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PDB Afternoon Bulletin | May 21st, 2025: China Rages At Trump's 'Golden Dome' Announcement & Top Aides To Mexico City Mayor Assassinated In Suspected Cartel Hit
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Mike Baker
It's Wednesday, the 21st of May. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, President Trump has unveiled his plans to build a new comprehensive air defense system for the United States that he's called the Golden Dome. And China, well, they're already throwing a fit accusing the US of trying to turn space into a war zone. We'll have the details later in the show. Mexico's bloody political violence escalates inside the country's capital, where two top aides to the mayor of Mexico's city were brazenly assassinated in broad daylight on Tuesday in a suspected cartel hit. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. We'll begin today with a return to our coverage of space based warfare as President Trump unveils his plans to build a futuristic missile defense system dubbed the Golden Dome. The ambitious multi billion dollar project aims to protect against next generation aerial threats to the US including ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as, and this is important, hypersonic weapons. In an announcement from the Oval Office on Tuesday, the president said he had selected a design for the new missile shield, which he teased would be fully operational by the end of his second term. That's according to a report from the BBC. The Trump administration has so far remained vague on the details of the project, but officials said Tuesday that an initial sum of $25 billion with a B has been earmarked for the Golden Dome and in the spending and tax cut bill currently making its way slowly through Congress. But that will only represent an initial investment, as you might suspect, with the project estimated to cost a total of somewhere close to $175 billion. Now, I'll go on record as saying that 175 billion in fat stacks is a very conservative estimate for the Golden Dome. As our regular listeners will remember, Trump first announced his plans back in January when he signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to begin the immediate development of an Iron Dome style missile defense system. While the Golden Dome may take its inspiration from Israel's Iron Dome, the project promises to be, well, obviously many times larger and designed to combat a wider range of threats. The administration is keeping the details of the project close to the vest, but Trump said Tuesday it will involve technologies across land, sea and space, including space based sensors and interceptors. Analysts have speculated that it will probably work by employing thousands of satellites to spot and track missiles and then fire interceptors from orbit to neutralize any potential incoming threats. And it sounds a bit like Dr. Evil's Alan Parsons project from Austin Powers. But perhaps I'm oversimplifying it. Trump said, quote, we'll have it done in three years. Once fully constructed, the Golden Dome will be capable of intercepting missiles even if they're launched from other sides of the world, end quote. Well, that's good. They kind of want that in your missile defense system. We should note, however, that there are significant doubts among former national security experts about the project's viability. The Iron Dome, for example, protects a country that is roughly the size of New Jersey. Many have questioned whether the US has the capabilities to build a system to protect a land mass roughly 450 times larger than Israel, let alone in the short time frame that Trump has outlined. Still, the project has caught the attention of America's adversaries. The communist regime in China was particularly vocal about their opposition to the Golden Dome, accusing Trump of, quote, turning space into a war zone and claiming it, quote, violates the principle of peaceful use in the Outer Space Treaty. China's foreign minister lashed out in a statement on Wednesday saying, quote, the project will heighten the risk of creating a space arms race and shake the international security and arms control system. He added, quote, china is gravely concerned about this. We urge the US to give up developing and deploying global anti missile systems. He added, honestly, only China should be in the business of weaponizing space, end quote. All right, that last little bit there was obviously made up. But the point being, China's outrage, well, it rings a bit hollow or completely hollow. As we discussed just last week on the pdb, China has put a strategic emphasis on space based warfare, rapidly working to expand their military presence in orbit and beyond. General B. Chance Saltzman, he's the chief of U.S. space operations, recently warned that Beijing has developed what he described as a satellite kill web which can precisely target the location of US forces preemptively giving the communist regime valuable intelligence, of course, about American troop positions and operations before military objectives could be met. China has also partnered with Russia to launch a joint lunar exploration project called the International Lunar Research Station. China intends to put astronauts on the moon before 2030 and build a joint nuclear power plant on the moon with Russia to support the station. The ambitious project aims to create a permanent moon base by mid-2030 to compete with America's Artemis moon mission. Russia, meanwhile, has been mulling plans to put a nuclear weapon into orbit. Such a space based anti satellite nuclear weapon could trigger an electromagnetic pulse across low Earth orbit that would of course disable dozens of critical satellites and have a catastrophic effect on any ground based devices that rely on satellite connectivity. As Russia and China vie for military supremacy in space, Saltzman said the U.S. must rapidly work to build out its own space based military capabilities to counter these next generation threats. Coming up next, Two top aides to the mayor of Mexico City were brazenly assassinated in broad daylight on Tuesday in a suspected cartel hit. