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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 25th, 2025: Macron: France Will Officially Recognize A Palestinian State & California Charity Under Fire Over 'Misallocated' Wildfire Relief Funds
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- [00:00]
Mike Baker
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Later in the show, six months after wildfires tore through Los Angeles county, questions are swirling over where some $100 million worth of donations collected through a benefit concert have gone. Now a California congressman is calling on the Department of Justice to investigate, alleging that the funds have been misallocated to nonprofits that have little to do with fire relief. We'll have those details. But first, today's Afternoon Spotlight. Or, okay, fair enough. For today, it's the Evening Spotlight. Yes, you're right. In a highly controversial move, French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that France will officially recognize Palestine as an independent state. Macron made the surprising announcement in a statement on X after months of teasing that the French government was considering throwing their support behind a two state solution as a way to solve the ongoing Israel Hamas conflict. It comes as international outrage continues to grow around the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as Hamas continues to hold 50 hostages living and dead, and as efforts to broker a 60 day ceasefire in the enclave falter once again. Macron said he will make a more formal announcement at the UN General assembly in September in New York. In his post, Macron said, quote, the urgent thing today is to end the war in Gaza and bring relief to the civilian population. Well, thank you, Captain Obvious. He also stated that is, quote, our responsibility as French citizens alongside the Israelis, Palestinians and our European and international partners to prove that peace is possible, end quote. As part of his announcement, Macron called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the demilitarization of Hamas and and an increase in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Well, that should do it. He added, quote, finally, we must build the state of Palestine, guarantee its viability and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the region, end quote. Now, Macron also posted a letter that he sent to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas pledging his determination to move forward. Abbas, deputy in the west bank, later praised Macron's announcement and thanked him for the support. But the announcement also drew praise from the terrorist group Hamas, who called it a, quote, positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people. Now those of course, would be the oppressed Palestinians that Hamas has stolen billions of dollars from over the years to line their own pockets. The Iranian backed group called on all countries around the world to, quote, follow France's lead. Now, not to sound churlish, but I suspect I am about to sound churlish. But when Hamas is holding you up as an international example of moral leadership, it might be time for some self reflection. That's certainly how the Israelis see it. Anyway, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, quote, we strongly condemn Mr. Macron's decision to recognize a Palestinian state next to Tel Aviv in the wake of the October 7th massacre. He warned that a Palestinian state would be used as a, quote, launch pad to annihilate Israel. Netanyahu was joined by Israel's deputy Prime Minister who slammed Macron over the move, calling it a, quote, black mark on French history and a direct boost to terrorism. Former Israeli Prime Minister Neftali Bennett was also quick to condemn Macron's announcement, calling it a, quote, moral collapse. He added, quote, it rewards mass murder and tells Islamist terrorists that kill Jews and the world will hand you a state, end quote. For some background, France has long championed a two state solution as a way to solve the conflict, reiterating their support for a Palestinian state directly following Hamas barbaric 7 October attacks, much to the dismay of Israel. But officials in Paris had always stopped short of formal recognition as such a highly controversial move risks antagonizing leaders in Jerusalem and numerous Western allies. But now that calculus has changed. Still, it looks like France will largely be standing alone on this issue. While they became the first G7 nation to recognize a Palestinian state. Well, the U.S. britain, Canada, Germany, Japan and Italy all appear very unlikely to join them. According to a report from Reuters, officials from the UK and Canada have been quietly pushing back against Macron's plans for months. And Germany and Italy released statements on Friday saying they have no plans to recognize a Palestinian state, at least in the short term. Meanwhile, President Trump bluntly dismissed Macron's initiative, telling reporters on Friday, quote, what he says doesn't matter. He's a very good guy. I like him. But that statement doesn't carry weight, end quote. U.S. secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the move, calling it a, quote, slap in the face to the victims of October 7th. He added, quote, this reckless decision only serves Hamas propaganda and sets back peace. Speaking of peace, ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas have once again broken down after the terror group hardened their demands. The US And Israel withdrew their delegations from the ceasefire talks in Qatar on Thursday evening after Hamas dug in their heels with President Trump, saying it appeared Hamas really didn't want to make a deal. He added, quote, I think they want to die, end quote. Netanyahu said Israel is now considering, quote, alternative options to free the remaining hostages and bring Hamas's rule in Gaza to an end. He didn't elaborate further, but, well, it likely means Israeli military operations will once again expand. Up next, a California congressman alleges a charity in California has misallocated $100 million worth of funds to intended for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires. He's now calling for the DOJ to investigate. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. I want to take just a few moments to talk about your online security because that is a critically important subject. Look, right now I'm sure you've probably seen the headlines. They're chock full of news about data breaches and regulatory rollbacks and all of that can make us more vulnerable. But here's the thing, you can do something about it. Let me tell you about a great business out there called Deleteme. Now, Delete Me is here to make it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online. Deleteme constantly monitors and removes your personal information from data broker sites and they send you regular reports so you know exactly what was found and what was deleted. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Delete Me. And now our PDB listeners can get a special discount if you want get 20 off your delete me plan when you go to joindeleteme.combrief and use the promo code brief at checkout. The only way again to get that 20 off, join deleteme.combrief and enter the code brief at checkout again, one more time. That's joinedeleteme.com brief code brief. Mike Baker here. Now, here's an important fact that you might have missed during the course of your busy day. July, and we are in July, might I add, is National Grilling month. It's true. And Tritails Beef is here to help you celebrate it. The American way over a fire with real beef raised by real ranchers. It's that simple. Tritails is a fifth generation family run ranch down in Texas. 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Unknown
