Mike Baker
Appearances
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah, we're hearing from firefighters that they felt they did everything they could with the resources they had.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
That cuts to her budget made last year definitely had some negative impacts for her crews.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
I mean, and this is something she had been talking about for months, even before the fires. Crowley had felt that her department did not have enough resources. She said cuts that were made last year to overtime created unprecedented operational challenges for the department. And, you know, has sort of repeated that now in the aftermath of the fire.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
You know, I think if you... The mayor is saying that those budget cuts didn't have an impact on the response to this event.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
I think from talking to people throughout Los Angeles this past week, there's a general sense that, of course, more resources would have been helpful. People would have been grateful for it. It probably could have saved homes. Maybe it could have even saved lives.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
But it also seems likely that given the scale of this disaster, a few million more dollars, some more firefighters, you know, it maybe only could have helped around the margins. It seems these fires were bound to overwhelm a system that wasn't designed to handle them.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah, so the day before the fire, we're starting to see forecasts from the National Weather Service of a particularly dangerous scenario, how the winds would be gusting up to potentially 100 miles an hour, where any spark could spread into a catastrophic fire. But it's also the sort of like classic fire danger scenario for Los Angeles. I mean, that... The city knows the situation.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
They know how to prepare for that kind of circumstance. And so they did. I mean, they started to refill water tanks all over the city, the sort of water tanks that are a supply for higher elevation neighborhoods. They start refilling pre-positioning trucks in vulnerable areas. They've got firefighters deploying. They've got extra engines coming in. They're calling up people who are off-duty.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
You know, the Forest Service is getting involved, and there's trucks and bulldozers and helicopters and airplanes all getting sort of ready in case something happens.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah, you know, the fire department's looking at past wind events, where fires, you know, normally take place, and they're looking at the forecast for the day and sort of making their own educated guess about where the best spot will be for them to place their assets. But of note, none of the extra trucks went to Pacific Palisades.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
We don't. We've been spending some time the last few days up there examining satellite images, collecting images and videos from neighbors who saw the start. We have a pretty good idea exactly where it began, but even being up there, there's a lot of clues on the ground that could suggest a few different things that could have taken place.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
In that exact area, there was a fire about a week prior, started on New Year's Day, that had been put out. But there's lingering questions of whether maybe embers deep in the ground had sort of sustained and survived from that fire and then reemerged when the winds kicked up. There's remnants of power line materials up there that...
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
don't seem to be connected to any active power lines, but were there on the ground near the origin of the fire. And then it's along a trail that's a popular one for people to come climb and hike and be around. And there were people up there that day, that morning. And something they had done, purposefully or not, could have contributed to the fire starting.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
So it's around 10.30 a.m. that the first report of fire comes in, and it's in the Palisades. Residents start seeing, you know, flames emerging out in the dry brushland, and it immediately starts racing down the hillside toward the ocean. I mean, it's moving fast right from the beginning.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
We've listened to the dispatch audio from firefighters who are rushing to the scene that they can see that it's moving quickly and headed right toward the Palisades. You can hear one of them warning that, you know, it could be getting towards Holmes within minutes. And that it looks like it's going to have a good run ahead of it. And you can tell immediately this is a pretty dire situation.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
And at the same time, the conditions are getting worse. The wind is picking up. Smoke is choking the air. The fire is moving quickly. There's frantic evacuations that are blocking one road as the road gets clogged up. One fire captain says he can't see more than 10 feet in front of his own rig.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
And as these winds keep getting worse as the day progresses, the firefighters start losing one of their key tools. They're no longer able to use those aerial assets, the helicopters and the planes that pick up water and drop it on the fire and also spread fire retardant to prevent the fire from spreading further. Music And then we get the word that things are even worse.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
There's another fire 25 miles away threatening a different part of the Los Angeles area.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah. So the Eden Fire begins in the hills around the Altadena area, and immediately it's starting to threaten neighborhoods nearby. Firefighters are once again scrambling, trying to get assets there. One fire chief talks about driving there actually from the Palisades. He plugs it into his GPS. He's stuck in this bumper-to-bumper traffic.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
He watches as this new fire he's trying to get to starts filling the sky. That fire chief, he eventually calls the California Office of Emergency Services and says... Essentially, we are out of resources and need more help. He asked for 50 strike teams, a total of 250 more fire engines, and 1,000 more firefighters. And even as he's putting in this request, there's really more trouble brewing.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Soon we get word that there's a third fire up in the San Fernando Valley. They're really beyond their max capacity and it keeps getting worse. The fire in the Palisades is spreading ever further. More homes are going up into flames. And then late into the night, you know, this one fire captain talks about how, you know, their fire hoses start sputtering and then go dry.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
And they try a new hydrant. Still dry. Try another hydrant. Still no water. There's no water left for them to keep fighting the fire. We've been really spending a lot of time trying to understand exactly What went wrong here?
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
We talked a little earlier about the city had filled a bunch of storage tanks all around neighborhoods that are high up in these hillsides, and that included the Palisades, where there are three million gallon storage tanks designed to fill the system with water designed to support not only homes and their water lines, but also the fire hydrants below.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
And what we've learned is that the city could not fill them up to keep pace with how much water was being used.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
What the city has basically said, there's so much water being funneled out of this system. You have residents that are sort of spraying their own properties, trying to stop any embers from taking hold. You have the mega rich who are contracting their own private firefighters to protect their own properties. At the same time, you have all these firefighters tapping numerous hydrants all at once.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Frankly, this is not what the system is designed to handle. Municipal water systems like this are really designed for small fires, handling blazes that might consume a few homes, not one that is consuming a few hundred all at once.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah, it turns out one of the reservoirs, the one actually located in the Palisades, was down for maintenance. No water available at that point to feed the system and to also help push water up into the storage tanks that turned out to be depleted sort of within hours after the fire began.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Certainly to the firefighters that were there watching their hoses go dry, there was a lot of frustration, a feeling of desperation, a feeling of helplessness that they couldn't really do the work that they're in position to do. Certainly having those resources could have at least helped to some degree, but I think there's a lingering question about whether it could have
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
turned the tide of a fire that had already grown so large.
The Daily
Could the L.A. Fires Have Been Stopped Sooner?
Yeah, that's definitely one of the questions I've been asking. In some ways, it's offline for maintenance in the winter, and these things need repairs, and winter is normally a good time to make that happen. But I keep wondering, was there an opportunity here to bring it back online, especially when the weather forecast was predicting a scenario that could turn disastrous.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, yeah, you did. Yeah, that was Doge, you know, was digging... through the you know essentially the way that money is audited within the government and they look at the data sets and how things are divided and how you have to explain what's going on and The idea is that there's a lack of links to payments, outgoing payments, budget line items. So this payment goes out, what is it for, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, it would be the same thing if you had a, well, I do, I have a business. And in that business, you have to know what you're spending your money on, right? I mean, that's a logical thing. I'm not a rocket scientist. But what they're saying is that they've, well, there you go. Yeah, here it is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And with a small Arab army led by several sheikhs and Lawrence, they did this trek of about 1,100 kilometers. It took them several months because they had to stop along the way, plus they were fighting Turks along the way. So we took off in January, mid-January, five riders, 10 camels, and an incredible support team, an incredible support team. Can I just type you there?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It would be like if I got my monthly reports, my monthly numbers from our finance director, and I looked at it. There's the outgoing line, so I can see how much money is going out. But there's nothing that links it to where did it go. Did it go to pay a vendor? Did it go to pay rent? Did it go to pay staff? Who bought a jet? Who bought a jet?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
By the way, when a company buys a jet, that's a key fraud indicator.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
All companies? Not all companies. The UFC bought a jet. Not all companies. Let me just make a note of that. UFC, jet. What I mean is, obviously, it's not like if it's Nike or an established large business.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right. If you've got a business in a space and it's a growing business or it's a new business or a startup, whatever, a purchase of a jet usually is a fraud indicator on the list of all the fraud indicators.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
The regulations have not caught up yet. And you see that. Any new emerging business, industry, technology, I think there are people who look and go, oh. There's an opportunity here because regulatory policy hasn't caught up. Right. And so Bob's your uncle.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Is this your first time riding a camel? Well, we went out in December, spent about a week and a half. Howard lives out there, as do one of the other fellows, and- So you had to go through camel riding training? Camel riding training. That's exactly what we did. What is it like riding a camel? It is not comfortable in any fashion. It's not like a horse.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, and you're always comparing yourself to the guy who's got $3 billion. You've got $1 billion. How the fuck can you have that much money and not be happy? That's the part I don't understand. Well, that's what gets weird, but I get it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So does everybody else on the planet. He's still the richest guy, right? When you meet really, really rich people, you feel poor, even if you're really wealthy. Well, that's the funny thing with him.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I always think, like right now, the past couple of weeks in particular, it seems like people are just losing their shit and dropping onto the fainting couch over the idea that he's accessing your private information, right? What's he going to do? He's accessing your private information. And you think, okay, well, first of all, I don't think the guy is looking to scam you out of 500 bucks, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
That sounds a lot better than chasing government waste and fraud. Yeah. I think Jeff's got it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, my God. It is – I mean, part of me finds it very entertaining. Part of me just looks at it and goes, oh, you got to – I mean, I think what they're having a problem with is two things, is the messaging and the means of doing this, right? Everybody, you would think, would agree that, oh, you're going to go through government spending with a fine-tooth comb?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You're going to find the waste and abuse and fraud? Well, this is one of the things that Clinton ran on and implemented during his first term. Actually implemented. Very effectively, by the way, and it was a huge boon to our economy. But again, the messaging was different and the means were different.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Okay, no, that's great. All right. Yeah, they even explain the pronunciation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
A horse has, you can fall into sort of a rhythm, and a horse has a much smoother gait. So the camel, basically, all you're trying to do, there's the crew. Wonderful guys. Howard, James, myself, Tomo, there's Craig in the back. An amazing crew. I've rarely worked with guys that are just so impressive.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Everything I know about Khan I learned from Mulan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, that does sound great. Because again, I think when you consider how we're all apparently carrying some of his DNA around. Not us. Not us. Not us. Mostly Asians, right? Okay.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Christopher Walken. Christian Slater? No, not Christian Slater. Christopher Walken. Who was it with him? True Romance. There was a whole series of people. Bruce Dern. Right. Who's laying there? No, Dennis Hopper.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Is that who it was? Yeah, that's who it was. I remember they had a scene together that I remember. Fuck that movie's good. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But yeah, I think if they had come in, if the administration had come in and said, here's what we're going to do. We are going to root out waste and fraud. We're going to go after every dollar that's not spent on behalf of the American public and our national security. And advancing American interests. And we're going to do it in this efficient, you know, manner.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But, you know, and again, don't get me wrong. I think sometimes, you know, the disruption of fast action is extremely beneficial at times. And sometimes you can't see the benefit until other things happen outside the bubble that we may be looking in.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But I think that if they had messaged it a little bit differently, and then with the means, rather than taking a blowtorch to everything, because, and again, not saying that it can't be effective, but what I'm saying is that they're losing, I think, important opportunity from a goodwill perspective.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I know they probably don't give a fuck anymore, but all those people who voted for them this time around, gave them that chance that didn't the previous time. They said, oh, fuck it, I'm so done with the Biden administration and all this bullshit. They, you know, they need to see, I think, more stability, less chaos. And I think the Democrats are very good.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think we all thought perhaps that the progressives, the Democrats, were just going to go into a cave and hide. But they're regrouping, right? And they're starting to come back. They're growing beards.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, that's right. Suddenly the toxic male is very attractive. You know, shame they don't have any. But I think that if you give them ammunition, obviously they're going to take advantage of it. Yeah, for sure. And I think some of the approach to this, again, not saying it's wrong in the sense of let's find that waste and fraud, but they're giving them opportunities to start firing back.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And again, going with the support team, everybody that was on that group, a small group of eight or nine folks. Why does everybody ride with one leg to the side like that? It's essentially a comfort issue. And because you'll notice there's no, they're not really saddles, they're called shaddads that sit on top of the hump. That's a Saudi shaddad. The Omani shaddad is different.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, my God. Well, the five people that watch CNN still were probably. There's probably 20.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And how tough is it to just have a whatever, a unisex bathroom? Most places, a lot of places do, right? So you go, fine. As long as it's not a big bathroom.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It sits behind the hump and is even less comfortable. And now these things were probably designed some 2,000 years ago and they've never felt the need to improve them. They're basically just some wood, you know, tied together. And then you try to throw a couple of things on top of this piece of wood to make it comfortable.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Notice how I said they. That was very good, right? You danced the line. You're very sensitive. People always say that. Goddamn, Rogan is so sensitive. But I think if... Most folks, right, who are in alternative lifestyles, however you want to put it, I think, yeah, they just want to get on with it, right? They want to be accepted.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They don't want to make, you know, people make a fuss over it. They just want to move on. And then you've got a small minority that just can't seem to get enough attention. And when they can't get enough attention, then they do something even more wacky.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's not much of a gang, though, is it, really? But online, the words they use online, it's very attacking.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, I think they're angry because for a while, the mob rule was working. And everybody was being silenced from the bullying or the fear of being bullied. And it lasted for so long. It lasted for years, if you think about it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, look, Meta, Alphabet, they're all kind of rewriting, toning down their DEI policies, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
He's looking a lot more manly. He does. He looks a lot more manly.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I think all the Bedouins and others were laughing at us because we just kept piling blankets on to try to see if we couldn't. Yeah, it was tough. And so ass blisters are a real thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, also, you know, you're burning fuel, you're feeling better, you're focused on something other than your own inner angst, or how do you fit in with this? Again, look, everybody just should be able to live their life. Absolutely. That's what we all need to concentrate on.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No. And it's simple enough. Honestly, I don't care. Someone's got an alternative lifestyle. Now, I don't need to play along with the imaginary idea that a dude's going to have a baby or can –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I keep waiting for Jamie to throw one up on the screen. I'm like, oh, my God. There's no self-awareness or sense of irony.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, so anyway, that's what you see there. But there's no stirrups on these things. Like a horse, you know, you're riding on the saddle, you've got stirrups. And it takes the pressure off your legs. You're just hanging on. So you don't want to ride with one leg on either side because it's just not comfortable. So you hitch your leg over the front leg.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You're a prime case study for the impact and effects of, and sort of the... you know, the downside of AI, right? Oh, for sure with my voice. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, there's very few. We've talked about it before. There's very few because the idea was always sort of detection, right? Okay, we've got to create better systems to detect deep fakes. Right. But now I think the focus has rightly shifted from sort of the detection to more proactive protection of material, right? So get it at the moment of creation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Embed data. the ability within the video clip, the audio clip, whatever, to show that you've got proof of whatever you want to call it, reality, credibility, authenticity. And that's the way it's all going because you just can't keep up. If all you're doing is trying to create better systems to detect deepfakes, it's a losing game.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's like battling terrorists because you're coming up with an idea to prevent a terrorist attack based on the last terrorist attack. and they're on to something else. So it's an interesting world. There's not that many companies out there that are doing a great job of it, but there are some.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's pretty close. Most people aren't curious, right? Most people are, or they don't have time. or they're not cynical, right? And so most people are willing to look at something and go, yeah, you know, I mean, unless it's just clearly bullshit, but for the most part, if it's a half-decent fake, right, I think most people will accept it and move on.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And then you kind of put your leg or your foot behind the other leg.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, that is good. There's one where I haven't, I don't think I've seen the one with him playing the drums, but I've seen them where there's a whole series of world leaders, and they're in a ballad together. Yeah. It's fantastic.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, and it's interesting. I mean, again, talking about regulatory policy not catching up, I mean, what do you do, right? I mean, like if you were in Europe, right, you could be fined and jailed, right, in a case for like pushing something that's disinformation or whatever. Or you're just goofing, right? Yeah, you can't goof.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Or is it just a ball buster? I'll tell you, it's a ball buster, particularly if that Shaddad shifts and it starts to lean forward. And then suddenly, there's these large dowels in the front and large dowel in the back. They kind of basically look like big wooden dildos on this Shaddad. And so if that Shaddad shifts forward, as it did on occasion, your package is just jammed against that thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But you can't, you know, if it's an obvious, to your point, if it's an obvious goof, then okay, you can probably get away with it. Maybe not if you're in Germany or somewhere. Germany's going crazy. They are going crazy. Crazy. And they were happy with J.D. Vance's speech. I'll tell you that much. I wonder why. Nobody in the EU was happy.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
The head of the Munich Security Conference literally cried after the speech when they were addressing EU leaders following the speech, right, talking about, you know, the impact and what it might have meant for U.S.-EU relations and everything. Literally tears being shed over J.D. Vance's speech.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, I think what they were anticipating at the Munich Security Conference was he was going to come in and he was going to talk about, obviously, the number one topic on the table for them was Ukraine. And, you know, where are we going with that? Because obviously the EU leaders are now very concerned about U.S. commitment to NATO.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
What is the Trump administration planning on doing in terms of further support for Ukraine, really further support for NATO? They're looking to distance themselves. And Vance instead came in and didn't really focus on any of that shit. He turned it on to the European Union and to EU countries in the UK, the UK in particular, talking about how –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know, their biggest threat isn't necessarily Russia or China. Their biggest threat is what they're doing to themselves in terms of suppressing free speech from all the various groups out there, including conservative groups, far left, whatever, determining that, you know, this this type of speech is illegal. We're going to pursue you. We're going to find you. We're going to jail you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Armed raids against people that are pushing content online.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Anti-immigrant content. But to be fair, right? I mean, most of Europe at this point is pretty fed up with the immigration policies that their leaders have- Which is why they want to suppress the dissent online. Exactly.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. And they rightly should. Look, Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, he's not getting reelected. And their election is coming up here shortly.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. So if you talk about the immigration problem and you say, look, we've got to stop this. We've got to maybe secure borders. If you talk about the Ukraine war and say, I don't think we should be supporting dumping more resource into Ukraine. all those things, or reproductive rights, if you're on the wrong side of that from a European perspective. You know, they're coming after you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And so that's what J.D. Vance came after. He turned the tables on them and focused on that. And that was, A, it was completely unexpected, and B, I think, you know, the reality of it, the fact that it's truthful, I think, upset a lot of them. It's truthful, and it also appeals to their citizens.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. And I think it's funny because a lot of people on, you know, there's a lot of people on social media right now going, oh, my God, you don't realize how hated, you know, you are now as Americans and the U.S. is so hated. And I think, look, I spent most of my time overseas, right? And most people are going, yeah, it seems like it's common sense. You guys are finally coming around, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And you have to cover. These guys, look, I got injured. I had some soft muscle injury, and there's the crew walking through. And I tore some muscles in my rib cage. Just riding? No, it was a rather inelegant dismount from the camel. And so I twisted really badly and then went the other way. And the next thing you know, I had fucked up some muscles along my obliques and then rib cage area.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And so I don't think they're going to win the argument that somehow the U.S. is more hated. Look, we've been hated in a variety of locations.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, it is one of those moments where you think, okay, I understand. I get your point. You know, the talk about turning Canada into a 51st state.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know what I love is I was just out of the Middle East for some things, including the amazing trek with the guys from the SF Club. And it was right during the period of time when President Trump announced his idea during that press conference with Netanyahu about, look, we're going to own, the U.S. is going to own Gaza. Did you see the look on Netanyahu's face when he was saying that? Yes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And now you know what they're all doing? The Israeli cabinet is fully on board with the idea, in part because I think they understand that, okay, look, this is probably not going to happen, but if we take this position... It's going to create chaos. It's going to create some movement. And maybe that leads to something of interest.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I think being out in the Middle East when that idea came out and hearing some of the responses from people out there was amazing. But what I like about it. Look, you're not going to move 2.3 million Palestinians out of Gaza, right? Because none of the Arab states want them. The Egyptians have fought against this idea for years and years and years.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Pretty interesting. Yeah, thank you for that. Look, it all started with some colleagues of mine from the UK Special Forces Club. And these guys are tremendous, right? But Howard Ledham and some others who came up with an idea. They said, look, we have to do something to help the benevolent fund, which is for the U.K. Special Forces. It's like wounded warriors here in the States.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, from their perspective, look, it's a security issue. And there's a lot of Palestinian refugees in Jordan. So it's not like Jordan hasn't tried to do their part. But they also, what are they going to do, absorb another million, two million Palestinians? No. So the problem from an operational perspective is it's unlikely to happen. Right. And also, do you really want the U.S. ?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Buying and owning Gaza. Right. And then being out there, you think that you think that the cost of supporting Ukraine is high. Wait till you see what the cost of not only the reconstruction, but the security of the reconstruction. Right. What that's going to mean. You think you think there was a boon in private security contractors during the Iraq incursions?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Exactly. So the costs involved, the potential for just never-ending trouble. But what I do like about it is, look, now the... The Arab states are responding by having a summit, right? They're having a summit at the end of this month, and they've been having little mini discussions amongst themselves, but all the key players in the area are now meeting to discuss what's an alternative, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
What is the way to make this happen? And it's not going to be by the U.S. owning it and building the Riviera, right, or a series of casinos. But the Arab states are having to react. And so what that means is nothing's worked beforehand. Right. Nothing in terms of two state option, other security agreements, peace agreements that have held for some period of time and then fallen apart.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
None of that shit's worked. So I think the sort of the disruptive aspect of sometimes of what Trump does, even though you may look at the idea on the surface and go, it's not going to work. You have these other effects. So now you've got the Arab states having to respond, coming up with these ideas. They're already over the past couple of days saying, well, Hamas can't play a role.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
If you had said that a year ago. Egypt and Qatar and some of these other Arab states out there would have gotten on board with the idea that Hamas has got to go. That wouldn't have happened, right? I mean, before the 7 October attacks. Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And so I spent the next couple of days, we had a team medic, Jed, a wonderful guy, great sense of humor, as did they all. And he eventually got tired of me, like asking him for painkillers and anti-inflammatories. And so eventually I had to tap out, which was more painful probably than the actual injuries. And the guys just continued to grind it out.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right. That's because they know what the problem is. And they haven't been willing to admit it before. But because the Trump administration just thrown stuff at the wall, right, to see what sticks, they've got to respond. And so now they're coming up with these ideas. Look, Hamas, you know, they are a shell of what they were. Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But they're still supported by the Iranian regime, which is a big problem. And the Iranian regime, you know, do you think they don't want peace? They don't want stability, right? That's not in the books. One of the benefits from their perspective of the 7 October attacks was that it completely scuttled the normalization talks that were going on between Saudi and Israel and the U.S. at the time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They're going to continue to be a problem. But Hamas is now kind of on its back foot. The Palestinian Authority is saying, well, we'll come in and we'll govern Gaza. Well, the Israelis are saying, no, no, that's not going to happen either because you guys are peas in a pod. Right. And, you know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Palestinian Authority has a program where they actually pay the families of people who kill Israelis, right? It's called a pay to slay program. Really?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know what? I'm not sure what the going rate is now. But, you know, for out there, it's, you know, it's a payment, ongoing payments to families that who have family members who have attacked, wounded, or killed Israelis. And so, you know, that plus, you know, other ties between Hamas and the PA. And look, there's been animosity, obviously.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of Gaza years ago. But, you know, the Israelis see it as the same. And so, you know, my point being is the Arab states are now reacting and you could end up with something that actually works as opposed to all the bullshit in the past that never did work and always continued to provide nothing for the Palestinian people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And if, you know, if you say, look, all this is about is we want the Palestinians to live a better life. then you should want new ideas thrown at the wall, right? And you should want something that eventually is going to work. And from a U.S. perspective, you should want something where the Arab states actually take it on board themselves.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, and we can also agree that... It was not... Look, yeah, I agree. It was a very aggressive action. I would argue that the U.S. would engage in that same aggressive action if we had had a proportionate attack... From Mexico or something like that. Yeah, yeah. Or Canada.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Goddamn Canadians. They're plotting something. I just know it. So if... So that's true. But again, it was a war that Hamas started. I think you have to go back to the beginning of this one. And yes, there's fault on both sides, of course. But Hamas now at times has been acting like the aggrieved party.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
How far was left when you- Oh, I was in the first 25% of the journey. And then I went back for the end, for the arrival into Aqaba. There's the whole crew right there. I just can't say enough about these people. Again, 25, 26 days, longer than that, actually, a month. out in really bad conditions. People think, well, it's the deserts, right? Well, it's called the impassable deserts for a reason.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, which I get it. I mean from a real estate developer's perspective, I'm sure he's seen overhead imagery.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, when you're talking about moving out 2.3 million people to other areas. But look, I think, again, the answer is that the Arab states have to take this on. They finally have to address this issue. Some of them have used the Palestinian issue to their own devices. Here it is. Without doing anything to their benefit of the Palestinians.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Because it's like, yeah. Look, again, I think unless, I don't know who would be on board. Take it from beyond this sort of the initial sentence of the U.S. will take ownership. Oh, here we go.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I don't know if I. Is that Dean Cain on the right? No. No.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Sometimes I love these Piers Morgan panels. You never know who you're going to show up in one of those boxes. And it's a bizarre mix of people. Okay. It's just like the commentary for Wimbledon where we just don't say anything.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, look, if you could do surgical strikes and do nothing but kill Hamas terrorists. Great. Yeah. But, you know, that's not the real world. You know, Dave's talking about a world that we don't exist in. But I would argue like and that's this is where we would differ. I like Dave Smith a lot and I think he's incredibly intelligent.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Massive sandstorms, freezing temperatures at night, bitter cold. And we were sleeping in one-man tents. And then you'd get up, you'd You'd get the camels ready.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But, you know, we fundamentally look at things sometimes differently. in a different worldview because of our experiences, right? And my experience has been dealing with a lot of hostile actors who, you know, you may look at and think, okay, well, can't we just... I don't say we'll get along, but they exist and we exist and do we really... That's not the world we work in, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And urban combat is really ugly. It's not dismissing, you know, the horrific nature of it and the fact that, yeah, sure, in a perfect world, it's morally repugnant. And it is, you know, but... It's the world that we live in, so I think, okay, on one hand, I get what he's saying, and I don't disagree on that moral side of things, but from my background, I don't tend to live in that world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I tend to live in sort of the operational side of things, and sometimes you have to do things that are not good.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's like it's so extreme. Oh, I know. And I don't disagree. And they have – they went above and beyond. There's no doubt about it. But to my point and I think to kind of what he was saying, look, we – If we did after 9-11 and we we went above and beyond from a proportionate standpoint and we felt certainly justified in doing it. Right. We did. I mean, we did.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
America finally came together as a group. Right. As opposed to the partisan way that we live now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Well, I think Hamas also, you know, these are disjointed statements and I'm not really tying it all together very well at all. But, you know, there's also this element that Hamas doesn't give a shit about the Palestinian citizens, right? The civilians, I mean. And, you know, if they did, they wouldn't conduct their operations. Their methodology would be different.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They wouldn't bury themselves in their operations and their command centers and everything that they do. Their depots, their missile weapons supply centers within the public environment. They just wouldn't.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Land Rover did a wonderful job of helping to sponsor this. So they provided vehicles that the support team used to kind of trail and then get ahead and help to establish the next. Howard and Craig had done the recce, so we had the camps ready. mapped out, because this is a long trek, 1,100 kilometers. And so they were able to supply and do all the work that kept these guys moving forward.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, there's no way that the Iranian regime, I think, would have allowed them to do this if they anticipated they would get this sort of response. So I think you're right. And again, this is the problem. People only hear what they want to hear, right? So they hear me say from an operational perspective, I understand that they had an aggressive response, but then they stopped listening, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So what I'm saying is, was it over the top? Well, yes, it was over the top. And could they have been more surgical about this? Well, yes, they certainly could have. Could they have prevented some loss of civilian life? Well, yes. Would that have been difficult? Well, yes. Why? Because Hamas puts themselves in the center of civilian life there. They know this is what's going to happen.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
This is their currency. Dead Palestinians, that drives their narrative. And they always know it's going to turn against the Israelis as we're having these discussions. That's what happens. And they've got enough of a track record to know that's what's going to happen. So they use it to their advantage. You know, again, it doesn't excuse the killing. I keep coming back to that same thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You could have, you know, disparate multiple thoughts in your head at the same time. You can feel bad about that. And at the same time, you can go, yeah, it was fucked up what they did on 7 October. You're going to go after Hamas. And then what you're going to find is that urban combat is really, really fucked up. fucking ugly, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And you're going to have casualties that you really, really regret having. Were there more than needed? I would say yes. They didn't need the extent of their response, but I understand their mindset for why they went so hard after Hamas. This is decades and decades built up saying no more, right? We can't put up with this anymore. Now, again, the problem is
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know, the problem is not that it's not really Hamas. I keep coming back to the same thing. The problem is that the instigator of all this trouble, the instigator of the vast majority of chaos and instability and violence and death in that region is the Iranian regime. Most Arab states will agree to that. Maybe not the Yemenis. Right. You know, but you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Most of those Arab states are not going to be sad to see the Iranian regime fall for this very reason. Everybody wants a better life, however they perceive it. The Iranian regime, the mullahs and the IRGC, they've got a stated objective and they are pursuing that. As long as those people are in charge. Ultimately, we're not going to get a big sea change here.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We're not going to get a huge shift in the way things go. But if you want a better life, then you got to look to whatever you want to call it, the head of the snake or the top of the mountain. There they are, the Iranian regime driving a lot of this chaos. So anyway, I'm getting away from the point, but I don't disagree with Dave. I always like a lot of the things that he says.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I just think that we come at it sometimes from a much different perspective. I don't tend to believe that the world is full of... Of good actors who are just trying to create a community of nations. I don't think that's his perspective either. Well, yeah. I'm not putting it well, but I think what I mean is that there's... It's not...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I was having a conversation the other day, and it was about U.S. involvement in a variety of groups, activities, associations over the years, looking to topple governments, looking to change governments. the direction of a government, all the nefarious things that the CIA has been accused of over the years. And I was like, well, God damn, what did you expect?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Of course, that's what we're doing, right? Of course, we're trying to influence hearts and minds. Of course, we're infiltrating organizations to try to influence the direction of a government that, you know, you go all the way back to the Cold War, right? We were convinced the Russians or the Soviets were gonna blow us to hell, right? Of course, we're going to be doing a variety of things.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You want a government over there that's more friendly to you? Okay, how are we going to go about doing that? If that means VOA or Voice of America or that means infiltrating some organization that's going to try to win them. So is that morally repugnant? I don't know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. That's the problem. That's the problem is that we don't live in a world of benign nations who like if we're not the police, you know, at the top of the food chain, nobody needs to be there. Someone's going to fill that that gap. And you know what? Maybe I'm wrong, but I've been around a long time, and I've spent most of it overseas in unusual places. We make a lot of mistakes as a country.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's a human endeavor, but we do try to correct, and it can take time, right? It can take a lot of time. We make a lot of mistakes. Of course we do, but I've seen a lot of players out there, and I'd rather have us and our allies trying to direct traffic rather than some of the hostile actors that are out there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Imagine doing that without them. Oh, it wouldn't have been impossible, but they'd still be out there schlepping.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, sure. Yeah. And I think that it's, Yeah, you're talking about national self-interest. Right. I think in the world that we actually live in, every country is acting in its own self-interest.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Let me go back to the – I'll go to the Cold War because that's probably our best example of what happens when you – because you actually had – it wasn't just a unipolar world, right? You had the Soviets and you had the U.S. Yes. There was concern over life itself. There was this concern over mutual destruction. But there was concern over influence. So the Soviets were busy in a variety of places.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Let's pick Africa, right? So in the mid to late 50s, right, as Africa was moving, you know, clearly, strongly away from colonialism, right? And independent states started, you know, sprouting up. Then there was this concern over, well, okay, the old colonial era is gone, right? The Belgians aren't going to own the Congo, as an example. The Congo is rich in resources, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, there's a spring occasion. Yeah, you could you pass through a handful of areas near small. I mean, when I'm saying small, I mean like there's nothing there, little tiny village. Maybe there's a mosque and the mosque would have a water supply so you could stop and maybe refill, let the camels drink.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Uranium, cobalt, you know, diamonds, obviously, but let's take uranium. the Belgians were running Congo when we were developing the bomb. And almost all that uranium came from the Congo. So that's a good example of the U.S. looking and saying, okay, are the Belgians good stewards of the Congo? Well, no. They were enslaving people and having them work in the uranium mines.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And we were taking that uranium and using it to build the bomb, the Manhattan Project. Now, all those years later, I mean, the Congo, you know, realized its independence, you know, Patrice Lumombo and all the rest of that history. But now the Congo is wrapped up in conflict still. Why is it still in conflict? Because of its minerals. Cobalt now is the key, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, uranium you can get from a variety of places, Australia and elsewhere, Kazakhstan and a variety of other locations. 60%, don't quote me on that, but I think it's about that, of the world's cobalt supplies. What do you need cobalt for? Well, electric vehicles, batteries. So now the eastern Congo is still in conflict. That place is a mess.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
If it's not the poorest, it's like the second or third poorest country in the world. And isn't most of those mines, they're controlled by China? No. Well, a lot of them are controlled on the eastern side by militias. Congo has been a difficult place for everybody to try to wrap up licensing agreements. But you've got 100 plus militias out there vying for control because it's money.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And so I guess my point is, I mean, it's good you brought up China because, yes, they've been busy trying to lock up a variety of locations in terms of critical minerals. And they've got a monopoly on refining those minerals essentially at this point in time. But I just think it's Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Maybe what I'm surprised by, because I'm so fucking cynical, is the idea when you say it's corporate interests, it's government interests, it's self-interest of a nation to pursue and do these things. I'll be honest with you. I look at it and go, well, yeah, of course it is. I don't know any other world, right? I don't know that we're not going to walk that dog back over a couple thousand years.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
People have been doing the same fucking thing all human existence, I would argue. So I just kind of look at it, and maybe because I'm not wired that way, I don't sit around and go, that's fucking wrong. We have to rail against this. I'm a very simple person, so I look at it and go, yeah. That's how it works. And goddamn right, I'd rather be on the top of the heap than, you know, not.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And, you know, as long as we're... So this is like a pragmatic perspective. I guess.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They're getting it from a well, yeah, from a well. Oh, okay. So they have, I mean, because, you know, talking thousands of years, they've figured out where the wells are. And part of this, you know, from 1917, look, the Turks never expected these guys to come from this direction, because who's going to do that? Right. And they did it. These guys all did it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
What are we gonna do? I mean, you know hold hands and say okay. Everybody's gonna live as a collective, right? Right, you know So I you know, I know that that I I'm sure there's all sorts of flaws in the way that I'm thinking, but I'm a very civil person. When I was in operations, you tell me what to do, I'll do it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I never sat around and got angsty about anything because I just didn't see any point in it. Again, pragmatic. Yeah, or just being a douchebag.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I just, you know, and look, I'll tell you something. Look, there are people over the years, I think, you know, the CIA leadership at times over the years, I'm talking, you know, you know, all the way back to World War II and, you know, beyond, certainly during the Cold War.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Alan Dulles is a good example of that, where, you know, they legitimately would sit around and say, well, I, you know, as far as I know, we're not in the business of overthrowing countries, you know? And you think, like, well, that's bullshit. Of course... Of course, that's what, you know, we're trying to do. We're trying to influence countries because we want them on our side.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We want to create friendly governments that, yes, will be beneficial to our national security, our economic interests, all those things. So I've always been puzzled also by people who try to minimize that in a sense, right? I mean, you know, if you're doing something, then, goddammit, maybe own up to it. It's like John Brennan, who was a director at the agency, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
He's a relatively well-known former CIA official for... a handful of reasons. He was very tight in the Obama administration. But he said one time, I forget what year it was, but anyway, he talked about the business of the CIA. He says, we don't steal secrets. God damn it, of course we steal secrets. That's the point of the exercise, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You think the FSB or the Chinese intel apparatus isn't stealing secrets? What the fuck? Why was he saying that? Oh, you know, it's a kinder, gentler nation, right? He's trying to, like, sugarcoat, you know, that was a laughable statement, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I was just honored to be a part of it, even though I had to tap out, which was, god damn, that was frustrating.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, I mean, because, again— Or objectively false, I should say. Maybe it's the world you want to live in, you know, instead of the one that we actually do have.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, or you're trying to convince yourself—who knows? I don't understand the thinking. I just know what he said, but I think— It's an interesting comment from, you know, the director of an intelligence organization, you know, that is in the business of stealing secrets.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, yeah, look, I mean, USAID traditionally, I mean, they were set up, what, during the Kennedy administration as a, you know, as an independent organization, right? Because at the time, I think that the thinking was, and they're not the only one that's set up as an independent agency, but, you know, at the time, the thinking was we don't want it to be seen as like the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
administration is picking and choosing and driving sort of where the money's going, which, again... You know, it's kind of a strange way of doing things, right? It's coming from the fucking U.S. government, right? So people aren't going to parse words or discern somehow that, okay, well, it's an independent agency. So I guess it's not really what the administration wants.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's what the USAID wants. So, you know, is it – you know, were dollars going into programs that the idea was can we – Can we turn this country around? Can we change? You know, who is in charge? Is it Lumumba? Is it Sukarno? Is it, you know, God, pick any number of folks during that period of time and create a government that's more friendly to our interests?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Again, I look at that and go, well, yeah. Is USAID also projecting whatever they call it, soft power, diplomatic power? Well, sure. And that's another way of phrasing it, I suppose.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Were they also doing things like feeding the poor, providing medicines out there, doing actually legitimate things that I think sometimes people in a righteous world are like, well, that's exactly what they should be doing. Well, yeah, they should be doing that. The USAID has got a lot of important programs that they run that actually help people around the world who don't have many options.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, they're going to slim it down. They've already started. It'll be run through the State Department. Great idea. Take off that veil. Don't pretend. I mean, it's a U.S. government agency that people are going to assume. Some people will assume the worst no matter what. But, yeah, fine. Again, under the same theory, what you do is you go in and you say, we're going to go through every program.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We're going to keep the ones that are important. And I would argue that's food aid, health aid, whatever it may be. And, you know, shit can all those others that are, you know, being really helpful.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Is that helpful or not? I don't know. Well, they have to figure out how to do those operations. Yeah. No, I think, yeah. So is there a waste in there? Of course there's waste. And are there programs in there that were designed to- So it's the baby with the bathwater? Is that what it is? Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
That's the point is I think going in there and calling it all waste and fraud and a criminal organization I think is not the right messaging. I think that the American public would be fully on board if you simply said, again, we're going through, we're going to find the waste, we're going to focus on those programs that help people around the world legitimately.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Again, and that is the messaging that's going out. You can see them coalesce around it. I think the first weeks after the election, there was confusion and they were going through that grief cycle on the left. But now I think you're seeing that they are coming together on that messaging. I think now they're starting to get more focused. They probably understand.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They'll probably take the House in two years. So they're getting their shit together again. But I think that, you know, and on the right side, I think, you know, you'd like to think that, you know, the gloating is a bit unnecessary, right? You, one, focus on getting shit done now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
creating a more efficient government would be a uniting concept, right? And I think it could be, but I keep going back to that same thing. I've never been particularly impressed with the messaging, and I get it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
When I say that, people always, you know, on the right come after me and go, oh, God, well, that's what makes MAGA MAGA, you know, that's what makes, you know, Trump Trump is, you know, just... And I don't disagree with sort of, again, the benefits sometimes of being disruptive, but I do think that you can't just look at USAID and say it's a big old criminal organization.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You should be a little bit more ... I mean, Kevin O'Leary, you mentioned him earlier. For all that talk, I guarantee you if he had a large company, he wouldn't just shit can everything right off the bat.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But there would be a thoughtful initial review phase in a corporate environment, I think. I would argue that, that even he would do that. He's not just going to pull the pin and throw it in the room and say, okay, now let's see what we actually need.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But that's not the way it comes across because, in part, because the media is not, like you said, they're not going to give them a break, right? So even if they said that that's what we're doing and here's how we're doing it, here are the people on the transition team. I mean, who are the people on Elon's Doge team, right? I mean, can you name half a dozen of them? Big balls. Big balls. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I just think that – and again, you've got to go after the waste, the fraud. Is there bloat? Of course there's bloat in the government. Go after it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, that's said a lot better than I could say it. But yeah, that's what I'm saying on the international front. On the domestic front, I'm just saying, you know, go through all these organizations, right? But, you know, don't give the other side the ammunition to say, you guys are, you're firing useful people, right? I hear this all the time now in the past few weeks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's like, oh my God, they let this entire group of people who are going working on women's health issues and, you know, they're just, they're giving them ammunition that they don't need to by virtue of the way that they're going about it. And again, go about it, do it. So all I'm saying is it's the means of which they're doing it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You can accomplish the same task, and you can accomplish it quickly, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. I would want, look, if you're doing a corporate fraud investigation, you don't walk in and say, there's fraud everywhere here, right? Where everybody's going. No, you don't. You go in and you do your investigation because you don't know what the iceberg looks like. You don't know what's underneath the surface. So you want... to be able to go through it in a methodical way.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And, you know, if you walk into the World Bank and say, we think there's fraud here in this department over here, right? And the World Bank, just as an aside, they have to, if they think there's fraud somewhere, they have to notify the people that they suspect of fraud that they're going to initiate a fraud investigation before they do it, right? How fucked up is that? Pretty crazy.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's pretty crazy. So anyway, that's... That gives them a little time. Gives them a little time. So, you know, I don't know. Um... Again, I respect the fact that they're actually making the effort. I think that's great. I just – I'm not sure that it's – there's an immovable object in Washington, D.C. made up of lobbyists, defense contractors, self-interested politicians, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They're all like this, right? And Doge is obviously bumping up against them, particularly when they start now talking about Pentagon spending. So I guess my point is it's complex. I don't know that blowing it up and then saying we're going to rebuild it. It's like when Kash Patel or anyone else for an organization, they talk about the FBI. Let's raise it to the ground and start over. What?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I can say this because I'm a dual citizen with the U.K. The British don't tend to be very good at raising money. or asking for money for very important causes. So here in the U.S. where you've got 100,000 different groups that are advocating for veterans, over there it's not the case, right? But they have the same need, right? And they have all these wonderful people in their families.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You've got thousands and thousands of hardworking street agents out there doing very important work. You can't just say, okay, we're suspending 30% of them. You've got to go through and say, okay, well, where is the problem here?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, well, I think I would argue that they're going to find this is a years-long process anyway, no matter how much of a jump they get at the starting block. But I think that— Well, Mike Benz thinks it's going to take 50, 60 years. Yeah, I think he's right, right? I mean, well, okay, I don't think it's going to take that long.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think if you're persistent about it—and I think your timeline is that you mentioned the midterms— That would be my focus. Right. I want to get it well done before the midterm elections. Right. Because I'm be concerned about losing the House. So you've got that runway to work with. Then then go. But don't feel like you got to get it done in the first four weeks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Look, he's been in office for 23 days. Egg prices haven't come down. You guys were lied to.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Look for Al-Waj, Al-Waj, Saudi, on the coast, sort of northwest Saudi.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, no. Remember the old mad cow disease? years and years ago. Sure, England had a big problem with that. Yeah, beef prices.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Which is so crazy. Or sheep's brains. Yeah. Yeah. Somebody at some point thought, you know, what we could do with all these sheep parts is we could feed them to the cows.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Was it a nephew that got killed and eaten by the- Yeah, he went over there to live amongst them, I think.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I remember that story. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there was debate over whether he was actually killed and eaten by the cannibals or not.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Who goes back a second time? You piss them off once and you get away. I don't think he thought he pissed them off. Oh, okay.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
This guy is crazy. Look at that. No, he's right there, right there at the top. So we started in Al Waj. And then, yeah, there you go. There you go. Now click out. And then you start heading north. You start heading northeast. You can see Jordan is up there above that area. You start heading sort of on a diagonal northeast. You pass through all. Just look at it. It's like, what the hell?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I'm here to help you. Confusing. You know, in my own way. Yeah. I'm going to bring enlightenment to you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Is he famous? No, I just added that because I thought he deserved it. Wow.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I love that. Go out and investigate. Ooh, this isn't the conclusion we wanted. Don't bother giving us a report. Keep that to yourself. There he is. Yeah, I remember this guy with the glasses.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah, they're going to eat you, bro. That is the we're about to cook you dance right there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You think about his family. Wouldn't his family have said, look, I've got to tell you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You're like, oh, fuck. You think they do like a movie that give you a 10-second head start into the jungle? Nope. And then track you down? I mean, honestly... When Nez Perce used to do that. If I was in the tribe, I would do that, right? Why wouldn't you? I mean, it's... It's entertaining.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And you keep going. You keep going. Eventually you get, if you zoom out a little bit so you'll see the border with Jordan. Okay, you go up, pass, and keep going in that direction.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, people were tougher back then, I would argue. They had to be. They had to be. Yeah. Wow.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Here's an interesting thought. If you're offshore from whatever, the lapping island of death, and your catamaran capsizes, and so it's still there, right? It's still floating. And you've got your shipmates, and they're there. And your decision, the way that you process this is to swim to the lapping island of death
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, why do they have skulls laying around? Yeah. You know what's going to solve this problem is going to be the newly formed U.S. government agency for the declassification of documents. That's going to solve this problem. Federal Secrets. Which one's that? Federal Secrets.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
There's not a lot there. And then you come up to where Jordan is. But anyway, at the end of the day, you see Aqaba. We came down through Jordan and into Aqaba, which is at the tip there, right there, yeah, which is where the fort was, which is where they routed the Turks, and then eventually that created all sorts of opportunities for the Arab states.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yep, Epstein Files, COVID. Are those hot ladies running it? Anna Polina Cruz. Why is she running it? Because she's hot. I don't know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They'll figure it out. They don't need you. I know. They've got this new committee, and COVID is also on the table. UFOs, now Michael Rockefeller, I would argue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Wouldn't that be good, though? I'm hoping that's what it is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Developing our own technology that we've kept secret. Yeah, I think that's what a lot of it is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, I think $4.7 trillion. Okay, when you think about that, it sounds like a lot. But in terms of government spending, we could blow through that pretty quick. So I'm thinking, yes, I do.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right. So, I mean, so say that, right? You know, roll that out rather than saying, you know, they've been funding, you know, because in a short burst, it sounds much worse, right? It's still, you still can argue, is this really necessary? Do you need to be doing this? Well, I don't know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, you're paying for a database for information that's going to hopefully inform better decision making.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, I'm sure. Yes, exactly. And that goes back to this whole thing that I've probably beat to a death is the messaging idea.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right. Right. They're just listed on the files. Right. And it doesn't mean money's going out to them. And so, yeah, again, from a messaging perspective, you know, does Elon need to, like, you know, screenshot that and then send it out as a tweet or whatever we call it nowadays? Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
When I say it's desolate and there's nothing, there's nothing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Although how cool would that be if vampires existed among us and we found out the 300-year-old people were making benefits? That would be crazy. How crazy.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But that 4.7, I'm sure we're going to find the trillion. Of course, some of that money goes out. And I think if you follow money in the government, it's always more effective and interesting than anything else, right? You always get to the bottom of things by following budgets, depending on how it's hidden, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And so a lot of that money is going to be, perhaps it's in black budgets for, who knows, for Defense Department activities. It's worth digging into because it's always fascinating.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
This is all Randall Carlson stuff, right? Yeah, and we went through the Royal Reserve. The Saudis were very good, and the Jordanians were amazing as well in supporting this. Jamie, what were you saying?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Exactly. But again, so so fine. I dig into it, find out. And you know what? If the end result is, you know, you don't have 150 old people getting benefits, but the end result is that you modernize the way that we store information. Right. Then great. There's there's a benefit to doge right there. Right. Yes. We've created a more efficient system for tracking and and paying out and good.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So, you know, everybody again, everybody should should. should not have a hard-on about an organization called the Department of Government Efficiency. And I think, ultimately, I think they're going to do a very good job.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. And then, but again, trackable information, you would think, right? So you can go in, if you're serious and persistent about it, you should be able to go in and identify, yes, we have the following.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, it totally looks like it washed. Yeah, you'll find like all these wadis that are in there that, you know, it's essentially there's a lot of dried up riverbeds. And, you know, the danger is, of course, they flash floods on occasion, not very often. But so this this this thing took place and they eventually the whole thing ended in Aqaba.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I think, again, fascinating if it's true. It's outrageous.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
If it's true, but you need corroboration on something like that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, that's just due diligence, right? Okay, who, you know, let's, so I think that's great. And the obligation then is to say, okay, well, who is she? Why does she have this knowledge? Is she credible? Can you corroborate it with other sources? And if you can, then yeah, you've got a serious problem. When she, at that moment where she said, you know, get them a U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And we'll regularly remind you who to vote for. Yes, we'll tell you. We'll send you newsletters. Yeah, I mean, that would be, and that is the theory, the narrative that, you know, says that's why, you know, the last four years we had essentially an open border policy was to bring in, you know, 10, 11, 12 million new voters, right? I mean, that's the way that that story unfolds.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Again, the Jordanians couldn't couldn't have been greater about supporting this. I think everybody I know the Bedouins when we got started, they were staring at us like, what the hell are you doing? They couldn't imagine that people would do this willingly.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
That's one version of it. That's one version. The other version is cheap labor, right? Cheap labor. Also, then there's the soft, well, it's the way the world should work. We need an open borders world. Yeah, I'm not buying that version. Yeah, I don't think that's- That version's horseshit. Most people don't follow along the lines of, I'm doing things for ideology.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, yes, and then you would do that through soft power and organizations that could influence hearts and minds.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right, right. No, it's not. No. Again, and that comes back around to, it'd be lovely if we were all working on the same team. That's not how I don't think human nature is. So, you know, I... Well, that's not the state of the world, right? It's not the state of the world.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And the last four years, and I would argue during the Obama administration, they oftentimes, from a national security perspective, seem to run it based on how they hoped the world would be, right? As opposed to how the world actually is, right? And so, like them or hate them, again, the current administration tends to, I think, look at things in a more pragmatic way.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, that's a good question. It's a complicated question, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Man, I tell you what, I know when I got injured, I know every single one of those damn son of a bitches were laughing. They were like, what the hell? And they were looking at our shaddads with all these blankets and furs on them, trying to make it somewhat comfortable.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think that's one of those things. Yeah, I don't think so. Turning Canada into the 51st state. But to the people on that side of the fence who say, no money spent overseas. Right. How are you going to justify that? Yeah, what are they going to do? Look at that and go, well, that's a fucked up idea, right? But it's still President Trump, so yay, we've got to support it. I don't know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Do they discern or, you know, do people on the base, do they just say, yeah, everything that comes out of the White House is a great idea? Because that certainly runs counter to the idea that we don't want to spend money overseas. What are you going to do? Substitute Ukraine now because we don't want to spend money in Ukraine? You're going to substitute it for Gaza? Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, that goes against the idea that we don't want to be involved in foreign wars, right? I mean, if President Trump doesn't want to be involved in foreign incursions and wars, he's picked a hell of a spot to not be involved. You're going to drop yourselves in Gaza? No, he's going to fix it. He's going to fix it. Well, I know. He's going to make it nice. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. So, I mean, but again, hey, look, I think it's great in the sense that I never thought I'd see the day where some of these Arab states would turn around and say, Hamas has got to go. I mentioned it before, but that's a sea change. That's a...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
big goddamn sea change and it's kind of like with ukraine right now right he comes out and he says you know okay we're going to start these they finished already earlier today they finished conversations in riyadh in saudi arabia between sergey lavrov and marco rubio and steve whitcoff on the u.s side and um to to start the discussions about peace in in the conflict right without
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Ukrainian representation or the Europeans there. NATO wasn't represented either.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
A lot of people asking that question. But now that they've done it, again, under this idea that, yeah, you can't, you have to bring them in. But the fact that you just... just jumped into the breach and got started, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I mean, you think about it, in the previous administration or in a normal administration, I'd argue, getting to the table where you'd sit down and talk, look, this is the first time we've talked to the Russians really in a serious way. since the invasion back in 2022.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So the fact that most administrations would have taken a year just to map out, okay, well, this is what the talks are going to look like. And this is what the conference table will look like. And this is where people are going to sit. And this is what we're going to be able to say. And it would take months and months and months to get that. These guys just said, fuck it, let's go over.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We're going to sit down. We're going to talk with them. Now that's forced That's forced the Europeans to say, okay, how do we get involved? We got to be relevant. And they do. But the European nations and European institutions have allocated more money to Ukraine than the U.S. has. I mean, they're up to, depending on numbers you look at, they're up to maybe $130 billion allocated in financial.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I think – or they just had them removed. I don't know how you do it because – and then you have to trot, right? You can't just walk. Walking was comfortable enough, but you have to cover the distance, right? And the trot on a camel is not comfortable, right? And so it was – anyway, I just can't say enough good things about these people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No. Well, when I say allocated, not all of it's been dispersed, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So now the U.S. is the leading military provider of military hardware gear. But if you combine humanitarian, financial, and military all together... EU institutions and EU countries have actually allocated more than the U.S. has. And that, you know, logic would say buys them a seat at the table for any peace talks. Aside from the fact that they're sitting right there, you know, close to Russia.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They've taken in a vast number of Ukrainian refugees. You've got Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania sitting right there on the border with Russia. They've got a real reason to want to be involved. But, again, Trump saying let's just start the conversation with Russia. It's forced the EU to say, okay, how do we get involved? How do we rethink? Much like the Arab states with the Gaza issue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So now they're saying, well, Keir Starmer over in the UK is saying, we'd be willing to put boots on the ground for some sort of peacekeeping force. And other nations, some are pushing back, Poland, Germany, they're, I don't know about deploying troops to Ukraine to enforce some sort of peace deal, but they're talking, right? And that accelerated the process.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So, you know, they'll have to be involved. And Ukraine will certainly have to be involved. What are you going to do? You got an invaded country. Right. And they're not going to be involved in the future of what happens to the invaded country. So they'll be involved. And Marco Rubio has said as much. But I think... So I think it's good.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think people are really up in arms over the idea that they've started the talk without the Ukrainians sitting at the table. But I don't think there's any intention in any plausible scenario where the U.S. doesn't get them involved here in the very near future because otherwise it's going nowhere.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, he's not going out on a limb there. I mean, look, Ukraine, one of their big problems over years and years has been corruption and fraud. And one of the reasons why there was pushback against this idea of NATO, even though back in...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
in 2008 or 9, 2008, you know, at a European summit, they actually said, during the NATO summit, they said, yes, at some point in the future, Ukraine and Georgia, you know, will become members of NATO. We're not going to give you a timetable, you know, we're not going to tell you what that's going to look like, but you can become members of NATO.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But one of the problems has been the level of corruption within Ukraine. So is some of that money, both from the U.S. and from the EU, gone missing and lining pockets? Oh, absolutely. There's no doubt about it. Look at Iraq, the money that we spent in Iraq and how much. I mean, just any time you've got government disbursement of that size, look at the fucking COVID fraud. Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But the cause, the UK Special Forces Club Benevolent Fund, if people want to go and read more about this, they can go to – What is it? W-W-W-S-F-C-B-F? That's how old you are.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Anytime you've got money going out in large buckets from the U.S. government, you're going to have some fraud. Absolutely. You're going to have people who are going to take advantage of it. So, yeah, that's that's that's not a surprise. You know, and Tucker's right for pointing it out. I'm just saying it's not rocket science. How much?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, that's again, you would like to think that Doge, one of their jobs would be to go, you know, and I think if there was more transparency in how the money is spent, as there should be. Right. I mean, then maybe the taxpayers would be a little bit more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, my company was out in Iraq, you know, shortly after. Actually, a little bit before, but then following the 2003 entry of the U.S. into Iraq. And so we were there for a handful of years, providing security assistance to a variety of organizations. And
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know, you didn't have to look hard or far to see, you know, there'd be some group coming into town saying, hey, we just started up this company, you know, and it's an 8A company. Look, we're owned by Eskimos or, you know, handicapped women or whatever. They just set up some bullshit company to get government contracts. No experience, no – and yeah, so we watch that unfold.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Anytime you have an environment that's steeped in chaos, yeah, that's – fraud is definitely going to happen. So you have to be incredibly aggressive and willing. to hunt it down, right? But I think sometimes the problem is in government, there's like an accepted loss concept, like with credit cards or retail operators, right? We ain't got an accepted loss.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We know we're going to lose a certain amount each year to fraud. Columbia Record and Ticket Club. Yeah. Remember that? I do. I was a member. I was too.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So the idea was, what can we do? A big event, something massive that can really help to raise funds and awareness for the Special Forces Benevolent Fund. They came up with this crazy idea at the time, still crazy, to recreate...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I told that to my boys the other night. They put on Netflix, and I said, you know how this got started? And they were like, they couldn't believe it. I mean, they're still amazed when our postman walks by the house. They think it's incredibly quaint that some guy walks by and leaves you with some mail.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I still do because I think that's what you have to do. So it's sfcbf.org. You can go there. You check it out. And if you're so inclined, there's even a button you can click on to donate, even if it's a price of a cup of coffee. If you get enough people putting in a price of a cup of coffee, it makes a huge difference for these people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, no, no. No one had a cell phone. Your evenings were spent with a bowl of unshelled nuts, walnuts, and you'd crack them and that was your activity while you talked to your mom and dad or something.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You'd get a phone call. I remember some girl would call, and my privacy was only as long as the cord on the phone. Oh, yeah. Right, right. Because everybody was in. You'd have to go to the closet. Yeah, yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
If you were lucky. But we had the wall ones. And so they had the little curly cords. Oh, that was the worst. I could go around the corner and then, you know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
The cord gets dragged to the ground. Do you remember your landline phone number from when you were a kid? Yeah. Yeah, I do. Yeah, I do, too. It's the craziest thing. I can still I can't remember what I did two and three hours ago. And I could still you put a gun to my head and I could recite the phone number I had when I was eight years old.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No, I will say, and I know this because just a day and a half ago I was... I was doing something. I was filling out some application for one of my boys, the middle boy, a scooter. And it asked for his phone number. And I had to look it up. So I was thinking like, well, I don't know. I just pushed the button. I have to look up mine sometimes. Does that change it?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Here it comes. Do you want to invest? Fuck off. Yeah. I don't get the investments because nobody thinks I have money, but I'll get sort of a request for, how about a hookup with- you know, somebody in some part of the country or government. Oh, boy. And I'm like, I'm not going to put you in touch with anybody. I don't know. Yeah, those are the worst. Yeah, so it's interesting.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But it was one of those bucket list items that I just can't describe enough.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know what today is? You know what today is? What is today? Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. I was thinking about that. I know. It was funny because you proposed the 18th for us to get together, and immediately I thought, wow. Well, that's her anniversary. And then I thought, well, she loves Austin, so I could combine the two.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
There you go. And I don't know that I got credit for it. I'm not sure.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And here it is, yeah. 20 years and here you go. I don't know. Going to a nice restaurant? Yeah, yeah, we are. And we had a dinner in Boise with a bunch of folks on Saturday night that was really lovely. So we got everybody together.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, yeah. I saw you put something out about wolves near Aspen.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, no, the Repopulation Program, look, the way you feel about it is entirely jurisdiction-based. What I mean by that, if you live in New York City or Chicago, you love the World Repopulation Program. If you're a rancher or you live out in the Northwest or the West, You're like, what the fuck are we doing?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Kind of crazy. And it's true. And what you said is absolutely true here. Give it a short period of time, and they're going to start laying on wolf hunts, right? You're not going to find them.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right. As as as Wounded Warriors, as are all the other groups. It's a direct way to help people. Yeah. And it's not like they've got, you know, massive administrative costs. Right. Like like the government tends to. Right. And so, no, absolutely. Goddamn right. I just it seems to me. And so we you know, we were fortunate to have a lot of corporations that went in on it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. This is what he said. I don't know if that's true. I can. You can in Idaho.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
What a fucking type A predators, man. They're incredibly efficient. And they work together.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, their hierarchy is amazing. I did several days out in Yellowstone one time for a TV show, an episode, and following, or trying to anyway, the lives of a family out there. And it was amazing. It was amazing, right? Yeah, they're amazing animals. It's just incredible.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Well, it always is. And if you're a rancher, I mean, even in Idaho, right, and you're constantly fighting for just kind of common sense decision making. And, you know, luckily, you know, the statehouse is very, you know, favorable. You know, who knows? I mean, maybe that changes in 10 years. But for right now, you know, they understand, look, this is what's important to this state. Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And why it's such a great place to live. But, yeah, so I don't know. I saw that and, you know, it's front and center, but I know exactly who's voting in favor of it. Oh, yeah. Because, you know, I've talked to those people who don't understand at all, you know, how it operates.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You know, there were some that looked at it and goes, okay, so let me see. You're talking about five white guys on camels, you know, recreating what we think is a... It was still sort of the vestiges of that bullshit DEI thing, right? From a corporate perspective.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. No, that makes sense. And I'm glad to hear that she's, after all that experience, she's not in favor of a program. I mean, that shows a lot of common sense.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. I remember a park ranger out in Yellowstone told me one time, he said he was driving. He was out just sort of like checking things and came across a large... I forget what he called it. It was a van of some sort, but it was like a VW, you know, hippie van of some sort. And they were...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And four young folks, he said, early 20s, and they were trying to herd this little baby bison that had gotten separated from the herd, right, and was now all on its own. And they'd been driving along and they saw it off in the distance. in the fields, so they decided they were gonna rescue this thing. So they were out there trying to get this thing to come towards their van.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So we're like, no, goddammit. It's sporting, you know, veterans and their families. How tough is that to understand? But, you know, some... You're just taking a difficult trek. It doesn't mean you support colonialism. Yeah. No. Exactly. And by the way, the Arab sheikhs led the way. It was their effort.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I have no idea, he says, I don't know, what were they gonna do, put it in the van? He had no idea what they were trying to do, but he stopped and he said, what are you doing? He says, well, we got this baby thing, we're trying to save it. He said, what the fuck, get in your van and drive off. He said, this is how this works, right? And they go, but it's not gonna find its mother.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I love that when they're like this and it's right behind them and they're just trying to get that picture. And once that bison starts staring, right, once it starts staring at you, you've got problems.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We go up fishing in Alaska, and I'll tell you one thing we're not going to do. A bear comes out of the brush. We're not going to stop and take a selfie.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Most of those are black bears, right? Oh, that's only black bears.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, you always forget that New Jersey, A, how big it is, but also just how green it is. It's fucking rural. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, go to the deli. It's Newark. There's nothing green about Newark. Get a sandwich.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
You excited about the JFK Files release? We haven't even talked about that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's going to be the way it is, too. I mean, I think they'll actually kick out the door. This time around, I don't think they can hold any more documents. And they don't have that many left to hold, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They found 2,400 more. That is actually a good way. The FBI says, oh, look at this. What they did was they did a review. They started in 2020 and they said, okay, all our closed cases, we're going to start compiling all of them in one place. Why weren't they doing that 40 years ago, 50 years ago? How do you not do that? I have a central repository anyway.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So they said, but this is what we're going to do. So they did. And they said, we're updating the way that we digitize and hold on to all our records. And during the course of that, then when Trump issued his executive order about the release of the files and also for RFK and MLK,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Then the Bureau says, well, we were able to, because we'd done this digitizing and this way of tracking our records, we were able to find 2,400 documents that are related that we just didn't know about. So there's those, and then there's maybe 5,000 other documents left that haven't been released.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No, absolutely. And you also think that, honestly... It's just look at the cause. Look at the reason for it. Right. But I do think I think that I think we are on the on the on the downhill slope of DEI. Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
What can that mean? It's a really good question. Here's what I think. I think, and I don't, obviously, I don't know what's in those documents either. Wait a minute, you don't? Remember, I was a toddler. When he was shot. And although I would have, that would have been the perfect cover. Because nobody's fucking looking for a toddler to come behind that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think some of the documents, the redactions are really pedestrian. Like they've redacted in the old days, they redacted a person's name who was an investigator or a social security number of somebody who was interviewed. But there's whole pages that are redacted. Right. I mean, so there's, there's like, those are like weird. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
There's like, I think they held on to Biden administration held on to like 2000 some odd.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Right, and Epstein and all the rest. I think what we're going to find is... This is just me speculating, obviously. But I think what we're going to find with the released documents is... There's no smoking gun. It's not going to stop people from believing what they believe. It's not going to put anything to rest.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I think also there probably will be – one of the reasons I think some of these things were withheld was because it's embarrassing perhaps to the CIA and the FBI also in terms of their collaboration. Look, Lee Harvey Oswald was on their radar for good reasons, right, for counterintelligence reasons. He had lived over in Minsk. He defected to the Soviet Union.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
He'd lived over there for three years, came back. And so that alone puts him on the radar, right? Now, suddenly, he's a CIA concern. So the CIA is definitely monitoring him. And then he goes down to Mexico. He goes to the Cuban and Soviet embassies. He's desperate to get involved in the revolution even though he's – the Soviets by that time had decided he's a complete loser.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I think – Is that the narrative though? I mean do we know what they really decided? Well, I think, you know, I'm just speaking again from, you know, from experience in intelligence community. At a certain point, you look at somebody and go, there's nothing here. This person is more of a liability than an asset. Well, wouldn't that be the perfect person to make a patsy?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I think that I think the grifters who built up that cottage industry are going to have to be looking for new jobs because I think most companies are starting to think, you know what, let's get off of this thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, unless they decided the guy is just unstable. Look, I mean, reportedly, reportedly, he was finally granted permission to exist in the Soviet Union. After he tried to kill himself, when they said they were going to send him back, he couldn't stay there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No idea. I don't know that part of it. So my point is that I think he was on the radar. And I think what happened was, in the documents, we may find that the CIA at the time was not proactive enough. And they didn't work well with the FBI. There was real friction between those two.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I think that if they had, if they had brought in the FBI, informed them, said, look, we've got the Cuban embassy and the Soviet embassy down in Mexico under observation. We've had this guy on our radar for some time. He's now come back to Dallas and New Orleans. He's back in the States. We've got to keep an eye on him. I think if they had done that, maybe history changes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Under this scenario, yes. I'm not buying that at all. But I think that's what we're going to see in some of this documentation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I agree, because Trump has never been known to say anything hyperbolic. So, I mean, there's a chance that he was, you know...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, no, I know that, I mean, there's obviously, like, there's a strong belief that the CIA was involved, the mob was involved. And again, hey, I haven't seen all the documents like, you know, Trump has. So, you know, everything's on the table.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Everything's on the table. I don't know if he's seen everything either. What, has he gone through all the files?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Who knows? But I think, you know, and who else, who else said he's, Kash Patel said he's seen all the files. He said he's seen everything. Now, I'm not sure how, in what capacity. Was he part of a review committee, perhaps? I don't know. Interesting. We'll find out, right? Yeah, we'll find out.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah, I really do. I believe that. And I also, it's interesting that his family doesn't want this released. They don't want the remaining documents released. And I think the reason there is because, look, they, you know, Hoover and the federal and state law enforcement had a real hard-on for Martin Luther King, obviously, right? And they were covering him three ways to Sunday.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
So, including wiretaps, some that were signed off by RFK, right, by Robert Kennedy. So, as Attorney General. So, I think, you know, the family is like, look, do you really need to release these records? Because I think they're worried about, you know, embarrassing information about there, perhaps about his lifestyle.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, it's been talked about and everything. But I think if you dump it out there, you know, whereas with RFK's, or sorry, with JFK's documents, look, they've released some 5 million pages of his, right? I mean, estimates are like, oh, we've released like 99% of the documents. It's not that high a percentage with MLK. So I think there's a potential for embarrassment.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But I also, same thing, I don't think in those documents, I don't think anybody's going to, they're not going to self-incriminate you, right? And I do think that there was something going on. Look, James Earl Ray is a much more interesting case study, I think anyway, than Lee Harvey Oswald. James Earl Ray and his behavior leading up to the shooting at the Lorraine Motel.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Kind of going off the radar, disappearing. You know, the guy couldn't keep himself out of jail. He was a failed petty thief. Right. And he was just a fuck up. And then suddenly he disappears off the radar screen and he shows up and he looks like a college professor and he's kind of got his shit together. And, you know, then after shooting him, he ends up in Belgium. He got money and guns.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, he got money and guns. Suddenly he had a bag full of cash to go buy himself a Mustang, which he used to drive around the South and kind of be off the grid. I don't know. That one strikes me as – and then sort of the interplay with federal and state and local law enforcement. To me – but again, my point is they released the documents. What do you think?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
There's going to be some note in there saying must kill MLK. Somebody talked to Hoover.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, you would think. Kyle, we're going to need you to make a statement here about shooting. So I think that there's probably, I don't know why I picked the name Kyle. That seems odd. It's a good name for a shooter. Yeah, it was. It wasn't a popular name, I don't think, back then. So I think, look, release everything. If they don't release all the documents,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
At this stage, if they say we're going to hold on to or redact 1,000 pages, what the hell are they doing? Everyone's dead. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense. It's 1963. Just put it to fucking rest. And if there's embarrassing things in there, then own it, right? Accept it and fucking move on. But again, it's not going to change the narratives that are out there, I don't think.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
A 1917 epic journey that Lawrence of Arabia did through what was considered the impassable deserts of Saudi and Jordan to go from essentially northwest Saudi through these impassable deserts and then into Jordan and then down to Aqaba to route the Turks, who at the time controlled the area.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. If there was actually a cadre of people that did that, it's not in the documents, right? Because those documents are like interviews of people on the grassy knoll, interviews of people who knew Jack Ruby in his life.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, again, until everything's visible and out there, I think everything's on the table. Yeah. He's not wrong in the sense that they hated Kennedy. Right. But a lot of people hated Kennedy. The mob hated, you know, RFK immensely. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Because he wouldn't play ball.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. And then depending on who you talk to, Jack Ruby was either mobbed up or... Or he did it because he was Jewish and he didn't want the Jewish community to take that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
