The President's Daily Brief
March 19th, 2025: What Trump Said To Putin & Houthi Rebels Remain Defiant
Wed, 19 Mar 2025
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief: A high-stakes call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin—after 90 minutes of discussion, the two agreed to kick off negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. We break down what was said and what comes next. Yemen’s Houthi rebels refuse to back down in the Red Sea, despite U.S. airstrikes and pressure from Iran. How their defiance is escalating tensions. Chinese state media is celebrating the White House’s decision to cut funding for U.S.-backed news outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. Why Beijing sees it as a victory—and what it means for America’s influence abroad. And in today’s Back of the Brief—two NASA astronauts, stranded aboard the International Space Station for more than nine months, have finally made it back to Earth. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What were the key points from Trump's call with Putin?
It's Wednesday, the 19th of 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 high-stakes call between President Trump and Russian President Putin.
Now, the two spoke for at least 90 minutes yesterday, discussing an end to the war in Ukraine and agreeing to kick off negotiations straight away. We've got the details. Later in the show, Yemen's Houthi rebels are doubling down on attacks in the Red Sea, refusing to back off despite U.S. airstrikes and pressure from Iran, or I should say supposed pressure from Iran.
Now, there's a chance, mind you, that the Houthi rebels might have an outsized opinion of their capabilities. Plus, Chinese state media is cheering the U.S. White House's move to cut funding for U.S.-backed news outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. We'll discuss why Beijing sees it as a win and what it means for America's reach abroad. And here's a pro tip.
If the Chinese regime is crowing approval about something that a U.S. administration is doing, well, it may not actually be in the best interests of the U.S., And in today's back of the brief, after more than nine months in space, two NASA astronauts stranded aboard the International Space Station since last June have made it back to Earth. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin with President Trump's call with Vladimir Putin as the U.S. president presses forward on his attempts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, despite Keeb's skepticism over the Russian strongman's motivations and intentions. The pair spoke for at least 90 minutes on Tuesday, a conversation that President Trump described as a, quote, very good and productive one.
They agreed to commence negotiations at a neutral site in the Middle East for a comprehensive peace deal immediately, though the pathway forward still remains uncertain. In the interim, however, Putin said he agreed to a more limited ceasefire that will halt attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days, provided that leaders in Kyiv reciprocate.
So, frankly, not really a ceasefire, just an agreement that in the course of waging war on Ukraine, Putin won't target power plants. According to our report from Axios, shortly after the call ended, Putin gave the order for the 30-day pause on power plants to be implemented.
The Kremlin also said there'll be a prisoner swap on Wednesday with Ukraine involving 175 soldiers from each side and that Russia would also be returning 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers as a gesture of goodwill.
While it could be described in some circles as progress, the measures fall well short of the Trump administration's proposal for a full 30-day ceasefire, which Kiev endorsed but Putin rejected last week. Still, the 30-day pause on energy infrastructure attacks is similar to a previous Ukrainian proposal for a phased approach to peace.
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Chapter 2: What challenges do the Houthi rebels pose in the Red Sea?
Now, with their funding on the chopping block, the question remains, how much of a dent will this make in the flow of independent reporting into China? With Beijing's iron grip on information, it's difficult to gauge how ordinary Chinese citizens view these cuts. Well, critics argue that defunding these outlets is a gift to authoritarian regimes.
VOA Director Michael Abramowitz warned the move, quote, hobbles America's ability to counter foreign disinformation at a time when adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran are expanding their state-run media operations.
Radio Free Asia's chief executive was even more blunt, calling the cuts a quote, reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space, end quote. The Trump administration, however, defended the decision, arguing that taxpayer dollars will no longer fund what it describes as quote,
Radical propaganda. Hmm. The White House has long accused VOA of editorial bias, and this latest move reflects a broader effort to rein in its direction. Authoritarian leaders outside of China have taken note as well. Former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, who spent years cracking down on independent media, praised Trump's move. I swear, somewhere in here there is a clue.
Calling it a, quote, big contribution to eliminating fake news. I'll just repeat that. Authoritarian leaders are praising the move to shutter these US government-funded news outlets.
Meanwhile, in Eastern Europe, the Czech Republic is urging the EU to intervene to keep Radio Free Europe operational, warning that the US withdrawal weakens media freedom in a region increasingly targeted by Russian disinformation campaigns. Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA reaches an estimated 360 million people weekly in nearly 50 languages.
Radio Free Asia, launched in 1996, focuses on six Asian nations where press freedom is virtually non-existent, including Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and Laos, reaching nearly 60 million listeners weekly. For now, the full implications remain unclear. But with China's state media reveling in the moment, one thing is certain.
America's ability to project soft power and shape global narratives has taken a major hit. And Beijing, Moscow, Iran, and other regimes eager to control information are more than happy to pick up the slack.
Look, not for nothing, but I've spent most of my life overseas and in large part dealing with difficult regions where authoritarian governments work hard to ensure that their populations don't have access to news and information. For many of these people, the VOA over the years was the one outlet that gave them access to the outside world.
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Chapter 3: How is China reacting to U.S. media funding cuts?
Meanwhile, the fully automated Boeing craft was piloted back to Earth without a crew last September, causing embarrassment for Boeing in their quest to compete with Elon Musk for space dominance. How cool does that sound? Space dominance.
Speaking of Musk, well, he was accused of politicizing the situation earlier this month when he said he had offered to bring the two astronauts back last fall, but was rebuffed by the Biden administration for political reasons.
But Bill Nelson, who served as the administrator of NASA under Biden, said Monday that he was not aware of any conversation with Musk or other SpaceX representatives about bringing the astronauts home early.
And NASA officials have also consistently stated that the decision to delay their return until March was made solely based on what would cause the least disruption to the operations of the International Space Station. Regardless, setting politics aside, which frankly is never a bad idea, it's very good news to welcome the astronauts home.
And given the state of the world currently, well, a bit of good news is always welcome. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, the 19th of March. If you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com.
And as your mother always told you, to listen to the show ad-free, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. Always remember, listen to your mom. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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