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The President's Daily Brief
January 17th, 2025: Rubio’s Foreign Policy Vision & Israel’s Nuclear Sabotage
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- [00:00]
Mike Baker
Hey there, it's Mike Baker. I'm with four others from the UK Special Forces Club, making our way through the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Jordan, traveling 700 miles by camel to eventually reach Aqaba. Now, while I'm gone, Mike Slater is here to bring you the President's Daily Brief. Stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
- [00:32]
Mike Slater
Thanks, Mike. It's Friday the 17th of January, 2025. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Slater filling in for Mike Baker. Let's get briefed. Today we're starting in Washington, D.C. where Senate confirmation hearings are shedding light on what the next four years of foreign policy might look like under President Donald Trump. Later in the show, we'll bring you stunning revelations about a clandestine Israeli operation involving centrifuges embedded with explosives, part of a broader effort to sabotage Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Plus, news from the Caribbean as Cuba has started releasing prisoners after President Joe Biden announced plans to remove the communist country from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. And in today's back of the brief, as the clock ticks down to the looming TikTok ban, President Trump is considering an executive order that could allow the platform to continue operating. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. We'll begin with a preview of how Florida Senator Marco Rubio plans to help shape President elect Donald Trump's foreign policy agenda. Secretary of State. As he vies to be confirmed through the top diplomatic post by the U.S. senate. Rubio sat for a marathon five hour Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday where he laid out an ambitious vision for restoring American dominance on the world stage. Under a second Trump administration. Rubio said the US Would would prioritize our commitments to key allies like Israel and Taiwan, pursue a more aggressive strategy to counter China, and take what he described as a more realistic approach to foreign conflicts like the war in Ukraine. When it comes to global crises in general, Rubio said the incoming Trump administration would be more thoughtful about where they commit American manpower and resources, arguing that American foreign policy should always, first and foremost, quote, advanced U.S. interests. As the hearing got underway, Rubio quickly identified China as the incoming administration's greatest foreign policy challenge. Rubio painted a dark vision of the consequences of what he called America's, quote, unbalanced relationship with China, saying, we have let them manipulate the global order to serve their own interests at the expense of our own. Rubio called China, quote, the most potent and dangerous near peer adversary this nation has ever confronted, noting they are our chief competitor in science and technology, global markets and in political and military influence. Rubio said this would be addressed primarily through economic pressure, arguing the US Must radically transform our current trade agreements and revive domestic manufacturing. He said, quote, we have to rebuild our domestic industrial capacity and we have to make sure that the United States is not reliant on any single nation, single other nation for any of our critical supply chains. This was also echoed by Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary, whose hearing was also yesterday. Moving to the war in Ukraine, Rubio echoed President Elect Trump, saying the west needed to be more realistic regarding the conflict. While he's been a harsh critic of Russia in the past and was a strong supporter of Ukraine in the early days of the war, Rubio said Wednesday that the nearly three year old conflict has turned into a senseless, quote, war of attrition and that the incoming administration would work quickly to achieve a ceasefire. Speaking of that war of attrition, our afternoon bulletin yesterday spoke of Russia's use of Indians, tricking them to come into Russia and then putting them on the front lines to die. He also said that both sides would need to make concessions to achieve a lasting peace, noting that Russia does not have the capability to take over all of Ukraine and that Ukraine lacks the ability to push Russia out of the roughly 20% of the territory that they've already seized. As we've been discussing here on the pdb, Trump has said he hopes to have the war resolved within the first six months of his second administration, if not sooner. Regarding NATO, Rubio also channeled Trump, pledging to continue U.S. support for the alliance, but also warning European countries that they'll have to take a more active financial and military role in their collective defense. He said America should serve as Europe's backstop to aggression, not the bedrock of their security. He signaled that America would be tightening the purse strings in all global matters, arguing too much taxpayer money is being sent overseas without proper scrutiny and finally turning to the Middle East. Rubio vowed steadfast support for Israel and said cracking down on the belligerence of the Iranian regime would be a top priority. He noted that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and Israel's victory over Iran's axis of resistance offer unique opportunities to change the trajectory of the region, and added that securing a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel would help accelerate such efforts. The last administration, the first Trump administration, was very close to making that happen with the Abraham Accords. Zooming out, Rubio asserted that America can no longer afford to be a naive player on the foreign stage. He said that since the end of the Cold War, quote. While America far too often continued to prioritize the global order above our core national interests, other nations continue to act the way countries always have and always will and what they perceive to be in their best interest. He said it was time to abandon the, quote, dangerous delusion pushed by proponents of the liberal global order that we could all become citizens of the world. Rubio declared, quote, the post war global order is not just obsolete, it's now a weapon being used against us. Coming up next, stunning revelations about a clandestine Israeli sabotage operation targeting Iran's nuclear ambitions. And Cuba begins releasing prisoners following President Biden's plan to remove it from the US Terror list. We'll have those stories when we get back.