No, MKUltra, that is a dark history or chapter in the history of the agency. There's no doubt about it. And again, it's one of those cases where you can't – it's like we talked about with Alan Dulles saying, as far as I know, we've never overthrown a country. It would be like if I sat here and said, well, as far as I know, we never did anything. Of course it was.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
We've never done any mind control experiments. Why would we do that? Of course they did. Yeah. It was like the experimentation that went on and that was outsourced.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Oh, my God. How would I miss this? I was not on Kurt Metzer's email list. Actually, I just checked. It wasn't Kurt.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
This is crazy because what goes around comes around, right? Everything that's old is new again. Because when we talked about MKUltra, the whole reason behind MKUltra was fear that the Soviets were engaged in mind control. This is a different one.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And then eventually they start to eat their own. Yes. You can never be progressive enough. No, no, no. The mob's always going to turn on no matter who you are and how righteous you pretended to be. And I agree with it. Yeah, good people with good intentions mixed in. But I think a lot of people saw this as a terrific opportunity, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I saw this on South Park. It was the human caterpillar episode. Wow. Okay, so I don't understand, and Jamie, maybe you do, why burning through and donating, why putting all that money just to get it seen?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Well, but again, the amazing thing is that everything kind of repeats itself, I suppose. You could look at it that way. I'm not going to go into some grand thought, but... Look, I mean, you know, we're engaged in World War I-style warfare in Europe now, right, with trench warfare between Ukraine and Russia. This, we're talking about mind control from the Chinese regime, right?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
That was what started MKUltra was fear of the Soviets and the North Koreans at the time, getting engaged in mind control and the worry that we were, you know, somehow behind the curve and that they had this technology, the capability to control minds. And so next thing you know, you know, MK ultra is, is born.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And I also think that what it taught me was that, yes, I am racist. I hate elite progressive white people more than... I just can't stand them. It's the one group that I would say that I just can't stand because they're very – there's something about them. I feel sorry for them.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Well, that's it. If you throw shit out there and you couch it in a certain way and oftentimes you'll see some of this and I'm using big words and I'm talking about this. And, you know, it's like the fucking UFO hearings up on Capitol Hill, right? I don't know how many times I've had to sit and listen to, you know, I've seen some stuff. I can't tell you what the stuff is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. And I think there's something out there, right? I'm not, you know, again, I, you know, I agree with you in the sense that, you know, we... We're certainly not the only ones out here floating around, right? I don't know what it means. I don't know whether we've been visited or anything like that, but every time there's a UFO hearing, it's sort of that same thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's that tantalizing, like, oh, look, he's talking, he's talking, and then it's, ugh.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I agree. And I think that's worth pursuing in a big way. There needs to be more transparency about it. And it's also the same like with the COVID files, if there's such a thing as COVID files. But sure, go through and look. I mean, transparency, you know, to the degree that you can where, you know, you're not releasing national secrets that are going to get people killed. Great.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But the Epstein files, you know, so I think there's real value in saying we've got because the government always overclassifies, always overclassifies people. And it's unnecessary, and it creates this distrust, I think, half the time of the public.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, they're just like, what the fuck? We don't believe anything you're saying now. So release everything. Let the chips fall. Because I don't think, honestly, I don't think there's a lot of information there. But I do think with the UFOs, all the documentation and the investigations that took place of unknown sightings,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
But it's still going to not convince people that we're not holding on to crashed spaceships.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. OK. Well, then, you know, maybe explain yourself a little more. Right. Right. You've already come out. You kind of like opened your kimono a little bit. Let's, you know, fucking say what do you know and then put it to rest. Maybe you got an obligation to do that. Right. I mean, I think he wants to, according to him. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
He's already pushed that door open, right? I don't know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah, I know. How do I know that's not horseshit? I know. And that's the problem, and that's going to be the problem with the release of the files.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
They came over to New Jersey? Remember the drones over in New Jersey? Right.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
Yeah. Yeah, so why wouldn't the Biden administration say that? What the hell? I mean, what's the point? Maybe you should tell me. Well, I do know, but I'm not authorized to say.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
I can't think of a way I'd more rather spend my 20th wedding anniversary than right here. You want to go out to dinner?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
It's very easy to listen to, 20 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon. We just cover the news. We don't tell you how to think about it. It's top stories happening around the globe. And I like the idea that it's not an opinion show. I mean, occasionally something sneaks in. But for the most part, we try to keep it based on the facts. And it's really simple.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2274 - Mike Baker
And you can find it, again, at President's Daily Brief on YouTube. What is the real need for something like that today? Well, you know, it's doing really well because I think people actually want that nowadays. And they also like the brevity of it, right? Nobody wants to listen to me for, well, I don't know, hours. But anyway. We just did. We just did. All right. Hey, thank you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This was a Trump ally, by the way, the P.I.S. party, which is another part of this. Ned is doing a boomerang attack by preventing P.I.S. 's popularity in Poland. They do a boomerang attack against the foreign policy international coalition that Trump has. So here are the cases. These include the 2015 appointment of judges to so going as arresting people for appointing judges.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Here's no one to arrange a supposedly unconstitutional presidential election by mail in voting during the pandemic. W2ETF, we hate mail. It was practically a crime to not support mail-in voting with the National Endowment for Democracy here, but over there. It's they're saying it's a crime to have done it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yes. And again, we can get all into this USAID, NED, rabbit's nest and all the domestic entanglements of all. And also the 2023 visa scandal. Oh yeah, this is the same thing they do. Have you ever seen Alejandro Mayorkas' visa scandal from when he was in the Obama DHS and he was the deputy there? You can pull this up on Google, I believe it's 2015.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
art the guy who was our head of dhs which is the domestic interplay with all these farm blob organizations was busted by his own inspector general in this in doing fast pass no look expedited veto visas for for uh... you know for obama political donors in not had putting it through the process you just it and the visa scandals are all over this you know it was john brennan as c i station chief by the way in in in saudi arabia
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
in the romp to 9-11, who together with the U.S. consulate issued the visas to 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers. That was our visas. Now, look, there were only 11 of the 19 were Saudis. They were actually giving Saudi visas to non-Saudis. And 15 of the 19, you can read all about this in the guy who ran the visa desk for that U.S. consulate is J. Michael Springman.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
He wrote a book called Visas for Terrorists. Sure. um uh yeah where he goes over how the whole the whole thing was done but wait wait i'm not done there's there's one more there's can you on on that can you pull up the fourth the fourth the fourth thing because it's a doozy so go to go to the next one these are just illustrative tips cases and maybe just the tip of the iceberg
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
of who are CIA front group are USAID operations arm is saying must be done naturally the leader of the law and justice party himself the democratically elected president Hey, does what happened to Donald Trump now after the transitional justice that happened when Biden Justice Department took power start to make a little bit more sense now?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We used to militarily occupy the Philippines, for example, after we won the Spanish-American War. But that was banned under international law, territorial acquisition by military force in 1948.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Should be held responsible, but legally proving allegations against him will likely be difficult. Damn, the problem is we don't have a case. We want to arrest him, but we actually don't really have anything good to get him on. So let's get all his lieutenants. And again, the objective, pacification, stability. You don't need to worry about them winning the next election.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Populism as a political possibility in Poland will be stamped out because the intelligence networks and the money arm of USAID and the corrupted and warped prosecutors are all on the take.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
By the way, multiply this problem basically in every country on earth because we can get to a dozen of these. Can I do a fun exercise real quick? Sure. Go to Google.com and just, you know, I mentioned this exercise before and just literally we're just going to go maybe five, six pages and just read what pops up. And I haven't even fully done this exercise.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm just I'm so confident in what I'm about to say that we can do it live. Go to Google and type in USAID and then again, Boolean quotes the phrase, quote, judicial reform.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
and i can also show you if i've you showed something to get back so you know let's just go through a list of countries that we are whether we are seizing the judiciary we are influencing the judges the courts the legal system the criminal justice system the prosecutors okay let's just start up your work okay so uh... what what is that country click on that link for second and go back in the project in the republic what republic is that okay serbia what do you know we're back to do a leap up
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So we had to win elections and we had to influence the passage of laws in foreign countries by having an apparatus inside those countries that influenced the hearts and minds of people, which influenced who they voted for, which then determined the government. So you had to move towards political vassalage rather than military occupation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Can't stop now. All right. So that Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Award is starting to make a little bit more sense now. There's an in-process attempt to basically bribe and co-opt the very same criminal justice system that... Our state-sponsored musical performers, I shouldn't say sponsors, our state-awarded ones are calling to take action against.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Okay, for advancing EU integration, can we just see the country name in number two? OK, EU integration. That's like, for example, they want to, you know, fold these, you know, the Ukraine into the EU. Right. There's been a big, big thing about this. Join the market. You know, to also join NATO. That's that's what this is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
How do we get the criminal justice system on board, you know, with basically criminalizing opposition to it? Okay, and we can keep, wait, just keep scrolling down. We're just going to do this for like four or five pages. I just want to, you know, like literally every single one of these is a government program. Okay, so here, there, that one above was DRC, the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Okay, how we are taking over the court systems in Congo. All right, go on to the next page here. Okay, next page. Okay, so let's see here. Okay, more on Congo. Okay, Uzbekistan, we're doing this in Uzbekistan. Albania, we're doing it in Albania. Yeah, it keeps going down here. Let's see, El Salvador, we were doing it in El Salvador.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is one of the reasons you can imagine Bukele was the first one on X to say,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
my god there's no more rental rights in el salvador anymore and why was usaid so opposed to what we were doing getting rid of the drug networks okay here's here's for ukraine here's for uh uh uh central america here's uh more for serbia here's for georgia every this is stock standard doctrine it's the same usa truman show everywhere we go this thing has been dialed in for 60 years
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And that's why I say it's going to take 50 years to untangle this, because you're going to run to political headwinds the whole time. You don't think you're going to have money flowing back. By the way, they're going to go straight to their partners in Europe and around the world to do top up funding for what they lose from from from USAID.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
As people realize the reality that's been constructed around them is downstream of something that was started very long ago when American statecraft to manage the American empire for the benefit of the American people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
For example, they might go to the European Endowment for Democracy. They might go. The EU may have to start making funds to, you know, to these U.S. anti-Trump networks. Yeah. They may have to tap into their allies in China or their, you know, their allies in other Central American or South American governments.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But mark my words, that USAID Truman show that joint, you know, these censors in exile, these, you know, regime changers in exile right now are going to glob on to every international ally the humanly can. They will be, they will be
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
pressurizing the united nations they'll be pressurizing multilateral organizations like nato the eu uh and and you know even some of these economic development packs uh to use the critical components they have there and sometimes dominant spot they have there to weaponize those assets and that gets back to this sort of eu fight but i can pause i move to brazil pause fp okay when i come back rap music brazil yeah all right perfect all right we're back so first hip-hop yeah
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what the Smith-Munn Act did is simultaneous with the creation of this in 1948. Congress recognized the Frankensteinian monster they were creating by authorizing a covert permanent Department of Dirty Tricks. And this is their phrase, not mine.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I think it was the 2009 national, a national now for democracy, um, Cuba rap journal of democracy article that I believe was coauthored by Ned's founder, Carl Gershman. Um, you know, who openly said that Ned does what the CIA used to do, that they effectively took the baton from it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And again, the CIS CS copies, CIA has copies according to the Washington post in New York times of every grant Ned makes. Um,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
When you look at the analysis, the in-house analysis done by Ned there, that there was this dense interplay between the Afro-Cuban population and the drug networks in Cuba, and then you look at the role of hip-hop and drug culture in retailing what is wholesaled in, obviously, USAID, CIA,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
pentagon narco networks like for example we talked about the mujahideen narco network they even they even set up a cia bank right there to back it we did the same thing in 1960 you know usa set up in 1961 at the at the very moment two weeks before usa was created jfk awarded the green beret to the special forces just two weeks before that Then he creates U.S. That was October 1961.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
November 1961, he creates USAID. December 1961, one month after, he launches Operation Pincushion in Laos for the U.S. Special Forces to train and recruit hillside guerrillas in Laos who are primarily funded by the drug networks that they sit on in the Golden Triangle. They sat on the opium industry.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
of the of the golden triangle and the way they financed the their own guerrilla war ci ci backed war and this is all well known ving pao was the cia it was the commander there of the cia mercenary rebel forces there in in uh you know this is 1961 to 1967 in this period that i'm talking about special forces go over there to recruit these hillside guerrillas they form an army ving pao is is made the head of it this is going to connect to the rap thing in a second um
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Ving Pao was financing the CIA's mercenary army by retailing the opium from Laos into these networks in Southeast Asia, like the CIA proprietary banks, like everyone can look up Nugent Hand Bank or Castle Bank and Trust, these CIA banks that were set up to launder basically drug proceeds. And they all got in a lot of trouble for this a few decades ago.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
To do this cloak and dagger, to infiltrate and co-opt the universities, the unions, the media, the politicians, the judges, the whole swarm army, what I have been calling for a long time the USA Truman Show because these people in these foreign countries have no idea how many of the things they interact with that are effectively a movie set being constructed by the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, the problem was is they couldn't sell enough because they were a scrappy little upstart group of hillside gorillas. So what did USAID do in 1967? This is the 1960s, how long this has been going on. So they were recruited by the special forces. They were managed by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
USAID provided the financing, and this is all according to and in the Senate testimony of Professor Alfred McCoy. This is a book called The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia. He testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1972. He detailed all this in his book.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
USAID financially provided the financial assistance for Ving Pao and his narco terrorist network to purchase two airplanes from two CIA proprietary companies. One of them was Air America. Another one was Continental Air Services. Both of these have been revealed in subsequent years to be CIA proprietary airlines.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the CIA commander, the commander of the CIA rebel army buys two planes from two CIA airlines and then uses them to traffic and retail the drugs by selling them to the market in Vietnam where we had special forces boots on the ground. So basically, it was wholesaled by the CIA in that case. And then it was the logistics for that network were provided by USAID.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And then it was retailed to poor, unsuspecting souls all over Southeast Asia. Play the same game in the Golden Crescent with Afghanistan. Play the same game with the cocaine trade in its route from Peru and Bolivia up into Colombia and then up into the distribution networks in Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago, you name it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
when you start having organized crime and drug and drugs, um, as, as the, as the front end that, that retails the products and services that, that are wholesale, then part of a intelligence or military operation, you know, you can't sell those drugs by having someone with a, uh, department of defense ID badge on the street corner, uh, you know, on the, 187th and Broadway.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
There are retail networks for that. And that is the role of many of these drug mule and organized crime networks all over the world. And I have serious concerns about networks in Chicago. I mean, Gary Webb obviously wrote all about this in Dark Alliance and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
uh you know there's all sorts of fantastic books on all this if you want to read more like operation gladio by paul williams um and uh i mean there's there's there's so much in this field but the role of of narcotics is in uh in financing black budget military covert operations in every major place they spring um Is is a black box that is not my crusade.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I frankly, again, I wish we didn't we didn't even go here because but I do feel like you do need to have a side eye glimpse into some of these worlds to understand Internet censorship, because you are going to find USAID NGOs. If Bukele had not done the radical reforms that he had had.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The Internet would have been completely censored by USAID and the State Department in order to rig hearts and minds against against him because they would they would want to stop him from cleaning out these drug gangs. He was stopping cleaning up the crime. You're going to see the same thing about fact checkers in Pakistan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State Department and its sister influence orgs. But the point I'm getting at here is the Smith-Munn Act in 1948 said, okay, you guys can do this. State Department can do this. CIA can do this. USAID, when it came along 13 years later, could do this. But we... So there was a guy named Frank Wisner who was known as one of the godfather figures of the CIA.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And, you know, for example, according to the Gray's own report on on on on. USAID and NED in Bangladesh. And in fact, this is actually, I believe, on the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan's website, the Countering Misinformation Training Seminar they had with the guy who's now the top foreign advisor in Pakistan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And they brought in the executive director of PolitiFact, flew him all the way out to Pakistan. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan to train journalists about how to counter misinformation. The same journalist training seminars we're seeing Internews do. We see SEPS do. We see the Atlantic Council do. But I come back to –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The US Institute for Peace, on a live URL as we speak, not even two years ago, made an impassioned plea to the Taliban to keep 95% of the world's heroin flowing. You have to explain that to the American people. That is the State Department's policy. If U.S. Institute of Peace is not going to go rogue against the State Department foreign policy there because they're funded by the State Department.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You see the same thing with these ISIS terrorist drug narco networks. Anyone remember the WikiLeaks email, Jake Sullivan to Hillary Clinton while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State? ISIS is on our side in Syria.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, that means the more of those poppy crops that get retailed off to ISIS networks, the more powerful and well-financed they are, the more they can pay their soldiers or stop their soldiers from defecting, from being mercenaries. And lo and behold, that same network just toppled the Syrian government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I should note structuring through USAID is the sauce to this because there is a sitting tweet from the U.S. Embassy in Syria from 2017 when Trump was wiping out ISIS that put a $10 million bounty on the head of Mohammed al-Jalani, the commander of those forces, the current basically head of state in the interim government in Syria. There was a $10 million bounty on his head under Trump.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They made the argument that his HTS group was an Al Qaeda spinoff and no Al Qaeda allowed. Well... According to his own military generals, who said this openly in mainstream media after the fact, we were constantly playing shell games with the numbers to hide the troop activity and what we were doing on the ground in Syria and the broader region.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If you don't need a presidential finding to finance a terrorist group or a paramilitary group, it's too dirty for CIA. President won't approve. Run it through USAID.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well... you have these narco networks. Like, for example, like what I was saying about the USAID bought the airplanes for the wholesalers to move it to the retailers. And when you have this intersection between hip-hop and the drug economy, hip-hop popularizing it, you know, you have a lot of these rappers who've said, you know, we're told by our promoters or our managers to, you know,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You lean into that stuff. You have the whole organized crime gang. I'll give you an example. This is in Gary Webb's Dark Alliance, where he goes through this network from basically the CIA and the Defense Department playing a leading role in propping up these narcotics trades.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
He's known for creating what was called the Wisner's Wurlitzer, which was a it's like a church organ and that he would brag that he could play the international media like a symphony to make any media narrative possible. go viral in any country on earth because of the suite of CIA proprietary media functions and its distribution network, especially when the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
in South America because they were pumping up right-wing death squads and right-wing paramilitary narco gang networks that were violent and effectively shut down left-wing Marxist theology movements who were considered to be pro-Soviet. This is how you have a lot of this, for example, with Iran-Contra and the Reagan years. So he makes a very compelling case about the role of of the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
intelligence community and at the wholesale level in Peru and Bolivia and at the you know, and at the actual processing in Colombia. And then the movement and transport to the to the gangs in Los Angeles and Miami and Chicago and the like. And that wholesale movement effectively goes from, you know, Langley slash Crystal City in D.C., D.C., Virginia.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
To a sort of Hispanic population in in South America into, you know, into other into gangs that are retailing it, you know, in into these Compton gangs, into these, you know. These Chicago and Miami and New York ones, you have a culture of drug use that creates a market for selling the proceeds so that drugs can be turned into cash, which can then be used to purchase guns.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And when you see this just liquid seamlessness there, and then I don't want to tax Jamie too much, but this Grey Zone report in Bangladesh has specific language.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
With with the National Endowment for Democracy and one of its subarms making explicit grants to Bangladeshi rap groups for the explicit purpose of getting people to take to the streets in in street riots and protest movements and to undermine public faith and public confidence and favorable sentiment for the then in power Bangladeshi government in the art in.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They were targeting the youth movements. Remember when we pulled up the 22 hip hop artists on screen and the whole thing was about youth mobilization? These people formed the front end of the destabilization.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm not even going that far. What I'm saying is there's a useful role of music and other artistic and cultural ventures for creating a market for something that helps U.S. statecraft. For example, this is the major, major scandal
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The head of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Deutch, had to travel to Compton in 1997, I believe that was the year, in order to plead with the black population there that what had happened with the CIA's role in the drug trade was a sort of occasional one-off accident, wasn't authorized, wasn't supposed to happen. But the fact is those narco networks supported the Nicaraguan Contra movement.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
had first mover advantage in radio and print. It's basically the U.S. and U.K. were the only games in town, really, in having robust radio, film, TV, and print media. Smith said, OK, you can do that abroad. You can plant fake news stories in France. You can have propaganda blare into Africa or Western Europe or Central Asia, but that can't come home.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You needed a market to sell it. You know, and those were those were inner city urban populations in Los Angeles that were, you know, they weren't the ones growing the cocaine that was grown in Peru and Bolivia. And then it was processed in Colombia.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, there's been a million, and it's everywhere you look, and it's not just south. And again, I don't want to – this stuff is all, to me, just interesting. I don't have a hard opinion on it. I almost don't want to – And take away from so much of the important factual stuff where I have the receipts on screen.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But what I'm saying is you are going to see resistance from very strange pockets as you do this distinct entangling process. How many people knew that an arm of the State Department right next door to it that gets all of its money from the State Department who sets the foreign policy?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
He's telling the Taliban to keep the drug networks open or that same arm is going after Bukele when he tries when he tries to arrest the drug criminals in in in El Salvador, which, by the way, was the, you know, the most intense of these narco right wing death squads, you know, during the, you know, during the Cold War. Yeah. And we pump up every cultural vector we can.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Again, you know, watch Taking Down a Dictator, that documentary, and look at the role of music in the State Department's eyes in being able to galvanize street protest movements, gets everyone on the street united, gets everyone listening to the same thing. They're all sort of, you know, aligned like a magnet.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I mean, even look at places like the Azov Battalion and how they sort of grew out of this black metal rap, black metal music coalition with highly extremist lyrics and whatnot in Ukraine. The same sort of extremist lyrics you saw in the Bangladeshi rap songs or the call to take to the streets in the Cuban ones. And again, this has been going on a long time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Look at the look at the lyrics of a Pussy Riot song. And remember this, they literally are standing at the secretary of state's podium, you know, with arm in arm with the U.S. State Department. Well, you know, so and you never can look up, you know, you know, C.I. 's role in rock and whatnot. There's great Guardian articles about all this as well. But anyway.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's more to say, coming back to this USA Truman Show, that everything and anything can be an instrument of statecraft, whether that's the prosecutors, the universities, the unions, the media, the social media, arts, dance. This is where you get these transgender dance festivals and this demographic segmentation, you know, to see who hates the government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, if the government is cracking down on transgenderism or is not... Kind to it or they feel like you know, they want more rights That's a useful demographic as a cleavage point for the US State Department to capacity-build Fund flow money to so that they can be used as a battering ram and I'm not endorsing that but that is just why we were understand Okay, we're running out of time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. Okay. So, Jamie, I sent you a bunch of these screenshots that my foundation is going to be publishing in our final report. But I wanted to just go through these here because we've been talking about the role of the criminal justice system more than anything. You know, media is rigged. Okay. It's a headline. It's a reputational smudge. It can cost you your job.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
When the criminal justice system and the judges are rigged and the prosecutors are rigged, you don't even have a country anymore because they can arrest the president. They can arrest the politicians. And it's a shortcut to control over the whole site. And we went through examples with Ukraine, Burisma, Serbia. We went through that whole exercise. But
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Jamie, if you can pull on screen, you know, just we can just go through the text messages. This will be the last thing of USAID's role with the judiciary in Brazil. And specifically against Bolsonaro, who is targeted by these anti-misinformation actions. Populist president. Populist. Right-wing populist. They called him the Trump of the tropics. Same thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Part of that same international coalition. Let me know if you have any trouble. Okay. Yeah. Well, maybe if you start with the first one, actually.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. No. Okay. Maybe scroll down. Do you see the ones where you have the lead judge?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, yeah. Sure. Okay. So how about just the pictures with the pan? Okay. Here you go. So, yeah. We can start with that one right there. That image right there? Does that guy look familiar? This is the Lord... Actually, he actually looks kind of like a mixture of both of us, Joe. It's kind of funny. But this is the man that they call the Lord Voldemort Judge of Brazil.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You can't sign up our own people with your propaganda organ abroad because the point of authorizing this is that we get cheaper gas. We get import export markets. You know, we get a high standard of living because if a foreign government doesn't want to give up its resources or allow a U.S. military base.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is the head of the TSE, the censorship court, which is the subgroup of their Supreme Court. And here you see a seminar that he is being trained in. Where is... Does that name ring a bell? SEPS?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
uh... and that you have the hours of review and i know spent over the sex program the u s aid program that that explicitly said it's its job to get foreign countries in foreign courts to pass censorship laws this is u s aid funded and implemented by national for democracy this is steps dot or the recruited but the skips much of it if it if you go back to the the panel i'll wash a more on this
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
OK, here's another one. CEP's core partner, IFES, this is basically the election strengthening, teaming up directly with Brazil's TSE court. That is the censorship court that seized X's, that shut down X and that seized Starlink's assets and that effectively criminalized the speech of virtually any significant pro-Bolsonaro voice in Brazil.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is our USAID network doing the training, doing the networking. And if you go back, I'm just going to show a couple more of these. Okay, this is Internews. Internews, who we covered, $500 million from USAID every single year. In Brazil, doing training seminars for how to flag pro-Bolsonaro disinformation. I can go on and on.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I got layers of all these different judges and the pitches to the prosecutors to arrest it. The whole thing was a USA Truman show taking over the judiciary or at least substantially influencing and tilted to take out their political enemy, Bolsonaro, the whole way down.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Um, no, I believe X, uh, you know, uh, entered into compliance by, by taking certain actions.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. So I believe they, yes, there's, they're still subject to the, to the edicts of the court.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, right. Well, they wanted to they wanted to make sure that, you know, again, it's the same thing with Poland. They want to achieve stability, democratic stability so that he can't rise hugely popular right now. It was a razor close election. And remember, you know, we pull a lot of tricks in order around that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And you're going to find a lot more of that when you look into the role of unions like the National for Democracy Solidarity Center. and the whole suite there. Remember, we literally pulled favors with Taiwan, this is reported in the Financial Times, in order to get them the semiconductor chips to build the voting machines against Bolsonaro's wishes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
or allow joint partnerships or exports of goods or US multinational corporations to operate there, then the American people suffer economically. So it was always designed to say, listen, you can do this dirty stuff abroad, but it can't come home.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The head of the CIA went down and threatened him, Bill Burns did. The head of the Pentagon went down and you met with the army to tell them, you know, you have to trust the result of the election. This is Lloyd Austin, the head of the Pentagon.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, we're saying the head of the CIA, the head of the military, we're running semiconductor chips just so that they can make voting machines that the elected head of state doesn't want. And then, you know, we're we're we're funding their workers movements.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm not even weighing into the voting machine issue except to say that it's very strange that we would divert semiconductor supplies bound for the U.S. during a critical shortage and give them to a foreign government to put in voting machines that the elected head of state doesn't want. That's a very curious thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You can read about all the inside details of that published in the Financial Times and other places.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
No, I say I don't. But we have an opportunity. We've already done more than anyone has ever done. No foreign-facing government agent, no cog in the wheel of this dirty tricks apparatus has ever had 14,000, 99.8% of the workforce laid off, the name taken off the building from a month in terms of the lightning speed of it. But I feel a sense of hope and optimism and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
kind of spiritual fulfillment if that's too big a phrase to say but i don't you don't see me happy or doing cartwheels or it doesn't really show on my face because i know the the size the the the scale and the duration of this fight is going to continue for the the rest of my lifetime and so i don't consider this not sprint period we're running fast but it's a marathon the whole way
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And even that protection, which lasted for 70 years, and we only lost it a decade ago, we're up against a much actually deeper, darker problem with this USAID scandal. And as people will see increasingly, the scandals that will break open at the Pentagon and the State Department. which is that we have a Smithmont problem for funding and operations. It's not just propaganda.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Right. But every single one of those people need to understand the category. They talk about public health and all the lives and how many more people are going to have AIDS and HIV. In 2014, USAID was busted running a covert operation where, according to their own people who were involved in the operation, they set up an HIV prevention program.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
in foreign countries because it would be the perfect excuse because counterintelligence would never think that the HIV clinics were the place that they were using as key nodes in the regime change network. How many other facilities? They were caught there. How many others? But in every single one of those, it's dual purpose because the fundamental reason you do this out of U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
aid is to dupe people. And this puts our oversight bodies in a difficult spot. Let's just say we're funding transgender dance festivals in some country because it turns out they really dislike a government that we consider authoritarian.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so you could actually see a sort of – I don't know the situation in Venezuela, but let's just say that the Trump administration has been at war with Maduro and wants to pursue a policy of turning over that government. And it just so happens that – that government is persecuting the transgender population.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And the transgender population, if they could just be built up more, would be able to convert more hearts and minds to vote against Maduro. Well, you could see a sort of... If I may say... Again, I'm not saying this should be done.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm just saying you could see a sort of mega foreign policy explanation for funding transgender dance festivals in Venezuela if that's what the baseline assessment reveals. The problem is... American people are never going to be allowed to know about it because imagine the Senate Oversight Committee. Why are we funding these transgender dance festivals in Venezuela?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, actually, because we're running a lie there. By the way, everyone in Venezuela can watch this live hearing. The whole thing is actually a carefully constructed lie because we're cynically exploiting the transgender people to serve as battering rams against the head of state we want to overthrow, but we have not declared that publicly. I mean, we're back to plausible deniability. Jesus.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
began to warp and distort every institution in American life from the media to now the social media companies to the unions, to the universities and academics, to the NGOs and think tanks, to the prosecutors, to our conception of terrorism, to our conception of activity in the drug trade, to our...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Thank you. And again, I don't want to get you in trouble with this stuff. You know, some of the topics that we talked about, like the drug stuff and the rap stuff and the, you know, some of the terrorism stuff is not my primary focus. I'm not making hard facial claims there. I don't care about the Taylor Swift thing. It's frankly, it's just fascinating that you would see that on a native.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Like, this is... What I care about is what we talked about with its control over media, its control over prosecutors, its control over social media and pushing social media censorship and these sorts of things that, you know, that we have a once in a lifetime chance to reform.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I want to thank you and express my personal gratitude for having these difficult and I'm sure taxing conversations to crack it all open.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The blob, our foreign policy establishment, can fund groups that effectively work with prosecutors domestically or that or that work at media, you know, dual sort of dual use groups. We give them foreign grants to do media propaganda abroad, but they operate here. Or social media censorship to coerce foreign countries to pass foreign censorship laws that explicitly and are intended to attack U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
social media companies and in U.S. peer-to-peer speech. So we need that protection. If we're going to keep this function at all, we need a hard firewall and absolute grotesque penalties for anything.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, 100%. Well, I don't know if it's going to hold up. I think it's going to be a legal dogfight. This is, you know, it's funny because it's sort of a circular dragon eating its own tail because you're going after the primary soft power projection organ of the blob because it's been weaponized against Americans. But what is the blob authorized to do? What is USAID authorized to do under statute?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, something they call judicial reform, which is USAID. And poaching funding financially, the networks around judges, around around courts, around the legal system, around the governance structure of every country on planet Earth. I mean, Jamie, if you want to go through a fun exercise right now, you can put on screen just a simple Google search so people can see just how open source this is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I can walk through specific damning examples of this. But if you just type in on Google the word USAID and then in a Boolean quotes, judicial reform. And what you're going to see are. You know, basically 100 countries that USAID is going after the judges, going after the legal system in order to rig the scales of justice in favor of the foreign policy establishment's interest there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And this has fully come home. And I can go through some examples of this. For example, there's a group called the OCCRP, which you can think of as the Corruption Reporting Project. This is a group that half of its funding comes from USAID and the U.S. State Department. The USAID and the State Department have a veto right over the staff that it can hire.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is the largest consortium of investigative journalists on planet Earth. This is the group that broke the Panama Papers. You know, they got all these hacked documents. They got special access to it. I don't have any facts on this. I'm simply noting that it's an oddity that a group funded by a major CIA funding conduit, USAID,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
while the CIA has the ability to hack any target around the world that's authorized by the National Security Council. They're getting these special access documents that are reportedly either hacked or leaked, and they're being sponsored by... you know, the group that's connected to something with a hacking power. But I don't know that for a fact.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
What we're really doing with public health programs and the medical establishment and what drives that all the way into poverty relief and you name it. I mean, every institution is instrumentalized by this apparatus. supposedly to help us. But really starting, this has been done in U.S. history before.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm simply noting that for investigative purposes, for oversight bodies who may want to ask questions. But they, so they've won hundreds of awards. Their name has been, you know, so pristine for so long. They've been around for, you know, almost 20 years. And they were sponsored in order to do, they do investigative hit piece journalism about corruption.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what they do is they go after all of the State Department and USAID and DOD's opponents in the region. So, for example, Jamie, I texted you this beforehand, but if the first thing you want to put on screen are the first two images that I texted you, this is from the USAID.gov website. And I think this will shock people when they see this. with the USA.gov URL right there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so that you can see how, yeah, so if you go to the first page that I texted you, and then we'll get to this one. This is the first thing you sent me. Okay, I'm sorry, the second one then? Yeah. Okay. So here it is. This is USAID's Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through Investigative Reporting Program. Okay. What you'll see here is you'll see the life of activity.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This fund is, they are still being funded through this grant. And this is for Europe and Eurasia. And you'll see the countries, Eastern Partnership, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Western Balkans. If you scroll down, you'll see USAID spending. USAID funding is $20 million.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
$20 million that our taxpayers paid to... Listen, they don't report on kittens being saved from falling out of trees. Everything they do is a hit piece about an instance of corruption that can be used by prosecutors in the area to arrest the political opponents of the State Department. And what you'll see here is capacity. Now, this is the phrase everybody has to know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Capacity building is what this is all built under. That means pumping up the blob's assets. Whenever you see the word capacity or capacity building, it means this thing is useful to us. The more money we give it, the more powerful they are to protect our influence. And so if you scroll, if you go back to that page, which is page two of this USAID thing, Here's what you see.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So for $20 million of investment from USAID, here are the, and this is live on the website. You can find this in the Wayback Machine right now because the USAID website's down. This is USAID, the US government bragging about the achievements of what they achieved by spending $20 million. At least four point five billion in fines levied against targets of these hit pieces.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, by the way, I should note that the head of the OCCRP was busted in a major documentary that is very little distribution. But I encourage everyone to watch where he said because this was this was a this was a I think a year and a half ago or whatnot. But it was they're up to over 10 billion dollars now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's on the Wikileaks X page right now. It's by a group of German journalists who had one-on-one interviews with the head of this group, OCCRP, as well as the USAID grant coordinator and others. And so it's straight from the horse's mouth. And they they say he says in that interview, I believe his name is Drew Sullivan, that it's now over 10 billion dollars.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This happened against the left, against the Democrats in the 1960s and 70s when the CIA and, you know, to an extent, its sister orgs like USAID and whatnot were pumping money into domestic politics to stop the anti-Vietnam War movement and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And he brags that that is a I think he said it was a 20,000 percent return on investment because all these dollars were, quote, returned to government coffers. So for 20 million dollars of of mercenary media for the state, state sponsored hit pieces. The government's got $10 billion back. That's a 1995 Amazon level return on investment. But now let's get into the darker stuff. 548 policy changes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, we don't know if these policy changes are good or bad. Do you think USAID would list them as accomplishments if they were not in furtherance of USAID's or the State Department's foreign policy goals in the region? What they are saying and trying to sort of speak through their teeth, as they say it,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
is that they proudly sponsored hit piece journalism to ruin people's lives and go after political targets in order to change the policies of foreign governments from the inside. Now, it goes on to say 21 resignations and sackings, including of a president and prime minister.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, the head of OCCRP in this documentary openly says that their reporting caused, I think it was five or six different governments to topple and turn over and be transitioned. So this is state-sponsored media hit pieces so that prosecutors can arrest presidents and prime ministers to regime change their government and install a more pro-US political vassal figure in the region.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
and then the last one is 456 arrests and indictments and this again is listed as a usaid achievement we don't know what these people did we don't know you know whether they're whether they're guilty or innocent or whether or not these were political prosecutions like you see right now with the new york district attorney's offices which is a whole nother usaid connected can of worms but
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
These are state-sponsored hit pieces for hire in order to give the justice departments, the prosecutors in a region, the ammunition to arrest the enemies of the state. The prosecutors don't have the capacity to do a whole investigative journalism dig.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They might not have access to hacked documents that, for example, the CIA, the NSA, or deeply connected political insiders might be able to give to a group like OCCRP. Now, USAID gets a veto right over who they can hire. OCCRP has to submit an annual work plan to to to be submitted to and reviewed for approval by the State Department and USAID. And and here's the kicker of it all. USAID dug up.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This led to the reforms of the late 1970s, the Church Committee hearing, the Pike Committee hearing, the establishment of a Senate Intelligence Committee and House Intelligence Committee for oversight. But even that was a very small glimpse into the window.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm sorry. OCCRP paid for it by us U.S. taxpayers. Doug up dirt on Rudy Giuliani's work in Ukraine. This is because this was part of the 2019 impeachment and, you know, Rudy Giuliani and his work in Ukraine. So they went and dug up dirt on Rudy Giuliani, a domestic U.S. citizen and high profile political figure, actually attorney to the U.S. president.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And then that dirt came home and was used as part of the basis for the 2019 impeachment of the sitting president, Donald Trump. That would have never happened unless USAID sponsored that, that hit piece work.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And then they did the same thing with Paul Manafort because it's the same foreign policy blob that went after Trump in the first place because of his difference in foreign policy vision around Ukraine, Russia, and other major countries.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The analogy I give here is like the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you know, the Chronicles of Narnia, where there's this whole cinematic universe. You're living in this house, and there's this closet in the back of a wardrobe, and If you never walk through it, you never see that whole world. You can live your whole life without seeing it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Right. This is a different case than that, because that this was related to the 2019 impeachment and all the Ukraine kerfuffle around the, you know, the quid pro quo call allegedly that President Trump made to President Zelensky, which, by the way, we should get to USAID's role in the process in the Joe Biden quid pro quo side of this in a second.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But that case, I believe, related to two workers in Georgia, and it was related to the whole investigation of election fraud there. And and whether or not there may have been fraud perpetrated in the in the in the Georgia election in I believe it was either 2021 or it may have been.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm sorry that in 2020 I'm not that that case I have not I'm not deep in the weeds on but I I have to say this as well. And Jamie, I don't know if the whole audience is familiar with this clip, but it's an incredible scandalous clip.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Do you remember when Joe Biden was at the Council on Foreign Relations and bragged that he got the top prosecutor in Ukraine fired by the Ukrainian government because he explicitly conditioned the firing of the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma He expressly conditioned their receipt of a billion dollars in U.S. financial assistance on the firing of Victor Shokin, the prosecutor.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know what that billion dollars in financial assistance was? It was a U.S. aid grant. Yeah, it's the carrots and sticks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And actually, before you play this, can I make one quick note for the audience that everyone can look up publicly? The Council of Armed Relations, I'm just about to text Jamie another thing related to this. I'm going to pull up the USAID grant so that everyone can see this billion dollar USAID grant that he's referring to here. and what's in the grant details.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, running the State Department that USAID answers to, right? USAID is independent, but guided by the State Department, because it's a State Department function. It has to advance US interests.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But when you open that door and you step into it, you see there's an entire other universe here that's been right next to you this whole time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, Council Foreign Relations had just opened up a DC office, they're New York based, and she went over to them and she made a speech and she said, thank you, Foreign Relations, for opening up your DC office. That way, I don't need to travel all the way to New York to be told what to do. I was the head of the State Department.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. Everyone can look this up. That might not be verbatim, but it was as explicit as that, effectively. But if you want to play this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, so there's two things to immediately follow up on that. So, Jamie, I just sent you two things over text here. The first one is the U.S. is that billion-dollar loan guarantee. And then I sent you another one about securing commitments. And then.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, okay. So this was a billion dollars. Okay. So this will actually go to the other one. Okay. We'll start with this. Okay. So here's from USAID. USAID announces, now this is, again, basically the final months of the Obama administration. This is right before the November 2016 election. USAID announces a billion-dollar loan guarantee. Remember, he referenced the loan guarantee.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, depends on if they play ball or not. This is another one of these things, right? If you're a good boy and you do what the blob tells you to do, maybe we can be flexible on loan forgiveness. Maybe we can allow you to punt the default. But you'll see it's... But these are the carrots and sticks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is why we infiltrate and co-opt these institutions and why you have a $44 billion annual slush fund around the world to do this. But you'll see it's the issuance of the billion-dollar loan guarantee to the government of Ukraine, and it's to support the implementation of governance reforms. So it's for the – we condition it on you changing the policies of your government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, definitely. I had already been working on this for many years.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
with your government, you know, that factors into what the U.S. ambassador in the region will tell their Ukrainian or other government counterparts, you know, loan guarantees and whatnot are conditioned on. But so if you go to the you'll notice that Biden there used a very specific phrase there about securing commitments. I don't know if everyone caught that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
around august 2016 uh i was i was deeply passionate about the internet censorship issue um and you know i had i had some weird experiences playing chess as a kid where you know i sort of came of age when gary kasparov lost a deep blue and ai took over uh you know
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I want to note the similarity of that to if you go to the other screenshot, Jamie, that text you hear. I'm sorry that my mug is on this. I just pulled this up.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, I know. We'd been talking right before we started filming about just throwing receipts up on screen. This is just a live stream series that I do on X. They caught you mid-words. I know. But this is $1.5 million.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So USAID has given $27 million in grants to the Tide Center, which is the 501c3 – is the fiscal sponsor that gives the 501c3 stats to the Black Lives Matter Global Network and to a group called Fair and Just Prosecution, which is – basically manages prosecutors who are simultaneously funded by the Open Society Foundation. They work with Alvin Bragg and Letitia James and all these other ones.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But you'll see here, and this is a $1.5 million grant, you'll see that exact phrase that Joe Biden used about securing commitments from governments To fight corruption. So sometimes this diplomatic statecraft, this strong arm pressure is done directly by the vice president. Sometimes it's done by interlocutors like our state sponsored NGO swarm who allow our ambassadors and allow the White House.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
to maintain a layer of plausible deniability, that it's an intermediary saying it, and they can say much harsher things than what can be conveyed and maybe used against you in a formal diplomatic channel. And I sent one more thing, Jamie, if you pull up, if you go to my X feed and you just type in the phrase USAID Burisma, because this is another element of this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Again, how is this all weaponized at home and whatnot? So Victor Shokin was investigating Burisma. Joe Biden personally weaponized USAID in order to force a foreign country's prosecutor to be fired in order to get that billion.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I believe it was a similar corruption probe, that there was misuse of funding. All this stuff is well-documented in Miranda Devine's book, The Big Guy. But So if you open those four screenshots, I don't know if you're able to center it or zoom out a little bit.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
USAID helped young Biden. This is in 2014. Hey, remember when Hunter Biden's permanent blanket pardon goes back to? It goes back to 2014. Right. And so so this directs USA to guarantee loans. So it's loan guarantees for every phase of development of oil and gas in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Now, if you go to go to the next screenshot in this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is a FOIA-ed or legally obtained internal document at the State Department, which says, despite his ruined name in Ukraine, Zelensky is actively campaigning. He's been sending letters to Ambassadors Yovanovitch and Pyatt. They note that Hunter Biden and Devin Archer are on the board, and they say even internally, At State, USA does have cooperation with Burisma.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It says pre-existing, small-scale, pre-existing cooperation. They're formally cooperating with Burisma in the region. They're noting that. And then if you go to the next screenshot. Now, now this again is is State Department email traffic that's been on Earth. OK, so they're talking about doing co-branding with USAID and Burisma and the public private partnership around USAID and Burisma.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
really took the spirit out of a lot of a lot of the chess world and it was apparent to me as a kid that these ai sensors that these ai chess engines were going to out compete humans but when i was young the sort of older people in the room were in denial about it and when i saw that same thing in 2016 with the the development of ai censorship super weapons you know i i
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But then noting, quote, the very sticky wicket of the Hunter Biden connection on Burisma's board. And then they go on to say that they want to create incentives for journalists to ensure responsible and unbiased coverage.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Right. What they're saying is it would be a major scandal if everyone knew the extent of it. They know it looks unseemly. They don't want the media to report on the massive conflict of interest of Joe Biden going in and kicking out that prosecutor and conditioning USAID money on it while USAID is directly working with Burisma.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so if they're funded by the State Department, guess what? There's a State Department grant coordinator. Guess what? If they want to keep getting their contributions, there's going to need to be review and approval by USAID and by state because often these are co-grants.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so they have the capacity to ensure that the incentives are aligned for the journalist to be responsible with the way they report on the USAID-Burisma connection while Joe Biden is weaponizing U.S. Well, Joe, I was weaponizing USAID to protect Burisma.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
By the way, I should note Hunter Biden's law firm actually pitched using Burisma as an instrument of statecraft to the State Department because the more you capacity build Burisma, the more endogenous gas Ukraine is able to supply. And so that's less gas being exported into Europe from Gazprom in Russia. So they blend this. It advances U.S. national interest.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But, hey, it makes us rich along the way. So, you know. It's the same reason Pfizer gets to keep all the profits, you know, for, you know, when when they have when there's a vaccine mandate, you know, they don't they say, well, we're just rewarding, you know, this is we're doing such good work.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, why aren't you if this is a charity, why aren't you giving the money back to the American people, you know, of what should we put some cap on this? Oh, no. Well, we're incentivizing this, you know, pioneering approach and we're uniquely in the position to do it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, exactly. Well, actually, Jamie, if you pull that receipt back up, there's a paragraph there we didn't read, but that's useful to this. And then there's another topic related to this that I think makes this point even harder. But look at that fourth paragraph there. This is from the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State Department, which is in control of managing all of the media assets, those 90% of media assets in Ukraine and the ones that simultaneously operate here. I would offer that Burisma's incentive to support could plausibly read, the main objective of Burisma was to create incentives for journalists to offer sympathetic coverage.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yes, yes. Humanitarian aid. This is a for-profit company that's directly tied.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yes, yes. Wow. Right. They want to pitch it as a sort of patriotic, pro-Western. They bought the media. They bought the media. They bought the media. And they bought the media here. On that topic, can we talk about a related scandal and, frankly, monstrosity that the American people need to understand the full extent of its influence on American hearts and minds? No, we can't talk about that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I call those weapons of mass deletion, that they would be like weapons of mass destruction, but for speech. You know, a few lines of code would allow you to destroy entire political movements, governments, narratives. There'd be no escape from it. We would permanently change the face of political warfare or domestic politics and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Okay. All right. Well, let's go on to the next thing. OK, so, Jamie, if you if you go to X, I think probably the best thread on this currently published is the WikiLeaks thread on on Internews, which just reading some of the statistics and that will help make sense of some of the clips and screenshots that I'm going to show you about its operations that then impact domestic affairs and and.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
uh international governments that are allied with this with the state with the state department so if you just look up into just type in the word internews one word i n t e r n e w s and uh and uh you go to search down the wikileaks profile you'll see Yeah, here you go. If you just top that top one, you know, USAID has pushed nearly half of it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So this... So Internews, I've been talking about for a long time, but now the stage is sort of set to really show the extent of this. But... What we do is we create these pretty little predicates, these pretty little lie words, weasel words to hide from the American people and especially from foreign governments what we're really doing in the area.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So we have a catchphrase at State and in Statecraft. It's called independent media. You can think of that as the State Department's word for good guy. OK, doesn't mean independent. They are funded by us. They are not independent from the government. They literally submit their work and approval plans for their work plans for what they cover for review and approval to the U.S. State Department.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They are dog walked the whole way. But we call them independent because they are said to be independent from foreign governments who influence. So basically, they're independent from us. the Chinese government or they're independent from the Russian government. So there's just like with the word USAID itself that we talked about last time. It's your mind playing tricks on you.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You're seeing aid, but it's Agency for International Development. But they do the same thing with independent media, which is that... Internally, to them, it means it's a good guy for us because it's independent from our enemies. But when Americans see that, they think, well, independent, that means it's a free actor who's not being sponsored by any government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But under the banner of USAID's independent media and media sustainability branches, we fund half a billion dollars a year. to this network of, again, over 4,000 media outlets. It reaches 778 million people, 9,000 journalists trained.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Remember last time we went over the Atlantic Council with seven CIA directors and annual funding from USAID, as well as the State Department and Pentagon, how they were holding up I call BS placards and putting Trump tweets on screen to flag for disinformation. If you remember, we went over that. Well, this is what training journalists looks like.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
is they is is not only do they have the direct spawn of of of a media octopus under their direct subgrantee group, but they then go out and train the journalists who work at all the other ones who aren't directly sponsored. So they reach everywhere. And you'll see here, for example, it makes reference to Gene Bergo, who is making half a million dollars a year there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You don't need a standing army of 100,000 sensors if you just have one, you know, machine learning, you know, just ingested database, you know, of 900 million tweets that you can ingest and then make this sophisticated narrative network map of all the different keywords and concepts you want to censor. And to me, that was like this free speech version or the censorship version of the atom bomb.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And if you go now, I'm going to show this domestic impact real quick and then a couple of screenshots. So this has been going viral on X. I've been talking about USAID's role in the censorship industry forever. And if you look up...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If you just look up Internews and you just plug in the name, if you just copy-paste that Gene Bergo phrase, you'll see this in the video section because it's everywhere now. So she made speeches for a long time, but this is a big one. Here we go, this one right here. Okay. So USAID-funded Internews CEO pushes for a global advertising exclusion list to censor disinformation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So this is USAID sponsoring both sides of this. She runs a $500 million mercenary media for hippies for hire empire sponsored by USAID. USAID also gave $68 million to the World Economic Forum itself. And USAID's own internal documents show the explicit political targeting of these advertiser networks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I can show you receipts on that if you just type in the word CEPPS, C-E-P-P-S, and advertiser on my X timeline. And I don't mean to just go receipt to receipt to receipt, actually.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Actually, before we get to that, just so I can close the loop on something that's a little bit more accessible and less political, Jamie, I texted you a screenshot of Internews
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
in in brazil and uh if one of them has uh at the top of it something called rooted in trust uh yeah if he keeps going up yeah there you go that one yep okay so this is internews with a worldwide media octopus sponsored a half a billion dollars a year and reaching 9,000 journalists, 5,000 media outlets. And here's what they were doing just on COVID censorship.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So Rooted in Trust is an inter-news program. It's a global pandemic information response program to counter the unprecedented scale and speed and spread of rumors and misinformation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
All of which turned out to be true. Our own CIA says that. Our own House Oversight Committee says that now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yes, yes. $50 million. Right, right. From UC Davis to EcoHealth directly into... Because I always say, when it's too dirty for the CIA, you give it to USAID. And that's why you have all this pandemic stuff. And maybe we can get to that later. But I want to just show the scale of this. You sponsored your own... state censorship.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Rooted in Trust has tracked more than 19,000 rumors about the virus across 14 plus languages globally, over 81 million people. In response to the unique rumors sourced from each country context,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This USAID-sponsored project has produced a total of over 130 rumor bulletins, 500 radio broadcasts, and 480 media stories through a series of training opportunities, events, peer-to-peer networks, and small grants. Root & Trust has supported 550 local media organizations in order to...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So I started... I started that quest in 2016, but very quickly, that research and the process of trying to write that showed these international networks immediately. I mean, the NLP, the natural language processing sort of backbone of this was all being sponsored by DARPA. And to be able to monitor the speech of ISIS or extremist or terrorist groups. And when I saw that
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I only had time before this to text one page of this. I mean, this is everyone should go through this this document. I'll post on my X feed and there's there's millions around this. I mean, this. The whole global coordination was done through this, through USAID and the USAID Department and its partners in the UK and in NATO.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And, you know, the fact that these very organs are implicated in it, these strange DARPA grants around creating the gain of function, you know, the USAID, you know, grants that were all jumping, you know,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
animal to human uh... for for these things add you know that the presence of folks like avril haines the deputy director of the cia and then head of director of the the director of national intelligence at these censorship planning conferences for event to a one the fact that
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State and DOD and the UK Foreign Office all funded all of the censorship organs like the Atlantic Council and Grafica and these others that we went over last time. You know, they basically they're the prime suspect for the crime. And they and they sponsored the entire white blood cell apparatus to swarm any kernel of truth penetrating the membrane in order to orchestrate the cover up.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So they're on both sides of it. And we can talk more about the inner news work there, but... I want to, but I want to... This is the darkest of conspiracy theories.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Even now to this day, having spent so much of my life in it, I try to just pursue the leads that I have and then try to let the conclusions come to me. Certainly the fact that they funded...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The capacity to do this, they work directly with all the networks that were both doing it and censoring it is that puts you pretty much as you know, they created it and they covered up at least the leak in terms of the intentionality for doing it. That is a really dark scenario. You know, there are a lot of things in American history that have that same, you know, me-ha-lee-ha distinction.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, do they make it happen or do they let it happen? Do they let it happen or do they make it happen? And both of them are major scandals that completely change the legitimacy and credibility of policy changes in response to the crisis, for example. Like, You know, take something like Pearl Harbor. Right. It's been declassified now. The McCollum memo, the eight action plan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Are you familiar with this? Yeah. You know, and this was, you know, written before the bombing. And it was eight ways to get Japan to attack us because we don't have diplomatic cover to declare war on them. But if.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If we get them to attack us and we can then spiral that into a war predicate, I mean, the same thing, for example, with the Northwoods memo, with, you know, pretext to war with Cuba and cooking up all these, you know, hijacking our own planes, sinking our own ships, doing, you know, riots on the streets of Miami and then saying that it was the Cuban government behind it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Same thing with Vietnam, Gulf of Tonkin, you know, same thing with, you know, with the weapons of mass destruction predicate for invading Iraq. Did we know that that did we were we duped and the crime was negligence for letting our national security state believe the New York Times reporting on, you know, on chemical and biological and weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? Or did we?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Coming home and being advocated here, I spent my whole day, morning, noon, night, 20 hours a day basically chronicling, archiving. That's how I know so many of these characters is because I feel like I know them better than my own friends and family having spent so many years watching this all develop. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
make that happen? Was that something that we knew was not true based on our own intelligence, but because there was a useful thing there? And, you know, a lot of people have the same thoughts about issues around 9-11 and any number of crisis events. And I I suppose I have my own thoughts on it. They're not fully settled.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And because they are beyond the evidence I currently have, I stay in the zone of this is what they did to create it. This is what they did to cover it up. Here are the stars in the sky. Draw your own constellation from there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, so, well, so, again, there's two simultaneous tasks that I have. One is to burn down these rogue institutions that have been weaponized domestically and salt the earth behind them so that these kind of excesses can never come home again. The other one is we do need U.S. soft power projection in order to maintain the standard of living and prosperity that we have.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I give the example all the time, no blob, no pencils. You can't make pencils in this country unless you depend on governments in Malaysia and South America and parts of Africa. And if that's the case for pencils, now do that exercise with petroleum. Now do that exercise with cobalt, for example. There was only one operational cobalt mine in all of the U.S., and in 2022, even that mine shut down.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So most of the cobalt's in the Congo. If the Congolese government decides they don't want to allow you access to cobalt, well, there goes your capacity to create any high technology or renewable battery or anything – There is potentially a need for some modified and more honest restrictions on our Department of Dirty Tricks.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
For example, the CIA used to be allowed to assassinate world leaders in the 40s and 50s. You know, this is where we got in trouble in Congo with Lumumba or, you know, Allende or any number of these. And then when those scandals got revealed, there were legislative reforms put in place and executive branch national security reforms put in place to say, OK, I'm
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You can do dirty work, but not that dirty. You can't do that. The same thing needs to be done now for all of these things, many categories of things. For example, we just played Internews and the Internews CEO campaigning to governments and corporations and private sector civil society organizations around the world to
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
that they need to economically blacklist news sites that operate on social media. And those are U.S. news sites. This is the basis of lawsuits here in the U.S. like Daily Wire and The Federalist suing the State Department. Because U.S. news sites are in these advertiser blacklists. And to that end, I want to note two things.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
First, if you go to my XFeed and you type in the word advertiser or advertisers, and if you need to, you can plug in the word USAID or CEPPS, C-E-P-P-S, in this. And I want to show you that this is not... Internews gone wrong. This is not a half a billion dollar year grantee of USAID going rogue and being ideological about this. This is top down U.S. government policy from the White House.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I'll show you the documents on that to the White House executive branch agencies like USAID and state. OK, if you go to search and you put in the word advert advertiser. Yeah. Yeah. And it could be advertiser or advertisers. Okay, so there you go. So click on that left, the left image first. This is, now we talked about this group, CEPPS, last time, you know, in our hit a few months ago.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
CEPPS is a program that is basically a joint baby of USAID and the State Department and is implemented by USAID's key operational arm, the National Endowment for Democracy. But this is a USAID program on countering disinformation. Internet censorship is what they do. And we went over last time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Remember, we played that two-minute video where they were openly saying that the plan is to get foreign governments to pass legal reform, pass laws and regulations to stop the spread of misinformation on U.S. social media websites. So USAID would not be able to lobby the U.S. government to do that because we have a First Amendment.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
europe doesn't other brazil doesn't but here is from an internal document february 2021 uh of us aid's seps program and now this is a 97 page document they reference the word advertiser and advertising in this document 31 times in 97 pages so this is that was three years before that clip we just saw how how far back in motion this is and i can go back even further that in 2017 and share it close on that and how this network coordinated
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The very ad boycotts that Elon is subject to and that brought Facebook and Google to their knees when they folded to advertiser boycotts. There you go. In order to disrupt the funding and financial incentive, using the same phrases that the internet CEO did to disinform, attention is turned to the advertising industry, particularly with online advertising.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So it goes on to say, thus, cutting the financial support in the ad tech space would obstruct disinformation actors. They're not human beings. They're not Americans running mom and pop shops that depend on their Facebook page to be able to advertise their flower business. No, they're reduced to the inhuman disinformation actors from spreading messaging online.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the efforts being made to inform advertisers of the risks, such as the threat to brand safety. So this is USAID saying we got to talk to these advertisers and say, hey, you know, brand safety is really important to all your little all your brands. It would be a shame if you were known for putting ads next to misinformation websites like Daily Wire and The Federalist.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And that goes on to say, additionally, with this data organizations, and these are partner organizations, this group steps runs, you know, is together with USAID and, and, uh, and the state part of that run network of hundreds of NGOs around the world that all jointly carry this out. This is what they're sponsored to do.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It says the aim is to redirect funding to higher quality news domains and improve regulatory and market environments. Regulatory means laws, laws, laws about this, like the EU digital services act, um, So this is a top-down U.S. government plan to financially re-engineer the entire economics of...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
the news industry in order to make it so that if you spread messaging against the state or against a sensitive policy issue by the state, you are put out of business. You cannot professionalize. You can't compete with CNN or New York Times or MSNBC. Just like this is what happened to Breitbart, for example, and they got caught up in this web. They lost 99% of their advertising revenue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They were going up like this. And however you feel about Breitbart, these are the plain facts of this inaction. They were a rising star in the 2016 election. Steve Bannon, who was the head of that, went on to be basically the top White House advisor directly. They got crushed when 99% of their ad revenue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is why everyone's having to switch to bilking our own citizens to pay for it because the natural thing advertisers would want to do, a return on investment for putting ads on news sites or social media, they can't do because they're getting pressure from the government. And so now look at the bottom.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, I don't have this, but any members of Congress or Doge or House or Senate oversight or White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, I implore you, a few examples of advertiser outreach are included in Annex 3. I don't have that annex. It's not available on the USAID website that I downloaded this from before it went down.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
USAID is giving out examples of advertiser outreach, how to pressure them in order to do this. And there's much more there. If you go to the next slide, for example, you'll see this is – they have whole categories of what USAID wants media companies to do, wants regulatory bodies to do, wants all of its other whole society partners to do. But here are just the first two entries from this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
What can technology companies do? So this is USAID telling Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, Twitch – eliminate the financial incentives, nuke their ad revenue, if we don't like what they say. What could national governments do? Again, this is our government funded by our tax dollars. telling foreign governments that they should regulate ad networks to kill the ad revenue of U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
social media websites and U.S. news entities, like has been caught up in the advertiser database at State and USAID under the Biden administration. And there's a million more examples like this. But if you want to go to a really crazy one, there's a YouTube video that is still live. It's by Globsec. Actually, before I turn to that, do you mind if I go? No, go ahead.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We're going to go to this May 2017 Globsec video. But before I do that, Jamie, I texted you an image. of um of a piece that that uh my foundation just published if you um it says 23 eu organizations drive eu censorship law uh if you yeah if you scroll scroll up or or actually if you scroll down um uh Oh, you know, actually, maybe I didn't text you. So it's at the top of my feed right now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And you'll see it's it might be like the fifth or sixth one down. But, you know, just down a little bit. OK, OK, right there. OK, so so I'm sorry. No, it's both the one above and below that. So before we get to the one above that, let's go to the one right below that. So one more below that. One more, one more, one more, one more, one more, one more, one more. It's that one. It's yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
See those four screenshots? Yeah. So we just reported this. This is 23 U.S.-funded organizations who are all signatories or implementers, signatories to the EU's Code of Practice on Disinformation, which if U.S. tech companies don't comply with what the EU, a foreign body, calls disinformation, the penalties for that are losing 6% of U.S. social media companies' global annual revenue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. Well, you know, the joke that I tell here is it's like what they tell you to do your first day of prison is you go in, you walk up to the meanest, baddest SOB and you punch him right in the mouth.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
or get kicked out of the entire eu market which is 550 million people so you know we go through this you know in in this in this here uh but if you so not only are they the signatories to it uh who you know basically helped craft this thing and put the us government stamp on this But if you go, you'll see they're also the implementers.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They're the ones who are helping define disinformation in the EU that targets US social media companies and US news websites. So go to the fourth one, go to the fourth thing right here. Now this, my foundation just reported as well. We got access to a White House interagency working group for information integrity. This is one of these censorship weasel phrases, weasel words.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Information integrity is what you just saw in that USAID document about high redirecting ad revenue from high quality news outlets to low quality news outlets. They make that determination by determining high integrity news and low integrity news. So basically, if they like you, they call you high integrity.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If they don't like you or you're publishing a scandal or you say, hey, the COVID vaccines might have some problems with them. Hey, there might be some issues with, you know, what happened in the 2020 election. Hey, you know. What's happening with our Ukraine aid? Low information integrity.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So this phrase, information integrity, is one of these evolving sets of weasel phrases in order to do internet censorship while making it look like it's just an intervention to help you. We're making the information integrity ecosystem better so that we have a healthier information environment. Well, this was centrally coordinated from the White House. This working group has 26 U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
government agencies and programs participating in it. They're partnered with 14 outside universities as well as a whole row of private sector firms. USAID is one of those, by the way. USAID is a contributor to this in the Biden administration. This started in December 2021, really got the wheels turning in December 2022.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But this is from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy itself, where it's someone from White House. The other co-chairs are from ODNI, the Director of National Intelligence, the job that Tulsi Gabbard is currently campaigning for. DARPA, the Pentagon's brain, as well as the National Science Foundation, which is the civilian arm that funds all the censorship work.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But here you have from the Joe Biden White House itself, engagement with international partners. This is three years ago, before this thing even really kicked in in the way that it now is. Engaging with our international partners outside the United States on our censorship efforts, assessing, establishing a partnership with the European Union to
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
to provide US researchers, now that's their cover word. That's the big lie word of all of this. It's operations, but they call them researchers to make it look passive rather than active. And I can go through a million examples of that to show how deep that lie goes. With access to social media data accessible under the 2022 EU code of practice on disinformation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Every single one of these researchers is connected to the blob, whether directly or indirectly. They're either part of organizations that are sponsored by USAID, the State Department, the Defense Department, or the transatlantic networks in the UK, like the UK Foreign Office, or they are indirectly or they're partnered with one who is indirectly. Every single one of these.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They don't just like researchers. They got to be accredited. They got to be credentialed. They got to be vetted. In fact, a lot of these internal documents talk about how only basically the trusted inside web should be able to get access to this. But what they're saying is the U.S. government can't pry that out of Facebook's hands. We have a First Amendment.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We can't we can't make them subject to a code of practice on disinformation. There is no legislative bill that will pass Congress that will force them to give over that will force Facebook to give over the, you know, the private messages and all the internal algorithm and spread of information to a random U.S. university like, you know,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
pick your poison, the University of Washington or the University of Stanford to a random university that everything you thought was safe and secure on the platform is now being given to a private university because it was crowbarred out of the platform's arms by the government. This is the sort of thing the NSA does. When the NSA has secret warrants forcing Facebook
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
to compel private information about the platform for the FBI when they're doing an investigation or the NSA when they're doing a national security one. This is doing it for private actors. And they're using foreign governments to crowbar U.S. companies because we, in their eyes, are unfortunately bound by the First Amendment. There's a lot more there, but I can pause.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, it is. And you see how it all synchronizes just like Wisner's Wurlitzer did in, you know, from 1948 through the 1970s when, you know, formally it was supposed to have stopped. But just that's why I say when it's too dirty for the CIA, you give it to USAID. You know, the CIA used to do this work under covert action. But USAID has a couple of cute tricks that make it the...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
the central warehouse for all of this and this is why when we started this conversation i was saying you know you ain't seen nothing yet this thing is going to get so deep and it's going to connect to so many institutions that everybody thought you know like like in the truman show they thought it was their best friend you know they thought this thing was totally independent and these were authentic conversations you're having with the cashier and it turns out oops okay actually you're a part of this you know usaid sponsored network or the state or dod or intel sponsored network because
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is fundamentally covert action that's being done. And when the CIA – the CIA is subject to restrictions on the kind of covert activity it can do. Every covert action the CIA does, which is our organ for organized political warfare, George Kennan himself as well as William Casey and Colby and –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Everyone the express purpose of it was to carry out the subversive side of the political struggle, you know, so that we'd have a mechanism for influencing foreign, you know, the foreign affairs by creating an internal what looks to be an organic, you know, grassroots authentic network within the country. But we're actually funding and directing their actions, their actions to be favorable to U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
interests. But where I'm going with this is USAID has most of the worst scandals of U.S. statecraft and covert action in the past two decades have actually been from USAID rather than CIA. And there's a reason for this. So after the big scandals against the Democrats and liberals and anti-war groups in the 60s and 70s, reforms were put in place. And some of this goes back to the 40s itself.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But every covert action the CIA does has to be authorized by the president in what's called the presidential finding to take that covert action.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So if this if the CIA senior leadership were just a rogue cell that's not even at the top of leadership, but just a rogue desk, a rogue portfolio, portfolio, a rogue network wants to run a covert action in a region, but they don't think the president will approve. Or the president doesn't want to formally sign off on it in case it goes wrong.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They can walk right over to USAID who can do the exact same thing the CIA does, except they can call it discrete democracy promotion because it's not technically an intelligence agency. So it's not technically covert action. So it doesn't require executive branch approval or foreknowledge. And they've gotten in trouble in these cases in some pretty incredible ways. Can I... Can you show that?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Totally. I mean, it's been, it's been exhilarating. You know, there is a, there's a sort of, I understand the weight of history here. We are doing open heart surgery on the body of the American empire, our influence abroad. And it has to be done well. And so, you know, I want to help the American homeland. And so this is a sensitive process.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, please. So let's start with even the whitewashed version. Go to the Wikipedia of Zunzenio, Z-U-N-Z-E-N-E-O, just on the Wikipedia, and then we can go deeper on this if you want. This was a scandal during the Obama-USAID era. Now, we were running a number of rogue USAID operations in Cuba at the time. By the way, I have to say for the record, I'm no fan of the Cuban government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I'm not even weighing in on whether it's the right or wrong thing to do in terms of regime change there or liberating people there from autocratic excess by that government. I'm simply showing the American people where your tax dollars are going, and how these things are structured in order to systematically fool you and to fool Congress and to fool the White House.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So for example, so this is, I'll show a couple other things in a second here, but so this is Zunzaneo. If you just scroll for a second, we'll start with this, right? So it was an online social media, just scroll up one second, we'll start at the top here. It was an online social networking microblogging service created by USAID and marketed to Cuban users. This was a Twitter knockoff.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
See, the background of this is, this is 2009, 2014, that period. The State Department and USAID were gangbusters gung-ho on the promise of Arab Spring-style social media revolutions to topple other governments. The Arab Spring was a Facebook revolution and a Twitter revolution.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
USAID pumped one point two billion dollars in, you know, and we sponsored these activist groups and these civil society organizations to learn how to use Facebook, learn how to use Twitter, learn how to use hashtags, learn how to coordinate street protests so that everyone knows where to go, what street to show up on, you know, what kind of slogans to, you know, to use in order to create the pro-democracy predicate for it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But the problem was at the time, Cuba did not allow U.S. social media in. So they said, hmm, so they're not allowing Twitter in. How can we get a Twitter there, but without calling it Twitter, without making it look like it's coming from the U.S.? So what they did is they took the exact same thing as Twitter, same user interface, same like and retweet button.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Zunzunio is the Cuban slang word for hummingbird. So it means it's bird. It was the Twitter bird, the whole thing. But the whole trick about it was you have to make it look like it's coming from the Cubans if you're going to do this operation. So what you'll see is it began running. So this is 2010. This is right during the Arab Spring.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what you'll see is they took funds, millions of dollars of funds that were concealed as humanitarian funds designated for Pakistan. Now, I don't know if Joe or the audience, if you looked at a map lately, but. Pakistan is not exactly the next door neighbor of Cuba. Right. So and this is the this is the Wikipedia whitewashing. And we can get into the deeper layers of this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But contractors funded by USAID, I should note, the main contractor was Creative Associates International, who's a frequent one. It's CIA, CIA, not CIA. I promise. So they concealed in the budget from Senate, from Congress, from the White House National Security Council. They said that these were humanitarian funds for Pakistan.
