I were President Z, I would worry if this is an unsuccessful summit after two days, that China could be faced with even more tariffs from the United States. A CIA officer testifying yesterday under subpoena, alleging intelligence officials downplayed the possibility that COVID-19 began in a Wuhan-China lab and accusing Dr. Anthony Fauci of improperly influencing the government's review of the virus's origins. Special Operations Officer James Erdman III, appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senator Paul, opening the hearing by arguing the COVID origins debate, was shaped by a small circle of government officials, scientists, intelligence advisors, and outside experts, who he says were presented to the public as independent voices, despite overlapping relationships and potential conflicts of interest.

The senator pointing to the biological sciences experts group known as BSEG, as one example, arguing some of the scientists involved in advising the government had also worked in fields directly tied to the research at the center of the COVID origins fight. For example, Dr. Ralph Berwick collaborated with Dr. Zengli, Xi Jinping and Wuhan to create gain-of-function coronaviruses. But Dr. Barrack was also part of BSEG and an active consultant to intelligence agencies on the origins of COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, Peter Dezac received hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. government and worked with Dr. Xi Jinping also on these gain of function experiments. Dezik was even sent to China with the WHO to investigate the origins of COVID. So the very scientists that were commissioned to investigate COVID were, in some cases, the very scientists who were complicit in the origins of the gain of function experiments that may well have created COVID. Senator Paul singling out former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, arguing Anthony Fauci was not merely involved in public health messaging during COVID, but had long-standing ties to national security discussions on biological threats, dangerous pathogens, classified research, pandemic preparedness, and COVID origins. How can Anthony Fauci objectively comment on a discussion of COVID origins when he approved the very funding that may have caused the pandemic virus? He referred to the idea that the pandemic originating in the lab was a conspiracy, that it was a conspiracy theory. Dr. Vouchy convened the now infamous February 1st 2020 call. Some scientists on that call privately raised serious concerns about a laboratory origin. Yet ironically, those same scientists later co-authored the proximal origin paper, which publicly dismissed the lab leak hypothesis. One author received a $9 million grant from Dr. Anthony Fauci's own agency after he changed his opinion from lab leak on the private phone call to natural origin in public. Erdman, who has worked for the CIA since 2013, spending more than a year reviewing the intelligence community's handling of the COVID origins probe as part of DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, Director's Initiatives Group, or Dig. Erdman telling lawmakers, intelligence leaders, and senior analysts downplayed the possibility that COVID-19 began with a lab incident, shaping not just the government's intelligence assessment, but the public debate over emergency pandemic policies that followed. Intentional or not, the IC's actions resulted in cover-up, wasted resources, and a failure to properly inform policymakers. Public health policy.

would have been very different had the American public been made aware that a virus from a lab in China was going to serve as the foundation for an emergency use authorization MRNA products being mandated by the former administration. According to Erdman, Dr. Anthony Fauci inserted himself into intelligence community discussions twice, once in February 2020, and again in June 2021, allegedly pushing officials toward a natural origin explanation. Here, an exchange between Erdman and Senator Paul. Your conclusion is that changing from the scientific... consensus of it being from a lab to a neutral position by the CIA was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci? It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci's injecting himself into the IC, particularly during the 90-day study. We have documentation that shows that as of August 12th, the CIA was considering calling this a lab leak, August 12th of 2021. And then... That changed on August 17th of 2021. And unfortunately, because the CIA would not provide us documentation that we asked for, we can't, we have no idea why that changed. The CIA pushing back sharply, saying Paul's committee acted in bad faith by subpoenaing Erdman despite already receiving closed-door testimony from him and calling the hearing, quote, dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing. The agency noting it has already assessed COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak. Senator Ron Johnson, Republican from Wisconsin, reading the statement toward the end of the hearing, then firing back. I'm calling on CIA Director John Ratcliffe and this person to apologize to Chairman Paul and this committee. This is not political theater. I have years and years and years of built-up frustration. of agencies like the CIA, Department of Justice, the FBI, HHS, snubbing our oversight, giving us the big middle finger. Coming up, a new 2028 poll from one of the most accurate firms of the last presidential election, putting two unexpected names at the top of the early primary fields. And a new book claims to reveal what was really behind the viral moment when cameras appear to catch France's first lady shoving President Emmanuel Macron's face.