- [06:10]
Tucker Carlson
Hey, it's Tucker Carlson. It was five years ago this month that people started to drop dead in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Five years since the beginning of COVID Tens of millions dead, societies reordered completely, economies destroyed. And yet, for some reason, we still don't know answers to the most basic questions. And one man knows those answers. His name is Dr. Tony Fauci. And now a documentary filmmaker called Jenner first is out with a new film explaining exactly what happened. The film is called thank you, Dr. Fauci. We are proud to host that documentary here on TCN from December 20th to January 19th. You will see it exclusively here on tuckercarlson.com Again, it's called thank you Dr. Fauci, and it's worth it.
- [06:56]
Mike Slater
Welcome back to the President's Daily Brief. Mike Slater filling in from Mike Baker. Turning to Iran, where for the first time a top regime official publicly acknowledged that Israel successfully sabotaged its nuclear program by embedding explosives within centrifuge platforms, a dramatic omission of Mossad's infiltration into Tehran's nuclear infrastructure. According to Iran's former foreign minister, current vice president. He revealed the depth of Israel's covert operations during an interview this week with a publicly funded organization in Iran. Zarif laid bare how Western sanctions forced Iran to rely on intermediaries for nuclear procurement, creating vulnerabilities that Israeli intelligence exploited. Incredible. Zarif stated, quote, this is part of the damage of sanctions that you're forced to receive purchases through multiple dealers instead of buying from a factory directly. He had a quote, if the Zionist regime can infiltrate one of the dealers, then it could do anything and install anything. Referencing the explosives embedded in equipment destined for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. The consequences of this infiltration were devastating. In two high profile sabotage operations in 2020 and 2021. Explosives concealed within marble foundations obliterated critical components of the nuclear facility in Iran, including its advanced centrifuge, assembly and underground enrichment halls. The former Mossad chief hinted at the sophistication of the operation during an Israeli television interview months later, underscoring the intelligence agency's pivotal role in setbacks for Iran's nuclear program. Zarif's remarks extended beyond Iran's borders, pointing to a more recent Mossad operation that targeted pagers and radios used by the Tehran backed proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, as we reported on the PDB, two waves of attacks killed 42 people, injured thousands and disrupted Hezbollah's communications when Mossad infiltrated the devices and planted small explosives, detonating them remotely. Incredible. The sabotage set the stage for Israel's subsequent invasion of Lebanon in October. These actions demonstrate how Israel uses covert operations to weaken adversaries across the region from Tehran to terrorist strongholds in Lebanon. Since the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal under then President Trump, tensions over Iran's nuclear program have escalated. Iran has enriched uranium closer to weapons grade level, a move it insists is for peaceful purposes. However, the international community has grown increasingly skeptical, particularly as Tehran amasses enriched uranium and refuses to rule out the pursuit of nuclear weapons. Outgoing President Biden and President Elect Trump have both reiterated their commitment to preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. This alignment raises concerns at Tehran over the potential of a preemptive Israeli strike tactics Jerusalem previously employed against nuclear facilities in Iraq and Syria. With Trump set to return to the White House next week, Iran's nuclear ambitions face renewed scrutiny. The possibility of additional Israeli sabotage or direct military action looms large as tensions between Tehran and Jerusalem remain at a breaking point. Shifting to Cuba, the communist nation began releasing prisoners on Wednesday in a gesture tied to Vatican mediated talks. The move comes just a day after the Biden administration announced its intent to delist Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. According to ABC News, the initial wave of prisoner releases include over a dozen individuals detained during the historic 2021 protests. Those protests, spurred by economic distress and widespread power outages, mobilized thousands in the streets and the most substantial anti government demonstration the communist island witnessed in decades. And the Cuban Foreign Ministry framed the gradual release of 553 detainees as part of the Vatican's Jubilee year, an event marked every quarter century by Catholic pilgrimages to Rome, signaling an attempt to decouple the move from Washington's surprise policy shift. By Wednesday afternoon, the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, which monitors such cases reported the release of 18 prisoners. Despite the US gesture, Cuban foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez issued a blistering critique of the Biden administration, labeling the delisting decision as a mere political and superficial gesture. Rodriguez stated, quote, it has been proven that this list is not a