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#2272 - Mike Benz
And then they ran that to their contractor, CAI, to, quote, set up a Byzantine system of front companies using Cayman Islands bank accounts and recruiting unsuspecting business executives who would not be told of the company's ties to the U.S. government. according to the AP. Private companies like Creative Associates International designed the network.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But, you know, obviously, it's been a bit surreal seeing the past couple weeks where people are now – I go to my X timeline and I see everyone doing the same exercise that – I gave up everything to be doing eight years ago going into, you know, cause all this stuff is open source. You didn't need to be an inside guy to see this. If you, if you knew where to look, these are USA spending.gov.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The idea arose after they were given 500,000 stolen Cuban cell phones that are available on the black market. And then what you'll see if you scroll down is Okay, the network, dubbed the Cuban Twitter, reached about 60,000 Cuban subscribers.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The initiative appears to also have had a surveillance dimension, allowing a, quote, vast database of Cuban Zunzanillo subscribers, including gender, age, and receptiveness and political tendencies to be built. With the Associated Press noting such data could be used in the future for political purposes. By the way, these are all quotes from the internal documents, and we can go through that.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The data would then be used for micro-targeting efforts towards anti- and pro-government users in Cuba. The developers aimed to at first use non-controversial content such as sports and music and hurricane updates, by the way. They used hurricane updates in the internal documents.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
things, you know, basically a humanitarian front that if you sign up to this app, you'll know about natural disasters in the area. Meanwhile, what was the plan the whole time? Once they built up enough subscribers, they would begin to introduce political messages through social bots and encourage dissent in this astroturfing. There's a great Guardian write-up on this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If you go to Guardian Zunzaneo, so you can see how crazy, just type in Zunzaneo Smart Mob Guardian. You'll see the internal files explicitly said we're going to lure them in with music, sports and hurricane updates. You have to join. You have to join this Twitter in Cuba if you want to be relevant in the culture and see what's trending in sports and music.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If you want to be safe in your homes, if you want to know where hurricanes are going, Twitter, Cuban Twitter is the fastest place to get this. It's humanitarian work for, you know, that's we're saving lives by doing this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But the whole point is once they hit a critical mass, they would create rental riots and and they would use this the same way they used it in Egypt and Tunisia to topple those governments under the Obama administration. They would organize smart mobs, rental riots. And if and if you if you scroll down, there's some you know, this this is a fantastic article. Highly recommend.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
There's a lot more there. But OK, stop right there. Scroll a little bit. OK. Documents show the U.S. government plan to build a subscriber base through non-controversial news content, news messages on soccer, music and hurricane updates. This is in The Guardian.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Later, when the network reached a critical mass, perhaps hundreds of thousands, operators would introduce political content aimed at inspiring Cubans to organize, quote, smart mobs. Mass gatherings called at a moment's notice that might trigger a Cuban spring, or as one USAID document put it, quote, renegotiate the balance of power between state and society.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And, you know, so one more thing, if you want to look up on this, you see how they conceal it. If you just type in USAID, Zunzaneo, and discreet or discreet action, and you'll see how USAID, when this scandal popped off, Everyone said, what the hell? How did this happen? This is classic CIA work. You're using Cayman Islands bank accounts.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You're saying it's you're earmarking it for Pakistan, you know, Pakistani aid. This has clear implications for U.S. statecraft. If this gets busted, this is what the sea is, why we task the CIA to do this plausible liability. Yeah. If something has diplomatic blowback and we don't want U.S. fingerprints on it, we need a formal intelligence agency because there's diplomatic blowback if U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
fingerprints are revealed. So, yeah, just discreet. Yeah. Yeah. Like discreet. Let's see if you scroll down. That third one might do, but if you scroll down, if you put discrete action, it may be put discrete action or discrete covert and action. I believe there's a HuffPo one on this. That's right. Yeah, there you go. Yeah. When is covert action not covert when it's discreet? U.S. aides.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I mean, that's basically what's happened here with the White House's first target being USAID, because USAID opens up the entire world of the blob of the foreign policy establishment and its weaponization of what are supposed to be foreign facing Department of Dirty Tricks operations against domestic opponents.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So basically when this and if you scroll down to the bottom of this, you'll see if you just control F for the word Senate, you'll see. Last week, Elon Musk held an X-Space directly with Senator Joni Ernst, who has been on this crusade to reform USAID accesses.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, I used to joke is the main difference between, or was I think until freedom opened up when Elon acquired X and a few institutional changes began to happen, you know, in, in the government and with, and with Congress, uh,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And there was a really scandalous moment there where Senator Ernst revealed that she was actually threatened by USAID when she tried to get insight into what they were actually doing. If you actually scroll down, if you just do the next the next one, basically what USAID said is, well, it's discrete democracy promotion. So it's you know, we don't need a presidential finding for it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
OK, maybe this is not there. But basically, if if if you control it for the word staff, that might help it, too. But everyone can look this up independently. All this. OK, is that the only. OK. Maybe it's a different article. But basically, Senate staffers and everyone go on YouTube. There was a formal hearing on this for oversight of what happened. And what the staffers said is.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is the staffers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which is supposed to be the thing that reigns in that gives the American people oversight and accountability for USAID gone rogue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what what this what the Senate staffers overseeing USAID said is we had no visibility on this entire operation the entire time because USAID told us if they had to if they had to tell us what we were doing, people could die. This is classic CIA stuff. But the Senate was blocked. And I should note, again, when it's too dirty for the CIA, you give it to USAID.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is why these drug operations and these terrorist operations run primarily through USAID rather than directly at the CIA. The inspector general just two weeks ago put out a report. This is the first time this has been publicly reported. There's been an inspector general at USAID practically from the day it was born. It's supposed to be
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is what Joni Ernst was complaining about, Senator Joni Ernst was complaining about, which was that how can they get away with this? And it's because the inspector general is supposed to hold the agency to account from the inside. But it's an independent agency, so there's limited oversight from the outside. If you have a rogue inspector general, they keep the whole op in-house.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Don't need to tell the executive branch. Don't need to tell the Senate or Congress. run it just like an Ali North, Iran Contra-style, self-sustained, stand-alone, off-the-shelf private enterprise to run covert action on taxpayer dime, but not have it go through the formal approval channels. Well, so basically...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But, you know, I used to joke that USAspending.gov was the main difference during the height of this censorship, you know, total control era was the main difference between us and Russia and China, which was that we have this sort of autocratic control over information and institutions by the U.S. government. So do they.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
What they were doing here, what the OIG report, the Inspector General Report, just published, and the best article on this with the link to it is John Solomon's Just the News, published this, a write-up on it, as well as the source document from the OIG's office. We're just now learning this two weeks ago, despite them doing this activity for 30 years.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It turns out there's a get out of sponsoring terrorism free card at USAID, which is that USAID cannot directly provide funding to terrorist groups, but their contractors are not required under the grant agreements to go through those OFAC style, those counterterrorism financing. If a bank did it, you would go directly to jail. Do not pass go.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Do not have liberty again for the next 20 years of your life. But if USAID does it, it's completely legal right now. And so this is how you have USAID giving. Last week, $122 million to ISIS, we found. They fund all the terrorist groups in Pakistan. They fund the terrorist groups in the Sahel in Africa.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Paramilitary terrorist groups are extremely useful to U.S. statecraft for DOD special operations work as well as for political destabilization work. I'll give you a great example. We'll stay in Pakistan. Osama bin Laden, a peaceful, what was it? A warrior on the road to peace. I remember the puff pieces about Osama bin Laden before. The Mujahideen.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
No, 79, I believe. Oh, 1979. Yeah. If you type in Zbigniew Brzezinski, that's going to be a wallop one to spell live. But if you used to do Zbigniew... Brzezinski, you can go to YouTube and type in Mujahideen and you'll watch him airdrop out of the helicopter and make the exact same speech that John McCain made to the Azov Battalion, the extremist
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
paramilitary faction of ukraine that was banned from getting federal funding uh... you know in uh... twenty fourteen the democrats said they're all nazis but now they're all you know sponsored and get uh... standing ovations from in the halls of congress because now they are geopolitically useful uh... to pump up to capacity build so so so here u.s.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Can you pause for a sec? Notice how he said he wanted to arm the Mujahideen without revealing America's role. The whole point was to pump up this fundamentalist, extremist, terrorist group with the funding and support they need, but without revealing America's role. Hello, USAID. That's the function today, but keep on.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The difference is, is we can go to USAspending.gov and look up how they do it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so when I when I've been going to my X timeline and seeing everybody independently doing that exercise and finding the joy in that, the self-discovery process and being able to share it with people and everybody being able to understand and make sense of the receipts, because, you know, this framework for understanding it has been has been shared and popularized.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That land is yours. Go out there and take it. We'll give you the money. Now, Jamie, if you can pull up one thing, and I'm going to just talk a little bit more about this case while you're pulling this up. You can find this, I believe, on my X feed. I've posted this clip.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But you could also find it searching either X or YouTube of John McCain, and I believe he was with Lindsey Graham, making that exact same speech using the same language. in, I believe it was 2016 or 24, I believe it was 2016, around then, to the Azov battalion folks in Ukraine and to the, you know, to the paramilitaries. It's almost, it's almost word for word. You know, this was...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But let me stick on the Mujahideen thing for a second because this gets back to this fundamental structuring, why USAID is tasked with this. There's a bigger budget than the CIA USAID does. It capacity builds the assets that CIA liaises with. But if the assets aren't there, CIA has no one to tell what to do.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
None of their agents on the ground or case officers can build an action plan unless there are assets on the ground that have money, that have training. that have food, that have shelter, and USAID steps in to build, to put the chess pieces on the board that the CIA can play with.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Interestingly, I should note that the, you know, the CIA gets a copy of every grant that the National Endowment for Democracy makes. This was published in the New York Times in a piece called, you know, Missionaries for Global Pluralism about USAID's top operational arm, NED. But the point I'm getting at here is, Why were we funding terrorists in the 1970s and 80s?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, according to our national security advisor, he's a big new Brzezinski, the grand chessboard, this celebrated apex predator of American statecraft. I think he had a quote that was something like, well, what does arming a few Islamic fundamentalists matter when weighed against the history of America winning the Cold War?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, that this fundamentally destabilized and bogged the Soviet Union down. This was extremely effective. But also, how do we fund the Mujahideen? Well, the Mujahideen is in Afghanistan. They were before they became al Qaeda and ISIS. What asset does Afghanistan have to play with in order to fund its its allies? War network. It's paramilitary network. Well, it's the drug network.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They happen to sit on the, you know, basically the poppy fields that when exploited comprise 95 percent of the world's heroin if you export that. And so the CIA backed State Department, USAID backed. And we can go through receipts of USAID doing the same, you know, drugs for cash for guns work in the 1960s, practically from the day it was born.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But what they were doing is they were taking those poppy harvests and then they were depositing them in CIA proprietary banks like BCCI, the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Everyone can look this up. Or if you want to plug in CIA, BCCI and look at all the mainstream media reporting on this, it was a major, major, major scandal.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It had become one of the world's largest banks and it was basically a CIA front scandal. And it was a Pakistani frontman for this, and it was converting, effectively washing the proceeds of these drugs so that they could be so that the Mujahideen could buy arms. And while the Pakistani militants were being funded and trained in Pakistan and then they go to Afghanistan and.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
conduct military operations against the Russians, who are our stated Cold War enemy. The same thing's happening today, though. If you go on my X-Feed right now, I'm going to show you something related to this and how this still goes on today. USAID has been busted multiple times for actually cultivating the poppy and heroin production in Afghanistan, exactly in Afghanistan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That, to me, has been the goal all along, to be able to give people the language and the frameworks to understand what is so terrifying and necessary to reform, but that's right there in front of your eyes if you only open your eyes to see it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This was actually the inspector. There was one of the adjacent units. I don't think it was directly overseeing USAID, but they published a whole report on this that basically USAID was keeping the poppy production alive by doing what was said to be You know, irrigation and, you know, agricultural sustainability, but targeting it in the in the in the heroin network.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And by the way, remember, the Taliban banned banned poppy production. And it was after that ban that Afghanistan became the source of 95 percent of the world's heroin. So USAID was growing those crops. Now, okay, you can argue, well, hey, maybe it was an accident. Maybe they went rogue.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I want to show you something now from an adjacent USAID network group, which is funded 100% by the US government, created by an act of Congress. If you go to my ex account right now and you type in US Institute for Peace, or you just put in Institute Peace, you'll see this. This organization gets $56 million a year from U.S. taxpayers. Its office is right next to the U.S. State Department.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I literally walk by it. So it's funded by the government. It's accountable to the government. It's accountable to the House and Senate, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Relations. It gets all of its money as a pass-through from the U.S. State Department. Type in, yeah, there you go. Scroll down, scroll down. That one, that one right there, right there. Taliban's successful opium ban. So this is...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
100% top to bottom, a direct organ of the U.S. government. Okay. Click that. Click that. There you go.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This ain't ancient history. This is less than two years ago. This is the State Department saying, yeah, listen, 95% of the world's heroin flows from here. Keep the heroin flowing. It would be an economic disaster. What do you think those drug money, what paramilitary networks, you know, you hear about all these terrorist networks that, like, think about what just happened in Syria with ISIS.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
everyone well actually before i go to that let's let's get back to isis and the difference between the isis foreign policy for the obama biden world and trump i'm going to connect this but uh wait can you pull that back up jamie for a second i just want everyone to see it don't look away stare straight into the sun go to the next next receipt here there you go 2024 budget and brief u.s institute of peace is seeking 20 56 million dollars from u.s taxpayers
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
to promote global peace and security, don't you know, by keeping the 95% of the world's heroin flowing in accordance with its congressional mandate. And then I think I have the next screenshot just showing this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, you always have to invert it, right? When they say peace, it's war, right? So this is war. For example, U.S. Institute of Peace was doing the same thing with the Albanian drug networks that formed a paramilitary fighting squad against the Yugoslavian government as we were overthrowing Slobodan Milosevic. I mean, this stuff goes way back.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I mean, this was created in 1984, somewhat thematic, ironic, you know, by Congress. And again, this was a Ronald Reagan creation. And why I come back to, you know, that thing that just broke the John Bolton hand grenade. Right. The holy hand grenade of Antioch from Monty Python.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It is. It is. You know, we need to make sure that the patient doesn't die, you know, on the operating table just because it's the right move to do the open heart surgery because the patient needs it. doesn't mean that the operation goes well if the operating surgeons don't know the anatomy of the organ they're operating on.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is the, you know, nothing's nothing really gets to the heart of what USAID truly is than the the image of John Bolton proudly declaring that he was the head of policy and budget at USAID and his farewell gift from the agency was a. golden hand grenade with his name carved on it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But, you know, what he said, you know, in that Piers Morgan interview, and I don't know if you, we could play it if you want. Yeah, he wants it off your feed. But, you know, what he said is, listen, it also said proud Reganot. And this is where I come back to this. We're fighting a number of ghosts from our past here. You know, a lot of Republicans are fine with fighting Woodrow Wilson's ghost.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
He was the one who, you know, said, make the world safer democracy and gave us this doctrinal blank check to do soft power infiltration work against every plot of dirt and every foreign citizen in every foreign country on planet Earth gives us. The blank check to be a global empire. OK, a lot of people say, OK, we don't focus on us. You know, Wilson's a bad guy. OK, OK.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But you're also fighting the ghost of Ronald Reagan. You know, I should note that USAID is actually in its headquarters in D.C. is in the Ronald Reagan building. USAID and Ronald Reagan played played the key role in fundamentally creating the restructured policy. blob that we live under after the scandals of the 1970s that the CIA was busted in.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Church committee hearings, heart attack gun, Mockingbird, MKUltra, you know, assassinations, all that stuff. Jimmy Carter got into power in 1976. Carried out the harshest destruction of CIA operations capacity and funding ever in American history. He laid off 30% of the entire CIA operations division in a single day. That was called the Halloween Massacre. Crippled their budget.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Then the Iran hostage situation pops off in, you know, 79. The National Security State argues this wouldn't have happened unless the CIA had its old powers back.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Democrats still hated the CIA at that time because it had been directly interfering in their own domestic politics and trying to thwart factions of them, just like they're doing today against the MAGA movement side of the Republican Party. You know, the universal thump has been passed around in that way. So they couldn't get a legislative bill to do this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So what they did is they restructured the intelligence apparatus, the covert action capacities, and the way our statecraft is done through USAID and the creation of the National Endowment for Democracy to take the baton from what the CIA used to do. But the whole point of it is in tandem. Now, that's why you have these John Bolton at USAID. This is why you have Liz Cheney at USAID.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And this is what we're fighting against as we're reforming this. It's not really a partisan issue as I see it, even though, you know, statistics show there's disproportionate Democrat beneficiaries. But, you know, the real issue is the MAGA movement is fighting the ghost of Ronald Reagan past.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The reason Republicans loved USAID, John Bolton types, Liz Cheney types love it, is because this was our muscle for U.S. Chamber of Commerce multinational companies to pad their profits because ExxonMobil, how many hundreds of billions in the aggregate has ExxonMobil and Chevron benefited from U.S. regime change efforts or U.S. pressure on foreign governments in order to give them access to
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so that I see right now is sort of my prime function is to just teach more and more of the anatomy of the organ so that the people who are operating on The patient, the American homeland, and generally speaking, the American influence and power projection into foreign countries comes out better, smarter, a little bit more honest, and there is a hard...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
to the petroleum in order to do partnerships with those governments we saw that just you know a few years ago as we just went over with joe biden doing the same thing for barisma but so the big the big multinational businesses love this and it was sold as trickle-down economics this is the the reaganite sort of reaganomics and why it's attached to the hip with usaid and why this is something we need to keep in mind as we reform
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
is that the idea was, is look, we do some dirty work abroad. But at the end of the day, that adds profits and revenue for U.S. companies. Those U.S. companies employ U.S. citizens. And they build manufacturing plants in Ohio and in Colorado and New Mexico. And that's what allows you to have 401ks. That's what allows you to have discretionary income.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That's what allows you to afford higher education and houses and a retirement plan. The problem was is as globalization kept a pace through the 90s and 2000s, these same multinational corporations that the Reaganite trickle-down economics used the blob to support the Chamber of Commerce – They don't hire their labor here anymore. They don't have their manufacturing facilities here anymore.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We're not the primary export market for this. So you have U.S. State Department and USAID paying to help the corporate welfare of nominally U.S.-based companies.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But the trickle, it's all being kept within that secular blob of the, you know, the thicket of government officials, equity holders in these corporations, foreign currency speculators, you know, banking on the activity in the region, you know, the banks, financial firms and political insiders. And so it doesn't actually get down to the people anymore.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So you do need to restructure if you're going to keep using this. In order to qualify, you have to have a certain minimal threshold of reinvestment in America, which I'm very happy that Trump is doing by trying to bring all this investment. You know, he saw with Japan and other countries, he's trying to get them double, triple their commitments.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We need to demand that of our own corporations if they want to have a meeting with the Secretary of State or the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, like Pepsi did in the 1970s when we overthrew that, if you want to go there. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, no, not four years. This is a 50-year project. 50-year project. Oh, yeah. There are many fractal layers to this reform process. And every step of the way, there are going to be layers of resistance. I don't think the people who are, look, we should spike footballs. We should pop champagne. We should do a touchdown dance on this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is the first serious time in American history that the foreign policy establishment has had to be accountable to the people who pay for it. Even the church committee. didn't cause the entire shutdown of a federal agency. Didn't lay off, you know, remember I mentioned the Halloween massacre, Jimmy Carter, 30% of the workforce laid off.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We'll try what just happened with USAID, which employs a lot more people than even the CIA did at that time. 99 99 went from 14 000 down to 290 this is in every way symbolically operationally financially the hardest blow the blob has ever had to suffer in terms of accountability and it's only getting way deeper from here because he's only been in office for a month Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, that's why we need to create a legacy and a pipeline of people to carry on these reforms, which is part of my personal struggle here, which is that most people, 99% of people who got involved with the MAGA movement did it because they care about the domestic. They care about, you know, we talked about this, they got because their school curriculum is woke and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
domestic firewall against our foreign-facing dirty tricks, criminal penalties against agencies who go against this, civil penalties so that you can sue both the agencies and the NGOs who are sponsored, maybe with treble damages in a bill from Congress so that if USAID, in whatever form it continues to take, whether that's at the State Department or whether it gets rolled back out into another independent agency, that you could sue the agencies as an individual if you've been
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Because the police allow crime, you know, in the streets and, you know, you know, the infrastructure is crumbling and there's corruption everywhere and no one's held accountable. They don't think about Pakistan. They don't think about Bangladesh. They don't think they don't they don't they don't think about, you know, who's on the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce and, you know, how if they're living in Louisiana or Houston or, you know. Oklahoma, that actually their jobs at ExxonMobil and Chevron sort of depend on these, you know, this strong armed diplomacy that we have with Persian Gulf countries. They don't care about the Persian Gulf. They care about local Oklahoma. And but they have to now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
In order to understand the world they live in, in order to understand what's driving the world around them, in order to understand the actual true face of the characters they thought they've known, they're going to have to become international-minded. They're going to have to become versed in the interplay between the domestic and the international.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
One of the problems when I started out this journey in 2016 is there was no MAGA foreign policy intelligentsia. I could make all of these... I was traveling the country, slideshow presentation after slideshow presentation, talking to every human I could. Even DC insiders in MAGA, you'd show them all of this, and they didn't have a framework for understanding it. They could see...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They could see that the information was true. They could see that this is, you know, formal government documents. These are formal grant outlays to real organizations run by real people with real names and addresses. It's, you know, but. But you'd have to explain the function of every single one of those.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You'd have to explain, for example, that the Pentagon does an awful lot more than kinetic military activity. For example, this is what's coming next, right? President Trump tasked Elon Musk with sicking the doge dogs on the Pentagon. And, you know, depending on how you measure it, the size of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon ranges from a couple hundred billion.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They are the biggest, you know, federal agency in all of this. They have $900 billion budget compared to only $44 billion at USAID. And even less at CIA. But Yahoo Finance published this a couple of years ago, a $35 trillion black hole. If you want to pull up that receipt on screen, just so I don't look like I'm saying this directly myself, but just type in 35 trillion Pentagon black hole.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
that's larger than you know the entire national debt just the amount of just a black hole in the size of the accounting budget of the pentagon uh over the years from its continual uh you know uh failing you know this is on yahoo finance you know this is and this is what 2020 i think uh you have
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
When America was born in 1789 in the first meeting of Congress, there were only three agencies that were created in the beginning of time, shall we say. The first act of Congress was to create the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, and the Department of War.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And the Defense Department became the Department of War in 19... The Department of War became the Department of Defense in 1948. Okay. What people, even now, they're seeing these USAID scandals with funding to the Democrats or funding to some of these blob internationalist Republicans or funding these media institutions.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You ain't seen nothing yet when you get to the Pentagon stuff because USAID was created effectively in part to assist Pentagon activity under humanitarian front. And I talk about this a lot, but I feel that the point is underappreciated. So this is sort of a good moment to go over it. Am I talking too much, by the way? No, perfect. Okay. So everyone, you know, they say. JFK is a martyred figure.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And in the news again this week, obviously, with the new trove of documents and whatnot and Trump's EO around the source of his assassination. But the fact that JFK created
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
um uh created usaid by executive order in 1961 and he is known and loved as a as a martyred figure regardless of who in the end killed him um has given a sort of public imprimatur on usaid as a or usaid as it used to be called and you know uh you know in order to try to make clear that it was not uh you know, an aid organization.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If they've broken that domestic firewall so that there's an incentive at the agency on their own budget to tightly oversee these things, there's so much that can be done to bring this in line in a smarter and more moral and, frankly, more effective way. And that's the task right now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But now now almost even that policy has dropped off as they need to defend it more and more. But so they think, OK, you know, JFK martyred deeply beloved figure. He created USAID. It was sort of out of the kindness of his heart. It was a charity. This was – it was JFK who fundamentally supercharged America's – the American military's small wars capacity. This is the terminology in the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Army War College and special forces around sort of not full-scale conventional wars. They're either small-scale paramilitary skirmishes or insurgency, counterinsurgency. So it's –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And the problem was JFK was bogged down in Vietnam, bogged down in Laos, and the problems that we were fighting against were not the kind of things that you'd have the political predicate after a lot of the disasters of the Korean War in 1950 and the international blowback to having formal DOD boats on the grounds. What he believed was vital and necessary to capacity build and supercharge was
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
was a paramilitary covert capacity for DOD in the warfighting space that the CIA had at that point in the political war space. And this is done through the U.S. Special Forces and through some of its sub-branches, which are psychological operations, civil-military affairs. We can stick with that. But basically, civil-military is...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
When in order to achieve the military objective, the thing that needs to be done is actually something of the civil layer. Like, for example, in order to win the war against Russia right now, NATO believes we need to build the single largest military base in all of NATO.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
On the Black Sea coast of Romania, that points straight out in a line at Crimea and move this base that's under construction is 100% bigger than the biggest current Air Force NATO base in Europe, the Ramstein base in Germany. We're now moving as we speak. There are fighter jets and drones being moved from Germany to Romania.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
As we are building this base, that will be the point of source projection against the Black Sea Navy of Russia, against Crimea in order to turn the tide. Well... That's a military operation, right? The military, the NATO military base against the Russian forces in Crimea. But what is actually the most important strategic objective for the military? It's actually not a military one.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's a civil one. See, there's an election going on in Romania right now. You may have heard about this, the canceled election in Romania with the Georgia skew, this right-wing populist figure who has pledged neutrality in the war. He doesn't want to antagonize America, but he doesn't want to kill the Russians.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
He wants to basically back NATO off and he doesn't want to allow this military base to be made. Well, that is a civil decision by the elected government of Romania decided by the hearts and minds of the voters of the Romanian people. But that civil action will either, in NATO's eyes, win the war or lose the war.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the problem is, is it would kind of be something of a diplomatic incident, shall we say, if NATO rolled in and did, you know, Slobodan Milosevic style air, you know, air strifing of, you know, air strifes against the Romanian parliament building and rolled into, you know, rolled into the Capitol with tanks and troops just because, you know, the president was responding to the damn correct will of the people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So you need another mechanism to. to influence the civil affairs. Enter civil military. This is where you get U.S. aid in this, as well as U.S. aid for psychological operations. For example, I've been playing this clip for months now and showing this U.S. military document from the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. I mean, the special forces, the psychological operations center,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
and Civil Military Training and Recruiting Center at Fort Bragg, the center of our psychological operations. It's called the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Training Center. But USAID does that work.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So, for example, I've been showing a military document from the Biden Mark Milley era published in 2021 about how to plan race riots in Africa in order to in order to stop the construction of a of a port by a foreign government that would allow their force projection into the Atlantic Ocean. In a sample scenario where the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
ambassador tries to get this West African country on the Atlantic coast there to cancel the port construction in partnership with the foreign government, but that government doesn't want to do it. And so they refuse the U.S. ambassador. They refuse the State Department. So this is literally in the planning guide and pitch book for the U.S. Special Forces. It's available online right now.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Everyone can look this up. It's all over my X feed. I post the link a million times and all the screenshots online. But they show the role of special forces.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They're pitching this basically to, you know, to get more grant funding that that we can help a near peer competition, actually, with these with foreign countries by having special forces destabilize the country, inflame racial tensions between the Africans who work in the factories and the business owners of the foreign government in the local regional development.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Uh, cause mass walkouts and strikes. But if you want to pull this on screen, I can, you know, if you see, you know, I can just show you these two, these two things. Um, if you just go to my X feed and, um, uh, you can type in rent rights or you just type in, uh, you know, just type in USAID job fairs. or USAID job.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And you'll see in this scenario, they talk about the interagency coordination between defense, diplomacy, and development. All the roles, yes, if you do USAID job, you can pull it up. And what they propose is that as they are inflaming these racial tensions to cause these riots and boycotts of the local businesses, that... USAID would play the role of swooping in. Yeah, go ahead, click those.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I can show you the source documents and everything. It's all over. So IWC, for example, is Information Warfare Center at Fort Bragg. Again, they're in West Africa. Now, this is a sample scenario with a hypothetical African country. And I don't want to belabor this. I'm not trying to cause an international incident by saying this.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm just trying to get the American people insight into why you are going to find USAID fingerprints all over Pentagon operations. And no one's going to have known about it before because you park it at USAID. The military doesn't have to tell the president what they're actually doing. This is why, for example, you had the fight over ISIS.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And we can get to this right after this, but we'll get to how... how the U.S. military duped Trump through these things, constantly playing shell games with the numbers in Syria, for example. You'll see, you know, what the Information Warfare Center did is, you know, they saw a sign along the road for this port construction. And they say the plan is we need to buy the ambassador more time.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
because this port is going to be, they're going to close on it. And we need to give the ambassador more leverage at the negotiating table. So this is a support operation for the State Department in order to secure an agreement from the African government to shut the port down. But right now, the ambassador doesn't have the smoke, doesn't have the clout, doesn't have the leverage.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Right. Well, this gets to the fundamental heart of the breach of the social contract that this thing was always set up to do. You know, it was really set up in 1948 when George Kennan created this NSC 10-2, this national security contract. We completely reoriented the structure of the American empire in 1948 after World War II. In 1947, we passed something called the National Security Act.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the military will come in and provide that leverage by destabilizing the country, inflaming longstanding friction between the African workers and the foreign corporations, popping off protests and then using their swarm army of terrorists.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Internews, USAID, you know, the social media campaign and media articles to that are led actually in the background by the Information Warfare Center at Fort Bragg to illuminate the controversy to a global audience. Right. This caused international financial pressure and sanctions on them. But if you go to the next slide. And here we go, USAID. So this is, again, U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
military document 2021 Biden administration. To make sure this thing really pops off, USAID is going to swoop in, along with other NGOs, to establish job fairs near the protest areas so that when so that when these racially inflamed African workers. want to take to the streets.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They don't need to worry about losing their careers at those companies they just went on strike at because they're going to be on U.S. taxpayer dime, baby. It's going to be U.S. truck drivers, median income, you know, forty five, fifty thousand dollars a year. paying for striking African workers to get no-show jobs as a part of a race riot operation for the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Special Forces to give leverage to the U.S. State Department ambassador in order to stop a random port construction in West Africa.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So it's effective. And this is where, I don't know if you want to take a breather and pivot to something lighter, but this is where it starts to get really, really nasty because there are layers to this that I see, but because I'm not an insider, I don't have access to the inside government documents, I don't have subpoena power at Congress,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Someone has to has to get an answer on some of these questions. And I was going to talk about the connection of this to, you know, the rent riots. I should say formally, we don't know that the rent rights formally the riots that popped off in this country happened.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
In 2020, and that I see as one of the main ways that the blob may be able to regain leverage here in the United States in the years ahead. Right now, they're doing lawfare. They're trying to mend... They're a little bit impotent right now because their coalition is very fractured. Many of the stalwart international Republicans have gone full MAGA.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the bipartisan consensus on this is weaker than it was. And then probably most... most difficult for them there's a bit of a civil war happening even within the democrat party because of all the bad blood between the biden camp and the kamala harris camp i mean you need a unified network on the democrat side to pull this off and you had joe you know joe biden was
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
soft coot out of office by his own party and you have half the democrat party who was in by it was a very contentious long drawn out process joe biden put on a mega hat actually asked one of those union workers i believe he was one of those people at that event for the mega hat to put on and that was a that was quite a how about jill biden wearing a red dress when she went to vote Yeah. Yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And when Joe Biden walked out at that White House press conference to announce that Donald Trump had won the election the day before, people go back and watch that. I have never seen Joe Biden smile harder in my life.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Right, right. And Obama was was backing the Kamala, you know, sort of, you know, ouster of Biden. So when they were all united in this bipartisan, you know, blob network, and the Democrats were completely cohesive, and a full half of the Republican Party was he was internationalist, you could get this buy in, for example, it was easy to synchronize the US Chamber of Commerce with
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That's what established the CIA. That's what established the National Security Council, which coordinates all of our foreign-facing empire management work. It renamed the Department of War to the Department of Defense so that it didn't look like we were. You know, acquiring territory by military force, which had just been banned under international law, under the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
the AFL-CIO with the union street muscle. The way, so USAID
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
you know just back back at this whole usa truman show and i didn't like i say this ever there is no nothing you can tell me that is not affected by by the usa truman show you want to talk about the music industry i can i tell you about usa's complete infiltration of the music industry how so oh my gosh okay so and maybe i can show you receipts on screen here for for a second um
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Do you want to – we'll start with an easy one because it's directly connected to what we were just talking about with Zunzaneo in Cuba. So if you go to – this is Max Blumenthal's outlet. It's called Grey Zone News. And again, I'm not trying to beat up on our foreign policy establishments. foreign policy on Cuba or way into that, but this is how the sausage is made.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And you're going to see a million examples of this in a second of this, but, but go to, go to just type in on Google, like, or any search engine, gray zone news, Cuban rappers, USAID. And, you know, you'll see this and, and, you know, these are basically,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
sponsored hip hop artists to write, you know, to, to do revolutionary hip hop, to appeal to, to appeal to the Afro Cuban community who the national down for democracy had identified as being, um, a demographic. See, every time we do these operations, USAID, the NGOs, they'll, they'll submit what they call baseline assessment or strategic assessment to the state department where they will do, um,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
where they will do a demographic segmentation of all the demographics in the country, who's pro us, who's against us in the region. And then they will micro-target the grants in the capacity building to capacity build the burning ember to turn it into a flame. So for example, and just so you see this, but you can go to the CIA World Factbook right now. This is just a public facing cia.gov.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You can type in a random country like Burma on just CIA World Book Burma. You'll see that we keep meticulous tabs on the the racial distribution, the religious distribution, the gender distribution, the you know, the the heteronormative versus LGBT, LGBT, LGBT one. This is why USAID and NED were were backing and supporting Pussy Riot in Russia, you know, to do these sort of insane things.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
you know, sort of feminist LGBTQ-styled left-wing street riots. This is what they, you know, cause this international incident. You can see all the USAID, NAD stuff on them. Pussy Riot is the music industry. And go to YouTube and look at their music videos if you want to see what state-sponsored music looks like. But in the Cuba case, You know, they were – NED had published this document.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
NED is the operations arm of USAID, and they get a ton of their grants through it, and they're a companion star. Said, okay, all of our previous attempts to overthrow the Cuban government failed. Well, you know, something like 60% of the Cuban population is Afro-Cuban. They're radically underrepresented in the Cuban government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so we moved from primarily kinetic warfare into what George Kennan called just two months before he created the plausible deniability doctrine that we live under. He called this organized political warfare. And he has a great memo from April 30th, 1948. It's just 12 days after the CIA's first operation, first time it ever overthrew or rigged the election of a foreign government.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They have their own grievances around policing issues and around representation issues. And they even noted in the document that that demographic – and I'm not saying this, Ned is saying this – in Cuba is disproportionately drawn to drugs, influenced by rap music, and suffers from overwhelming amount of youth unemployment. And so capacity building those desperate networks –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Capacity building, the anti-addiction programs will get you into the drug networks. Doing job fairs and getting these people on U.S. payroll will alleviate their pain points on employment. And they're predominantly listening to hip-hop, so we need to work with them. I believe the group is a San Ysidro. And I'm not beating up on it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You can make an argument that that I'm not weighing in on whether this is good or bad. But the American people have to know this because this gets played on their radio stations in Miami. This gets, you know, art testimonials to this are at, you know, Art Basel in Miami every year.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And this is the Truman Show around you, but you can read that Grey's Zone report, for example, or write up on that, on all the USAID funding, all the meetings with the U.S. ambassador and Western Hemisphere assistant secretary folks, how the whole thing was. You can talk about musicians like Dua Lipa. You're familiar with Dua Lipa?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, you know, Don't Stop Now. You know, she's, you know, a million of these great hits. Fantastic musician. I'm a big fan on the music side. Dua Lipa won the Distinguished Leadership Award, I forget if it was last year or the year before, from the Atlantic Council. The Atlantic Council.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That's the same organization that we played on screen during our first conversation where we went over the Atlantic Council, you know, holding up I call people. bullshit placards, BS, uh, and looking at Trump tweets and training hundreds of journalists for how to flag and censor him saying tweets like witch hunt or Brexit slogans for, you know, cheaper healthcare.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Uh, the, the Atlanta council who has seven CIA directors, seven former number one heads of the CIA on its board of directors that gets direct grant funding from the Pentagon, the state department and USAID. Uh, The Atlantic Council, who had a formal partnership agreement with Burisma, I should note, signed on January 19th, 2017, one day before Trump became the U.S. president.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Why the heck would they give Dua Lipa a distinguished leadership award? Well, she's ethnic Albanian and has activities in Kosovo. But I'm not trying to cause an international incident when I say this. But her messaging around the...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
um the post yugoslavia breakup uh balkan states and a lot of the geopolitics around serbia right now the u.s state department has been pursuing as well as u.s aid and to whatever extent you may or may not be there you know the the civil military arm of of the u.s military um uh
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I believe, and I'm not privy to any inside information, this is my reading of the tea leaves that I've been laying out before everyone, is not very happy with the government of Serbia. And they want that Serbian government, people in the Serbian government arrested, indicted, and put through a process that they call transitional justice.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Transitional justice is the idea that when you transition a country, when you overthrow its government or you pump up your favorite political party to win the election, it transitions from democracy – from autocracy to democracy or it transitions from illiberal democracy to genuine democracy. It's a turnover of government. And and we have doctrine.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We have a whole field of scholarship at the State Department at USAID and that is carried out in covert ways through civil military DOD and at CIA called transitional justice, which is weaponizing the Justice Department and creating the. criminal predicate to eliminate your political adversaries you just narrowly vanquished in a nail-biter vote in order to stop them forever rising to power again.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This was the April 1948 election in Italy that pitted a pro-Western, A pro-Western candidate against a sort of pro-Soviet candidate. And so the U.S. State Department felt it was essential to hit the scales of that election because it showed that the pro-Soviet candidate was winning 60 to 40.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And I'll show you some great receipts on this so that everyone can see this with their own eyes. But before I do, let me just flesh this out for a second, which is that every regional desk at the State Department or in the USAID portfolio has to compete every year for their budget.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They have to fight for their lives because the people, you know, who are at the regional desks around Kyrgyzstan and, you know – Georgia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, they're competing in the budget for what's going to Western Hemisphere, what's going to Argentina and Brazil and Colombia, and they're competing against sub-Saharan Africa.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the cheaper it is to manage the political vassalage of a country, the better. They may have had to ask for a lot more money in the budget, one-off in election year, to run that money through Democracy International or through CEPS or any number of USAID or NAD programs to fund the political party they want to win.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But they can't keep that – they were only given that money because it was a special – they're not necessarily going to be able to get that the next time around. And they'll be able to spend money on other soft power goals in the region if they don't have to worry about the other party rising again. Or doing what Trump just did, you know, winning, then losing, then winning again.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so transitional justice is a whole field at state and in the NGO plex to to make it cheap to manage the course of and result of foreign elections by making sure anyone who's a serious challenger to you ends up in jail. And I'm just going to show you something because it's now in the news.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Elon Musk this week tweeted out about a horrible situation where someone from the PIS, the Law and Justice Party in Poland, I believe is now facing arrest for clicking the like button on a social media post.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
What was the post? I don't actually know what the post was.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I played the fan. I don't know. But the fact is... Poland plays, and I've been saying this forever, and this may be too far afield for the narrow topic of discussion today, but Poland plays an absolutely huge, probably the linchpin role in all of Eastern Europe with everything that's happening with Ukraine, because the whole play was to kill Russian gas.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And and then you need an alternative gas supply into Europe to offset that. And there's only two ways to do that. One is Ukraine builds up its own gas infrastructure and exploits its endogenous, you know, hydrocarbon supply, which it has a lot of. It's the third largest in Europe, but it's unexploited, underexploited.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
No. In fact, I think we're at the tip of the iceberg. And what people are going to see on this is going to completely reorient their mental map of how they think the world works, how they think American power projects into the institutions. And I think the calls for reform are going to get louder and louder.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Unfortunately, they can't do that right now because Russia reconquered that exact territory in eastern Ukraine that those.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The only other way to do that is through exporting LNG, you know, liquefied natural gas from North America, you know, from the Permian Basin or whatnot in Houston, freezing it, shipping it, you know, 7,000 miles across the Atlantic up through the Baltic Straits through these newly built ports.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is all declassified and all the major people who were involved in that operation have all come out and said this publicly. But so, you know, basically we threw together this ramshackle effort to tilt that election by pumping in propaganda, by using charities and churches as fronts to funnel money into the pro-Western political party.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, routing terminals into Poland and the terminals there and then routing it there into Slovakia and Ukraine and Central Europe and on from there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, well, that's interesting because that has to do also with the economics of it. You don't want too much supply because then the profits of the corporations, they're selling it for less margin as the supply goes up. But yeah, the LNG fight is the major one in the energy space, but it's much more expensive for LNG.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
That process, liquefication, transport, deliquefication, transport back is way cheaper than just taking it out of the ground and putting it in a pipeline straight to the customer. So the European countries don't want to do this. They don't... Or at least... until they were strong-armed.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what the State Department and NATO have done is they've selectively bred and financed and politically supported all of the European political parties and candidates who have vowed to basically go forward with this plan and put their country through an energy diversification policy and buy this expensive LNG, which has skyrocketed, as you know, the profits of many of these Western exporters.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So again, there's an argument. Maybe that's in U.S. interests. If there was that trickle down. But we'll leave that aside. But the point is, is Poland basically is a veto right on this whole plan, because if if the poll, if the Poland government says, hey, you know what? We don't want to antagonize the Russians. The Russians may actually attack us.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, this is this is provocative because this is in tandem with the plan to cut off Gazprom. Also, we don't want to become a political vassal state of the U.S. or the U.K. or NATO. And this is what was starting to happen with the law and order, you know, law and justice P.I.S. party in Poland.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And so this whole network, the Atlantic Council Network, was backing to the full hilt Donald Tusk, who became the prime minister of Poland in, I believe, December 2023. With that context, Jamie, can you pull on screen? I just re-upped these receipts. I've been posting this for months, but this is very – everyone should see this with their own eyes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Because this gets back to OCCRP and state-sponsored media to prosecute people. This gets back to the role of the USAID. the capacity building, the networks around prosecutors here in the U.S., the U.S. aid capacity building, the prosecutor networks. And we should get to that on Brazil. But let's can we start here with Poland? We kind of like bypass the whole music industry. Oh, my God.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We've just we've just started on that. OK, here's an easy one. Look up the U.S. Music Diplomacy Program.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Well, that's the issue is because there's this interplay. So first, I'll get back to the Dua Lipa Atlantic Council thing. So again, essentially, she's calling out human rights abuses from these Balkan governments with a family pedigree and popularity in Kosovo and other places that are hugely in the geopolitical crosshairs right now. And so and I'm not saying whether it's good or bad.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Again, I'm not even weighing in on, you know, the the humanitarian abuses or whatnot. What I'm saying is, is it's it's music as an instrument of statecraft. Dua Lipa is this is the the U.S. military, the State Department, USAID, seven CIA directors, the Burisma networks, because, you know, she's got. Tens of millions of social media followers, people who are diehard follower concerts.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, we piped in, you know, the Greg Garbo movies and whatnot. We worked with some very unseedy, very seedy elements of Italian society there. We worked with the mafia and we worked with mafia connected unions because these were all assets for the War Department. during World War II because Mussolini was cracking down on them.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
She's an international superstar and her public support for calling out human rights abuses by these Balkan governments that are in the crosshairs of the U.S. State Department. makes it easier to prosecute those political figures, just like with the OCCRP publishing hit pieces for hire. These people become less popular because the people who love Dua Lipa have to sort of hate those U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State Department enemies. This has been going on forever, okay? Jazz diplomacy. The State Department was doing this with black African jazz musicians to win the soft power war against against the Soviet Union in Africa in the 1940s.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State Department's working with Louis Armstrong and most of the major jazz musicians because Russia, the Soviet Union, was making the argument in these newly sovereign, independent African countries who had to pick a side in the great power competition that America was racist. America discriminates against African-Americans. There's there's all this, you know.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
you know, upward mobility limitations. There's, you know, there's no legal, you're underrepresented in the government. the Marxist socialist egalitarian concept of communism will liberate you from the racial inequalities of Western imperialist capitalism. And so to offset that, we did jazz diplomacy. You can pull this up on screen as I talk about this, Jamie, just so you see.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is on state.gov. You can look up this whole history, I'm telling you. And look up, you know, U.S. State Department jazz diplomacy and just
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Louis Armstrong initially pushed back on it though he said the way they're treating my people in the south the government can go to hell yes well many of them did or had a complicated relationship with it but you can I mean you can look up everyone like you know for example they targeted you know other you know African-American musicians who were you know who are using their platform who's the guy who sings Old Man River Paul oh my god why am I blank on the name Dizzy Gillespie
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, Dizzy Gillespie had the first State Department sponsored tour. Okay, but we've, this is every, John, I'm telling you, it's every single genre of music. Is it rap music as well? Oh my God, rap music. Can I tell the evolution from jazz to classical to rock music to rap? Sure. So, yeah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
In the 1950s and 60s – and again, Jamie, you can just follow along as I'm saying all this if you want to put it on screen – there was a big classical music. Shostakovich and other Russian, Soviet classical composers were more popular in Europe than American ones were. And these were big aristocratic concerts and elites, and they would be listening to Russian music.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, they'd be listening to Russian music and getting to know more Russian culture. And that would that would come. Money would flow into the institutions. Prestige would. And so to combat that, the CIA backed front group. And this is all public, public and known. It's called the Congress for Cultural Freedom. sponsored American classical musicians to travel abroad.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the War Department had a relationship with these organized criminal networks to serve as a beachhead against Mussolini. But we kept those relationships in order to run this pro-democracy regime change thing.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They are sponsored classical music concerts in Rome and in Paris and in Germany in order to promote pump up and sponsor and have, you know, our classical musicians be more predominant in distribution or basically, you know, dominate, you know, what at the time were effectively, you know, the airwaves in Europe in order to do that. We did the same thing with rock music.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, for example, I mentioned Pussy Riot and Pussy Riot being backed by USAID and NED in 2012 in in Russia. But also look at the the German rock music scene that, you know, in we were sponsoring these protest rock anthems against authoritarian governments worldwide. all over the Iron Curtain throughout the Cold War.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And in fact, we were sponsoring them basically right up against the side of the Berlin Wall as we were taking it down. Everyone right now can go on YouTube.com and watch the documentary called Taking Down a Dictator, which is an in-depth pro-regime change. I think it was PBS who produced it. This is U.S. government-funded media.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
where it has in-depth interviews with all of the architects of the color revolution against Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s, working with a group called Oatpour, which received $72 million of U.S. taxpayer funding in order to pump up their political operations. Again, I'm not weighing in on whether it was good or bad. You know, I leave it to the audience to make their own determination.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But you can see how even in that effectively state-sponsored documentary.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We're going to have. Yeah, we're going to have a lot more on that when we get to the rap program, because they just sponsored 22 rappers and hip hop artists from around the world to personally come to the State Department and be trained in youth engagement and democracy mobilization in their countries and art as activism. 22 rappers from Cameroon, Algeria, France.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So in 1948, when we established the secrecy doctrine that we now live under, all these NGOs work under this cover effectively because of their sponsoring organizations, USAID or CIA or state organizations. And he called it the inauguration of organized political warfare.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We'll pull that up as we get to it. But coming back to the – I think we were on the rock music side of it. They were sponsoring this protest rock. I just lost my thread for a second. I felt like I was –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Weird scenes inside the canyon. Yeah. Yeah. I think it would benefit greatly from a lot of the stuff that I'm laying out now to see how these things had a foreign purpose for pumping up a domestic scene and why you see these military interlinkages with all these music promoters For example, you know, they sent you in that Gray's own article I recommended on in Cuba.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, they they USAID ran that operation to sponsor protest rap music through through.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
people a contractor posing as music promoters in cuba you know basically looking at these local rap groups and saying we can make you an international star baby you know type type thing and then they get radio distribution and this is how you see these bono types and sting types who are at every single save ukraine conference again not even weighing in on the substance of it you know that you want distribution you use you know you use as a background and
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'd be remiss if I didn't say this, even though I know that this is going to cause a lot of headlines. But here's a great example of this. The NATO Psychological Operations Planning Center in Riga, Latvia in 2019. And you can pull this on screen if you type in Taylor Swift, NATO, or you type in, you know, what was it? trained, trained to share messaging or just trained, trained messaging.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And, uh, and, and I, this was a big news cycle. There was a huge controversy around it. Uh, a lot of people misreported it by, uh, by closing the loops on things that were, that I, that I didn't say. Um, but that are open questions about what really happened, which, which is, you know, this sort of Taylor Swift as an instrument state graph. And the example I give here is, um,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And what he said is we need to create a covert apparatus to hide what we do from the rest of the world to do secret political warfare on the low. And the problem is the American people are not going to like this. The American people do not understand the intricacies of international relations. They think there's always an easy political cure-all.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And if you pull this up on screen, if just, you know, Jamie, you'll see this and have it all underlined. This is a public YouTube right now on NATO's formal website, the Western Military Alliance. They set up this psychological operations, strategic communication cell to do Internet censorship and information operations out of after Crimea and Riga, Latvia.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And in 2019, they held a conference there about. How to use AI scanning technology to map out narrative distribution networks on social media, Facebook, Twitter, whatnot. And there's three people who are at this thing. One of them was 77th Brigade from from British intelligence who are presenting to NATO. One of them started their career in the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And one of them was put in the description is someone who worked at it was part of the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs school. But then that actually was announced on the panel and. you know, according to their LinkedIn was actually working at the time for Grafica, which is the which does this Internet censorship, they get seven million dollars from the Pentagon.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They were incubated. They were they had they were formerly incubated inside the Pentagon's Minerva Initiative, which is the Psychological Operations Research Center of the Pentagon. When the Pentagon wants to do psychological operations in Africa or in Central Asia, they turn to the thought leadership, the sort of policy planners who pitch ideas about, well, you know, these tactics work.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So, for example, one of the Minerva Initiative grants, not to Grafka, this group, but to others, because theirs was for Russiagate stuff, you know, sort of psychological operations, you know, stuff around fighting the hearts and minds war against Russia, but Grafka. But, you know, others in the cohort were...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
how to secure citizen buy-in after a crisis event in order to make people trust their government against when we topple the government and people think it's a coup. I mean, basically how to get people to trust their government when they're skeptical of it. And then you turn around and see Grafica was partnered with The Atlantic Council, as well as the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Department of Homeland Security, to censor the 2020 election and partnered with our own NIH to censor COVID. But the fact is, all three people on this panel were involved or had a career at one point in intelligence work. And specifically, you know, at least with two of them, psychological operations. And on screen, Jamie, if you can find it, I think you're going to see it.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You're going to save us both a lot of headache because everyone will just see it right there in red underline on a YouTube video everyone can pull up right now. Let me know if you're having trouble finding it. Just trained to spread, maybe. And I'll have this my time. But it literally has a pitch to NATO.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And they think there's a fundamental difference between peace and war. And what he proposed is and this is just two months before this before this would formally be given to the CIA to do. But at the time, what he said was this was this work gangbusters in Italy. We need to replicate this everywhere. We need to create a capacity to do black propaganda, to do economic sabotage, demolition.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah, if you just type in – if you just go to my XFeed and you just hit the search bar and you type in Taylor Swift.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Oh, no. My XFeed is the best way to search it. But it has a picture on that slide deck where, again, this is psychological operations planners pitching to NATO, the Western World's military alliance. And the slide has a picture of Taylor Swift, and it basically says something like – and when the receipt's on the screen, you'll read it directly. It says –
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You know, example of, you know, celebrities who can be trained to spread desired messaging. I think that was the exact phrase trained to spread desired messaging. And she and the presenter goes over the drawbacks of this and how and, you know, what we need to decide.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So the moral efficacy of this, but basically saying that, you know, Taylor Swift has worked in various things before that have been empirically shown to move the needle on government initiatives. For example, her get out the vote campaign. you know, her get out the vote work, increase the vote, her public health campaign stuff, bought by in there. Well, don't, that video has a lot of cursory.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Okay, yeah, pause right there. Okay, no, no, no, no, scroll up, scroll up. Right there, pause right there. And if you, you see that goal, identify key actors to train and spread desired messaging. This is on NATO's, we pay for NATO. We paid for this to be pitched. Now, here's where some of this story got misreported.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I don't know that anyone from NATO directly reached out to Taylor Swift or her campaign to do that. And if they did, this would not be formalized in a formal Pentagon grant or quid pro quo. But I should note, look at who the biggest sponsor of South by Southwest is in Texas now. It's the military. Go ahead and look up the scandal if you want about South by Southwest Pentagon funding.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They've taken over the music industry because it's hearts and minds work. Okay, I guess that just happened in 2024. Let's see. If you go to, okay, so this has caused so much problems for the past couple of years that I guess they're now reforming this. But if you run a Boolean search for before 2024, you'll see this. But basically the Pentagon, or if you scroll down, maybe it might be right there.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
So it caused this big boycott because the Pentagon, in tandem with this music diplomacy program and these U.S. aid backing of these things... Okay, well, that's a U.S. Army in Palestine one, but you'll see the numbers on this. Basically...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
The Pentagon moves into this, and just like they were giving Dua Lipa the awards, just like they're working with Pussy Riot, just like they have 22—in fact, you can look this up if you want the State Department Music Diplomacy Program, 22 rappers, hip-hop. you'll see, again, these people become network nodes. They become assets to play with.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And, you know, an incredible example of this that I hesitate to discuss here because I know that the organization that these documents leaked from is contesting, you know, these documents. But there's... There's evidence to suggest the same play around recruiting the hip-hop artists in Cuba. Here you go. Breakdancing news. Diplomacy meets hip-hop as 22 artists visit the U.S., OK, this is the U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
State Department. We are paying to recruit them as assets. So when they go and you go and look at the country list, if you want, look how far and wide this is to the edges of the earth. You know, you know, Mongolia, Cameroon, you know, there's a whole there's a whole thing here. But basically. It was protest rock. It was protest rap in Cuba for that USAID operation. It was protest rap.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
There's language, for example, in this Gray Zone report around Bangladesh, and I'll leave it to the current fight between them and the National Endowment for Democracy about the nature of those documents. But
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
yet those documents that grid that the gray zone published have to wrap songs in bangladesh that that have lines like they were designed uh... to inspire anti-government act uh... uh... uh... sentiment into uh... into promote uh... street protests and uh... and political reform i mean it literally writing rap albums to get people to take to the streets and pull off the exact right that the state for wants to destabilize the country
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
There's a whole list of what's authorized under NSC 10-2. And and what he says is the American people are not necessarily going to like this. And we're going to need to effectively hide what we do from them, because if they find out, then the rest of the world finds out. If we're trying to run an operation in Eurasia and we report this in U.S. news, well, then any person in Eurasia who reads U.S.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And music penetrates. I mean, they got really attached to this during the Cold War and in the 1980s because it's – and in fact, in those documents, they talk about how sponsoring individual artists is actually sometimes a lot more effective because they do art and activism. While they're doing – they're putting on these festivals, they're promoting an agenda at the festivals.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
while they are putting these, you know, songs on radio distribution and supercharging, you know, their brand, those songs have themes and messages about taking down authoritarian governments and the people got to rise up. And, you know, we have to represent the will of the people.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
We have to, you know, end poverty, you know, and then they'll make the argument it's the government's fault that there's poverty. We have to end it. Racial or gender inequality. And then the State Department or USAID will be working through its demographic segmentation with those exact groups. This is another reason we've been pumping up these feminist groups and these LGBT groups.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If you want, for example, you can pull up the WikiLeaks CIA red cell memo that showed how the CIA pitched to the State Department in the during the Afghanistan war. that uh... the best way to shore up additional funds from european parliaments is to is to transition states media uh... octopus messaging from a national security predicate for uh... for the war to a uh... to a feminism
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And a women's empowerment won because of field work and polling from the Central Intelligence Agency around Europe showed that European parliaments and voting demographics felt, it said on surveys that they were more willing to give money or wanted to give more money from their own government coffers, their own taxpayer funds to the war in Afghanistan.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
If it was about stopping repression against women or if it was about giving women more rights in the society and whatnot. And so that that was because the CIA loves feminism. Now, this was a cold, calculated instrument of statecraft. to shift the messaging, and then also to work with these exact groups who have that cleavage point ax to grind against their country as part of the mobilizations.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's how you see a lot of these women's marches and women's protests, or you see a lot of these sort of protected class ones, because that also gets you the human rights, you know, predicate to add sanctions and other, you know, protected speech measures. Like this is why the State Department pushed Facebook to put hate speech provisions in place to stop hate speech against the Rohingya.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I don't have a good record, you know, in the 80s and 90s. There's a lot of strange things there, and I want to tell you what I really feel. It is highly controversial, though, and I...
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
news now knows about it. And so that was authorized at the time with simultaneous with the Smith-Munn Act, which I'm not. Are you familiar with the Smith-Munn Act?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
I'm not sure with everything else that we're covering and some of the other things that I, you know, I'd like to be able to just hit before the conversation concludes about, about us AIDS control and influence over prosecutors. And an example in Brazil, since I know that a lot of people in Brazil want to get to Brazil. Okay. Yeah. Um, I'm going to get in a lot of trouble if I say this, uh,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
When you read that National Endowment for Democracy, oh, we didn't do the Poland one. Can we circle back to this in one second? Yes. Just because this really is an appropriate international incident to talk about this here. If you go to my X feed and you just type in search Poland or the word PIS as a one-off, or you can just scroll down. You'll see I re-upped it earlier this morning.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
You're going to see the National Endowment for Democracy's in-house journal called the Journal of Democracy. Again, the NED is this CIA front group. The New York Times reported the CIA gets a copy of every grant that they make. Their own founders say that the CIA got in trouble for sponsoring democracy.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
uh pro-democracy groups around the world in the 1960s and that's why we don't do it anymore and that's why the national endowment was created uh basically to take the baton from the cia during that transition between carter anti-cia and and reagan pro-cia this was the compromise between left and right and that that's why they have two political cores ira and ndi but can you pull that back up
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Okay. USAID's partner in operations arm, National Endowment for Democracy, has been specifically demanding Donald Tusk's government in Poland must find ways to arrest high-ranking members of the PIS party in order to, quote, stamp out populism. They wrote this the first month in office. So, and again, you'll see this is responding to someone facing three years for flagging votes.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now, let's click on this. And again, we pay as taxpayers for the production of National Endowment for Democracy's in-house journal, the Journal of Democracy. So can you can you zoom out to zoom out a little bit when you see this? Yeah. Perfect. How to dismantle a liberal democracy. So, again, NATO was at war with the PIS party.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
They wanted more cooperation on security, on economic issues, whole other can of worms. They wanted Donald Tusk, the pro EU pro super pro NATO candidate to win. He wins. The month he takes office, this is December 2023, National Endowment for Democracy, the CIA publishes this think piece, how to dismantle in a liberal democracy.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
And again, I think formally, you know, what's published here is supposed to, you know, not technically, it's published in the NED publication. It doesn't mean it's NED foreign policy, but this is what they're publishing and you're paying for. So they're saying, listen, it's not an autocracy in Poland. Unfortunately, we can't call it a dictator like Putin or the CCP.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Yeah. What was done then under Obama was the effective repeal of it. It was called the Smith Modernization Act.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's democracy because the people voted for it and they won fair and square. But it's a liberal democracy because the democratic institutions, don't you know, are not having their way. But here's what it says. Poland may be saying on its first steps in, quote, stamping out populism and holding those responsible for the worst violations of rule of law. That means the criminal justice system.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Now get to the next one. Next slide. Poland's new government must therefore do more than just return to liberal democracy. It must address transitional justice, the same thing, which is all over every USAID operation. It has to arrest the people from the government we just transitioned from.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Prime Minister Tusk and his coalition must, again, not should, not maybe should consider, maybe if there's something there, must stabilize the political system. I mean, ensure the reign against losing in the next election. To ensure that populism does not return in the next election. Donald Trump is a populist president. Bolsonaro is a populist president. Marine Le Pen is populist in France.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Matteo Savini is populist in Italy. This is State Department and USAID policy everywhere. And this is part of the can of worms that's going to have to be unwoven here.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But this is a direct order that in order to make sure you win the next election and we don't need to keep funding you or projecting our lending our soft power apparatus to prop you up, arrest these people so they can't run against you again. Go to the next one. Can you zoom out?
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
But the modernization got rid of the whole purpose of it, the firewall, because at the time, the media and media control was seen as the linchpin crux of winning the Cold War, piping in pro-US media influence so that – because everything moved after World War II from kinetic warfare and military occupation.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
It's not just telling them that you must do it if you want to get USAID support like the, you know, the Ukraine, you know, Ukraine Burisma loan type thing. But here's what it says. The new government should therefore focus attention on whether and how suspected criminals can be punished. At present, there are a number of cases that should be tried immediately. The chutzpah, the frigging chutzpah.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
This is a foreign country. As far as the Polish people's people are concerned, this is a foreign government. It's foreign CIA front apparatus imploring their own elected government about which citizens there that they need to arrest those citizens and even giving them the list of targets.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
Imagine if the Russian Ministry of Affairs sent Donald Trump said, not only do you have to, you know, arrest people,
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2272 - Mike Benz
the remnants of the of the kamala harris joe biden campaign but we're giving the list of target names here's who pam bondi the attorney general must file criminal indictments against this is an international incident again technically i believe what's published here is not they're not supposed to be you know does not represent it's like retweets are not endorsements but you're paying for this organization you're paying for this journal and this is what they're publishing as a command to a foreign country
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2197 - Mike Baker
Hey, Joe, it's the replacer. Yeah. No, you. Hey, I'm going to take it from here so you can enjoy some Call of Duty Black Ops 6. Great. Now, listen up, folks. Life can be chaotic, but you shouldn't have to miss out on the latest Call of Duty just because you've got, I don't know, responsibilities. That's where I come in. I will handle the boring stuff like work, chores, even podcast ads.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2197 - Mike Baker
Well, I think it's important that we all participate. It's a free market. I gotta go. I gotta go.
The Joe Rogan Experience
#2197 - Mike Baker
So you can dive right into the fight. Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is out October 25th. So dive in because I've got your back. Remember, I replace you, Blade. It's that simple.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
DNI spokesperson Alexa Henning said Tuesday that a memo had been sent out to all intelligence agencies to identify by Friday any employees who participated in the, quote, obscene, pornographic and sexually explicit chats. All those who took part will be terminated from their positions and have their security clearances revoked. Look at that. Consequences for bad actions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
It's Wednesday, 26 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, a major and somewhat bizarre shakeup in U.S. intelligence. As Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard fires more than 100 intelligence officers for using a sensitive NSA messaging platform
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Gabbard said, quote, There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in what is really just an egregious violation of trust. They were brazen in using an NSA platform intended for professional use to conduct this kind of really, really horrific behavior.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
And they were brazen in doing this, she said, because when was the last time that anyone was really held accountable? End quote. Well, she's not wrong there. The NSA Intel Lake messaging platform also became a forum for bashing the new DNI, with employees sending messages accusing Gabbard of being, quote, fervently anti-queer, a, quote, Russian agent, and a member of the, quote, MAGA cult. Hmm.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Gabbard said the explicit chats violated the basic rules and standards of workplace professionalism, really, and that the firings were necessary to, quote, clean house, root out that rotten corruption and weaponization and politicization so we can start to rebuild that trust in these institutions. The employees represented a wide array of U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
intelligence agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, U.S. Naval Intelligence, the NSA, United States Space Command, and even the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The revelations come amid Gabbard's broader effort to purge diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives from the intelligence community. Her office, in concert with the Central Intelligence Agency,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
has already moved to fire an undisclosed number of employees that worked on these diversity initiatives, though those terminations were paused by a federal judge who was reviewing the action and expected to make a final ruling on Thursday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
According to sources who spoke with the conservative Manhattan Institute, the sexually explicit chats were given legitimacy as part of the NSA's DEI efforts, which the agency had previously called, quote, Mission critical? I'm sorry, I tried to say that with a straight face.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Seriously, look, having worked in intelligence operations around the world for a couple decades, I can tell you that there is absolutely nothing mission critical about DEI efforts. The chat logs came from two DEI-focused groups within the NSA's Intelink messenger titled, quote, LBTQA and, quote, IC Pride TWG.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Now, while the groups were, in theory, meant as DEI-focused employee resource groups, the sources said they were hijacked by intelligence employees who spent all day holding meetings with titles like privilege or ally awareness and transgender community inclusion. Yeah, yeah, definitely mission critical to U.S. national security.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Gabbard commented that these firings only scratched the surface of what she called the DEI insanity that became pervasive in the intel community under former President Biden. She said that since the memo went out, numerous intel officers have come forward to disclose other inappropriate activity.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Gabbard stated, "...people are stepping forward because they are all on board with the mission to clean house and refocus on our core mission of serving the American people."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Now look, even as I speak, I guarantee that Chinese and Russian intel are working to identify the individuals who are involved in these chat groups if they don't already know them already, because the bigger issue here is the counterintelligence threat that they pose to US national security.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Look, intel officers spend their careers looking for potential recruitment targets who are disaffected or angry or angst-ridden, disturbed or disgruntled, which is why intel organizations are supposed to spend significant time and resource vetting any potential hire and looking for any indications that they may have issues, such as, I don't know, ending up on an NSA chat group belittling their organizations or leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
to engage in sexually explicit discussions. Later in the show, after several weeks of tense negotiation, Ukraine has struck an agreement with the Trump administration to grant the U.S. access to Ukraine's rich mineral resources. The deal could be finalized as soon as Friday when Ukrainian President Zelensky is expected to meet with President Trump at the White House.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Alright, up next, after several weeks of tense negotiations, Ukraine has struck an agreement with the Trump administration to grant the U.S. access to Ukraine's rich mineral resources. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. Well, it looks like President Trump has finally gotten his mineral rights deal with Ukraine, securing access to the country's vast mineral wealth in a move that could reshape Kyiv's relations with Washington. The agreement, set to be finalized as early as Friday during a White House meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
follows weeks of standoff over the terms of a deal. The Trump administration initially demanded up to $500 billion in potential revenue from the development of Ukraine's vast mineral resources, and that was an ask that sparked pushback and outrage in Kyiv and across Europe. Trump told reporters Tuesday, quote, It's a very big deal. It could be a trillion dollar deal, adding that the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on Ukraine's war effort. For Zelensky, the deal represents a diplomatic breakthrough. Despite Kim's desperate push for a face to face meeting with Trump, the White House had kept Ukraine at arm's length while engaging in direct talks with Moscow over a possible settlement to the war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Zelensky's refusal to sign an earlier version of the agreement, crafted by Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, only deepened tensions. The Ukrainian leader, who has long supported Western access to Ukraine's critical mineral reserves, balked at the original deal's lack of security guarantees.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
At the time, Zelensky also voiced concerns over the scale of US financial demands, which far exceeded the total US aid package provided to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion back in 2022. As our listeners know, we've been tracking the growing rift between Kyiv and the Trump administration here on the PDB.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
That friction came to a head last Wednesday when Trump lashed out at Zelensky, calling him a, quote, dictator without elections and a truth social post. That divide widened further when Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia and when the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution condemning Russia's invasion on Monday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Now, despite the revised deal still lacking explicit security assurances, Ukrainian officials hope that it will be enough to stabilize relations with Washington. Trump described the agreement as including, quote, a form of peacekeeping that's acceptable to everybody, though he stopped short of committing U.S. forces to any future deterrence mission.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Under the new terms, Ukraine will allocate a portion of future revenues from mineral resource development into a dedicated fund to invest in domestic projects. However, the specifics of the U.S. stake in the fund will be determined in upcoming negotiations. The stakes are high. As a statement of the obvious, Ukraine is home to reserves of at least 20 of the 50 minerals that the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Director of National Intelligence, or DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, is moving quickly to remove more than 100 staffers from the ranks of America's intelligence agencies after discovering activity that she described as a, quote, egregious violation of trust.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
deems critical, including rare earth elements, which are essential materials for industries ranging from consumer electronics to defense technology. Industry analysts estimate their collective value in the trillions of dollars.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
Now, one interesting element of this deal is the unfortunate fact that a significant portion of the mineral reserves are currently located in the 20% of Ukraine that's currently controlled by Russia. As the final details are hammered out in the coming days, the long-term impact remains uncertain. For Kiev, the deal is a potential economic lifeline and a way to keep Washington engaged in the war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
For Trump, it's a strategic gambit that could not only reshape U.S. policy on Ukraine, but also bolster his leverage with Moscow. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, 26 February. If you have any questions or comments, well, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
And not that you need reminding, but to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
On Tuesday, Gabbard issued an order to fire more than 100 intelligence officers from 15 agencies for engaging in sexually explicit discussions on an NSA messaging platform meant for sharing sensitive security matters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 26th, 2025: Tulsi Gabbard Purges Intel Officers Over Explicit Chat Scandal & US And Ukraine Agree To Mineral-Rights Deal
The chats, first disclosed publicly by conservative activist and writer Christopher Rufo, included X-rated discussions on sexual fetishes, gender transition surgeries, artificial genitalia, hormone therapy, polyamory, and pronoun usage. That's according to a report from Fox News.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Manche fordern eine vollständige US-Militär-Intervention, um die Kartelle einmal und für alle zu zerstören. Die Idee, die US-Militär gegen die Kartelle zu deployieren, ist nicht neu. Sie ist seit Jahrzehnten in Washington, D.C. geblieben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
As far back as 1969, President Richard Nixon launched Operation Intercept, that was a large-scale federal crackdown, aimed at stopping drug smuggling from Mexico, though it mostly amounted to aggressive border inspections rather than full-on military action.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
By 1986, President Ronald Reagan took things a step further, declaring drug trafficking a national security threat and authorizing military involvement in counter-narcotics. Die US-Mitgliedschaften bieten Intelligenz, Trainings- und Logistiksupport für Antikartell-Operationen in Lateinamerika.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Nun, trotz dieser Bemühungen, wurden die Kartelle nur mehr sophisticated, mehr gewaltig und mehr enttäuscht. Heute sind einige Menschen wieder für militärische Aktionen und wir beginnen, Beweise von erhöhter militärischer Einwanderung zu sehen, insbesondere mit dem Nutzung von Navy-Spyplanes an der Grenze und weiter. Nun, auf der Oberfläche, das macht Sinn.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Kartelle flotten amerikanische Städte mit Fentanyl, brachten Millionen und Billionen von Dollar von Menschenverbrechung ein und brachten paramilitärische Attacks in Mexiko. Aber hier ist die Realität. Die Kartelle zu nehmen, wäre kein schnelles, kleines militärisches Interventionen. Es wäre schmutzig, gefährlich und viel komplizierter, als man es glauben würde.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Die meisten Leute denken an Drogenkartelle als massive Krimi-Syndikate, welche sie sind. Aber in der Praxis funktionieren sie weniger wie die Mafia und mehr wie Insurgenzen oder paramilitärische Operationen, die Territorien kontrollieren, oder lokalen Offiziere beurteilen oder terrorisieren, und ihre eigenen Intelligenznetze behalten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Manche, wie die Sinaloa- und Jalisco-Neue-Generation-Kartelle, haben bessere Waffen, Finanzierung und operative Disziplin als einige nationale Arme. Sie haben auch Militär-Grad-Hardware, z.B. Drohnen, Armut-Vehikel und ihre eigenen Luftstrippen. Es gab sogar Berichte im Jahr 2024, die beweisen, dass die Kartelle auf dem schwarzen Markt advanced US-Militär-Equipment gekauft haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Das betrifft weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit weltweit Now, even if the US launched airstrikes or special forces raids against cartel targets, it wouldn't end their operations. These groups are deeply embedded in civilian populations, using cities and towns as shields.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
During armed confrontations between rival cartels and law enforcement, Residents have been forcibly used as human shields. In some instances, community members are prevented from leaving their homes, effectively trapping them in conflict zones. Cartel members have also confiscated residents' phones to control information flow and prevent communication with authorities.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Eine vollständige Grundkampagne gegen die Kartelle würde in manchen Fällen brutalen Straße-zu-Straße-Kampf bedeuten, so wie es die USA in Fallujah oder Mogadischu erlebt haben. Aber anders als diese Konflikte würde dieser Kampf nur über die US-Border passieren, mit Potenzial für Sprechrisiken, natürlich. Dann gibt es die Frage des Ausgleichs von der mexikanischen Regierung.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
It's Wednesday, 19 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Mit mehr US-Militärausschriften, die jetzt an die südwestfälische Grenze gebracht werden, beginnen wir mit einem Blick auf Anrufe für direkte Aktion gegen die Kartelle und warum das wahrscheinlich nicht so einfach sein wird, wie man denkt.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Eine Regierung, die in vielen Fällen von den verschiedenen Organisationen, die die USA kämpfen, sehr kompromissiert ist. Kartelle benutzen nicht nur Gewalt, um Kontrolle zu behalten. Natürlich benutzen sie Geld. Die Behandlung von Polizisten, Politikerinnen und militärischen Offizieren ist eine Standard-Business-Praktik und war schon seit Jahrzehnten so.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
High-ranking members of Mexico's security forces have been caught working with the cartels, including the former Secretary of Public Security, who was convicted in the U.S. for taking millions in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel. When corruption runs this deep, even if Mexico's leaders publicly condemned cartel violence, many within the system would actively undermine U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
efforts, leaking intelligence, sabotaging operations or simply refusing to cooperate. Intervenieren in Mexiko ohne die vollständige Kooperation ihrer Regierung wäre extrem problematisch. Selbst wenn die mexikanische Regierung die US-Strikes oder besondere Operationen zutreffend erlaubt hätte, könnte der öffentliche Wachstum in Mexiko das Land weiter stabilisieren.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Etwas, das die Kartelle wahrscheinlich verursachen würde, um Amerika als Anwanderer zu zeichnen. Und eine formelle militärische Inkursion? Nun, das würde wahrscheinlich eine Krise mit einem der US-größten Vertreter-Partnern verursachen. Let's say the US did take the fight to the cartels. These organizations aren't operating in a vacuum. They have networks inside the US, of course.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
There's a potential for retaliation, potentially targeting US cities, assassinating officials or carrying out attacks against law enforcement. And unlike terrorists from overseas, cartel operatives already have boots on the ground in the US. Nun, none of this means that the US should just sit back while the cartels flood America with deadly drugs and violence and human trafficking.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
But the notion that a few airstrikes or a handful of special forces teams would solve the problem, well, the reality is far more complicated. Up next, Arab and Gulf nations are crafting their own blueprint for post-war reconstruction in Gaza. What's in the plan and how it could shape the region's future, well, we'll have those details right after the break. Hey, Mike Baker hier.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom, right? Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right? But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine. But what if one day you come out of the bathroom and look at that, your laptop is gone.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right? Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more. ExpressVPN verhindert Hackern, private Informationen zu akzeptieren, indem sie einen sicheren, enkrypteren Tunnel zwischen den Geräten und dem Internet schaffen. Denken Sie daran. Seine Enkryption ist so stark, dass sogar ein Supercomputer über 1 Billion Jahre dauern würde, um es zu knacken.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Und wer hat das für eine Zeit? Die Setup ist sehnsüchtig. Einfach die App öffnen und einen Knopf drücken, um instantane Schutz zu bekommen. It works on phones, laptops, tablets and more, keeping your data secure wherever the Internet is used. Look, for U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
customers, ExpressVPN includes Identity Defender, which removes personal data from broker sites, monitors for leaks on the dark web and ensures against identity theft up to $1 million. Secure your online data today by visiting expressvpn.com slash baker. That's B-A-K-E-R. That's expressvpn.com slash baker to find out how you can get up to four months extra for free. expressvpn.com slash baker.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Willkommen zurück im Afternoon Bulletin. Wir beginnen, mehr über den Alternativplan für die Erweiterung des Post-Kriegs-Gazas zu lernen, den die arabischen Staaten zu Präsident Trump verkaufen wollen. Und es betrifft den Präsidenten mit bis zu 20 Milliarden Dollar in regionalen Beiträgen. Nun, das ist ein ziemlich hoher Dollar-Wooing.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Um ehrlich zu sein, weiß ich nicht wirklich, ob es einen arabischen Wort für Wooing gibt. Arabische Leiter der Gulf-Staaten sind erwartet, ihre Vorschläge in größerer Tiefe an einem Ursprungs-Summit zu diskutieren, den Saudi-Kreuz-Prinz Mohammed bin Salman am Freitag in Riyadh gegründet hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Wenn alles gut geht, wird der Plan an einem geplante Arabischen Summit vorgesehen werden, der in Kairo stattfindet, am 4. März, so ein exklusiver Bericht von Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
As we discussed earlier this week, officials from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been scrambling to find a viable alternative to Trump's proposal for the US to take control of Gaza, relocate the enclave's Palestinian population, that's some 2.3 million people, and embark on a 10- to 15-year reconstruction effort to turn the Strip into a Middle Eastern Riviera.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
While Trump's plan was embraced by Israeli leaders, Arab states were caught by surprise and frankly left fuming. Egyptian, Saudi and Jordanian leaders quickly rejected the proposal, arguing that it would be deeply destabilizing to the region and that any forced expulsion of the population would amount to a war crime or ethnic cleansing.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Später in der Show beginnt ein Arabisch-Gulf-Stadt-leiter Plan für die Postkriegs-Gaza und könnte bis zu 20 Billionen Dollar in regionalen Beiträgen betreffen. aber es ist wahrscheinlich weit entfernt von dem, was es eigentlich dauern wird, um das Enklave wieder zu bauen. Aber zuerst, heute Nachts Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
So, with that in mind, what does the Arab Alternative for Reconstruction look like? While the details are still being worked out, the current proposal is based off a plan drafted by Egyptian leaders, which would see Arab states shoulder a large portion of the financial burden of reconstruction.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Es betrifft die Formierung eines nationalen palästinensischen Komitees, um Gaza ohne die Einführung von Hamas oder der palästinensischen Autorität zu regieren. Das sind zwei Gruppen, die Israel gesagt hat, dass sie keine Rolle in der Nachkriegsregelung haben werden. Es betrifft auch die Erstellung einer Bufferzone und das Errichten einer physischen Barriere auf der Grenze mit Ägypten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
um den Hamas von neuen Tunneln zu vermeiden. Zudem würden mehrere designierte Orte auf der Strecke als unabhängige Wohnzonen für verschlossene Gazen aufgebaut werden. Die Nationalpalästinensische Kommission würde die Erweiterung, die sie erwarten, über einen dreijährigen Zeitraum überwinden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Offizielle bestätigen, dass mindestens 20 Billionen Dollar über die ersten drei Jahre der Reconstruktion benötigt werden, und zwei Berichte sagten, dass die gulfischen Staaten wahrscheinlich das Gesetz in einer Versuchung einstellen würden, Trump zu akzeptieren. Unter dem Vorschlag würden auch 50 ägyptische und fremde Firmen eingeladen werden, um die erneuerbaren Bemühungen auszuhalten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Eine Emiratisource sagte Reuters, Trump sei transaktional, also würde 20 Billionen Dollar gut mit ihm aussehen. Dies würde viele US- und israelische Firmen benötigen. Still, significant financial hurdles remain. While 20 billion dollars could cover the costs of the first three years of reconstruction, I said could, an assessment released Tuesday by the World Bank
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
sagte, dass die volle Rückkehr des Enclés wahrscheinlich zehn Jahre dauern wird und 50 Billionen Dollar nach Norden kostet. Und, um nicht zynisch zu klingen, aber diese Anzahl könnte sich deutlich erhöhen, wenn man alle Hände, die vorhanden sind, beendet.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Ägyptische Nachrichten sagten Reuters, dass Diskussionen weiterhin anwesend sind, wie viel dieser Figur von regionalen Beiträgen geführt werden wird. Now, whether the Arab plan is a realistic alternative, that remains to be seen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Leaders in Jerusalem have significant long-term security concerns regarding Gaza and will likely be skeptical that an autonomous Palestinian committee can successfully contain Hamas and prevent them from reconstituting.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Given how deep into the fabric of Gaza Hamas is embedded and just how much incentive their puppet masters in the Iranian regime have to keep Hamas relevant, well, that skepticism is well founded. Israel's foreign minister said they would evaluate the plan once it's presented, but warned that they will not accept a proposal that allows Hamas to have any presence in Gaza.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, 19 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And as you've likely seen on billboards around town, to listen to the show ad-free, which you can, just become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 19th, 2025: Why A U.S. Military War on Cartels Would Be a Nightmare & An Arab Plan For Gaza Takes Shape
Wie wir hier auf dem Präsidenten-Daily Brief berichtet haben, hat die US-Militärin ihre Rolle über die südlichste Grenze gesteigert, von der Überwachung der Beobachtung bis zur Beobachtung der Kartellbewegungen. Letztendlich hat das z.B. die US-Naval-Spyplane betroffen, die Kartellaktivitäten in Mexiko betrachten. Aber sobald die militärische Präsenz wächst, sind die Anrufe für direkte Aktion.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
We could see new missile tests in the coming days as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle just to prove a point. Under Kim, the regime has made it clear that its nuclear program isn't just for show. It's the foundation of its survival. And as long as the U.S. and its allies keep up the pressure, Pyongyang will keep finding ways to push back.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Of course, this all comes as President Trump looks to reestablish his personal diplomacy with Kim Jong-un. The two leaders, as you'll recall, met back in 2018, making history with the first ever U.S.-North Korea summit. Trump has hinted at future engagement, saying he, quote, still gets along with Kim.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Whether that leads to actual negotiations or just another war of words with little Rocket Man, well, that remains to be seen. So expect North Korea to keep rattling its saber, launching missiles, and demanding attention. The question now is whether the world will respond, or if Kim's threats will get lost in the noise of everything else that's happening on the global stage.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 19 February. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And if you happen to be jonesing for an ad-free PDB experience, well, we definitely have you covered. All you have to do is become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov led the Kremlin's delegation opposite U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Both Rubio and Lavrov said the initial discussions, which lasted nearly five hours, proved productive and that both sides listened to each other's concerns. That's nice.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
It's Wednesday, 19 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, we're starting with the negotiations between the US and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Now, Moscow appears to be playing hardball.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
That's according to a report from Reuters. Witkoff was even more effusive, describing the talks as positive, upbeat and constructive. That sounds downright chummy. Adding, quote, everybody was there to get to the right outcome, end quote. Well, yeah, the invading country, that would be Russia, is certainly there to get what they would like.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Rubio told reporters that they agreed to pursue three broad goals restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, exploring economic cooperation and, of course, pursuing high level negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
But Rubio stressed that the talks served only as a starting point and that the road to achieving these ambitious goals would be a long one, particularly after more than three years of frozen diplomacy due to Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
With that in mind, Rubio said restaffing the embassies will be the first priority, noting that, quote, for us to be able to continue to move down this road, we need to have diplomatic facilities that are operating and functioning normally.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Now, the talks have alarmed leaders in Kiev who were not invited to participate, along with their NATO allies, also not invited, who fear Putin is trying to use the bilateral talks to foist a dictated peace on Europe. And when was the last time you heard anybody say the word foist?
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
But Rubio told reporters on Tuesday that no one was being sidelined, that the EU and Ukraine would join the negotiating process as discussions progress, and that any settlement would need to be approved by all parties. Despite these assurances, however, remarks by Russian officials proved that Kyiv is right to be wary of Moscow's motivations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Lavrov and the Russian delegation used Tuesday's talks to harden their stance regarding a negotiated settlement to the war, outlining concessions they suggested are non-negotiable. Now their chief objection is Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Lavrov said that Moscow's longstanding concerns regarding NATO membership for Ukraine could not be resolved simply with promises that Kyiv will not be granted access to the alliance. Instead, the Kremlin says NATO must go further and officially disavow a promise that it made at a summit in Bucharest back in 2008 that Ukraine would be granted entry at a future unspecified date.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
During that same summit, the same promise was made to Georgia. A spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry said that without the public assurance, quote, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent, end quote. Really? Well, to be fair, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pretty much poisoned the atmosphere on the continent.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Lavrov later underscored Moscow's opposition to Ukraine's future accession to the alliance, telling the porters gathered in Riyadh, quote, We explained to our colleagues today what President Putin has repeatedly stressed, that the expansion of NATO, the absorption of Ukraine by the North Atlantic alliance, is a direct threat to the interests of the Russian Federation, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
There's a surprise demanding that the West scrap Ukraine's NATO ambitions and rejecting any talk of NATO peacekeepers. Oh, is that all you want, Putin? We'll examine Russia's stated position, which essentially appears to be that they get what they want and Ukraine doesn't. Later in the show, Iran is vowing yet another attack on Israel, while Tehran claims that the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Furthermore, Lavrov dismissed a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to deploy a European coalition of peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential ceasefire deal. He stated flatly that the Kremlin would not support the deployment of NATO troops, regardless of what flag they are operating under, calling the scenario, quote, unacceptable.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Lavrov's comments suggest that Moscow will continue to push for further concessions from Ukraine, even before leaders in Kyiv have a chance to join the evolving discussions. But Rubio, for his part, said that the public discussions of concessions were premature, telling reporters, quote, We're not going to pre-negotiate an end to this conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
These are the kinds of things that have to happen through hard and difficult diplomacy and closed rooms over a period of time, end quote. That said, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz suggested the negotiating process will move at an accelerated pace, stating, quote, President Trump is determined to move very quickly.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
With the first round of talks out of the way, the focus is now on organizing a face-to-face summit between Trump and Putin, which would mark the first meeting between a U.S. president and the Russian strongman since the war began. Well, a timeline for a meeting remains unclear, while suggested that it could be arranged in the coming weeks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
All right, coming up next, Iran is vowing another attack on Israel, and Hamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including its youngest victims. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom, right? Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine. But what if one day you come out of the bathroom and look at that, your laptop is gone. And look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details, and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how. And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
ExpressVPN prevents hackers from accessing private information by creating a secure encrypted tunnel between devices and the Internet. Think about that. Its encryption is so strong that even a supercomputer would take over a billion years to crack it. And who's got that sort of time? Setup is seamless. Just open the app and tap one button for instant protection.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
It works on phones, laptops, tablets, and more, keeping your data secure wherever the Internet is used. Look, for U.S. customers, ExpressVPN includes Identity Defender, which removes personal data from broker sites, monitors for leaks on the dark web, and ensures against identity theft up to $1 million. Secure your online data today by visiting ExpressVPN.com slash Baker. That's B-A-K-E-R.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
That's ExpressVPN.com slash Baker to find out how you can get up to four months extra for free. ExpressVPN.com slash Baker. Welcome back to the PDB. A senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has issued a stark warning. The regime is preparing for a third direct strike on Israel, a move that would, of course, further escalate hostilities and directly challenge U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
and Israel, quote, can't do a damn thing to stop its nuclear ambitions. Okay, well, technically, that's not correct. The question is whether the U.S. and Israel have the political will to do a damn thing regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions. We'll tell you what's behind the Iranian regime's threats.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Israeli assertions that Iran's military strength is weakened. On Monday, IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Farabi declared that, quote, Operation True Promise 3 will occur at the right time. Oh, it's a sequel. Though he offered no specific timeline.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
His remarks reinforce Iran's defiance in the face of Israeli airstrikes and Western pressure, signaling that Iran remains undeterred despite repeated attempts to weaken its military infrastructure. This latest threat from the regime follows two prior missile barrages on Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
You'll remember that back in April of 2024, Iran launched Operation True Promise One, firing over 300 missiles and drones at Israeli military installations in retaliation for the targeted killing of two IRGC generals in Damascus, Syria. The attack, though largely stopped by Israel's air defense, marked Iran's first direct military engagement with Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Later that year, in October, the Iranian regime followed up with Operation True Promise No. 2, since they couldn't be bothered to come up with a brand new name for the operation, unleashing roughly 200 missiles on Israeli positions after the assassination of high-profile Iranian-aligned figures, including, of course, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Israel has continued to press its advantage in the region, most notably with its retaliatory strike just weeks later, codenamed Operation Days of Repentance. U.S. and Israeli officials hailed that operation as a devastating blow to Iran's military, claiming that it severely crippled Tehran's ability to project power in the region.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
However, the Iranian deputy commander dismissed such assessments as Western propaganda, casting the conflict in ideological terms, stating, quote, not a single day has passed without the world's evildoers waging war against us, referring to America as, quote, the great Satan.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
His statement, of course, evoked rhetoric reminiscent of Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, who famously labeled the U.S. as, quote, the great Satan themselves. during the Iranian Revolution. That was back in the day when people were coming up with very catchy names for their nemesis. The timing of Iran's latest warning is no coincidence.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
It comes just a day after Secretary of State Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss strategies to contain Iran's regional influence and curtail its nuclear ambitions. Netanyahu, bolstered by President Trump's backing, vowed to, quote, finish the job, insisting that Israel had inflicted substantial damage on Iran's military apparatus.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Predictably, well, Iran blasted the high-level U.S.-Israeli meeting as a provocation. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman decried it. He decried it as a violation of international law, accusing both nations of conspiring to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. The spokesman stated, quote, They cannot do a damn thing, end quote, emboldening Tehran's longstanding defiance against Western pressure.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Plus, more hostage news in Israel, as Hamas says it's returning the bodies of four hostages, including the youngest victims of the brutal 7 October attacks. And in today's Back of the Brief, North Korea, we haven't heard from them for a short while. Well, they're making bold new promises to expand their nuclear arsenal, brushing off U.S. denuclearization efforts. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Meanwhile, Israel is reportedly weighing preemptive airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites, a move that would dramatically escalate an already volatile situation. In response, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei reaffirmed the regime's resilience, warning that any attack would be met with severe retaliation.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
With both sides locked in an escalating cycle of military posturing and potential counterstrikes, Iran's vow to launch Operation True Promise 3 has pushed the prospect of a direct confrontation with Israel to the near future. All right, shifting to the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
The Iran-backed terror group has announced plans to return the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
In pre-recorded remarks released Tuesday, a top Hamas negotiator claimed that the remains will include members of the Bibas family, Shiri and her two young children, who were just nine months and four years old when they were abducted. The terror group had previously asserted without evidence that the family was killed in an Israeli airstrike, a claim that the Israeli military has not confirmed.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Instead, Israeli officials have maintained that they remain gravely concerned for the family's well-being. Notably, the children's father was released earlier this month. An Israeli official told Reuters that the bodies will undergo formal identification before any names are publicly confirmed.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
In a statement, the Bibas family acknowledged Hamas's announcement, but stressed that they had not received official confirmation, stating, quote, until we receive definitive confirmation, our journey is not over, end quote. In a surprise acceleration, Hamas also announced that it will release six living hostages on Saturday. That's double the originally planned number.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
In exchange, Israel has agreed to release all Palestinian women and minors under the age of 19 who were arrested since October 2023 and to allow some rubble-clearing equipment to enter Gaza via Egypt. As our regular PDB listeners know, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement saw Hamas release 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
As of now, 73 hostages still remain in Gaza, both living and deceased, including Israeli soldiers, civilians, as well as Thai and Nepalese nationals. Negotiations for the second phase, focused on securing the release of all remaining hostages and reaching a permanent ceasefire, were set to begin earlier this month but have yet to move forward.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed that talks would begin sometime this week, emphasizing that Israel would, quote, "...not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist organization in Gaza," end quote. suggested that the ceasefire could be extended if meaningful progress is made toward a final agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, North Korea is doubling down on its nuclear ambitions, dismissing U.S. denuclearization efforts as absurd. I'll be back with those details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
In today's Back of the Brief, with everything going on in the world, high stakes negotiations in Riyadh and the Middle East, America's attention to its southern border, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, well, he might be feeling a little left out. And typically, when Kim feels ignored, you can count on him throwing his teddy out of the crib.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
So what better way to grab the world's attention than by threatening to expand North Korea's nuclear arsenal? This latest warning from Pyongyang comes after a high-level meeting between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Over the weekend, Secretary of State Rubio met with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts at a security conference in Germany, where they reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's, quote, complete denuclearization and vowed to keep up pressure on Kim's weapons program. Oddly, well, that didn't sit well with Kim's regime.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
North Korea's foreign ministry quickly fired back, calling the three-nation pledge a, quote, outdated and absurd plan. I wonder what they mean by that. They also promised an overwhelming and decisive counteraction against what they see as hostile forces. In simpler terms, they're doubling down on their nuclear ambitions and daring the West to stop them.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
Senior US and Russian officials convened Tuesday in the capital of Saudi Arabia, that would be Riyadh, for landmark talks on reviving their diplomatic and economic ties and bringing the Putin regime's war on Ukraine to an end. But Moscow is already playing hardball, using the discussions to escalate their demands regarding a potential settlement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 19th, 2025: Russia Plays Hardball In Riyadh & Iran Vows Another Attack On Israel
The timing of this threat isn't a coincidence. The U.S. and its allies recently announced plans to ramp up military exercises and boost South Korea and Japan's defensive capabilities. That's a direct challenge to Kim Jong-un, whose long view of these drills as rehearsals for an invasion. And if history is any guide, well, North Korea doesn't just talk, it does act.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
officials believe that hundreds of these tunnels have been built beneath the border over the years. Since the early 1990s, more than 230 have been officially discovered, most of them in California and Arizona. The areas around San Diego and Nogales in particular have seen the highest concentration of tunnels due to their favorable soil conditions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
It's Wednesday, 12 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with a look at the Trump administration's border crackdown. Now, on the surface, the numbers show real progress. But when you dig into it, get below the surface, the cartels are still finding ways in.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
And while authorities continue to find them, many more remain undetected. Some of these tunnels are remarkably sophisticated. Now, we've heard a lot about the tunnel systems running beneath Gaza, but it's important to note that the drug cartels actually have a lot more resources than Hamas. Take the Otemesa Megatunnel. Now, that was discovered in 2022.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
The cartel-built passage stretched more than 1,700 feet from Tijuana to a warehouse in Otemesa, California. reaching depths at times of 61 feet. Unlike the crude smuggling tunnels of the past, this one had reinforced walls, a ventilation system, electrical wiring, and even a railroad track to efficiently move the drugs. When authorities finally found it, they seized over a ton of cocaine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
That's a lot of coke. The Otay Mesa tunnel led directly to a warehouse in an industrial park, what's known essentially as a cover-up. Now, cover-ups are a key part of the cartel's smuggling operations. They're seemingly normal buildings, could be storefronts or warehouses or abandoned homes, used to disguise tunnel entrances.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Cartels go to great lengths, of course, to make sure these sites blend in, using trap doors or fake floors, even hydraulic lifts, to conceal the tunnel openings. They're designed, of course, to evade detection for as long as possible, allowing smugglers to move the drugs without drawing attention. And it's not just the gear that's moving through these tunnels.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Human smuggling operations are taking full advantage of this underground network. Reports from last year indicated that Mexican cartels were offering VIP smuggling packages for as much as $15,000 to help illegal immigrants enter the US via these tunnels.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
One senior Mexican official told USA Today that the La Linea cartel has allegedly been moving around 1,000 VIP migrants every month from Ciudad Juarez into El Paso through its tunnel system. These VIP clients reportedly include individuals who want to avoid detection at all costs, either because they have criminal records or because they fear deportation upon capture.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
For law enforcement, well, these tunnels are a nightmare. They're difficult to detect, they're costly to investigate, and constantly involving in sophistication. Unlike surface-level smuggling routes, these tunnels bypass traditional border security measures entirely. U.S. authorities have invested in ground-penetrating radar, seismic sensors, and intelligence operations to locate them,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Well, but the cartels are always adapting, always working to stay one step ahead. After all, they are highly motivated to protect their revenue streams. Coming up next, American Mark Fogel is back on U.S. soil after three and a half years in a Russian prison. I'll have those details after the break. Running a business isn't easy, and I know that firsthand.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Later in the show, American teacher Mark Fogel is back on U.S. soil after spending three and a half years in a Russian prison on drug charges related to a small amount of medical marijuana. We'll bring you the details of his release. But first, the afternoon spotlight. The Trump administration's border crackdown appears to be making a serious impact if the numbers are anything to go by.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. That's ramp.com slash pdb. Again, ramp.com slash pdb. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC, and terms and conditions, as they say, do apply. Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
In a significant victory for the White House, the Trump administration secured the release of Mark Fogle, an American teacher detained in Russia for three and a half years in a prisoner exchange that could signal a shift, could signal a shift in Washington-Moscow relations. Trump personally welcomed Fogle at the White House late Tuesday night, where the teacher arrived draped in an American flag.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Visibly emotional, Fogle expressed his gratitude, stating, quote, Thank you all, and I love our country, and I'm so happy to be back here. Trump, standing beside him, called it, quote, an honor to have played a role in securing his freedom. Fogel, who taught history for nearly a decade at the Anglo-American school in Moscow, where the children of U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
diplomats were among his students, was arrested at a Moscow airport back in 2021 on drug charges. Russian authorities charged him with, quote, large-scale drug smuggling. Oh, really? After discovering 17 grams of cannabis in his possession, medication Fogel maintained was prescribed for severe spinal pain.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
In June 2022, a Russian court handed him a 14-year sentence in hard labor camp, the same court that had sentenced professional basketball player Brittany Griner before her high-profile release later that year. The deal to bring Fogel home was spearheaded by Trump, special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and a team of senior presidential advisers.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz described the exchange as, quote, a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign that we're moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine, end quote. While Trump did not disclose whether he personally negotiated with Russian President Putin, a senior U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
official confirmed on Wednesday that the United States is set to return Russian cybercriminal Alexander Vinnik as part of the trade. Now, Vinnik, a convicted cybercriminal, pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy charges related to the cryptocurrency exchange BTC-E. which US authorities allege laundered over $9 billion in illicit transactions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
The Justice Department maintains that under Vinnick's leadership, the platform became a financial haven for cybercriminals looking to funnel dirty money across the globe. Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov declined to identify Vinnick, but confirmed that a, quote, citizen of the Russian Federation had been released in exchange for Fogel and that he will return in the coming days.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Trump framed the deal as, quote, very fair and very reasonable. hinting the exchange could contribute to broader diplomacy. Trump stated, quote, there is goodwill in terms of the war, referring to Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Addressing Fogel directly, Trump added, quote, you could be a big part of it, actually, because it could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine, end quote. The president confirmed that another American is expected to be freed soon, though he withheld details.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Among those still detained in Russia are American citizen Stephen Hubbard and Russian-American dual citizen Ksenia Karolina. The State Department designated both as wrongfully detained. The execution of the operation was almost as notable as the swap itself.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, who had not previously been involved in U.S.-Russia negotiations, traveled to Russia to escort Fogel home. It was the first known high-level American visit to Russian soil since the war in Ukraine began with Putin's invasion in February of 2022.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
According to a report from Fox, the daily average number of known gotaways, that's the illegal migrants who successfully entered the U.S. without apprehension, has dropped to just 132 per day since the beginning of February. Now, that's a staggering 93% decline from the peak numbers seen under the Biden administration, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security source.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
Witkoff reportedly leveraged his Middle East connections, particularly through Qatari intermediaries, to facilitate the exchange. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that while Fogel's release was not directly linked to broader efforts to end the war in Ukraine, it may hint at Moscow's shifting calculus. America's top diplomat stated, "...it's a long way to go between here and there.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
It's not going to be easy." Rubio went on to add, "...I do think it's a good sign that the Russians were willing to do something in this regard, and hopefully we can build on that in the days to come." And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday, 12 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
And of course, to listen to this show ad-free, should you be so inclined, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 12th, 2025: Drug Cartels Using Tunnels To Avoid Detection & An American Returns Home
But while the numbers above ground look promising, below the surface, well, there's another battle playing out, one that's been going on for decades. Mexican drug cartels have been using tunnels to smuggle drugs, people, and weapons into the U.S. for years, and even with enhanced border security, these underground routes, well, they remain a major challenge. U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
On the foreign policy front, Trump touted his use of tariffs to reshape America's economic relationship with our allies, asking the American people to bear with any economic turbulence that the policies may cause in the short term.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
It's Wednesday, 5 March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll kick things off with President Trump's address to Congress last night. Did you catch that? Where he declared that the U.S. is, quote, reclaiming the Panama Canal.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
He also signaled his willingness to sign a minerals deal with Ukraine to accelerate an end to the war with Russia, and vowed to bring peace to the Middle East by expanding the Abraham Accords from his first term.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
But I want to focus in on the President's remarks regarding the Panama Canal, which he's long said he intends to take back from the Panamanian government, citing the threat of China's growing influence at the canal's ports. For some context, the American-built canal has been solely controlled by the Panamanian government for 25 years, after the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
ended its joint partnership in controlling the strategic waterway back in 1999. On Tuesday evening, Trump said, quote, To further enhance our national security, our administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it. He continued, quote, We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Now, Trump highlighted a deal announced Tuesday led by the American asset firm BlackRock and a consortium of investors, which have close ties to the White House, to place the canal's ports under U.S. control. The deal, valued at $22.8 billion, will see Hong Kong-based conglomerate C.K. Hutchinson, which operates two of the four major ports at the canal's entrances,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
sell their stake to the group of U.S. and Swiss investors. That's according to a report by NBC News. Under the terms of the tentative agreement announced Tuesday, the U.S.-led consortium will gain control of 80% of C.K. Hutchinson's subsidiary, Hutchinson Ports, which operates 43 ports in 23 countries around the world.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
They'll also acquire 90% of Panama ports, which operates the Balboa port on the Pacific side of the canal and the Cristobal port on the Atlantic side. Sources familiar with the potential sale said the White House and members of Congress were briefed on the matter earlier on Tuesday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
While the Chinese firm CK Hutchinson denied that their move to sell had anything to do with politics, Trump touted it Tuesday night as a major victory, implying it was a result of diplomatic pressure exerted by his administration. As a reminder, the economic importance of the canal to America is hard to overstate. Roughly 40% of U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
container traffic relies on the vital waterway, with roughly 70% of all vessels traversing the canal either traveling to or from American ports. But Trump feels the U.S. gave away the canal to Panama for nothing and that China had moved in and essentially captured the strategic trade route.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
It's worth noting that Panama established diplomatic relations with China in place of Taiwan in 2017, and Beijing quickly undertook significant infrastructure developments near the waterway.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Officials with US Southern Command have long expressed concern over China's activity in the region, particularly their stake in the two ports covered by BlackRock's acquisition, warning that it could enable the Chinese Communist Party to influence canal operations. There were also concerns that China would introduce surveillance technology into the canal's infrastructure in order to monitor U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
His statement comes as we learn that the asset manager, BlackRock, has struck a billion-dollar deal to place the canal's ports under U.S. control.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
naval and commercial movements. While Panama has rejected accusations that China essentially controls the canal, they did agree to abandon their agreements with Beijing under China's Belt and Road Initiative, following a visit from Secretary of State Marco Rubio in early February.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
That decision, condemned by leaders in Beijing, made Panama the first Latin American country to leave China's vaunted global infrastructure development project and appears to have opened the doors for U.S. investment.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Coming up next, reversing another Biden-era policy, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday that the Trump administration has officially redesignated the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization. I'll have those details when we
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Later in the show, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Tuesday that the Trump administration has officially designated the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization, reimposing a label that former President Biden had lifted during his administration. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The State Department has officially designated Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, fulfilling one of President Trump's foreign policy pledges upon taking office.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the long-expected decision on Tuesday, making clear that the United States, quote, will not tolerate any nation or entity that engages in business with the Houthis.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Since Hamas launched its terror attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea, threatening, of course, a vital artery for global trade. In his statement, Rubio emphasized,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
that the designation is a crucial step in countering terrorist activities, stating, quote, today's action demonstrates commitment to protecting our national security interests, the safety of the American people, and the security of the United States, end quote. Rubio added that the designation carries severe financial and legal penalties for any entity engaging with the terror group.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
The Iranian-backed Houthis have long been a destabilizing force in the region. After seizing Yemen's capital Sana'a in 2014, the Iran proxy entrenched themselves in a civil war that has devastated the country.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
While they remain heavily dependent on Tehran for weapons and logistical support, American intelligence assessments suggest that the Houthis operate with a degree of autonomy, particularly in maritime warfare, something that has made their Red Sea attacks even more unpredictable.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Trump formally reinstated the Houthi's terrorist designation in January, reversing a Biden administration policy from 2021 that sought to facilitate humanitarian aid to Yemen. In an executive order, Trump justified the move by stating that the Houthi's actions, quote, threatened the security of American civilians and personnel in the Middle East,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
the safety of our closest regional partners, and the stability of global maritime trade." His decision, however, comes at a moment of growing volatility. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of removing Palestinians from Gaza in a reconstruction plan contingent on a fully implemented ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
That proposal provoked a furious response from the Houthi leader, who delivered a televised threat against both the U.S. and Israel, vowing retribution. In response, U.S. military officials are debating how best to neutralize the Houthis.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
Some advocate for a targeted counterterrorism strategy, pinpointing key terror operatives behind recent attacks, while others push for a broader military campaign aimed at dismantling the group's infrastructure. For now, US forces continue protecting commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea from further Houthi aggression.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
We'll begin today with President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening, where he touted his administration's rapid early moves to rein in government and reshape the geopolitical landscape. The speech largely focused on the Trump administration's achievements stateside, touching on his blitzkrieg of executive actions over the past six weeks.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
The question is whether the US will escalate its confrontation with the terror group and how far it is potentially willing to go. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Wednesday afternoon, 5 March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, should you be interested in doing so, well, you can do it simply. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. See how simple? I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
the record drop in illegal migrant encounters at the US border, efforts to overhaul the federal workforce and cut fraud, and his quest to unleash American energy by slashing the regulatory state.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 5th, 2025: The US 'Reclaims' The Panama Canal & White House Designates Yemen's Houthis A Foreign Terrorist Organization
He framed his actions thus far as a, quote, common sense revolution, proclaiming, quote, America is back, though the speech drew regular jeers from Democrats, though that's surprising, some of whom walked out of the chamber in protest.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Aber wenn die Firma auf ihre Vermutungen folgt, wird dieses Investitionen einen der größten konsequenten Veränderungen in der High-Tech-Manufacturing in Jahrzehnten bedeuten. Alright, coming up next. As campus protests flare up again, President Trump is threatening to cut federal funding for any school that allows illegal demonstrations. The details coming up. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
In today's Back of the Brief, American universities that fail to crack down on antisemitism and curtail violent protests could soon face the wrath of the federal government and see their federal funding dry up. On Tuesday, President Trump vowed to strip federal funding for any college or university that allows what he called, quote, illegal protests to run rampant on their campuses.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
The president also threatened to essentially revoke visas and deport foreign students involved in violent demonstrations. That's according to a report from The Guardian. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, quote, all federal funding will stop, and he put that in capitals, for any college, school or university that allows illegal protests.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Und in heute's Back of the Brief. As protests flare up again on college campuses nationwide, President Trump is threatening to cut federal funding for any school that allows illegal demonstrations. We'll examine what he said and what it could mean. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The latest trade battle is officially underway.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Agitators will be imprisoned or permanently sent back to the country from which they came. American students will be permanently expelled or, depending on the crime, arrested. The president added, quote, no masks. And that again was all in caps. Thank you for your attention to this matter, end quote. Well, that's a polite way to end a text.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Trump's comments came just one day after multiple federal agencies announced that they would be reviewing more than 50 million dollars in government contracts and grants with Columbia University. Over there, quote, "...ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Pro-Israel groups have long been calling on the federal government to do more to protect Jewish students from rampant antisemitism after pro-Palestinian protests spread across dozens of college campuses just last spring."
