The President's Daily Brief
February 14th, 2025: European Leaders Chastise Trump Over Putin Call & White House Unveils Plans For Reciprocal Tariffs On US Allies
Fri, 14 Feb 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We'll start things off in Europe, where leaders are criticizing the Trump administration following the president’s recent call with Vladimir Putin seeking a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine. Later in the show, President Donald Trump ups the pressure on U.S. allies by announcing his plans for widespread "reciprocal tariffs" on American trading partners. Plus, in an apparent effort to thaw relations with the West, Belarus’s autocratic president and Kremlin ally releases an American prisoner and two others from jail. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, Israel has uncovered a plot by Iran to smuggle cash to Hezbollah militants via Beirut’s international airport in an attempt to help the terror group rebuild its military operations. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Ramp: Get $250 when you join Ramp. Go to ramp.com/PDB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are European leaders saying about Trump's call with Putin?
We'll begin with the fallout from President Trump's call with Russia's favorite warmonger, Vladimir Putin, regarding the war in Ukraine as alarmed European leaders demand a seat at the negotiating table and denounce the White House for appearing to offer concessions to Moscow in advance of potential peace talks.
As we discussed yesterday on the PDB, Trump held his first phone call with Putin since returning to office on Wednesday morning and announced that the pair had agreed to start negotiations, quote, immediately to bring Russia's war on Ukraine to a close.
Now, that same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic to think that Ukraine could reclaim their lost territory or join the NATO alliance. Both, of course, major priorities for leaders in Kyiv.
The news reportedly sent shockwaves through European capitals, prompting condemnations from Kyiv and its European allies, who expressed concerns that Trump might seek to make a deal without their input. Officials across the continent took a firm line on Trump's overtures for peace, saying it would be impossible to implement any future deal unless NATO allies play a central role in negotiations.
And that's according to a report from Reuters. European foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas delivered the fiercest rebuke, saying, quote, any quick fix is a dirty deal. Why are we giving them everything that they want even before the negotiations have been started? It's appeasement. It has never worked, end quote. Well, to be fair, he's not wrong.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, who spoke with Trump following his call with Putin, also pushed back publicly on Thursday, saying that Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreement reached by Moscow and Washington without Kiev's direct involvement. He warned that Putin was attempting to bypass Ukraine and said it was critical that the U.S.
and Ukraine draw up a peace plan together before any talks are initiated with the Kremlin. Officials in Germany were similarly blunt in their response, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejecting what he described as Russian efforts to implement a, quote, dictated peace.
Germany's defense minister echoed those concerns, saying it was, quote, regrettable that the Trump administration had made public concessions to Russia before peace talks had started.
A European diplomatic source told Reuters that foreign ministers throughout the NATO alliance would present a unified front and broach the subject with American officials at the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday, saying they would be engaging in a, quote, frank and demanding dialogue. As we touched on yesterday, Vice President J.D.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Trump's reciprocal tariffs?
Chapter 3: How is Belarus involved in US-West relations?
Chapter 4: What did Israel uncover about Iran's activities?
And that's according to a report from Reuters. European foreign policy chief Kaja Kalas delivered the fiercest rebuke, saying, quote, any quick fix is a dirty deal. Why are we giving them everything that they want even before the negotiations have been started? It's appeasement. It has never worked, end quote. Well, to be fair, he's not wrong.
Ukrainian President Zelensky, who spoke with Trump following his call with Putin, also pushed back publicly on Thursday, saying that Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreement reached by Moscow and Washington without Kiev's direct involvement. He warned that Putin was attempting to bypass Ukraine and said it was critical that the U.S.
and Ukraine draw up a peace plan together before any talks are initiated with the Kremlin. Officials in Germany were similarly blunt in their response, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejecting what he described as Russian efforts to implement a, quote, dictated peace.
Germany's defense minister echoed those concerns, saying it was, quote, regrettable that the Trump administration had made public concessions to Russia before peace talks had started.
A European diplomatic source told Reuters that foreign ministers throughout the NATO alliance would present a unified front and broach the subject with American officials at the annual Munich Security Conference on Friday, saying they would be engaging in a, quote, frank and demanding dialogue. As we touched on yesterday, Vice President J.D.
Vance and Secretary of State Rubio are set to meet with Zelensky and other European leaders at the conference on Friday. But Defense Secretary Hegseth attempted to calm tensions on Thursday, saying that Trump was in no way trying to cut Ukraine out of the negotiating process or preemptively force concessions. Hegseth told reporters, quote, There is no betrayal there.
There is a recognition that the whole world and the U.S. is invested and interested in peace. And so that will require both sides recognizing things they don't want to, end quote. The only problem is, so far, the concessions seem to be one way, meaning Ukrainian concessions, which begs the question, what exactly is the U.S. expecting Putin to concede?
He did, meaning Secretary of Defense Hegseth, however, reiterate that any durable peace deal would need to rely on robust security guarantees from European allies, not the U.S., reflecting Trump's intent to make Europe shoulder most of the financial and military burden of any settlement to the war. For now, it remains unclear how a hypothetical peace process could unfold.
Trump said he plans to meet with both Zelensky and Putin face-to-face in the near future, though a timeline for those meetings has not yet been outlined. In the meantime, Zelensky is keeping his focus on Russia's military activity.
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Chapter 5: What reactions are there from Ukraine regarding Trump's negotiations?
Coming up next, President Trump announces his plans for reciprocal tariffs on American trading partners. And Bella versus autocratic president releases an American prisoner and two others from jail in an apparent attempt to thaw frozen relations with the West. I'll have those stories when we come back. Running a business isn't easy. I know that firsthand.
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Chapter 6: What are the concerns of NATO allies about Trump's approach?
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That's 20% off when you use code Baker at American-Giant.com. Welcome back to the BDB. President Trump has declared a sweeping overhaul of the United States trade policy, signing an executive order Thursday to impose what he calls, quote, fair and reciprocal tariffs on all major trading partners, including longtime allies.
Framing the move as a necessary correction to what he describes as long-standing trade imbalances, Trump directed his administration to assess whether retaliatory tariffs should be imposed against nations that charge higher duties on American products.
The order even extends beyond tariffs, also targeting foreign tax policies, government subsidies, currency practices, and other trade behaviors that the White House considers unfair." So you ask yourself, what exactly are reciprocal tariffs? Well, I'm very glad you asked. The principle is straightforward.
If another country imposes higher taxes on American imports, the US will respond in kind, imposing import taxes to foreign governments at the same rate. The goal, Trump argues, is to level the playing field. From the Oval Office, Trump made his position clear, stating, quote, in almost all cases, they're charging us vastly more than we charge them, but those days are over, end quote.
The executive order tasks Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary, and Jameson Greer, his global trade representative, with identifying tariff discrepancies country by country and recommending, quote, remedies within 180 days. Trump insists the policy will incentivize companies to manufacture in the U.S.
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