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The President's Daily Brief
PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 19th, 2025: Trump's Limited Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Already Risks Collapse & China Looks To Thwart US Panama Canal Deal
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- [00:12]
Mike Baker
It's Wednesday, the 19th of March. 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, President Trump's much discussed and anticipated 30 day partial ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which was supposed to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, is already collapsing. We'll look at what happened just hours after the call between Trump and Russian President Putin later in the show. China is looking to scuttle the sale of two critical ports in the Panama Canal to the US asset firm BlackRock, jeopardizing President Trump's plans to regain control of the strategic waterway from the Chinese Communist Party. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. It appears that the Trump administration's hopes for a limited ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine are already at risk of collapsing as Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of launching air attacks on civilian targets and energy infrastructure. Less than 24 hours after Trump's lengthy phone call with Putin, where this Russian strongman reportedly agreed to cease attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack striking civilian buildings and energy sites. The overnight Bombardment involved roughly 145 Russian drones, four cruise missiles and two ballistic missiles, which struck two hospitals in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, as well as a power substation in the eastern Donetsk region. That's according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Zelensky condemned what he described as a deliberate provocation and said Ukraine will be forced to respond in kind. He also held the strikes up as clear evidence that Putin is not acting in good faith. Well, there's a shock when it comes to Trump's diplomatic outreach and is using the discussions to manipulate the situation to his advantage. On Wednesday, Zelensky stated, quote, you see, this ceasefire is already not working. Putin's words are very much at odds with reality, end quote. The Ukrainian leader added that, quote, there won't be a situation where Russia will continue to shell our energy infrastructure and that we won't respond. We will respond, end quote. Russia, meanwhile, said that Ukraine already launched its own overnight attack on Russian oil infrastructure in the country's south and accused leaders in Kiev of trying to undermine the tentative deal struck between Trump and Putin. The Russian Defense Ministry said multiple Ukrainian drones had entered their airspace and that a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil depot. The dueling accusations underscore the fragile nature of Trump's negotiations with both Russia and Ukraine and lingering uncertainties over how to implement and enforce any potential cease fire proposals. Zelensky said that the US Must closely monitor Russia's military activity and hold them accountable to their stated promises. He said he would be discussing next steps with Trump on a phone call that actually took place Wednesday morning. Details of the discussion are scarce at this time, but we will have more on that call in tomorrow's pdb. As we discussed on this morning's show, President Trump was initially seeking to convince Putin to agree to a full 30 day ceasefire that would pave the way for discussions on a more permanent peace deal. While Kyiv accepted the proposal last week, Putin rejected the offer, saying that it did not go far enough in addressing Russia's strategic concerns and objectives. Putin is insisting that any lasting ceasefire must include Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions and recognizing Russian territorial gains. Additionally, the Kremlin said on Monday that a key condition for ending the war is to fully end all foreign military aid and intelligence sharing to Ukraine and assurances that Ukraine will cease the mobilization and rearmament of its military. Putin also reportedly wants a pony and a golden ticket to Wonka's chocolate factory. Look, the dude essentially expects everything and to date appears uninterested in actual negotiations. Putin's demands are so steep that many are skeptical, really as to whether he has any real interest in peace, at least in the short term. Zelensky said Tuesday that Putin is attempting to use these talks to, quote, weaken Ukraine so that he can issue ultimatums from a position of strength. The White House had said that Trump and Putin agreed on Tuesday's call to send delegations to the Middle east immediately to negotiate a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and to get the ball rolling on a more permanent peace deal. But Wednesday's attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure raise major questions about whether the U. S can trust any promises made by the Kremlin. Now, you may be shocked to hear me say that. I don't believe that you can trust any promises being made by Putin. It's just not in his nature. Coming up next, China is looking to thwart the sale of two critical ports in the Panama Canal to the US asset firm BlackRock. I'll have those details when we come back.
- [05:30]
Josh Hammer
Like a bull in a China shop, Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and rejuvenation agenda comes so many legal questions. Nationwide injunctions, are they constitutional? What's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial, Josh Hammer, for your daily updates on all of these questions and more. Like a bowl in a China shop, Donald Trump came in to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. but with his bold reform and rejuvenation agenda comes so many legal questions nationwide. Injunctions, are they constitutional? What's the deal with birthright citizenship? What about the administrative state? Can he actually clean the deep state and end the politicization of the federal bureaucracy? I'm Josh Hammer, host of America on Trial with Josh Hammer. Subscribe to America on Trial with Josh Hammer for your daily updates on all of these questions, questions and more.