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
As we recently discussed on the PDB, protests once again erupted at Columbia University in New York City last week, with masked students taking over a building at Columbia's Barnard College for several hours. During their occupation, students reportedly assaulted a school employee who tried to leave the building, sending him to the hospital.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
The group, which hid their identities behind headscarves and masks, well, that's very brave, was led by members of Colombia's Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, who declared, quote, long live the student intifada on their social media account.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
After the Trump administration launched their review of Columbia's grants on Monday, the school hastily issued a statement promising to work with the White House to ensure all their students feel safe on campus. Officials at Columbia said they are, quote, fully committed to not losing federal funding. No, that's not what they said.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
They said, quote, fully committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of discrimination. And we are resolute that calling for promoting a glorifying violence or terror has no place at our university. Endquote. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 5 March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
And of course, as you no doubt heard already from friends and family, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
With new tariffs in place against Canada, Mexico and China, President Trump is taking a hard-line stance on trade. But beyond the geopolitical maneuvering, these tariffs, well, they do have real consequences for American consumers. From groceries to electronics to cars, prices are set to rise, potentially reshaping household budgets across the country.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Of course, the big question is, are the tariffs temporary? And if so, well, how temporary? Given the pace of change and activity coming out of the White House, don't be surprised if the tariffs are gone by the end of the week. As a reminder, on Tuesday, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on most imports from Mexico and Canada, with Canadian energy imports subject to a 10% tax.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
He also doubled duties on Chinese goods to 20%. The US now is the largest importer of foreign goods, with those targeted countries making up America's top three global suppliers, meaning that nearly 2.2 trillion, that's with a T, in annual trade could be impacted. And that's according to an analysis from Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Economists are already warning that the trade measures will likely spike the price of an array of consumer goods, putting significant strain on Americans that have already been battered by years of rising inflation. Supporters of the tariffs argue, it's a necessary move to protect American industries and to counter unfair trade practices.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
But it's important to understand the costs, including potential price hikes and retaliatory measures from trade partners. Now that economic retaliation came swiftly from Canada and China, with Canada slapping an immediate 25% tariff on nearly 30 billion dollars worth of American goods, with more to come by month's end.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
China imposed a new 15% tariff on US exports of chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, while adding a 10% levy on US sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Mexiko is also expected to follow with retaliatory tariffs, though officials said those measures would not be announced until Sunday. So, what does all this mean for the American consumer?
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
With more than 40% of all US imports coming from Mexico, Canada and China, some economists have estimated that Trump's tariffs could cost the average US household some $830 a year. They say the first place where these tariffs will be felt will likely be at the gas pump, as the US relies on Mexico and Canada for critical energy exports, such as crude oil, petroleum and gas and coal.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Consumers in the Northeast could see gas prices jump by as much as 20 to 40 cents per gallon within the next one to three weeks, while the Midwest and Great Lakes regions could see an increase of 5 to 25 cents per gallon. That's according to economists who spoke with CBS News.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
The tariffs will also likely be felt in short order at the grocery store, as the sector already runs on thin profit margins. The US imported more than $45 billion worth of agricultural products from Mexico and $40 billion from Canada just in 2023 alone, including fruit and vegetables, beef, pork, grains, potatoes, canola oil and alcohol products.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
In fact, Axios reports that a stunning 63% of vegetable imports and 81% of beer imports came from Mexico in 2023. Meaning, well, you may want to stock up your pantry and mini-fridge sooner rather than later. You thought that pandemic-era hunt for toilet paper was bad. Just wait till you can't find beer.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
In addition to groceries, a large portion of common household items like machinery, furniture, footwear, clothing and textiles come from China, so expect price hikes in those areas as well.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
If businesses pass along half or more of the financial burden of the tariffs to consumers, prices on groceries and household items could increase by an average of roughly 1.6%, varying widely, of course, depending on the product. It's according to an analysis by the Atlanta Federal Reserve.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Preiswerte auf andere Sektoren, wie Elektronik und Autos, werden für mehrere Monate nicht wahrgenommen werden, aber die Vergrößerungen könnten schmerzhaft sein. Autos sind besonders verantwortlich, given their complex supply chains. Fahrzeuge crossen oft US-Border sechs bis acht Mal während der Assemblage. meaning they could be taxed multiple times.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
It's Wednesday, 5 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. New tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China just went into effect. So, you ask yourself, what does that mean for your wallet? And how long might they be in effect?
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Industry analysts say the average vehicle price could rise by as much as $12,000 for some models, an increase that threatens to crash consumer sales for domestic manufacturers. Dann gibt es Konsum-Elektronik, wie Laptops, Tabletten, Gaming-Konsolen und Smartphones, die fast exklusiv von außen importiert sind, mit ca. 41% aus China.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Ökonomisten erwarten große Preisvergrößerungen in diesem Sektor, obwohl die Estimaten dieser Zeit sehr breit sind. All that said, how much costs rise will depend on whether businesses absorb some of the additional burden or adjust their supply chains before passing the expenses on to consumers. Whether Trump's trade gambit will pay off long term is really anyone's guess.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
But for now, consumers would be wise to brace for higher prices. And stock up on beer. All right. Coming up next, reports say the U.S. may turn to Russia to broker a new Iranian nuclear deal, plus a $100 billion investment in U.S. chip production. Why it's not just about the economy, but also national security. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Welcome back to the PDB. The United States' latest diplomatic gamble could position Russia as a potential mediator in discussions with Iran over a new nuclear deal. That's a development that raises questions about Washington's shifting strategy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
The revelation, first reported by Bloomberg, follows a series of visits by Russian officials to Iran during the Israel-Hamas war, in which Iran, of course, launched multiple ballistic missile attacks against Jerusalem. Die Zeitung dieser Initiative ist bemerkenswert. Iran's Foreign Minister has just resigned, and Iran's President has downplayed any active discussions with the US.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Meanwhile, Russia, long a key partner of the Iranian regime, deepened its strategic ties with the Islamic Republic, from backing the former Assad regime in Syria to acquiring Iranian drones for use in its war against Ukraine. But by stepping into the role of nuclear deal broker, Moscow appears to be maneuvering itself into an even more complex position on the global stage.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
This development comes as tensions between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky continue to escalate, culminating in a temporary suspension of all American military aid to Ukraine just on Monday.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
That decision has prompted speculation among analysts about a broader geopolitical recalibration, one in which Washington's backing for Ukraine takes a backseat, while Russia plays a role in steering Iran toward renewed nuclear negotiations. Es wäre nicht die erste Zeit gewesen, dass Moskau von solch einer Dynamik profitierte.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Well, we'll take a look at what the tariffs could mean when it comes to the prices you pay for stuff. And that's not the sort of sentence that you would get from some pipe-smoking highbrow economist. Later in the show, a major curveball in Middle Eastern relations. Reports say that the US could turn to Russia to help broker a new Iranian nuclear deal.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Während der Obama-Administration war Russlands Einwohnung wichtig, um den 2015en Iran-Nuklear-Verein zu sichern. Damals kapitalisierte der Kremlin Washingtons Fokus auf Iran, nur um sich zu drehen und natürlich die Invasion von der Ukraine 2014 zu starten. Die Frage ist nun, ob die Geschichte sich wiederholt oder ob die Trump-Administration etwas ganz anderes versucht hat.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Anders als in den vergangenen Negotierungen scheint Trumps Ansatz breiter zu sein. Seine Regierung priorisiert die strategische Wettbewerb mit China und besucht, ob es, zumindest temporär, mit Russland auf wichtigen Themen verabschieden könnte. Doch Skepsis bleibt. Würde Washington von so einer Verhandlung profitieren, oder würde es einfach Moskau mehr Wettbewerb geben?
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
One major uncertainty is whether Tehran is even willing to engage in new talks. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has long harbored deep distrust of Washington, particularly after Trump's first term saw the U.S. withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and imposed the Maximum Pressure Sanction Strategy. That's a policy that Trump has since reinstated, now in his second term.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
From the Iranian regime's perspective, Russian broker talks could be less about diplomacy and more about extracting concessions while maintaining its nuclear program as a bargaining chip. If Washington sees de-escalation with both Iran and Russia as a means of pivoting its foreign policy focus away from the Middle East and Europe, it may view a potential deal as a strategic win.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Such a shift would mark a stark contrast from Trump's first term, which saw heightened tensions, of course, with the Iranian regime. At the same time, Russia may be angling for its own advantage, and when I say may, of course I mean they are, using the diplomatic maneuver to negotiate a more favorable ceasefire in Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
By presenting itself as an intermediary in nuclear talks, Moscow could be signaling a willingness to engage in a grand bargain of sorts, one that tempers hostilities in Ukraine while securing gains for them elsewhere. Speaking of Russia, I wanted to follow up on a story that we brought you yesterday.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
The Pentagon is pushing back against claims that it has halted offensive cyber operations against Russia. They're saying, uh-uh, we didn't do that. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not issued any orders to cancel or delay cyber operations targeting Russian assets, according to a senior defense official. The official emphasized that no stand-down directive has been given and that U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
cyber operations remain active. Cyber-Security Experts had warned that any pause in offensive operations would be a strategic gift to Moscow, potentially weakening US leverage in both cyber and conventional military engagements. But for now, the Pentagon insists that there has been no shift in policy. We'll keep an eye on that. Okay, turning stateside.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
In a shift that could redefine the global semiconductor industry, President Trump announced that the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, known as TSMC, will commit a $100 billion investment to expand US chip production. The investment follows an already pledged $65 billion commitment that spanned 2020 to 2024.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Dieses neue Rundum von Finanzierung wird die Konstruktion von drei weiteren Semiconductor-Fabrikationen, zwei advanced packaging facilities und ein cutting-edge research and development center in Phoenix, Arizona, bankrollen. Trump, geflankt von TSMC-CEO am Montag in der White House, hat den Deal verabschiedet. Oh, er hat ihn verabschiedet.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Rumor has it that Russian delegations have made multiple visits to Iran during the past year and a half. Plus, the chip company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, is committing 100 billion, that's with a B, dollars to expand chip production in the US. Now, it's a huge investment, obviously, with big implications, not just for the economy, but also for national security.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Man hört das Wort nicht so oft, aber es ist ein gutes Wort. Ansonsten, ich verabschiede mich. Der Präsident hat den Deal verabschiedet, als Beweis der amerikanischen ökonomischen Dominanz und Selbstreliance. Er nennt es eine, Quote, «tremendige Bewegung der stärksten Firma der Welt».
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Trump glaubt, dass die Erweiterung bis zu 25.000 hochwertige Jobs erzeugen wird, die die USA als große Spieler in der Nutzung von Semikonduktern solidifizieren. Nicht zu erwähnen, Tausende, Tausende von Tausenden von Bauern in den nächsten vier Jahren.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Das neueste Investment baut auf die wachsende Präsenz der TSMC in den USA, die mit ihrem initialen Arizona-Fabrikation-Plan-Erkennung im Jahr 2020 begonnen hat. Seitdem hat die Firma drei Pflanzen auf dem Ort gegründet, mit massiven Produktionen beginnend im Jahr 2024.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Das neu geplante R&D-Zentrum ist erwartet, die Entwicklung nächster-Generation-Semikonduktoren zu fördern, die Chips sind, die wichtig sind für Technologien wie Apple und Nvidia. Government incentives have played a role in luring TSMC's stateside. The Biden administration awarded the company's Arizona subsidiary a $6.6 billion Chips Act grant in 2024, helping to finance the facilities.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
But Trump made clear that this latest investment, this $100 billion investment, would move forward without any additional government subsidies. Stattdessen ist TSMC erwartet, ca. 40 Billionen in Kapitalausgaben für 2025 zu erzielen, die einen wichtigen Teil an US-Operationen richten. Der Move ist mehr als nur ein ökonomischer Windfall.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
Es ist eine strategische Rekalibrierung mit nationalen Sicherheitsmöglichkeiten. Semiconductor sind die Hintergründe, natürlich, der modernen Technologie, die alles von der Artifizierten Intelligenz bis zu den Verteidigungssystemen steuert.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
By shifting more of its most advanced production away from Taiwan, TSMC is bolstering America's supply chain resilience and reducing reliance on a region at growing risk of conflict with China. Taiwan currently produces about 90% of the world's most advanced chips, with TSMC alone responsible for the bulk of that output.
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
US-Officials have long warned that any disruption, whether through military conflict, economic pressures or trade restrictions, could cripple key industries and defense capabilities. Bringing more of that production on shore, they argue, is an insurance policy against geopolitical instability. And they're not wrong. Still, the transition won't be painless. Producing semiconductors in the U.S.,
The President's Daily Brief
March 5th, 2025: Food, Cars & Tech: Here's What You'll Pay More For Under The New Tariffs & The Unlikely Iran Deal Broker
ist, wie man sich vorstellt, deutlich teurer als in Taiwan. Viel der Arbeit an TSMC's existierenden Fabrikationen kommt von taiwanischen Arbeitern, und die Firma hat bereits amerikanische Kunden höhere Preise bezahlt, um Kosten aufzusetzen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Das Konzept erzeugt eine interessante Möglichkeit. Könnten private Entitäten verabschiedet werden, um Kartell-Operationen zu zerstören, Drogen-Schiffen zu unterbrechen und diese kriminellen Organisationen zu zerstören, so wie konventionelle Kräfte das nicht können? Die Idee stammt aus der Macht des US-Kongressen, um so genannte Marken- und Repräsentationen zu eröffnen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Dies sind offizielle Regierungs-Autorisationen, die privaten Bürger ermöglichen, zu schießen und fehlende Wesen oder Aspekte zu besiegen. In essence, it's a legal way for individuals to become pirates on a specific mission. And really, who hasn't wanted to be a pirate at some point in their lives? I mean, the clothes, the rum, the parrot. As long as the parrot has a sense of humor, I suppose.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Nun, die Anwendung von Privatierern im Armkrieg ist nicht genau eine neue Idee in der US-Historie, sie wurde einfach nicht so oft gemacht. Sie spielte eine große Rolle während der amerikanischen Revolution und der 1812er-Wahl.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Damals, mit einer kleinen Armee, die nicht mit den Briten kombiniert war, hat die US-Gewerkschaft Mark-Leitungen veröffentlicht, die private Schiffshändler ermöglichten, Schiffshändler zu schießen. Während der Revolution zerstörten diese Privatierer britische Supply-Line und bedrohten den Parlament, um den Krieg zu beenden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
In der 1812er-Wahl führten sie über 1.300 britische Schiffe, verursachten signifikante ökonomische Schäden und helfen, die Briten an die Negotiationsstelle zu drücken. Die Idee, Privatisten gegen die Kartelle zu nutzen, ist eine neue Idee. But it's been floated a number of times recently, with one of the most vocal proponents being Utah Senator Mike Lee.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
He suggested that Congress could issue letters of marque and reprisal to authorize private security firms to intercept cartel operations, especially those involving drug shipments or human trafficking across the border.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Senator Lee sagte, dass diese Privatierinnen und Prieten sich darauf konzentrieren, Suppeillenzen zu zerstören, High-Value-Targete zu erzeugen und Kartell-Assets wie Boote, Fahrzeuge, Geld und Gold zu zerstören.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Und das Konzept ist aufmerksam, mit einem Opinionsbuch von Professor Glenn Reynolds aus der University of Tennessee, das gestern in den New York Post publiziert wurde, in dem er die Potenzial der Privatierinnen und Prieten in der Kampf gegen die Kartelle diskutiert.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
So, you think to yourself, this might seem like a wild idea, but allowing privateers to target drug cartels could offer several potential benefits. For one, it could expand enforcement capabilities by supplementing US military and law enforcement efforts with highly motivated, privately funded operators.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Zudem könnte es eine mehr kosteffekte Lösung sein, da Privatier ein preisbasiertes System haben können, die Kartell-Assets, Drogen-Schiffen und offizielle Finanzen besitzen, anstatt nur auf Taxifahrer-Dollar zu relyingen. Natürlich gibt es offizielle Probleme mit diesem Aspekt der Idee.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
aber es könnte auch eine unvergessliche dezentralisierte Gefahr für Kartelle erzeugen, die sie gegen nicht-Government-Aktoren verteidigen, die mit verschiedenen Taktiken und Regeln von Engagement arbeiten. Another advantage is that privateers could bypass the bureaucratic constraints that slow down government forces. What?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Are we saying that there are bureaucratic constraints within the operations of government? Allowing them to pursue cartel targets across borders with fewer political and legal limitations. And lastly, it could serve as a deterrent, possibly, raising the risks and costs for cartels, potentially making drug trafficking a less lucrative enterprise.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
However, before you get too excited and you start rummaging through your closet for that old Halloween costume eyepatch and puffy shirt, well, there are some obvious pitfalls. For starters, much of the cartels booty, and yes, this is the first time we've ever used the word booty on the PDB, well, that booty consists of illicit goods like drugs and contraband.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
This means privateers wouldn't be able to sell what they seize for profit, which of course undermines the traditional incentive structure of privateering. There are also legal and ethical concerns. Private actors operating with government approval might blur the line between law enforcement and vigilantism, raising questions about accountability.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Additionally, there is a risk that this approach could escalate violence. There is definitely that risk, as cartels could retaliate aggressively against privateers. Potentially leading to more chaos than less. International law could also come into play as privateers targeting cartel assets across borders could spark diplomatic conflicts. And finally, well, there's the danger of corruption.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Privateers might abuse their power, engage in criminal activities or get co-opted by the very cartels that they're meant to fight. So, while the concept of using privateers against drug cartels is definitely unconventional, it is an idea that's being floated as perhaps another option for fighting cartels, given the growing challenges in combating these criminal organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Up next, the EU, the European Union, scrambles to authorize a billion-dollar arms package for Ukraine at an emergency summit scheduled for next week. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker hier. Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom. Frankly, you wouldn't do that.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Es ist Dienstag, 25. Februar. Willkommen bei der PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker, eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt. Lass uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst einmal, könnte die Vereinigten Staaten zu Privatisten zu bringen, um den Kampf gegen die Drogenkartelle in Südamerika zu bringen?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. As the United States shows signs of stepping back in its support of Ukraine, European leaders are doubling down, setting the stage for an emergency summit next week to hammer out a new military aid package as Kyiv enters its fourth year of war against Russia, going on four years now.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
We'll explore the unconventional idea that's being floated in some corners of Congress and the potential dangers of a return to legal piracy. Later in the show, as the US appears to step back in its support of Ukraine, European leaders are doubling down, announcing plans to authorize a billion-dollar arms package for Kyiv at an emergency summit scheduled for next week.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
On Monday, Kaya Kalas, the EU's chief diplomat, confirmed that European foreign ministers had reached broad consensus on a new initiative to arm Ukraine. But key details, well, they remain unresolved. Kalas stated, "...the details, especially the numbers, will be decided and discussed at the extraordinary European summit on March 6th."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
While no firm figure has been set, the EU has already provided 21 billion in military aid annually since Russia's invasion in 2022. That's a benchmark that many diplomats argue must be increased. The underlying concern is clear. Without sustained Western backing, Ukraine may be forced into territorial concessions that could further embolden Moscow.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Kallis beurteilt, dass Europa die Ukraine in einer, Quote, Stärkungsposition vermitteln muss, um einen unrechtlichen Friedensvertrag zu vermeiden. Der kommende Summit kommt, als die Zerwärmungssprache zwischen Washington und Moskau weitergeht, aber notierend, die Ukraine und die EU-Nationen auslösen, leaving European leaders to question, whether their interests are being sidelined.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
But European unity on the issue is far from guaranteed. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, one of Russian President Putin's staunchest allies in the bloc, fiercely opposed further armed shipments, claiming they will, quote, prolong the war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Orbán's government has repeatedly used its veto power to block key EU aid measures, forcing European leaders to explore workarounds in order to neutralize Budapest's obstructionism. Across the Atlantic, President Trump's escalating criticism of Ukrainian President Zelensky has deepened European anxieties, that's putting it mildly.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Leaders are concerned that Washington could pressure Kyiv into accepting a ceasefire that could favor the Kremlin's territorial gains. Despite Orban's resistance, several European nations have wasted no time ramping up their support.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
On Monday, Nordic and Baltic leaders released a joint statement pledging to bolster Kyiv military capabilities, warning that the war's outcome will have, quote, fundamental and long-lasting effects on European and transatlantic security, end quote. As part of the new push, the EU is preparing to send Ukraine nearly 4 billion in March, while the UK is committing close to 5 billion dollars.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Canada, for its part, has pledged 25 armored vehicles, 4 F-16 simulators and 5 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets. Other aid from EU member states is expected to push into the billions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Dementsprechend hat Dänemark, die sich über Russlands Aggressionen beschäftigt, einen dramatischen Aufstieg in ihren Verteidigungsspenden erklärt, mit einem zusätzlichen 7 Billionen Dollar in den nächsten zwei Jahren. Der dänische Verteidigungsminister hat bemerkt, dass Europa massiv wiederherrschen muss, um von Moskau zukünftige Threats zu beurteilen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
As European leaders work to finalize their next steps, Ukraine remains at a pivotal crossroads. Due to the ongoing negotiations between Washington and Moscow, combined with Trump's skepticism of Zelensky, well, the EU sees the upcoming summit as a crucial test of whether they can fill the void. If US support for Ukraine continues to wane.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 25 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And don't forget, if you're thinking to yourself, I love the PDB, but would really love an ad-free version, well, it's simple. Just become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 25th, 2025: Could The U.S. Use Privateers To Fight Cartels? & Europe Pledges Billions More For Ukraine
Aber zuerst, heutes Abend-Spotlight. Heute nehmen wir einen näheren Blick auf eine interessante Frage. Könnte die USA sich zu Privatisierenden, zu Kampf-Drug-Kartellen, bewegen? Und eine andere Frage, wann war das letzte Mal, dass man das Wort Privatisierende gehört hat? Während das Privatisieren traditionell armen Schiffen beteiligt hat, die Schiffen in der Wartezeit in den Krieg konzentrieren,
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 25 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And just in case you didn't get the memo, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, it's simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then... Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Plus, China's Navy is flexing its muscles in the Pacific and conducting live fire drills that have New Zealand and Australia on edge. And in today's Back of the Brief, Spanish authorities take down a major South American-run sex trafficking ring. Another reminder that their criminal networks operate far beyond the Americas. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Following a tumultuous week in relations between Washington and Kyiv, President Zelensky is signaling that he's willing to do whatever it takes to secure a peaceful resolution to Russia's war on Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
As I'm sure our listeners are aware, last week President Trump sent shockwaves across Europe after he called Zelensky a, quote, dictator without elections, implied that Ukraine started the war, and said the Ukrainian leader,
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
The message caused international uproar, particularly among NATO allies, as you might imagine, who accused the President of peddling Russian propaganda and marginalizing a critical regional ally. Well, Zelenskyy appears to have taken the attack in stride, telling reporters on Sunday that he wasn't offended, though he noted that a true dictator would have been offended.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
To prove the point, Zelenskyy said he stands ready to give up his power in exchange for a peaceful settlement to the war, or for assurances that Ukraine will be granted access to the NATO alliance. He added that he would depart, quote, immediately if necessary. Zelenskyy erklärte, dass er bereit ist, die NATO-Memberschaft zu handeln, wenn es solche Bedingungen gibt.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Kommentare kamen an der Ehe des dritten Jahrhunderts der Russische Invasion von der Ukraine, in nur einer Woche, nachdem US-Affiziere bilateral Diskussionen mit Moskau in der saudischen Stadt von Riyadh ausgeschlossen haben, was die Repräsentanten von Kyiv und NATO ausgeschlossen hat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Gespräche haben die Gefühle gestärkt, dass die Trump-Administration die Ukraine aus dem Negotiationsprozess völlig auslösen könnte und sich zu einem Versammlungsausschuss auslösen würde, das russische Interessen verfügt. But the frosty tensions between Washington and Kyiv, well, appeared to be thawing, at least somewhat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
During an online meeting of the group of seven, or G7, on Monday, Zelensky and Trump spoke over the phone in an effort to bridge their divide. While the pair likely didn't fully bury the proverbial hatchet, Zelensky described it as, quote, very good conversation and expressed optimism that the U.S. would continue to maintain its support for Kyiv, trotz des Trump-Gesetzes in Moskau.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Zelenskyy hat seine Anrufe zu einem Face-to-Face-Meeting mit Trump geäußert, und sagt, dass es wichtig ist, dass sie zusammenkommen und auf der gleichen Seite sind, bevor ein potenzieller Verteidigung zwischen Trump und Putin stattfindet.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Zelenskyy hat geäußert, dass sie auf einen potenziellen Deal aufgetreten sind, um den US-Präferenten Zugang zu Ukrainens rarer Erde-Mineralien zu bieten, obwohl Details darüber, was dieser Deal enthalten ist, noch nicht klar sind. Letzte Woche provokierte Zelenskyy Trumps Wunsch, einen initialen US-Vorschlag über kritische ukrainische Ressourcen öffentlich zu verweigern.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Zelenskyy sagte, dass der Vorschlag Kiew mit irgendwelchen US-Sicherheitswahrnehmungen verfehlt hat, etwas, das er argumentiert, kritisch ist, um eine, Quote, reiche Frieden in der Region zu erreichen. Aber es scheint, dass beide Seiten jetzt nahe an einem Deal sind, das diese Sorgen beantworten wird, zumindest laut unserer Berichterstattung von The Hill.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Trump for his part signaled on Monday that he could meet with Zelensky imminently to finalize an agreement. Speaking from the Oval Office alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump said, quote, I will be meeting with President Zelensky. In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
US-Afficials have argued that such a deal would be mutually beneficial, as it would give the US a powerful strategic incentive to provide long-term security guarantees for Kyiv to deter future Russian aggression. Trump has also said it would serve as a viable way for the US to recoup the money spent on military assistance for Ukraine since the war began.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
While nothing is finalized, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said Monday that negotiations on a minerals deal were now at the, quote, one yard line. Alright, coming up next, a senior Hamas official now says he wouldn't have supported the October 7th attacks if he had known the fallout. Oh, plus China's Navy flexes its muscles with live fire drills that have New Zealand and Australia on alert.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB. A top Hamas official has publicly admitted that had he foreseen the full scope of consequences, he would not have supported the 7 October 2023 terror attacks on Israel. Now, this rare admission comes as ceasefire negotiations remain fragile, as disputes over prisoner releases threaten to reignite the war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
It's Tuesday, 25 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And apparently back on the road again. So I apologize for the constant shifting of the backdrop. I'm not sure whether that's considered professional or unprofessional, but it's the way that it is.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Seit Monaten haben Hamas-Führer stetig die Terror-Attacken verteidigt, die ca. 1.200 Israele getötet haben und die Erhöhung von ca. 250 Flüchtlingen geführt haben. In Bezug darauf hat Israel eine langweilige militärische Kampagne gegen die Iran-gelegte Terrorgruppe gestartet, die jüngere Hamas-Affiziere eliminiert und viel mehr des Enklaven zum Rebellen reduziert.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Trotz Israels militärischer Reaktion hat die Hamas-Führung bis jetzt, bis jetzt, vielmehr durch ihre Entscheidung gestanden.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Aber in einer Interview mit den New York Times hat Moussa Abou Marzouk, der kutterbasierte Vorsitzende des Hamas-Foreign-Relations-Winges, ermutigt, dass er, wenn er die Ausgabe von Israels Verletzung erwartet hätte, es wäre, wie gesagt, unmöglich gewesen, dass er die Terroroperation unterstützen würde.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Um ehrlich zu sein, wenn er jetzt diesen Wunsch regiert und wirklich schlecht über die Zerstörung in Gaza fühlt, vielleicht könnte er und die anderen Top Hamas-Führung, zumindest diejenigen, die noch lebendig sind, ihre Billionen von Dollar donatieren, die sie seit Jahren von der Organisation ausgezaubert haben, und sie an den Reconstruction-Effort geben. Das ist nur ein Gedanke.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Notabel war, dass Abu Marzouk nicht informiert wurde über die spezifischen Pläne für den 7. Oktober, sondern dass Hamas' politische Führung den breiteren Ziel des Angriffes auf Israel beigetragen hatte. Seine Aufmerksamkeit führte Spekulationen über Bedingungen innerhalb der Hamas-Führung. Während Abu Marzouk scheint Regret über den Fall des Angriffes zu erkennen ,
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Hardline-Figuren, insbesondere die, die mit Hezbollah und Iran verbunden sind, bleiben enttäuscht in ihrer Verteidigung der Terror-Operationen. Die Zeitung eines Statements ist, naja, weit von unerlässlich.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Ausstattungsverhandlungen haben einen Unfall erreicht, mit Hamas, die nicht mehr in weitere Diskussionen mit Israel beteiligt ist, bis Israel ihre Vermutung erfüllt, über 600 palästinensische Gefühle zu lösen. Wie wir am Montags-PDB berichtet haben, hat Israel den letzten Gefängnisverlauf nach der Handlung von zehn israelischen Flüchtlingen gedelte, sechs lebendig und vier tot.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Israels Offiziere beurteilen Hamas, dass sie Verbrechen durch schreckliche Handlungsserven und die Verbrechung von Gefangenen für Propaganda darstellen. In response Hamas lashed out, calling Israel's decision a, quote, blatant violation of the deal and warning that talks will not proceed unless the agreed upon terms are met.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
The White House has backed Israel's move, calling it an appropriate response to Hamas' quote, barbaric treatment of hostages. With the first phase of the ceasefire set to expire on Saturday, uncertainty, well, obviously looms.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to the region this week in a last-ditch effort to extend the first phase of the ceasefire and secure the release of additional hostages. So far, Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages and four dead, with another four bodies scheduled for handover on Thursday.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
In total, 33 Israeli hostages are set to be exchanged for roughly 1,900 Palestinian prisoners. But Hamas has made it clear that no further talks will take place unless the prisoner releases proceed in full. For now, the ceasefire hangs by a thread. Whether Abu Marzouks remarks signal a deeper shift within Hamas or a calculated ploy to sway negotiations remains an open question.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Coming to you today from, oh look, another airport lounge somewhere in the continental United States. Das sind alle die Hinweise, die ich euch gebe. Okay, lasst uns kurz sprechen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
But with hostages, prisoners and fragile diplomacy at stake, the coming days will determine whether war resumes or if peace holds. Okay, turning to the South Pacific. China's Navy conducted two unprecedented live fire drills last week, sparking security concerns from New Zealand and Australia as Beijing flexes its growing military reach.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
The exercises involving three People's Liberation Army or PLA Navy warships die China's growing firepower, including long-range missile systems that analysts say signal Beijing's ambitions to operate far beyond its traditional maritime sphere. New Zealand's Defense Minister Judith Collins called the drills a significant escalation, citing the fleet's advanced weaponry as a cause for concern.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
On Monday, Collins stated in a Radio New Zealand interview, quote, the weapons they have are extremely capable. One has 112 vertical launch cells and has a reported anti-ship ballistic missile range of 540 nautical miles. Die Geräte haben nicht nur die Verteidigungsoffiziere abgerissen, sie haben auch die kommerzielle Luftfahrt zerstört.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Luftfahrtwarnungen, die normalerweise einen halben oder vollen Tag oder einen vollen Tag vorhanden sind, kamen mit nur ein paar Stunden Aufmerksamkeit, die Passagiere zu verringern, mitten im Flugzeug. Die Last-Minute-Advisory brachte Kritik aus Australien, mit dem Bundespräsidenten Anthony Albanese bestätigte, dass China, Quote, hätte mehr Aufmerksamkeit gegeben.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Nun, das ist nicht genau eine scharfe Aufmerksamkeit. A New Zealand Navy frigate shadowed the Chinese flotilla, which was last seen roughly 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania. The presence of a Type 055 destroyer, that's the PLA Navy's most powerful surface combatant, underscored the growing operational confidence of Beijing's naval forces.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Wir beginnen heute mit einem wichtigen Statement von Ukrainer Präsident Zelenskyy, der sagt, dass er bereit ist, unter den richtigen Bedingungen zurückzukehren, während Präsident Trump signalisiert, dass er nächste Woche mit dem ukrainischen Leiter treffen kann. Wir haben diese Details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Ein maritime security expert described the site of a fully armed PLA Navy combat flotilla this far south as quote unusual, noting that China's shift from near seas operations to far seas training is part of its broader strategy to establish itself as a true blue water navy capable of operating across open oceans. Beijing's naval ambitions have expanded dramatically over the past decade.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
What started as regional dominance in the South China Sea has evolved into anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden, naval exercises in the Indian Ocean and now live fire drills deep in the South Pacific. While still trailing the US Navy in global reach, China is aggressively working to close the gap. Wahrscheinlich hat Beijing den Ausbruch von Australien und Neuseeland verabschiedet.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Ich habe dir gesagt, dass das wahrlich sein würde. Mit dem chinesische Verteidigungsministerium verurteilt beide Nationen, dass die Drillen hochgeheizt werden und unvergleichbare Angelegenheiten erzielt werden.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
In der Zwischenzeit hat die chinesische Staatsmedien verdoppelt, um die westlichen Nationen zu bemerken, dass die PLA-Navi in ihren Flächen ist, als Beijing seine militärische Erweiterung fortsetzt. According to the Pentagon's latest assessment on Beijing's military, China now boasts the world's largest naval fleet, with over 370 ships and submarines.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Under President Xi Jinping, the PLA Navy's rapid build-up is aimed at securing key maritime interests, protecting overseas assets, and directly challenging US naval dominance in strategically vital sea lanes.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
While China maintains that its operations adhere to international law, the growing presence of PLA warships in traditionally western-aligned maritime zones is sure to heighten tensions with Australia, New Zealand and of course their western allies. Alright, next up.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
A major sex trafficking ring with ties to South America has been dismantled in Spain with dozens arrested and dozens of victims rescued. I'll have that story in the back of the brief.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Starte deinen Test noch heute für 1 Euro pro Monat auf shopify.de. In today's Back of the Brief. If you thought that South American transnational gangs were just a problem in the US, well, think again.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
später in der Show, eine seltene Aufmerksamkeit von einem Senior Hamas-Offizier, der jetzt sagt, er hätte die Oktober 7. Angriffe nicht unterstützt, wenn er die Auswirkungen gekannt hätte, was natürlich bedeutet, dass, wenn Hamas keine negativen Auswirkungen hatte, dann wäre er in Ordnung gewesen, mit der Tötung von 1.200 Frauen, Kindern, älteren Menschen und Männern und über 250 Verbrechern.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Authorities in Spain announced Sunday the bust of a staggeringly massive sex trafficking ring led by two Colombian women and a Spanish man, who are accused of abducting more than 1,000 women over the past year, mostly from Colombia and Venezuela.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Polizei hat eine Anzahl von 48 Anwälten verhaftet, während einer Reihe von Rädern über den Wochenende auf acht Gebäuden, insbesondere drei Brothels, die fast 50 Anwälte der kriminellen Unterkunft retteten. Das ist laut einem Bericht des deutschen Outlet DW. Die Frauen wurden beruflich von Südamerika nach Spanien über das letzte Jahr verhaftet.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
mit der Vermutung, stetige Arbeiten in den Klinik- und Künstlersektoren zu machen. Aber als sie vorbeigekommen sind, wurden sie stattdessen in schmutzige Clubs ausgestattet, als Bordern oder Hostels, wo sie täglich verhaftet wurden.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Polizei sagte, die Frauen seien alle Stunden gezwungen, unter permanenten Videoverwaltungen zu arbeiten, und würden nur für weniger als zwei Stunden pro Tag draußen lassen. Während der Räder haben die Polizei mehrere Waffen, ca. 150.000 Euro in Geld, konfisziert und eine Bankkarte geschlossen, die in Höhe von fast 1 Millionen Dollar bezahlt wurde.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Sie haben auch drei Strip-Clubs geschlossen und ein Total von 17 Gebäuden mit der transnationalen Gang verabschiedet. Sechs der Verletzten, insbesondere die drei Ringlehrer, sind aktuell in Präsentation. Die anderen 42 Verletzten wurden im Nachhinein verhaftet. Sie betreffen die Landwirtschaftsführer und Taxifahrer, die die Frauen zwischen den verschiedenen Orten schüttelten.
The President's Daily Brief
February 25th, 2025: Zelensky Says He’s ‘Ready’ To Resign Under Certain Conditions & A Rare Admission From Hamas
Die Behörden sagten, dass sie das transnationale Traffiknetz entdeckt haben, dank anonymer Tipps, die auf einer dedizierten Polizei-Hotline gelegt wurden. Sie sagten, dass sie im letzten Jahr Tausende Bürger-Komplikate über die Gangs-Aktivität erhalten haben, die unnötige operative Informationen bieten, die die Wochenende-Räder möglich machten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Und sie sind unter dem Radar geschehen, ohne öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit von Washington oder Mexiko-City. Now, credit where it's due, CNN first broke this story, citing sources familiar with the program. But let's take a step back and look at this from the 30,000-foot level, or whatever altitude the drones are flying.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
For years, the US has fought the cartels indirectly, through partnerships with Mexican authorities, DEA-led investigations and law enforcement operations along the southern border. But now, under the new US administration, we're seeing a clear effort to treat these cartels more like terrorist organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
And as we reported here on the PDB, Trump officially designated them as foreign terrorist organizations in one of his first acts as president. And that designation is already reshaping US strategy. Hier ist, was wir wissen. Die CIA-Drohnen sind momentan unbearmt. Dies sind die MQ-9-Reepers, die gleichen, die für präzisierte Angriffe gegen ISIS und Al-Qaida verwendet werden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Die MQ-9-Reeper kann mit einer Vielzahl von präzisierten Waffen gearmt werden, z.B. Hellfire-Missilen, lasergeführte Bomben und die GPS-geführte Joint Direct Attack Munition oder JDAM, wie Sie es gehört haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Die Drohne ist für sowohl Beobachtungs- als auch Angriffsmissionen ausgestattet, und sie ist ein wichtiger Aspekt in den US-Kontraterrorismus-Operationen, die sich mit Pinpoint-Akkuraten auf die Gegner konzentrieren können.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Nun, die Drohnen werden nur für Beobachtung verwendet, für jetzt zumindest, aber die Tatsache, dass sie gearmt werden können, äußert ernsthafte Fragen über das, was nachher kommen könnte. Wir haben vorhin über US-Spyplanes berichtet, die auf der Grenze verwendet werden, um Kartellbewegungen zu verhindern. Aber dies ist das erste Mal, dass wir über kriminelle Missionen innerhalb Mexikos reden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Die Regierung hat den Kongress über einen klassifizierten Prozess bemerkt, der für Operationen vorgesehen ist, die die CIA beurteilen oder negieren will. Und notierend ist, dass es keine Koordination mit dem mexikanischen Staat gibt. Und das ist ein großer Wandel aus den letzten gemeinsamen Bemühungen. Now, the timing here is important.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
The Trump administration has already made it clear that it's willing to use counterterrorism tactics against the cartels. In fact, just last month, when signing an executive order ramping up those efforts, Trump was asked about sending special forces into Mexico. His response? Well, it was, quote, could happen, stranger things have happened, end quote. Hmm, that's ambiguous.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
So, how is Mexico reacting to all of this? Well, so far, it's been, I suppose you could describe it as a mix of silence and unease. Mexico's President, Claudia Scheinbaum, and other top officials have been quick to emphasize that American military surveillance flights along the border have remained in international airspace.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
But when asked about reports of these covert CIA drone missions flown inside Mexican airspace, Mexico's defense minister admitted he wasn't aware of them. He also suggested, rather bluntly, that he couldn't rule out espionage. Meanwhile, Mexico's foreign ministry hasn't responded at all. This puts Scheinbaums government in a tough spot.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Publisch können sie nicht in der Lage sein, in den USA frei zu arbeiten, innerhalb ihrer Grenzen. Privately though, Mexico's leadership knows that they're struggling to contain the cartels and that American intelligence on cartel movements and activities, well, is incredibly valuable. So, you ask, what happens next? Oh, I'm glad you asked.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
With a terrorist designation already in place, the legal and strategic ground is there for more aggressive military-style operations. And if these CIA drone missions are just the beginning, well, we could be looking at a dramatic escalation in how the US wages its war on drugs. Which, frankly, could be good, given that the past few wars on drugs didn't really go all that well.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Coming up next, migrant shelters that once took in nearly a thousand people per day are now nearly empty, as Trump's border shutdown leaves some of those centers on the brink of closing. I'll be right back. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash. Now, saving and investing can seem impossible, but with Stash, well, it's not just possible, it's easy.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
It's Tuesday, 18 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with a major escalation in the fight against the cartels.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right? But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine. But what if one day you come out of the bathroom and look at that, your laptop is gone. Look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how. And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
According to reports, President Trump has the CIA, the Central Intelligence Agency, flying covert drone missions over Mexico, using the same Reaper drones deployed in the War on Terror. Later in the show, migrant shelters that once housed nearly a thousand people a day are now nearly empty as Trump's border crackdown sharply reduces border crossings. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Willkommen zurück im Nachhinein-Bulletin. Die Wahrheit bleibt, dass die Verbrechung der Grenzen der Trump-Administration die Immigrationslandschaft wiederhergestellt hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Migrantenschelter auf der Texas-Mexiko-Border, die einmal mit fast 1.000 Einwohnern pro Tag überwältigt waren, sind nun fast leer, weil die steigenden Policien die Übergänge drastisch reduziert haben, um einige Schelter zu schließen. Since January, the Trump administration has effectively sealed the border to asylum seekers, allowing only a handful of exceptions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
The impact has been immediate and dramatic. Shelters, once at the breaking point under the Biden administration, are now struggling to justify their existence, and many expect to close by the end of the month.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
In der Bordertown von McAllen, zum Beispiel, haben katholische Chariten der Rio Grande Valley gesehen, dass die Ereignisse an ihrem Respektzentrum von mehr als 3.000 im Januar zu weniger als zwölf täglich in diesem Monat zerstört haben. In der heutigen Zeit wird der Zentrum in Februar weniger als 350 Migranten durchführen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Die wenigen, die vorbeikommen, werden normalerweise von den US-Kunst- und Grenzschutzbehörden ausgeliefert, nach dem Prozess und mit einer Notiz an die Immigrationsgerichtshofung eingeladen und dann auf den Weg gebracht. Annunciation House, ein Netzwerk von Gefängnissen in El Paso, hat einen ähnlichen Nosedive gesehen. Where there were once more than 20 shelters in operation, only four remain.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
The total number of migrants in its care, well, that's only about 40. Director Ruben Garcia expects that number to fall further, possibly forcing more locations to close by month's end, leaving just one or two operational.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
García notierte, dass die Migrationsnummern bereits durch Mexikas striktere Immigrationsverpflichtung verschwunden sind, aber Präsident Trumps Immigration-Krackdown hat den Verlust dramatisch erhöht. Selbst vor der Wahl kamen die täglichen Eingriffe an die Annunciation House zwischen 250 und 300. Das ist niedrig, aber nichts wie das, was jetzt passiert. Across Texas, shelters are scaling back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
In El Paso, one facility closed its doors in September. The Migrant Resource Center in San Antonio stopped accepting new arrivals just last week. And in McAllen, Catholic Charities has already begun cutting staff, even before federal funding cuts further strained its operations. Am 30.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Januar erhielt Sister Norma Pimentel, Exekutivdirektorin der Rio Grande Valley Catholic Charities, Wort, dass das Zentrum federales Finanzierungsprogramm nicht mehr erhalten würde. Das Programm wurde erst während Trumps ersten Termin eröffnet, um die lokalen und staatlichen Regierungen und Non-Professionen für emergency migrant aid zu reimbursieren.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Trotz des finanziellen Ausgleichs sagt Pimentel, dass das Zentrum weiterhin Hilfe bieten wird, auch wenn es jetzt nur fünf oder zehn Migranten pro Tag gibt. Aber sobald die Trump-Administration sich auf ihre Plätschung vorstellt, die südliche Grenze zu sichern, wie lange das noch nötig bleibt, ist eine offene Frage. Und das, meine Freunde, ist die PDB-Afternoon Bulletin für Dienstag, den 18.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Februar. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And as you may have already read in the gossip pages, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. It really is that simple. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
Starte deinen Test noch heute für 1 Euro pro Monat auf shopify.de slash radio.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 18th, 2025: CIA Reaper Drones Over Mexico & Border Crossings Collapse
In der neuesten Beweisung, dass die Trump-Administration den Kampf gegen die Drogenkartelle nimmt, hat die CIA kräftige Drohnen-Missionen tief in Mexiko gefahren. Diese Flugzeuge, die von den so genannten MQ-9-Reaper-Drohnen ausgestattet werden, bemerken einen bedeutenden Wandel in den US-Narkotik-Operationen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Leaders from six EU countries, as well as the United Kingdom, convened in Paris on Monday for an emergency summit intended to form a consensus on how to respond to President Trump's bilateral talks with Kremlin representatives, which kicked off today in Saudi Arabia. But finding common ground is proving tricky, with officials clashing over what kind of security guarantees to offer Kyiv.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
In Bukavu, supporters called for the rebels to push all the way to the capital, Kinshasa, nearly 1,000 miles away Backed by an estimated 4,000 Rwandan troops, according to the United Nations, M23 is just one of over 100 armed groups vying for dominance over eastern Congo's vast mineral wealth, resources critical to global supply chains
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Uranium and cobalt and other critical minerals have been the key to conflict in the Congo for generations, going back to before the country's independence in 1960. The conflict has already displaced more than 6 million people, and that's a humanitarian crisis that the UN describes as the largest in the world.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
At the heart of this war is a decades-old ethnic struggle The M23 claims to be defending Congo's ethnic Tutsis, while Rwanda insists that the Congolese military has absorbed Hutu militias responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide In the wake of Bukavu's fall, the Congolese president states that the conflict risks spiraling into a regional war Congolese forces have leaned on South African troops in Goma and Burundian forces in Bukavu
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The crisis took center stage over the weekend at the African Union Summit in Ethiopia, but for now, neither African leaders nor the broader international community appear willing to take decisive action against M23 or Rwanda, whose military is one of the most formidable on the continent. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 18 February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdp at thefirsttv.com. And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, which you could do, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdppremium.com. See, I told you it was simple. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
It's Tuesday, 18 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, we'll kick things off with the latest on the war in Ukraine. As Russia and U.S. officials engage in peace talks in Saudi Arabia, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has offered to send U.K. troops as peacekeepers in any potential deal.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
That's according to a report from the Financial Times. President Emmanuel Macron hosted the summit and was apparently hoping for commitments from EU allies to deploy a coalition of peacekeeping troops to Ukrainian territory to enforce any potential deal. It's a plan that Macron has floated several times in recent months and one that has the full support of Ukrainian President Zelensky.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Specifically, Macron envisions what he's described as a, quote, reassurance force. Well, that sounds friendly, which would be stationed behind but not on a future ceasefire line in Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Zelensky has called on European allies to commit a minimum of 200,000 troops to the effort, arguing that in the absence of NATO membership for Ukraine, something that the Trump administration, by the way, opposes, Kiev will need to rely heavily on the support of Europe's militaries.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
On Sunday, ahead of the emergency meeting, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered Zelensky some hope, explicitly committing to deploying British troops to Ukraine, quote, if necessary. Starmer said, quote, securing a lasting peace in Ukraine that safeguards its sovereignty for the long term is essential if we are to deter Putin from further aggression in the future, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Well, he's he's not wrong. Starmer added, quote, The end of this war cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again. He said he would work to sway European leaders still skeptical about joining the coalition, though on that score, frankly, he has his work cut out for him.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Leaders from Germany, Poland and Spain are reportedly reluctant to commit to a deployment, arguing that the discussions are premature. They're also likely concerned about the implications of having their own troops in Ukraine should a hypothetical peace agreement break down. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was impossible to commit to any hypothetical post-war security plan when the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
was making decisions without NATO's input. He demanded a wider discussion between the U.S., Kiev, and the NATO alliance, rejecting what he described as Moscow's effort to foist a... quote, dictated peace on Europe. Spain's foreign minister, meanwhile, also urged caution, saying, quote, Nobody is currently considering sending troops to Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Peace is still very far away, and for one reason only, and that would be Vladimir Putin, end quote. Now, he added that a peacekeeping coalition would raise complicated questions, of course, within the NATO alliance regarding what their specific mandate would be, how many troops each country would commit, and under what flag they would be operating.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Similarly, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw was not yet prepared to commit to a troop deployment, echoing the concerns of Spain's foreign minister. He did, however, urge all of Europe to immediately step up their spending on defense, saying if they fail to prevent a wider war, quote, we will be forced to spend 10 times more.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Currently, NATO members are required, in theory, to spend 2% of their GDP on their collective defense. That's a benchmark that many countries in the alliance have failed to meet.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Over the weekend, however, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance would form a new agreement for defense spending targets at an upcoming summit in June, pledging that NATO members will significantly increase their contributions.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Trump, who's been highly critical of NATO, has said he would like to see members contribute as much as 5% of their GDP towards defense, though it remains to be seen if members will step up to meet that demand. But Trump's blitz towards securing a quick peace deal with Russia has forced European allies to rapidly pivot and evolve their positions on issues of mutual defense.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
At the summit on Monday, officials reportedly discussed ways to boost contributions in the short term, such as temporarily easing the EU's rules on deficits regarding defense spending. Still, Starmer and other European leaders said that at the end of the day, security guarantees from the U.S. would be needed to keep Russia at bay. Starmer said, quote, a U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
But European leaders, well, they're divided, with some pushing back on the idea of putting boots on the ground in Ukraine. Later in the show, reports claim that Hamas has agreed to hand control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. But Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel is shutting that idea down fast.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace because only the U.S. can deter Putin from attacking again, end quote. All right, coming up next, reports claim that Hamas has agreed to hand control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, while graphic details emerge from Hamas hostage survivors. I'll be right back. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
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February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
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February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
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The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Offer is subject to terms and conditions. Welcome back to the BDB. Turning to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed reports Monday that Hamas agreed under pressure from ceasefire mediator Egypt to transfer control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, the PA, reaffirming that neither group can be allowed to govern Gaza in the postwar period.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The reports, published by Sky News Arabia, were swiftly rejected by Netanyahu's spokesman, Omar Dostri, who posted on X, quote, not going to happen, end quote. Well, that's fairly direct. Netanyahu later reaffirmed his commitment to President Trump's plan to depopulate Gaza and redevelop the Strip.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
That's a proposal that, of course, has drawn fierce opposition from Arab and Muslim majority countries, as well as some Western allies, as we've tracked here on the PDB. Unveiled in a 4 February White House press conference alongside Netanyahu, Trump's plan calls for American, quote, ownership of Gaza and its reconstruction.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
An Israeli official told the Times of Israel that Israel is, quote, embracing with both hands Trump's vision and is actively working through the technical and logistical details to facilitate voluntary immigration from the Strip. And yes, you can imagine there may be some technical and logistical details in making that happen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The official stated, quote, Our goal is to allow the creation of an infrastructure to enable Gazans to leave, and we assess that many will leave, end quote. Last month, PA President Mahmoud Abbas signaled Ramallah's willingness to assume control of Gaza – that's big of him – once the war ends, though Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out any role for the PA.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Plus, horrifying details are emerging from Hamas hostage survivors, revealing the brutal conditions that they endured during captivity. And in today's back of the brief, Congo's government says Rwanda-backed rebels have seized control of a second major city in the country's mineral-rich east, escalating tensions in the region. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Back in July, three officials told the Times of Israel that Netanyahu had at one point privately considered allowing a PA presence in Gaza. That was a position that the then-Biden administration has pushed for. But Netanyahu's hardline allies, well, they refused to entertain the idea, equating the West Bank-based PA with Hamas due to its longstanding financial support for Palestinian prisoners.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Just last week, Abbas attempted to quell concerns by signing a decree ending the controversial, quote, pay-to-slay program, which provides stipends to the families of Palestinians convicted of attacking and injuring or killing Israelis. But Israeli officials aren't buying it.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
On Monday, Israel's Khan public broadcaster reported that the payments were still being processed as usual, reinforcing Israeli skepticism toward Ramallah's commitment to ending the practice. Meanwhile, Hamas's political future remains central to ongoing ceasefire negotiations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
While the terror group has previously suggested that it might disarm in exchange for statehood, there's no indication that it intends to do so under the current ceasefire deal. Speculation about Hamas ceding control of Gaza to the PA first surfaced during the initial stage of the hostage ceasefire talks, but Israel has made it clear Hamas and the PA cannot have a post-war role.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, reinforced that message Sunday, declaring that the next phase of the hostage deal is, quote, "...absolutely going to begin and will ultimately result in Hamas's removal from Gaza."
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Yet, as it stands, the ceasefire agreement does not explicitly require the Iran-backed terror group to relinquish power at the end of phase two, leaving Gaza's post-war governance, well, an open question. All right, I want to stick with Gaza for this next story, as recently freed Israeli hostages detail the horrific abuses they suffered at the hands of Hamas terrorists during their captivity.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
First, as a reminder, Israel and Hamas completed their sixth round of exchanges over the weekend with another three Israeli hostages released from the enclave. The Iranian-backed terror group has now released 19 out of the 33 Israeli hostages promised in the first phase of the deal, though at least eight of the remaining captives are confirmed dead.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
As the freed hostages attempt to adjust to life back in Israel, reports about the barbarity of their Hamas captors are coming to light, and, well, we should warn you that the stories are graphic and disturbing.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
According to a report from the Daily Mail, Hamas subjected male hostages to torture methods so brutal over their nearly 500 days in captivity that many of them had to relearn how to walk before their release.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The terrorists reportedly hung hostages by their feet for extended periods, regularly throttled them with ropes, gagged their mouths so they nearly suffocated, and branded them with burning objects. Hostages were also deliberately starved and held inside tunnels so small that they could not move, let alone stand upright, leaving them struggling to breathe.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The victims said they would go for days without any food or water, and when they were fed, they were given rotten food that they were forced to share. One unnamed hostage said, quote, 34-year-old Orr Levy, who was freed on Saturday, said that the hostages were only given proper food in the days leading up to their release so that they could stand on their own feet during the public handover.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Levy said, quote, End quote. The hostages were also subjected to psychological torture by their captors, who kept them in the dark about the fate of their loved ones following the brutal 7 October attacks back in 2023 that ignited this war. Levy, for example, only learned that his wife was killed during the attacks upon his release on Saturday. Levy's brother told reporters, quote,
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
With members of the Trump administration set to begin peace talks with Russia, without, for now anyway, the participation of Ukrainian and NATO officials, European leaders are now scrambling to coordinate their own plan to help ensure Ukraine's long-term security.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Another hostage released on Saturday, 54-year-old Ali Sharabi, also learned that his wife and their two teenage daughters had been killed on 7 October when he was released. Before learning the tragic news, his Hamas captors taunted him during the handover, forcing him to say he was looking forward to seeing his wife and children once he returned home.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
As we recently discussed on the PDB, the emaciated state of three hostages that were freed on 8 February ignited public fury in Israel and across the world, prompting international condemnations about the barbaric treatment of the hostages. And as the exchanges continue, it's likely that similar stories will continue to emerge.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
There are still as many as 76 hostages that remain in Gaza, though their condition is unknown. And reports emerged Monday that Israel is preparing to receive the remains of an unknown number of hostages from Gaza on Thursday, marking the first handover of deceased hostages since the ceasefire began.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Okay, coming up next, in the back of the brief, unrest in Africa where Rwanda-backed rebels have seized a second major city in the growing conflict in eastern Congo. I'll have those details when we return.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
In today's Back of the Brief, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized Bukavu, the second major city in mineral-rich eastern Congo, marking an escalation in their largely unopposed ongoing territorial gains.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
The Congolese government, which initially downplayed the situation, was forced to acknowledge on Sunday that Bukavu, a city of over one million people, had been, quote, occupied after M23 rebels seized control of the governor's office. There, M23 vowed to clean up the, quote, disorder left over from the old regime, referring, of course, to the government.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Associated Press journalists on the ground witnessed scores of residents cheering the rebel fighters as they rolled into the city following a days-long march from Goma, a city of two million that fell to M23 just last month. Despite government vows to restore order, there were no visible efforts to retake Bukavu.
The President's Daily Brief
February 18th, 2025: U.K. Peacekeepers in Ukraine? & Hamas Agrees To Step Aside In Gaza
Thousands of civilians, along with Congolese troops, fled on Saturday, leaving the city essentially defenseless. This is a stark departure from 2012, when M23 briefly occupied Goma before bowing to international pressure and withdrawing. This time, the group appears intent on cementing long-term political power.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
The US is lifting its paws on military aid and intelligence sharing, effective immediately, after Kiev agreed to an American proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. According to a joint statement released Tuesday, Ukraine accepted Washington's plan for a, quote, immediate interim 30-day ceasefire. However, well, the ball is now in Moscow's court to determine whether they'll agree to the same terms.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
As you might suspect, a conflict doesn't end if only one side stops shooting. The statement added that both countries, meaning the US and Ukraine, have agreed to name their negotiating teams and, quote, immediately begin negotiations toward an enduring peace that provides for Ukraine's long-term security.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
The US also committed to taking these specific proposals to Russian representatives, while Ukraine reiterated its position that European allies should be involved in the process. The joint statement went on to say, "...representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defense of their nation and agreed that now is the time to begin a process toward lasting peace."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
During the nearly seven-hour meeting, Ukrainian officials also took time to express gratitude to President Trump, the U.S. Congress and the American people for helping create what they called "...meaningful progress toward peace."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Diese Veränderung ist ein wichtiger Ausdruck von wenigen Tagen her, als Präsident Trump alle militärische Hilfe und Intelligenzverteilung mit der Ukraine ausgeschlossen hat, nach der Konfrontation am 28. Februar.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Zu diesem Zeitpunkt bestätigten Trumps Vorsitzende den Wunsch, über die Gefühle über Zelenskys Vertrauen in die Frieden zu beurteilen, und sagten, Hilfe würde pausieren, bis Kiew gezeigt hat, dass es um Negotiierungen mit Russland geht.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Während die initiale Antwort aus der Ukraine eine bemerkenswerte öffentliche Statement von Vergnügen enthielt, hat US-Spezialanwalt Steve Witkoff später erklärt, dass Zelenskyj sich privat an Trump verabschiedet hat, in einem Brief. Nun hat Trump die Teile dieses Briefes laut in seiner kongressiven Anrufe letzte Woche gelesen, aber keine Anerkennung von einer Verabschiedung gemacht.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
With this new agreement on the table, the focus, of course, shifts to Moscow. Will Putin agree to the same 30-day ceasefire terms? And if so, what kind of lasting deal can actually come from these talks? Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
delegation in Jeddah, seemed hopeful, telling reporters, quote, We're in a different place now and I think we'll continue moving forward, end quote. Well, even for the State Department, that statement is a masterclass in vagueness. Still Ukraine remains under heavy bombardment from Russian forces.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
As we've recently discussed on the PDB, Moscow has been on the counteroffensive against the Ukrainian military in the Kursk region of Russia and has been making slow but steady gains in the eastern portion of Ukraine. Es ist, ehrlich gesagt, jeder, der an dieser Stelle nachdenkt, ob Putin interessiert wird, wenn seine Truppen, die an der Oberfläche stehen, über eine Ausstrahlung sprechen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Kommen wir zum nächsten Thema. Elon Musks Ex, die soziale Medien-App, die damals Twitter bekannt war, kam am Montag unter einem massiven Cyber-Attack, das die Sozial-Media-Seite für mehrere Stunden aufgeräumt hat, mit wilden Spekulationen darüber, wer hinter der Intrusion sein könnte. Really? Wild speculations on social media? That hardly seems likely. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
It's Tuesday, the 11th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First, an update from Saudi Arabia, where a U.S. delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with senior Ukrainian officials. U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. After several hours of recurring outages Monday, Elon Musk claims that X was the target of a, quote, massive cyber attack. Speaking to Fox Business, the billionaire and Doge chief said X was hit by a large-scale cyber operation, but admitted he wasn't entirely sure where it originated from.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Musk stated, quote, there was a massive cyber attack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses, originating in the Ukraine area, end quote. The outage was widespread, with more than 40,000 users reporting problems by 10 a.m. Eastern Time, according to downdetector.com. Many users were met with an error message stating, quote, something went wrong. Hmm, another statement in vagueness.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Stunden später flog eine weitere Waffe von 25.000 Berichten ein. Am späten Nachmittag erhielt Musk, dass X wieder online war, aber suggerierte, dass der Angriff staatliche Sponsoren hatte oder durch eine große koordinierte Gruppe gemacht wurde. In einem Post auf X sagte Musk, dass wir jeden Tag getötet werden, aber das war mit vielen Ressourcen gemacht.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Musk's comments quickly ignited speculation, but cybersecurity experts pointed out that IP addresses can be manipulated, meaning Russia or another actor anywhere on the globe could have intentionally masked the origin to make Ukraine appear responsible.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Ein Senior Fellow at the American Think Tank Atlantic Council dismissed the idea that Ukrainian government actors would launch such an attack, particularly on the eve of the critical US-Ukraine peace negotiations meeting.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
The Fellow stated, quote, It makes absolutely no sense for Ukrainian hackers to attack Elon Musk the day before a meeting in which they are attempting to get the US to start sharing intelligence again and provide aid and assistance, end quote. He added that Russia stood to gain the most from this timing,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Nicht zu erwähnen, natürlich, dass Russland und China die größten Verbrecher von staatlich gesponserten Cyber-Attacken und Verbrechen sind. Ein weiterer potenzieller Verbrecher ist die Hacking-Kollektiv Anonymous, die von Musk offensichtlich kritisch war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Aber Cyber-Sicherheitsanalyse argumentieren, dass Russland der wahrscheinlich größte Verbrecher ist, bezieht sich auf Moskau's lange Geschichte mit der Anwendung von Cyber-Krieg, um Chaos zu zerstören und Gegner zu verringern. Meanwhile, Musk's relationship with Ukraine, well, remains complicated.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
His Starlink terminals have been indispensable to Ukrainian forces, providing battlefield connectivity when other communication networks collapsed. Musk has emphasized their reliance, stating, quote, their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off, end quote. Yet Musk remains critical of Ukrainian President Zelensky, echoing President Trump's demands for an immediate ceasefire.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Again, well, a ceasefire only works if both sides agree to it. On Sunday, Musk urged for, quote, peace now in a post on X, underscoring years of slaughter and a stalemate they, quote, Ukraine will inevitably lose. As investigations into the X-Outage continue, cybersecurity experts caution against jumping to conclusions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
aid, both military aid as well as intelligence sharing, has now been restored after Kiev agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. Now, of course, Da ist die Sache von Moskaus Intentionen. Später im Show kam Elon Musks Ex unter einen massiven Cyber-Attack am Montag, der die Service auf der Social-Media-Seite für mehrere Stunden zerstört hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
While Musk's remarks have fueled rampant speculation, cyber analysts warn that without concrete evidence, premature accusations risk playing into the hands of those looking to exploit uncertainty. Well, the only problem is, social media is tailor-made for speculation and jumping to conclusions. It's kind of social media's signature move.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 11 March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And finally, to listen to the show ad-free, well, you can do that. It's simple. Become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 11th, 2025: Ukraine Agrees To A Ceasefire & Elon Musk's X Hit By Major Cyber Attack
Wir diskutieren den Fallout und warum Musk in erster Linie die Cyber-Intrusion auf die Ukraine verurteilt hat. Aber zuerst heute's Afternoon Spotlight. Delegations from the US and Ukraine met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia today, and in a somewhat surprising turn, although maybe not that surprising given the ups and downs of the past couple of weeks, the meeting wrapped up with a breakthrough.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Meanwhile, billionaire and close advisor to President Trump, Elon Musk, reacted to the BEC ruling, calling it, quote, crazy in a post on X. With Georgescu out, the 4 May presidential rerun is set to move forward. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, well, a runoff will take place on 18 May. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Now, as of Sunday, Russia's defense ministry said they'd managed to retake four settlements in a matter of days as their forces attempt to encircle a 10,000-strong Ukrainian garrison stationed in the region. That's according to a report from the Associated Press. As a reminder, Ukraine launched a military operation last August inside the Russian territory, catching the Putin regime by surprise.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Coming up next in the back of the brief, a Palestinian activist tied to Columbia University's student protests is arrested by federal immigration authorities. We'll have those details when we come back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Hey, I'm Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. We have a very simple mission. We take the news of the day and we filter it through a biblical worldview. So here's the big story of the day. What does the Bible say about it and how can we apply it? It's amazing. There's nothing new under the sun. The Bible has something to say about everything that's going on today.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
So basically, we thump the Bible over on Politics by Faith. I think we got to keep MAGA going. And I think the way to take it beyond just a political victory into a true rebuilding and awakening and revival in America is to make sure that this is all grounded in biblical principles. And that's what we do on the podcast Politics by Faith.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
And you can subscribe to Politics by Faith wherever you're listening to the show right now.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
In today's Back of the Brief, a Palestinian activist who helped lead the chaotic and anti-Semitic student protests at Columbia University last spring was arrested over the weekend by federal immigration authorities, sparking controversy among free speech advocates and triggering new protests in New York City.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Mahmoud Khalil, who obtained a graduate degree from Columbia University last semester, was detained outside his apartment on Saturday evening by ICE agents acting on orders from the U.S. State Department. The agents reportedly told Khalil that his student visa was being revoked, though it turns out that Khalil is a legal permanent resident who's in the country on a green card.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
And that's a fact that could complicate the Trump administration's effort to deport him. That's according to a report from Axios. Several hundred protesters massed outside a courtroom in lower Manhattan on Monday to demand his release. Later in the day, a federal judge temporarily blocked his deportation as the court weighs a petition challenging the arrest.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Another hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday. His attorney accused the Trump administration of engaging in, quote, open repression of student activism and political speech. Pro-Palestinian and civil rights groups also condemned his arrest. That's shocking. With an official for the ACLU calling it a, quote, gross violation of his constitutional rights.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The move came after President Trump vowed last week to crack down on universities, allowing anti-Semitism to proliferate, and to revoke visas or green cards and deport foreign students involved in what he called, quote, illegal protests.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Over the weekend, Trump described Khalil as, quote, a radical foreign pro-Hamas student and said more deportations of purported terrorist sympathizers would follow. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security added that Khalil, quote, led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Now, Khalil was one of the most visible student activists during last spring's protests at Columbia University, regularly giving interviews and engaging in negotiations with university officials over the protesters' lengthy list of demands.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
It's Tuesday, 11 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Russian forces unveil a dangerous new tactic, sneaking through gas pipelines to ambush Ukrainian troops from behind. We'll break down what's happening in Kursk in Russia and why Ukrainian forces could be at risk of encirclement.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
He's been under investigation by a new Columbia University committee that has brought disciplinary charges against dozens of students involved in the demonstrations. Much like the protests that we covered on last week's show, the demonstrations last spring were often marked by anti-Semitism, with protesters praising Hamas and defending the brutal 7 October attacks on Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Jewish and Israeli students have described a climate of hate on campus, with many increasingly fearful for their safety. Pro-Israeli student groups have long demanded stronger action from university officials to protect Jewish students. The Trump administration stepped in last week, pulling $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University over their failure to curb these protests.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
$400 million in federal dollars? Now, I would have thought that a university like Columbia, a fine institution with an undoubtedly large endowment fund, wouldn't have to resort to taking government cheese. And in the event that you're curious, Columbia's endowment fund is now close to $15 billion with a B dollars. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 11 March.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
At the time, they managed to seize roughly 500 square miles of territory, which Kiev intended to use as leverage in potential future negotiations with Moscow. But Russia has since mounted several counteroffensives, clawing back more than half of the area captured by Kyiv's military.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Now, if you have any questions or comments, and hopefully you do, well, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And, of course, to listen to the show ad-free, it's simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. dot com. See? Very simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Some 50,000 troops, supplemented by 12,000 North Korean soldiers, are once again on the move inside the territory, and reports say that Ukrainian forces have been forced into a steady, albeit controlled, retreat.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Additionally, Russia has been using an elite drone unit to carry out a wave of strikes on the main road into Kursk, destroying hundreds of military vehicles used to resupply the Ukrainian garrison. In a bid to cut off a possible full retreat of Ukrainian forces, Moscow's forces have also destroyed several bridges in Kursk near the border with Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, celebrated the developments, saying Sunday, quote, the lid of the smoking cauldron is practically closed, end quote, whatever that means.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The renewed offensive push in Kursk was punctuated by a surprise attack over the weekend by Russian special forces near the town of Sudza, who crept for miles through a gas pipeline to strike Ukrainian units from the rear. Some Russian troops reportedly spent several days lying in wait inside the pipeline before making their move.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
But reports from Russian military bloggers and officials in Kyiv suggest the sneak attack did not achieve the results that the Kremlin was hoping for. Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers said the attack did indeed catch Ukrainian troops by surprise and that fighting in the area was intense, allowing Russia to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Sudzha.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
But officials with the Ukrainian military said the Russian troops were, quote, detected in a timely manner and that their forces had quickly responded with rockets and artillery. An official with the Ukrainian military's general staff said, quote, At present, Russian special forces are being detected, blocked, and destroyed. The enemy's losses in Sudza are very high, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Sirsky, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, pushed back on claims that his troops were at risk of encirclement, saying the situation was largely under control. He framed the pullback of Ukrainian troops as a strategic move, saying, quote, the units are taking timely measures to maneuver to advantageous positions for defense, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
That's a very fancy way of saying they're retreating. Ukraine's top general also downplayed the purported successes of Russia's new offensive, noting that most of their gains have come to the north of Sudza, in areas that are no longer habitable. Sersky said, quote, a number of settlements on the border, the names of which appear in the reports of Russian propagandists, no longer actually exist.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
They've been destroyed by the aggressors shelling, end quote. As of Monday, he said his forces had repelled at least 15 Russian attacks in the region and destroyed Russian reconnaissance groups and infantry attempting to pierce into the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, which shares a border with Kursk. Six armed clashes in the Kursk region were reportedly still ongoing.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Siersky said that despite Russia's manpower advantage, reinforced by thousands of North Korean infantry, Moscow was suffering, quote, "...significant losses in manpower and equipment." Still, some Ukrainian officials are increasingly skeptical that their forces can hold on to the territory and say it's lost its strategic value.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The offensive push by Russia comes in the wake of President Trump's decision early last week to cut off military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine until leaders in Kyiv commit to peace negotiations with Russia. On that score, well, it looks like progress is being made. Delegations from the U.S. and Ukraine are meeting Tuesday in Saudi Arabia, and U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that if the discussions go well, the restrictions on weapons and intelligence sharing could be lifted sometime this week. Now, there's still no word on why anyone believes the Russians are ready to sit down at the negotiating table or why they would back off of their hardline demands, given the current breakdown of relations between Ukraine and the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Later in the show, a major shakeup in Canada. Mark Carney is set to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal Party leader and prime minister. The new leader used his victory speech to take aim at President Trump. Plus, chaos erupts in Romania after a right-wing presidential candidate is barred from running.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Look, getting Ukraine to the table, well, means nothing if the Russians aren't interested in playing ball. Trump has already announced that Ukraine doesn't hold any cards, which implies that Putin doesn't have to give up anything, which begs the question, what leverage does the White House plan on using over Russia if they're reluctant to end their current battlefield progress?
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Now, you could say sanctions and tariffs, but for the past three years, Russia has beat most of those sanctions with the assistance, of course, of China, Iran, North Korea, and India. So if additional sanctions hold little concern for Putin, well, that implies that the other option is for the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
to resume significant military assistance to Ukraine in an effort to cause Putin sufficient pain to look for a deal. But Putin, well, is probably savvy enough to know that Trump would be loathe to get back in the business of seriously arming and resourcing Kiev. Which returns us to the question, why would Putin be motivated to sit down at the negotiating table now?
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
All right, coming up next, Canada has a new prime minister, huzzah, and chaos in Romania as a leading presidential candidate is barred from running. I'll be right back. Did you know that Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the U.S. with thousands of different plants and over 2 million happy customers? Well, now you know. Here's the thing.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
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March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
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March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
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The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Welcome back to the BDB. After a months-long race, Mark Carney was elected leader of Canada's Liberal Party on Sunday, positioning him as the country's next prime minister after Justin Trudeau's exit. The former central banker now inherits a party weakened by internal disputes as the nation inches closer to a federal election.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Supporters are clashing with police with claims of Russian interference once again at the center of the controversy. And in today's Back of the Brief, a Palestinian activist who led student protests at Columbia University has been arrested by federal immigration authorities. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Trudeau, who served as prime minister for nine years, announced in January that he was stepping down, a decision driven by sinking approval ratings and relentless party infighting. His authority was further undermined in December when reports surfaced that he urged Carney to take over as finance minister. That was an offer that led to Chrystia Freeland's abrupt resignation from the cabinet.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Trudeau later conceded that, quote, having to fight internal battles made it impossible for him to continue as Canada's best option for leadership. Carney, a seasoned economist who previously helmed both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, assumes control of the Liberal Party effective immediately.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
However, Trudeau will remain prime minister for an unspecified transitional period as his successor settles in and begins to shape the party's strategy for the upcoming election. His arrival signals a turning point for the Liberals, who've struggled to regain traction against a surging Conservative Party currently leading in the polls.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Bacardi's most immediate challenge won't just be domestic politics. It will be navigating Canada's increasingly difficult relationship with the U.S. under President Trump. In his victory speech, Carney wasted no time in setting the tone for that relationship, declaring, quote, America is not Canada. Well, I guess he figured that one out.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
And Canada never, ever, he said, will be part of America in any way, shape or form, end quote. He doubled down on his stance, vowing to maintain stiff Canadian tariffs on U.S. imports until Washington, quote, shows us respect. He went further, stating Canadians are always ready when someone else, quote, drops the gloves. Hmm.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Well, who could predict that a Canadian politician would use a hockey analogy? Carney's words come as tensions with Washington have escalated under Trump, who's repeatedly accused Canada of fueling illegal immigration into the U.S. and has floated the idea of, quote, turning it into the 51st state.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump has slapped steep tariffs on Canadian goods, justifying them as a crackdown on fentanyl trafficking. In response, Carney has championed a policy of economic retaliation, supporting targeted countermeasures designed to inflict minimal damage on Canada while pressuring American industries.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The timeline for the next federal election remains uncertain, but the political landscape is shifting rapidly. Opposition parties are preparing to introduce a no-confidence motion when Parliament reconvenes on the 24th of March, one that, if successful, could trigger an immediate election.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
But according to the Globe and Mail, Carney may try to get ahead of them by calling a snap election as early as the week before, with Canadians potentially heading to the polls in late April or early May. His chief rival in that contest will be Pierre Poliev, the conservative leader who's drawn comparisons to Trump for his Canada First platform.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Poliev positioned himself as the champion of working-class Canadians, seizing on Carney's background in high finance to paint him as an out-of-touch elitist. As Carney assumes the reins of a fractured party, he faces a dual challenge, uniting the liberals while convincing Canadians he's the right leader to take on Trump in the battles ahead. Okay, now turning to Romania.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The country's political crisis has deepened, with far-right nationalist Kalin Georgescu now barred from running in the May presidential election rerun, in an explosive decision that triggered clashes between his supporters and police in Bucharest.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
We'll begin with an update out of Eastern Europe, as Moscow's forces quickly advance inside Russia's partially occupied Kursk region, threatening Kiev's hold on its sole territorial bargaining chip at a crucial juncture in the war. Over the weekend, the Kremlin mounted a major counteroffensive aimed at recapturing the Kursk region from Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Romania's Central Electoral Bureau, the BEC, ruled on Sunday that Georgescu's candidacy, quote, doesn't meet the conditions of legality, citing his alleged ties to Russia and extremist organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
The move comes months after the country's constitutional court annulled the results of the November 2023 election, where Georgescu had emerged as a surprise frontrunner, plunging Romania into prolonged political turmoil.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
As we reported last month on the PDB, intelligence assessments allege that Russia backed his campaign through an extensive online influence operation, deploying some 800 TikTok accounts to sway voters. The Kremlin considers Georgescu to be pro-Russian and are particularly pleased with his often stated desire to create distance between Romania and NATO and the EU.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Those claims of Russian interference led to the unprecedented court decision that scrapped the election just days before the scheduled 8 December runoff. Moscow, for its part, well, they dismissed the allegations as baseless. There's a surprise. On Friday, Georgescu formally submitted his candidacy for the 4 May rerun, triggering a 48-hour review process.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
By Sunday, the verdict was in and the BEC disqualified him, stating that he had, quote, "...violated the obligation to defend democracy." The ruling was met with immediate backlash. Georgescu, who styles himself as a nationalist firebrand, condemned it as a, quote, direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide. Posting on X, he declared Europe is now a dictatorship. Romania is under tyranny.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Should he appeal to Romania's top court, a ruling would be expected within 72 hours. His disqualification set off a wave of unrest in the capital. Thousands of his supporters flooded the streets, waving Romanian flags and chanting revolutionary slogans. As tensions escalated, rioters hurled paving stones, overturned vehicles, and set fires, forcing riot police to respond with tear gas.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
At least four people were detained, though the real test for authorities came as hundreds of demonstrators refused to disperse, clashing with security forces in scenes reminiscent of February's protests when Georgescu was arrested while attempting to register for the race. At the time, he was charged with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and membership in a fascist organization.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
Those are charges he continues to deny. Georgescu built his political brand on promises to, quote, restore Romania's dignity and push back against NATO and EU influence. While he's openly praised Russian President Putin and questioned Ukraine's statehood, well, he insists he's not pro-Russian.