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Let's take just a few seconds to talk about your financial health. I know it's everybody's favorite subject, isn't it? But it is very important now. When your credit isn't perfect right, it can really feel like the system is stacked against you. But there is a company out there looking to help and that company is Kickoff. 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As BRICS nations push forward with their plans, well demand for US Dollars could decrease, bringing down of course the value of the dollar. Now while the transition won't happen overnight, the Rio reset marks a pivotal moment when BRICS objectives move from possibility toward reality. So so you ask yourself what can you do to help protect your hard earned dollar savings? I would suggest first stop would be check in with the professionals at Birch Gold Group. Now Birch Gold can help you move your hard earned dollar savings into a tax sheltered IRA in precious metals. Claim your free information kit on gold by texting PDB to 989-898 with an A rating with a Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers. Let Birchgold arm you with a free information kit on owning Gold before July and that Rio reset just text PDB to 989-898 today. Welcome back to the afternoon Bulletin. Mexico's bloody political violence spilled into the Capitol Tuesday as two top aides to Mexico City Mayor Clara Bogada were assassinated in a daylight motorcycle ambush. According to officials with the federal prosecutor's office, Brugada's private secretary Ximena Guzman had been driving to work and stopped on a busy avenue downtown in Mexico City to pick up senior advisor Jose Munoz when two gunmen on a motorbike pulled up alongside the vehicle. That's a classic hit scenario. The attackers opened fire, killing Munoz on the spot. Guzman, still behind the wheel, was executed with at least four rounds fired directly into the windshield. The violence shattered the capital's long standing reputation as a haven from cartel warfare. As of now, the motive remains unclear, but Mexican security analysts say the ambush bears all the hallmarks of a cartel ordered hit, likely meant to send a message ahead of next month's judicial elections. Public security specialist David Saucedo stated, quote, this was a harsh message sent to Bogada, undoubtedly perpetrated by drug traffickers. He noted that organized criminal groups impacted by recent seizures have a pattern of retaliating against officials even in the capital. Photos from the scene show a black Audi riddled with bullet holes. One victim lay slumped in the front seat. The other was found on the pavement covered with a white sheet. Police cordoned off the area as forensic technicians collected shell casings and and comb nearby streets for physical evidence. I'd like to point out that Mayor Bugatta was not in the vehicle at the time of the attack and in a somber statement Tuesday, she mourned her longtime colleagues saying, quote, I feel very sad for the loss of Kimena and Jose, with whom for many years we shared dreams and struggles. She vowed that there would be no impunity and thank Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, herself a former Mexico City mayor, for swiftly deploying federal resources to assist the investigation. Sheinbaum said, it, quote, it is a deplorable incident, and we are going to give all the support that the mayor may need. Later that day, Mexico City's civil security office confirmed the recovery of a motorbike near the crime scene and a second vehicle in a neighborhood east of the capital. Ballistic and fingerprint evidence are currently under analysis. The ambush has drawn inevitable comparisons to the 2020 cartel attack on then Mexico City Police Chief Omar Garcia Harfouc, now serving as federal security minister, which left two of his bodyguards dead. Harfouc survived the hit and later blamed the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico's most powerful and violent criminal syndicates. As we discussed on Tuesday's pdb, the New Generation Cartel is also the lead suspect in a recent targeted hit at a Guadalajara restaurant that left two private security consultants dead, one of whom was a former U.S. state Department contractor. Notably, the New Generation Cartel has been designated by the US Government as a terrorist organization since February. With Mexico's election season already covered in blood, Tuesday's daylight double assassination. Well, it's a reminder of how far cartel influence has penetrated and how brazenly it now operates even in the nation's capital. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Late afternoon, early evening, and whatever you'd like to call it for Wednesday, 21 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@the first tv.com and of course, to listen to the show ad free. You can do that. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com and as always, don't forget to check out our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief, I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. I want to take just a few seconds of your time to tell you about a great home fitness company. It's called Jacked Up Fitness. Jacked Up Fitness. Now they make amazing gym equipment for home use, making it, well, easier than ever to be consistent with your strength training workouts. And of course, strength training, well, it's key to your overall fitness. Now as an example, their all new X series elevates home fitness to a whole new level. The Power Rack Pro X functional trainer lets you do hundreds of exercises from the comfort of your own home. I've got a Power Rack Pro at my place. Let me tell you something, it is outstanding. 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