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The President's Daily Brief
February 21st, 2025: U.S. Green Berets Deploy To Mexico & Russia Pushes NATO Withdrawal
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- [00:00]
Roy Wood Jr.
Have I GOT News for you is back for another season. Roy Wood Jr. Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black are finding the funny in the week's biggest stories. Have I got news for you? Saturday at 9 on CNN and stream next day on Max.
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Mike Baker
It's Friday, the 21st of February. Welcome to the President's Daily Br. 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 US 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 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. I mean, aside from Putin's hubris and the belief that he's negotiating with the US 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. 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. Today we're kicking things off with a story that might not have grabbed headlines this week, but 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. 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. 11 Green Beret from the 7th Special Forces Group will be in Mexico from the 17th of February through the end of March training the Mexican Navy's Marine infantry on combat tactics, both conventional and unconventional. They have 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 Beret 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 US to tackle the drug cartels. The US Special Operations Command described the mission as part of, quote, normal, routine, pre planned military training, end quote, with the Mexican marines as part of the long standing defense, 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. While the Green Beret 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 US advisors. She suggests that Mexico should invite US military forces to assist in fighting organized crime on Mexican soil. The push for deeper cooperation between the US and Mexico comes at a time of heightened tension. Just as the Green Beret were arriving, Mexican officials confirmed that US 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 officials have not confirmed the nature of the flights, but it's clear that they were monitoring cartel activity. Mexico's Defense Secretary, Ricardo Torila noted that the planes remained in international airspace. Still, it raises some interesting questions about just how far the US will go in its operations against the cartels. All of this, the Green Beret arrival, the reconnaissance flights, comes just as the US 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. 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 U.S. department of Defense intelligence agencies and other military assets may now begin to play a more active role in combating cartel operations. 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 US actually takes those steps, well, that remains to be seen, of course, 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 US border. Alright, coming up next, Russia demands NATO withdrawal from Eastern Europe as part of peace talks. Oh, is that all they want? And U.S. defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders massive military budget cuts. I'll be right back.
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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. 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 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. 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. 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 command are stationed in countries along the alliance's eastern flank, with another 10,000 U.S. troops hosted in Poland. But if the U.S. 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. 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 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. 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, as far as I understand, the situation can change from hour to hour or from day to day, end quote. 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 DC 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. 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 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 US Was negotiating with Russia behind Europe's back. Macron stressed, quote, the security concerns of the Europeans will have to be taken into account, end quote. Now, if you think about it, it's a fascinating turn of events that European leaders, NATO allies, are seriously worried that the US 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. As Churchill once said, you can't negotiate with the tiger when your head is in its mouth. Perhaps a more pragmatic approach that unless you're okay with appeasing Putin, is to understand his weaknesses, meaning Putin's weaknesses, and focus on them. 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 US 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 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. 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. 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. 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 re establish deterrence. 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. 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. An obvious target for cuts at the Pentagon, which has the largest discretionary budget of any government department, likely to be diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, which Trump has vowed to purge from all government departments and agencies. 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. 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. 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. 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 and their pork. 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.
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N/A
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Mike Baker
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. 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 corrective action to prevent federal funds from supporting sanctuary policies or programs. 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. 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, which calculates that taxpayers spend 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. 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. Illegal immigrants granted parole status are reclassified as qualified aliens, oh, 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 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. 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. Additionally, billions of taxpayer dollars reportedly flowed to left wing organizations facilitating mass migration and providing legal aid to challenge deportation orders. 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 21st February. 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 PDB premium.com and it is very simple. And if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirst tv.com. i'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later on today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.