The President's Daily Brief
March 11th, 2025: Russian Troops Launch Sneak Attack In Kursk & Canada Gets A New Prime Minister
So, he praises Putin, he questions whether Ukraine should be independent, and he wants to distance Romania from NATO and EU, but he's definitely not pro-Russian. His disqualification has also drawn attention from the Trump administration. Vice President J.D. Vance last month slammed Romania's annulment of the November election as, quote, flimsy suspicions driven by intelligence agencies.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Apparently, Sammy the Terrorist has forgotten that this whole tragic mess started with Hamas swattering over a thousand Israelis and taking 251 women, children, babies, and men hostage. Now, that is frankly what complicates matters. Now, as we reported yesterday, Hamas halted its upcoming hostage exchange, which was set to take place on Saturday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
It's Tuesday, 11 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
The group accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire deal, specifically by blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza and preventing Palestinians from returning to the north. Israel has denied those claims. Frankly, a possible scenario here is that Hamas has suspended further hostage releases, well, because the hostages are the terror group's only remaining leverage.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
And there may well be internal dissent and disagreement among Hamas leaders over just how to proceed. There's also the sad possibility that they simply don't have any more live hostages to release or don't have actual control over them, since other groups, including Islamic Jihad and various family criminal groups within Gaza, also took some of the hostages.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Now, hopefully, neither of those things, of course, are true, but it's important to consider every potential situation when evaluating Hamas's actions. While Hamas is objecting to Trump's threats, Israel is fully backing them. The Israeli Security Cabinet released a statement saying that all members support the U.S. president's demands for the release of the hostages by noon on Shabbat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
The statement also praised Trump's, quote, revolutionary vision for the future of Gaza. And speaking of Gaza's future, the UN has put a price tag on what they think it will take to rebuild the enclave after 15 months of war. A new estimate from the UN says reconstruction will cost over 53 billion US dollars, with 20 billion dollars needed in just the first three years.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Well, start things off today with President Trump issuing a serious, significant ultimatum, I guess is there any other kind of ultimatum, to Hamas, warning that if hostages aren't released by Saturday, all bets are off and quote, hell will break loose. Later in the show, a big win for the White House.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
There is no word yet on how much of that would be pocketed by UNRWA and Hamas leaders. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the destruction in Gaza a, quote, humanitarian catastrophe and warned that a full assessment of the damage isn't even possible yet, given the current conditions on the ground. All right, coming up next, a major policy win for the White House.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Venezuela, a country that's, well, hardly a U.S. ally, has accepted its first deportation flights, sending nearly 200 Venezuelans back home. I'll have those details after the break. Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The first deportation flights carrying nearly 200 Venezuelans who entered the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
illegally touched down in Caracas on Monday, marking a major victory for the Trump administration. The return of these migrants, long resisted by Venezuela's socialist government, signals a, perhaps, a thaw in U.S.-Venezuelan relations, one that the White House touts as a breakthrough in its broader immigration crackdown.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
The two planes, operated by Venezuela's state-run airline, departed from Fort Bliss, Texas, Monday, landing in Caracas hours later. The flights come after months of diplomatic wrangling, culminating in a deal brokered by Trump envoy Richard Grinnell, who traveled to Caracas last month to finalize the details.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Grinnell announced the flights on X, stating, quote, two planes of illegal immigrants left El Paso today, headed to Venezuela, paid for by the Venezuelans. Now, for years, Venezuela refused to cooperate and accept deportation flights, even as its citizens flooded the U.S. southern border in record numbers under the Biden administration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
The impasse, briefly broken under then-President Biden in October 2023, has since hardened again until now. A White House post on X framed the development as a political win, stating, "...repatriation flights to Venezuela have resumed. Make America safe again."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro welcomed the flights, though he framed them as a broader push for international cooperation rather than a concession to Washington. The Venezuelan strongman stated, quote, this is the world we want, a world of peace, understanding, dialogue, and cooperation, end quote. Hmm. But even as the first flights landed, Maduro's socialist regime pushed back against U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
claims that members of the Trender of Agua or TDA gang used the migrant route to infiltrate the U.S., dismissing the allegations as, quote, ill-intentioned narrative against Venezuelans. The deportations are part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to curb illegal immigration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Just days before the flights, a group of Venezuelan migrants was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where they were reportedly held separately from the 15 prisoners charged with planning the 11 September terror attacks. Well, yeah, that that seems like a logical thing to do.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
The flights also follow a series of agreements secured by Secretary of State Marco Rubio with El Salvador and Guatemala, ensuring that those countries would take back their citizens and accept other deportees from the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Following Grinnell's visit to Caracas, Trump announced that Maduro had agreed to accept, quote, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were encamped in the U.S., including gang members of TDA, end quote. and that the Venezuelan government had committed to funding the repatriation flights. As part of the arrangement, Caracas also released half a dozen American citizens who had been detained in Venezuela.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Venezuela, obviously a longtime adversary of the U.S., has accepted its first deportation flights, sending nearly 200 Venezuelans back home. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. President Trump is drawing a hard line with Hamas, issuing an ultimatum after the group suspended its planned hostage release.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 11 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, as you've no doubt seen on roadside billboards and on those banners that get pulled along by airplanes while flying over the beach,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said, "...as far as I'm concerned, if all the hostages aren't returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I think it's an appropriate time. I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
Now, when asked for specifics on what exactly he meant by, quote, hell, the president kept it vague, saying only that Hamas, quote, will find out what I mean. Now, Hamas, unsurprisingly, wasn't thrilled with the remarks.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 11th, 2025: Trump Threatens ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’ In Gaza & U.S. Starts Venezuela Deportations
A spokesman for the terror group, oh, they've got a spokesman, Sami Abu Zuri, told AFP that Trump should remember that there's a ceasefire agreement in place and that threats, quote, have no value and only, quote, complicate matters.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Among the aircraft spotted, Navy P-8 Poseidons, Air Force RC-135 rivet joints, and even a U-2, a U-2, a legendary high-altitude reconnaissance plane designed during the Cold War. Now, the P-8s, typically used for anti-submarine warfare, are equipped with powerful radar systems capable of tracking movements on land as well as at sea.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
It's Tuesday, 11 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, we'll begin with reports that the U.S. military has ramped up its surveillance of Mexican drug cartels with spy planes conducting nearly 20 flights in the past two weeks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
The RC-135, well, that specializes in signals intelligence, intercepting communications from the ground, potentially including cartel radio chatter and encrypted messaging. Meanwhile, the U-2, with its ability to fly above approximately 70,000 feet, can capture high-resolution imagery of vast areas, providing an unmatched bird's-eye view of cartel strongholds and trafficking routes.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Their mission? Well, their mission is pretty straightforward. Gathering a range of intelligence, signals, imagery, and movement data on cartel activity, far beyond what traditional law enforcement surveillance can achieve. These flights have spanned Texas, Arizona, and California, with some even looping around Mexico's Baja Peninsula and passing near cartel strongholds like Sinaloa.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Former military officials note that while the U.S. has long conducted aerial surveillance along the border, the current intensity is unprecedented. So the big question, what is the intelligence gathering for? One possibility, the U.S. is gathering intel to pass along to the Mexican military, helping them to target cartel operations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
That would make sense from a joint liaison military operation perspective. As we reported here on the PDB, 10,000 Mexican troops have been deployed to the border in recent days as part of what they've dubbed Operation Frontera Norte or Operation Northern Border.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
That deployment was promised by Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum in return for a reprieve on the tariffs President Trump had promised to impose. However, another possibility is also emerging, one that has officials in both countries somewhat on edge. Former officials note that these surveillance flights could be part of preparations for direct U.S. military action against cartel targets.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
President Trump has previously floated the idea of striking cartel fentanyl labs or even sending special forces to take out drug lords. moves that could mark a dramatic escalation in U.S. efforts to combat the drug cartels. The administration has already taken steps to designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and that's a move that could pave the way for direct military intervention.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Meanwhile, thousands of additional U.S. troops have been deployed to the border, providing intelligence support and logistical assistance to the Border Patrol. Tom Holman, former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and now Trump's border czar, recently stated that the cartels, quote, would be foolish to take on the U.S. military.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
But he also warned that violence is likely to escalate if direct confrontation occurs. For now, the Pentagon insists that military personnel remain in a support role, and there are no confirmed reports of active U.S. operations inside Mexico. But the sheer scale of this surveillance push does raise questions about what comes next. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Coming up after the break, President Trump reignites a trade battle from his first term with new tariffs on aluminum and steel, while the IDF targets Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, putting new pressure on the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
President Donald Trump is reigniting a trade battle from his first term in the White House, announcing his plan to implement a sweeping 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum in a bid to bolster domestic metal industries.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Later in the show, President Trump reignites a trade battle from his first term, announcing his plans to impose a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel imports. Plus, as the ceasefire in Gaza faces new obstacles, the IDF hits Hezbollah sites in Lebanon, threatening the fragile peace along its northern border.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump made his position clear, stating, quote, any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff, aluminum too, end quote. Now, the measure effectively revives the trade policies he introduced in 2018, when he slapped a 25% tariff on imported steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Those duties, aimed, well, primarily at China's overproduction, initially applied to all countries, but were later softened through a patchwork of exemptions. Now, the question is whether Trump's latest move will replace or supplement the existing tariffs. What is certain, however, is that the decision will likely drive up costs for manufacturers and consumers who rely on these materials.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
China wasted no time in responding. Beijing unveiled a new round of retaliatory tariffs this week, slapping 10 to 15 percent duties on American exports, including crude oil, liquefied natural gas and farm machinery.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
The countermeasures, first disclosed last week, are part of China's broader response to the Trump administration's decision to levy a blanket 10% tariff on Chinese goods, and that's an effort that Washington framed as economic pressure to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
It's important to note that China remains the world's primary supplier of precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to manufacture the deadly synthetic opioid. Beijing's foreign ministry swiftly condemned the tariffs on Monday, calling for, quote, dialogue and consultations based on equality and mutual respect. Oh, that's nice. Urging Washington to abandon its tariff strategy.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
But China's response extends well beyond tit for tat tariffs. Beijing, in a calculated escalation, launched an antitrust probe on Google, blacklisted two additional U.S. firms, and tightened its grip on rare earth exports. And that's important. Material is essential to global technology and defense supply chains.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
China dominates the rare earth industry, controlling the lion's share of mining and refining operations. If Beijing moves to further restrict exports, well, the ripple effects could be severe, disrupting American industries that depend on these critical materials. For now, China's response has been measured, but some see it as a warning shot.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
The head of China economics at Moody's Analytics put it bluntly, stating, quote, It is China saying we don't want to make the situation worse, but can make it troubling if this escalates further. During Trump's first term, China responded proportionally to tariffs, matching U.S. duties on imports dollar for dollar. This time, however, interestingly, the imbalance, well, is stark. The U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
tariffs now target approximately $450 billion in Chinese goods, whereas China's countermeasures impact just $15 to $20 billion in American exports. The standoff comes at a precarious time for the world's two largest economies. China is grappling with a deepening real estate crisis, mounting debt and deflation.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
In the U.S., analysts warn that escalating tariffs could fuel inflation, potentially forcing a recalibration of strategy in Washington. However, Trump remains defiant, threatening tariffs beyond China, including Taiwan and Europe. The question now is whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will engage in direct talks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
While the White House initially anticipated a call between the two leaders, Trump later stated he was in, quote, no hurry to speak with Xi. Without a diplomatic resolution, the standoff does risk spiraling into a prolonged, unpredictable trade war that, frankly, neither side can fully predict.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
And in the back of the brief, President Trump escalates his crackdown on former Biden administration officials, revoking security clearances for key members of the previous administration and signaling that more could be on the way. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. In a move that's likely to send a shiver down the spine of cartel leaders, at least if they're paying attention, the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
OK, turning now to Lebanon, where Israeli fighter jets launched a series of airstrikes Sunday, striking Hezbollah terrorist positions, including a tunnel in the Beqaa Valley used to funnel weapons between Lebanon and Syria. In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, said the tunnel had previously been targeted and vowed to prevent its restoration and use.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Along with the tunnel, Israeli warplanes hit Hezbollah weapons depots and rocket launchers in other areas, which the IDF described as posing a, quote, "...immediate threat to Israel's security." These latest strikes come on the heels of airstrikes Saturday when the Israeli Air Force targeted a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing site in the Bekaa Valley, reportedly killing six people and injuring two.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Lebanese state media also reported Israeli airstrikes just 12 miles from the Israeli border and in Baalbek, more than 60 miles inside Lebanese territory. The IDF has framed these operations as a direct response to Hezbollah's continued terrorist activity, despite the ceasefire agreement that was reached back in November of 2024.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
That deal, which ended more than a year of hostilities, including two months of full-scale war, required Hezbollah to withdraw north of the Latani River, roughly 18 miles from Israel's border. It's important to note that despite the ceasefire, Israel retains the right to conduct strikes on what it deems imminent threats.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Security concerns beyond that, in theory, are supposed to be handled by a monitoring committee made up of representatives from Israel, France, the United States, and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Now, not to sound cynical, but if you were to imagine that something called the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon might be somewhat a useless, toothless entity, well, you could be on the right track. The Lebanese military was also required to deploy to southern Lebanon alongside the UN peacekeepers as Israeli forces withdrew over a 60-day period.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
But Israel extended its withdrawal deadline from late January to 18 February, citing Lebanon's failure to fully deploy its army as agreed.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Israeli officials say the Iran-backed terror group has yet to dismantle the remaining weapons infrastructure in southern Lebanon, and IDF forces continue to seize Hezbollah weapons in restricted areas, raising serious doubts about whether the ceasefire can hold.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
With Hezbollah still operational near Lebanon's southern border and Israel asserting its right to preemptively strike, well, tensions remain high despite diplomatic efforts to maintain something resembling stability. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, President Trump revokes former Secretary of State Antony Blinken's security clearance and signals that, well, more could be on the way.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
I'll be right back. In today's Back of the Brief, President Trump is taking his crackdown on former officials to a new level, revoking security clearances from members of the Biden administration. And you could argue that, well, he's he's just getting started. The latest target, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Trump says Blinken is losing his access to classified information because of his role in the infamous, quote, dirty 51 letter, where dozens of former intel officials dismissed Hunter Biden's laptop as essentially Russian disinformation just before the 2020 election. According to Trump, Blinken is a, quote, bad guy and his clearance is now gone. But Blinken isn't the only one.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
military has significantly increased its surveillance operations along the southern border and beyond. Over the past two weeks, American spy planes have conducted at least 18 missions, and that's a dramatic increase as the Pentagon has historically flown only about, well, one surveillance mission a month around the U.S.-Mexico border.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Trump has also ordered security revocations for other Biden era figures, including the Doogie Howser of National Security, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, both of whom played key roles in past investigations tied to Trump. And he's not stopping with former federal officials.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Trump is also targeting two of his biggest legal adversaries, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Now, these are the people behind the hush money trial and the civil fraud case that's already cost Trump hundreds of millions in penalties.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Now, while revoking their clearances won't impact those cases, it's a clear sign that Trump is using every tool at his disposal to hit back at his political and legal opponents. Legal experts say some of these moves are largely symbolic. After all, state prosecutors like Bragg and James, they don't rely on federal security clearances to do their jobs.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
But for others, like national security lawyer Mark Zaid, Losing clearance could have real consequences for their work. Zaid famously represented the whistleblower whose complaint led to Trump's first impeachment over the Ukraine scandal. The latest news comes just days after Trump announced he was revoking security clearances.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
for Joe Biden, claiming Biden, quote, set this precedent in 2021 by revoking Trump's own clearance. Yeah, what goes around comes around. Now, Trump's team is framing this as a matter of national security, insisting that those involved in what they call, quote, election interference should be held accountable. Critics, however, see it as a political retaliation. Well,
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
which you could reasonably argue was also the reason for Biden revoking Trump's security clearance back in 2021. Either way, you can imagine this isn't the end of it. Trump has warned that more names will be added to the list. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 11 February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Now, if you have any questions or comments or humorous anecdotes, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And, of course, don't forget what your mother always said. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB Premium. And remember, Mom's Always Right. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 11th, 2025: U.S. Spy Planes Target Drug Cartels & Trump Announces New Tariffs
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
In a post to X, Zelensky admitted that his Washington meeting, quote, did not go the way it was supposed to. Well, yeah, that's a fair statement. He called it, quote, regrettable and said, quote, it is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
It's Tuesday, March 4th. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll kick things off with the latest fallout from Ukraine's Oval Office clash with President Trump. Zelensky has responded with a statement that could be interpreted as an apology. The question is, will it be enough to get U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Now, while not a display of fealty or a full bore mea culpa, it's certainly a shift in tone. Zelensky also reiterated that Ukraine is committed to ending the war, writing that his team is, quote, ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. He added, nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We are ready to work fast to end the war, end quote. Now, that's a notable olive branch, but it wasn't just about diplomacy. Zelensky made sure to remind Washington of Ukraine's gratitude, thanking the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
for its past support and specifically calling out Trump's role in providing Javelin missile systems during his first term. As for concrete steps toward peace, Zelensky laid out a few initial proposals, a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, a truce in the sky that would halt missile and drone strikes, and a commitment to stop targeting energy and civilian infrastructure.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Zelensky also floated the idea of a truce in the sea as part of the deal's first stage. He emphasized his desire to move quickly, saying Ukraine is ready to work with the U.S. on securing a, quote, strong final deal to end the war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
And on that critical minerals deal, one of the key issues that soured last week's talks, he said he sees it as a step toward long-term security and hopes it can still be effective. So, you ask yourself, will this be enough to get the aid flowing again? That's the big question. For now, Zelensky has made his move. Obviously, it's up to Washington to decide how to respond.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
And of course, well, there is the other player that would be Russia. Putin has shown no indication that he intends to back off his existing hardline demands for even coming to the negotiating table. Coming up next, a new trade war kicks off, with President Trump slapping 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexican goods and doubling existing duties on Chinese imports.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
military aid back on track? Later in the show, a new trade war begins as President Trump follows through on his tariff threat, enacting a 25% levy on Canadian and Mexican goods and doubling duties on Chinese goods to 20%. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. This morning on the PDB, well, we told you about the White House cutting off military aid to Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. President Trump has kicked off a new trade war with America's top three global suppliers, sending stocks tumbling and sparking fears of a looming recession.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Following through on his threat from last week, on Tuesday, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, as well as an additional 10% tariff on imports from China, doubling duties on Chinese goods to 20%.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Trump initially threatened to impose the tariffs on America's northern and southern neighbors in early February, but paused their implementation after Canada and Mexico promised to take comprehensive actions to secure their borders and to reduce the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
But on Monday, ahead of the move, Trump declared that the time for negotiations was over, arguing that all three countries had failed to take meaningful action to stem the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the U.S., and that's according to a report from Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
All three countries quickly announced retaliatory measures targeting US goods on Tuesday, causing all of Wall Street and Europe's main stock indexes to fall as investors flee for safety. The tariffs could upend nearly $2.2 trillion, and that's a lot of fat stacks, in annual US trade with America's top three economic partners.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Trump suggested further escalation is possible, saying the US would not back down from the fight. Well, it's a fight that the US started, so you wouldn't expect that they'd back down.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Trump defended the action, saying it will incentivize Mexico and Canada to get serious about combating illicit drug trafficking at their respective borders, and that it would encourage foreign companies, like car manufacturers, to move their production to the US. Trump added that current trade imbalances are costing Americans millions of factory jobs and that tariffs were the only remedy.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
He said that import taxes were, quote, a very powerful weapon that politicians haven't used because they were either dishonest, stupid, or paid off in some other form, and now are using them, end quote. But Mexico and Canada and China swiftly struck back, denouncing the tariffs as a, quote, reckless attack on free trade and announcing retaliatory measures of their own.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa would impose immediate 25% tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of American goods, including orange juice, peanut butter, alcohol, what? Coffee, appliances, apparel, and motorcycles. Over the next 21 days, Trudeau said Canada will slap additional tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Trudeau didn't mince words as he addressed Trump directly, saying, quote, You're a very smart guy, but this is a very dumb thing to do. He added that the new tariffs will, quote, disrupt an incredibly successful trading relationship. Now, Trudeau is likely feeling somewhat emboldened, given that he'll be out of his prime minister's job by the end of March.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Beijing, meanwhile, retaliated with a new 15% tariff on imports of chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton from the US, along with a 10% tariff on US sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
China's Commerce Ministry issued a statement condemning Trump's tariffs, saying that they violated World Trade Organization's rules, and quote, undermine the basis for economic and trade cooperation between China and the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Now, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took a slightly more cautious approach, saying that her country would announce countermeasures on Sunday, including retaliatory tariffs, if Trump's tariffs were still in place come the weekend. While her response suggests that she's hopeful there's still wiggle room left with the Trump administration,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
She said there was, quote, no reason, rationale, or justification for the tariffs, arguing Mexico had taken, quote, decisive actions against drug cartels and fentanyl trafficking along the U.S. southern border.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
That was fallout, of course, from last week's Oval Office meeting where tensions ran high. Oh, that's putting it diplomatically between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. The sticking points? Well, Zelensky's perceived resistance to peace negotiations under current conditions and the ongoing back and forth over a critical minerals deal between the two countries.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
The new tariffs have left investors rattled, fearing that the measures would devastate economic growth prospects and increase prices for American consumers at a time when Americans are still grappling with inflation and high interest rates. Many are predicting a recession is on the horizon, which some are already calling the looming Trump session.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Honestly, it's not the most creative nickname I've heard. The tariffs come just one day after the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta significantly revised their first quarter GDP forecast. While just last week they predicted 2.3% U.S. GDP growth, now they're forecasting a contraction of 2.8%.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Criticizing the steep economic risks of Trump's tariffs, the CEO of Canada's Chamber of Commerce said, quote, Today's reckless decision by the U.S. administration is forcing Canada and the U.S. toward recessions, job losses, and economic disaster, end quote. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 4 March.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Finally, as the old saying goes, if you want to listen to the PDB ad-free, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. There's a lot of wisdom in those old sayings. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 4th, 2025: Zelensky Apologizes For Oval Office Dust-Up & Trade War Begins With Canada, Mexico, And China
Since Friday's blow-up, the White House has been firm, no progress on the minerals deal and no further support, unless Zelensky apologized and showed what the White House considers to be a more serious commitment to negotiations. Well, it looks like Zelensky has offered up an apology of sorts and even some steps toward what could ultimately be a negotiated settlement.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
It does not specify when or if elections would be held in Gaza, nor does it outline concrete steps for disarming Hamas, should the terror group refuse to step aside. These gaps leave, of course, major uncertainties over how or even if the plan could be implemented. Alright, coming up in the back of the brief.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The Trump administration has reportedly paused its offensive cyber operations against Russia as negotiations between Washington and Moscow continue over Ukraine. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Und in heute's Back of the Brief. Die Trump-Administration hat bemerkt, dass sie auf offizielle Cyber-Operationen gegen Russland aufgehoben hat. Aber zuerst, heute's PDB-Spotlight. The Trump administration announced on Monday that the U.S. will pause all military aid to Kyiv.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
In today's back of the brief, the Trump administration is once again provoking alarm with their efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to end Russia's war in Ukraine. In their latest bid to draw the Kremlin into more substantive negotiations, The Pentagon has reportedly ordered a pause on its offensive cyber and information operations against Russia.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
According to current and former officials briefed on the secret directive, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave the order for U.S. Cyber Command to stand down against Moscow last week, though the White House says not publicly confirm the new policy. That's according to a report from the BBC.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Notably, the order came before President Trump's dust-up with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the Oval Office last Friday, which derailed the signing of a minerals deal that the administration hoped would accelerate the peace process.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The directive is raising serious questions among European allies about the Trump administration's commitment to combating ongoing Russian cyber attacks against the West, with France's foreign minister publicly expressing confusion over the move.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Europäische Länder im Wesentlichen sind ein Lieblingsziel des Schattenkrieges des Putin-Regimes, welches ihre Energie-Sektoren, Kommunikationsinfrastruktur, Verteidigungsindustrie und elektronische Systeme ausgestattet hat.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Die USA haben eine zentrale Rolle gespielt, in der Hilfe, dass Europa gegen Russlands Sabotage-Efforts kämpft, mit der Koordinierung von zerstörten Cyber-Operationen und der Arbeit, die die digitalen Verteidigungen in der Ukraine stärken. Now that cooperation is now reportedly in jeopardy, though it's unclear what the impact will be on the purely defensive cyber operations.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
We should note, however, that cybersecurity experts and former officials have stressed that such stand-downs are not uncommon when the US is engaged in sensitive diplomatic negotiations in order to avoid derailing them.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
As we've been tracking on the PDB, diplomatic talks began on February 18th in Riyadh between US and Russian delegations and were followed by a second meeting in Istanbul just last Thursday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said over the weekend, "...you're not going to bring the Russians to the table if you're calling them names, if you're being antagonistic.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
That's just the President's instincts from years and years and years of putting together deals." Still, some analysts said the Trump administration is taking a huge gamble with this latest directive, arguing that Russian President Putin is unlikely to reciprocate. Well, that, ladies and gentlemen, would be what we here at the PDB refer to as a statement of the obvious.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Now, details are scarce at this time, but it appears that the aid will be stopped while the White House decides if Ukrainian President Zelensky is making an actual effort toward peace negotiations with Russia. According to a Wall Street Journal report, a White House official stated, "...the President has been clear that he's focused on peace.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
While the scope and duration of the pause is unclear, anonymous officials said it's only intended to stay in place while negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war are active. A senior Defense Department official added that Secretary Exeth has, quote, "...no greater priority than ensuring that the nation remains protected across all fronts, including in the cyber domain."
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Now, as you may suspect, Russia and China are the key players in aggressive cyber operations and attacks against the West. It could be described as, well, let's go with naive, to imagine that Moscow will show Washington the same courtesy in stopping their own operations against the US. And by that I mean, they won't.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
It's nice to be magnanimous, you see, but not when dealing with a key adversary who in no way has your best interests at heart. But then, maybe that just makes me sound churlish. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday for March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
And, as always, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, well, that can happen. Just simply become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We're pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it contributes to a solution." Well, I guess you could argue that the lack of aid by pausing that aid will certainly contribute to a solution. And that would be eventually a Putin victory.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
There were no details provided by the administration as to how, when or under what conditions the military aid could resume.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The Trump administration had already stopped the financing of new weapons sales to Kyiv prior to the rumble in the Oval Office on Friday last week, so this latest move on Monday, well, essentially shuts down any further shipments of military aid that had previously been in the works."
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
And in the wake of that contentious televised Oval Office meeting, Ukraine's President Zelensky followed up in Europe by further angering President Trump, warning that a deal to end the war with Russia remains, quote, very, very far away. Bevor er am Sonntag aus London führte, behauptete Zelensky, dass Kiews Beziehung mit den Vereinigten Staaten politische Veränderungen übernimmt.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Der ukrainische Führer sagte, ich denke, unsere Beziehung wird weitergehen, weil es mehr als eine offizielle Beziehung ist, beziehungsweise Washingtons steile Strecke der militärischen und finanziellen Beziehung in den letzten drei Jahren. Und das ist eine Strecke, wie eben erwähnt, die seit Montag gegrümmt ist.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
However, Zelenskyy remains publicly optimistic that US aid will persist despite political turbulence, stating, quote, Ukraine has a strong enough partnership with the United States of America. His remarks followed a diplomatic swing through the United Kingdom, where he met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders to rally additional military and economic support.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
European officials have been vocal in their pledges to continue backing Ukraine. But behind closed doors, some acknowledged a harsh reality. Long-term security in the region still hinges on American military power. While there's been discussion of British and French peacekeepers stepping in, should a peace settlement be reached, leaders made one thing clear. U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
air defense systems remain essential for deterring future Russian aggression. On Monday, in a post on Truth Social, responding to Zelenskys comment that the war's end could be very, very far away, Trump lashed out at Zelensky, slamming his bleak assessment of the war's endgame.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Trump posted, quote, This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer, end quote. Trump went further, outright accusing Zelensky of deliberately prolonging the conflict to secure ongoing US aid, stating, it is what I was saying, this guy doesn't want there to be peace as long as he has America's backing, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The President also took aim at European leaders for what he called a weak negotiating stance against Russia, ridiculing their candid admission that US military power remains indispensable. He wrote, quote, Although, Frankly, at this stage, neither the US nor Europe has explained what compromises, if any, Putin will need to make for peace. That itself would be a show of strength against Russia.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The White House has been fairly clear in stating what concessions they expect Ukraine to make for peace, but have not indicated if they expect Putin to make any concessions. Präsident Trump hat bereits bestätigt, dass er glaubt, dass die Ukraine keine Karten an der Negotiationsstelle hält, was bedeutet, dass Putin in der Position ist, den Pott zu bestätigen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Nun, ich bin kein globaler Diplomat, aber ich wette, dass wenn man Putin alles, was er will, gibt, dann kann man sich einen Friedensvertrag bekommen. Alright, coming up next, we go south of the US border, as the Mexican government is ramping up operations against the cartels. Plus, Egypt unveils its plan to sideline Hamas in a post-war Gaza. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker hier.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
It's Tuesday for March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. The war of words between Ukrainian President Zelensky and President Trump continues. After Zelenskys latest remarks, well, Trump fired back, calling it, quote, the worst statement he could have made.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
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The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right? Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more. ExpressVPN verhindert Hackern, private Informationen zu akzeptieren, indem sie einen sicheren, enkrypteren Tunnel zwischen den Geräten und dem Internet schaffen. Denken Sie daran. Seine Enkryption ist so stark, dass sogar ein Supercomputer über 1 Billion Jahre dauern würde, um es zu knacken.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
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The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
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The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Welcome back to the PDB. Let's turn our focus to south of the US border, where threats from the Trump administration and a renewed crackdown by Mexican authorities have the country's powerful drug lords reportedly fearing that their days could be numbered. As we've been tracking on the PDB, the Mexican government has been bringing the fight to drug cartels with renewed vigor in recent months.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
While the campaign against the cartels kicked off after Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum took office last October, it intensified in February under pressure exerted by President Trump, who has demanded that they do more to combat illicit drug trafficking or face harsh trade tariffs.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Präsident Scheinbaum hat seitdem auf der Offensive gegangen, 10.000 Truppen im frühen Februar zu Städten und Städten auf der Grenze zu dispatieren, auch Kartell-Strongholds wie Juarez und hundreds mehr zu Sinaloa-Stadt, der Haupthub für Fentanyl-Traffik. Das ist according to our report from the New York Times.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
A series of high-profile arrests, drug seizures and fentanyl lab busts have followed, striking a significant blow to the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel, the country's largest trafficking organization. Mexican officials say they've made some 900 arrests since the crackdown began late last fall and seized nearly as much fentanyl in the last five months as they did the entire previous year.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
And, as if to emphasize that, the Trump administration announced on Monday that it would pause the ongoing delivery of military aid to Ukraine. Bis zum nächsten Mal. Ägypten hat ihre Vision für eine Post-Kriegs-Gaza entdeckt, um Hamas zu bewegen und Interim-Gewerkschaften zu installieren, die von Araben, Muslimen und westlichen Staaten gebackt sind. Wir haben diese Details.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
According to six cartel operatives who spoke exclusively to the New York Times, the cartels have now been forced to scale back fentanyl production in Sinaloa State, relocate drug labs to other parts of the country and in some areas temporarily shut down production altogether.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
A security analyst based in Mexico City said, quote, Trump established a deadline and we're seeing the results of everything we could have seen in years being done in a month. He added, quote, the government is sending a message that when it really wants to, it can exert that kind of pressure, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The activity is reportedly striking fear in the heart of Mexico's top narcos, who say that for the first time in recent memory, well, they're genuinely afraid that they could be arrested or killed. One high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel that spoke to the Times said, "...you can't be calm, you can't even sleep, because you don't know when they'll catch you.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The most important thing now is just to survive." Security analysts told the paper that Mexico's cartels have not felt this level of scrutiny in decades, and cartel operatives agreed. Many said they're hastily selling properties and cutting their personnel to make up for the losses in their fentanyl trade.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Others, in a bid to protect their operations, are increasing illicit arms shipments from the U.S. and investing heavily in advanced equipment like scanners to detect American drones. The U.S. has been using advanced drones for more than a decade in partnership with Mexican authorities to surveil these criminal enterprises and track down their leadership.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
But the Trump administration has drastically expanded their use. Zusätzlich zu ihren Gefühlen, diskutiert die Trump-Administration beruflich, direkt militärische Aktion gegen die Kartelle zu nehmen, nachdem sie sie als internationalen Terroristen-Organisationen im letzten Monat designiert haben.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Einige Kartellleute sind nun in Schmerzen und versuchen, Wege zu finden, um sich und ihre Familien von der Möglichkeit amerikanischer Militärstrikes in Mexiko zu schützen. The cartels were dealt another major blow last Thursday, when in a surprise announcement, the Mexican government agreed to extradite 29 high-profile cartel members to the US to face justice for their many crimes.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Among those extradited were the founders of the brutal Los Zetas criminal syndicate, known as one of Mexico's most dangerous drug cartels, as well as the former boss of the Juarez cartel.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Die Ausstattungen haben auch den notariellen Drogenherrn Rafael Caro Quintero, der seit vier Jahrzehnten von US-Mitgliedsstaaten gezwungen wurde, über seine Einwohnung in der Verbrechung, Zerstörung und Mord von DEA-Agent Enrique Kiki Camarena 1985. Quintero wurde am Freitag in einem Brooklyn Federal Court verurteilt, in dem er nicht schuldig war für Angelegenheiten, z.B.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Mord, Verbrechen und internationale Narkotik-Distribution. Er befindet sich mit einem Todspenal, wenn er verurteilt wird, und das ist eine klare Botschaft für die mexikanischen Kartell-Operativen über die Auswirkungen, die sie, wenn verhaftet worden sind, befinden können.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Nun, wir wechseln jetzt in den Mittleren Osten, wo Ägypten ein Blueprint für eine Postkriegs-Gaza vorgesehen hat, das Hamas auf die Seite bringen würde, es zu verändern mit interim gewerblichen Böden, die von Araben, Muslimen und westlichen Nationen überwiesen sind.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Der Vorschlag, der seit Monaten in Koordination mit Saudi-Arabien und anderen regionalen Stakeholdern entwickelt wurde, wird heute an einem Arab League-Summit präsentiert. Er wird als eine Kontrmessung zu Präsident Trumps breiterer Vision einer Mittleren Osten-Riviere positioniert, die die Relokation von 2,3 Millionen Palästinensern aus dem Enklave zu naheliegenden Ländern betrifft.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
So, what do we know so far? Well, at its core, the Egyptian plan is designed to stabilize Gaza through a phased approach, averting mass displacement while laying the groundwork for long-term governance. The first stage calls for the construction of thousands of mobile homes to shelter displaced Palestinians as the rebuilding of roads and housing and key infrastructure gets underway.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
The plan also accounts for practical challenges. Solar panels are being considered as a short-term energy solution, while the vast amount of debris left behind will be repurposed once unexploded ordnance is cleared and bodies buried beneath the rubble are removed. A central pillar of the initiative is political restructuring.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Cairo's proposal envisions a temporary Palestinian administration consisting of 15 to 20 technocrats with no ties to Hamas or the unpopular Palestinian Authority, known as the PA. This transitional body would theoretically oversee governance until, ideally, a reformed PA takes over the reins over Gaza and the West Bank.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Um Aufmerksamkeit zu behalten, würde ein internationales Steering Board eröffnet werden, mit den wichtigen arabischen Nationen, Mitgliedern der Organisation der islamischen Kooperation, den Vereinigten Staaten, der Europäischen Union und anderen Stakeholdern.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Auf Sicherheit, der Plan betrifft die Anlage einer internationalen Stabilisierungsstelle, primär von arabischen Staaten, um Hamas' militärische Apparatus zu ersetzen. Endlich würde Gaza's lokale Polizeiführung wiederentwickelt und umgekehrt, um Ordnung zu erhalten. But funding for Gaza's reconstruction remains an open question.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
Initial estimates place the cost between 50 billion and 80 billion dollars, with Gulf and Arab states expected to contribute at least 20 billion dollars in the initial phase. The reconstruction model itself draws inspiration from major historical efforts, including the U.S. Marshall Plan back after World War II and most recently post-war recovery efforts in Bosnia.
The President's Daily Brief
March 4th, 2025: Cartel Operatives Confess: ‘We Live In Fear’ & Trump Blasts Zelensky...Again
But if Cairo hoped for a buy-in from Hamas, well, those hopes have already been dashed. The terror group has repeatedly rejected any plan in which they lose power, with a senior official declaring, quote, the day after in Gaza must only be decided by the Palestinians, dismissing any foreign-led administration or military presence. Notably, the proposal remains vague on key issues.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
It's also worth noting that Iran's missile defenses were heavily weakened by retaliatory airstrikes launched by Israel last fall. A high-level government source who spoke to The Telegraph said, "...they're just waiting for the attack and are anticipating it every night, and everything has been on high alert, even in sites that no one knows about."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
It's Thursday, 27 February. Welcome to the BDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright. Let's get briefed. First up, Iran is bracing for potential strikes on their nuclear facilities by Israel and the U.S. as they vow to resist new sanctions from the Trump administration and refuse to compromise on the nuclear issue.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
A second source added, "...several additional launchers have been deployed, but there's an understanding that they may not be effective in the event of a large-scale strike."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
The report also comes on the heels of comments made by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar earlier this week, who said, quote, a reliable military option is needed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, echoing Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has promised to put an end to Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
But Sa'ar warned that time is running out, saying the Iranian regime is currently playing with ways to weaponize their existing stockpile of enriched uranium, an outcome he said would have a hugely destabilizing impact on the Middle East and kick off a nuclear arms race with other regional powers such as Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Turkey.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
According to a confidential UN report reviewed this week by the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian regime has vastly increased their stockpile of highly enriched uranium in recent weeks and now has enough to produce at least six nuclear weapons. They've amassed more than 600 pounds of 60% enriched uranium as of February 8th. That's up from roughly 400 pounds in October.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Experts say these stockpiles could be further enriched to the weapons-grade level of 90% within a matter of days. Despite their mounting concerns about a potential strike on their nuclear sites, Iran remains as defiant as ever. On Tuesday, after President Trump reimposed aggressive sanctions on Iran's shadowy oil trade as part of his maximum pressure campaign, Iran's foreign minister,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
issued a statement vowing that the regime will not negotiate on their nuclear program under pressure and sanctions from the Trump administration. While President Trump has stated a preference for a reaching and diplomatic solution with Iran, he's also left the door open for military action in partnership with Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Trump's National Security Advisor Mike Waltz recently stressed that, quote, all options remain on the table and that the U.S. will accept nothing less than the full dismantling of Iran's covert nuclear program. Up next, we'll look at reports that North Korea is gearing up to send more soldiers to the front lines of Russia's war on Ukraine. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. North Korean soldiers are once again entrenched on the battlefield in Ukraine. Despite suffering catastrophic losses in their first deployment, Pyongyang has apparently doubled down, dispatching thousands more soldiers to reinforce Russia's front lines.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
While the exact number of troops in the new deployment remains uncertain, a report in a South Korean newspaper citing anonymous sources suggests that up to 3,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent via military cargo planes and ships. Their arrival marks a renewed commitment from Pyongyang, which has now funneled significant manpower into Russia's war machine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed that North Korean troops returned to active combat zones, a claim echoed by South Korea's intelligence agency, which stated, "...following a month-long lull, North Korean troops were placed back in the frontline region of Kursk starting in the first week of February."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
As we've reported here on the PDB, the latest deployment follows North Korea's initial commitment of approximately 11,000 troops to Russia late last year. Now, those forces fought alongside Russian units in Kursk in an effort to retake lost territory.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Later in the show, we'll look at reports that North Korea is gearing up to send even more soldiers to the front lines of Russia's war on Ukraine, despite suffering heavy casualties on the battlefield. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
In addition to its soldiers, Pyongyang has for some time now supplied Moscow, of course, with artillery shells, missiles, and other conventional weapons, further bolstering Russia's battlefield capabilities. But according to Ukrainian and American officials, North Korean units, despite being drawn from elite special warfare divisions, actually struggled in modern combat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
By January, they had suffered an estimated 4,000 casualties and were withdrawn from the front lines. Even so, military analysts suggest Pyongyang sees this war as an invaluable opportunity to gain practical experience in contemporary warfare. The problem? Well, the problem is that North Korean forces remain poorly equipped for the technological and strategic complexities of the conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Now, despite multiple intelligence reports confirming their presence, neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has publicly acknowledged the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine. I know that's a surprise. That silence extends to broader military cooperation between the two countries, which, according to South Korean intelligence officials, has deepened in troubling ways.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
In exchange for its support, Pyongyang is reportedly receiving food, oil, and concerningly advanced military technology. significantly accelerating its own weapons development programs.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine's Defense Ministry's main intelligence directorate stated on Sunday that North Korea has become one of Moscow's primary weapons suppliers, now providing roughly half of Russia's artillery ammunition. In addition, Pyongyang has reportedly delivered 170-millimeter self-propelled howitzers, 240-millimeter multiple rocket launchers,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
and nearly 150 ballistic missiles, deepening an alliance that has drawn sharp warnings from Western defense officials. Well, I for one am shocked that Kim Jong-un has not heeded the sharp warnings from Western defense officials. Perhaps they should draft a harshly worded memo and see if that gets Kim's attention.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Iran is reportedly growing anxious that Israel and the US will move to take out its nuclear facilities, as the regime reportedly accelerates their enrichment of near-weapons-grade uranium.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
This surge in military reinforcements comes as Russian and American officials meet in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks. While details of the talks remain few and far between, Moscow's continued expansion of its military capabilities suggests little intention of de-escalating the war in Ukraine. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 27 February.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And just in case you were wondering what the PDB staff is currently up to, well, the answer is they're slaving away on the very latest episode of our much-loved, I guess you could call it beloved, Weekend show, the PDB Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
As always, the new episode will launch Friday evening at 10pm on The First TV, and of course can be found on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, and as you're no doubt aware, podcast platforms everywhere. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
According to an exclusive report from the British Telegraph, leaders in Tehran have placed the country's nuclear facilities on high alert and deployed additional air defense systems around key nuclear and missile sites to guard against potential joint military action by the US and Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 27th, 2025: Iran Reportedly Bracing For US-Israeli Strike & North Korea Doubles Down In Ukraine
Their preparations follow warnings from US intelligence last month that Israel may target Iran's nuclear facilities by the middle of this year in order to deal a death blow to the regime's regional ambitions. Leaders in Israel reportedly see Iran's nuclear sites as uniquely vulnerable due to the collapse of their once-strong network of proxy groups over this past year.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
with children between the ages 5 and 17 making up the majority of infections. As of Wednesday, 18 people have been hospitalized due to the contagion, with most suffering from pneumonia-like symptoms that make it difficult to breathe. DSHS officials did stress, however, that they have not yet seen cases of encephalitis or inflammation of the brain.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
That's a rare but devastatingly serious complication associated with the virus. The state health department is leading the response to the outbreak, but the federal government has been providing vaccines as well as technical and laboratory assistance across the region.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
A spokesman for the office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Wednesday that vaccination teams have been deployed to the affected areas in an attempt to contain the spread of the outbreak and that they were providing, quote, all necessary resources to ensure the safety and health of Texans, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Now, measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans, though it was largely considered eliminated from the U.S. back in 2000, following a highly effective vaccination program.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The measles, mumps, and rubella, or MMR vaccine, is recommended for all children between 12 and 15 months old, with a second shot given between the ages of four and six, which provides robust protection against infection.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
But vaccination rates, well, they've declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, with most states now below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners that's needed to protect against outbreaks. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 27 February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Now, should you be hankering for an ad-free experience, and when was the last time anybody said hankering in a podcast? Simply become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. It's really very simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
In just the past few weeks, both the United States and Israel have launched significant air campaigns inside Syria, targeting Islamist groups operating in the country. First, let's talk about the US strikes. U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, has been ramping up attacks against the al-Qaeda-linked Haras al-Din organization in northwestern Syria. Since the start of the year, U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
It's Thursday, 27 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start in the Middle East, where the U.S. and Israel are intensifying airstrikes in Syria. Now, it seems like just yesterday when Syria was in the news every day.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
drone strikes have hit targets in Idlib province, killing seven members of the group, including a senior finance and logistics official. CENTCOM called these strikes part of its, quote, ongoing commitment to working with allies to disrupt terrorist networks before they can plan and launch attacks. The U.S. military's message here is clear.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
They're determined to keep extremist groups from using Syria as a safe haven. But the U.S. isn't the only one stepping up airstrikes. In the country's south, Israeli warplanes have also been hitting military targets outside Damascus and in southern Syria. According to reports, Israeli jets carried out strikes on Tuesday, hitting sites in the town of Kiswah and the province of Dera.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, made it clear why these strikes are happening. He warned that Israel, quote, will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon, referencing Hezbollah's stronghold in Lebanon. That's a major security concern, of course, for Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Katz also stated that any attempt by Syrian forces or terrorist organizations to establish themselves in the border region will, quote, be met with fire.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Now, Israel has been conducting military operations in Syria for years, primarily targeting Iranian and Hezbollah positions But these latest strikes are part of a broader campaign launched late last year to dismantle Syria's former military infrastructure The goal?
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Well, it's relatively simple, to prevent weapons and military assets from falling into the hands of groups that pose a direct threat to Israel But here's the real problem. While airstrikes can disrupt terrorist operations in the short term, they don't address the underlying issue, which is Syria's lack of security and control.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The biggest challenge for Syria's new government is that it hasn't been able to consolidate a unified national army. When the rebels marched into Damascus, they did so as a ragtag group of fighters from various different factions. Now, officially, all of these various military factions were dissolved on 29 January, but in reality, thousands of these rebel fighters are still active.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Many of them remain part of loosely affiliated militias operating outside of government control. And this, well, this is where things get dangerous. Without a centralized security force, the country is vulnerable to lawlessness, foreign interference, and a resurgence of jihadist groups.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Power is fragmented, with various factions pursuing different goals, some for political influence, others for economic gain through smuggling and organized crime. On top of that, outside players like Iran, Turkey, and the Gulf states are eager to expand their influence.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
They're backing different militias that align with their own interests, fueling instability and making it even harder for Syria to restore order. And, of course, let's not forget about the jihadists. Groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda thrive in power vacuums.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Without jobs or clear leadership or sense of direction, many former fighters could be drawn into extremist networks that offer financial support and a renewed sense of purpose. Bottom line, this is potentially a ticking time bomb.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
With a new interim government in place, the country is still grappling with instability, raising concerns that terrorist groups could be gaining a foothold.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The longer that Syria's interim government goes without establishing military cohesion, the more it risks descending into a fragmented battleground of warlords, criminal groups, and terrorist organizations. And if that happens, while the consequences won't be just felt in the Middle East, it could spark a new wave of global jihadist activity. For now, the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
and Israel are trying to keep that worst-case scenario from unfolding, but airstrikes alone won't be enough. The real test for Syria's new government will be whether it can bring the country's armed factions under control before it's too late.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
All right, coming up after the break, Israel and Hamas reach a deal to keep the ceasefire going, and Romania's pro-Russian presidential frontrunner is taken in for questioning. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right? But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine. But what if one day you come out of the bathroom and look at that, your laptop is gone. Look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details, and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how. And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Later in the show, Israel and Hamas officials have struck a deal to exchange the bodies of dead hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners The agreement is keeping their fragile ceasefire intact for now Plus, Romania's pro-Russian presidential frontrunner has been taken in for questioning over last November's controversial canceled vote That's a race that he had initially won
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
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The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
It works on phones, laptops, tablets, and more, keeping your data secure wherever the Internet is used. Look, for U.S. customers, ExpressVPN includes Identity Defender, which removes personal data from broker sites, monitors for leaks on the dark web, and ensures against identity theft up to $1 million. Secure your online data today by visiting ExpressVPN.com slash Baker. That's B-A-K-E-R.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
That's ExpressVPN.com slash Baker to find out how you can get up to four months extra for free. ExpressVPN.com slash Baker. Welcome back to the PDB.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
After days of deadlock that threatened to derail their fragile ceasefire, Israel Hamas confirmed an agreement Tuesday to exchange the bodies of dead hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, ensuring that the truce remains intact, at least for now.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
As we've tracked on the PDB this week, Israel had refused to proceed with the scheduled release of 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday, protesting what it called the degrading treatment of hostages by Hamas upon their release.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
As our listeners know, the Iran-backed terror group has staged elaborate public ceremonies, parading freed hostages before massive crowds and forcing them to participate in propaganda stunts for each scheduled release of the ceasefire. Officials from the Red Cross and the United Nations condemned Hamas's practice as a gross violation of human dignity.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire by postponing the prisoner release, calling it a, quote, serious violation. The terror group insisted that no talks on the next phase, originally slated to begin earlier this month but indefinitely stalled, could move forward until the agreed-upon prisoners were freed.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
However, a breakthrough came late Tuesday after a Hamas delegation, led by a senior political official, met with mediators in Cairo. Under the agreement, the bodies of four Israeli hostages will be returned in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, fulfilling the terms of the ceasefire's first phase.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
In a statement, Hamas said the prisoners previously scheduled for release, quote, will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners who were agreed to be handed over The terror group also claimed that additional Palestinian prisoners will be included in the exchange
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
According to the Associated Press, an Israeli official, speaking anonymously, confirmed the agreement but declined to provide further details However, Israeli media reports suggest the exchange could take place at any moment with the remains of the hostages set to be handed over to Egyptian mediation authorities
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Notably, the bodies of the slain hostages will reportedly be handed over without the kind of public spectacle that Hamas orchestrated for its earlier releases This latest development will mark the completion of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement which called for Hamas to return 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners With this phase nearing its conclusion, attention now turns to the next round of negotiations
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The timing is critical. The White House's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to visit the region in the coming days to push forward this second phase of the ceasefire, which has been scheduled to begin on the 1st of March. This next phase will include the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas and a potential roadmap to ending the war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
But, as you might imagine, deep divisions remain. And whether this latest agreement can generate momentum for broader peace efforts, well, is far from certain. Contentious issues, including the future of Hamas's military capabilities, Israeli security demands, and the long-term governance of the enclave, continue to stand in the way of any lasting resolution. All right, shifting now to Romania.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
And in today's back of the brief, a major measles outbreak in Texas has claimed its first life. We'll break down the details and look at who's most at risk. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. I want to start today's show with an update from Syria. Just over two months after the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, the country has managed to establish an interim government now led by Ahmed al-Sharra.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The country's ongoing political crisis deepened Wednesday as pro-Russian presidential candidate Colleen Georgescu, whose surprise election victory last year was annulled over alleged Russian influence, was detained for questioning.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The investigation, which includes sweeping allegations against Georgescu and his inner circle, comes just as he was preparing to submit his candidacy for the rerun of the election, which is now set for the 4th of May.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
His supporters rallied outside the prosecutor's office as they see the legal action as a blatant attempt to block his return to the ballot, while authorities argue the case is a necessary response to the compromised original vote. Georgescu, a far-right nationalist, NATO skeptic and vocal critic of Western military aid to Ukraine,
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
sent shockwaves through Romania's political establishment in November when he surged from obscurity to win the first round of the presidential election. That victory, however, was short-lived. The country's constitutional court nullified the results, citing what it called a Kremlin-backed influence operation. Moscow denied any involvement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Georgescu, for his part, blasted the ruling as a, quote, formalized coup d'etat orchestrated by the country's political elite. While prosecutors have not explicitly named Georgescu in their statements, they confirmed that 47 locations, including the homes and offices of his closest allies, were raided.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Authorities are investigating charges of public incitement, forming a fascist organization, and providing false statements regarding his campaign's funding. Georgescu responded defiantly, taking to Facebook to ask, quote, Where is democracy? Where are the partners who must defend democracy? End quote. The fallout has thrown Romania into political turmoil.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Georgescu's nationalist allies and even his liberal opposition, led by reformist candidate Elena Laskony, now find themselves in rare agreement, both accusing the country's entrenched establishment of using the courts to maintain its grip on power. Laskony, warning of the consequences, said barring Georgescu from the race could ignite mass unrest, calling it a, quote, powder keg.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The case has also drawn international attention. You may remember that speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Vice President JD Vance condemned Romania's decision to cancel the election, calling it an attack on democracy. Vance accused Romanian authorities of using labels such as, quote, misinformation and disinformation as political weapons to silence opposition candidates.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Meanwhile, tech billionaire and close advisor to President Trump, Elon Musk, weighed in on social media, denouncing the constitutional court judges as simply, quote, tyrants. Romania's socialist prime minister defended the country's legal system, but acknowledged that if Georgescu is to be charged, prosecutors must present clear and irrefutable evidence.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
Meanwhile, polls indicate that Georgescu remains the frontrunner in the upcoming election, though it's still unclear whether he'll be allowed to run. With the fate of Georgescu's candidacy hanging in the balance, Romania, well, they're bracing for one of their most contentious elections in decades. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, a measles outbreak in Texas turns deadly.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
What we know about the situation and who's most at risk. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
In today's Back of the Brief, some tragic news out of Texas, where a recent measles outbreak has claimed its first life. To bring you up to speed, a major outbreak of measles erupted in parts of West Texas last month and has quickly spread across nine counties and parts of New Mexico.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
He's a former al-Qaeda member who has since renounced the group. But even with new leadership in place, questions remain about Syria's long-term stability, and concerns are growing that it could become a breeding ground for terrorism. And if recent military action is any indication, those concerns aren't unfounded.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
So far, 124 cases have been logged by health authorities, making it the largest outbreak of the highly contagious respiratory disease in Texas in nearly 30 years. That's according to a report from the Associated Press.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
On Wednesday, state health officials confirmed that an unvaccinated school-aged child who'd been fighting the disease at a hospital in Lubbock died Tuesday night, marking the first death from measles seen in the U.S. since 2015.
The President's Daily Brief
February 27th, 2025: Why Syria Has Become A Ticking Time Bomb & Israel And Hamas Reach A Deal
The virus has largely spread among rural towns in West Texas, with local health officials finding the highest concentration of cases occurring in, quote, close knit under vaccinated communities in Gaines County. The Texas Department of State Health Services, the DSHS, said Wednesday that nearly all the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccine status is unknown.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The Iranian-backed terror group built a stage where they displayed four coffins containing the remains of Shiri Bibas, a 33-year-old mother taken on 7 October, along with her two sons, Ariel and Kefir, who were just four years old and nine months old when they were kidnapped by Hamas, as well as 83-year-old Oded Lifshiz, a peace activist.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
It's Thursday, 20 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
On the backdrop of this stage was a banner with photos of all four victims. Above that was a bloody picture of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, depicted as a vampire, with an inscription that read, quote, War criminal Netanyahu and his army killed them with missiles and Zionist warplanes.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The coffins also had a picture of each victim, with text reading, Date of arrest, October 7th, 2023, along with a photo of Netanyahu over which was written, quote, The killer. There was also a banner that threateningly read, quote, the return of the war equals the return of your prisoners in coffins, as well as a placard that said, quote, we never forgave nor forgot, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
As the coffins were placed on stage, crowds of spectators cheered and shouted anti-Israeli taunts. Among the crowd were reportedly Palestinian prisoners recently released in the current hostage ceasefire deal, and they were supposed to be exiled from Gaza under the terms of the agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Among those spotted was Mohammed Abu Woda, who orchestrated a 1996 bus bombing that killed more than 40 Israelis. The remains were then transferred into the custody of officials with the International Committee of the Red Cross, though the transfer was complicated by Hamas's display.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
On Wednesday, ahead of the handover, the Red Cross called for privacy and dignity in the release, saying, quote, we must be clear, any degrading treatment during release operations is unacceptable. When Hamas made it clear on Thursday that they intended to turn the transfer into a depraved spectacle, officials with the humanitarian group initially refused to participate.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
First, Hamas provoked international outrage with a barbaric display as they returned the bodies of four deceased hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks, parading their coffins in front of a crowd of cheering spectators in Gaza who shouted anti-Israeli slogans.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
But Hamas subsequently threatened not to transfer the slain hostages at all. While Red Cross workers initially attempted to shield the remains from view with large white screens, an official eventually signed Hamas documents on the stage and Khan Yunus put an end to the ordeal.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The Red Cross then transferred the bodies to the custody of IDF and Shin Bet forces within the Gaza Strip, who brought the remains back to Israel for official identification. Upon arriving in Israel, the coffins were wrapped in Israeli flags and a rabbi recited Psalm 83. In a statement, Netanyahu said, "...we embrace the families and the heart of the entire nation is torn.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
My own heart is torn, so is yours. And all the world's heart should be torn because this demonstrates who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with, with such monsters." Hamas's actions even provoked outrage in the Arab world.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, the country's highest Muslim religious authority, condemned Hamas's barbarity, saying, quote, "'What we saw today in Gaza is a disgrace to Islam, an act of blasphemy against Allah and a sin,' end quote. All four of the victims had been taken during the brutal 7 October attacks from a kibbutz in southern Israel and spent 503 days in Hamas captivity."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Many Israelis had clung to hope that Shiri Biba's two sons might still be alive, but those hopes were dashed on Thursday. Israeli officials are currently examining the remains of the victims at a forensic lab in Tel Aviv, though for now, the exact circumstances of their deaths remain unclear.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Up next, the Trump administration moves to designate TDA, MS-13, and a number of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. I'll be right back. Running a business isn't easy, I know that firsthand. As a business owner, I've seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache with endless receipts, approvals, and expense tracking slowing everything down.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
And that's where Ramp comes in. Ramp streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process. No more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses. Ramp takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases, and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
For finance teams that are buried in busy work, well, RAMP flips the equation. Look, most companies spend approximately 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% on strategy. Think about how ineffective that is. Well, RAMP changes that. freeing up your team to focus on forecasting, growth, and high-impact decisions, and making the switches effortless.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Over 25,000 businesses, including Shopify and the Boys and Girls Club of America, trust Ramp, earning it the number one ranking in spend management by G2. And now, for a limited time, listeners of this show can get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. That's ramp.com slash pdb. One more time, that's ramp.com slash pdb.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Cards are issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC, and as they say, terms and conditions apply. Welcome back to the Afternoon Bolton. The U.S. State Department has officially designated eight transnational crime syndicates, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Venezuelan gang Trendo Agua, or TDA, as foreign terrorist organizations, all part of the White House's ongoing crackdown on transnational crime.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Later in the show, the Trump administration moves to designate TDA, MS-13, and a number of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in their latest crackdown on transnational crime. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The move follows President Trump's executive order signed on his first day in office, which instructed federal agencies to prioritize the classification of violent criminal syndicates as foreign terrorist organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The order set a 14-day deadline for Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate with top national security officials, including the Secretaries of Treasury and Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney General, and the Director of National Intelligence to develop a framework for these designations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Acting on that directive, Rubio issued a public notice in the Federal Register on Thursday declaring that these groups pose a, quote, unusual and extraordinary threat to national security, foreign policy, and economic interests. The designation was made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
It's a legal mechanism that expands federal authority to target these organizations with severe penalties. Among the eight groups named is MS-13, the notoriously violent gang with deep roots in the US and Central America.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
The designation grants sweeping powers to federal agencies, particularly the Department of the Treasury, to impose sanctions, freeze assets, and enforce travel bans on members and affiliates. The order also invokes the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, framing the issue as a national emergency.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
It states unequivocally, quote, it is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command and control structures. Experts say the designations could redefine America's approach to combating cartel-driven violence.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Joseph Humeyer, executive director of the Center for a Secure, Free Society, told Fox News that the move is a fundamental shift in how the United States combats organized crime. Humeyer stated, quote, Trump just put all of them on notice, adding, quote, This said, we know you're here, we know you're up to no good, and we're going to come after you, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
While the long-term impact remains to be seen, the move provides law enforcement with a broader set of legal tools to financially and operationally dismantle these crime groups within America's borders. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 20 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me. at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
We'll begin in Gaza, where Hamas turned the release of four deceased Israeli hostages, including a mother and her two young children, into a bizarre and barbaric spectacle. As we've been tracking on the PDB, Hamas announced earlier this week that they would be returning the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the two youngest captives taken during the 7 October attacks.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
And as you've no doubt heard from your friends and family, to listen to the show ad-free, well, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2025: Hamas Holds Sick Propaganda Ceremony For Dead Israelis & White House Designates Latin American Cartels As Terrorist Organizations
Hamas decided to use the somber moment to stage a propaganda ceremony, inviting local Gazans and militants to spectate and broadcasting the scenes across Arab television channels. That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
In recent months, Sudan's army has pushed RSF fighters out of key areas in the capital of Khartoum and central Sudan, forcing the paramilitary group to entrench itself in the vast swaths of territory that it still controls. The RSF planned to use the event to formally and rather ironically unveil a, quote, government of peace and unity.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
However, the signing of the proposed governing charter was postponed. RSF officials claimed the delay was due to ongoing negotiations with the Sudan's People's Liberation Movement North, known as SPLMN. That's a powerful faction that controls much of Sudan's famine-stricken south.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
While the SPLMN has historically stayed neutral in the war, an alliance with the RSF could expand its territorial reach and political influence. The group's leader, who spoke at Tuesday's event, voiced support for drafting a new constitution and restructuring Sudan's governance in the days ahead, calling for a, quote, new social contract.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
But the RSF's self-styled pro-democracy image came under fire almost immediately as fresh allegations of atrocities surfaced. Sudanese officials accused RSF fighters of massacring civilians in Sudan's south this week, where over 200 people were reportedly killed in a brutal three-day assault on two villages.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
According to Reuters, survivors described RSF forces opening fire on civilians as they attempted to flee across the Nile River. Sudan's foreign ministry put the death toll at 433. Meanwhile, in Sudan's western region, RSF forces stormed a refugee camp last week, killing dozens, and that's according to aid groups. As for whether the RSF can establish a government, that remains an open question.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
The diplomatic spat, if I could use the word spat, how often do you hear that, began on Tuesday after Trump suggested Zelensky was responsible for starting the war in Ukraine, which, for those who need reminding, began after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin invaded the country in February of 2022. And that, of course, was after Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine back in 2014.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Even at Tuesday's event, the SPLMN leader acknowledged Sudan's long history of peace efforts that subsequently collapsed into renewed bloodshed. But the RSF is not without powerful backers. The United Arab Emirates continues to provide financial and military support to the group, with foreign officials suggesting that Abu Dhabi is determined to keep its Sudanese proxy from losing the war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
It's worth noting that the UAE's involvement isn't purely ideological. Oh, really? Reports indicate the Gulf nation is leveraging its influence to secure access to Sudan's gold and other natural resources. And, well, there's an odd concept. Natural resources and wealth at the center of conflict in the third world. Who would have thunk it?
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
If the RSF moves forward with its breakaway government, Sudan could slide deeper into fragmentation, mirroring the post-Qaddafi reality in Libya, where rival factions carve the country into competing power centers, further complicating regional diplomacy.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Coming up next in the back of the brief, we'll look at reports out of Israel that Iran, in partnership with Turkey, is covertly working to smuggle money to Hezbollah. I'll be back with those details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
It's Thursday, 20 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, relations between the U.S. and Ukraine are taking an ugly turn, well, that's putting it diplomatically, as Presidents Trump and Zelensky engage in an escalating war of words, with the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
In today's Back of the Brief, Israeli leaders are sounding the alarm on ongoing Iranian efforts to smuggle large sums of money to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to help the battered terrorist group and Iran's proxy rebuild their military operations. During a meeting in Israel on Tuesday with a bipartisan group of U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
senators, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Turkey of covertly working with the mullahs in Tehran and the IRGC to facilitate their efforts to refill Hezbollah's depleted coffers. That's according to a report from the Times of Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
A statement from the foreign minister's office warned, quote, There is an intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status. This effort is being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
As I'm sure our listeners are aware, Hezbollah was, until recently, the most well-armed and well-financed militant army in Iran's so-called Axis of Resistance. But through a very methodical military campaign that began last summer, Israel laid waste to Hezbollah's leadership and decimated their military infrastructure.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
On 27 November, a beleaguered Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire deal with Israel, ending two months of full-scale war, though the deal has, well, frankly, barely held together. But Iran is eager to help the terror group rebuild so they can once again threaten Israel and strengthen Iran's regional power base, which has been significantly diminished over the past year.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Iran could previously rely on smuggling cash and weapons through Syria. But as you know, since the fall of the Assad regime in December, they've had to pursue other options. And it appears that Turkey is helping to fill that void. For context, Turkish President Erdogan has been a highly vocal critic of Israel ever since the beginning of the war in Gaza, even openly expressing support for Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday, Trump chastised Ukrainian officials for protesting his administration's bilateral talks with Russian diplomats in Riyadh, claiming that Kiev could have secured a favorable settlement with Moscow years ago, but failed to act in their own best interests. or in Moscow's best interests, depending on your point of view.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
While Turkey's relationship with Iran is a complicated one, with the two countries finding themselves on opposite sides during Syria's civil war, It appears that they have found common cause in trying to undermine Israel's security. Would you look at that? It's true. The old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I guess that's why it's an ancient saying.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
The Israeli foreign minister's office did not elaborate on how Turkey is aiding in the finance of Hezbollah, though Turkish banks have previously been accused by the U.S. of funneling money to the terror group. The warning comes just one week after Israeli officials exposed an Iranian scheme to smuggle suitcases full of cash to Hezbollah via Beirut's international airport.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
That's a story which we reported right here on the PDB. The Lebanese government has since taken measures to indefinitely bar civilian flights to Beirut from two Iranian airliners to cut off these transfers. But reports indicate that tens of millions of dollars may have already made its way into the hands of Hezbollah. Well, okay, into the pockets of Hezbollah leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 20 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, it is so simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Trump remarked, quote, Today, I heard, oh, well, we weren't invited. Well, you've been there for three years, he said. You should have never started it. You could have made a deal, end quote. The president also increased pressure on Zelensky to hold elections, which were suspended last year under Ukraine's ongoing period of martial law, declared following Putin's invasion.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Now, it's worth noting that Russia has been highly critical of Ukraine's suspended elections, rather ironically implying the emergency martial law declaration makes Zelensky an illegitimate leader, as opposed to Putin, who, of course, has always fixed his elections. That has been a regular talking point for Putin and his minions for quite some time.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Now, Zelensky fired back at Trump on Wednesday, accusing the president of living in a Russian-made, quote, disinformation space. adding that he would like to see, quote, more truth with the Trump team. He also directly criticized the Riyadh talks, saying he would not accept anyone making decisions regarding a settlement to the war behind Kim's back. Well, as you can imagine,
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Those critiques did not go over well with Trump, who posted a lengthy attack on Zelensky to Truth Social on Wednesday, mocking the leader as a, quote, modestly successful comedian, accusing him of misusing U.S. aid, and of generally doing a, quote, terrible job as president. Hmm.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Trump stated, quote, he refuses to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden like a fiddle. Trump added, quote, a dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he's not going to have a country left, end quote. This is quite the spat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Needless to say, Trump's comments caused international uproar, that's putting it diplomatically, particularly among NATO allies who accused the president of peddling Russian propaganda and marginalizing a critical regional ally.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Stateside, congressional Democrats also slammed Trump, well, there's a shock, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, he loves a camera, calling Trump's comments disgusting and accusing him of openly siding with a, quote, thug-like Vladimir Putin. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, even some congressional Republicans appeared troubled by Trump's remarks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana said he disagreed with Trump's suggestion that Ukraine somehow started the war. And Senator Susan Collins of Maine also said she disagreed, though most in the GOP stopped short of directly criticizing Trump. Well, that's because they have to worry about getting reelected. And that is the prime driver of politicians in Washington on both sides of the aisle.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Putin himself seemed to delight in the escalating war of words. Again, not a surprise. Claiming Wednesday that, quote, no one is excluding Ukraine and adding that there was no need for a, quote, hysterical reaction to Russia's bilateral talks with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also waded into the drama, saying Trump's comments are a sign that he understands Moscow's position. But the Trump administration appeared to be unconcerned with the fallout. Vice President J.D. Vance shared Trump's post to his ex-account, saying, quote, I just wanted to make sure that no one missed it.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
President slamming the Ukrainian leader as a, quote, dictator. Later in the show, we'll have an update on the ceasefire in Gaza, as Hamas signals that they are willing to release all the remaining hostages at once, provided that the truce moves into the second phase, once again proving that Hamas is very adept at controlling a narrative.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Later on Wednesday, in an interview with the Daily Mail, Vance slammed Zelensky's comments about the Riyadh talks as, quote, disgraceful, adding, quote, the idea that Zelensky is going to change the president's mind by badmouthing him in public media. Everyone who knows the president will tell you that is an atrocious way to deal with this administration, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Regardless, the remarks have put Trump's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, in a rather awkward position. That is putting it mildly. Kellogg arrived in Kiev on Wednesday for his first face-to-face meeting with Zelensky, speaking to reporters upon his arrival.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Kellogg said he looked forward to having, quote, good substantial talks and said that his mission was to, quote, listen to the concerns of Ukraine and report them back to Trump to, quote, ensure we get this thing right, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
While there's no telling how this diplomatic hoo-ha will impact the Trump administration's pursuit of a negotiated settlement to the war, Zelensky's defiant response underscores a widening gap between the White House and leaders in Kiev regarding the conflict and suggests that the Ukrainian leader will not accept attempts by any outside party to dictate the terms of a potential peace deal. Well...
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
To be fair, that's because they are the invaded country and Putin is an existential threat. So it's reasonable to say that Ukraine has a vested interest in the terms of any potential peace deal. That is not a controversial statement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Coming up after the break, we'll have an update on the ceasefire in Gaza, as Hamas signals that they're willing to release all the remaining hostages at once, provided that Israel meets certain conditions. Plus, Sudanese paramilitaries announce plans to form a breakaway government as their bloody civil war grinds on. I'll be right back. Running a business isn't easy. I know that firsthand.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Look, as a business owner, I've seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache with endless receipts, approvals, and expense tracking slowing everything down. And that's where Ramp comes in. Ramp streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process. No more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Ramp takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases, and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility. For finance teams buried in busy work, RAMP flips the equation. Look, most companies spend about 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% of their time on strategy. Think about how ineffective that is.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Well, RAMP changes that, freeing up your team to focus on forecasting, growth, and high-impact decisions. Make the switch, and it's effortless. Over 25,000 businesses, including Shopify and the Boys and Girls Club of America, trust Ramp, earning it the number one ranking in spend management by G2. And now, for a limited time, listeners of this show can get $250 when you join Ramp.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. It's very simple. Ramp.com slash pdb. One more time. That's ramp.com slash pdb. Cards are issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC, and as they say, terms and conditions apply. Hey, Mike Baker here. Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Plus, Sudan's civil war takes another bloody turn, as Sudanese paramilitaries announce plans to form a breakaway government. And in today's Back of the Brief, we'll look at reports out of Israel that Iran, in partnership with Turkey, is covertly working to smuggle money to Hezbollah in an attempt to help the Lebanese militants rebuild their military operations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right? But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine. But what if one day you come out of the bathroom and look at that, your laptop is gone. And look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right?
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details, and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how. And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
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The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
It works on phones, laptops, tablets, and more, keeping your data secure wherever the Internet is used. Look, for U.S. customers, ExpressVPN includes Identity Defender, which removes personal data from broker sites, monitors for leaks on the dark web, and ensures against identity theft up to $1 million. Secure your online data today by visiting ExpressVPN.com slash Baker. That's B-A-K-E-R.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
That's ExpressVPN.com slash Baker to find out how you can get up to four months extra for free. ExpressVPN.com slash Baker.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Welcome back to the PDB. Hamas has signaled a willingness to release all remaining Israeli hostages in a single exchange, framing the move as an accelerated commitment to advancing the second phase of a broader ceasefire agreement. How magnanimous of them.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
The proposal on Wednesday from the Iran-backed terror group marks a shift from the agreement's initial release schedule, which called for the exchange of three Israeli hostages for several hundred Palestinian prisoners each week. The ceasefire, in effect since 19 January, despite persistent accusations of violations, is now entering a critical juncture.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, Hamas is set to return the bodies of four Israeli hostages on Thursday, followed by the release of six living hostages on Sunday and another transfer of four bodies next Thursday. Israeli authorities have confirmed the imminent return of the remains, but have not publicly identified them.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
The conclusion of this initial six week phase on the 1st of March will leave 58 hostages still in Hamas custody, with Israeli intelligence estimates suggesting that 34 of them are dead. Hamas insists its new proposal is a demonstration of its commitment to resolving the conflict. That, of course, would be the conflict that they started. But I digress.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
A senior Hamas official told AFP, quote, We have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch during the second phase of the agreement rather than in stages, end quote. It's important to note that the negotiations over the second phase were initially scheduled to begin in early February, but they faced continued obstacles.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Now, that could be construed as unfortunate behavior by a U.S. ally and NATO member. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Israel's foreign minister said Tuesday that talks would start this week to establish a more permanent end to the war, but as of Wednesday, no timeline had been confirmed. A major sticking point remains Israel's refusal to withdraw troops from the Philadelphia corridor, and that's a strategically vital stretch along Gaza's border with Egypt.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has also demanded the total disarmament and removal of Hamas from power in the enclave, though who would actually govern Gaza in the terror group's absence remains unresolved. In a move that could signal a shift in Israel's negotiating strategy, Netanyahu has appointed Ron Dermer, a close adviser and former ambassador to Washington, to lead Israel's delegation.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Dermer replaces the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, who often clashed with Netanyahu over his reluctance to advance negotiations. Meanwhile, as our regular PDB listeners are aware, President Trump has floated a proposal to relocate Gaza's roughly 2.3 million residents and place the territory under American administration for a decade long reconstruction effort.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
The idea has been roundly rejected by regional actors, including Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, all of whom oppose any forced displacement of Palestinians. Gulf states are now pushing their own alternative reconstruction plan, which will be discussed at an emergency summit in Riyadh on Friday, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
Just one day after an American delegation met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia to begin peace negotiations, President Trump lashed out at Ukrainian President Zelensky, calling the leader a, quote, dictator in a fiery rant that risks significantly complicating efforts to end the war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
More formal talks are set to follow at an Arab League summit in Cairo on the 4th of March. The coming days will determine whether Hamas's latest proposal, combined with the eventual beginnings of phase two negotiations, can usher in a prolonged peace in the Gaza Strip. All right, shifting now to Kenya.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
where Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces, known as the RSF, took a major step toward establishing a breakaway government on Tuesday, staging a political event in Nairobi despite battlefield losses and allegations of war crimes. The event, attended by hundreds of RSF supporters, was led by the paramilitary group's deputy leader, Abd al-Hakim de Gallo, a figure already under U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
sanctions for orchestrating violence and human rights abuses. For background, Sudan's war erupted in April 2023 when the RSF and Sudan's military, once uneasy allies in a joint coup, turned against each other in a brutal contest for power. The conflict has since devastated the country, leaving tens of thousands dead, displacing more than 12 million people. Think about that, 12 million people.
The President's Daily Brief
February 20th, 2025: Trump Brands Zelensky A 'Dictator' & Sudan's Paramilitaries Pursue Breakaway Government
and triggering a famine that international aid bodies fear could be the deadliest in decades. Tuesday's event laid bare the RSF's political aspirations as it struggles to offset military setbacks.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Der Angriff kommt nur einen Tag vor, bevor US-Vizepräsident J.D. Vance, ukrainischer Präsident Zelensky und andere fremde Führer sich an einer großen Sicherheitskonferenz in dieser Stadt treffen. Das ist ein Bericht aus dem Wall Street Journal.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Der Anwalt, ein 24-jähriger afghanischer Asylbeherr, der offensichtlich von der Polizei bekannt war, wurde schnell von lokalen Offizieren verhaftet, die beruflich einen Schuss in sein Auto getötet haben, bevor sie ihn in Behandlung genommen haben. Während die Details des Anwaltes immer noch vorliegen, haben die Offiziere gesagt, dass mindestens 28 Menschen verletzt wurden, insbesondere Kinder.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Ambulanzen sind auf die Szene gestiegen und die Offiziere sagten, dass mindestens zwei der Verletzten in kritischer Situation sind. While authorities don't believe the attack is connected to Friday's Munich Security Conference, it occurred just one mile from an upscale hotel in central Munich that is hosting the event.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
The US Secret Service released a statement saying that there was no, quote, protective impact to the Vice President, but noted that they are closely monitoring the heightened security situation. The suspect, whose name has not been released, had recently had his asylum claim rejected and was on a watch list for his connections to theft and drug offenses. The attack unfolded just after 10.30 a.m.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
local time in Germany, when the Afghan man overtook a police vehicle and accelerated a Mini Cooper vehicle into the back of the crowd, which was gathered there for a union rally. Bavarian Governor Marcus Schoder said, quote, this is simply terrible, that once again someone rammed their car into a group of people, there are a lot of injured, and then he said it's a slap in the face, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
The incident comes as Germany still reels from a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market by a Saudi national in December that killed six individuals and left nearly 300 injured. It also comes less than a month after German police arrested an Afghan man suspected of killing two people, including a two-year-old, in a stabbing attack.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
The latest attack is likely to have significant repercussions for Germany's general election, which is now just 10 days away. Due to the recent episodes of migrant violence, immigration of course has emerged as a major focal point in the race.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is not expected to be re-elected, attempted to take a hardline stance at a campaign stop on Thursday, saying that the driver involved in this latest attack, quote, must be punished and he must leave the country, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
But many in Germany feel their leaders have completely failed on the issue of unchecked migration and are now turning to either the far-right Alternative for Germany Party, which has been surging in the polls of late, or the conservative Christian Democrat Union of Germany Party, or CDU, which currently has a 10-point lead in the race.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Friedrich Merz, the CDU's leader and frontrunner to become the next chancellor, Er sagte am Montag, dass die Sicherheit der Menschen in Deutschland unsere Hauptpriorität sein wird. Jeder muss sich in unserem Land wieder sicher fühlen. Etwas muss in Deutschland verändern. Kommen wir zum nächsten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Hamas regiert, die Erlösung von Hostagen in Gaza zu beenden, wie geplant, erscheinend eine große Begründung zu lösen, die mit Israel den fragilen Zerstörer zerstört hat. Ich habe diese Details nach der Pause. Running a business isn't easy. I know that firsthand. As a business owner, I have seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache, right?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
With endless receipts, approvals and expense tracking slowing everything down. Well, that's where RAMP comes in. Ramp streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process. No more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Ramp takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility. For finance teams buried in busy work, well, RAMP flips the equation. Look, most companies spend some 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% on strategy. Think about that. Think how ineffective that is.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Well, RAMP changes that, freeing up your time to focus on forecasting, growth and high-impact decisions. Making the switch is effortless. Look, over 25,000 businesses, including Shopify and the Boys and Girls Club of America, trust Ramp, earning it the number one ranking in spend management by G2. And now, for a limited time, listeners of this show can get $250 when you join Ramp. And it's simple.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Es ist Donnerstag, der 13. Februar. Willkommen bei der BDB Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker. Eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst. Ein afghanischer Migrant hat vor dem Freitag vor der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz in Deutschland einen erwarteten Terrorattack vorgelegt, die mindestens 28 Menschen verletzt hat, insbesondere Kinder.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. That's ramp.com slash pdb. Once again, That's ramp.com.pdb. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC. And as they say, terms and conditions apply. Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
After days of uncertainty, Hamas announced Thursday that it would proceed with releasing Israeli hostages according to the previously agreed timeline, backtracking on threats to suspend a core stipulation of the ceasefire agreement amid escalating tensions with Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
The reversal followed threats from President Trump that he would let, quote, all hell break out in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's vow to resume, quote, intense fighting if Hamas failed to comply. As we've been tracking on the PDB, Israeli military reservists have begun massing along the border in anticipation of a possible breakdown of the agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Earlier this week, the Iran-backed terror group accused Israel of violating the terms of the three-week-old ceasefire by not allowing aid into the enclave. The terror group declared it would withhold hostages in response.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
However, in a statement published on its website, Hamas has a website, Hamas announced that it would, quote, continue its position of implementing the agreement and release three hostages on Saturday. Dieser Schiff folgte dem, was Hamas als positive Diskussionen mit Katar und Ägypten beschrieben hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Zwei wichtige Mediator, die natürlich die initiale Ausstattung gebrochert haben, die im Januar mehr als 15 Monate nach der Kriegsparty durchgeführt wurde.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Hamas' Hauptanforderung an die Mediator in Kairo war, für erhöhte humanitären Hilfe, insbesondere zusätzliche Schelter, medizinische Versorgung, Feuer und schweres Equipment für die Entfernung von Ruhe, die Ressourcen, die Mediator gefordert haben, zu bieten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Israel has not immediately responded to Hamas' latest statement, but the group's decision to move forward with the hostage releases could help maintain the fragile truce, at least for now. The larger question remains whether the ceasefire will hold beyond its first phase, which is set to conclude in early March.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
No substantive negotiations have taken place regarding the second phase, which would require Hamas to release all remaining living hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Dieser Perspektiv ist bereits von Netanyahus Hardline-Alliys, die argumentieren, dass militärische Operationen völlig auslösen müssen, um Hamas auszulösen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Bis jetzt sind 73 israelische Flüchtlinge in Gefängnis, obwohl rund halb davon glaubt, tot zu sein ist. Das, was die Situation weiter unangenehm macht, ist Trumps Vorschlag, Gaza's 2-Millionen-plus-Besitzer zu entfernen und sie in anderen Ländern zu versetzen. Das ist ein Plan, der sowohl Palästinenser als auch arabische Nationen stark verteidigt hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Aber Netanyahus Koalition hat die Idee verabschiedet, es als notwendigen Schritt zu bewegen, um Israel's langfristige Sicherheit zu sichern. Trump hat gefordert, dass der Einsatz von reichen arabischen Staaten finanziert wird, um einen Nachkriegs-Szenario zu erwischen, in dem Israel die Kontrolle von Gaza mit den USA übernimmt.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Egypt has signaled a willingness to engage with Trump on a broader peace initiative. In a statement Tuesday, the Egyptian foreign ministry pledged to work toward a, quote, comprehensive and just peace in the region.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Cairo is now preparing to host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February, after President Trump extended an open invitation to the Egyptian president to discuss the matter at the White House. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 13 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments for me, and I hope you do, please reach out at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Später im Show macht Hamas auf ihre Anstrengungen, die nächsten Auslösungen der Flüchtlinge abzulehnen, um das fragilste Feuerwerk in Gaza wieder auf den Weg zu bringen. Aber zuerst, heutes Nachmittagspotlight. Terror hat sich wieder einmal im Herzen Deutschlands getroffen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
And as always, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, well, simply become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. Very simple. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Vielen Dank.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 13th, 2025: Another Terror Attack In Germany & Hamas Agrees To Resume Hostage Releases
Fast 30 Menschen wurden am Dienstagmorgen verletzt, als ein afghanischer Migrant ein Auto durch eine Gruppe in München rammte, in dem, was die Behörden bezeichnen, als eine erwartete Angriff. Echt? Ein afghanischer Migrant fährt sein Auto durch eine Gruppe in München und die Behörden glauben, dass es ein Angriff sein könnte. Gute Arbeit, Poirot.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Gabbard, eine ehemalige demokratische Bundeskanzlerin aus Hawaii und ein Lieutenant Colonel in den US-Armee-Reserven, war einer von Trumps kontroversierteren Picks und hatte intensives Pushback von Mitgliedern ihrer ehemaligen Partei während ihrer zerstörten Konfirmation, sowie von einer Hälfte von GOP-Skeptiken.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
There were widespread reservations about her qualifications for the role, as well as concerns about her past views on Russia, support for NSA-Whistleblower Edward Snowden and a controversial 2017 meeting that she held with now-deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. But the bulk of the GOP holdouts were ultimately swayed to vote yes by Senator Tom Cotton.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
He's the chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence and Vice President J.D. Vance, who reportedly coordinated a last-minute campaign to persuade the Republican skeptics and push Gabbard over the line. Stunden nach der Wahl am Donnerstag wurde sie offiziell in ihre Position gezwungen, bei Att. Gen. Pam Bondi während einer Zeremonie im Oval-Office.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Gabbard, der einmal als Präsident als Demokrat, aber in 2022 die Partei verlassen hat, hat geplägt, die Prioritäten der Agenzien unter ihrer Angelegenheit zu refokussieren und hat gearbeitet, die öffentliche Vertrauen in die Intelligenzgemeinschaft zu restaurieren, die, wie sie argumentiert hat, unter der vorherigen Administration weaponisiert und politisiert wurde.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
In what could prove to be a major diplomatic breakthrough, President Trump revealed that he held what he described as a, quote, lengthy and highly productive phone call with Russian President Putin on Wednesday morning, seeking a peace deal to end Moscow's three-year-old war on Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
In remarks from the Oval Office, Trump praised her service record, saying, quote, End quote. In her new role as DNI, Gabbard will oversee the 18 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community and function as Trump's senior advisor on all intelligence matters.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
As part of her duties, she will also be charged with preparing the president's daily intelligence brief, which, while not as interesting or insightful as Mike Baker's president's daily brief, is still important. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 13 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
And as all the cool kids know, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
It marked the first conversation between the President and the Russian strongman since Trump's return to office, as well as Putin's first contact with a sitting U.S. President since February 2022, after contact was broken off following Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Now, the conversation reportedly lasted for an hour and a half, during which the pair agreed to start negotiations immediately to bring the war to a close. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said, quote, We both agreed we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia and Ukraine. We agreed to work together very closely, including visiting each other's nations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
We've also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately." Now Trump said that a delegation led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of the CIA John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz,
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will lead the talks and expressed hopes that a negotiated settlement could be achieved in the very near future, though he refrained from outlining a timetable. The call came in the wake of a prisoner exchange on Tuesday that saw Russia release Mark Fogle.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
He's an American teacher who was detained in Russia for three and a half years, which White House officials said marked a thawing of relations between Moscow and Washington. Following his call with Putin, Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Zelensky, who he said is also eager to pursue a peace deal.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Now, Zelensky has long expressed a willingness to engage with Putin on a, quote, just settlement to the war, and suggested earlier this week that he would consider trading areas of Russia's Kursk region, currently occupied by Kiev's forces, in order to gain back some of Ukraine's lost territory.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Trump added that a meeting is being set up on Friday at the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany between Zelensky, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Rubio, though details of what they will discuss were not disclosed. So, what might the Trump administration's plan for peace look like?