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under any circumstance. I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate. On the Democrat side, Atlas Intel showing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez narrowly leading the field with 26% support among Democratic primary voters. Secretary Pete Buttigieg following at 22.4%, with Gavin Newsom close behind at 21.2%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who leads most early Democratic polling, coming in a distant fourth in the Atlas survey at 12.9%. That result, also breaking sharply from the broader Real Clear politics average, where Harris leads the Democratic field at 25% support. Gavin Newsom is second in the RCP average at 18.8%, followed by Pete Buttigieg at 13.1%, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 11.3%. Before this latest Atlas survey, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had not topped any 2028 Democratic primary poll included in the Real Clear Politics average dating back to November, with VP Harris leading in the nine polls prior to the Atlas result. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked directly about her presidential ambitions during an appearance last week at the University of Chicago. They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country. And presidents come and go, Senate, House seats, elected officials, come and go. But... Single-payer health care is forever. A living wage is forever. But I make decisions by waking up in the morning, looking out the window, and observing the conditions of this country, and saying, what move or what decision can I make today that is going to get us closer to that future, stronger, faster, better than yesterday? Just weeks before the one-year anniversary of the viral moment when cameras appear to catch France's first lady Brigitte Emmanuel Macron, shoving President Emmanuel Macron's face. A new book is revealing more about what may have happened behind the scenes. The Emmanuel Macron's had just landed for a stop on a tour of Southeast Asia. As the couple prepared to disembark the plane in Vietnam, Mrs. Emmanuel Macron seen placing both hands on the president's face. with enough force to push him slightly sideways. President Emmanuel Macron, looking briefly startled, recovered quickly, smiling and waving to the crowd below. Mr. Emmanuel Macron later explaining the moment to reporters and remarks translated from French, quote, there's a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geoplanetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it. We are horsing around.

political journalist Florian Tardif's new book, an almost perfect couple, reporting the first lady was angered by a text message sent by her husband to an exiled Iranian actress now living in France. Gulsifta Farahani, one of Iran's most famous actresses, was a major star there before becoming internationally known in Body of Lies opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, the role making her a target of the Islamic regime after she appeared without a hijab, eventually forcing her into exile. Emmanuel Macron reportedly sending Farahani a text stating, quote, I find you quite pretty. Tardif alleging the message fueled Mrs. Emmanuel Macron's fear that her husband could leave her for the actress, a source close to the First Lady telling French newspaper Le Parijan that Mrs. Emmanuel Macron, quote, categorically denied to Tardif that the plain incident had anything to do with a text message, insisting she never looks through her husband's phone. According to Tardiv, who interviewed the first lady for the book, Mrs. Emmanuel Macron gave a different explanation of the incident, describing herself as exhausted after a turbulent flight, unable to sleep and reluctant to get off the plane, saying she pushed her husband away as he tried to make her laugh and hand her water. Farahani also denying rumors of an affair with Emmanuel Macron, telling Gala magazine last year, quote, rumors, you have to let them go. Fair or unfair, they're only rumors.

That'll do it for your AM update. I'm Emily Dushinsky, host of AfterParty. Catch the Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXMs, the Megyn Kelly channel, 11 at noon ease on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly and all podcast platforms. Every wireless service comes with a cost, right? Wrong. The Text Now app lets you do your thing for free. Get Real Talk, Real Text, and 5G data for must have apps with no monthly bill. Need more data? Add it right from the app. Done? Go back to free. No long-term contracts, no pressure, no surprises, just wireless that works around you. Text Now, we've got your back. Download TextNow in your app store today. Wireless plans require the purchase of a SIM card. Visit TextNow.com for terms and conditions.