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- [11:46]
Mike Baker
To the Afternoon or Evening Bulletin. I want to turn your attention to the fallout from the Los Angeles wildfires as questions swirl over where exactly $100 million worth of donations collected through a benefit concert have gone. As you'll remember, wildfires tore through Los Angeles county in January of this year, devastating several communities, killing 31 people and leaving roughly $164 billion in damages in its wake. Three weeks after the fires, the former CEO of Ticketmaster organized a star studded benefit concert through a newly formed charity called Fire Aid, which raised some $100 million for what organizers promised would be, quote, direct relief for victims, according to a report from the Free Press. But six months later, locals say there are few signs that the aid is reaching impacted communities like the Eaton or Pacific Palisades neighborhoods where tens of thousands lost their homes and businesses to the inferno. One resident of Pacific Palisades told the Free Press that outside of $750 in assistance from FEMA and a few thousand dollars from the Red Cross, victims have not been given much relief. He added, quote, we haven't really seen any Palisades organizations and benefit from the fire AIDS funds. Instead, the $100 million in funds have largely been distributed as grants to nonprofit groups rather than given directly to fire victims and their communities. Some of these groups aren't even located in Los Angeles and appear to have little to do with fire relief, raising questions about how the funds are being prioritized and handed out. A Pacific Palisades resident of 30 years who lost her home in the fire told the Free Press, quote, there's all sorts of skull duggery going on. When was the last time you heard skull duggery? And basically Wildfire victims got no direct relief, end quote. The situation has caught the attention of Republican California Congressman Kevin Kiley who on Wednesday called for U.S. attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into fire aid, saying they have, quote, misallocated the funds. One example that Kylie points to is a group based north of San Francisco, obviously far from the damage, called after the fire, which says they are focused on, quote, coaching, convening and collaborating, end quote. I'm not making that up. He notes that another group that received funds vaguely describes their mission as, quote, multi generational power building and quote, civic engagement. Seriously, where's the due diligence here? In a statement, Kylie said, quote, we just want to get answers because a lot of people really gave generously to this cause. The organizers themselves gave very generously. Now you see reports that maybe the money didn't end up going to the folks that it should have or the victims haven't been given the help that was intended, end quote. Representatives for Fire Rate have responded noting that roughly $75 million has already been distributed across nearly 200 nonprofits and community groups. Ah, but who are they? While specific grant amounts are not publicly disclosed, the groups include, quote, Inclusive Action for the City, that's a nonprofit community development financial institution, the Filipino Workers center, who say they're supporting workers displaced by the fire, and the California Native Vote Project, which says they're helping Native American families with financial assistance and mental health services. Okay, well, reps for fire aid told the Free Press that they never plan to distribute funds directly to wildfire victims due to their status as a newly formed 501c3 organization. Instead, they say an advisory committee made recommendations to Fire AIDS Board, which then chose the final grant recipients. The money was then distributed through a donor advised fund at Goldman Sachs. Well, this isn't too convoluted. An investigation led by the Los Angeles Times published on Wednesday found that some of the grants have in fact gone to local organizations that have provided food and clothing and mental health services to victims. Well, that's good. Still, residents of the impacted communities say the distribution process seems largely disconnected from on the ground relief efforts. Back in May, the Pacific Palisades Community Council asked fire aid to address concerns that organizations in the neighborhood were being passed over for grants. Fire Aid responded by claiming that $21 million has gone to Pacific Palisades and surrounding communities. But an investigation by the Free Press found that only nine groups in or near Pacific Palisades have actually received fire aid grants. Out of the total, 188 recipients. Now, the founder of the Palisades Recovery Coalition vented their frustration to the free press saying, quote, our community has been decimated. So the idea that we're still sitting here and people are saying to us, there's so much money out there for fire relief, we just don't know how to give it away. Well, we're all like, what do you mean? Just come and drive through our town. That group has applied for a grant from the final tranche of fire aid funds, but has yet to be approved. Now, you would have thought that some enterprising investigative journalist would have already done a thorough, complete examination of every one of the non profits and groups that received funds from fire aid. After all, the problem here is that there's nothing like a crisis or a disaster. Well, to bring out the grifters. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday 25th July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the firsttv.com finally, it's Friday. Congratulations on making it to the end of another week. Your reward? Well, it's a brand new episode of the PDB Situation Report, our extended weekend show. Our guests this weekend include Gadar Marie, a journalist and former member of the Israeli Knesset and a member of the Druze community. We'll be examining the recent brutal attacks on the Druze in southern Syria by Bedouin militias supported by the new Islamist government of Syria. We've also got Steve Yates of the Heritage foundation talking all things China, including the CCP's recent refusal to let two US citizens, including a US government employee, leave the country. You can catch the episode this evening at 10pm on the First TV and as always on our YouTube channel. I hope you check that out and subscribe. It's at President's Daily Brief and of course, podcast platforms throughout podcast land. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.