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
While the White House is keeping details of their strategy close to the vest, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave a preview of some of the broader aspects of their plan during a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday. Hegseth echoed Trump's past statements that any negotiations must acknowledge some harsh realities, including...
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
that Ukraine will not be able to regain the roughly 20% of territory seized by Russia since the war began, along with Crimea and the eastern Donbass region. He also said Kiev's potential membership in the NATO alliance is not, quote, a realistic outcome. Hegseth told his fellow NATO military allies, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Hegseth added that any durable peace deal would need to rely on robust security guarantees from European allies, not the US.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
He endorsed proposals to send a coalition of European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential settlement, but, most critically, said they should only be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission, meaning, importantly, that they would not be covered under the alliance's mutual defense clause.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
The Defense Secretary's remarks reflected Trump's intent to make Europe shoulder most of the financial and military burden of any settlement to the war. But Zelensky said earlier this week that U.S. muscle is critical to achieving any lasting peace deal and suggested he could woo Trump with economic incentives. Now, I'm not sure if Zelensky actually used the word woo.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
As we discussed earlier this week on the PDB, Trump has spoken of striking a $500 billion deal with Ukraine to access the country's rare earth minerals in exchange for continued financial and military assistance from the U.S. Still, the Defense Secretary said the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Es ist Donnerstag, 13. Februar. Willkommen bei der Präsidenten-Daily Brief. Ich bin Mike Baker, eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. All right, let's get briefed. Wir beginnen heute mit Präsident Trump, der erklärte, dass die Negotiativen, um den Ukraine-Krieg zu beenden, sofort beginnen werden. nach einem Anruf, den er mit Wladimir Putin gehalten hat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
has other global priorities that require our focus, namely the threat from China, and said Wednesday that Europe must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine. He added, "...the United States remains committed to the NATO alliance, but the U.S. will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship, which encourages dependency." Alright, coming up next.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Israel calls up Reservists as the Gaza ceasefire teeters and in Ukraine a top official is exposed as a Russian mole. I'll be right back. Running a business isn't easy. I know that firsthand. As a business owner, I have seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache, right? With endless receipts, approvals and expense tracking slowing everything down.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Well, that's where RAMP comes in. Ramp streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process. No more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses. Ramp takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
For finance teams buried in busy work, well, RAMP flips the equation. Look, most companies spend some 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% on strategy. Think about that. Think how ineffective that is. Well, RAMP changes that, freeing up your time to focus on forecasting, growth and high-impact decisions. Vielen Dank für's Zuschauen. That's ramp.com.pdb.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC. And as they say, terms and conditions apply.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Welcome back to the BDB. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a clear-cut warning to Hamas, declaring that if the terror group does not release more hostages by midday Saturday, Israel will abandon the ceasefire and resume military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Netanyahu's ultimatum came after Hamas on Monday abruptly postponed the next scheduled hostage release, accusing Israel of violating the terms of the fragile three-week-old truce. The Iran-backed terror group alleged that Israeli forces carried out deadly shootings, obstructed humanitarian aid deliveries and barred Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Die News kommt, als der US-Defensivsekretär Pete Hegseth die EU- und NATO-Defensivchefs beurteilt, dass Ukraines Ziel, seine 2014-Border zurückzukommen, nicht realistisch ist. Later in the show, as the Gaza ceasefire hangs by a thread, Israel has begun calling up military reservists in preparation for renewed conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Following an emergency meeting with Israel's security cabinet, which unanimously backed his stance, Netanyahu vowed, "...if Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon, the ceasefire will end and the IDF will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated."
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
As our listeners know here on the PDB, Netanyahu's statement closely followed President Trump's own warning to Hamas on Monday, in which he threatened that if hostages weren't released by, quote, Saturday at 12 o'clock, then, quote, all bets are off and all hell is going to break out.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
However, on Tuesday, a Hamas spokesman reaffirmed the terror group's commitment to the truce, though he did not reverse the delay in hostage releases. In an interview with NBC News, the terror group's spokesman dismissed Trump's threat, stating that Gaza was already, quote, living in a state of hell.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
The Hamas spokesman added, of course, that's entirely the fault of Hamas, given that we started this mess by slaughtering Israeli citizens during the 7 October attacks. Okay, fair enough. He didn't actually say that last bit. I mean, frankly, the Hamas spokesman is not known for being self-aware and contrite. The stalled exchange would have been the sixth such swap since the ceasefire began.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Under the first phase of the truce, which took effect on 19 January and is set to last for 42 days, Hamas hat so far released 16 of 33 hostages, along with 5 Thai nationals. In return, Israel freed over 730 Palestinian prisoners. Still, 76 hostages remain in the Strip, at least 35 of whom are believed to be dead.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to push his own vision for Gaza, arguing that its over 2 million residents should be relocated so the U.S. could take control and develop the territory into the Riviera of the Middle East. On Tuesday, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel's Security Cabinet had formally endorsed Trump's proposal.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
The fragility of the ceasefire has also spurred a flurry of regional diplomatic efforts. The Arab League Secretary General announced plans to revive the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offered Israel normalized relations in exchange for Palestinian statehood.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Egypt, a key mediator in the ceasefire agreement, is set to host an emergency Arab summit on 27 February, shortly after Trump extended an invitation to the Egyptian president for discussions at the White House. As uncertainty mounts, Israel has begun mobilizing military reservists in preparation for a possible return to full-scale combat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reinforced Netanyahu's warning, bluntly stating, quote, End quote. Katz ging weiter, suggerierte, dass eine, Quote, neue Gaza-Wahl die Wege für Israel aufbauen könnte, um Trumps steigende Vision für die Enklave zu implementieren.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Okay, wir gehen jetzt in die Ukraine, wo die Intelligenz-Service einen großen Sicherheitsabbruch am Montag entdeckt hat, erneut die Head of Kyivs Antiterrorist-Center als russischer Mole gearbeitet hat. Ja, das würde als einen großen Sicherheitsabbruch qualifizieren.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Plus a bombshell in Ukraine, where intelligence officials revealed that one of the nation's most powerful men has been secretly working for Russia. And in today's back of the brief, President Trump scores a major win as Tulsi Gabbard is confirmed by the Senate as the new Director of National Intelligence after a very tough confirmation battle. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, was arrested personally by Vasyl Malyuk, who is chief of the Security Service of Ukraine, or the SBU. Malyuk accused the suspect of passing classified intelligence to the Kremlin's Federal Security Service in exchange for cash and reportedly out of ideological loyalty, but mostly cash.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Die SBO hat den ehemaligen Sicherheitsbeamten, die sensiblen Informationen zu Moskau ein Minimum von 14 Mal übernommen. Die Investoren haben die Rund-die-Klopfe-Wiretapps verwendet, die Zugang zu den Verbrecherns mobilen Geräten und Computern erhoben und sogar die verurteilten Vertreter der encrypted Kommunikationen infiltriert.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Meliuk in einem Video, das auf der SBU-Website veröffentlicht wurde, sagte, wir mussten praktisch zusammenleben mit ihm, erklärte, wie Investitionen seine Kontakte mit russischen Operativen dokumentierten. Die Agentur hat keinen Eindruck gemacht, um ihre Verurteilung zu lösen, die Verurteilung der Verurteilung als Rat zu markieren und zu unterschreiben, dass er nicht alleine gearbeitet hat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Seine russischen Handlern waren beruflich ehemalige ukrainische Offiziere, die Jahre früher die pro-western Euro-Mädchen-Revolution unterstützt hatten, bevor sie nach diesen Protesten nach Moskau fliehen. Für Kyiv ist dieser Fall mehr als nur ein Gewinn einer Konterintelligenz.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Die SPU-Chef hat bemerkt, dass Zelenskyy sich in der Lübeck-Unterkunft gehalten hat, während der Unterkunfts-Intelligenz-Operation, die letztendlich die Türen auf Moskau geöffnet hat. Not only did Ukraine neutralize an embedded Russian asset, but officials also disclosed that the SBU fed disinformation to the suspect, allowing for false intelligence to reach Russian command.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Malyuk stated, quote, We continue to self-clean our ranks, signaling that Kiev's hunt for infiltrators is, well, far from over. All right, coming up in the back of the brief. Tulsi Gabbard secures a key role in President Trump's national security team, overcoming a fierce Senate confirmation battle to become the new Director of National Intelligence, the DNI. I'll be right back with the details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
In today's Back of the Brief. After an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate, Tulsi Gabbard has been confirmed to President Donald Trump's Cabinet as the next Director of National Intelligence, the DNI.
The President's Daily Brief
February 13th, 2025: Ukraine Negotiations Set To Begin & Gaza Braces For Renewed Conflict
Gabbard becomes Trump's 14th successful Cabinet confirmation, following a 52-48 vote on Wednesday that fell largely along party lines, with the exception of Senator Mitch McConnell, who was the lone GOP holdout.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Military officials also warn that Ukraine will likely deplete their stockpile of interceptors for the US Patriot missile systems that defend their cities from Russian bombardment within the next two to three months. And that's according to a report from the New York Post.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Aufmerksamkeit über die verdächtigen Wettbewerbsimpfungen, die die flächendeckende Schwierigkeit haben könnte, sagte ein anonymer ukrainischer Offizier, dass es nach dem Wettbewerb sehr schwierig für uns sein wird. Es wird nicht ein totaler Verlust sein, aber wir werden von Bereichen mehr schnell zurückgezogen werden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
The White House announced its decision to halt all military aid to the war-torn nation just three days after President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy engaged in a televised argument in the Oval Office last Friday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
The move was quickly followed with the suspension of all intelligence sharing between the US and Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of critical battlefield insights that could tip the scales in favor of the Russian military.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
As we discussed earlier on the PDB, officials with the Trump administration said Wednesday that the pauses will remain in place until Ukraine comes to the negotiating table and a viable timeline for peace talks with Russia is established. Of course, it would be interesting to know if Russia has actually agreed to come to the negotiating table and under what conditions and with what demands.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Ukraines Leaders are now scrambling to mend fences with the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Zelenskys Chief of Staff held a productive call with White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and scheduled a meeting with US officials for the, quote, near future to discuss potential negotiations with Russia.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
In the meantime, Ukraine is doing all they can to accelerate their own domestic production of ammunition and drones, though they don't have the ability to replace what the US has been providing.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Over the course of the more than three-year-long war, the US has served as the single largest military aid supplier to Kyiv, giving approximately $70 billion in weapons and ammunition, according to the US State Department. Einer dieser Waffen sind advanced air defense systems, ballistic missiles and long-range artillery rockets, Munitions, that European allies can't readily replace for Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Analysts have said the military aid cutoff will hinder the Ukrainian military's ability to conduct long-range strikes inside Russian territory, but the biggest immediate concern for Kyiv is the impact on their defensive stockpiles.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Eine Verlust von Antifahrzeugen und Luftschutzordnungen, besonders für die US-Patriot-Batterien, könnte die ukrainischen Städte auslösen, und viele Offiziere sind fürchtet, dass der Putin-Regime den vorliegenden Abstand auslösen wird, gemeinsam mit dem Abstand in der Intelligenz, um die ukrainische Bevölkerung weiter zu bombardieren.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Officials say even a temporary shortfall will force their military into making difficult decisions on what it will prioritize to defend, with one official asking, quote, Do you defend an airfield or a power plant or a factory making weapons? End quote. Nun, die Bedrohung ist allzu real, mit dem russischen Militär in den letzten Tagen eine Reihe von sterblichen Aero-Attacken eröffnet.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Am frühen Donnerstag wurde ein russischer Drohnenstrahl auf einem Schiffsaal in der Stadt Sumy von einem zivilen Arbeiter getötet. Das kam, nachdem ein russischer Missil ein Hotel in einer Stadt in der Zentralukraine am letzten Dienstagabend zerstört hat. Das hat vier Menschen getötet und 31 verletzt, obwohl die Rettungsarbeiter immer noch durch das Dschungel fliegen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Nach den Angriffen sagte Zelenskyy, es müsse keine Pause in der Druck auf Russland geben, um diese Krieg und Terror gegen das Leben zu stoppen. Nun, um nicht negativ zu klingen, aber es scheint etwas zu spät für das zu sein, könnte man sagen, die Pause der Militär- und Intelligenzsupport der Ukraine ist nicht genau die Druck auf Russland.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Coming up next, President Trump vows to make shipbuilding great again, ordering the most aggressive push to bolster America's commercial and military ship production in half a century. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The Trump administration is moving to overhaul American shipbuilding with a draft executive order aimed at countering China's grip on the global maritime industry. The plan seeks to revitalize commercial and military ship production through financial incentives and reforms.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Präsident Trump beantragte die Initiative, die Titel MAKE SHIPBUILDING GREAT AGAIN, während einer gemeinsamen Anrufe an den Kongress am Dienstag, die Pläne bewegte, einen Maritime Industrial Base Office innerhalb des White Houses National Security Councils zu erstellen, um den Eindruck zu führen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Es ist Donnerstag, der 6. März. Willkommen bei der PDB-Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker. Eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Lass uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst der letzte Fallout von der Ordnung der Trump-Administration, die Militärhilfe in der Ukraine aufzuhalten, als Offiziere in Kiew beurteilt haben, dass sie in einem Monat aus kritischen Ammunition-Supplies ausgehen könnten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Die Regierung argumentiert, dass China durch Non-Market-Praktiken mehr als 200-mal die Kapazität Amerikas, die sich um Wirtschafts- und Sicherheitsthreaten befinden, eine Shipbuilding-Industrie gebaut hat. Dieser Maritim-Aktion-Plan, der von mehreren föderalen Agenzien gesperrt wurde, z.B.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
von den Departementen der Verteidigung, der Verbrauch, der Staat, der Transport und der Landwirtschaft, zentriert sich auf einen Maritim-Sicherheits-Gesetz, welcher durch Tarife und Steuern in den nächsten neun Jahren finanziert werden würde. Der Plan designiert auch Maritim-Opportunity-Zonen, die Hinweise bieten, Schiff-Building-Businessen in bestimmten Regionen zu eröffnen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Eines der wichtigsten Elemente ist eine Nachhaltigkeitsausgabe auf Außengeschäfte, die zusätzliche Zehntausendpreise auf Schiffen von Mexiko oder Kanada ausführen. Die Departement der Nachhaltigkeitsaufgabe wird die Aufmerksamkeit an amerikanischen Orten überprüfen, die Ausgabe der Ausgaben und die Sicherheitsmaßnahmen aufbauen, um Komplizierung zu ermöglichen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
The administration is also taking aim at the military procurement process, ordering the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE of course, overseen by Elon Musk, to conduct a three-month review of Navy and Homeland Security acquisitions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Ein bestimmter Fokus ist, was die Trump-Affizienten nennen, unverantwortliche Navy-Vorgaben-Offiziere, die verurteilt werden, die Schiffsproduktion zu verlängern und die Kosten durch exzessive rote Tape zu steigern. Die White House drückt nach einer mehr strengen Prozesse, um die Verkaufs- und Ausgaben zu erhöhen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
On the labor front, Trump's initiative revives key elements of the Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support, or SAWS, program, because frankly nobody loves an acronym like the government and the military love an acronym. und die SAUS hat versucht, die Waren für die Nuklearschiffshäuser durch Vertragsvergleiche zu erhöhen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Die Biden-Administration hat die SAUS vorher gefeuert, während der Kongress es über Transparenz-Bedrohungen gefeuert hat. Unter Trumps Plan würde die Navy in die Existenzfonds reichen, um die Warenvergleiche durchzuführen und die Betreuung in Schiffshäuser zu erhöhen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Der eingestellte Antrag beantragt auch eine 45-Tage-Schiffenbau-Revue, um Verluste und Kostenverluste in kritischen Navy-Programmen zu beurteilen, z.B. Submarine, unmanned Systems und surface Schiffe. Eine ähnliche Review im letzten Jahr hat signifikante Schwierigkeiten auf der ganzen Industrie ausgewertet, die Sorgen über die Militärfähigkeit des Militärs, seine maritime Fliege zu bewältigen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Experten sagen, dass diese Initiative den größten aggressiven Druck darstellt, den amerikanischen Schiffsbau in einem halben Jahrzehnt zu beherrschen, wenn man die Vergleiche mit dem 1970en Merchant Marine Act von Präsident Nixon darstellt, welches die federalen Löhne in den domänischen Schiffsprodukt investiert hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
With China dominating global shipbuilding and tensions escalating in the South Pacific, the Trump administration argues that a revitalized maritime industry is essential to national security and economic sovereignty. Well, they're not wrong. Whether Congress and industry leaders will back the plan, that remains an open question.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
But at least for now, it does appear to be gaining bipartisan support. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Thursday, 6th March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
And as the end of the week approaches, I can confirm that the PDB staff is hard at work producing our latest episode of America's favorite weekend news show, the PDB Situation Report. Now I... Honestly, I don't know that it's actually America's favorite weekend news show. It's not a scientific assessment or it's not based on extensive surveys, but it's got a nice ring to it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Später in der Show weist Präsident Trump zu, Quote, machen Schiffesbau wieder großartig, als er eine Geschäftsordnung prägt, die sich auf die Griechenland-Grippe auf der globalen Maritimen Industrie konzentriert. Aber zuerst, heutes Nachmittag-Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Every Friday evening at 10 p.m. on the First TV, we launch a brand new episode of the Situation Report. Also, of course, it's available on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and all the podcast platforms out there in podcast land. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
Mit Präsident Trump, die alle militärische Hilfe nach der Ukraine pausiert, nicht zu erwähnen, die Unterstützung von Intel, sind die Führer in Kiew Warnung, dass sie bald eine gefährliche Schwachstelle von wichtigen defensiven Waffen haben können.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'
The Ukrainian Prime Minister said on Tuesday that while the country's troops are currently well equipped to continue fending off Russian attacks, they will run out of ammunition by the beginning of the summer.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The president said that the Chinese regime has failed to take meaningful action to crack down on illicit manufacturing operations and that tariffs are the best remedy to force the CCP into action. But China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also pushed back on this justification, saying, "...the fentanyl issue is a flimsy excuse to raise U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Pressuring, coercion, or threats are not the right way of dealing with China." And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Thursday, 6 March. Now, if you have any questions or comments or polite suggestions or humorous anecdotes, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
And as you've undoubtedly heard from your favorite celebrities, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
That's a move that came soon after the Trump administration paused all military aid to the war-torn nation. White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said the pauses in assistance will remain in place until Ukraine agrees to come to the table for peace talks with Russia. That's according to a report from Axios. The consequences for Ukraine are, well, immediate.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
It's Thursday, 6 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off with the news that U.S. and Ukrainian officials have agreed to meet for negotiations, just days after Washington cut off military aid and then intelligence sharing, leaving Kiev in the dark as the war rages on.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
A source with knowledge of the situation told Axios that the suspension of intelligence sharing will severely undercut Ukraine's ability to conduct attacks inside Russian territory and will likely also hamper the Ukrainian army's defensive operations.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
While Ukraine will continue to receive intel support from NATO members other than the U.S., the move by the White House will undoubtedly negatively impact Ukraine's capabilities. Ukraine relies heavily on U.S. intelligence to predict Russia's next battlefield moves.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
It also provides an invaluable tactical edge for Kyiv, allowing them to track Russian troop movements and positions for weapons guidance and targeting. The move provoked further alarm among European allies, who are obviously already anxious over Trump's diplomatic overtures to Moscow. It also rattled some congressional Republicans.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of Trump, said he was, quote, very worried about the long-term consequences for Ukraine's security. But while the actions are extreme, the pressure campaign does appear to be yielding some results.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
According to a source close to the Ukrainian government, the intelligence-sharing pause was the key factor that prompted Zelensky to issue a public statement on Tuesday expressing regret for his public argument with Trump. That's a message he reiterated in a letter to Trump that the president read aloud during his address to Congress on Tuesday evening.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
In the note, Zelensky said he was ready to sign a minerals deal with the U.S. and work towards a peace deal, while praising Trump's, quote, strong leadership on the issue.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
That was followed by news that Zelensky's chief of staff spoke with White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Wednesday to discuss, quote, the next steps toward a just and lasting peace, and that a meeting had been scheduled for the near future to discuss potential negotiations with Russia. Zelensky later mentioned the renewed dialogue in his daily address, saying, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in an interview that the quick turnaround from Ukrainian leaders proved Trump's tough approach is working.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
He said following the verbal brawl at the White House last Friday, Trump was left with serious doubts about Zelensky's commitment to the peace process, and that the pauses on weapons supplies and intelligence sharing were intended to make Zelensky rethink the current approach to diplomacy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
But Ratcliffe added that the measures will likely be lifted once a viable timeline for peace negotiations is established. Waltz later echoed these sentiments, saying, quote, Now, not to point out the obvious, but I think I'm about to.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
we still haven't seen any indication from Moscow that they're willing to sit down at the negotiating table, nor is there any indication that Putin intends to soften his hardline demands. It's unclear whether the White House plans on taking a hardball approach to dealing with Putin as they have with Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
All right, coming up next, the Trump administration rejects an Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan at the same time as the Arab states again reject the Trump administration's proposal. While the White House now confirms that they've held secret talks with Hamas over U.S. hostages. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
We'll have the latest. Later in the show, the Trump administration has rejected a long-awaited Gaza reconstruction plan backed by Arab leaders, standing by its own vision of transforming the territory into the Riviera. Of course, Arab states responded by declaring that the U.S. proposal to relocate the population of Gaza isn't going to happen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Welcome back to the PDB. The Trump administration has outright dismissed a Gaza reconstruction proposal backed by Arab leaders, doubling down on its own vision that calls for the removal of Palestinians and the transformation of Gaza into a quote Riviera under U.S. ownership.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes defended the rejection Tuesday night, insisting that the Egyptian-led plan, presented at the Arab summit earlier in the day, fails to account for what he called the, quote, "...currently uninhabitable state of Gaza, citing extensive destruction and the presence of unexploded ordnance."
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Hughes stated, quote, adding that the administration looks forward to further discussions on reconstruction.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
As we've been following here on the PDB, unlike Trump's plan, which centers on the removal of Palestinians from the enclave, all 2.3 million of them, the Arab-backed initiative sought to keep Gaza's residents in place, sidelining Hamas while establishing an interim governing body, one that, over time, would hand power to a reformed Palestinian authority.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The ultimate goal of the Arab-backed plan would be to unify Gaza and the West Bank under a single Palestinian state. Speaking at the summit in Cairo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated his commitment to holding general elections in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem for the first time in nearly two decades, saying, quote, "...if circumstances are suitable," end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has remained vague about his own vision for post-war Gaza, but has signaled open support for President Trump's, quote, different Gaza plan, rejecting both Hamas and the PA as governing entities. Israeli officials, for their part, have made it abundantly clear that a two-state solution is not on the table.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The Arab-backed $53 billion reconstruction plan, endorsed by multiple regional powers, envisions clearing the millions of tons of debris and rebuilding Gaza by 2030. The blueprint includes an ambitious economic framework anchored by shopping malls, an international convention center, and even an airport all within five years. But cracks in regional unity were evident at the Cairo summit.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Key financial backers, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, were conspicuously absent, raising serious doubts about the plan's viability. Algeria's president outright boycotted the event, dismissing it as being, "...monopolized by a limited and narrow group of Arab countries."
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Egypt's president emphasized that any lasting peace depends on the creation of a Palestinian state. The reconstruction plan itself acknowledged the challenge of disarming Hamas, stating that any such effort would only succeed with, "...a clear horizon and a credible political process." But Hamas has flatly rejected any move to strip the terror group of its weapons.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
A senior Hamas official told Reuters, "...the weapon of the resistance is a red line and it is not negotiable. We will not accept any deal to trade weapons for reconstruction." Despite issuing conflicting statements on its own role in Gaza's future, Hamas has also hinted at a willingness to step aside on the condition that any leadership transition remains strictly an internal Palestinian matter.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Plus, President Trump unloads on Hamas, declaring that if they don't release the hostages now, it's, quote, over for you. And in today's back of the brief, China fires back at the new U.S. tariffs, warning that it's prepared for, quote, any type of war with the United States. We are, as they say, living in interesting times. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Another Hamas official told Saudi state-owned media, "...as long as there is national consensus, Hamas will not be involved in the governance."
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
For now, with the Trump administration pushing for an overhaul of the enclave, Israel refusing to recognize either Hamas or the PA as legitimate authorities, and Arab states rejecting the notion of relocating the entire population of Gaza and divided on how to move forward, well, the future of Gaza's governance and reconstruction remains deeply uncertain.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
And just like that, I win the PDB Statement of the Obvious Award for today. Okay, staying in the Middle East, President Trump is making it clear to Hamas that he wants the hostages released, and he wants them released now. On Wednesday afternoon, Trump posted a message on Truth Social, which read, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
He went on to call the terror group sick and twisted and declared that he's sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job, adding that not a single Hamas member will be safe if they don't comply. He also addressed the people of Gaza, to whom he said, quote, Trump's statement came after Trump met with a group of freed hostages in the Oval Office earlier in the day.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
It was also revealed yesterday for the first time that the administration has been engaging in direct secretive negotiations with Hamas, aiming to secure the release of American hostages in Gaza and potentially broker a broader deal to end the war.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The White House confirmed the talks on Wednesday following an exclusive report from Axios, marking a major departure from Washington's long-standing refusal to engage with groups that it designates as terrorist organizations. The negotiations, led by Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler, took place in Doha over the past several weeks.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt confirmed that Israel had been consulted, though some Israeli officials reportedly learned of the talks through other channels. While the discussions primarily centered on securing the release of American hostages, they also touched on broader efforts to free all remaining captives and to establish a long-term ceasefire.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
But as of now, no agreement has materialized. White House envoy Steve Witkoff had been scheduled to visit Doha this week for a meeting with Qatar's prime minister regarding ceasefire negotiations, but that trip was abruptly scrapped on Tuesday night after U.S. officials determined there was, quote, no progress from the Hamas side. Currently, 59 hostages remain in captivity.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Israeli officials have confirmed that 35 are dead, while intelligence reports suggest that 22 remain alive. The status of two others is unclear. Now, among the captives are five Americans, including 21-year-old Eden Alexander, who was believed to be alive. Four other American hostages have been declared dead by Israeli authorities.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The direct talks come as the 42-day ceasefire, part of the first phase of the broader deal, expired on Saturday without an agreement to extend it. Though fighting has not resumed, Israel has halted all humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, where 90% of the population has been displaced.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Israeli officials say withholding aid is an attempt to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal that Jerusalem claims has U.S. backing. Levitt, speaking at Wednesday's briefing, stressed that President Trump views these negotiations as, quote, the right thing for the American people, saying, quote, there are American lives on the line.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
All right, coming up next in the back of the brief, China responds to the new U.S. tariffs with a bold warning, saying it's prepared for, quote, any type of war with the United States. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The Trump administration is continuing to put the screws to Kiev following last week's Oval Office dispute between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. U.S. officials confirmed Wednesday that the CIA and intel community temporarily suspended all intelligence sharing with Ukraine earlier this week.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
We will pay peanuts for it and we can make billions.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Welcome back to the PDB. In today's back of the brief, China has issued a stark warning to the U.S. after the Trump administration doubled tariffs on Chinese goods to 20% on Tuesday. As we discussed earlier this week, officials with the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, quickly hit back, retaliating with a 15% tariff on U.S. exports of chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, and a 10% tariff on U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Now, they're warning the U.S. that they will not bend to the economic pressure and are ready to fight, quote, any type of war, according to a report from the BBC. The fiery remarks came as Chinese leaders announced Wednesday they will boost their defense spending by 7.2% over the next year.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
In a statement on X, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, quote, If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war, or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end, end quote. Now, it's the strongest rhetoric we've seen from China since President Trump began his second term and suggests that the U.S. could be in for a long trade war with a defiant CCP.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
Chinese leaders appear eager to demonstrate their confidence in their economy's ability to grow despite the new tariffs, which they decried the previous day as a form of economic intimidation and bullying by the U.S., But whether China can weather this storm remains uncertain.
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
The CCP has been grappling with persistently low consumption, a ballooning debt bubble, a property crisis, and high rates of unemployment, particularly among the younger population. Still, their premier warned Wednesday that China must stand firm as, quote, "...changes unseen in a century are unfolding across the world at a faster pace."
The President's Daily Brief
March 6th, 2025: Trump Leaves Ukraine In The Dark & White House Negotiations With Hamas
As we discussed earlier this week on the PDB, Trump imposed the tariffs due to the high levels of fentanyl that continue to pour into the U.S., as China serves as a main manufacturing hub for the deadly opioid.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Talk to me about the logistics. When we talk about naming a cartel as a foreign terrorist organization, what does that allow for the U.S. government to do?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
There's so much to talk about here, both from the Mexican perspective and from the U.S. perspective, in terms of taking on the cartels and what that could mean. But you've written recently some very interesting articles. And you touched on something that I think is very emotive. I suspect a lot of people are landing on the fainting couch over this.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Okay. So it really expands the playing field in terms of what resources they can bring against the cartels at any given time. I think it's fascinating because I think when people hear that, oh, it's a foreign terrorist organization designation, right? And there's always that comparison. Well, it could be like ISIS or Al Qaeda doing battle.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
The problem is we're talking about significantly different beasts in a way from an operational perspective. So, the cartels already have significant resources and personnel on the ground inside the US as a result of years and years of developing their businesses or criminal organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And on the Mexican side, they operate much like a paramilitary operation as opposed to a criminal organization. I mean, they're extremely well resourced and staffed. So I think it's interesting because I'm hearing out there, I'm hearing a lot of people, not a lot, but I'm hearing people talking about how, yes, we should just take out the guards. I don't think it's as easy as people are imagining.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with the latest in the fight against Mexico's drug cartels. Now, as Mexico's government sends thousands of troops into cartel territory, Could it be on the brink of an all-out shooting war with these powerful criminal organizations?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Yeah. No, I was down there for part of that in and out during those years of his administration. And it was horrific. The violence was on a completely another level. And eventually the public just said that we've had enough, right? I think, you know, part of the change in approach to the cartel is going back to managing, which most administrations in Mexico over the years have done.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
They just, well, we'll just manage the problem, right? Try to... get the violence down to almost an acceptable level and just allow them to do their business because they knew taking them on head on, well, you know, you got what you got during the Calderon administration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
If you could get Scheinbaum's cooperation, I would argue the most effective way to go about this is in a liaison relationship, right? Is to use the Mexican Marines, which are probably the most trusted institution in Mexico at this stage of the game, given how endemic some of the corruption is. But...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But you've written a recent piece talking about the way in which currently we're dealing with deportees. Talk to me about that.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I worry that it's more of a show, as we talked about earlier, on the part of the Mexican government to basically to try to keep Trump from pushing the tariffs. And so I agree with you. They'll have to get a couple of scalps here to show that we're making some progress. But I think your phrasing is absolutely right.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Their heart's not in it because they grew up and watched what happened during the Calderon administration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Yeah, that's a, right there is a striking, a striking image. But again, it's, You raise a really good point. I hadn't thought about that. But from a business perspective, you're right.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
If you're a cartel and your revenue stream is being threatened, then you adapt and you say, fine, we'll just, you know what, frankly, stop the fentanyl because they're going to come up with another new synthetic drug. They always do. To your point, they adapt very quickly.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
How do you, from your perspective, take on the cartels in a meaningful way to try to accomplish the objectives of the Trump administration?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I take your point. And I agree with you in terms of being pessimistic. you know, the problem if they go that route, again, it's all about money making and so they will move into a different synthetic drug, they will find a new bit of gear that they can move across the border. But I agree with your sort of that pessimistic stance and in part because
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
You know, look, we're both old enough to have watched whatever you want to call it, the war on drugs and how, unfortunately, how ineffective it's been through a number of administrations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Well, Todd, I'd love to have you back on. We've got a lot more we could look at and talk about. And I'd love to kind of dig into more issues related to immigration policies as well. So I hope next time we give you a call, you'll pick up the phone and you'll join us again on the Situation Report. But Todd Benzman of the Center for Immigration Studies, listen, thanks very much, man, for joining us.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Coming up, delegations from the U.S. and Russia. We're in Saudi Arabia this week. Perhaps you read about it. Pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine. What's at stake in these high-stakes negotiations? Well, a lot. And we'll be joined by Steve Yates of the Heritage Foundation. He'll help us break it all down. Stay with us. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
and Russian delegations were in Saudi Arabia this week, perhaps you read about it, for talks aimed at ending the ongoing war in Ukraine. Now, the discussions come as both sides push for a resolution to the conflict. But the process, well, has raised eyebrows. particularly with the Ukrainians being excluded from the talks. Well, they did not get an invite.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Meanwhile, President Trump had some sharp words for the Ukrainian leader, labeling Zelensky as a, quote, dictator without elections, end quote, and placing much of the blame for the war squarely on Zelensky's shoulders. Now, is this a sign of shifting U.S. priorities in the conflict? Or is it just the latest salvo in political rhetoric? Well, let's answer that question.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Steve Yates from the Heritage Foundation is joining us now to provide insights. Steve, thank you very much for coming back on the Situation Report. You're a real trooper, I'd say. Well, I'm happy to be back. We'll see whether I can help. Well, if you can't, then we're going to have a very, very, very short interview here. All right. Let's see.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Let's start with I'm fascinated by this situation, right? I have never and I don't know that anybody else has ever seen such important, significant negotiations kick off in this manner. But talk to me about the discussions in Riyadh that just took place between the U.S. and Russia. From your perspective, you know, obviously Ukraine was missing. Obviously, NATO allies were missing.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But, you know, give me your view from the 30,000 foot level.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Well, you know, look, I would argue I'm going to take a sort of a, you know, devil's advocate position here. We can get a peace deal any day of the week as long as we're OK with giving Russia what they want. And that seems to be, at least for now, Putin, I mean, through his mouthpiece, Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister who was present in Riyadh,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
seems to be their position is that they they're talking as if they believe that they have completely all the cards in the deck. So they're saying, look, first of all, you know, having any discussion about Ukraine being in NATO is off the table. Second, you have to renounce the 2008 NATO summit agreement or promise that Ukraine and Georgia could eventually be in NATO.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And you can't have peacekeeping troops from other nations in Ukraine at the end of any peace deal. They just keep layering on their demands as if That's the starting point. And so I'm a little concerned. I think a lot of people are concerned that we may be so keen, so eager to get a peace deal that we're willing to go along with this. And I'm not sure that that's really a good idea.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I also don't know. And I know that I take your point. Rubio has said that, well, of course, Ukraine will be part of the discussions down the road. Right. As will our NATO allies.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But typically, if you've got an invaded country and you're going to sit down at the negotiating table to talk about the future of that invaded country, you might have somebody from the invaded country involved from the outset. And again, I'm sure there's some discussion going on in the background. It doesn't seem that way after the past day or so of back and forth between Trump and Zelenskyy.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I'm not putting as much of a sugarcoating on this as I think we got from, certainly from Witkoff and Mike Waltz who were there in Riyadh.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I don't think there was any thought that this was anything other than, you know, okay, let's at least open the door and let's start having these conversations. I agree with that 100%, right? And I also agree that, look, I mean, I... I appreciate the speed with which they start the process because I think it creates, you know, potential for movement in a variety of areas.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I think it created opportunities for ideas that otherwise wouldn't have happened. Look, in a previous administration, under the Biden administration, A, there was no variety of conversation, right? It was just all, it was sort of that unrealistic world that said, you know, well, you know, Ukraine has to get all their territory back, including all the way back to 2014, right? Yeah.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Nobody cared a crap back in that day that Russia took Crimea, right? You didn't see a bunch of people walking around the streets of America, you know, waving Ukrainian flags and saying they stood with Ukraine. And you do have to have these conversations. But I guess my point being is...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And I think, again, that speed with which you do this, typically in government, it would have taken a year just for them to sort out who was going to sit at the table and in what seat and where the conference room would be located. So that's all good. there has to be the recognition, perhaps, that there is compromise on both sides, right? I've said this for several years now.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I see no scenario where we get a deal that includes Crimea going back to Ukraine. It does strike me as if Putin is at that negotiating table right now thinking, I got what I want. Plus now I got an open feud between Zelensky and Trump.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I agree with that. And I also think that, you know, maybe Putin is drawing some lines there and he probably thinks, look, I can get that concession that they won't be part of NATO, and I'll give up the demand that they're be no peacekeeping troops in Ukraine because I don't see how we get forward without that, at least being an aspect of a peace deal.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
If you'll stay with us, Steve, I apologize for having to take a quick break, but stick around and we'll be right back with more of Steve Yates from the Heritage Foundation. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Joining me again is Steve Yates, Senior Research Fellow for China and National Security Policy at the Heritage Foundation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Steve, thanks again for sticking around and for being here on the Situation Report. Let's shift our focus slightly. We've been talking about Ukraine and Russia and the dialogue that just took place in Riyadh. And I think your points are spot on, right? This is an opening salvo. People are testing the waters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I think, you know, Rubio has talked now about let's get our diplomatic situation back to normal and staff the embassies in Moscow and Washington and go from there. Let's try to move this thing forward. But let's shift from that part of the world because it's interesting. I think sometimes it almost appears like we can't multitask, right? And so we always have to focus on one thing. Meanwhile,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And China, Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China are sitting over there probably immensely enjoying all the chaos that's going on around the world in a sense, while they continue to march forward in what they view as their eventual arrival at the top of the food chain. So, give me a quick rundown if you could. What's the latest from the region?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
From your perspective, what's the weakest aspect of the Chinese regime at the current time?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
That'd be a strange calculus if he says, okay, I'm opting for stability, but not growth. Talk to me about the U.S. efforts to bring back manufacturing or other supply chain concerns, logistics, at least find options instead of being so reliant on China. And in part, I'm asking that question because I had a very interesting conversation not too long ago about the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
dependency on China and India for key pharmaceuticals.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
The way that Washington works, as you know, is that we don't have years, right? We have, I mean, there's two years till the midterm elections. And if history tells us anything, it's likely that we could lose, see the Republicans lose the House, which could change the dynamic in terms of what can be accomplished. You mentioned the aircraft carrier turning slowly.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
The Pentagon, which you also mentioned in terms of realigning defense spending. There's a big push right now by Doge and others to shift the focus so that we are spending more on hypersonics and cyber capabilities and also shipbuilding. Yes. Are we... I mean, how... How much are we behind the curve when it comes to sort of our naval capabilities as it compares to China?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Okay. And then, of course, and I'm being mindful of time, but I'd like to shift for our last conversation because we haven't even touched on Taiwan, which is interesting because it wasn't that long ago when Taiwan was prominently in the headlines, right? You couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting another article or headline about Taiwan and the threat from China.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But again, we're all raccoons chasing the next shiny tinfoil ball, so we can't focus on more than one thing. Thank you. Where are we with Taiwan?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Besides the tariffs and trade, do you see any significant changes between the Biden administration and the Trump administration as far as the US policies towards Taiwan?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Okay. Well, Steve, listen, we're out of time, but I want to thank you very much for your insight. Look, I look forward to the next time we have a chance to chat. Steve Yates, Senior Research Fellow for China and National Security Policy at the Heritage Foundation. Thanks again, Matt, for joining us here on The Situation Report. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Well, that is, as I mentioned, all the time we have for this week's PDB Situation Report. Look, if you have any questions or comments or you have humorous anecdotes, even a limerick or two, do people still do limericks? I don't think so. Please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Look, the highlight of every week at PDB headquarters, Secret Compound, which is, of course, located under a dormant volcano, is when Carl the Mailman drops by with another sack. filled with your postcards and your emails and your faxes and your telegrams.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And every month, our incredible team, including our interns, they all gather together and they select a bunch of your questions and produce one of our critically acclaimed Ask Me Anything episodes. Finally, to listen to the podcast of the show ad-free, which you could do, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. I told you it was simple.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
I'm Mike Baker. Until next time, stay informed. Stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Were the deportees after those incidents during the Biden administration, I mean, did the Biden administration restrain using cuffs or shackles, as you're calling them, for subsequent flights? Of course. They smartened up. That's what you do. And was there any coverage from the media at the time? Was there any outrage expressed when the Biden administration started doing that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Senior National Security Fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies, Todd Benzman, well, he helps us answer that question. Later in the show, delegations from the U.S. and Russia were in Saudi Arabia this week, working toward ending the war in Ukraine. We'll be joined by Steve Yates of the Heritage Foundation, who will give us his insights on the negotiations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
You know, if a Democrat administration did it, now a Republican administration did it, but now there's outrage. Well, Todd, it almost sounds like you're saying there's a double standard here.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Yeah. Well, let's move from that. I wanted to touch on that because it is fascinating. I think it's, again, not that we need more examples of how coverage occurs between different administrations. And certainly when we're talking about Trump, we kind of know what's coming down the pike in terms of media coverage and sort of the sense of outrage that you may get from the progressive side.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But let's look at the battle against cartel. I mean, let's start with on the Mexican side of the border. Now, President Scheinbaum, Claudia Scheinbaum, in reaction to, in part, in reaction to pressure from the Trump administration over tariffs, agreed to send some 10,000 troops or deploy 10,000 troops, in addition to those that are already there, to the border on the Mexican side.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But from your perspective, is the Mexican government serious about this, or is that just a bit of theater to try to appease the Trump administration?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. Mexico's decades-old hugs-not-bullets policy toward drug cartels is rapidly being challenged as President Claudio Steinbeck faces pressure from President Trump to take more aggressive action.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Todd, it sounds like what you're saying is they'll take some steps, but really the only reason they're doing it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Yeah, no, you're raising a really important point, which is that, look, it's all about the money, right? And they have various revenue streams. And now one of their key revenue streams, certainly over the past handful of years, as you noted, is going away, right? With the crackdown on migrants moving across the border, which was a big part of the cartel's business.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
So, yeah, I believe you're absolutely right. They're going to do whatever it takes to prevent losing another revenue stream, and that would be the narcotics trafficking. Todd, I'd love to pick up on this when we come back. And what we have to do now is we have a short break, so I'll ask you not to go anywhere, and then we'll be right back with the PDB Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
In a dramatic shift, Scheinbaum has been forced to deploy 10,000 troops to cartel territory along Mexico's northern border, with a focus, at least ostensibly, on taking on transnational criminal organizations and halting fentanyl production. Now, this marks a significant departure from previous efforts that focused primarily on stemming illegal immigration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Look, if you want to try Beam's best-selling dream pouch, get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash Mike, that's M-I-K-E, just like you might imagine, and use code Mike at checkout. That's shopbeam, B-E-A-M.com, and use code Mike for up to 40% off. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
Joining me again is Todd Benzman, Senior National Security Fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies. Todd, very much thank you for sticking around. Let's move our perspective now to the U.S. side of the border. With the designation of our analysis of foreign terrorist organization, I think we're already seeing increased involvement from the U.S. military.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
And we recently on the PDB talked about involvement from the CIA, use of MK9 Reaper drones for surveillance. What, from your perspective, is the likelihood that the U.S., I'm not talking about a liaison relationship with Mexico, I'm talking about unilateral action Based on your experience, the U.S., under the Trump administration, could start taking unilateral action against the cartel.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 22, 2025: Is A Shooting War Coming In Mexico? & Peace Talks Over Ukraine Begin
But with cartels already ramping up violent responses, could Mexico be on the verge of a full-blown war? Todd Benzman, Senior National Security Fellow for the Center for Immigration Studies, joins us to break down the implications of this escalating situation. Todd, thanks very much for joining us here on The Situation Report. Great to be here. Thank you.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Of course, Hamas took women and young children hostage during their 7 October attacks, so the cruelty aspect of this deception should surprise a total of zero people. The idea, said the remains, appeared to be that of an unknown Palestinian woman that Hamas tried to pass off as Shiri Bebas.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
It's Friday, 21 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get ourselves briefed. First, Israel is reeling after it was revealed that the terror group Hamas failed to turn over the body of a mother taken captive on 7 October, instead replacing her remains with those of an unknown Palestinian woman.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
The discovery provoked grief and outrage among Israelis, who had already been left disturbed by Hamas's barbaric actions during the transfer of the remains on Thursday, which was turned into a ghoulish, sick public spectacle. On Friday, Netanyahu vowed to ensure that Hamas paid the, quote, full price for this cruel and evil violation of the ceasefire agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Netanyahu said, "...the cruelty of the Hamas monsters knows no bounds. In an unspeakably cynical manner, they did not return Shiri to her little children, the little angels, and they put the body of a Gazan woman in a coffin." The Prime Minister added, "...we will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages, both living and dead.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
May God avenge their blood, he said, and so we will avenge." Adding insult to the situation, Hamas blamed Israel for what they claimed was a, quote, mix-up, saying the so-called, quote, mistake likely occurred due to Israeli bombings of the area where the hostages were once held. The group had claimed the four hostages were killed in Israeli airstrikes, but, well, that also proved to be false.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Forensic analysis of the remains determined that Lifshitz and the Bibas children were savagely executed by their captors sometime in November of 2023, that's just one month after they were taken during the 7 October attacks. Hamas then had the gall to demand that mediators ensure the continued implementation of the ceasefire agreement and that Israel return the unidentified remains back to Gaza.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
The group then accused Netanyahu of making, quote, "...threats which serve only to manipulate Israeli public opinion," end quote. Well, international condemnation was swift, with U.S. envoy for hostages Adam Boehler calling Hamas's deception a horrific and clear violation of the current ceasefire agreement, which began on January 9th. He said, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
For now, it's unclear how the shocking incident might impact the next swap of hostages for prisoners on Saturday, but Hamas's military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said Friday that they planned to proceed with the release of another six Israeli hostages over the weekend and would return the remains of four more hostages next week.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, negotiations were set to begin soon to advance the second phase of a broader ceasefire agreement, as the first phase is set to end on 1 March. But Hamas's violation has cast significant doubt on whether the truce can last.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
In a statement that reflected much of the public sentiment in Israel on Friday, the country's finance minister said, quote, Hamas's serious violation and ongoing abuse cannot be passed over in silence. The only solution is the destruction of Hamas, and this must not be postponed, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
All right, up next, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposes sending a European-led military force of 30,000 troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential peace deal between Moscow and Kiev. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to propose a European-led military force of 30,000 to oversee a potential Ukraine-Russia ceasefire when he meets with President Trump in Washington next week.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Now, the so-called, quote, reassurance force, spearheaded by the UK and France, was first presented to European leaders at an emergency summit in Paris earlier this week. According to the Telegraph, the proposed force is not meant to resemble a conventional military occupation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Later in the show, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will reportedly propose sending a European-led military force of some 30,000 troops to Ukraine to enforce any potential peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, and he'll propose that when he meets with President Trump in Washington, D.C. next week. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Instead, it would focus on intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, aiming to provide real-time situational awareness far from the front lines rather than engaging in full-scale ground combat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
From what we know, the mission's stated objectives are ambitious, such as reopening Ukraine's airspace for commercial flights, securing Black Sea trade routes, and protecting critical infrastructure such as nuclear power plants.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
A Western official speaking to The Telegraph also described the force as capable of monitoring and shooting down aerial threats, but under stricter engagement rules than a conventional no-fly zone. Notably, instead of pre-authorized rules of engagement, the European forces would be required to positively identify all aircraft before taking action.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Naval patrols in the Black Sea would further bolster the mission, acting as a deterrent against Russian interference in Ukraine's commercial shipping, particularly with grain exports. But Starmer's plan falls well short of the 200,000-strong peacekeeping force that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has suggested as the potential price for agreeing to a ceasefire.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
And there's a larger geopolitical undercurrent at play here. The British Prime Minister's proposal comes amid growing concerns that Trump may disengage from supporting Ukraine altogether, following the potential ceasefire negotiations with Russian President Putin on Tuesday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
As we covered yesterday on the PDB, Trump unleashed a social media tirade, a verbal barrage against Zelensky, calling him a, quote, dictator and warning that he is prolonging the war, fueling speculation that Kiev could be sidelined in future negotiations. While Washington has ruled out sending its own troops, the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
has also made it clear that it expects European allies to take the lead in securing Ukraine's post-war stability. Now, not everyone in Europe is on board with that concept. Germany, Spain, and Italy have voiced their opposition to deploying troops in Ukraine, exposing fault lines and Europe's security posture. Starmer has stressed the need for a, quote, U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
backstop to deter further Russian aggression, with Western officials suggesting that that could come in the form of American fighter jets stationed in Romania and Poland, alongside a reinforced NATO ground presence in Eastern Europe. The proposal is carefully calibrated to avoid a direct NATO-Russia conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
However, questions remain over whether NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause would apply if Russia were to retaliate against European forces participating in the peacekeeping mission. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin, well, Early Evening Bulletin, for Friday, 21 February. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
Now, if one glances at one's calendar, one would see that it's currently Friday. Thus, one would know that our latest episode of the acclaimed PDB Situation Report, that's our extended weekend show, hits the airwaves this evening as it does on every Friday evening at 10 p.m. on the First TV. Now, we've got excellent guests this weekend. Well, to be fair, we've got excellent guests every weekend.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
And this weekend, we're talking U.S. military efforts against the Mexican cartels, the possibility of a ceasefire or peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, and all things China. You can also, of course, catch the Situation Report on our YouTube channel. Check that one out. It's at President's Daily Brief. And of course, podcast platforms everywhere.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
We'll begin in Israel, where Prime Minister Netanyahu is vowing revenge against Hamas after discovering that the terrorist group failed to turn over the remains of an Israeli hostage as promised, throwing the fragile ceasefire into question.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
As we discussed on yesterday's PDB, Hamas claimed to have returned the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including the remains of Shiri Bibas, a 33-year-old mother taken on 7 October, her two sons, Ariel and Kafir, who were aged four years old and nine months old when they were kidnapped by Hamas, and 84-year-old Adel Lifshitz.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 21st, 2025: Netanyahu Vows Revenge After Hamas Lies About Returned Remains & Starmer Proposes 30,000 Strong 'Reassurance Force' For Ukraine
A subsequent forensic analysis performed in Tel Aviv positively identified three of the returned bodies as the Bibas children and Lifshitz, but the Israeli military said Friday the fourth body was not that of Shiri Bibas or any other known hostage, revealing a cruel deception by Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And speaking of vetting, from your perspective, what needs to be done to improve that process, right? Because it's not like we shut the border and nobody comes across. That's important. You still have to have an immigration policy that allows people to come through in a defined and legal manner. But again, from your point of view, what do you think needs to be done to improve the vetting process?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
No, I mean, there's just no, there's no either liaison with their home country. We don't have a relationship with them. They don't have, you know, an infrastructure or databases within that of the country. And so, and it was always, to me, it was frustrating.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Former DHS senior advisor Chuck Marino and author of Terrorists on the Border and in Our Country joins us now to discuss. Chuck, thanks very much for taking the time and spending a little bit of your day with the Situation Report. Absolutely, Mike. Good to be with you. Thank you, Matt. You may think differently after a little while. But let's talk in general terms.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
It was, I suppose, kind of oddly amusing in a way sometimes to listen to, you know, Mayorkas and others talk about how these millions of individuals are all being vetted.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
before being released into the country and knowing from CBP and others when they would talk about, you know, off the record, how poor the vetting ability was, not because they didn't want to do it, not because the officers didn't want to do it, they just don't have the ability, the resources, the information infrastructure.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll begin today's show with a disturbing new threat at the border. Mexican drug cartels are reportedly planning to target U.S. law enforcement as the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown. I don't think that's going to go well for them.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah. And I don't think that despite the election, despite the Trump administration coming in, I don't think...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Democrats necessarily across the board have learned the lesson because it looks like state leaders, Governor Kathy Hochul in New York, leaders in Illinois, they all seem to be under the impression that individual states can determine immigration policies rather than it being a federal policy. mandate and it's the job of the federal government to decide what the immigration policies will be.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
It seems like we're still going to get and the Trump administration will get pushback from a number of states who decide, no, we're a sanctuary state. You can't take that away from us regardless of what the federal policies may be. Anyway, that's okay. You know what? Right now, Chuck, I'm going to get off my soapbox because I want to talk to you about spy planes. You're right.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
What do you make of the recent activity along and near the Mexican border in terms of U.S. surveillance, aerial surveillance?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Give me your assessment, if you could, of the current situation down on the southern border.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
would look and go, okay, if we did have a robust liaison relationship with the US against the cartels on the issue of narcotics trafficking and people smuggling, et cetera, That everybody wins, but history tells us that typically what Mexican administrations tend to do is manage the problem, right? They're managing the cartels to a reasonable level.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
I think we saw with the Vicente Fox administration that they actually tried a fairly robust effort to take on the cartels. That led to a massive increase in violence in Mexico. And I think the population eventually got fed up and said enough.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So I don't know that we're going to see anything different, but you have to make the effort because as you pointed out, look, I mean, the number of fentanyl deaths in the US as a result of cartel operations, setting aside Chinese regime, the Communist Party's involvement in fentanyl trafficking. Right. is astounding. And so we have to do something. So I'm fully on board with you.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
I agree with you. This couldn't have happened soon enough. I like the foreign terrorist designation, the aggressive action, the inclusion of the US military. It's about time that we have an aggressive approach towards the cartels that have done so much damage in this country.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah, you know, it's going to be a lot easier to secure that northern border as soon as Canada's the 51st state. So, yeah, you know, I still don't know that the Canadians are fully on board with that concept yet. So we'll have to wait and see. I don't know.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Chuck, if you'll come back, Chuck, in the future, I would actually like to shift our focus north, talk about that as well as some other issues. Yeah. Listen, Chuck Marino, former DHS senior advisor, you can pick up his book, Terrorists on the Border and in Our Country. It's on Amazon. Whatever you're doing right now, stop. Go get the book.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Chuck, thank you very much for joining us here on The Situation Report. Thank you, Mike. Thank you. Pleasure. Next up, the Trump administration. Well, it's hitting back on trade, unveiling reciprocal tariffs on global partners. Yes. I'll say that once more. Unveiling reciprocal tariffs on global partners. That just... Makes me feel smart saying it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
What's the end game and how could it reshape the economy? Well, I'm glad you asked. Kenneth Raposa joins us next to break it down. Stay tuned. Welcome back to the Situation Report. On Thursday, President Trump announced the rollout of reciprocal tariffs, trade policy designed to impose equal duties on foreign nations that tax American goods at higher rates.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
In simple terms, well, if a country charges steep tariffs on U.S. products, the U.S. will now do the same in return. The move is aimed at leveling the playing field for American businesses and pressuring trading partners to negotiate fairer terms. However, these tariffs apparently won't go into effect immediately.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
The new tariffs come on top of duties that Trump has already imposed on China, Canada, Mexico and other nations, particularly in the steel and aluminum industries. Notably, Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico are currently on pause after both countries agreed to step up efforts to curb illegal border crossings and drug trafficking into the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So what's the broader strategy behind these tariffs and how will they impact global trade and the U.S. economy? Here to give us some insight is Kenneth Raposa from the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Again, thanks very much for taking time here and joining us on the Situation Report. Hey, thanks for having me on. Appreciate it. Let's talk tariffs.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And let's pretend I'm not a rocket scientist and that somehow I don't understand all about tariffs, which of course I don't. But talk to me about the impact of the tariffs. And start from wherever you'd like. What we dealt with early on with Mexico, Canada, China, or about this latest announcement of tariffs relating to our current trading partners.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Now, for a frame of reference, you've dealt with this issue for quite some time. From your perspective, good, bad? I mean, where do you fall down on the whole issue of tariffs?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Okay. Now, on the other side, those against tariffs, from their perspective or from that perspective, what's the number one, let's say, the top downside to tariffs?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah, it is interesting, your initial comment about the numbers, how many people came across. I think that's confused a lot of people over the past handful of years, because it really is. It depends on what article or what statistics you're reading. It's obviously in the millions, but that number seems to bounce around depending on who you're talking to.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And what about the consumer? The tariffs in general? I know I'm simplifying all of this. I know there's a lot more complexity to it than I'm giving it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
But I think, you know, in general, if you talk to the average person on the street, if you accost somebody, I'm not suggesting you accost anybody, but if you stop somebody on the street and you talk to them about tariffs, I think they're probably, you know, in my camp, which is, all right, I don't really know that I understand the concepts very well.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So, you know, I have heard people talking about the downside being consumers end up paying the price.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
2.8%.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And I think it's been confusing for the general public in terms of getting a handle on it. With the foreign terrorist designation, what do you think? Why did it take so long to come up with that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Okay. Now, very, very interesting. Look, we've got a number of other things to touch on. But first, Kenneth, if you don't mind, we've got to take a quick break, and then we'll be right back with more of Kenneth Raposo on the Situation Report. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Joining me once again is Kenneth Reboza of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. We've been talking tariffs.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Now, I want to do a little bit of a shift here on focus because I read an article of yours and hopefully people know you from the Wall Street Journal and from Forbes. You've done some great journalistic work in the past. You wrote a recent article that I found really fascinating. And
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
It talks about and speaks to the dependency of the United States on China and India when it comes to pharmaceuticals. And we all remember, because it wasn't very long ago during the pandemic, this did become an issue. People, I think, started to realize, wait a minute, you mean we don't produce medicines here in the US? And we had short supplies of a variety of medicines.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And look, that's not the last pandemic we're going to see. I hate to sound cynical, but I'm sure there's going to be another pandemic. And when that happens, you'd like to think that we would have learned a lesson. But talk to me about this. Tell me a little bit more about this from your perspective.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
what percentage of pharmaceuticals does the U.S. produce on its own? And then what percentage total is it dependent on other nations, especially as you pointed out, India and China?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
We're number one. Hey, we're number one.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Look at that. No, no. But, I mean, okay. I know this is going to sound like an odd statement, but it seems like a national security issue.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Well, and look at the issue of ADHD now with kids, right? And the requirement for drugs like Adderall or its equivalent, that was one that I remember story after story coming out of the pandemic when parents were panicking because Adderall or its generic equivalent or whatever was in short supply. Yeah.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Now, China and India, as you pointed out, it seems like they have a headlock on organic materials, active pharmaceutical ingredients. But to what degree are they moving into the space of innovating research and development, creation of new high-priced drugs? Is that still the domain of the US and maybe European partners?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
With this increased focus on the problem down at the border with the Trump administration, The cartels making these threats, right, saying they're targeting law enforcement and the US military. What do you make of that? How serious do you take this as a potential threat?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Well, you know what? I mean, if Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party want something, that tends to be the nature of their organization. They'll get it done. They don't have to sit and bicker on Capitol Hill. It's a terrible system. I wouldn't wish it on anybody, but it gives them a certain advantage in terms of speed of movement. So is it getting...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
I hate to ask this question because I'm afraid I might know the answer. After the pandemic in particular, when we learned this lesson or when much of America started to understand the US dependency on others for pharmaceuticals,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah, it's important what you just said about, look, at least people are talking about it. I mean, that tends to be the first step. If you can shine a light on it, if you can get the folks on Capitol Hill to understand that it's important and that the American public will be expecting some sort of action. There's no telling how long that may take, but at least there's a conversation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So I take your point. Listen, you've written some very interesting pieces related to China. I'd love to have you back to talk more about those. I'd encourage people to go out and search for your articles. Very interesting stuff. Kenneth Raposa of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Listen, thank you very much.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
I hope the next time we call you, you'll pick up the phone and you'll agree to come on back to the Situation Report. Well, that's all the time we have for this week's PDB Situation Report. Now, listen, if you have any questions or comments, maybe you've got a humorous anecdote, maybe you've got a suggestion, you know, a polite one, well, then please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Look, the highlight of every week, frankly, at the PDB headquarters secret compound is is when Carl the Mailman drops off another sack filled to the brim with your postcards, your emails, your faxes, your telegrams. You're still sending telegrams.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
And every month, our amazing team, and that includes our, you know, somewhat above average interns, they'd select a bunch of your questions and they produce one of our critically acclaimed Ask Me Anything episodes. And finally, to listen to the podcast of the show ad-free, well, you can become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by simply visiting bdbpremium.com. It is very simple.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
I'm Mike Baker, and until next time, well, you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Former DHS senior advisor Chuck Marino joins us to break down the threat posed by the cartels. Later in the show, the White House is rolling out reciprocal tariffs against global trading partners, signaling a major shift in U.S. trade policy. So, what's President Trump's strategy and, well, importantly, how will it impact the economy?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah, it would seem like a serious lapse in judgment for the cartels, which as you pointed out, all they're focused on, it's like any group like that. It's the revenue streams, right? They just want to keep the jack moving. So you would think it'd be a serious lapse in judgment for them to decide to target US law enforcement or the US military in any serious manner.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
But you mentioned unilateral action, and I wanted to touch on that. What do you think are the chances? You designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. That does, as you've said, that gives you a very wide playing field here. What are the chances, in your opinion, that the US could take unilateral action if they don't have the necessary liaison support from the Mexican government?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Yeah, I think it's still unclear. I mean, again, I take your point. They have stepped things up in the face of the potential tariffs that they were staring at. And so they have sent reportedly thousands of additional troops to the border on the Mexico side. It is interesting. I mean, you point out the corruption, the corruption, obviously, in Mexico with the law enforcement, it's been endemic.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
There's very little trust between the Mexican population and law enforcement. The Marines, on the other hand, the Mexican Marines and the military, it tended to be, if there is a trusted institution, they're it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So, I'm just wondering, I guess, are you optimistic that we could see sort of long-term cooperation in a serious manner on the trafficking front, on the issue of smuggling people, weapons, drugs across the border? Or do you think this is just sort of a temporary show by Scheinbaum, by the Mexican president?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Kenneth Raposa from the Coalition for a Prosperous America joins us to break it down. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. Border agents are on high alert after a new memo from the Rio Grande Valley Sector Operations Center warned of potential cartel attacks on U.S. law enforcement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
This is going to be maybe a strange question, and I don't want to get overly political, but There's a lot of people that wonder what was the reasoning behind the previous administration, the Biden administration's policies with the southern border, with the borders in general, in terms of almost what you could call an open door policy.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Any insight from your perspective as to why they went that route?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
That's okay. Yeah. I want to pick up on that. If you wouldn't mind, we're going to take just a very quick break. We'll be right back. Chuck Moreno, former senior DHS advisor, author of a terrific book. If you haven't read it, if you haven't picked it up, I don't know what you're doing with your time. Go out and get it. It's called Terrorists on the Border and In Our Country.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
We'll be right back with more of the Situation Report. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me talk to you about something important, and that would be sleep. Look, we've all been there, right? Tossing, turning, struggling to get quality sleep. I get it. When you don't sleep well, well, frankly, it's not just about feeling tired the next day. It makes you foggy at work.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
The Texas officials have been warning that cartel violence could escalate in response to the Trump administration's border crackdown. Just two weeks ago, cartel members opened fire on Border Patrol agents in Fronton, Texas, where they were attempting to smuggle a group across the river. Now, reports indicate that cartels have authorized the use of weaponized drones, I kid you not, to attack U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
If you want to try Beam's best-selling Dream Powder, get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash Mike, that's M-I-K-E, and you use the code Mike at checkout. That's shopbeam.com slash Mike and use the code Mike for up to 40% off. Welcome back to the Situation Report. Joining us once again is former DHS Senior Advisor Chuck Marino.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Chuck, you talked in the last segment about the potential, not saying it's going to happen, but the potential for unilateral action by the U.S. military against the cartels. What do you think that could look like?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Maybe identifying high-value targets, you know, taking out maybe leadership. I mean, the problem there, I think we've seen, and I spent a fair amount of time during the drug force and counter-narcotics operations, it's a little bit like counterterrorism. Occasionally, it can get very frustrating. It seems like they've got a bottomless well of new recruits.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
So you take out someone at the top of a cartel, they've got any number of lieutenants that are just dying to take that top spot. So it could be a fairly lengthy target list. But, you know, I'm not saying it's not worth trying.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
Well, I don't want to sound like a cynic, but I don't think they were all innocent individuals looking for a better life. A lot of them were, no doubt about it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
But you'd have to be pretty naive to imagine that whether it's the Chinese regime, the Communist Party in terms of an intelligence concern or other organizations, you'd have to be naive to think that during the last four years when we had essentially an open border policy and there was just chaos down there, that groups wouldn't look to take advantage of that. Right.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
law enforcement with threats against ICE agents circulating online. The Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi has unveiled a sweeping directive aimed at dismantling cartel operations. But how serious is this new threat and what can be done to counter it? Well, I'm glad you asked.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | February 15th, 2025: Trump's Crackdown Triggers Cartel Retaliation & Global Tariff Fight
If I was running an Intel service and I saw how porous that border was and I wanted to put some assets in the country, just, you know, just maybe just sleeper agents or individuals to do some recces on high value targets. Absolutely. Absolutely.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Now, the Arab states, right off the bat, said, not going to happen. And then they met, had a summit, proposed a plan, and President Trump turned around and said, that plan, meaning from the Arab states, not going to happen. So where do we stand with this? How do you interpret what the Arab states came up with as their proposal? And where do you think this is going?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I'm sorry for interrupting. Did you say Gaza-Lago? That's what I said. You should patent that. If that's yours...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
The ultimatum came just hours after it was revealed that his administration has been talking directly with Hamas. That's an unprecedented move. And reports say Israel wasn't even looped in on those talks. So where does this all go from here? Jonathan Schanzer from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies is here with us now to break it all down. Jonathan, thank you very much for joining us today.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But why is that? Why are none of the Arab nations willing to come out and say that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Welcome to the PDP Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off with President Trump laying down the gauntlet. I mean, not literally, that would be kind of odd, but demanding that Hamas release all remaining hostages or face the full force of Israeli military power.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah, I think you raised a really interesting point, which I think sometimes people overlook, right? Because there's so much going on around Trump and around the Trump White House. And every day, it's a new movie, right? And something's being thrown out there. And I think when he came out with, I'm going to use your phrase, Gazalago, it just rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Then I think people said, what is he talking about? This is crazy. But... To your point, it generates conversation, it generates movement, right? Action. And so you're absolutely right. Almost immediately after that, we had the Saudis and others calling for a summit to get the Arab states together to say, now what? Look at this. We can't let this stay on the table. So how do we respond?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
And that can create dialogue that we haven't seen in decades, right? Around this problem of Gaza. So I think you've raised a very important point.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Hey, my pleasure. There's a lot to talk about here. Let's start with what appears to be an ultimatum from President Trump to Hamas. What do you make of that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah, well, it's causing a lot of heads to explode in Washington, D.C. There's no doubt about that, right? Because there's a fair element that would just like to keep things sort of in this status quo, you know, the way that Washington moves, sort of that inertia. And certainly from a geopolitical perspective, right, you know, there's just this reluctance for change.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
So when it's happening at this current speed, I think it creates a lot of angst, but there's unexpected, sometimes beneficial consequences. And you're right, sometimes it may head south, but you don't know. And so I think there's a lot of folks out there that actually, while they may be somewhat confused over strategy at times, they can appreciate
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
whatever you want to call it, sort of the disruptive nature of it that could generate something different and better. And certainly with Gaza, look, we've been kicking this can down the road for generations. Now, talk to me about this idea. I know that it's just an idea that was thrown at the wall, but the idea of relocating
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
2.3 million Palestinians, it does raise an interesting question, which is the reluctance of, let's say, Egypt to take in refugees. I mean, talk to me about that relationship.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But from a practical standpoint, do you see that happening or do you see a plan developing more along the lines of what the Arab nations are talking about, which is keep the Palestinians in place? Obviously, they're still focused on this two-state solution. Do you think that's where this is headed?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah. And then, but I mean, obviously that raises then the big question, which is kind of looming over all of this is, what do we do as far as governance of the area afterwards? But let me wrap up with this. This is going to be an impossible question to answer.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
So anyway, that's why I'm asking you, during the course of this month, yes or no, Israel gives up on the peace process and goes back on a war footing with Hamas?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
All right. Well, listen, I did take another hour or two talking with you about this problem, but we are out of time. Jonathan Chancellor, great conversation, despite my involvement. Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, I want to tell you, thank you very much for joining us. And I look forward to the next conversation, man.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Are you kidding me? Bear Cousins, hats. You know, we got some swag coming your way. All right, man. Talk soon. Take care. All right, coming up next, Beijing isn't backing down. Well, I guess that's not a surprise. After President Trump slapped new tariffs on Chinese goods, the Chinese government fired back, saying it's ready for, quote, any type of war with the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Gordon Chang, good friend of the show, author of Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America, a terrific book, you should have it on your bookshelf, joins us to break it all down. Stay right there. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. President Trump is cranking up the pressure on China, or he's ratcheting it up. He's increasing. Let's go with all those.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Hitting Beijing with another round of tariffs. As of Tuesday, an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports took effect, bringing the total tariffs imposed in just a month to 20%. And now, well, China's firing back. In a post on X, the Chinese embassy in the U.S. made it clear that they're not backing down, saying, "...if war is what the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war, or any other type of war, we're ready to fight till the end." That's what we could call ominous. China also dismissed the White House's claim that these tariffs are tied to fentanyl production, calling it a flimsy excuse. So, is this just tough talk, or are we on the verge of a real economic battle, or something else?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Well, Gordon Chang, author of Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America, and that's a book you should have on your bookshelf, joins us now to help explain. Gordon, thanks very much for joining us again on The Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I've got to go to the top line here has got to be, not to be sensational about it, but the quote from the Chinese embassy that if the US wants war, be it a tariff or a trade war or any type of war, then they're down for the fight. What do you make of that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
If they're so reliant on exports, Do you think that's an indication that they're just going to eat the costs? I mean, because there's obviously this talk about, well, what are these tariffs going to mean for the pocketbooks of Americans if people still carry pocketbooks? Let's go with wallets. I don't know, what am I, in the 1920s?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But do you think that if that's the case, that they're going to do everything possible to try to prevent a letdown in exports?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
It's got moved from, because the tariffs, I think it's an interesting topic, but I think it confuses a lot of people. I mean, they've just now said, we're going to delay the tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Have you heard anything about that possibly being a case for China as well in terms of maybe backing off this, what now is essentially 20% tariffs?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Have you seen any indications? Because I mean, again, we mentioned it at the top of this, but that the tariffs for China anyway, there's a direct link to their failure to act on the fentanyl crisis. Let's even go with since the election, that they've changed policy or that there's been any improvement in their efforts against the fentanyl crisis?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I don't know how you would even describe it. Do you anticipate a long-term trade war with China? If both sides are retreating to their corners and looking as if they're not going to back down, where do you think this is heading?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Well, if that's the case, then... From Xi Jinping's perspective, right? Well, let me ask you this question. I want to focus on the Chinese economy, but let's go with this first. What do you consider to be the weakest link in the Chinese economy?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
All right. Well, I guess we don't need to list them all, but I guess what I'm looking for is... You pointed out that Mexico and Canada are completely different cases. We're talking about as far as the tariffs go. And I would also argue that their responses, their strategic thinking is going to be entirely different.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
So I'm trying to get a sense from you as to how Xi Jinping responds to all of this, right? Is there any... chance that he'll say, well, okay, Trump's not putting up with this anymore, so I'm going to have to change my direction. I'm going to have to change my strategic thinking. Is that a possibility? I mean, does he have the ability to change, I guess is what I'm asking.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Okay. Interesting. Gordon, I'll show you the list of questions that I've got, but it's lengthy. But we've got to take a quick break, and then we'll be right back with Gordon Chang here on The Situation Report. Stick around. Welcome back to The Situation Report. Joining me once again is Gordon Chang, author of Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah. Well, you would imagine that Qatar would be a logical destination for any of the remaining key leaders of Hamas to end up residing there. But you mentioned the direct negotiations between the US, I believe, with the hostage envoy, Adam Buller, for the US side. supposedly has been talking to Hamas directly about the US hostages.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
If you don't have that one on your bookshelf, then go out to your bookstore, if there's still a bookstore near you, and pick it up. Gordon, thanks very much for sticking around. I want to change gears a little bit here. We're still talking about China, but we had some news develop over this past week about the Panama Canal. Talk to me about the developments there.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah, it's interesting. I think, correct me if I'm wrong, I think this is the first country, at least in Latin America, to put the brakes on that Belt and Road Initiative and even voice the idea perhaps that they're just going to renege and back out.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah, I think it's fascinating because President Trump obviously made headlines by talking about the Panama Canal, right? And talking about how it's important to national security, how that we gave it to Panama, we didn't give it to China, and that he was taking it back. And that, of course, created a buzz and a lot of people reacted sort of the way they always do.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
They're just saying, oh, he's crazy. What is he talking about? That's ridiculous. And then, right, it's like he throws something at the wall and the next thing you know, it generates movement over here that people weren't expecting. And like you said, we've got this consortium led by BlackRock to buy this back. CK Hutchinson is a very interesting company.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
And you made a brief comment about it, based out of Hong Kong, but subject to the CCP's control. To what degree? I mean, talk to me about that, if you could.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But it sounds as if, at least what's coming out of the White House, sounds as if they've broadened that discussion, a direct conversation with Hamas to include perhaps the other hostages, as well as perhaps a peace settlement of some sort. What do you make of that? Because the US policy has always been not to negotiate with terrorist organizations.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
And also just in terms of their surveillance capabilities, right? I mean, it's very good intel to understand ship movements. It's very good intel to understand cargo allocations and movements. So, yeah, I'm 100% on board with you. I think it's a brilliant move. And again, it's one of those fascinating moments where
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Certainly, the political opposition, the Democrats in the U.S., looked at that and thought, that's insane. Why would he say we're taking it back? And then you have this move. And it just seems to happen on a somewhat regular basis now. And so maybe at some point people will understand that President Trump does have sort of a method to what they perceive as madness.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Now, we were talking about ships. Let's talk about shipbuilding. because there's also been some news about that. I understand that the US is going to make shipbuilding great again.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah. China, again, correct me if I'm wrong, and you always do, because, you know, okay, maybe I'm wrong on occasion. But China is the leader globally in shipbuilding. Is that correct? Yeah.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Look at us just correcting each other like this. It's just a back and forth. You're right. South Korea is in number two position. I read that the US is down that list. I think it's in 15th place in terms of shipbuilding.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
What's the potential for that? I know this is a bit of a detour for us in terms of our topics, but what's the potential for that sort of political sea change in South Korea?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I tell you what, that opens up the next question, which is I hope you'll come back in the course of the between now, obviously, and three months from now, sooner rather than later, so we can talk about this because that would be a seismic change in the region and certainly in a geopolitical standpoint. So, Gordon, as always, listen, thank you very much for taking the time to sit down with us.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Gordon Chang, author, incredibly smart guy, man about town. Hopefully we'll see you back here very soon.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I would not. You know what? I would keep that off your resume. I don't think you want to put that anywhere on that CV. All right. Thanks so much, Gordon. I'll see you soon. All right. Well, that is all the time we have for this week's PDB Situation Report. Now, if you have any questions or comments, polite suggestions maybe, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Look, the highlight of every week, I've told you about this before, but the highlight for us at the PDB headquarters, which is located in a secret compound underneath a volcano, is when the mailman who somehow finds us drops off another sack of mail and postcards and faxes and telegrams.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
And every month, our amazing team gathers up the best of those questions and comments, and we mush them into what we call an episode of Ask Me Anything. All right? So what I mean by all of that is keep your cards and letters coming. Finally, to listen to the podcast of this show ad-free, which you can do, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdppremium.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
I'm Mike Baker, and until next time, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
This ultimatum comes as ceasefire talks remain stalled. So what happens next? Jonathan Chancer from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies joins us with his insight. Plus, Beijing is hitting back, warning that it's ready for, quote, any type of war with the U.S. after President Trump reinstated tariffs on Chinese goods. How serious is the threat? Well, that's a good question.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But is there a danger that, I mean, you pointed out this was not the first ultimatum from the White House. Is there a danger that it's just perceived as hollow by Hamas and certainly by the Iranian regime that backs them?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Well, also, perhaps they imagine that, look, I mean, you say the fighters are going to take a shellacking. Obviously, the civilian population there in Gaza is also in the firing line, given how Hamas is embedded amongst them. But perhaps they look at it and go, okay, I don't think Israel can withstand the pressure from the international community if they take this even further than has been taken.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Look, 90% of the Palestinian population, what's that? Total of 2.3 million or so individuals, 90% have been displaced reportedly. So, perhaps Hamas is looking at this and thinking, we have the international community on our side, right? So, maybe they feel as if that's their leverage. I don't know. I'm throwing that in a strange form of a question to you.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
And we've got Gordon Chang, author of Plan Red, China's Project to Destroy America, here with us on the Situation Report to break it all down. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. President Trump isn't messing around. There's no surprise there. He's telling Hamas that they have two choices. Release all the remaining hostages now or get ready for Israel to bring the hammer down.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
From your perspective, to what degree is Hamas acting with autonomy, right? And to what degree do you think that they're taking their direction, strategic planning from the Iranian regime?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
This comes as negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire have hit a wall with, frankly, no deal in sight. Trump made his stance clear, posting to Truth Social, quote, Release all the hostages now, not later, and immediately return all the dead bodies or it is over for you." He also blasted Hamas for keeping the remains of those they've killed, calling it sick and twisted.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Yeah, I take your point. And it's a fascinating direction that we could go. I would also perhaps counter that with, we deal with a number of countries that play both sides of the equation. And that's just, unfortunately, the way the world works, I guess. But I take your point. I don't know that we'd ever get to the point of moving that that military facility out of Qatar.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But it's a fascinating thought that you bring up. Listen, there's a lot more here to cover, but you may know that we have some terrific sponsors. We're going to take a break right now. Jonathan, to hear from them, don't go anywhere. We'll have more with Jonathan Schanzer from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies coming up on the Situation Report. Hey, Mike Baker here.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
Support an American company, invest in yourself, and start getting your best sleep tonight. Joining me once again is the Executive Director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Jonathan Schanzer. Jonathan, you raised a really interesting question about the future of U.S. relations with Qatar after perhaps there's a settlement related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 8th, 2025: Trump’s Ultimatum to Hamas & China’s War Warning
But I want to switch gears right now. And even though Qatar is actually still involved in this next question, Obviously, President Trump had proposed a plan, a reconstruction plan for Gaza. And a key component of that was relocate the population of Gaza and then spend 10 to 15 years or so rebuilding the enclave into essentially a Middle East Riviera.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, well, for anybody listening to our conversation, I don't imagine they come away with an awful lot of hope, but hope is never really what you want to hang your foreign policy on. But if you look at just the unlikely opportunity for a second phase of the ceasefire, if you look at the fact that no credible governance, alternative governance seems to be taking shape,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
I think you're absolutely right. I think what we're looking at is, if not a return to hostilities, I think we're looking at continued, however you want to refer to it, occupation or our presence of the IDF in Gaza. And we may well be just looking at kicking the can down the road here.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
That leaves 28 Israeli hostages still believed to be alive, with their fate hanging in the balance. Beyond the ceasefire, the question of who will govern post-war Gaza, well, that remains unanswered as Israel insists Hamas cannot return to power, but has yet to propose an alternative. Joining us now to discuss is Robert Greenway.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Okay, that's really interesting. I'm glad you brought that point up. Are you optimistic about the upcoming, it's actually coming up very shortly, of the Arab summit in Riyadh?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, I agree with you. Look, people, you know, they stared in amazement when President Trump threw out that idea of U.S. ownership of Gaza and turning it into a resort area, a Riviera. You know, I never see a scenario where 2.3 million Palestinian refugees are going to suddenly move out of Gaza and the Egyptians and Jordanians and others will welcome them there.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And I don't also see a scenario where, you know, from a political perspective here in the U.S., anybody would agree to taking 10 to 15 year ownership of Gaza. But the benefit, I think, to your point is that it it provoked a response from the Arab states. And I think that has been very helpful. If I could, in the remaining time that we've got, Robert. Let's shift over to Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And with President Trump sitting down with President Zelenskyy from Ukraine, ostensibly to talk about the minerals deal, but what do you think that's going to deliver as far as a discussion?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Welcome to the PDB Situation Report. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Tensions are high as the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal inches closer to its expiration on Saturday. With no agreement yet on the fate of the remaining hostages, will Israel and Hamas return to the negotiating table or miss another round of war imminent?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah. What do you make of the of the talking point that's come out of Moscow over the years? And certainly it's been picked up by some, even in the U.S., for the most part. The idea that, you know, the West is responsible for this war. They forced Putin's hand, you know, by by this move towards or potential move towards NATO for Ukraine. What do you make of that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
He's the former deputy assistant to President Trump and director of the Allison Center for National Security at the Heritage Foundation. Robert, thanks very much for taking the time. Great to be with you. Thanks for having me. Absolutely. Absolutely. Now, go to the 30,000 foot level here. I know this is a very broad initial question, but from your perspective, where are we going with this?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, agreed. Robert, listen, the world's in a bit of a chaotic situation right now. We've got a lot more that we could be covering. I barely touched the list of questions that I've got written down here for you, but I want to be mindful of your time. So I hope next time we call you that you'll pick up the phone and agree to come back on the Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Next, well, we turn to President Trump's energy strategy. He's pushing to ramp up domestic production on federal lands and waters, aiming to strengthen U.S. energy independence. Well, that's a good idea. But what does that mean for America's national security? Daniel Turner from Power of the Future joins us next.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Starte dein Testen heute für 1 Euro pro Monat auf shopify.de. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Energy policy, it's not just about gas prices, right? It's about national security. That makes sense. The ability to produce and control our own energy supply means fewer dependencies, fewer vulnerabilities, and a stronger position on the world stage.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Now, one of President Trump's first moves back in office, it was a major push to ramp up domestic U.S. energy production. He's calling it a matter of national interest, and he's not wrong, arguing that unleashing America's natural resources isn't just about economic growth, but it's about military strength and global security. His executive order lays it out plainly.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Energy independence means less reliance on foreign powers and more leverage in global conflicts. Now, that's a sharp contrast to the last administration's approach, which saw the U.S. scaling back drilling and turning to imports even from adversaries. Trump says this shift will bring prosperity back to American workers.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
But beyond the economy, what does this mean for America's standing in the world? And how does it position America in the world of fossil fuels versus clean energy? Well, joining us now is Daniel Turner. He's the executive director of Power of the Future. Daniel, thanks very much for being here today on The Situation Report. Great to be with you. Thank you.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Let's start with a very broad question here. What's your perspective on where we're going with the energy policy? Are you pleased with what you've heard so far? And what do you expect in terms of pushback from the other side politically?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
We're coming up on the end of the first phase of the ceasefire with Israel and Hamas. What next from your perspective?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
You wrote an interesting piece recently that touched on the Keystone Pipeline and the complexity of that, both in terms of what the Biden administration did and trying to rejuvenate it. Talk to me about that, if you could.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
You know what? I can't believe, Daniel, that you think Gavin Newsom has presidential ambitions. That doesn't make any sense at all.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah. And how difficult is it? Because we have to roll back some regulatory policies from previous administration. How difficult is that process?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah. By the way, I don't mind you getting nerdy on me. Look, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm wearing a cardigan. So, you know, it looks like I just came from the chess club meeting. Sorry. Sorry, I digress, don't I? Okay, let's switch gears just slightly. We're still talking about energy. Talk to me about nuclear power in the country and where you expect that to go.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
The question is, I mean, I'm asking you this question. Can we get it built before the next presidential cycle?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah. Well, I mean, I guess to your point about the uranium, one of the problems that we've had for quite some time, right? I mean, not just with the Biden administration, but going back a number of years, is we've got abundant, right, mineral resources in the US. But the problem is trying to get them out of the ground, trying to get approval.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And then that process, the mining industry has basically been just constantly on the back foot because it just takes forever to try to get approval if you can even get it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Look, I've seen some mining operations overseas and they are extremely nasty, right? And it's a tough business wherever you're doing it, but nobody does it in a cleaner or more environmentally protected way than we do it in the US, right? And again, okay, that doesn't take away from the fact that, yeah, it's mining. It's got some drawbacks. So I take your point.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And I think also one of the interesting aspects of this is the foreign influence on mining in the U.S. And not to get nerdy on you, Daniel. but I'm about to. But as an example, the Chinese regime, this is in their best interest.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
So what they've identified over the years is that they may not be able to shift federal policy in the US, but if they go after in an indirect way through what appear to be grassroots operations, some community organization that's targeting phosphate mining in Florida, whatever it may be. And then they can influence local and state policies.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And if they say, okay, no, because they believe it's community driven, rather than there's influence from overseas, from countries that don't have our interests at stake, then they can impact this. Next thing you know, the state house in a particular location is saying, no, we're not going to authorize this mining. That benefits who? The Chinese regime.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
But from an internal political situation and from the general population there in Israel, do the people have an appetite for saying, fine, we're drawing a line under the ceasefire, we're reengaging with Hamas? I mean, is that something that the population is up for?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, absolutely. And every week opening up a new coal plant. Daniel, if you'll stay right there, right? We have to take a quick break. Don't go anywhere. And we'll be back with Daniel Turner here on The Situation Report. Stick around. Welcome back to the PDB Situation Report. Joining me again is Daniel Turner. He's the founder and executive director of Power of the Future.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Daniel, thanks very much for sticking around. Appreciate it. Let's talk just briefly. Are you seeing any shift in the positioning of oil and gas companies? And by that, I mean, look, for the past number of years, they've gone sort of all in on clean energy, oftentimes to the detriment of the health and the welfare of the company itself, right? Are you seeing any changes in that sort of direction?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Wait, wait, wait, wait. Daniel Greta's got minions? See, I didn't realize the situation had gotten that dangerous.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
It's really hard to figure out where you stand on all of this because you keep mincing words. But let's yeah. So where does that leave clean energy, though? I mean, from your perspective, you know, it plays a role. But, you know, what type of role in sort of that, you know, let's do everything concept?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Again, I just can't figure out where you stand on an issue. Let's look at, if we could, mining just for a second. We talked about it briefly in the previous segment, but some big news in mining, at least in the US, was this discovery I guess it's been known for some time, of the lithium deposits in Arkansas.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
You look at that, you look at the criticality of lithium as a mineral for batteries, for instance, and to what degree do you imagine that we'll be able to push back regulatory policies on mining and take advantage of a find like that?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, I'm out in Idaho, home of the sage grouse, which... Yeah, it's remarkable. Tell me a little bit about Power of the Future, if you could. Again, you talked about it just a second ago, but what's the focus?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
That is really fascinating, Daniel. I give you a lot of credit for taking this on. I'm reminded of the push for banning gas-powered vehicles, as an example, and going to an all-EV future, and somehow the power grid was going to be able to support that, and somehow people imagined that, I don't know, that power didn't come from a coal plant or other sources other than just a wind farm somewhere.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Look, Daniel, this has been fascinating. I think there's a lot more that we could be covering, and I hope we have that opportunity down the road. Daniel Turner, Executive Director of Power of the Future. Listen, thank you again very much for joining us here on the Situation Report. Well, that is all the time we have for this week's PDB Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Now, look, if you have any questions or you have any comments, or maybe you've got a humorous anecdote or a joke and you'd like to share it, well, just reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. I've told you this before, and I mean it.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
The highlight of every week here at PDB headquarters, and I happen to be at the secret compound right now, is when Carl the Mailman drops off another sack of your postcards, your emails, your faxes, your telegrams, your candy grams. And every month,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Our amazing team, including the above-average interns, select a bunch of your questions, and we produce one of our critically acclaimed Ask Me Anything episodes. So keep those cards and letters coming, folks. Finally, to listen to the podcast of the show ad-free, well, you probably know what to do. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And until next time, well, you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
You just mentioned kind of the revitalization of Hamas. What can you tell us about that? I have heard some reports that they've been busy recruiting and training new members.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
It does seem unlikely if the terms of the second phase of the ceasefire were in part a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Given the notion, or the reports anyway, that Hamas is busy trying to recruit new fighters, training new fighters, it would seem unlikely that the IDF would pull out entirely knowing that this cancer is still existing?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Former deputy assistant to the president, Robert Greenway, joins us to break it all down. Later in the show, President Trump is pushing to expand energy exploration and production to secure America's energy independence. But what does this mean for the country's national security? Well, Daniel Turner, executive director of Power of the Future, he'll join us to discuss.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
If you could talk to me about that a little bit. If the Philadelphia corridor, right, as a weapons transfer route has been essentially shut down, then how do they rearm?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Okay. So, look, I hate to sound cynical because everybody wants, under the right terms, everybody wants the fighting to stop, the terrible situation for the Palestinian civilians to end, for an opportunity to rebuild. Everybody, in general terms, they want that, right? And you bring some stability there.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
But I got to tell you, I mean, just talking with you now and just seeing what we've seen over the past couple of weeks, it seems like there's almost no likelihood that we're getting a second phase of this ceasefire agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Okay, so let's play that out then. Let's say that, unfortunately, on Saturday, there's no movement into a second phase. And the IDF decides, okay, we have no choice. We have to go after and continue to go after Hamas. What does that look like?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
But first, today's Situation Report Spotlight. The fragile Gaza ceasefire deal. It's set to expire this weekend with no agreement yet on a second phase to secure the release of the remaining hostages. Now, over the past six weeks, as I'm sure you know from following the PDB, Hamas has freed 33 Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Because, you know, honestly, look, we've already got, you know, ramped up protests in New York City, you know, pro Hamas protests going on in New York City on Barnard College campus. And you could imagine those stepping up again. I don't see the international community, including the U.N.,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
staying quiet over renewed hostilities and the IDF going in, and yet more visuals of destruction and civilian death in Gaza.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Now, you could imagine if that was the case, if you sort of a siege mentality, which again, the optics not necessarily good, but I take your point, right? And then specific targeted strikes against either specific commanders or lieutenants or whomever, fighters within the strip.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
If you were to combine that with the optic of increased aid flowing to the civilian population, then perhaps that mitigates to some degree that negative international narrative that always surfaces during these conflicts.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Yeah, no, I take your point. I think they pretty much decided early on after the 7 October attacks that they are on their own, or at least have to proceed on their own. And yes, the dynamics change now with the election and the arrival of the Trump administration. What can you tell us about...
