Transcript of Trump Defunds Maine & Eric Adams Stays | Afternoon Update | 2.21.25

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Eric Adams will stay in office. Trump enjoys his highest approval ratings, and Microsoft unveils a new quantum leap technology. I'm Georgia Howe with DailyWire Editor-in-Chief, John Bickley. It's Friday, February 21st, and this is your Morning Wire afternoon update.

New York Governor Cathy Hochul will not remove Eric Adams from his mayoral position. The governor said in a statement, My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy in sanctity of democratic elections preclude me from any other action. I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make the decision for themselves. Calls for Adam's resignation came amid allegations from Democrats that he had worked out a deal with the Trump administration administration to drop a corruption charges against him.

Senate Republicans approved a $342 billion dollar budget blueprint this morning. The bill passed with a 52 to 48 vote after an all night voting session and includes $150 billion for military spending and $175 billion for border security. The Senate bill is not as extensive as the House version championed by Speaker Johnson, which includes tax cuts and major cuts to federal programs to cover new funding. The House bill will likely be put to a vote next week.

The state of Maine will be cut off from federal funds. President Trump announced this Thursday after the state defied his executive order preventing male athletes from competing in girls and women's sports. Speaking to Republican governors in Washington, Trump called out Maine.

I heard men are still playing in Maine. Is anybody here from Maine? Who is that? Is that the governor? Well, I hate to tell you this, but we're not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying we want men to play in women's sports, and I cannot believe that they're doing that. So we're not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.

President Trump has called for the federal government to take control over Washington, DC, cited concerns about crime and homelessness. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump criticized the city's current leadership under Mayor Muriel Bowser and says he wants the federal government to crack down on crime and to beautify the city.

I think that we should govern this district of Columbia. It's so important, the DC situation. I think that we should run it strong, run it with law and order, make it absolutely flawlessly beautiful. And I like the mayor. I get along great with the mayor, but they're not doing the job. Too much crime, too much graffiti, too many tents on the lawns. It's a sad thing. Homeless people all over the place, and we got to take care of the homeless, but you can't have that in Washington, DC.

Argentina's President, Javier Mallet and Elon Musk, appeared together on stage at the conservative Political Action Conference yesterday afternoon. Mallet brought along a popular stage prop from his unorthodox presidential campaign, a chainsaw, which he then gifted to Musk. The symbolism was unmistakable, Argentina's libertarian President passing the torch of government reform to Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Here's what that sounded like.

This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy. Chainsaw. An attorney working for Sean Diddy Holmes has quit the Rapper's defense team. In a motion filed in New York on Friday, Anthony Ricco stated, quote, under no circumstance can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Holmes. There was no further explanation given, and prosecutors were informed. Ricco says his withdrawal will not delay Holmes' May fifth trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, to which he has pleaded not guilty. Despite Ricco's departure, Holmes' lead counsel, Mark Agniffalo, remains on the case. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for delete today. Now at a special discount for our listeners. Today, get 20% off your Delete Me plan by texting WIRE to 64-000. That's WIRE to 64-000. Message and data rates may apply.

See terms for details. President Trump's approval rating remains higher than it averaged at any point during his first term. Daily Wire Deputy Manager Editor Tim Rice has the numbers.

According to the RealClearPolitics average of major polls, the President's job approval rating is hovering around 49 % with 47 % disapproving. A recent CNN poll found that about a third of Americans view Trump's single most significant action thus far to be securing the Southern border. Slashing government spending is next, while 62 % of respondents say they want the President do more to bring down everyday prices. While Trump's at new heights, Democrats are hitting new lows. Quinnipiac found that just 21 % of voters approve of the way Democrats and Congress are handling their job, an all-time low, while 68 % of voters disapprove.

A terror attack rocked Israel yesterday when two busses exploded in a parking lot in Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv. The busses were empty and had been returned to the lot for the evening. No injuries were reported. All bus and train services were halted Thursday as firefighters searched the vehicles for bombs. Additional explosives were found on other busses.

Microsoft researchers claim they've discovered a new state of matter which could be used to create a quantum leap in computer science.

Every single atom in the ship is placed purposefully. It is constructed from ground up. It is entirely a new state of matter.

Resident researcher Michael Whitaker has the techy details.

Microsoft's new quantum chip, Myerana One, reportedly uses extremely thin topo-conductors to manipulate subatomic particles, creating a state of matter which, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, is neither solid, liquid, or gas. Qubits can encode and process exponentially more information than a classical bit by taking advantage of superposition, a property of quantum particles that allows them to exist in several states at once. Creating stable qubits has proved to be extraordinarily difficult. Right now, even the most advanced quantum computers only use about a thousand qubits. Microsoft claims that they now have a clear pathway to delivering a million qubit chip that can, quote, fit in the palm of one's hand. All the world's current computers operating together can't do what a one million qubit quantum computer will be able to do.

And retail giant Forever 21 is closing 200 more stores as it plans for its second bankruptcy since 2019. At its peak, the chain had more than 500 stores nationwide and 800 internationally. The rise of T-Mu and Shein, as well as growth from other fast fashion brands like Zara and Uniqlo, are thought be the cause of Forever 21's sagging sales. The closures come as mall retail stores are struggling nationally.

All right, that's your drive home updates this afternoon. To learn more about these stories, go to dailywire. Com. And in case you missed it this morning, we covered some important stories, including Trump's record first 30 days in office, DOGE's continued progress, and California's insurance crisis. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back tomorrow morning with another edition of MorningWire..