- [06:31]
Mike Baker
Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. A deal for the United States to reclaim control over the Panama Canal is rapidly becoming a flashpoint in the ongoing power struggle between Washington and Beijing as Chinese and Hong Kong authorities seek to stand in the way of the deal. As we've tracked here on the PDB, the 23 billion dollar deal, spearheaded by investment giant BlackRock, triggered legal challenges in Panama and regulatory scrutiny from Beijing over one of the world's most strategic waterways. At the heart of the dispute is BlackRock's acquisition of the Panamanian ports of Cristobal and Balboa. Now, those are critical ports on the Atlantic and the Pacific ends of the canal. From Hong Kong based CK Hutchinson, the deal aligns with President Trump's broader push to reclaim American influence in the region, with him calling it an effort to, quote, reclaim control of the canal and slamming Beijing's, quote, ripoff of American shipping firms through excessive tolls. The Panama Canal handles roughly 5% of global maritime trade and is a crucial transit route for the U. S. Navy, allowing vessels to move between the Atlantic and the Pacific. For years, American national security officials have warned that Beijing's presence in the canal zone could enable China to restrict American access in the event of conflict. That's a concern that is only intensifying as tensions between the two nations escalate. On Tuesday, Hong Kong chief executive John Lee weighed in, denouncing the BlackRock deal and insisting that it requires, quote, serious attention. In what appeared to be a pointed jab at President Trump, Lee added, quote, we oppose the abusive use of coercion or bullying tactics in international economic and trade relations. He added, and if anybody knows the abusive use of coercion or bullying tactics in international affairs, it's the Chinese regime, end quote. All right, fine, I made up that last part of the quote, but that doesn't make it wrong. Beijing, meanwhile, launched an antitrust and national security review through its state administration of market regulation. That's a move that's widely interpreted as an effort to scuttle the sale before it can even go through. A Chinese Communist Party owned newspaper in Hong Kong also entered the fray, warning that the Hutchinson BlackRock agreement would allow Washington to, quote, use the canal for political purposes and promote its own political agenda. It suggested that the sale could lead to China's shipping industry becoming, quote, subject to the United States. The fight isn't confined to Beijing. In Panama, the country's attorney general formally backed two lawsuits that challenged C.K. hutchinson's 25 year contract for the canal ports, arguing that the agreement is unconstitutional and improperly grants foreign control over national infrastructure. Now, this could be a factor in Hutchinson's intent to sell. Adding to the tension, Panama's president announced last month that the country would pull out of China's Belt and Road Initiative. That's Beijing's global infrastructure push that has served as a cornerstone of its economic expansion efforts. The dispute comes at a precarious time for US China relations. As we've covered, Trump earlier this month raised tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20%, citing Beijing's failure to rein in fentanyl trafficking. On Monday, Trump hinted that Chinese President Xi may visit the U.S. quote, in the not too distant future. Some analysts believe Beijing could leverage the canal deal to push for a reduction in tariffs. But should China formally move to block the blackrock CK Hutchinson deal, it's all but certain to provoke a heated response, of course, from Washington. Trump's national security team views the Panama Canal as a core strategic asset and any effort by Beijing to torpedo the sale is expected to trigger retaliatory measures. Well, I guess it's only fair. 2025 is already shaping up to be the year of retaliatory measures. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday 19th March. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv.com and finally, have you ever found yourself thinking out loud? You know, I'd love to listen to the pdb, but I wonder what it would be like without commercials. Well, wonder no further. To listen to the show ad free, simply 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. Foreign.
- [11:31]
Mike Slater
Hey, I'm Mike Slater. I have a podcast called Politics by Faith. We have a very simple mission. We take the news of the day and we filter it through a biblical worldview. So here's the big story of the day. What does the Bible say about it and how can we apply it? It's amazing. There's nothing new under the sun. The Bible has something to say about everything that's going on today. So basically, we thump the Bible over on Politics by Faith. I think we ought to keep MAGA going. And I think the way to take it beyond just a political victory into a true rebuilding and awakening and revival in America is to make sure that this is all grounded in biblical principles. And that's what we do on the podcast Politics by Faith. And you can subscribe to Politics by Faith wherever you're listening to the show right now.