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
The level of aid, though, that is flowing or that has been flowing since, say, the ceasefire started, and to what degree are we confident that that aid is not being taken or managed by Hamas?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
That's an initial step that mediators hoped would lead to lasting peace. But since January, both sides have accused each other of violating the deal and negotiations have stalled. Hamas is demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and that's a condition that Israel refuses to accept, particularly with reports that Hamas is busy recruiting and training new fighters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Okay. Robert, if you wouldn't mind staying right where you are, don't move, don't move. We got to take a quick break and then we'll be back with more from Robert Greenway. We'll be talking and continuing about Gaza, but I also want to talk with Robert about Ukraine. But we have to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more of the Situation Report. Yeah, we've all been there, right?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
And that's where Beam's Dream Powder comes in. Look, this is not some gimmick. This is a science-backed, healthy hot cocoa that actually helps you sleep better. I've tried it, and it does make a real difference. And it comes in great flavors, which is important, right? Sea salt caramel, brownie batter, vanilla chai, and my personal favorite, do you know what that is? Well, it's cinnamon cocoa.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Bob's your uncle. It couldn't be easier. If you want to try Beam's best-selling Dream Powder, get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shopbeam.com slash Mike, that's M-I-K-E, just like you imagined, and use code Mike at checkout. That's shopbeam.com slash Mike and use the code Mike for up to 40% off. Welcome back to the Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
Joining me again is Robert Greenway, former deputy assistant to the president and director of the Allison Center for National Security at the Heritage Foundation. Robert, thanks very much. We were talking about Gaza. I've got one more question for you, and this probably kind of falls into the soft science category. And then I was hoping to touch on briefly Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Situation Report | March 1st, 2025: Will Gaza Erupt Again? Cease-Fire Nears Collapse & America’s Energy Security
But with Gaza, is there any indication that the Palestinian civilian population is moving away from Hamas because we have this issue of, in long term, if we get any type of stability or peace settlement there, we have this issue of governance. So, to what degree, from your perspective, does the Palestinian civilian population, are they still all in on Hamas or have they been distancing themselves?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Now that's just financial aid, obviously there are other categories, humanitarian and military. Specifically, the report found that EU countries spent roughly 21.9 billion euros on Russian oil and gas over the third year of the war, compared with roughly 18.7 billion euros Das wurde für direkte finanzielle Unterstützung für Kiew bezahlt. Das ist laut einer Beobachtung von The Guardian.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Der Bericht vom Zentrum für Forschung über Energie und saubere Luft sagte, dass die kontinuierliche Bedeutung der Kontinente auf russische Energie ist, die die Anstrengungen der Ukraine unterbreitet, Moskau's Invasion-Force auszulösen, um natürlich auch Wladimir Putin finanzielle Verlust zu vermeiden, trotz des schweren ökonomischen Verlustes, den die Krieg in der Ukraine in Russland verursacht hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Analyst at the Research Center and co-author of the report told The Guardian, "...purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion. It's a practice that must stop immediately to secure not just Ukraine's future, but also Europe's energy security."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Now, following the Kremlin's invasion back on February 24th of 2022, European countries, in partnership with the US, have worked to wean the continent off Russian fossil fuels, imposing sanctions designed to stop direct oil imports. But a gaping loophole in the sanctions still allows countries to legally buy Moscow's crude, provided it's first refined into fuels elsewhere.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
The report said much of the Russian fuel products are making their way to Europe through trade with countries like Turkey, India and China, who have maintained open economic relations with Moscow despite the war. For example, in the third year of the war, G7 countries purchased some 18 billion euros worth of oil products from six refineries in India and Turkey.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
with at least 9 billion of that oil refined from Russian crude. That would generate an estimated 4 billion euros in tax revenue for the Kremlin. Russia generates up to half of its tax revenues from the oil and gas sector and has used its so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers to bypass existing sanctions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Last Wednesday, the EU agreed on new sanction measures targeting Russia's shadow fleet in an attempt to curb this covert trade. Forscher mit dem Forschungszentrum für Energie und Klimaschutz bestätigen, dass durch die Verbesserung von Sanktionen und die Schließung des Refinierungsloopholes russische fossile Nutzungserhöhungen um so viel wie 20 Prozent sinken könnten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Trotzdem ist Europa auch stark auf einen anderen großen Nutzungsstrom für den Kreml, welcher in Form von liquefizierten Natur-Gas-Exporten kommt. Die Kontinente hat eine Portion ihrer Direkt-Öl-Importe von Russland verwechselt, indem sie ihre Spenden auf liquefiedes natürliches Gas erhöht haben, seit der Krieg begann.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Nun, der Bericht hat für diese Importe einen großen Ausbruch genutzt, bemerkend, dass Russland der Nummer zwei Anbieter von liquefiedem natürlichem Gas in Europa letztes Jahr war. Dies hat den rund 242 Milliarden Euro, die Russland in den letzten Jahren von seinen fossilen Nutzern verdient hat, unterstützt. Mit der EU, die ca.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
39% mehr auf russische fossile Nutzungskräfte in 2024 betrachtet als auf Unterstützung der Ukraine, abhängig von militärischen oder humanitären Beiträgen, ist es klar, dass die Kontinentsstrategie sich ändern muss, wenn sie hoffen, die finanzielle Strafe des Krieges auf Moskau zu erhöhen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Ein Analyst mit der Atlantic Council Think Tank hat die EU angerufen, mit den USA in Konzert zu arbeiten, um die Verkäufer von russischer Kohle auf Drittparteien abzulösen, vielleicht die Sanktionen auf die Verkaufe dieser Produkte von Ländern wie Türkei und Indien anzupassen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Die PDB-Recherche-Team betrachtet auch die Anzahl der fossilen Füße, die die USA verkaufen, mit diesen gleichen Laufhäusern. The analyst said, quote, the third party states may reconsider purchasing Russian crude. And this, of course, would lead to a decline in Russian energy sales and it would weaken the Russian economy, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
But with President Trump appearing intent on securing a settlement between Ukraine and Russia and normalizing economic ties with the Kremlin, Europe's options do appear limited. In the meantime, the EU is set to boost their financial aid to Ukraine as the war enters its fourth year.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that Bloc would provide another 3.5 billion euros in financial aid to Kyiv, Das wird im März kommen. Das folgt 3 Billionen Euro, die die EU im Januar an die Ukraine gegeben hat, finanziert durch die Ausgaben von verschlossenen russischen Inhalte.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Es ist Montag, 24. Februar. Willkommen bei der PDB-Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker, eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst schauen wir uns ein Report aus Europa an, das zeigt, dass die EU mehr Geld auf russische fossile Füße als auf finanzielle Hilfe nach der Ukraine investiert hat, trotz der extensiven Sanktionen, die seit der Krieg begonnen sind.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Im Laufe des Jahres 2025 planen die EU, die Ukraine mit bis zu 35 Billionen Euro in Finanzhilfe zu bieten, um Russland am Meer zu halten. Wiederum, das betrifft nicht nur militärische und humanitären Hilfe. All right. Up next, Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent turned conservative political commentator, has been tapped by President Trump to serve as the next deputy director of the FBI.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. President Trump has appointed Dan Bongino as the next Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, marking another shift in the administration's ongoing effort to reshape the federal government's approach to justice and security.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
The announcement, made Sunday night on Truth Social, places another prominent Trump ally in a powerful law enforcement role. Bongino, ein ehemaliger Geheimdienstagent und NYPD-Officer, hat keine vorherige Erfahrung in der FBI gearbeitet, ihn als den ersten Bürgermeister in seiner Geschichte ohne interne Hintergründe im Büro zu machen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Als Bürgermeister wird Bongino die FBIs täglichen Entschlossenheitsoperationen übernehmen. Das ist eine Position, die traditionell von Karrierebeamten mit tiefem institutionellen Wissen des Büros gehalten wird. Their role is crucial.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
All senior FBI officials report to the director through the deputy director, meaning Bongino will be directly responsible for implementing Trump's law enforcement priorities. While lacking FBI experience, Bongino is no stranger to the political arena.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Over the last decade, he's built a career as a high-profile conservative media figure, hosting the Dan Bongino Show and briefly taking over a time slot once held by the late Rush Limbaugh. Following Trump's announcement, Bongino confirmed that he would end his podcast to return to public service.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Trump praised Bongino's appointment in a Truth Social post, writing, "...working with our great new U.S. Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Director Patel, fairness, justice, law and order will be brought back to America and quickly."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Balginas Begründung ist erwartet, Trumps Einfluss über die FBI weiter zu zementieren, ein Schiff in Prioritäten zu signalisieren, weg von Konterintelligenz und Konterterrorismus und zu dem, was die Administration beschreibt, als einen erneuten Fokus auf kriminellen Krimen. Anders als der FBI-Direktor, braucht der Abgeordnete-Direktor keine Senate-Konfirmation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Die Annahme kommt nur Tage nachdem der Senate Trumps handgepickter FBI-Direktor, Kash Patel, in einer 51-49-Vote aufgerufen hat. Patel, ein staunter Loyalist aus Trumps erster Administration, hat eine wichtige Rolle gespielt in den Vorschlägen des Präsidenten, die 2020-Elektion zu übertreten, und hat sich über die Prioritäten des Büros überholt.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
später im Show. Dan Bongino, ein ehemaliger Geheimdienstagent, der sich als konservativ-politischer Kommentator bezeichnet hat, wurde von Präsident Trump getappt, um als nächster Verteidigungsdirektor der FBI zu arbeiten. Aber zuerst heute Nachts Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Bonginos Selection also coincides with Trump's plans to overhaul the federal government's workforce. The president has openly stated his intention to, quote, fire some FBI personnel as part of a larger downsizing effort overseen currently by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Monday, 24 February.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And according to word on the street, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, simply become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 24th, 2025: How Europe Is Funding Both Sides In Ukraine & Dan Bongino Named Next FBI Deputy Director
Als wir über das dreijährige Jahrzehnt der Ukraine-Invasion von Russland überlaufen, lernen wir, dass europäische Nationen, trotz extensiver Sanktionen, beide Seiten des Krieges indirekt finanzieren. A damning report out of Europe has revealed that the EU is spending more money annually on purchasing Russian fossil fuels than on financial aid to Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Hamas verhindert die Verantwortung. Wirklich? Sie haben sie gefangen, sie haben sie am 7. Oktober verhaftet. Sie sind jetzt tot und Hamas wird keine Verantwortung nehmen. Stattdessen verurteilen sie einen israelischen Angriff. Die israelischen Verteidigungsgeräte verurteilen diesen Begriff, behaupten, dass forensische Beweise zeigen, dass ihre Kinder früh in ihrer Gefängnis verurteilt wurden.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Mexican authorities have arrested two high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel just days before the Trump administration designated it and other Mexican gangs as foreign terrorist organizations. It's almost like they've known where the cartel leaders have been all this time, but didn't have any motivation to arrest them. But perhaps that just makes me sound cynical. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Negotiierungen für eine zweite Phase von Verhandlungen, die mit weiteren Verhandlungserlässen und einem langfristigen Ausstiegsverbot, der 1. März beginnt, have yet to commence, despite initial talks being scheduled for early February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Hamas has made clear that it will not release additional captives without a permanent ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, demands that Netanyahu, with backing from President Trump, flatly rejects. As both sides remain entrenched in their positions, the ceasefire's future and the broader prospects for regional stability obviously remain highly uncertain. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Coming up in the back of the brief. Mexico announces the arrest of key members of the Sinaloa cartel. I'll be back with those details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
In today's Back of the Brief, just days before the Trump administration officially labels the Sinaloa Cartel and other gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, Mexican authorities arrested two of that cartel's top operatives in what appears to be a direct response to mounting US pressure. The arrests come at a pivotal moment.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Tensions between Washington and Mexico City have steadily escalated over cartel violence and the relentless flood of fentanyl into the United States. On Wednesday, in the cartels stronghold of northwest Mexico, authorities took Jose Canobio Insunza into custody. Now, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Canobio Insunza was deeply embedded in the operational core of Los Chapitos.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
That's a faction of the Sinaloa cartel run by El Chapo Guzman's sons. Prosecutors say he played a key role in drug production and smuggling networks, overseeing the flow of cocaine and fentanyl into the U.S., His arrest, well, didn't come out of nowhere.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
A Chicago grand jury indicted him in November on charges of drug trafficking and financing a cartel security force responsible for protecting leadership and engaging in violent turf wars to maintain Los Chapitos' dominance in the trade.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Dann, in einer Bewegung, die den Effort Mexikas ausdrückt, zu zeigen, dass es in Aktion geht, haben die Behörden einen weiteren großen Schuss gespielt, weniger als 24 Stunden später. In der gleichen Region haben sie Kevin Alonso verhaftet, ein Figur, der zu dem Kartell-Sicherheitsapparat kritisch gesagt wurde, der Waffenverkäufer und die Sicherung für Senior-Kartell-Figuren verantwortlich war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
But it's the Trump administration's looming decision to classify the Sinaloa Cartel as a foreign terrorist organization that may prove even more consequential.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The designation, which places the cartel and other groups, including MS-13 and Venezuela's TDA gang, would give Washington new legal tools to go after cartel assets and members with the same sweeping authority used against international terrorist organizations." Unglaublich, spürte die Bewegung einen Rückgang in Mexiko-City.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Präsident Claudia Scheinbaum verpasste keine Zeit, die Entscheidung zu schlagen, sie zu beurteilen und zu beurteilen, dass sie ohne ihre Regierung konsultiert wurde. Er schreibt, dass die USA diese Bezeichnung als Prätext für unilaterale militärische Intervention nutzen könnten.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Trump hat die Idee, die US-Mitglieder in Kartellen zu kämpfen, offensichtlich verfolgt, eine Idee, die in Mexiko mit starker Resistenz getroffen wird. For now, Mexico is walking a, well, let's call it a delicate tightrope, shall we? Seeking to demonstrate a crackdown on cartel leadership without conceding to demands that could be seen domestically as an erosion of sovereignty.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Whether these latest arrests will be enough to appease Washington or if the U.S. will intensify matters, well, that remains an open question. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 24 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know what to do. It's very simple.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
First up, today's PDB Spotlight. This weekend, Europe was rocked by a pair of Islamist terror attacks that highlight an alarming trend of increasing violence across the continent. The first attack occurred on Friday evening in Berlin, near the Brandenburg Gate, at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Become a Premium Member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The victim, a 30-year-old Spanish man, was approached from behind by a 19-year-old Syrian refugee, who stabbed him in the neck. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries and doctors had to place him in an artificial coma. Glücklicherweise ist er seitdem stabilisiert und ist nicht mehr in einer kritischen Situation.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Der Verbrecher, der in Deutschland als unabhängiger Miner im Jahr 2023 herrschte, hatte einen Koran, einen Betrug und ein Stück Papier mit Koranversen und dem Datum des Angriffs auf es geschrieben. Bewerber glauben, dass der Motiv für den Angriff religiös war. Oh, denkst du? Mit Behörden, die beweisen, dass der Verbrecher für mehrere Wochen planen wollte, die Juden zu töten.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Die Begriffe bauen sich auf. Dies wurde von seinen Statementen an die Polizei und der Wahl des Memorial als sein Ziel bestätigt. Einen Tag später, am Sonntag, gab es einen zweiten Angriff in Mulhaus, das ist eine Stadt in Ostfranz auf der Grenze mit Deutschland und Switzerland. Der Angriffspunkt war ein lokaler Markt.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Es geschah um 4 Uhr, als ein 37-jähriger Algerischer auf einen Stabbruch ging, schreitend Al-Akbar, mehrere Male. Well, yeah, that again seems like a clue regarding motivation. The assailant killed a 69-year-old Portuguese man who was attempting to intervene and injured two police officers, both of whom are now in serious condition.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The suspect was already on France's terror watch list and had been under house arrest after being ordered to leave the country following his release from a detention center in June. Now, if this sounds wacky, let me just read that to you again.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The suspect was already on France's terror watch list and had been under house arrest after being ordered to leave the country following his release from a detention center in June. The French government is treating the attack as an act of Islamist terrorism. Well done, Poirot. President Emmanuel Macron was quick to condemn the attack, calling it without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The assailants' background and actions mirror a disturbing pattern of individuals linked to terrorist activity, underlining the challenges, of course, authorities face in preventing such attacks. Nun, wenn Sie den Präsidenten-Daily Brief gehört haben, werden Sie wissen, dass diese Fälle keine isolierten Ereignisse sind.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Wie wir in den vergangenen Monaten gesehen haben, werden Terrorangriffe in Europa immer häufiger werden. Vor einem Monat führte ein afghanischer Migrant sein Auto in eine Gruppe in München, um eine Mutter und ihr Kind zu töten, und um mehrere Tausende mehr zu verletzen. Just this January another Afghan national killed a two-year-old boy and a forty-one-year-old man in a knife attack.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
It's Monday, 24 February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Welcome to the President's Daily Brief.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
In Dezember, a Saudi refugee drove an SUV into a Christmas market crowd in Magdeburg, killing six and injuring hundreds. Another attack by an Islamist in Munich in September. There was another by a Syrian asylum seeker in August in Solingen. Another by an Afghan refugee in Mannheim in May. Well, you get the point. I suppose you're beginning to see a pattern here.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Alright, let's get briefed.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The timing of these attacks couldn't be more significant, as they came just days before Germans were set to head to the polls for snap elections, which were held yesterday. The rise in violence has fueled the growth of right-wing anti-immigration parties. And the results of yesterday's elections in Germany reflected that fact.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The conservative CDU-CSU alliance secured the largest vote share of 28.7%, positioning their leader, Friedrich Merz, to potentially become the next Chancellor, replacing Olaf Scholz. The far-right AFD achieved a historical result with 19.8%, making them the second largest party. The ruling Social Democrats, SPD, suffered their worst defeat since post-World War II with only 16.4%. All right.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Now, before we go to the break, a quick reminder. Don't forget that you can always check out the President's Daily Brief on YouTube at our juggernaut of a YouTube channel. You can find that at President's Daily Brief. Just a reminder. It's more of a public service announcement, really.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Coming up next, President Trump shakes up his military leadership and Prime Minister Netanyahu delays the release of Palestinian prisoners until Hamas ends its, quote, humiliating ceremonies during hostage handovers. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker hier.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
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The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
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The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
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The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
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The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
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The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
We'll start today's show with a pair of deadly Islamist terror attacks in Europe this weekend. A brutal stabbing in Berlin and a violent spree in France underscore the growing threat across the continent. Later in the show, President Trump shakes up his military leadership, removing Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, known as C.Q.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
In a shake-up at the Pentagon, President Trump fired Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, known as C.Q. Brown, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday in a move rooted in concerns by the administration that the military was increasingly fixated on diversity initiatives at the expense of its combat readiness.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Brown, ein Vier-Star-Fighter-Pilot und nur der zweite schwarze General, der jemals die Post beherrscht, steigte die US-Militärstrategie in pivoten Theatern, von den Frontlinien der Ukraine bis zum volatilen Ausflug des Mittleren Osten in den letzten 16 Monaten während seines Tenors. Trump beantragte die Entscheidung via Truth Social, mit dem Dank für C.Q. Browns über vier Jahrhunderte Service.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
while signaling a resolute pivot towards his administration's, quote, America-first strategy. Now, this sweeping Pentagon shake-up, orchestrated in tandem with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, also a critic of what he derives as the, quote, woke drift in military policy, forms the latest chapter in a broader campaign to reorient the armed forces squarely toward warfighting.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Hegseth, der lange gefragt hat, ob militärische Leiter für Merit oder Rasse ausgewählt werden sollen, hat früher für Browns Entfernung gebeten. In seinem Buch, The War on Warriors, hat Hegseth argumentiert, dass jeder General, der die DEI priorisiert, oder die Diversität, Qualität und Inklusion-Programme, die Tür zeigen sollte.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Browns Entfernung ist nur ein Element in einer Kaskade von hochwertigen Pentagon-Entfernungen, die auch Lisa Franchetti, die erste Frau-Führerin der Armee, sowie der Vize-Chef der Air Force, James Slife, sowie einige der Top-Militär-Legal-Advisoren, nur aus guter Bedeutung. In allem wurden sechs Pentagon-Affiziere gefangen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
In der folgenden Reorganisation wurde Admiral James Kilby als Aktionschef der Naval-Operationen verabschiedet. So, with C.Q. Brown out, who is going to be the next top military officer? Well, I'm glad you asked. Trump took to Truth Social to announce his intention to nominate retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Kane as Brown's successor.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Praising Kane as a, quote, real general, not a television general, Trump contrasted him with what he deems ineffective military leadership. And that's a sentiment he echoed just days earlier at a Miami summit, where the president lamented, and how often do you hear people lamenting, quote, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Kane, der im Dezember verabschiedet wurde, hat Trumps Vorwürfe während seiner ersten Administration, während er in Irak war. Kane wurde von der Kommandantin gefragt, weshalb es Jahre dauern würde, um den Kampf gegen den islamischen Staat zu beenden. Und Kane argumentierte, dass der Kampf in so wenig wie einer Woche verabschiedet werden könnte, wenn er auf seine Art verabschiedet wäre.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Und diese Bemerkung ist grundsätzlich emblomatisch für den Appetit der Administration für swift, entscheidende Aktionen. Yet, even as the administration touts Keynes' robust credentials, including his time piloting F-16s, similar to that of C.Q. Brown, and a stint as associate director for military affairs at the CIA, his appointment is currently in controversy.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Brown, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and appointing retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dan Kane as his top U.S. military officer.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Traditionally, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to have served as a combatant commander or service chief and to hold a four-star rank. As a three-star general, Kaine does not meet these conventional requirements, and though Trump wields the authority to waive such requirements, Kaines nomination is poised to face intense scrutiny during the Senate confirmation process.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
In der Bekämpfung des Verteidigungsgerichts hat Defense Secretary Hagseth Kane als das Vorbild eines, Quote, des Kriegsfeindes und des richtigen Leiters für den Moment beschrieben.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Für den Moment unterschätzt Trumps Ausstrahlung einen breiteren Versuch, die Leidenschaft der Militärs zu verschärfen, um die Effektivität des Kampfes zu priorisieren und die Politik des Pentagon mit seiner Verteidigungsvision zu verabschieden. Jedoch sind die abrupten Verabschiedungen möglich, Heated Debate on Capitol Hill. But to be fair, nowadays everything sparks heated debate on Capitol Hill.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Okay, turning now to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. The agreement faces new uncertainty after Israel postponed the scheduled release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners Saturday, citing concerns over what it calls, quote, humiliating ceremonies staged by Hamas during hostage handovers.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The decision, announced early Sunday by Prime Minister Netanyahu's office following the return of six Israeli hostages, deepens doubt about the fragile agreement. The reversal came after more than 600 Palestinian prisoners had been boarded on buses at Ofra Prison, preparing for release in what would have been the largest single-day exchange since the ceasefire began.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Plus, just days after Hamas delivered the remains of the wrong person to Israel, Prime Minister Netanyahu has announced a delay in the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners until the terror group ends the quote humiliating ceremonies staged during hostage handovers. Und in heute's Back of the Brief.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Stattdessen haben die israelischen Behörden gefordert, dass sie zurückkehren und in ihre Zellen zurückkehren. Laut einer ehemaligen Kommandantin des israelischen Gefängnisservice, der südlichen Division, haben die Gefangenen Stunden gedauert, bevor sie lernten, dass ihre Entfernung abgeschlossen wurde.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Israel's move follows growing outrage over Hamas' handling of both living hostages and the remains of deceased captives. Last week, as reported on the PDB, Netanyahu accused Hamas of committing a, quote, cruel and malicious violation, after forensic analysis revealed that the hostage remains returned as those of Shiri Bibas were not hers, nor did they belong to any other known hostage.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
While the bodies of her two young children, Ariel, aged four, and Kaffir, just nine months old when taken, were correctly identified upon their return, the deception sparked a firestorm of condemnation in Israel and renewed calls for a tougher stance against the Iran-backed terror group. Ja. Ja.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
The scenes drew swift condemnation, as you might imagine, from the UN and the International Red Cross, which labeled them exploitative. Yeah, that'd be about right. Notably, these were the last living hostages, expected to be freed under the ceasefire's first phase.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Netanyahu's office stated that Israel will not proceed with additional prisoner releases until Hamas ends the propaganda spectacles and guarantees dignified treatment of hostages. Hamas predictably responded by accusing Israel of fabricating pretexts to avoid fulfilling its obligations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
A member of Hamas' political wing went so far as to claim that the orchestrated ceremonies were meant to demonstrate humane treatment rather than mistreatment. Oh...
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Unter dem ursprünglichen Vertrag war Israel bereit, 602 palästinensische Gefühle am Sonntag zu beurteilen, mit 50 von ihnen, die zurzeit für schreckliche Angriffe gegen die Israeliten leiden, und 60 von ihnen, die längere Angriffe beurteilen. Näher 100 von denen, die für Beurteilung gefordert wurden, wurden beurteilt, z.B.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Ammar Zaban, ein Senior-Khamas-Figur, der 27 Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe für schreckliche Angriffe während der zweiten Intifada.
The President's Daily Brief
February 24th, 2025: Twin Islamist Terror Attacks Strike Europe & Trump Shakes Up Military Leadership
Mittlerweile wurde das Körper von Shirei Bibas am Samstag wieder nach Israel zurückgebracht, nachdem Hamas versucht hatte, ein anderes Körper wie das ihres früher auszupassen. In einem Statement wurde der Familie erklärt, dass sie in der Gefängnis verurteilt worden war, obwohl sie noch keine Beurteilung bekommen hat, wie sie und ihre Kinder speziell gestorben sind.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Vance zeigte in den Ländern in Europa, die freie Sprache kriminalisieren und populistische Verteidiger marginalisieren. Er bestätigte, dass die wachsende Bedeutung von Zensur sowie die Schrecken der politischen Opposition, argumentierbar eine größere Bedrohung der Stabilität Europas sind als Russland oder irgendein anderer Außenseiter.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
In his address, delivered in front of some of Europe's top political brass, Vance accused European leaders of abandoning free speech, encouraging unchecked migration and generally ignoring the will of their voters. He warned of what he dubbed, quote, the threat from within and of, quote, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Vance sagte, Quote, I can tell you plainly, there can be no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your very own people. Europe faces many challenges, he said, but the crisis this continent faces right now is one of your own making, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Now, the Vice President cited the behavior of authorities in countries like the UK, Germany and Sweden, where political groups and voters outside the mainstream, particularly conservatives, have been increasingly subjected to investigations, arrests and even prosecution for protesting things like mass migration, the war in Ukraine or reproductive rights.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Manche haben sogar die ganze Rache des Staates gegenüber etwas so unheimlich wie einem Social-Media-Post gefeuert, langsame Gefängnis-Sentenzen zu landen, nur um eine kontroversielle Meinung auszudrücken.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Dieses Stifeln der Demokratie, warnt Vance, riskiert, zwischen europäischen Alliieren und den USA eine Fissur zu erzeugen und könnte Bedingungen für die Interaktion von Amerika mit dem Kontinent auf Themen wie Verteidigung und Verhandlung haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Er sagte, Britannien sei vielleicht der größte Konzern, wenn es um den Fall eines Mannes ging, der mit einem zweijährigen Konditionenabschluss und einem 11.000-Dollar-Gewinn von einem britischen Gerichtsschatz vorgeschlagen wurde. Wir sollten bemerken, dass dieser Fall in vielen europäischen Ländern in diesen Tagen kaum einzigartig ist.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
He also condemned Romania for annulling the results of its December presidential election over claims of Russian interference on social media, saying, quote, End quote. End quote. He then turned his ire towards the organizers of the Munich conference for banning lawmakers representing populist parties on both the left and the right from participating in the conversation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Vance stated, quote, to many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, It looks more and more like old entrenched interests in Europe hiding behind ugly Soviet words like disinformation or misinformation simply do not like the idea that someone with an alternative point of view might express a different opinion or vote a different way or dare I say it even win an election."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Vance sagte, dass die Unabhängigkeit von Regeln nicht das leitende Prinzip eines neuen Weltkriegs werden muss, argumentiert, dass solches Verhalten in den Händen von Russland und China spielt. Vance's remarks prompted outcries and denunciations from Europe's political elite. Well, there's a surprise with Germany's Minister of Defense.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Sie hat sogar Vance's Sprache mehrere Male mit Schreien von Nein unterbreitet. Später am Wochenende brach der Vorsitzende der Munich Security Conference in Träumen, während er die Anwesenden beantwortete, lamentierend, wenn man weint, glaube ich, dass Vance's Sprache zeigt, dass die USA und Europa keine gemeinsame Wertschätzung mehr haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Now, if you think Vice President Vance was being over the top in his criticism of Europe's crackdown on speech, well, it's worth bringing to your attention a 60 Minutes piece that ran this weekend. The segment highlighted how Germany is literally criminalizing free speech, with German prosecutors telling CBS that posting insults online or speaking them publicly... ist ein Verbrechen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Sie haben weiter erklärt, dass das Posten von, Quote, militärischem Verbrechen, das online auch ein kriminelles Verbrechen ist, wirklich, wie das Reposten von Inhalten, das, Quote, Missinformation bezeichnet wird. Der Bericht hat bemerkt, dass letzte Woche die deutschen Behörden mehr als 50 arme Räder gegen Individuen verurteilt haben, das Posten einer rassistischen Karte online.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Die Verbrecher behaupten, dass, obwohl die Deutschen freie Sprachverbrechen genießen, oder das tun sie, Quote, es hat auch ihre Grenzen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Looking ahead, Vance's tough stance against European overreach will likely, and by that I mean will, have significant implications for the Trump administration's relationship with Western allies going forward, particularly as the White House pursues peace negotiations with Russia to end their war on Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
And at the same time, European leaders are currently meeting to discuss their response to Trump's apparent intent to sideline the EU from taking part in any peace negotiations. Coming up next, the Trump administration takes aim at Pentagon spending, with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, looking to trim some 8% from next year's defense budget.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
I'll have those details after the break. Running a business, well, it's not easy. And I know that firsthand. Look, as a business owner, I've seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache with endless receipts, approvals and expense tracking slowing everything down. And that's where Ramp comes in. Now, RAMP streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Es ist Montag, der 17. Februar. Willkommen bei der PDB-Afternoon Bulletin. Ich bin Mike Baker, eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns kurz sprechen. Zuerst sprechen wir über den Fallout von Vizepräsidenten J.D. Vance's Rede an der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz am Freitag.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
There's no more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses. RAMP takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility. For finance teams that are buried in busy work, RAMP flips the equation.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Look, most companies spend about 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% on strategy. RAMP changes that, freeing up your team to focus on forecasting, growth and high-impact decisions. And making the switch is effortless. Over 25,000 businesses, including Shopify and the Boys and Girls Club of America, trust Ramp, earning it the number one ranking in spend management by G2.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
And now, for a limited time, listeners of this show can get $250 when you join Ramp. Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. That's ramp.com slash pdb. Once again, that's ramp.com slash pdb. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC and terms and conditions apply. Hey, Mike Baker here.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Look, every time a device connects to an unencrypted network, whether it's at a cafe or a hotel or an airport, personal data is exposed, right? Hackers on the same network can steal your passwords, your banking details and a lot of other sensitive information. And it doesn't take much skill, just some inexpensive tools and a little know-how.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
And that stolen data, well, that can sell for up to $1,000 per person on the dark web, even more. ExpressVPN verhindert Hackern, private Informationen zu akzeptieren, indem sie einen sicheren, enkrypteren Tunnel zwischen den Geräten und dem Internet schaffen. Denken Sie daran. Seine Enkryption ist so stark, dass sogar ein Supercomputer über 1 Billion Jahre dauern würde, um es zu kracken.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
wo er europäische Leiter über ihre Versuche, demokratische Normen zu steifeln, verurteilen, leaving some officials in tears. Later in the show, the Trump administration takes aim at Pentagon spending, with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency looking to trim some 8% from next year's defense budget, which is a budget that exceeds currently over $800 billion.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. The Pentagon is offering up lists of potential cuts as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Elon Musk, moves into overhaul military spending in the coming days.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
The shakeup, part of President Trump's broader push to rein in the federal deficit, is expected to gut billions from the defense budget and fundamentally reshape military priorities in the months ahead. According to the Wall Street Journal, DOGE aims to trim 8% from next year's defense budget, and that's a budget that currently exceeds over $800 billion.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Trump has placed his confidence in Musk to root out widespread fraud and waste within the Department of Defense, which has the largest discretionary budget in the US government. With cuts looming, defense officials are scrambling to offer up targeted reductions in an effort to stave off severe slashes.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
The Army has proposed phasing out outdated drones and armored vehicles, while the Navy is looking at decommissioning frigates and some other ships. Army spokesman Colonel Dave Butler said in a statement that the service is taking a, quote, proactive approach to making our spending more efficient.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Well, there's a thought, adding, quote, there are several systems that we know won't survive on the modern battlefield. Yeah, those could be cut then.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
The Air Force has yet to reveal its recommendations, but Musk has been vocal in his criticism of the F-35 stealth fighter program, calling it a, quote, flop and pointing to its cost overruns, that near two trillion, that's with a T, trillion dollars. And that could be considered slightly over budget.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
But the proposed cuts are certain to face stiff opposition in Washington, where lawmakers have long-shielded defense programs that bring jobs to their districts. Well, that is how they get reelected. The F-35 program alone is spread across some 48 states, making any attempt to trim it a political minefield. However, the Trump administration appears, well, less concerned with political fallout.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth begrüßte Doge's Intervention, sagte letzte Woche, dass er Efforts unterstützt, Waste in einer Institution zu beherrschen, die fast 3 Millionen militärische und zivilisierende Personal betreibt und ein Budget beträgt, das jährlich 1 Trillionen Dollar beträgt.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Die Veränderung kommt nur Monate nachdem Präsident Biden auf 895 Millionen in Defense Spendung für das jährliche Fiskaljahr eingestellt hat. Aber die Trump-Administration drückt einen strategischen Schiff
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
toward cutting-edge technology, including hypersonic missiles, cyber warfare capabilities and unmanned drone fleets, while also ramping up shipbuilding to counter China's aggressive naval expansion. Doge staffers have been working to restructure government agencies to identify spending reductions and redundancies since the start of the Trump administration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
And last week, Trump signed an executive order granting the group sweeping authority Jetzt, das laute Kollision, das Sie hören, naja, das ist der Geräusch von Doge, der in die massive, unbewegbare Kollektion von Verteidigungscontractoren, Lobbyisten und selbstinteressierten PolitikerInnen in Washington, D.C. Und das, meine Freunde, ist die PDB-Abends-Bulletin von Montag, 17. Februar.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Wir beginnen in Europa, wo Vizepräsident J.D. Vance eine überraschende, um es nicht zu sagen, Rede an der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz am Freitag eröffnet hat, die Kontinenten in Richtung politischer Repression fliegt und einige europäische Offiziere in Träumen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 17th, 2025: European Official Breaks Down In Tears Over Vance Speech & DOGE Comes For The Pentagon's Budget
Wenn Sie Fragen oder Kommentare haben, bitte schicken Sie mich an pdbathefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, which you could do, become a Premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdppremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
His deputy, Lieutenant General Ivan Kasyanenko, oversees SSD's European operations. A former Russian Air Force officer with deep ties to military intelligence, he previously operated under diplomatic cover in Iran, playing a role in facilitating Moscow's drone and missile cooperation with Tehran. But SSDs activities extend far beyond bombings and assassinations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Authorities say the terrorist threat in Europe isn't going away anytime soon. And look at that, we're still in the introduction segment and we've already got a winner for the Statement of the Obvious Award. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. It's been nearly two weeks since President Trump floated the idea of the US taking over Gaza and turning it into a Middle Eastern version of the Riviera.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The unit is also tasked with infiltrating Western companies and universities in an effort to recruit foreign agents, particularly in Ukraine and Serbia. While SSD operations peaked last summer, intelligence reports suggest a recent lull. The reason? Well, some analysts speculate that Moscow may be looking to create diplomatic space with the Trump administration.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
But Western security officials cautioned that Russian intelligence has only grown more aggressive, particularly in Germany. That's a country that Moscow views as NATO's weak link due to its energy dependence on Russia and deepening internal divisions. NATOs Deputy Assistant Secretary General warned that Russia's wartime mindset demands a, quote, similar response from the West.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
And Washington appears to be taking that warning seriously. In December, the EU imposed sanctions on SSD operatives for their role in orchestrating assassinations, sabotage and cyber attacks across Europe. The US sanctioned SSD members on similar charges back in December.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
In der Zwischenzeit kümmern sich die US- und europäische Gesetzgeber für erhöhte Kontraintelligenz-Operationen gegen russische Covert-Aktivitäten. Sobald Moskau seinen Schattenkrieg gegen den Westen auslöst, schlägt die Erhöhung des SSD ein gefährliches neues Kapitel ein, das die US- und NATO-Alliierten einen viel aggressiveren Stand nehmen könnte. All right. Coming up in the back of the brief.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
A deadly knife attack in Austria is now linked to ISIS, as authorities warn the terror threat in Europe remains as real as ever. I'll have those details when we come back. In today's Back of the Brief, a 14-year-old boy was killed in a stabbing and five others were wounded in what Austrian officials are calling an Islamist attack carried out by a Syrian asylum seeker.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The attack, which took place on Saturday near a main square in a town bordering Italy and Slovenia, has reignited Austria's already tense debate over immigration and national security. Drei von den Verletzten bleiben in intensiver Arbeit, während eine andere in stabiler Zustand ist. Eine der Verletzten wurde verurteilt und bekommt eine Ausbeutung.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Die Behörden identifizierten den islamistischen Verletzten als einen 23-jährigen syrischen Mann, der an der Szene verhaftet wurde und seitdem mit Mörder und attemptiertem Mörder verhaftet wurde. Austrias Interior Minister revealed that an Islamic State Flag was discovered in the suspect's apartment. That could be a clue. Along with evidence suggesting he pledged allegiance to the terror group.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Officials believe he was radicalized online over a short period of time, stating that the suspect had a, quote, Islamic terror motive for the attack. Austrian Police say the Islamic attacker could have claimed more lives if not for the intervention of a delivery worker, also a Syrian national, who drove his vehicle toward the suspect, halting the assault.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
On Sunday, officials confirmed the ages and nationalities of the wounded, two 15-year-olds and three adults, aged 28, 32 and 36. Four are Austrian citizens, while one is Turkish. The interior minister stressed that the suspect had no prior criminal record. He held a valid residence permit and was not on any law enforcement watch lists.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
However, initial reports suggested the Islamist was still awaiting a decision on his asylum application. The Interior Minister framed the attack as a stark reminder of the growing terrorist threat within Austria, stating, quote, So those in a position of responsibility, the police, the authorities, must draw the necessary conclusions from that, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The attack has fueled debate over Austria's asylum policies, particularly after last year's election, where the National Conservative Freedom Party won the most votes for the first time. The party's leader wasted no time in calling for a, quote, rigorous crackdown on asylum.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
And let's just say, well, the reaction has been not overly positive. Um es zu beurteilen, hat Trumps Plan, die Bevölkerung von Gaza, alle 2,3 Millionen von ihnen, außerhalb von Gaza, permanent zu beurteilen, während Washington die Reconstruktion übernehmen würde. Diese Bewertungen sagen, dass es 10 bis 15 Jahre dauern könnte.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The interior minister echoed those concerns, stating Austria must enact, quote, legal reforms to give law enforcement greater authority in monitoring asylum seekers from Syria and Afghanistan. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 17 February. Now, I hope you had an opportunity to check out the latest episode of our weekend show, the PDB Situation Report.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
If not, well, it's available along with past episodes on our YouTube channel. You can find that at President's Daily Brief and as well, of course, on all podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Kritiker, insbesondere die meisten Regierungen in der Region, haben es als alles von unrealistisch bis zu ausreichend, Quote, ethnische Reinigung geschlagen. But while much of the world has been busy rejecting Trump's plan, something else has been quietly happening, something arguably, well, more significant.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The Overton window in the Middle East may have just shifted in a way that would have seemed impossible just a few short months ago. Wenn ihr euch nicht mit dem Overton-Window-Konzept verbunden habt, dann ist es im Grunde die Reihe von Ideen, die in einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt in der öffentlichen Debatte sozial akzeptabel sind. Und diese Winde wechselt sich über die Jahre.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Dinge, die früher undenkbar gewesen wären, können plötzlich im Mittelland werden. Und im Mittleren Osten, naja, das wechselt sich normalerweise sehr langsam. The region is built on deep traditions, authoritarian rule and religious influence, factors that tend to resist rapid change.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
But today, as Arab leaders scramble to offer an alternative to Trump's plan, some of them are saying something that not long ago would have been completely off the table. And that is, that Hamas needs to go. Nehmen wir zum Beispiel den Generalsekretär der Arab-League. In einem Interview am 11. Februar auf dem Saudi-Arab-Channel hat er den Hamas angerufen, um sich abzuschließen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Er hat sogar verurteilt, dass Trumps Plan, Arab-Nationen in ihre eigenen Vorschläge zu pressen, geplant war. Und jetzt, am Arab-Summit später dieses Monats, werden die Führer genau das tun. Eine Alternative, die sie sagen, wird an die Palästinenser, Arab-Nationen und die internationale Gemeinschaft akzeptabel sein. And the Arab League official isn't the only one saying that Hamas has to go.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The United Arab Emirates presidential advisor Anwar Gargash also backed the idea, calling it, quote, rational and appropriate.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
He said, quote, the interests of the Palestinian people must come before the interests of Hamas, especially in light of the calls to displace the Palestinians from Gaza and the war that resulted from Hamas' decisions that destroyed the Gaza Strip and tore its human and social fabric, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Dann gibt es Tariq al-Humayad, einen jungen Saudi-Journalisten, der gerade einen Artikel in dem London-basierten Saudi-Daily Al-Shaq Al-Awsat genannt hat, namens Hamas muss Macht verlängern. Sein Argument? Nun, es ist, dass das Entstehen von Hamas eine praktische Alternative zu Trumps Plan ist.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Es würde Ägypten und Jordan von Unstabilität schützen, einen weiteren Krieg auf Gaza mit US-Vorbereitung verhindern und den Weg für Reconstruktion öffnen. So, while there isn't yet a full Arab consensus, it's clear that the conversation has shifted. But as you'd expect, and this will not be a shock, Hamas isn't exactly on board. And by that I mean, they're definitely not on board.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
They're nowhere near the board. And of course it's likely that the Iranian regime, responsible for funding and building and training and resourcing Hamas, well, they won't be on board either. The last thing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, wants... ist, noch mehr Einfluss in die Region zu verlieren.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Over the weekend, top Hamas official Osama Hamdan made it clear that his group has no plans to step aside. In fact, he outright rejected any proposal that excludes Hamas from Palestinian leadership, saying, quote, End quote. Hamdan sagte, wirklich, wir können nicht wegsteigen. Wie sonst werden wir Billionen von Dollar machen? Das ist unser Geld, und wir geben es nicht ab.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Und ja, ich habe das letzte Quote gemacht. Also, was Hamas sagt, ist, wenn eine arabische Koalition versucht, Gaza ohne Hamas zu übernehmen, dann wird Hamas sie als Feind vertreten, so wie sie es mit Israel tun. So what does all this mean? For one, it highlights how Trump's plan, no matter how unlikely, has forced Arab leaders to confront an uncomfortable reality.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Hamas' rule in Gaza is a major roadblock to any long-term peace or reconstruction. And while Hamas still has strong support from Iran, the pressure from within the Arab world is growing. We'll be watching closely as the Arab League Summit approaches, because for the first time in a long time, the future of Hamas' grip on Gaza isn't just an Israeli concern, it's an Arab one as well.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Es ist Montag, der 17. Februar. Willkommen bei der Präsidenten-Daily-Brief. Ich bin Mike Baker. Eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns briefen. Wir fangen heute mit den arabischen Nationen an, die Heizung auf Hamas aufzunehmen. Nur Wochen nachdem US-Präsident Trump seinen kontroversiellen Plan für Gaza geflogen hat.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Alright, coming up after the break. A White House team heads to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks as European leaders scramble to respond. Plus, Western intelligence services warn of a secret Russian spy unit that's behind sabotage and assassinations across Europe. What will Putin think of next? I'll be right back. Running a business, well, it's not easy. And I know that firsthand.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Look, as a business owner, I've seen how managing finances can turn into a time-consuming headache with endless receipts, approvals and expense tracking slowing everything down. And that's where RAMP comes in. Now, RAMP streamlines finance operations by automating the entire process. There's no more chasing receipts or manually logging expenses.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
RAMP takes care of it all, instantly matching receipts, categorizing purchases and approving transactions while integrating seamlessly with your ERP for real-time visibility. For finance teams that are buried in busy work, RAMP flips the equation. Look, most companies spend about 80% of their time on low-value tasks and only 20% on strategy.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
RAMP changes that, freeing up your team to focus on forecasting, growth and high-impact decisions. And making the switch is effortless. Over 25,000 businesses, including Shopify and the Boys and Girls Club of America, trust Ramp, earning it the number one ranking in spend management by G2. And now, for a limited time, listeners of this show can get $250 when you join Ramp.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Just go to ramp.com slash pdb. That's ramp.com slash pdb. Once again, that's ramp.com slash pdb. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC and terms and conditions apply.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Welcome back to the PDB. The Trump administration is set to dispatch senior officials to Saudi Arabia for direct talks with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the coming days in an abrupt move that, well, blindsided Kiev. A Ukrainian official speaking to Politico said there are no plans for a Ukrainian delegation to attend, casting immediate doubt on the talks.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Well, yeah, I mean, typically it would be good to have the invaded country at the negotiating table when discussing the fate of the invaded country. Dementsprechend sind die europäischen Alliierten völlig aus den Negotierungen verlassen, die Frustration zwischen NATO-Mitgliedern, die Washington für einen unilateralen Deal über einen koordinierten westlichen Ansatz betrachten, füllen.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Trotz der Unwahrheit ist Präsident Trumps Team voran. Nationalen Sicherheitsanwärter Mike Walz, Staatssekretär Marco Rubio und Südostasien-Anwalt Steve Witkoff werden die amerikanische Delegation führen. But one key figure is notably absent, and that would be Trump's special envoy for Ukraine-Russia negotiations, retired General Keith Kellogg.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The Kremlin, meanwhile, is assembling its own high-level team, including intelligence and economic officials, as well as Kirill Dmitriev, a seasoned negotiator who has played a key role in the past US-Russia prisoner exchanges. Now, these talks could mark a pivotal moment in Trump's push to broker an end to the nearly three-year-old war.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Einige Leiter kümmern sich jetzt offensichtlich um Hamas, um sich zu entfernen. Wir werden das, was hinter diesem Schiff liegt, auspacken. Später im Show geht ein White House Team nach Saudi-Arabien für russische-ukrainische Friedensgespräche, während europäische Führer, naja, sie schrecken, um zu reagieren.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Speaking to reporters last week, Trump confirmed that he expects to meet with Russian President Putin face-to-face in Saudi Arabia, stating, quote, we ultimately expect to meet. We'll meet in Saudi Arabia, see if we can get something done, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
If the meeting does occur, it would be the first direct high-level peace talks between Russia and Ukraine since the war began in 2022 with the Russian invasion. At the Munich Security Conference this past week, European leaders reacted with alarm, warning that a deal struck without their input would be unacceptable.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made his position clear, stating, "...a dictated peace will therefore never find our support." Trumps diplomatic maneuver has only deepened European anxieties about US commitment to NATO. Those fears were exasperated after Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking at the same conference, downplayed the threats posed by Russia and China.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Instead, Vance accused European leaders of suppressing free speech, warning that their biggest security threat comes from, quote, within. Still, Vance signaled that Washington would hold Moscow accountable, cautioning that the US retains, quote, economic and military tools of leverage if Russia fails to negotiate in good faith.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth initially dismissed the idea of Ukraine joining NATO as part of a peace agreement, but later seemed to shift, stating, quote, everything is on the table, end quote. Yeah, that's a shift. In Munich, Ukrainian President Zelensky struck a skeptical tone regarding Trump-Putin talks, stating bluntly, quote, Putin is a liar.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
The Ukrainian President added, I hope that President Trump will pressure him because I don't trust him, end quote. Die Ungewissheit um Trumps abrupte Gespräche hat europäische Führungskräfte geäußert.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron hat am Montag einen Ursprungssummit in Paris gegründet, bei dem europäische Union-Führungskräfte zusammen mit NATO-Sekretär General Jens Stoltenberg verabredet wurden. Trumps Ausstieg von Putin, während er NATO-Alliieren auf der Seite hält, hat das, was eine größtenteils unifizierte westliche Strategie in der Ukraine war, beendet.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
While Kellogg sought to reassure European allies in Munich that Kyiv would be part of any final agreement, he made it clear that European governments would not have a seat at the table. The fact that EU institutions and EU countries collectively have allocated some 133 billion dollars to Ukraine assistance since the February 2022 invasion, while the US has allocated some 120 billion dollars,
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Außerdem sagen westliche Intelligenzorganisationen, dass Russland eine neue geheimnisvolle Spion-Unit gegründet hat, die mit der Behandlung von Sabotage, Verbrechen und Angriffen in Europa beteiligt ist. Man wundert sich, ob wir jetzt darüber sprechen, wie geheim es ist. Und in heute's Back of the Brief, a deadly knife attack in Austria has been linked to the Islamic State.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Well, it would seem to imply that the EU has paid for their seat at the table. The EU has also taken on the lion's share of training Ukrainian soldiers and has taken in vast numbers of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war. The point being, well, it's an interesting strategy on the part of the US administration
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
to imply that European nations shouldn't be fully engaged in the peace process, particularly when US officials stated just last week that they expect the EU to shoulder the responsibility for ensuring that any peace deal is enforced and maintained.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
With negotiations set to begin sometime soon in Saudi Arabia, the stage is set for high-stakes diplomacy that could reshape the trajectory of the war, not to mention future relations between NATO, the EU and the US. All right, shifting to Russia. Western intelligence officials uncovered a shadowy unit within Moscow's spy services known as the Department of Special Tasks, or SSD.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
And it's clear that they did not spend a long time coming up with a clever name for their department. The unit, formed in 2023 in response to Western military aid to Ukraine, is tasked with carrying out sabotage, assassinations and infiltration operations across Europe and beyond. Überraschend ist, dass die Kremlin, naja, sie verurteilen alles.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Kremlins Sprechleiter Dmitry Peskov hat die Angelegenheiten als, Quote, unsubstanziierte Angelegenheiten verabschiedet. für das 2018-Poisoning von Russischer Doppelagent Sergej Skripal und seiner Tochter Yulia in den USA und dann die 2014-Chekische Ammunition-Depot-Explosion.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Aus der russischen Militär-Intelligenz-Headquarters in Moskau, hat die SSD nun einige der gefährlichsten klandestine Missionen übernommen, die früher von der russischen Federal Security Service und anderen Intelligenz-Branchen behandelt wurden. Und ihr Rekord ist bereits sehr hoch. Die Westen-Intelligenz-Agenzien haben die SSD mit einer Serie von hochprofilen Angriffen verbunden, z.B.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
mit einem 2024-Assassination-Plot gegen Armin Papager, den CEO der deutschen Armutsindustrie Rheinmetall, einer der wichtigsten Anbieter der Ukraine. Das Unit hat sich auch mit einem Plot verbunden, in dem incendiäre Geräte auf DHL-Kargoplänen geplant wurden. Das ist ein Scheme, das, wenn es erfolgreich war, natürlich Flieger für Nordamerika aufnehmen könnte.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Neben diesen Operationen sind die SSD-Operativen hinter Arsene-Attacken auf europäischen Waffenfaktoren, versuchten Bomben in Frankreich und koordinierten Sabotage-Effekte in Polen und Ukraine, um Infrastruktur zu destabilisieren und Moral zu reduzieren.
The President's Daily Brief
February 17th, 2025: Arab Leaders Turn On Hamas & Trump Team Pursues Russia Peace Deal
Am Helm des SSD ist Colonel General Andrei Averyanov, ein Veteran der russischen Tschechischen Kriege und eine wichtige Figur in der Annexierung von Crimea. Wollte von tschechischen Behörden für seine vorgesehene Rolle in dieser tödlichen 2014er Ammunition-Depot-Explosion, unterschreibt Averyanovs Bedeutung Moskaus wachsende Willen, direkte, hohe Risiko-Operationen gegen den Westen abzuhalten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Merz, whose center-right Christian Democratic Union won the largest share of the vote in Germany's federal election in late February, is hoping to form a viable governing coalition by Easter alongside the Social Democratic SPD party that would enable him to pursue increases in defense spending and potential nuclear sharing agreements with Britain and France.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
It's Monday, the 10th of March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, following President Trump's sharp reversal of U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
On Sunday, Mertz said, quote, sharing nuclear weapons is an issue that we need to talk about. We have to become stronger together in nuclear deterrence. We should talk with both countries, always also from the perspective of supplementing the American nuclear shield, which we, of course, want to see maintained, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
But it's not just Germany that has their eye on acquiring a nuclear deterrent. Mertz's remarks came just two days after Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country was already engaged in serious talks to gain some of France's nuclear arsenal for protection. That's according to a report from the New York Post.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Tusk said Friday, quote, Poland must pursue the most advanced capabilities, including nuclear and modern unconventional weapons. This is a serious race, a race for security, not for war, end quote. The remarks followed the EU's emergency summit in Brussels last Thursday, which aimed to boost defensive spending among the bloc's members after President Trump indefinitely paused U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine. In blistering remarks following the summit, Tusk took Europe to task over their failure to take unified and decisive actions against Russia when they first invaded Ukraine more than three years ago.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
He argued that Moscow would have been helpless against a unified Europe, but said, quote, Cowardice among the continent's leaders prevented them from mounting the proper response, leaving them now in a vulnerable position. Tusk told his Parliament Friday, quote, our deficit has been the lack of the will to act, having no confidence, and sometimes even cowardice, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Given the current stakes of the war, with Russia pressing their perceived battlefield advantage over a newly hamstrung Ukraine, Tusk argues that nuclear weapons are needed to ensure that Poland does not suffer the same fate as Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Tusk added that Poland is working to build an armed force of 500,000 soldiers and is instituting a nationwide plan to ensure every adult male in Poland undergoes military training. For context, Poland currently has an army of roughly 200,000, and that's the third largest in NATO after the US and Turkey.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
policies on Ukraine last week, European nations are now scrambling to find their own solutions to countering Russian aggression, with Germany and Poland considering a nuclear deterrent. Later in the show, the Hamas terrorist group has reportedly proposed a five-to-ten-year truce with Israel to end the war in Gaza, following direct talks with the Trump administration's hostage affairs envoy.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Furthermore, Tusk signaled that Poland will likely withdraw from a number of international treaties banning the use of certain bombs and other munitions as they work to beef up their weapons stockpile, though he said Poland is committed to maintaining a strong relationship with the US, which provides Poland with most of its weapons.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Still, the Prime Minister warned that given the events of last week, the continent must prepare for a future where they cannot rely on the U.S. to come to their aid. Coming up next, Hamas has reportedly proposed a five- to ten-year truce with Israel to end the war in Gaza after the Trump administration's hostage affairs envoy engaged in direct talks with the Iranian-backed terror group.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
I'll have those details when we come back. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash. Now, saving and investing, well, can feel impossible, but with Stash, it's not just possible, it's easy. Stash isn't just an investing app. It's a registered investment advisor that combines automated investing with dependable financial strategies to help you reach your goals faster.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
They'll provide you with personalized advice on what to invest in based on your goals, or if you wanna just sit back and watch your money go to work, Well, you can opt into their award-winning, expert-managed portfolio that picks the stocks for you. Stash has helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals and starts at just $3 per month. Don't let your savings just sit around.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
to the afternoon bulletin. For the first time, Hamas has publicly floated the prospect of a long-term truce with Israel, proposing a five to 10 year ceasefire that would see the terror group disarm and cede political control over Gaza. And that's drawing cautious optimism from American officials.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
President Trump's hostage affairs envoy, Adam Bollard, who held direct talks with Hamas, called the proposal, quote, not a bad first offer in an interview with the Israeli public broadcaster Khan on Sunday. Under the proposed framework, the U.S. would be responsible for ensuring that Hamas does not rebuild its tunnel networks or resume terror activities in the enclave.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Bowler's initial mission was narrowly focused on securing the release of an American-Israeli hostage believed to be alive, as well as retrieving the bodies of four American-Israeli dual citizens. But the scope of his negotiations quickly broadened, expanding into discussions over a ceasefire agreement that could take shape in the coming weeks.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. As European nations begin to question whether they can rely on the US for military protection from Russia, leaders in Germany and Poland are now looking to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. I don't see how this could go wrong.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Bowler told CNN that, quote, I believe there is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what they've accepted and what Israel wants and it's accepted, end quote. In an effort to ease Israeli skepticism, Bowler has been in contact with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. He's a top negotiator and Prime Minister Netanyahu's inner circle.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
His objective, he said, was to, quote, jumpstart some negotiations that were in a very fragile place and press Hamas on whether this offer was a genuine step toward de-escalation. According to Israeli authorities, Hamas is still holding 24 living hostages and the remains of 35 Israeli captives.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
A working-level Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Qatar today, with Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff following on Tuesday. These talks, described by officials as the most serious round of Israel-Hamas talks since Trump took office, could determine whether the proposal has real traction or is dead on arrival.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Yet the viability of any ceasefire agreement may ultimately hinge on Israeli domestic politics. Netanyahu is racing against the clock to pass the national budget by the 31st of March, while his coalition remains bitterly divided over enlisting ultra-Orthodox men to the military, as well as some budget disagreements.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
Failure to pass a budget could collapse the government, forcing new elections and throwing negotiations with Hamas into limbo. An anonymous source familiar with the talks told NPR that Netanyahu may prioritize resolving his political crisis before committing to any ceasefire deal, especially one that could provoke backlash from his hardline allies.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Monday, the 10th of March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And in the event that you've somehow missed this bit of important news, if you'd like to listen to the show ad-free, well, you can do that. Simply become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe. Stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said Sunday that he would like to see his country engage in talks with France and Britain, the only European nations, of course, with nuclear weapons, about sharing their stockpile, though he stressed that they were not a substitute for U.S. nuclear protection on the continent, and that's according to a report from Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 10th, 2025: Germany Wants Nukes & Hamas Floats Five-To-Ten-Year Truce With Israel
For context, a number of international treaties bound Germany to only engage in non-nuclear defense due to their history during World War II. However, they do participate in NATO weapons-sharing arrangements.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
And that's been a longstanding source of concern among lawmakers. Überraschend ist, dass die chinesische Embassie in einem Statement zur New York Times gesagt hat, dass Beijing die Entscheidung nicht erkennt und beurteilt, dass Beijing, wenn ihre Interessen beeinflusst werden, internationalen Regeln reichlich reichlich countermeasures nehmen würde, wenn ihre Interessen beeinflusst würden.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Despite the legal victory, Missouri's ability to collect the 24 billion remains improbable. China is almost certain to ignore the ruling entirely. But Bailey's threats of farmland seizures actually could set the stage for a broader standoff, especially as tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high over trade disputes and espionage concerns and national security threats.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 10 March. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And if you didn't have a chance over the weekend to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report, well, don't fret.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
That's a decision that the state attorney's general calls a landmark victory. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. As we've been reporting here on the PDB, Syria has been a powder keg since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and now, well, the fuse may have been lit.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
It and past episodes are waiting for you on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, and also, of course, on podcast platforms where you get your podcast stuff. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
The interim government, led by former Al-Qaeda member Ahmed al-Sharah, was supposed to restore order, but instead, the country is now spiraling into its worst violence since Assad's fall. Rebel factions remain fractured, and efforts to unify them into a national army have failed.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Krieg hat in den letzten Tagen über Syrien explodiert, mit schweren Konflikten zwischen Sicherheitskräften und Assad-Loyalisten in den östlichen Städten von Latakia und Tartus. Viel der Gewalt wird in Alawite-Strongholds konzentriert, Bereiche, die stark loyal zu Assad sind, der selbst aus der Alawite-Sektion kam. The death toll is alarming.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Hundreds of civilians have been killed since Thursday, along with at least 150 security personnel. Government forces say another 300 have been captured. Eyewitnesses describe execution-style killings and reports indicate hospitals have been attacked.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Syria's transitional government is scrambling to regain control, forming an emergency committee to investigate human rights violations and vowing to hold security forces accountable for excessive force. But so far, well, those promises aren't slowing the bloodshed.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports at least 745 civilians that have been killed in 30 massacres targeting Alawites along the West Coast. And while the government insists it's cracking down, its own forces have been accused of carrying out some of the worst atrocities. Viele Alawite haben sich nach Asads Angriff involviert, aber nicht alle.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Diejenigen, die sich gearmt haben, sind nun in brutalen Konflikten mit Sicherheitskräften verbunden, um es unklar zu machen, wer eigentlich in Kontrolle ist. Der Chef der syrischen Intelligenz schuldet die ehemaligen Regime-Militär- und Sicherheitsbeamten für die Angriffe.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Währenddessen schlägt die Regierung hart zurück, die Operationen gegen Pro-Assad-Fighter in Assads Heimat und umgekehrter Bereiche an. Berichte zeigen, dass gesamte Gemeinschaften in Kriegszonen werden. Die Behörden in Tartus haben einen Flur gelegt, um Zivile in Konfliktzonen zu vermeiden.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Social-Media-Videos zeigen intensivere Feuerstürme, Städte in den Straßen und militärische Verwaltungen, die in die schwersten Bereiche einsteigen. Some footage even captures clashes near the Russian air base in Latakia, raising concerns of broader consequences beyond Syria's borders. Regional powers have offered comments on the renewed violence.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Saudi Arabia, which has come out in support of the new government, has condemned the bloodshed, blaming outlaw groups for the attacks. Meanwhile, Iran, one of Assad's key allies, of course, has expressed concern over the violence. Really? Really? The number one state sponsor of terrorism on the planet is expressing concern over violence.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
It's almost like the mullahs and the IRGC don't have a sense of irony. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman condemned the bloodshed. He also warned that the chaos could be exploited by outside forces, particularly Israel. Yep, no sense of irony. For his part, Interim President Ahmed al-Sharra is downplaying the chaos.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Speaking from a mosque in Damascus on Sunday, he called the crisis one of the, quote, expected challenges that Syria would face. He added, we must preserve national unity and civil peace as much as possible and we will be able to live together in this country, end quote. But right now, the unity is, well, nowhere to be found.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
With Assad-Loyalists, rival factions and government forces battling for control, Syria's future looks increasingly unstable. Alright, coming up next. Europe backs a 53 billion dollar plan to rebuild Gaza despite US and Israeli pushback. And South Korea's impeached president is released ahead of his trial. I'll be right back. This podcast is brought to you in part by Stash.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Saving and investing can feel impossible, but with Stash, well, it's not only possible, it's easy. Stash isn't just an investing app. It's a registered investment advisor that combines automated investing with dependable financial strategies to help you reach your goals faster. They'll provide you with personalized advice on what to invest in based on your goals.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Or if you just want to sit back and watch your money go to work, You can opt into their award-winning, expert-managed portfolio that picks stocks for you. Stash has helped millions of Americans reach their financial goals and it starts at just $3 per month. Don't let your savings just sit around. Make that money work for you.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Go to get.stash.com.pdb to see how you can receive $25 towards your first stock purchase and a few important disclosures. That's get.stash.com.pdb. Now this is a paid non-client endorsement, not representative of all clients and not a guarantee. Investment Advisory Service is offered by Stash Investments LLC. That's an SEC-registered investment advisor. And of course, investing involves risk.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Es ist Montag, der 10. März. Willkommen bei der Presse-Daily Brief. Ich bin Mike Baker, eure Augen und Ohren auf der Welt-Stage. Okay, lasst uns berichten. Wir fangen mit dem Letzten aus Syrien an, wo das Land seit dem Fall des ehemaligen Präsidenten Bashar al-Assad die schlimmste Gewalt in der Welt.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
And as they say, the offer is subject to terms and conditions. Welcome back to the PDB. Despite the United States and Israel's rejection, the Arab-backed Gaza reconstruction plan is gaining momentum among key European allies, including France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Unveiled last week at an Arab summit in Cairo,
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
The $53 billion proposal has been described by European foreign ministers as a, quote, realistic path to rebuilding Gaza, while reiterating, Hamas must neither govern the enclave nor pose a threat to Israel in the future.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
In a joint statement, the ministers emphasized that the Palestinian Authority, known as the PA, should play a, quote, central role in managing a post-war Gaza within a, quote, solid political and security framework, end quote. The Arab-backed plan envisions a six-month transitional period in which an independent committee of technocrats governs before handing power to a retrained PA.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Nun, es gibt noch keine echten Details, wer genau verantwortlich sein wird, um die palästinensische Autorität zurückzuentwickeln. Und unabhängig vom Dokument ist keine klare Strategie für das Neutralisieren von Hamas. Stattdessen suggerieren sie, dass Terrorgruppen durch einen breiteren politischen Prozess, der auf die Städtheit gelegt wird, behandelt werden sollen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Ja, das klingt sicherlich nützlich. Diese Ausgabe wurde von israelischen Offizieren beschlossen, die ihre stanche Opposition zu irgendeinem Framework reaffirmen, das Hamas aus dem Enklave nicht explizit auslösen kann. Die israelische Führung hat es klar gemacht, dass eine Zwei-State-Solution nicht auf dem Tisch ist.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
The Egyptian-led initiative has been framed as a counterpoint to the vision put forth by President Trump, who last month floated the idea of resettling Palestinians outside Gaza, 2.3 million of them, and transforming the enclave into what he called the, quote, Riviera of the Middle East, under US ownership.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Diese Vorschläge, das ist eine Überraschung, wurden von Ägypten, Jordan und anderen regionalen Spielern aufgerufen, die die nationalen Sicherheitsrisiken beurteilt haben und die Verschuldung haben, verschlossene Ausflüge anzunehmen. Und wie wir in der Vergangenheit auf dem PDB diskutiert haben, haben Ägypten, Jordan und die anderen arabischen Staaten einen totalen Interesse auf die ca.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
2,3 Millionen Besitzer von Gaza. The US and Israel firmly rejected, though, the Arab-backed plan, and Israeli foreign ministry spokesmen dismissed it as outdated, saying it fails to reflect the realities of the war following the 7 October 2023 terror attacks orchestrated by the Iranian-backed Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
These spokesmen further condemned its reliance on what he characterized as corrupt and ineffective institutions such as the PA and the UN's refugee agency UNRWA, which he accused of complicity in terrorism. Meanwhile, American officials have cast doubt on the feasibility of any immediate reconstruction.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Mit den gebrochenen Rebellfaktionen und den jetzt wieder kämpfenden Assad-Loyalisten, wächst der Chaos. Und wir haben das Letzte. Later in the show, a $53 billion Arab-backed plan to rebuild Gaza is now gaining European support, despite pushback from the US and Israel.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes argued that given the sheer scale of destruction, the notion of rebuilding remains premature until Gaza is cleared of debris and unexploded ordnance. But not everyone in Trump's orbit is dismissing the Arab plan outright. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff called the proposal a, quote, good faith first step.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Still, he was quick to emphasize that it does not align with Trump's non-negotiable demand for a Hamas-free Gaza. With divisions widening between the US, Israel and European allies, the question remains, can a unified vision for post-war Gaza emerge? Or will competing agendas consign the enclave to indefinite limbo? Well, history would seem to indicate that limbo is the likely result.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Okay, shifting to South Korea's ongoing political crisis. A court on Friday ordered the release of impeached President Yun Suk-yeol from jail. The ruling raises the possibility that Yun could stand trial for rebellion without being physically detained.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
As our regular PDB listeners will recall, Yun was arrested and indicted in January, after declaring martial law on 3 December, in a move that briefly deployed troops and police to the National Assembly. Yun's decree sparked immediate backlash, with liberal opposition lawmakers forcing their way into the assembly hall, nullifying it unanimously within hours.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Days later, the opposition-controlled parliament moved to impeach him, suspending him from office. The Seoul Central District Court ruled Friday that Yoon's legal detention period had expired before his indictment, leading to his release.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
The court also raised concerns over the legality of the investigation, with Yoon's defense team arguing that the agency behind his arrest lacked the authority to probe charges of rebellion. That said, South Korean law allows prosecutors to temporarily hold a suspect while pursuing an appeal. And that's a step that the opposition Democratic Party is now pushing for.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court, which concluded impeachment hearings in late February, is expected to issue a ruling soon on whether to formally remove Yoon from office or reinstate him. Should the court uphold his impeachment, Yoon would be officially ousted, triggering a new presidential election within two months.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
If the court rejects the impeachment, but he remains entangled in legal proceedings, the question remains how, or even if, he could resume his presidential powers. Complicating matters further, as if they needed even more complication, a conviction on rebellion charges carries a sentence of life in prison or even the death penalty.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
While sitting presidents generally enjoy immunity from prosecution, South Korean law makes an exception for crimes like treason and rebellion, opening the door for legal action. Yoon's defense team welcomed the expired detention period ruling, calling for his immediate release, while his presidential office expressed hope that he could return to work soon.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
But the decision has only deepened the country's already bitter political divide. Supporters argue that Yun's martial law decree was necessary to counteract legislative paralysis, while critics see it as an authoritarian overreach reminiscent of past military rule in the country.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Plus, a South Korean court has ordered the release of impeached President Yun Suk-yol, setting the stage for his trial on rebellion charges. We'll have those details. Und in heute's Back of the Brief, this is an interesting story, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the U.S. state of Missouri in its 24 billion, that's billion with a B, lawsuit against China's Communist Party over COVID-19.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Further fueling tensions, top military and police officials recently testified that Yun ordered security forces to obstruct a parliamentary vote and even detain opposition lawmakers. Yun, for his part, insists that his deployment of troops was not meant to suppress democratic processes, but rather to expose what he calls obstructionist tactics by the Democratic Party.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
As large-scale rallies by opponents and supporters of Yun erupt across the country, the constitutional court's impending decision carries enormous stakes. Alright, coming up in the back of the brief. The US state of Missouri wins a major lawsuit against China over COVID-19. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
In today's back of the brief, Missouri has won a major legal battle against China, with a federal judge ruling in favor of the state's massive $24 billion lawsuit against the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP. Now you just have to collect those funds from the CCP. Ah, there's the rub. The case accuses Beijing of hoarding protective medical supplies during the pandemic.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Das Gesetz, das am Freitag verabschiedet wurde, ist das größte Verurteilung in Missouris Geschichte.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Das Gesetz, das im Jahr 2020 verabschiedet wurde, wurde von dem damaligen Gerichtsvorsitzenden Eric Schmidt verabschiedet, dass China die Produktion, Verkauf und Ausbau von medizinischen Nahrungsmitteln, insbesondere persönlicher Schutzgeräte, verhindert, dass unbekanntes Verletzungen und ökonomische Verlust entstehen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
Initially dismissed by a lower court, the case was revived in January after an appeals court allowed Missouri to move forward with claims related to supply hoarding. Judge Stephen Limbaugh ruled that Missouri provided enough evidence to establish liability.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
delivering the massive $24 billion judgment against multiple Chinese entities, including the People's Republic of China, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Emergency Management, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated the ruling, stating, "...this is a landmark victory for Missouri and the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 10th, 2025: Syria Erupts In Bloodshed & Gaza Reconstruction Plan Divides the West
in the fight to hold China accountable for unleashing COVID-19 on the world." On social media, Baileys rhetoric took a more taunting tone, posting, quote, Hey China, you owe Missouri 24 billion dollars. Pay up or we start seizing assets and farmland. His comments were a pointed reference to the more than 42,000 acres of Missouri farmland owned by Chinese entities as of August 2024.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
It's almost like a terrorist organization, a creature of the Iranian regime, wants to dictate the terms of a ceasefire after starting this war with the slaughter of over a thousand Israeli citizens. But perhaps that makes me sound churlish. The next release was set to take place this Saturday, February 15th.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
It's Monday, 10 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, Hamas has announced that it's delaying the release of Israeli hostages until further notice, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Three Israeli hostages, taken during Hamas's October 7 attacks, were supposed to be freed in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. This would have been the sixth swap since the ceasefire began last month. So far, 16 Israeli hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been exchanged.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
In total, 17 Israeli hostages were still due to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire, eight of whom Israel says are dead. But now, Hamas is suspending the process indefinitely. A cynic, of course, would say that it's because they don't have any more living hostages or they don't know where they are. Predictably, Israel has responded forcefully to the announcement.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Defense Minister Israel Katz called Hamas' decision a, quote, complete violation of the ceasefire deal and said he has ordered the Israeli military to maintain the highest level of alert for any possible scenario in Gaza. Katz warned, quote, we will not allow a return to the reality of October 7th.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation is currently in Qatar negotiating the second phase of the hostage deal, which could see more captives released. However, it's unclear how today's developments will impact those talks or if the ceasefire itself will hold.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
For now, tension is, of course, rising, and the next move from either side could determine whether negotiations continue or if the conflict escalates once again. As we reported this morning on the BDB, the most recent hostage exchange over the weekend sparked outrage due to the condition of the released Israeli hostages.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Doctors have confirmed that the three men, all abducted during Hamas's October 7 attacks, returned severely malnourished and suffering from multiple health complications, including heart disorders and infections. Their condition has only heightened concerns about the welfare of those still in captivity.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Coming up next, President Trump says he's already been on the phone with Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine. I'll have those details after the break. to the Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
President Trump claims he privately spoke with Russian President Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, hinting that Russian negotiators are eager to meet with their American counterparts, yet details remain scarce.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
In an interview with the New York Post aboard Air Force One on Friday, Trump declined to specify how many times he's spoken with Putin, offering only a cryptic, quote, I better not say. Trump insisted he has a plan to end the war, but kept specifics under wraps, adding, quote, I hope it's fast. Every day people are dying and I want to end this damn thing, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
The president suggested that economic pressure through tariffs and oil price cuts could force Russia to the negotiating table, though the Kremlin has dismissed such claims in the past. More strikingly, he floated the idea of Washington engaging with Moscow without Kiev's direct involvement, stating, quote, Let's get these meetings going. They want to meet.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Every day people are dying, young men like my sons on both sides, end quote. But despite Trump's confidence, well, Moscow remains tight-lipped. Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov stated that, quote, communications between Moscow and Washington occur through different channels. Well, that's pretty cryptic. The Kremlin on Sunday refused to confirm any talks between the leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Israel calls it a complete breach of the deal and is now preparing for, quote, any possible scenario in Gaza. Later in the show, President Trump reveals he's already spoken with Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, saying his Russian counterpart, quote, wants to see people stop dying. Well, then I guess he probably shouldn't have started the war in the first place.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
However, analysts argue that Putin has little incentive to negotiate. Nearly three years into the war, can you believe that? Three years into the war, Russia is closer than ever to securing its core military objectives in Ukraine, making a diplomatic resolution unlikely, and that's according to assessments from both Western and Russian analysts interviewed by the Associated Press.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, who joined Trump's interview, declined to verify whether Trump had spoken with Putin, but acknowledged that, quote, "...there are certainly a lot of sensitive conversations going on. Everybody's talking cryptically." He added that U.S. diplomats would be in Europe this week to discuss potential pathways to end the war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
According to Waltz, leaders, including India's prime minister and China's president, as well as figures across the Middle East, signaled willingness to assist Trump in brokering a peace deal. But what that actually looks like, well, that remains unclear.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Waltz suggested that Trump's strategy would lean heavily on economic leverage, stating, "...the President is prepared to put all of those issues on the table this week, including the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
He also indicated that Trump would push for Europe to take the lead on Ukraine's long-term security, stating, "...President Trump is going to end it, and then, in terms of security guarantees, that's squarely going to be with the Europeans." On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly vowed to end the war, emphasizing the staggering loss of life.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Trump told the Post on Friday, quote, all those dead people, they're like your kids, two million of them, and for no reason. Adding that Putin also, quote, wants to see people stop dying, end quote. But Ukrainian President Zelensky made clear that he's deeply skeptical of Trump's approach. warning that it could sideline Kyiv entirely.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Zelensky told the AP, quote, Putin wants to deal directly with Trump cutting out Kyiv. Well, he's not wrong. That would be a stark departure from the Biden administration's nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine policy, which insists that Ukraine must be a central player in peace negotiations. Well, there's some logic to that, given that they're the invaded country.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Zelensky warned that allowing Russia to dictate the terms of peace would embolden authoritarian regimes in China, North Korea, and Iran, setting a dangerous precedent for global security. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Monday, 10 February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbathefirsttv.com.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
And, as you may have already learned from the gossip columns, To listen to the show ad-free, it's very simple. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We begin with breaking news. Hamas has announced that it's halting the scheduled release of Israeli hostages, claiming that Israel has failed to uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement. In a statement from its armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigade,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB afternoon Bulletin | February 10th, 2025: Hamas Suspends Hostage Exchanges Indefinitely & Trump Talks To Putin
Hamas accused Israel of blocking displaced Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, targeting civilians with shelling and restricting the flow of humanitarian aid. They claimed Hamas had fully complied with the ceasefire, oh, and they stated that hostage releases would remain on hold until Israel met with what the terror group is calling past week's obligations. Huh.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Starmer hat am Sonntag einen Ursprungssummit der europäischen Leiter in London gegründet, wo die Kontinente um Zelenskyy gefeiert hat und gesagt hat, dass die Gruppe eine Versammlungsplanung mit den USA anbieten würde, und das laut einem Bericht von Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Frankreich nimmt die Führung auf die Bemühungen, einen einen Monat langen Ausbruch und initialen Krieg vorzunehmen, den sie hoffen, als Grundlage für zukünftige Friedensverträge mit Russland zu sein. Französischer Präsident Emmanuel Macron sagte, dass, wenn ein initialer Ausbruch zwischen Kiew und Moskau gehalten wird,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Well, a second phase would see the deployment of a European coalition of ground troops to Ukraine to serve as a deterrence against future Russian aggression. Now, it's worth noting that the Putin regime has repeatedly stated that they will not agree to any form of a EU peacekeeping mission being deployed inside Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
At this time, only France and Britain have committed to sending troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire, though they want the support of the US to serve as what they call a backstop against Moscow.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
After the meeting on Sunday, the French foreign minister said, "...such a truce on air, sea and energy infrastructure would allow us to determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is acting in good faith when he commits to a truce." He added, "...and that's when real peace negotiations could start."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Despite the lofty goal, there have been no public endorsements of Macron's initial proposal from other European allies. Zelensky, for his part, said Sunday that he was aware of the French proposal and reiterated that any ceasefire must come with explicit security guarantees from the West to ensure that the Putin regime does not try to attack Ukraine again at some point in the future.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Starmer hat nicht auf andere mögliche Wege vorwärts überwiesen, aber hat den Berichtern am Sonntag gesagt, dass es klar einige Optionen auf der Tafel gibt.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Wie wir vorhin auf dem PDB erwähnt haben, waren europäische Leiter, naja, überrascht, überrascht und tiefst überrascht, nach dem Oval Office-Gespräch zwischen Trump und Zelensky, welches viele privat gesagt haben, eine Verletzung von der Ukraine von der Trump-Administration betrug.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
One anonymous senior official told Reuters that Trump must decide whether he wants to, quote, call himself a leader of the free world or leader of an extortion gang, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Friedrich Mertz, der konservative Führer, der zu Deutschland nächstes Kanzler geworden ist, nannte die Ausrufung des Oberbürgermeisters eine, Quote, manufakturierte Eskalation, bestätigte, dass die Trump-Administration eine Schmerze für den ukrainischen Führer setzte. Jetzt haben die White-House-Affiziere negiert, dass das Oberbürgermeister-Geschehen vorgeplant oder ein Angriff war.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Mertz sagte, es sei jetzt in Europa, um zu beweisen, Quote, dass wir in einer Position sind, unabhängig zu arbeiten. The diplomatic incident seems to have provoked European leaders into action, and many on the continent are still working, though, to keep the U.S. on side.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Peter Mandelson, Britain's ambassador to the U.S., called for a reset in U.S.-Ukrainian relations, conceding that Trump's peace initiative with Russia remains, quote, the only show in town. Although at this stage there are no details regarding the specifics of a peace plan and thus far no indications that Putin has any intention of compromising on his hardline approach to Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
It's Monday, 3 March. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. First up, European leaders are scrambling to put together their own peace plans to end Russia's war in Ukraine, following the well-publicized explosive meeting at the White House last Friday between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
The European Union will hold an emergency summit on Thursday to discuss collectively boosting spending on defense in order to show the Trump administration that the continent is up to the task of protecting itself. So, how is the US reacting to these developments?
