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
Fri, 28 Feb 2025
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: First, an explosive confrontation between Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy that played out in front of the world today. What started as a meeting for a major deal quickly turned into a heated exchange—and it didn’t end well for anyone. Later in the show, as Mexico extradites nearly 30 high-level cartel leaders and members to the U.S. under threats of new tariffs from the Trump administration, we are learning of a covert CIA drone program being used in Mexico to help hunt down major drug kingpins. 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 happened during the Trump-Zelensky confrontation?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Chapter 2: How did the confrontation affect the minerals deal?
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.
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.
Chapter 3: What were Trump's and Zelensky's public responses after the meeting?
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.
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.
Chapter 4: What mistakes did Zelensky make during the meeting?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Chapter 5: What are the consequences of the confrontation for international relations?
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 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,
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.
Chapter 6: What is the CIA's covert role in Mexico's cartel crackdown?
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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 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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