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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | August 27th, 2025: Bolton Breaks His Silence After FBI Raid & Denmark Furious Over US Espionage In Greenland
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27 August welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, a former senior Trump administration official turned darling of the left John Bolton, breaks his silence following Friday's FBI raid on his home and office. He's slamming President Trump in a blistering op ed over his handling of the war in Ukraine. We'll have the details later in the show. The Danish government summons the senior US Envoy to Copenhagen after reports emerge about a covert American influence campaign in Greenland allegedly aimed at advancing President Trump's bid to annex the Arctic island. First, today's afternoon spotlight. John Bolton has broken his weekend long silence following the surprise FBI raids at his Maryland home and Washington, D.C. officer. And he's not holding back against his former boss, as I'm sure all our listeners are aware. The former White House national security adviser turned outspoken critic of President Trump was targeted by federal investigators last Friday, reportedly over allegations that Bolton once used a private email server to send highly sensitive government information to family members. After laying low for several days, Bolton came out swinging on Monday in a scathing op ed in the Washington examiner that tore into what he described as Trump's, quote, incoherent foreign policy, particularly as it pertains to Ukraine and Russia. That's according to a report from the New York Post. Bolton only briefly touched on the FBI raids, saying it's just the latest example of the Trump administration's internal, quote, disarray, symptomatic of a White House that he argues doesn't know what it's doing on the international stage. Bolden began his editorial saying, quote, donald Trump's Ukraine policy today is no more coherent than it was last Friday when his administration executed search warrants against my home and office, collapsing in confusion, haste and the absence of any discernible meeting of the minds among Ukraine, Russia, several European countries and America. Trump's negotiations may be in their last throes, along with his Nobel Peace Prize campaign, end quote. Well, somebody's being a bit snarky. Bolton, who briefly served as A top advisor to Trump between 2018 and 2019 during the president's first term, essentially argued that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin played Trump like a fiddle during the hastily arranged Alaskan summit. He said Trump's reversal on his pre summit pledge to force an immediate ceasefire with Russia or impose new sanctions weakened America's position as a mediator and cut the legs out from underleaders in Kyiv. Bolton wrote, quote, trump's furious pace trying to move an extraordinarily complex conflict to resolution over the past two weeks was one of several significant mistakes, end quote. Bolton further mocked the outcome of Trump's follow up White House summit with Ukrainian President Zelensky and an unprecedented coalition of European leaders which ended with plans for a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin. Bolton scoffed. Oh, he scoffed that, quote, none of this was realistic and no meeting appears likely anytime soon. Instead, Bolton argued the Trump's efforts over the past two weeks likely hurt the prospects for peace and left the world further from a just settlement for Ukraine than before. He added that in general, quote, bilateral relationships have suffered considerable damage because of the fallout from the administration's failing diplomacy. He pointed specifically to Trump's use of secondary tariffs against India, noting New Delhi has been singled out over their purchases of Russian oil while China, Moscow's largest buyer of hydrocarbons, remains untouched. Bolton warned, quote, india feels deeply aggrieved by Trump. The longer India hangs out to dry, the worse the New Delhi Washington relationship gets, end quote. And there's more where that came from in Bolton's op ed, but you get the idea. There's obviously no love lost between the President and his former national security adviser. And it appears that Bolton does not plan to let the FBI's investigation silence his ongoing criticism of Trump's approach to international affairs. In addition to the op ed, Bolton retweeted a post this week from the UK's Times Radio suggesting last Friday's raid might be a form of political retribution and a, quote, potential encroachment on freedom of speech and liberty. Now, as I mentioned, Bolton had Both his Bethesda, Maryland residence and his D.C. office searched by dozens of federal agents on Friday who were seen carrying boxes in and out of the properties. A senior US official told the New York Post that the raid was ordered by FBI Director Cash Patel and was related to an ongoing investigation into allegations that Bolton used a private email server to send classified documents to his wife and daughter from his desk at the White House. Patel appeared to briefly address the raid in a post on Friday on X saying quote, no one is above the law, but has not yet elaborated on the action publicly. Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he was not directly involved in the decision to raid Bolton's home and office, but quickly added that Bolton, quote, could be a very unpatriotic guy. We're going to find out. Trump added, quote, I'm not a fan of John Bolton. My house was raided also, so I know the feeling. It's not a good feeling, end quote. A quick note before we go to break. We're closely tracking the details of the tragic school shooting at a Catholic church school in Minneapolis this morning. Two children were killed and several injured. We'll have more coverage for you on tomorrow's pdb. Okay, up next, Denmark summons the senior US Envoy to Copenhagen after reports emerge about a covert American influence campaign in Greenland. Mm. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let me take just a moment of your time to talk about your personal finances. Now, if like many folks, you've been occasionally living on credit cards just to cover a variety of expenses. And you know what I'm talking about, right? Groceries and gas bills, car bills, utility bills. Well, you know that those interest rates for the credit cards are brutal. So why keep paying 20% or more to the banks, right? That's a good question. You could call my friends at American Financing instead. 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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. President Trump's long view strategy for Greenland is again rattling Copenhagen as Denmark summoned the US's top envoy in the country following reports that American operatives are working to advance Trump's bid to annex the Arctic island. Now the latest uproar began when Denmark's public broadcaster Dr. Reported that unidentified Americans had traveled to Greenland's capital Nuuk, attempting to infiltrate local society and even compile lists of residents supportive of succession from Denmark, the country's intelligence service. Pet or pet. That sounds adorable, doesn't it? Warns the island was being targeted by, quote, various kinds of influence campaigns, including attempts to exploit, quote, existing or invented disagreements through so called covert operatives. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen denounced the reports as, quote, unacceptable and said Deputy Chief of Mission Mark Stroh, the highest ranking US diplomat in Denmark, in the absence of an ambassador, had been summoned for an explanation. Danish media framed the move as a, quote, diplomatic yellow card. Oh, there's a football reference. And unprecedented public rebuke of one of Copenhagen's closest allies. Rasmussen added that Denmark reinforced PET's presence on the Arctic island to alleged outside US interference. Aside from the PET report, there was no concrete evidence of American meddling as long as we've long discussed here on the pdb, the flare up comes against the backdrop of Trump's repeated vows to bring Greenland under American control. The president has stated before that he would not rule out using military force regarding annexation, arguing the island is indispensable for US Defense, naval routes and rare earth minerals. Some of our listeners may recall that Vice President J.D. vance sharpened that point during a March visit to a US Base on the island, accusing Denmark of, quote, under investing in Greenland's security and failing to shield both American troops and Greenlanders from the growing presence of Russia and China in the region. Danish leaders, meanwhile, have pushed back. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, during a recent visit to Greenland, told Washington flatly, quote, you cannot annex another country. Well, technically, Greenland isn't really another country. It's more like a protectorate of Denmark's. And don't forget Russia annexed Crimea. Remember that? And nobody really complained at the time. Greenland's elected leader echoed the defiance, declaring, quote, we don't belong to anyone else. We decide our own future. Still, Washington's interest shows no sign of cooling. Today's Dr. Report follows a May investigation by the Wall Street Journal, revealing that US Intelligence agencies have been instructed to intensify focus on Greenland's independence movement. When asked about that May report, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard didn't deny it, instead accusing the Journal of undermining our national security and democracy. Rasmussen at that time also summoned Stroh, underscoring a pattern of friction now boiling into repeated confrontation. As we've previously covered, Greenland is home to just 56,000 people and has enjoyed broad self rule since 1979, but still heavily relies on Copenhagen for defense and foreign policy. While Denmark clings to control, most of Greenland's political parties do favor eventual independence. That's a trajectory that plays directly into Washington's hand. And while polls show many Greenlanders remain hesitant about immediate US Membership, the Trump administration argues that skepticism will fade once the island seizes security investment in global clout that only America can deliver. Yet Trump's push has reshaped Denmark's relationship with Washington. What was once dismissed as fantasy politics is now back in the spotlight, with the White House signaling that it has zero intention of backing down from its pursuit of the world's largest island. And that, my friends, is the BDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 27 August. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please reach out to me@pdbhefirsttv.com and of course, to listen to the show ad free. Well, you can do that. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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