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Well, while Trump has not directly commented on the flurry of activity from European leaders over the weekend, White House National Security Advisor Mike Walz said they were glad to see Europe stepping up to take the lead on the continent's security. He noted, however, that they must also aggressively increase their defensive spending so that they have the capabilities to follow through.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
As for a reset in relations with Ukraine, Waltz said, "...what we need to hear from President Zelensky is that he has regret for what happened, he's ready to sign this minerals deal, and that he's ready to engage in peace talks." Waltz continued, "...I don't think that's too much to ask. We're certainly looking to move forward in a positive way."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Well, I suppose if you squint and you look at that comment sideways in the right light, you could interpret it as an indication that the White House hasn't completely shut the door on Ukraine. Up next, Germany suffers another car-ramming attack, which left two dead and several others with serious injuries. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker hier.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Willkommen zurück im Nachhinein-Bulletin. Deutschland hat sich wieder einmal durch einen schrecklichen Fahrrad-Ramm-Inzidenz gerockt, nachdem ein Fahrer in Mannheim, Deutschland, am Montag eine Gruppe in Mannheim verbreitet hat, die mindestens zwei Menschen getötet hat und mehrere andere ernsthaft verletzt hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Die Polizei hat den Anwalt schnell verabschiedet, aber sie haben noch nicht die Motivation des Anwaltes formuliert. Der Fahrer, identifiziert als ein 40-jähriger Deutscher aus dem nahen Staat von Rhineland-Palatinate, bleibt in Gefängnis, so ein deutscher Innenminister.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
The deadly incident took place in the heart of Mannheim's downtown square, that's a bustling pedestrian zone, packed with people around midday, many of whom were on their lunch breaks. According to CNN, a witness reported seeing a car speed into a crowd, followed almost immediately by screams.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
The square was particularly crowded due to the ongoing Rose Monday Carnival celebrations, that's a festival that precedes the beginning of Lent. Other witnesses told Reuters that they saw multiple victims lying on the ground as emergency responders worked frantically to resuscitate at least two people.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
A nearby hospital confirmed that it was treating three victims, including a child, though it remains unclear if other medical facilities have taken in additional patients. Die Behörden haben nicht offiziell den Angriff als eine Art von Terror bezeichnet, aber die deutsche Regierung hat schnell das, was sie als eine extreme Gefährdungswarnung für die Stadt bezeichnet haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Es ist ein Signal einer erhöhten Sicherheitswahrnehmung. In Stunden wurden Bilder von einem stark beschädigten schwarzen Auto, das innerhalb des Polizeipyramids sitzt, veröffentlicht. Für den Moment behauptet die Gefährtin, dass der Verbrecher alleine gearbeitet hat.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Aber die Natur des Verbrechens hat eine sofortige Alarmung erzeugt, nachdem Deutschland in letzter Zeit mit Fahrzeugabbrüchen verbreitet wurde. Just last month, as we covered here on the PDB, a 24-year-old Afghan asylum seeker rammed his car into a labor union demonstration in Munich, killing a two-year-old girl and her mother.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Authorities later revealed that the driver had an Islamic extremist motive. Dieser Terrorangriff hat nur Tage vor dem Vize-Präsidenten J.D. Vance an der Münchner Sicherheitskonferenz stattgefunden, eine frische Spur auf die Handlung von radikalen Threaten in Deutschland. Und das war nicht der einzige aktuelle Angriff.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Im Dezember schlug ein Fahrer durch einen Weihnachtsmarkt in Ostdeutschland, tötete sechs und verletzte mehr als 200. That terror attack reignited fears about vehicle-ramming tactics, which have been repeatedly used in acts of terror and mass violence across Europe in recent years.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Später in der Show stellt Deutschland eine extreme Gefahrwarnung vor, nachdem ein weiterer fähiger Angriff mindestens zwei Menschen tot ist und mehrere andere mit ernsthaften Verletzungen. Aber zuerst heutes Abend-Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Now, as investigators work to determine whether Monday's tragedy was intentional, ideologically driven, or the result of another factor, officials in Mannheim are urging the public to remain vigilant. And that, my friends... Ich bin Mike Baker und ich werde morgen wieder da sein. Bis dann, bleibt informiert, bleibt sicher, bleibt cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Nach der letzten Woche des Oval Offices-Vertrags zwischen US-Präsident Trump und ukrainischer Präsident Zelenskyj sind europäische Leiter nun am Arbeiten, ihre eigenen Vorschläge für Frieden zu erstellen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 3rd, 2025: UK And France Propose Russia-Ukraine Truce & Another Ramming Attack In Germany
Am Montag sagte britischer Bundespräsident Keir Starmer, dass es mehrere mögliche Vorschläge gibt, um eine Ausstattung in der Ukraine mit NATO-Alliierten zu diskutieren, obwohl Offiziere beurteilen, dass sie die Unterstützung der Trump-Administration weiterhin benötigen würden, um letztendlich effektiv zu sein.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Pointing to its existing ban on fuel sales to Russian forces imposed after President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The company's abrupt decision comes as part of a broader wave of European fallout following the contentious Oval Office meeting, which left many across the Atlantic questioning the future of US support for Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The Norwegian firm blasted Fridays Exchange, boldly branding the exchange as, quote, the biggest shitshow ever presented live on TV. And frankly, I had no idea that there was a word for shitshow in the Norwegian language. See, you learn something new every day on the PDB. Despite the company's defiant stance, Norway's government quickly moved to distance itself from the controversy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
In a statement Sunday, Norway's defense minister made clear that official policy remains unchanged. He stated, quote, We've seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegians' government policy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The Minister reaffirmed to Reuters that American forces would continue to receive the necessary logistical support to maintain Norway's defense commitments as a NATO ally. However, the move by the petroleum firm, well, raises larger questions about Europe's growing discontent with US policy on Ukraine, particularly... as Trump's handling of the war comes under increasing scrutiny from EU leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
It's unclear if other European countries will follow suit with similar bans. Alright, coming up in the back of the brief. As anti-Semitic protests erupt at Columbia and Barnard, pro-Israel activists push the Trump administration to strip federal funding from the university. I'll be right back. Und in today's Back of the Brief.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Well, like the swallows to Capistrano, the anti-Semite students and their professional activist organizers have once again roosted in New York City. Pro-Humas protests are back on the campus of Columbia University.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Last week, dozens of anti-Israel protesters donning Hamas-style keffiyeh headscarves to hide their identities, that's brave, took over a building at Columbia's Barnard College for several hours, assaulting a school employee in the process, who was subsequently hospitalized. And that's according to a report from the New York Post.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The Masked Group, led by members of Columbia's Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine – oh, we know all about them, you should do your due diligence – said they were protesting the expulsion of two students who stormed into classrooms in January and threw around flyers loaded with anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
In a video posted to social media by the group, whose bio reads Long live the student Intifada, protesters can be seen occupying Milbank Hall, the oldest building on campus, while beating drums and chanting hateful slurs through a megaphone. Well, the drums are always a nice touch.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
As anti-Semitic protests once again erupt on the campus of Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, well, pro-Israel activists are demanding that the Trump administration step in to remove the university's federal funding. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. The fallout from Friday's Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President J.D.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The group later issued a long list of extreme demands, including a reversal of the expulsions, blanket amnesty for any students punished during last year's anti-Israel campus protests, the abolition of Barnards disciplinary process, what else are they asking for? Oh, look at that, a pony for every protester, and a formal review of all past disciplinary actions related to last year's protests.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
In other words, there should be no consequences for Bethlehem. Ja, das klingt genau richtig. Instead, the protesters graffitied messages on the walls of Milbank Hall, which read, Free Palestine and F-U-C-K Barnard. How imaginative and creative. While the protesters vowed to stay until the demands were met, they subsequently left Milbank Hall just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Well, I need to get something to eat. But on Thursday, the protests reignited, with roughly 100 anti-Israel demonstrators gathering outside Barnard, chanting, quote, one solution, Intifada revolution. Almost rhymes.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
In response to the hateful demonstrations, pro-Israel activists demanded the Trump administration strip federal funding from Columbia University and Barnard College, arguing that the school's administrators have failed to protect Jewish students from the rampant anti-Semitism. according to a report from Israel National News.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
A pro-Israel advocacy group called Stop Antisemitism also sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting they launch an investigation into the radical students for justice in Palestine and revoke visas and deport foreign students involved in the violent protests.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
A spokesman for the group said, The university administration has completely failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, allowing a hostile and dangerous environment to fester unchecked.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
As a reminder, while these protests are far from organic, as we covered during the pro-Palestinian protests that spread across dozens of college campuses last spring, the group in question, Students for Justice in Palestine, receives more than $3 million a year from a litany of charities, including at least at one time a charity with links to Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Their national umbrella organization also praised the 7 October attacks on Israel. Well, that should be a clue. Additionally, Students for Justice in Palestine receives indirect funding from charities linked to liberal financer George Soros, as well as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The group was said to be one of the main coordinators of the protests last spring, and they're once again driving the renewed unrest at Columbia. While the Biden administration took a hands-off approach to the chaos on college campuses, many expect the pro-Israel Trump administration to wield federal funding against universities that fail to crack down on anti-Semitism.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 3 March. Now, I hope you had a chance to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report over the weekend. If not, it and past episodes are available for your viewing pleasure, frankly, on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, as well as all the podcast platforms out there in podcast land.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
And as a public service announcement, to listen to this show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Vance was immediate. European leaders jumped onto social media, firing off a wave of tweets and messages, reassuring Kyiv of their unwavering support. Zelenskyy hat wenig Zeit verwendet, Washington zu verlassen und zurück auf freundliche Schuhe zu gehen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Sein erster Stopp war das Vereinigte Königreich, wo Premierminister Keir Starmer ihn mit offenen Armen auf 10 Downing Street begrüßte, er habe ihm, Quote, die volle Unterstützung aus dem Vereinigten Königreich. Zelenskyy antwortete, dass er froh war, dass die Ukraine, Quote, so gute Freunde hatte.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The two leaders then signed a 2.26 billion pound loan for military supplies, with repayment, as with the previous agreement, coming from profits tied to frozen Russian assets. From there, Zelenskyy joined Starmer and other European leaders at a summit to discuss the future of the war.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
During that series of discussions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sounded the alarm on the continent's urgent need to rearm. After a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defense investment for a prolonged period of time, she said, adding that Europe also needed to show the US that it was ready to defend democracy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Meanwhile, back in the US, well, a different conversation is starting to take shape. And it's a conversation that Putin himself has been eager to promote. Is Zelensky still the man for the job? When asked on CNN, if Trump wants Zelensky to resign, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, well, didn't exactly deny it.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Instead, he said, quote, We need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end the war, end quote. And he went further, adding, quote, if it becomes apparent that President Zelensky's either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed that sentiment, suggesting that maybe a different leader is needed. In an interview with NBC, he put it bluntly, either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, end quote. Hmm.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
So while Zelensky is receiving standing ovations in European capitals, now the conversation in Washington is shifting, even among some of his strongest supporters. Senator Lindsey Graham, who's been one of Ukraine's most vocal advocates, is now suggesting that it may be time for Zelensky to step aside.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Das ist ein wichtiger Schritt und es unterschätzt einen wachsenden Sinn der Frustration in Washington, sowie eine klare Beweise, dass die Republikaner in D.C. nicht zufrieden sind mit Präsident Trump. As mentioned, Wladimir Putin has been pushing the idea of Zelensky as a dictator and the need for elections in Ukraine for some time.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
He clearly believes that if he can get Zelensky to step aside, Russia can work to get a pro-Russian ally in Kiev along the lines of Viktor Orban in Hungary. And now, following the dust up in the Oval Office on Friday, senior Trump administration officials are beating that same drum. So the question for Ukraine is obviously what now?
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
It does seem unlikely in the short term that Zelensky can salvage the relationship with the Trump White House. Putin is undoubtedly emboldened by what he watched on television with a bag of popcorn in his hand. And the EU and NATO, while pledging ongoing support, well, they need to determine what that exactly means.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
EU nations are vowing to increase their spending and support for Kyiv, but there is little chance that they can fill the gap left if the US ends their support. Interessant, in einer Beweise auf die Zukunft, spät am Wochenende, sagte Zelensky, während er im UK war, dass er und seine Regierung bereit sind, den Mineralentwurf zu signen.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Offensichtlich wird das eine Antwort von der US-Gewerkschaft benötigen. Now, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the predicament in an interesting way. Speaking from the tarmac to reporters before flying to the Ukraine emergency summit in London, Tusk noted, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
It's Monday, 3 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Alright, let's get briefed. We'll start with the fallout from Friday's explosive, extremely well publicized, Oval Office argument between Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance. As Zelensky receives a warm welcome in the UK as a follow-up,
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
He added, "...Europe, if there is something we lack today, it is not economic or demographic power, but the belief that we are truly a global force." Now, of course, Tusk didn't mention that those 140 million Russians currently control the world's largest nuclear arsenal. And that has factored into the equation ever since Putin launched his invasion back in February of 2022.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
It's a top-line reason why the West for the past three years has provided Ukraine with just enough support and hardware to maintain what is essentially a stalemate. Das ist der Furcht, Putin und seine 5.500 Kriegsleute zu antagonisieren. Für was es wert ist, ist Frieden offensichtlich das Ziel, ein Ende der Todes- und Zerstörung.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
But after Friday's debacle in the Oval Office, battle lines have now hardened, particularly in the US, over how to get there.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
One side wants peace now, just settle, just reach a deal, which implies, of course, that Putin gets what he wants, all the territory he currently holds, a guarantee that Ukraine never enters NATO, a guarantee that Ukraine shrinks its military, new elections in Kiev, and an easing of sanctions on Russia. That deal, of course, could allow for peace, at least in the short term.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
And that's fine, as long as folks are honest and admit that they're okay with Putin coming out on top, that he's the winner. The other side wants to continue supporting Ukraine in an effort to allow Kyiv to gain the upper hand for a future negotiation, or at least a stronger hand. Alright, coming up next. The Gaza ceasefire's first phase has ended with Hamas rejecting an extension.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
And a Norwegian fuel supplier company is refusing to refuel US Navy ships. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker hier. Look, going online without ExpressVPN is, well, it's like leaving your laptop unattended at the coffee shop while you just dash over to the bathroom, right? Frankly, you wouldn't do that, right? But I mean, maybe most of the time you think to yourself, okay, I'll be fine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
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The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
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The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
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The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
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The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
European leaders are vowing continued support to Ukraine. But what exactly does that mean for Ukraine's ability to fend off Putin and possibly secure a peace deal that doesn't equal appeasement? Later in the show, the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire has officially ended. Now, while a proposal is on the table to extend it, Hamas has shown no interest in agreeing. We'll have the latest.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Welcome back to the BDB. Israel has thrown its weight behind a US-backed plan to extend the fragile ceasefire with Hamas through Ramadan and Passover, setting the stage for a potential release of all remaining hostages. That is, if Hamas agrees. The endorsement came within minutes of the initial ceasefire phase expiring.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The decision on Saturday followed a high-level four-hour meeting led by Prime Minister Netanyahu and attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior defense officials and Israel's negotiating team.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
According to Netanyahu's office, the plan, floated by Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, would extend the ceasefire through the religious holidays, with half of the 59 remaining Israeli hostages both living and dead, released on the first day and the remainder freed by the end of the period.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
However, the proposal is contingent on a permanent ceasefire, and the Israeli Defense Forces have already confirmed that at least 35 of the hostages are already dead. And for background, Ramadan runs until 29 March, while Passover ends on 19 April.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
So far, Hamas has yet to accept the proposal, but Netanyahu's office made it clear that Israel is prepared to move forward, stating that, quote, if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter negotiations on all the details of the Witkow plan, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
While the government stopped short of explicitly threatening to resume hostilities, it pointedly reminded the Iran-backed terror group that under the original agreement, Israel is permitted to restart military operations after 1 March, meaning an Israeli offensive could resume at any moment.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
The proposal comes amid renewed accusations from Netanyahu's government that Hamas has repeatedly violated the ceasefire. Under the original deal, negotiations on a second phase should have begun by day 16, yet that process never materialized.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
At the same time, Israel has refused to withdraw the IDF from the Philadelphia corridor, that's the narrow strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border, despite that step being required under the ceasefire terms. Meanwhile, Israel has announced an immediate halt to all shipments of aid into Gaza, citing Hamas' refusal to accept the Witkow proposal.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Netanyahu's government claims this move has the full backing of Trump's White House, further adding weight to Israel's hardened stance. Netanyahu justifizierte die Entscheidung, by accusing Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid for its own use.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was even more blunt, declaring that Israel would not negotiate a ceasefire without additional hostage releases and calling the aid freeze the official end of what he described as the, quote, free meals policy. Hamas, unvergesslich, verurteilt den Weg.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Der Terrorgruppe hat Israel's Aktionen als, Quote, cheap extortion, a war crime and a blatant attack on the agreement, while urging ceasefire mediators to pressure Israel into reversing its decision. Inside the Israeli war cabinet, the IDF is gearing up for a possible return to full-scale conflict.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
If Hamas does not accept the U.S.-backed proposal, Netanyahu's government has made it abundantly clear. Israel will not remain in diplomatic limbo indefinitely. Now Wyckoff is expected to visit Israel in the coming days to discuss the next steps. Whether those discussions will be about fine-tuning the ceasefire or preparing for renewed military action, well, that now appears to rest with Hamas.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
All right, turning now to Norway, and that's a sentence that I haven't said very often. A private oil firm has enacted an immediate and sweeping ban on fuel sales to U.S. forces docked in the country, citing outrage over President Trump's White House exchange with Ukrainian President Zelensky on Friday.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
In a now deleted social media post, the company made its stance unambiguously clear, declaring, quote, no fuel to Americans, Slava Ukraina, end quote. The Petroleum Giant, which supplied roughly 800,000 gallons of fuel to the US military in 2024 alone, said it would sever all fuel deliveries to American forces and prohibit any American military vessels from refueling at its Norwegian ports.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Plus a Norwegian fuel supplier, a private company, is refusing to refuel U.S. Navy ships, citing President Trump's heated exchange with the Ukrainian president. Now, the Norwegian government, however, obviously a member of NATO, says they'll continue to honor NATO agreements and support to the U.S. military. Und in heute's Back of the Brief.
The President's Daily Brief
March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension
Company owner Gunnar Gran, speaking to a Norwegian Maritime News outlet, didn't mince words, stating, quote, not a liter of fuel will be supplied, vowing that the ban would remain in place, quote, until Trump is finished, referring to, of course, the remainder of his presidential term. Grant emphasized that as a private business, his firm is free to choose its customers. Well, that's true.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
A clearly irritated President Trump accused Zelensky of, quote, gambling with World War III and being very disrespectful to the United States. Things got even more heated when Vance pointed out that Ukraine was dealing with manpower and military recruitment problems. Zelensky responded by saying that war means everybody has problems, even you. And he said that the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
It's Friday, 28 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll kick things off with, well, a once-in-a-lifetime explosive confrontation between President Trump and President Zelensky that played out in front of the world today.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
would eventually feel the war's effects in the future. Well, Trump wasn't having that. He fired back saying, quote, don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel, end quote. In true Trump fashion, the whole episode concluded with the president declaring, quote, this is going to be great television. Well, he wasn't wrong.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Seriously, I cannot do justice to just how big of a goat rope this meeting was. I mean, really, there hasn't been anything comparable in modern times. Shortly after the fireworks ended, the minerals deal that had been on the table was pulled off. Trump reportedly asked Zelensky to leave the White House, ending the meeting rather abruptly.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Later, Trump took to Truth Social to share his thoughts, saying, quote, I've determined that President Zelensky is not ready for peace if America is involved because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don't want advantage. I want peace. He disrespected the United States of America.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
In its cherished Oval Office, he can come back when he's ready for peace, end quote. Zelensky, for his part, took to X after leaving the White House, thanking the U.S. for its support. He wrote, quote, Thank you, America. Thank you for your support. Thank you for this visit. Thank you, POTUS, Congress, and the American people.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that, end quote. Now, let's be clear. Zelensky definitely dropped the ball here. He completely misread the room and what was required on his part. This wasn't a meeting with former President Biden where the US president had made it clear he's a strong supporter of Ukraine and its fight against Russia.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
This was Donald Trump, someone who's been vocal about his skepticism toward continued US funding for Ukraine. Trump has already made it known that he's not exactly keen on the billions of dollars being sent overseas for Ukraine's defense, especially considering his domestic agenda is focused on cutting spending. Zelensky, of all people, should have recognized this dynamic.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Instead of pushing back in any way, he should have been diplomatic, appreciative, especially knowing Trump's stance on foreign aid and U.S. involvement. He and his advisors, meaning Zelensky and his advisors, should have arrived on scene with a very tightly scripted plan. Be humble, appreciative of the past support, and focus on finding common ground with Trump.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Instead, his comments and demeanor only added fuel to the fire, alienating an ally that he clearly needs. Now, in order to salvage this, Zelensky and his team need to sit back down with Trump's team, whether it be Secretary of State Rubio or National Security Advisor Mike Walz, and do whatever is necessary to get that minerals deal signed.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Look, it's not perfect, but it's an important visible and clear step that shows continued alliance with the U.S. and strengthening economic ties between the two countries. Finally, the White House staff, those responsible for orchestrating this meeting that devolved into an unfortunate spectacle, well, they should have also had a very tightly scripted game plan.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
This should never have played out in front of the cameras. Airing the laundry out in the open in front of Putin, allowing him to enjoy the moment, well, that's a net negative.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
The fallout from this televised event will be reverberating for some time, and it will be very important to see how all the various players process what happened, whether it's NATO, the EU, Putin, the Ukrainian population, and whether Zelensky can walk this dog back and figure out a way to both salvage a mineral steel that could be an important step in an eventual peace negotiation,
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
What started as a meeting for an important deal signing quickly turned into a heated exchange, and frankly, well, it didn't end well for anyone. Well, okay, perhaps except for Vladimir Putin and his minions who undoubtedly watched the televised argument with delight. Later in the show, as Mexico extradites nearly 30 high-level cartel leaders and members to the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
but also to salvage his relationship with the US administration. Coming up next, Mexico extradites dozens of top cartel members to the US as new details emerge about a covert CIA drone program targeting major drug kingpins. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. With the threat of new tariffs looming large, Mexico is stepping up its crackdown on violent drug cartel leaders in a historic fashion. On Thursday, Mexico extradited 29 alleged drug cartel members to the United States, including the former leader of the Guadalajara cartel involved in the kidnapping and murder of a DEA agent.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
The unusual handle, said to be one of the biggest extraditions in Mexico's history, marks a major step forward in bilateral security relations between the U.S. and its southern neighbor and comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Mexico City to curb the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the U.S. That's according to a report from the BBC.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Among those extradited were the founders of the brutal Los Zetas criminal syndicate, known as one of Mexico's most dangerous drug cartels, as well as the former boss of the Juarez cartel and a Canadian citizen accused of participating in a massive US and Canadian drug smuggling ring.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
According to the US Justice Department, at least six of the 29 detainees could be subject to the federal death penalty for their many crimes, marking a significant departure for the Mexican government, which has historically resisted extradition requests if the suspects might face capital punishment. In a statement, U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Attorney General Pam Bondi said, "...as President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups. We'll prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers and in some cases given their lives to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Perhaps the most high profile in the group of extradited criminals is notorious drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who has been wanted by U.S. authorities for decades over his involvement in the kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA agent Enrique Kiki Camarena. in 1985, all the way back in 1985.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Quintero was a founding member of Mexico's Guadalajara cartel and helped shape the modern drug trafficking enterprise in Mexico. He had spent 28 years in prison, but was released on a technicality in 2013, much to the frustration of American authorities.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Quintero returned to drug trafficking as a senior leader of the Sinaloa cartel, and he was arrested again in July of 2022 during a raid by the Mexican Navy that resulted in the deaths of 14 Mexican Marines in a helicopter crash, according to a report from CNN.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
DEA Acting Administrator Derek Maltz said Thursday, quote, Caro Quintero, a cartel kingpin who unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA's most wanted fugitive list, and today we can proudly say he's arrived in the U.S. where justice will be served, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
under threats of new tariffs from the Trump administration, we're learning of a covert CIA drone program being used in Mexico to help hunt down major drug kingpins. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
He added that Quintero's extradition represented an extremely personal victory for the men and women of the DEA as well as the Camarena family. The extraditions come as Trump threatened earlier on Thursday to impose a 25% tariff on Mexican imports starting next week over what he said was their continued failure to combat drug trafficking along the U.S. southern border.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
The extraditions were announced following a meeting in Washington on Thursday between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Mexico's foreign minister. Now, in the wake of these extraditions, we're also starting to learn how some of these drug lords were captured.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
According to an exclusive report from the Wall Street Journal, the CIA has been operating a covert drone program in Mexico in partnership with Mexican authorities to spy on drug cartels and hunt down their leadership. The drones, many of them MQ-9 Reapers, operate out of Mexican airfields, employing surveillance technology that can capture a license plate from 20,000 feet above the ground.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
While only just coming to light publicly, the program has been operational for more than two decades, helping authorities map out cartel smuggling operations and clandestine drug labs.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
The drones were reportedly instrumental in the arrest of Sinaloa King Binwakino Chapo Guzman back in 2013 and again in 2016, as well as his son Ovidio Guzman in 2023, who he had taken over cartel operations from his father.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Just last week, the drones helped Mexican authorities track down another one of El Chapo's sons, Iván Guzmán, who has been fighting a turf war with factions within the Sinaloa cartel. If Thursday's extraditions are any indication, it appears pressure from the Trump administration has helped incentivize the Mexican government to bring their fight to the violent drug cartels with renewed vigor.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, 28 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. Finally, don't forget to check out this weekend's episode of our PDB Situation Report. As usual, the new episode launches tonight at 10 p.m. on The First TV and is also available on our YouTube channel.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
What was supposed to be a productive meeting between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky quickly turned into an explosive confrontation, and the whole world got to watch. The meeting was set to finalize a minerals deal, an important minerals deal, but things started going downhill almost immediately once the press was invited into the Oval Office.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
And you can find our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and wherever you get your podcast stuff. We have great guests this weekend, Robert Greenway, former senior advisor to President Trump, and Daniel Turner of the energy-focused organization, Power of the Future. We're talking Gaza, the fragile ceasefire, Ukraine, energy independence in the US, and more. Check it out, please.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
So that would be please check. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the BDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 28th, 2025: Trump Explodes At Zelensky During Heated Meeting & A Secret CIA Drone Program Is Hunting Down Cartel Bosses
Trump and Vance began accusing Zelensky of not showing enough gratitude for the U.S. support over the years after Zelensky interrupted Vance at one point to ask what type of diplomacy Vance thought might work with Putin. And they made it clear also that they felt Zelensky was in a bad position at the negotiating table.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
He also called out China for being the main supplier of fentanyl entering the U.S. and said he would be imposing an additional 10% tariff next week on Chinese imports, on top of the 10% he already imposed earlier this month.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
As you'll recall, Trump first threatened Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs in early February in order to stem the flow of migrants and drugs, as well as to address what he argued were imbalances in the North American Free Trade Pact.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
But Trump paused the tariffs before they could take effect after both countries made promises to beef up border security and increase enforcement against drug traffickers. A White House official said Thursday that while President Trump is pleased with their efforts to reduce migration, he's still deeply concerned over the high levels of fentanyl being trafficked into the country.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Now, Canadian and Mexican officials are meeting with their counterparts in the Trump administration Friday in an attempt to, again, stall the tariffs, which could deal a significant economic blow to both countries. Canada is particularly vulnerable to their effects as roughly 75% of Canadian exports go directly to the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
But economists are also concerned that if implemented, the tariffs could significantly raise the price of consumer goods stateside at a time when Americans are still grappling with inflation and high interest rates. The U.S. is the largest importer of foreign goods, with Mexico, Canada and China making up the U.S. top three global suppliers.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 28 February. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And don't forget, synchronize your watches because the latest episode of our extended weekend show, The PDB Situation Report, airs this evening at 10 p.m. on The First TV.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
You can also catch it, as well as past episodes, on our YouTube channel. And you can find our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief. And as you might suspect, we're on every podcast platform everywhere.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
We'll start things off today with the latest threats from Russian strongman slash despot slash president for life, Vladimir Putin, who is warning European leaders against sabotaging potential rapprochement between Moscow and Washington. How about that? You didn't know that I spoke French, did you? Rapprochement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
We're talking the possibility of a second phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the lack of any alternative governing authority for Gaza, the possible resurgence of Hamas, Trump's meeting with Zelensky, and U.S. energy independence. Give it a listen. It's packed with information, still zero calories. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Until then, well, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
It's Friday, 28 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, Vladimir Putin is warning European leaders not to undermine attempts to restore diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington. His remarks come as Russian and U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Speaking on Thursday to Russia's FSB security service, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB, which he once led, Putin said attempts to reboot long-frozen ties with the U.S. are going well and inspiring, quote, hope across Russia. but accused European leaders of working to undermine their progress. That's according to a report from Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
As we've been tracking here on the PDB, diplomatic talks began last week in Riyadh between U.S. and Russian delegations, much to the alarm, of course, of leaders in Kiev and NATO, who were not invited and who fear they're being left in the dark about the Trump administration's strategy to end the war in Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Putin's remarks were carefully calibrated, heaping praise on President Trump for what he called his pragmatic approach to diplomacy, while blaming former President Biden for causing what he described as a crisis in the, quote, entire system of international relations, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The comments are seen by many as part of a deliberate strategy to use flattery to draw the Trump administration closer to Russia and further away from Europe and Ukraine. Turning his attention to Europe, Putin said it was clear that many on the continent were not keen to see the two nuclear powers establish warmer ties, and issued a not-so-thinly-veiled threat, warning against any interference.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Yeah, it's not really veiled in any way, is it? He claimed that, quote, some Western elites are still determined to maintain instability in the world, and these forces will try to disrupt or compromise the dialogue that has begun, end quote. Putin said Russia would, quote, use all possibilities when it comes to diplomacy and our intelligence services to disrupt such attempts.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
though he didn't elaborate on what that might look like. But he went further in his criticism of Europe, saying, "...they have begun to destroy Western society itself from within, evidenced by the problems in the economies of many Western countries and in their domestic policies and politics." End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Now, the irony of the statement is hard to ignore, given the economic crisis facing the Putin regime due to his single minded focus on funding Russia's war machine. But who knows? Perhaps Putin just lacks a sense of irony or or self-awareness. The comments came as Russian and US teams held their second round of discussions on Thursday, this time in Istanbul, Turkey.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The talks lasted for six hours and reportedly focused on restoring staffing at their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow in order to build a foundation for further negotiations, though neither the Kremlin nor the White House disclosed details of the meeting. Prior to the discussions, however, a spokesman for the US State Department stressed that Ukraine was not on the agenda.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Following the meeting, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said the latest talks would be among many aimed at rebuilding trust between Moscow and Washington before more substantive negotiations regarding ending the war in Ukraine would begin. That statement echoed remarks made by Putin on Monday that suggest a deal to secure an end to the war may still be very far off.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
In the meantime, Trump has been holding talks with European leaders this week at the White House. He held a friendly meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, who pressed Trump to take a more deliberate approach towards ending the war. On Thursday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House to deliver a similar message.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
diplomats held their second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday, and as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with President Trump at the White House regarding the war in Ukraine. Well, Putin... Frankly, is acting like he's got the upper hand.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The meeting laid bare the lingering divisions, though, between Trump and his counterparts in Europe. While Trump struck an optimistic tone on reaching a ceasefire deal in Ukraine, saying his diplomatic outreach to Russia was, quote, moving along pretty rapidly, Starmer advocated for a more cautious approach, saying, quote, we have to get it right.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
It can't be peace that rewards the aggressor, end quote. Now, for what it's worth, I'm reminded of what Churchill said during World War II about Hitler and the notion of appeasement. You can't negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth. Sturmer pushed for direct U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
military support in Ukraine in the event that a ceasefire deal is reached to serve as a deterrent against future Russian aggression. But Trump brushed the request aside, saying the mineral rights deal that he struck this week with Ukraine would serve as an effective security guarantee for Kyiv. Trump said, quote, We are a backstop because we'll be over there. We'll be working.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
We're going to have a lot of people over there. End quote. Now, as we've been tracking here on the PDB, after weeks of tense negotiations, the Trump administration and Kyiv struck a tentative deal to grant the U.S. preferential access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals, though the deal still reportedly lacks explicit security assurances for Kyiv.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
All eyes in Europe, of course, will be on the White House Friday when Ukrainian President Zelensky meets face to face with President Trump to formally sign the agreement. All right, coming up after the break, the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party calls on his forces to disarm and disband, signaling a potential end to their bloody 40-year conflict with Turkey's leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Plus, the Israeli military releases the findings of a major investigation into the 7 October attacks by Hamas, admitting that they gravely underestimated the Iran-backed terror group. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
We will pay peanuts for it and we can make billions.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Welcome back to the BDB. The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or known as the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, issued a stunning call for his terror group to disband and lay down its arms on Thursday, potentially ending Turkey's four decade long war with the Kurdish separatists.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Later in the show, we'll turn to Turkey, where the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, that's referred to as the PKK, has called on his forces to disarm and disband. This is very big news, potentially signaling an end to its bloody 40-year conflict with Ankara.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Speaking from his prison cell on an island off of Istanbul, Öcalan called on PKK leadership to convene a congress and formally dissolve the terror group. His message was read by pro-Kurdish politicians who visited him earlier in the day, signaling the latest and perhaps most significant attempt at brokering peace between Ankara and the long-established organization, the PKK.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The timing is no coincidence. Turkish President Erdogan is deep in political maneuvering to amend the country's constitution, a process that hinges on support from the pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy Party, known as DEM.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Under current laws, Erdogan, who's been in power since 2003, that's correct, he's been in power since 2003, as both prime minister and president, cannot seek another term unless early elections are called. And such a move, well, that would require Kurdish political backing. Ah, we're starting to see a connection here.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
And that support may now be within reach, thanks to a proposal floated in October by Devlet Baceli, leader of the nationalist movement, party, and a key Erdogan ally. Baceli suggested Öcalan could be granted parole if the PKK formally renounced violence and disbanded.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The offer is widely seen as an attempt to secure Kurdish votes for Erdogan's constitutional reforms, adding a sharp political dimension to Öcalan's call for disarmament. Despite more than two decades and near total isolation, Öcalan remains the PKK's ideological lodestar.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
But whether the group's leadership, which is primarily operating out of northern Iraq, will comply, well, that's another matter. Some factions, particularly those aligned with Kurdish groups in Syria, may see continued arms trouble as non-negotiable in their pursuit of autonomy. The Turkish government has not disclosed what, if any, concessions it has offered in exchange for disarmament.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The DEM party welcomed Öcalan's statement, but has stopped short of endorsing Erdoğan's constitutional amendments outright. In Kurdish-majority cities across southeastern Turkey, however, crowds gathered in public spaces dancing and celebrating in anticipation of what many see as a historic moment.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Öcalan's message underscored the grievances that fueled the PKK's terror campaign, citing decades of state policies that sought to erase Kurdish identity and deny political rights. But he insisted that armed struggle was no longer necessary, stating, quote, There is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Democratic consensus is the fundamental way, end quote. A senior official from Erdogan's ruling party echoed that sentiment, urging the PKK to heed the call, saying, quote, if the terrorist organization gathers to dissolve itself, Turkey will be freed from its shackles.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Now, skepticism does remain high, given the failure of previous peace efforts, including a similar initiative back in 2015 that collapsed into renewed violence. Okay, shifting to Israel. The IDF has admitted its failure to prevent the barbaric 7 October 2023 Hamas terror attacks, calling it, quote, one of the greatest failures in its military history.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Plus, the Israeli military releases the findings of a major investigation into Hamas's 7 October attacks, acknowledging that the IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces, underestimated the terror group and failed to properly protect their border.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
An internal investigation revealed Thursday details of how years of miscalculated intelligence left the IDF unprepared.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The report compiled by the IDF Southern Command after tens of thousands of hours of analysis paints a damning picture of Israel's security posture in the lead-up to the attack At the time, Israeli military leaders were primarily focused on countering threats from Iran and Hezbollah, relegating Hamas to a secondary concern The investigation determined that this miscalculation left the country open to the deadliest single-day attack in modern Israeli history
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
As tensions escalated elsewhere, the IDF had scaled back its presence along the Gaza perimeter, diverting resources to Lebanon and the West Bank. Meanwhile, Hamas systematically identified and exploited vulnerabilities in Israel's high-tech border security system.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
What was designed to be an impenetrable barrier turned out to be, well, no match for a well-coordinated terror operation that was years in the making. At 6.30 a.m. on 7 October 2023, Hamas launched its terror attack in three waves, firing nearly 4,700 rockets and mortars from Gaza, while approximately 5,600 terrorists breached Israeli territory.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The initial assault proved catastrophic, as most of the kidnappings and murders occurred in the first few hours, catching Israeli forces entirely off guard. By 5 p.m., hundreds of Hamas terrorists were inside Israel with evidence suggesting their objective was to push deeper into the country and seize key military installations. The IDF's response was paralyzed by critical communication failures.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
With standard military channels down, commanders were forced to rely on Google Maps and mobile phones to coordinate. Early warning systems, assumed to provide ample time for a counterattack, proved insufficient against the scale and speed of Hamas' assault. Compounding the failings were years of misjudged intelligence, and this can't be understated.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Israeli officials long dismissed the notion that Hamas possessed the capability for full-scale war. believing that economic incentives to Hamas would serve as a deterrent. Surveillance efforts failed to recognize Hamas's military buildup, misinterpreting movements as routine training exercises.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Well, you may well agree with me that, you know, we didn't actually need a year and a half and a major investigation to tell us that they failed to protect their border.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
The report underscores that blatant warning signs were overlooked, such as Hamas's terror operatives activating Israeli SIM cards inside Gaza. A situational assessment had been scheduled for 7 October, but of course, by the time Israeli officials were set to convene, Hamas had already executed its plan. The attack, however, was not a product of spontaneous escalation.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
According to intelligence obtained from captured Hamas documents and sources inside Gaza, the operation had been years in the making. Former Hamas leader Yahya Sinmar is believed to have first conceived the plan all the way back in November of 2016, with formal approval granted by Hamas leadership in July 2019.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Over the years, Hamas successfully deceived Israeli officials into believing that it prioritized economic stability over military confrontation. It was a disinformation, PSYOP campaign. A brief war in 2021 further reinforced Israel's false confidence that Hamas's capabilities had been diminished when, in reality, the terror group was just quietly preparing for 7 October.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
In the wake of the report's findings, calls for a national inquiry have intensified. Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, has stated that any formal inquiry must wait until the ongoing war concludes. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, President Trump vows to move forward with crippling sanctions on Canada and Mexico next week. I'll be back with those details.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
And in today's back of the brief, President Trump vows to move forward with crippling sanctions on Canada and Mexico next week, claiming that America's northern and southern neighbors are not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs into the US. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
In today's Back of the Brief, President Donald Trump is turning his sights back on Mexico and Canada, once again sparking fears that a trade war could be imminent. On Thursday, Trump said his proposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods, which he paused from implementing earlier this month, would go into effect this Tuesday.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
He claimed the tariffs are needed to force changes in Mexico and Canada's respective border policies, accusing America's northern and southern neighbors of not doing enough to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. And that's according to a report from The New York Times.
The President's Daily Brief
February 28th, 2025: Putin Warns Europe Against Sabotaging Talks With Trump & Jailed Kurdish Militant Leader Calls For End To 40-Year Conflict With Turkey
Taking to Truth Social, Trump said the deadly opioid fentanyl was still pouring across both borders at, quote, very high and unacceptable levels. He added, quote, we cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the U.S. and therefore until it stops or is seriously limited, the proposed tariffs will indeed go into effect as scheduled, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Illegal immigrants granted parole status are reclassified as, quote, qualified aliens, making them eligible for federal benefits after just five years. While the executive order signals a crackdown on taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants, It remains unclear whether it directly closes this loophole or merely reinforces existing laws restricting eligibility.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The Trump administration, well, didn't miss words in its criticism of former President Biden's policies, directly blaming his administration, meaning Biden's administration, for exasperating the immigration crisis and diverting public funds to support it.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
According to the executive order, Biden's open border agenda cost federal and state taxpayers over $16 billion in Medicaid-funded emergency services for illegal immigrants. That's based on estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Additionally, billions of taxpayer dollars reportedly flowed to left-wing organizations facilitating mass migration and providing legal aid to challenged deportation orders.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Trump cast the executive order as a decisive course correction, positioning himself to reverse Biden's border crisis The administration's message is clear Under this order, federal dollars will no longer fund policies that incentivize illegal immigration And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 21 February.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Now, to listen to the show ad-free, should you be so inclined, well, it's easy. Become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief simply by visiting pdbpremium.com. And it is very simple. And if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later on today with the PDP Afternoon Bulletin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
And this wasn't just a random decision. The arrival of the Green Beret had the full backing of Mexico's Senate, which unanimously approved the move. Eleven Green Beret from the 7th Special Forces Group will be in Mexico from 17 February through the end of March, training the Mexican Navy's Marine infantry on combat tactics, both conventional and unconventional.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
It's Friday, 21 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start today's show with the deployment of U.S. Army Green Beret in Mexico, where they're training the country's Marines. Now, the Mexican Marines are probably the most trusted and respected element of the Mexican military and law enforcement.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
They've arrived fully armed, but their role, at least now, is strictly advisory. Now, this is nothing new for the 7th Special Forces Group. These Green Berets have a long history of operations in Latin America, having participated in missions in Panama, Peru, and Ecuador. While it's a training mission for now, it does reflect the increasing militarization of efforts by the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
to tackle the drug cartels. The U.S. Special Operations Command described the mission as part of, quote, normal routine preplanned military training, end quote, with the Mexican Marines as part of the longstanding defense cooperation between the two countries. Now, while the Special Ops Command is framing this as routine, the backdrop on which it's occurring is, frankly, anything but.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
While the Green Berets are only there to train, some voices inside the Mexican government are calling for more direct military involvement. Senator Lili Tellez from Mexico's Conservative National Action Party has argued that Mexico should go beyond welcoming U.S. advisers. She suggests that Mexico should invite U.S. military forces to assist in fighting organized crime on Mexican soil.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The push for deeper cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico comes at a time of heightened tension. Just as the Green Beret were arriving, Mexican officials confirmed that U.S. military reconnaissance planes were spotted flying around Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and off the coast of Sinaloa. That's a well-known stronghold, of course, of the Sinaloa cartel.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The officials have not confirmed the nature of the flights, but it's clear that they were monitoring cartel activity. Mexico's defense secretary, Ricardo Tavira, noted that the planes remained in international airspace. Still, it raises some interesting questions about just how far the U.S. will go in its operations against the cartels.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
All of this, the Green Beret arrival, the reconnaissance flights, comes just as the U.S. State Department officially declared the Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. While this might seem like a symbolic move, it's much more than that.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
This new designation opens up a range of military options for the US government, including direct military operations, intelligence sharing, and even targeted strikes against cartel leadership. The US Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and other military assets may now begin to play a more active role in combating cartel operations.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
This could mean increased intelligence sharing, direct military support to Mexican forces, and even more aggressive military action like drone strikes or special operations targeting cartel infrastructure. Now, whether the U.S. actually takes those steps, well, that remains to be seen, of course.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
But what's clear is that Washington is now treating the cartels more like insurgent groups or terror organizations, meaning the strategies used to fight al-Qaeda or ISIS could soon be applied south of the U.S. border. All right. Coming up next, Russia demands NATO withdraw from Eastern Europe as part of peace talks. Oh, is that all they want? And U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders massive military budget cuts. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the PDB. European allies are growing ever more anxious over President Trump's diplomatic engagement with Russia, which began in earnest on Tuesday with bilateral discussions in the Saudi capital of Riyadh that excluded Kyiv and NATO members.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Now, well, we're learning, thanks to an exclusive report from the Financial Times, that Moscow used the talks to demand the full withdrawal of NATO forces from the alliance's eastern flank, which includes Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Have I left anyone out?
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The move shows a deepening security cooperation—at least, that's how it appears— between Washington and Mexico City. Later in the show, Russia is demanding, oh, they're demanding, that NATO pull back from Eastern Europe. That's one of its conditions for peace talks with the U.S. We'll tell you what's behind the latest threats.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The revelation about the Kremlin's escalating conditions for peace is stoking fears that the Trump administration could eventually acquiesce to the demands in order to secure a settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Well, yeah, I mean, frankly, you could get a peace deal any day of the week if you just give Putin whatever he wants.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
For some background, Russian President Putin has long sought the withdrawal of NATO forces from former Soviet and communist bloc countries, which joined the alliance in the late 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
such an outcome would restore moscow's sphere of influence in eastern europe along the lines of the agreement reached by the us the uk and the soviet union at the yalta conference at the end of the second world war currently around 30 000 troops under nato commander stationed in countries along the alliance's eastern flank with another 10 000 u.s troops hosted in poland But if the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
were to withdraw its security guarantees, the entire region, well, theoretically could come under the threat of the Kremlin. Now, we should stress that at this time, the odds of the Trump administration attempting to force a NATO withdrawal appear to be slight. According to officials in Romania, the US delegation at Tuesday's Riyadh talks flatly rejected Moscow's demand. Well, that's a good thing.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
And leaders in Poland said they have no reason to believe that Trump will move to abandon Poland and their Baltic neighbors. But it is important to understand this from the context of what Putin is demanding.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The chief of staff to Romania's president told the Financial Times that significant doubts remain about how Trump may proceed, particularly given his scathing criticism of Ukrainian President Zelensky, who he described on Wednesday as a, quote, dictator without elections.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
He also pointed to public concessions to Russia that the White House had made even before the talks on Tuesday began, such as ruling out NATO membership for Ukraine and promising to normalize ties between Washington and Moscow. The Romanian official said, quote, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
To guard against what they describe as a, quote, worst case scenario, leaders from the UK and France, who are set to visit Washington next week, will reportedly press Trump to stand firm against Moscow's demand. Still, officials said they fear their pleas are not getting through to the White House. An anonymous senior official from the region said, quote, We have extensively briefed D.C.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
at various levels, but I'm not sure what is seeping through to Trump. So the risk and concern remains that Russia tricks D.C. into doing something via a push on Ukraine. End quote. Regardless, European leaders are preparing for the worst.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron held an emergency meeting with the heads of NATO, the European Commission, and a coalition of 19 EU nations, along with the United Kingdom and Canada. to discuss how to respond to Trump's marginalization of Ukraine and NATO.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The Unofficial Coalition of Nations, described as a, quote, crisis response unit, is now focusing on what kind of security guarantees they could provide to Ukraine if the Trump administration moves to abandon their commitments. While no firm policy initiatives have emerged from the talks, Macron said Wednesday it was unacceptable that the U.S. was negotiating with Russia behind Europe's back.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
I mean, aside from Putin's hubris and the belief that he's negotiating with the U.S. apparently from a position of strength. Plus, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering the Pentagon to cut billions from its budget over the next five years.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Macron stressed, quote, Now, if you think about it, It's a fascinating turn of events that European leaders, NATO allies, are seriously worried that the U.S. administration will appease Russian leadership in a desire to secure a peace deal. Putin definitely appears to believe that he has the advantage, that he's negotiating from a position of strength, which frankly should be a cautionary tale.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
As Churchill once said, you can't negotiate with the tiger when your head is in its mouth. Perhaps a more pragmatic approach, unless you're okay with appeasing Putin, is to understand his weaknesses, meaning Putin's weaknesses, and focus on them.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Focus on maximizing the West's leverage, forcing the invading army's hand so that they have to sit at the negotiating table from a position of necessity and weakness. It's just a thought, just two cents, which in today's economy is probably worth maybe a quarter of a penny. Shifting stateside, U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is preparing to significantly trim the Pentagon's budget as part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to fundamentally reshape military priorities and eliminate what they view as wasteful spending.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The Defense Secretary issued a memo on Tuesday ordering senior military and Defense Department officials to draw up plans to cut 8% of the budget over each of the next five years, which amounts to some $50 billion each year. Officials have until Monday to deliver their cost-cutting proposals, though we should note that Hegseth listed 17 exceptions to the spending overhaul.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
That's according to a report from the New York Times. The carve-outs include spending related to military operations at the U.S.-Mexico border, programs related to drones and submarines, and any operations focused on China.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Spending related to China will reportedly be boosted, as the Trump administration views combating the threat from the Chinese Communist Party as a chief foreign policy priority. Senior officials at the Pentagon said they intend to streamline operations and better align the Department of Defense with President Trump's policy priorities.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
And in today's Back of the Brief, President Trump signs an executive order slamming the brakes on taxpayer-funded programs that support illegal immigration. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
On Wednesday, the acting deputy defense secretary said, quote, President Trump's charge to the department is clear to achieve peace through strength. We'll do this by putting forward budgets that revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Now, while there are no firm details yet about the nature of the cuts, the Army has already proposed phasing out outdated drones and armored vehicles, while the Navy has suggested decommissioning old frigates and combat ships.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Hegseth has also called for calling what he has described as, quote, excessive bureaucracy, and said he'll work with Elon Musk's team at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to root out any unnecessary spending.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
An obvious target for cuts to the Pentagon, which has the largest discretionary budget of any government department, are likely to be diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has vowed to purge from all government departments and agencies.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The deputy defense secretary said Wednesday, quote, to achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities, including securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing, end quote. Workforce reductions are also likely on the table.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Now, the Pentagon has already been asked to give the White House a list of probationary employees who could potentially be laid off. According to sources who spoke to the New York Times, officials at Doge have also suggested moving full-time Pentagon employees to contract positions in order to make it easier to fire them.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
In addition to cuts, the effort will also involve shifting existing funds to programs that Trump favors. For example, the DOD has already boosted spending on beefing up security at the southern border, deploying thousands of active duty troops to help stem the flow of migrants and illegal drugs. They've also already accelerated military flights to deport migrants back to their country of origin.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Today, we're kicking things off with a story that might not have grabbed headlines this week, but it's a big one when it comes to the growing trend of America's military involvement in the fight against Mexican drug cartels. Earlier this week, a group of U.S. Army Green Beret arrived in Mexico at the request of Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum. Their mission? To train Mexico's Marines.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
But regarding any proposed cuts, the White House will likely face significant opposition from Congress, setting up a showdown with lawmakers who have long-shielded defense programs that bring jobs to their districts. Well, yeah, I mean, that's a dangerous place to be between a politician and their pork.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
All right, coming up in the back of the brief, President Trump signs an executive order cutting off taxpayer-funded support for illegal immigration. I'll be right back. In today's Back of the Brief, President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday night barring the use of taxpayer dollars to support federal programs benefiting illegal immigrants.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Now, the order mandates that all federal agencies identify and dismantle programs that provide financial aid or benefits to illegal immigrants. In addition, agencies must submit plans for, quote, corrective action to prevent federal funds from supporting sanctuary policies or programs.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
The White House emphasized that the Trump administration is committed to safeguarding federal resources for Americans and to protect benefits for veterans and individuals with disabilities. The timing of this order is significant.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
It comes amid a surge in illegal immigration in the past four years under the then Biden administration, a trend that the House Homeland Security Committee estimates cost taxpayers in the U.S. approximately $451 billion since January of 2021. $451 billion. The White House fact sheet cites data from the Federation for American Immigration Reform,
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
which calculates the taxpayers spent a minimum of $182 billion annually on 20 million illegal immigrants, stemming from $67 billion in federal expenses and another $115 billion shouldered by state and local governments.
The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
Further analysis from the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that an influx of 1 million illegal immigrants could cost taxpayers an additional $3 billion per year through welfare programs, despite legal restrictions under the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. However, the order emphasizes a key loophole in these restrictions.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The surprising revelation, given the regime's past attempts to assassinate President Trump, came during an interview that Trump gave to Fox Business on Friday, where he reiterated his intent to find a peaceful solution to Iran's pursuit of a bomb. That is, of course, if the Islamic regime is willing to play ball.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Trump said he sent a letter on Wednesday directly to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Offering him a choice between engaging in good faith negotiations or facing the wrath of the American military. It does make you wonder what the cost of mailing a letter from Washington to Tehran would be. Und ich hoffe, dass sie einen von diesen Ronald-Reagan-Postage-Stampfen benutzt haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Die Letzte kommt in den Wachstum eines vertrauten UN-Reports, das letzte Woche geleakt wurde, also nicht besonders vertraut, welches bewarnte, dass Teheran über den letzten Monat ihre hohe Erhöhung von Uraniumverbrauch erhöht hat und jetzt genug hat, um mindestens sechs nukleare Waffen zu produzieren. Trump sagte, Quote, There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
I would prefer to make a deal. He added, Quote, I'm not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily, end quote. While Trump stressed that his letter was not meant as an ultimatum to Iran, he also threatened what he described as, Quote, terrible consequences for the regime, should they refuse to back down on the nuclear issue.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The President added that time was of the essence, warning that he'll have to take action soon, one way or the other, because, quote, you can't let them have a nuclear weapon. The President did not tip his hand on what, if anything, was offered to entice Iran into accepting his invitation, and Iran's foreign ministry has yet to acknowledge the diplomatic outreach.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
But a state-run media outlet, closely affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, dismissed the letter as a, quote, repetitive show, whatever that means, by Washington, according to a report from Reuters. But if recent developments give us any clue, Trump does appear serious about bringing Iran to the table.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
As we discussed earlier this week, a report from Bloomberg said that during recent diplomatic talks between US and Russian delegations, Moscow had offered to use their friendly relationship with the Islamic regime to broker a new nuclear deal with the West. While the White House has not publicly commented on the situation, the report said that Trump did appear interested in the possibility.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Als Erinnerung. Im Jahr 2015 wurde der Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action zwischen Iran, den USA und fünf anderen Weltmächten erreicht. Der Deal restrierte Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief and extensive UN oversight, though Iran was quickly accused of flouting the terms of the deal and they did refuse access to key sites for monitoring purposes.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Trump verabschiedete sich von dem Vertrag im Jahr 2018, indem er die Sanktionen als Teil einer maximalen Druckstrategie verabschiedete, die die iranische Wirtschaft in Schmerzen verursachte.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Trotz des finanziellen Schadens, antwortete Iran mit der Erhöhung ihrer Erhöhung von Uranium bis zu 60 Prozent Purity, das ist nahe an den Waffengraden, und mit der Verstärkung des Zugangs an zusätzliche nukleare Sätze. Given the threat that a nuclear Iran would pose to Israel and other regional players, Trump has made halting their progress a top priority in his second term.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
It's Friday, 7 March. Welcome to the BDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Zuerst hat Präsident Trump einen persönlichen Anruf an Iran's Supreme Leader gemacht, um an die Negotiationsstelle zu kommen, um einen neuen nuklearen Deal zu streiten, während er auch militärische Aktionen bedroht, wenn er sie verweigert.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
As part of his effort to force meaningful concessions from the Iranian regime, Trump has returned to his maximum-pressure strategy, reimposing aggressive sanctions on Iran's shadowy oil trade just last week. But so far, Iran remains as defiant as ever.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Late last week, Iran's foreign minister issued a statement following that the regime will not negotiate on their nuclear program under pressure and sanctions from the Trump administration.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Instead, the regime has reportedly placed the country's nuclear facilities on high alert and deployed additional air defense systems around key nuclear and missile sites to guard against potential joint military action by the US and Israel. Coming up next, Staff Cuts at the CIA. We'll look at the potential ramifications for US national security interests. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Willkommen zurück im Afternoon Bulletin. Zurück in die USA. Die Verbrechung des federalen Arbeitsmarktes der Trump-Administration wird weitergehen. Und jetzt ist es in die Intelligenzgemeinschaft eingegangen, mit einer Verbrechung bei der CIA.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
CIA-Direktor John Ratcliffe begann berühmt, ein paar der letzten Anrufe an die Spionage earlier this week, mit mehr erwartet in den nächsten Tagen und Wochen.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Eine Begründung, die sich mit dem Thema bekannt macht, sagte Reuters, dass die jüngsten Anrufe, die sogenannte Probatien-Anbieter genannt wurden, für performance-relevanten Themen gefeuert wurden, obwohl die Nachrichten Anmerkungen auf Capitol Hill über die möglichen nationalen Sicherheitsvermögen beobachten, als die Anbieter über ein paar verschiedene CIA-Portfolios gearbeitet haben.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Es bleibt unklar, wie viele Intelligenz-Offiziere den Ausflug zeigen werden, aber die Suche hat Reuters gesagt, dass es eine zahlreiche Anzahl ist. Die Agentur, wie auch viele andere Regierungsorganisationen, evaluiert regelmäßig die Leistungen der Mitarbeiter und behält eine Liste der unteren 10 % der Leistungen. Das sind die Individuen, die beruflich verlassen wurden.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Die Ausschüttungen kamen, nachdem ein föderaler Gericht letzte Woche beurteilt hat, dass die Administration mit Plänen vorwärts gehen könnte, um Tausende von Arbeitnehmern aus der CIA und des Offices des Direktors der Intelligenz, der DNI, auszuführen, die temporäre Positionen auf DEI-Initiativen arbeiteten.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Aber diese Beurteilung hatte auch Bedingungen für die breitere Arbeitnehmerbasis, die CIA die Möglichkeit gab, Arbeitnehmer auf Willen zu beurteilen. In a statement, a spokesman for the CIA said, "...we are reviewing personnel within their first two years of service at the agency. For some personnel, well, that process will result in termination."
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The statement added, "...our officers face unique pressures from working in situations that are fast-paced and high-stakes. It's not for everyone." But the way that the first round of firings was conducted has raised eyebrows.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The process got underway last month, when, on the direction of the White House, the CIA sent an unclassified email to the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, containing the first names and initials of last names of probationary employees.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The email startled members of Congress and the intelligence community, who said they feared the identities of the officers could be publicly leaked or fall into the hands of a foreign adversary.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
This week, those affected personnel were instructed to report to a location away from agencies' headquarters in Langley and were subsequently instructed to turn over their credentials, according to sources who spoke with NBC News. Additionally, members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees were reportedly left in the dark about the personnel changes.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Anonymous official said members of the committees were blindsided by the dismissals and will be asking CIA leadership to share more information regarding the situation in the coming days.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
The move also provoked alarm among former members of the intelligence community, who said it could take the agency years to recover, given the time and effort put into vetting and recruiting and training new officers.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Stephen Cash, a former CIA officer and staff member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that the firings could severely damage the agency's operations and jeopardize key national security interests. Cash told NBC News, quote, End quote.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Now, what's not known, because it is the CIA and there are reasons to maintain some secrets, is how many of the fired probationary employees were within the operations directorate of the agency and how many were in other non-operational positions, such as HR or finance or security, administration roles, IT, etc.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Now, all those positions are important, of course, very important to the smooth running of the organization. But to be a bit mercenary, it's the operations officers who are at the pointy end of the spear. Their vetting and their training and their preparation for assignments can take much longer than for incoming employees who are slated to be working outside of the operations element.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
So to some degree, potential damage to the agency's effectiveness and national security interests will greatly depend on the types of personnel that are being let go. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, 7 March. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And finally, well, look at that, it's Friday.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
Später in der Show werden wir über Personalreduktionen diskutieren, die in einigen Kreisen als Terminationen bekannt sind. Sie begannen diese Woche auf der CIA. Intelligenz-Offiziere warnen, dass diese Staff-Cuts die US-National-Sicherheitsinteressen sehr schädigen könnten und die Agentur Jahre zurücksetzen könnten. But first, today's afternoon spotlight.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
We made it to the end of another week. And if it's Friday, well, you know what that means. Exactly. A brand new episode of our PDB Situation Report launches this evening at 10 p.m. on The First TV. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 7th, 2025: Trump Reaches Out To Iran's Supreme Leader For Nuclear Talks & CIA Purge Sparks National Security Concerns
In another interesting, possibly unorthodox diplomatic move, President Trump has personally reached out to Iranian leaders in an effort to strike a new nuclear deal that would rein in that country's nuclear development and avert the need for military intervention.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
One of the pamphlets was titled, Our Narrative, Al-Aqsa Flood, evoking the name that the Hamas terrorists gave to their brutal attacks on Israeli women and children and babies and elderly and others. The co-chair of the Columbia Students Association for Israel condemned the protesters on social media, saying, quote, this is terrorist support in its rawest and most obvious form.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Another Israeli student group said, quote, still think they're pro-peace? Still think they don't support terror? They added, quote, Barnard College in Columbia, it's beyond time to take action. Now, officials at Barnett once again denounced the demonstrations, calling them a, quote, affront to all students that, quote, cannot be tolerated. And yet, they seem to be tolerating them.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
As the protesters' occupation continued into Wednesday evening, what was later determined to be a fake bomb threat was called in, prompting the university to call in the NYPD to clear the building. More than 50 NYPD officers in riot gear descended on the scene, ordering the students to exit the building, though the protesters refused.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The police then began forcibly removing the protesters, arresting at least nine people for refusing to comply. Once again, now that we've had some arrests, it would be interesting to know how many of those are actual students and how many are outside activists. As I mentioned, the latest ordeal came after anti-Israel protesters staged a similar demonstration on Columbia's campus last week.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Earlier this week, the Trump administration launched a review of more than $50 million in government contracts and grants with Columbia University over their, quote, "...ongoing inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students."
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
President Trump also vowed to strip federal funding from any college that allows, quote, illegal protests and threatened to revoke visas and deport foreign students involved in violent demonstrations. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Friday, 7 March. And look at that. It is, in fact, Friday.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
On Thursday, President Trump signed executive actions delaying his 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada for all products covered by the current North American Free Trade Treaty, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. despite enacting the new taxes just days ago.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Now, dedicated listeners of the PDB know that Fridays mean new episodes of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report. This weekend's guests include Jonathan Schanzer from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and the author and China analyst Gordon Chang.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
We'll be looking at the stalled Israel-Hamas ceasefire, plans for Gaza reconstruction, the potential for renewed fighting there, China's declaration that they're ready for, quote, any type of war with the U.S., news that a U.S. firm will be buying two key Panama Canal ports from China, and more. Honestly, it's a smorgasbord of news and information.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
And when was the last time you heard anybody say smorgasbord? You have to say it that way, smorgasbord. The new episodes air every Friday evening on the First TV and are available on our YouTube channel, at President's Daily Brief, and all your favorite podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
It's Friday, 7 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll kick things off with a major update on the Trump administration's trade war as the president pauses tariffs on a host of goods from Mexico and Canada for a period of one month, praising Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum's cooperation with the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
For now, the exemption will only last through April 2nd, the same day that Trump plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on all major U.S. trading partners, including longtime allies. And that's according to a report from Reuters.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The announcement came one day after Trump said he would delay tariffs on all automakers for one month in order to give that sector time to adjust to supply chains and move more production to the U.S., though realistically, well, such an undertaking would obviously take much longer.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Automakers are expected to be hit particularly hard by the tariffs as car parts often cross US borders six to eight times during assembly, meaning that they could be taxed multiple times. Now, we should stress that the White House's latest move does not constitute a total reprieve from the tariffs.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Economists estimate that only half of the products coming from Mexico and roughly 38% from Canada are covered by the new one-month exemption. All other goods will still face the 25% tariffs enacted on Tuesday, while Canadian energy products such as crude oil, petroleum gas, and coal will face a 10% tax.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The partial pause, reportedly, came after discussions that Trump held with Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum on Thursday and separate talks led by White House officials with Canadian leaders. In a surprisingly friendly post on Truth Social, Trump said, quote, I did this as an accommodation and out of respect for President Scheinbaum.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Our relationship has been a very good one and we are working hard together on the border, both in terms of stopping illegal aliens from entering the U.S. and likewise stopping fentanyl. The president added, quote, Thank you to President Scheinbaum for your hard work and cooperation, end quote.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Now, while Trump singled out Scheinbaum from Mexico for praise in his statement, well, don't expect the same warmth from the president for Canadian leaders.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
While Mexico delayed any announcement of economic retaliation following Tuesday's implementation of the tariffs, which theoretically was buying her some goodwill with Trump, Canada swiftly struck back by imposing an immediate 25% tariff on nearly $30 billion worth of American goods, while threatening more in the near future.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also criticized the tariff move on Tuesday as, quote, a very dumb thing to do. He dug in his heels further on Thursday, saying that he expects the trade war to continue with the U.S. for the foreseeable future, and that Canada would not lift its retaliatory actions unless the White House permanently rolls back all the tariffs.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Trump responded on Thursday by slamming Trudeau on Truth Social over the quote terrible job he's done for Canada and accusing him of using the trade argument to win back political support. We should note the comprehensive tariff exemptions issued Thursday. marked the second time that the Trump administration has delayed, at least in part, tariff actions against Mexico and Canada.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
He initially threatened to impose the tariffs back in early February, but paused their implementation after Canada and Mexico promised to take strong actions to secure their borders and reduce the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Given the starts and stops with these tariffs, it's, well, anyone's guess what will happen come the new deadline of April 2nd, when, as I mentioned, the Trump administration also plans to roll out a global regime of reciprocal tariffs on all trading partners.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC on Thursday, "...on April 2nd, we're going to move with the reciprocal tariffs, and hopefully Mexico and Canada will have done a good enough job on fentanyl that this part of the conversation will be off the table. But if they haven't, this will stay on."
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
on the southern border. Later in the show, European Union leaders gathered for emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday in the hopes of drastically boosting defense spending following President Trump's reversal of U.S. policies on Ukraine.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
All right, coming up next, EU leaders gathered for emergency talks in Brussels on Thursday in the hopes of drastically increasing defense spending. And at least 15 people were injured in South Korea on Thursday after their military accidentally dropped eight bombs on civilian areas during a training exercise. I'll be right back.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Welcome back to the PDB. European Union leaders committed Thursday to backing new defense spending plans aimed at funneling billions into protecting the continent. The decision follows the Trump administration's suspension of military aid and intelligence support to Ukraine earlier this week, a move that's forced Europe to reassess its security posture.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
This comes as Ukrainian President Zelensky in his nightly address on Thursday said that negotiations between Ukraine and the United States over ending the war will take place in Saudi Arabia next week. Zelensky is set to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday, and his delegation will remain in Saudi Arabia for follow-up talks with American officials.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
At an emergency summit in Brussels earlier in the day, leaders of the 27-member EU agreed to relax fiscal rules that could unlock as much as $700 billion for military investments over time. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a, quote,
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
also pushing a plan to jointly borrow up to $162 billion to lend to EU governments to spend on weapons procurement, something that member states must still agree on. Yet for all the talk of a more self-sufficient Europe, the summit fell short of delivering action. It was, frankly, plenty of rhetoric with very little apparent follow-through.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Leaders left Ukraine's most pressing needs, that would be weapons and ammunition, largely unaddressed. Most notably, this so-called rearmament plan remains theoretical, subject to approval from individual member states, and it already faces headwinds. One of the biggest sticking points, not every European country is equally eager, or financially capable, of ramping up defense spending.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Plus, at least 15 people were injured in South Korea on Thursday after their military accidentally dropped eight bombs, oops, on a civilian area during a joint training exercise near the North Korean border.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Six EU nations have debt levels exceeding 100% of their GDP, raising concerns about how they'll finance a military buildup. The leaders also failed to reach consensus on unfreezing an estimated $196 billion in Russian assets held in European financial institutions. It's a potential windfall that could go towards aiding Ukraine, but it remains politically fraught.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Additionally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Moscow's closest ally in Europe, refused to endorse part of the summit's statement of support for Ukraine. Still, the other 26 leaders presented a unified front, declaring that Ukraine must remain at the center of any diplomatic negotiations and that Europe must have a seat at the table in any future U.S.-Russia security talks.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Despite the financial uncertainties, for Zelensky, the EU's stated commitment to stepping up defense spending is a welcome shift. Speaking to reporters, Zelensky stated, quote, we are very thankful that we are not alone. But he added bluntly, quote, the real question for any negotiations is whether Russia is capable of giving up the war.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Zelensky pointed to Moscow's escalating military expenditures, its continued expansion of troop levels, and its relentless efforts to bypass sanctions, all signs he argued that the Kremlin has no interest in backing down from their war effort. Meanwhile, President Trump's evolving foreign policy stance loomed over the summit. U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg defended Washington's decision to freeze military aid and cease intelligence sharing, casting it as a tough love approach to force Kiev into negotiations. Kellogg stated, quote, The best way I can describe it is it's sort of like hitting a mule with a two-by-four across the nose. You get their attention. End quote. Hmm. Interesting analogy.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
With negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine set for next week, the summit made one thing clear. If Washington steps back, Europe will have to step up. All right, turning to South Korea.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
A military exercise turned disastrous on Thursday when two fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs on a civilian area near the North Korean border, injuring at least 15 people and causing significant structural damage. The incident unfolded around 10 a.m.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
And in today's back of the brief, anti-Israel protests took a radical turn this week at Columbia University as an anti-Semitic mob calling for, quote, death to America, hung an effigy of a school administrator and handed out flyers authored by the Hamas media office glorifying the brutal 7 October attacks.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
local time in Pochon, a northeastern city of 140,000 people, during a live-fire joint exercise with the United States in preparation for the annual Freedom Shield military exercises, which are scheduled to begin on the 10th of March.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
According to the South Korean Air Force, the 500-pound MK-82 bombs were, quote, abnormally released, well, that's one way to put it, from two KF-16 fighter jets outside the designated firing range.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
A preliminary investigation revealed that one pilot had entered incorrect targeting coordinates, well, that would do it, sending four bombs off course, while the cause of the second jet's malfunction remains under review. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff admitted that multiple layers of verification should have prevented such an error, but failed at several critical points.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The fallout was immediate, as two civilians suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, while 13 others sustained minor wounds, including two South Korean soldiers inside a military chapel and two foreign nationals caught in the blast radius. The damage was extensive. Eight buildings, including five homes, a warehouse, a greenhouse, and a chapel, bore the brunt of the explosions.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Images from the scene depicted shattered windows, debris-littered streets, and emergency crews working to evacuate residents as authorities scrambled to locate any unexploded ordnance. In response, South Korea's Joint Chiefs announced the immediate suspension of live-fire drills. However, military officials confirmed that freedom shield exercises would proceed as planned in the coming days.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The U.S. military was quick to clarify that no American aircraft were involved in the mishap. Colonel Ryan Donald, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, emphasized that the U.S. was fully cooperating with the South Korean military's investigation, adding, quote, The safety of the local community, U.S. and Republic of Korea personnel is our top priority.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The South Korean Air Force issued a formal apology, pledging to compensate affected civilians and assemble an investigative committee to determine the precise cause of the incident and ensure such errors don't happen again.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Meanwhile, South Korea's governing People Power Party wasted no time in demanding stricter safety protocols for military drills near civilian areas, warning that such failures raise serious concerns about the reliability of the country's defense infrastructure. With 28,000 U.S.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
troops stationed in South Korea, joint military drills like Freedom Shield are designed to maintain combat readiness in the face of growing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea. Okay, coming up next in the back of the brief, anti-Israel protests escalate on the campus of Columbia University, leading to a clash with police. I'll be right back with those details.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Welcome back to the PDB. In today's back of the brief, anti-Israel protests took a dark turn this week at Columbia University in New York City as anti-Semitic mobs took over another campus building during a demonstration that ended with a fake bomb threat and a dramatic clash with NYPD police officers.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Meanwhile, the gormless university administrators, well, they continue to negotiate with the mob. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. In another whiplash-inducing reversal, the Trump administration is walking back their plans to impose crippling trade tariffs on America's northern and southern neighbors over the ongoing fentanyl crisis.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The latest chaos kicked off on Wednesday when more than 200 students, well, do we know they were all students, hiding their faces behind headscarves and masks, that's brave, stormed the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue on the campus of Columbia's Barnard College.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
The students claim to be protesting the war in Gaza, as well as the expulsion of two students who stormed into classrooms in January and threw around flyers loaded with anti-Semitic rhetoric. That's according to a report from the New York Post. Apparently, those protesters object to having consequences for bad actions.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Note, there's not accurate reporting yet on just how many of these protesters are actual students and how many are outside activists and just non-student morons cosplaying as Hamas sympathizers. The group began plastering stickers around the building that read Burn Barnard Burn and Death to America. Oh, how revolutionary.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
Look, they spelled America with a K as well as a wanted poster with the face of the university's dean of students. They also hung an effigy of Barnard president Laura Rosenberry, who had condemned protesters last week for refusing to remove their masks when they occupied a campus building and assaulted a school employee.
The President's Daily Brief
March 7th, 2025: Trump Hits Pause On Trade War With Mexico And Canada & South Korea Accidentally Bombs Their Own Civilians
So they were reprimanded or she was condemning them for not removing their masks, but maybe not for the anti-Semitic actions or assaulting a school employee. Maybe I have that wrong. If that wasn't disturbing enough, the protesters began handing out flyers on Wednesday, authored by the Hamas media office, that glorified the 7 October attacks.