tool in the fight against terrorism, but rather a brutal instrument of political coercion against sovereign states. For the prisoners themselves, the news came with abruptness and conditional freedom. According to The Associated Press, 1d Dany, arrested during the 2021 protest and sentenced to four years for public disorder, recounted the suddenness of her release, stating, quote, at three in the morning, officials knocked. I was sleeping in the cell and they told me to gather all my things, that I was free. However, officials warned the detainee that the release did not equate to forgiveness and that any future infractions would lead to reincarceration. The Biden administration's policy shift unfolds mere days before President Elect Trump takes office, setting the stage for what is likely an imminent hardline reversal. A spokesperson for Trump's team emphasized the intent to implement sanctions, quote, with broader effects than last time. Additionally, Biden's 11th hour decision was announced a day before Florida Senator Marco Rubio's first confirmation hearing to be US Secretary of State. Rubio, a Cuban American known for his staunch opposition to the Communist regiment, criticized the outgoing administration's actions during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, arguing that Cuba's ties with Iran, Venezuela, Hamas and Hezbollah were clear indicators of its continued support for terrorism. As Trump prepares to enact a confrontational approach when he assumes office on Monday, the fragile detente initiated in the final days of the Biden administration leaves U.S. cuba relations in renewed tension. Coming up the Back of the Brief with just days left before TikTok is banned in the United States, President Trump is weighing a last minute executive order to let the platform continue operating. We'll be back with more on that, Mike Slater filling it for Mike Baker and today's Back of the Brief with the popular social media app Tick Tock facing the threat of an imminent nationwide ban, reports have emerged that President Elect Donald Trump may step in to save it. Trump is reportedly considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States, though it's not clear how Trump intends to navigate the legalities of such an action. As a reminder, Congress passed a law last April to ban the use of TikTok in America unless the app's Chinese based parent company, ByteDance, sells to an independent buyer. ByteDance has challenged the constitution of the law in the US Supreme Court. But the court's January 10th argument suggests it will likely uphold the legislation over national security concerns. We may actually get a decision from the supreme court on this TikTok case today. While they've yet to issue that final ruling, if the court does not intervene, ByteDance has until Sunday to find a new owner or be banned. Members of both parties have long cited concerns over the firm's ties to the CCP. Are you in a TikTok has been used to peddle disinformation to US users and is regularly exploited by the communist regime to mine the data of millions of Americans. But Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term, has since developed a fondness for the app, pledging to save it while on the campaign trail. He officially joined TikTok during the 2024 presidential race and credited the app with helping him connect with young Americans and ultimately win more of the youth vote. Just last month, the president elect said, quote, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok. While conversations remain ongoing in various ways to keep the app alive in the US an exclusive report for the Washington Post says the most likely path forward is an executive order that would suspend enforcement of the law for 60 to 90 days, buying time for the Trump administration to negotiate a sale or pursue an alternative solution. But legal observers have cast doubt on the viability of such an approach. They note that while past presidents have used executive orders to challenge existing laws, they don't automatically nullify legal enforcement. Given the widespread bipartisan support behind the TikTok ban and the Supreme Court's expected ruling backing the legislation, they argue that such an executive order would likely not survive legal challenges. Trump would also have to persuade the app stores and cloud computer companies that Host to facilitate TikTok's use in America to keep it up and running, potentially exposing them to huge legal penalties. To be clear, even if the ban goes into effect, if you have TikTok on your phone, you can still use it. It would just ban it from being able to be downloaded in app stores. And obviously no updates can be made from the app stores either. But the app could still be used on your phone legally until it gets too buggy that it just doesn't function anymore. We'll have to wait and see how this drama plays out. But adding to the intrigue, the New York Times reported Wednesday that TikTok's chief executive is expected to attend Trump's inauguration on Monday. That's the president's daily brief for Friday, 17th January to listen to the show ad free. You can become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by going to pdbpremium.com I'm Mike Slater from the podcast Politics by Faith, also hosted the morning show on SiriusXM Patreon. We'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay safe. Spread the word.