The President's Daily Brief - April 3rd, 2024: Airstrike Tragedy, Iran Vows Revenge, & Border Breach

Episode Date: April 3, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A heartbreaking event in Gaza: Seven humanitarian workers are killed during an Israeli airstrike while providing meals to Palestinians. We break down what happened and what it means for international relations. Iran's vow for vengeance: Tehran promises retaliation against Israel after an airstrike takes out two elite members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at their embassy in Damascus. Speaker Mike Johnson is fighting an uphill battle to secure a multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine, facing substantial pushback from his party colleagues. We examine his tactics and the stakes involved. Border breach headline: A staggering 1,000 'gotaway' migrants reportedly enter the U.S. in a single day, eluding authorities. Get the latest on this developing situation at the border. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Wednesday, 3 April. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll start things off today with a tragic event in Gaza as seven aid workers providing meals to Palestinian residents are killed in an errant Israeli air strike. We'll have the details, the diplomatic fallout, and the international condemnation. Later in the program, the Iranian government is threatening revenge on Israel after an air strike of on its consulate in Damascus killed three high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force working in Syria to provide weapons and support to Iran's proxy group Hezbollah.

Plus, U.S. Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, is preparing to make a fresh push to get billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. We'll look at how he plans on getting past the opposition within his own party. And in today's back of the brief, more news from the border with a new report, showing that almost 1,000 got-away migrants illegally entered the United States in a single day. But first, today's PDB spotlight. Tragedy struck in Gaza on Tuesday, as if we need any more tragedy in that part of the world. As seven humanitarian aid workers were accidentally killed in an errant airstrike by the Israeli defense forces, the workers belonged to World Central Kitchen.

That's an organization founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres. delivers meals to conflict and crisis zones. In a statement confirming the incident, the organization claimed that the team had coordinated their movements with the IDF and was traveling in two armored cars branded with the WCK logo and a soft-skin vehicle. The convoy was hit as it was leaving a warehouse in western Gaza, where the team had been unloading humanitarian food aid brought to Gaza via a maritime route. The seven workers who were killed are from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, and Palestine. World Central Kitchen CEO Aaron Gore called the attack, quote, unforgivable, saying, this is not only an attack against WCCK, this is an attack on

humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war, end quote. The group announced that it would be pausing its operations in the region immediately. Now, not long after the strike was reported, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged what he called the, quote, tragic case of our forces unintentionally hitting innocent people in the Gaza Strip. Netanyahu added, quote, it happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this does not happen again, end quote. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said they are reviewing the incident at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of what went wrong and how it happened. He promised to share

their findings when the investigation is concluded. Now, as you would expect, the incident has already caused significant backlash from the international community. Three of the aid workers were British nationals, and the UK Foreign Office said that it has summoned Israel's ambassador. Foreign Minister Andrew Mitchell has demanded that those responsible be held to account. Here in the U.S., President Biden reportedly held a phone call with Chef Jose Andreas to express his condolences to the group and vowed that he would urge Israel to do more to protect aid workers. Democrats have ceased on the tragedy to call for a withholding of aid from Israel. One unnamed House Democrat, described as a longtime supporter of Israel, told Axios, quote, it's time to pull the plug on unconditional

aid to Israel. They have not been good stewards of our money, end quote. Well, then again, Hamas has not been a steward of the money that the U.S. has provided to Gaza over the years. So let's not get too righteous. Coming up after the break, tensions escalate as Iran vows retaliation against Israel, following an air strike on its embassy at Damascus, resulting in the deaths of three senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials. And in the U.S., Speaker Mike Johnson gears up for a tough battle, aiming to secure a substantial aid package for Ukraine, despite facing significant opposition from within his own party. I'll be right back.

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Kayak, got that right. getting every customer's order right. It's only a point-of-sale system connected by Spectrum fiber-powered business internet, helping you track hundreds of secure transactions. And it's all backed by 24-7 U.S.-based customer support and local technicians. It's only everything. Get business internet advantage free, forever, when you get four mobile lines from Spectrum. Visit Spectrum.com slash free for life to find out how. Restrictions apply. Service is not available in all areas. Welcome back. I want to return to our coverage of the Israeli air strike in Syria on Monday that killed several high-ranking Iranian IRGC officials and leveled part of the regime's embassy in Damascus. The fallout from

the strike has been swift, with Iranian leaders vowing revenge against Israel on Tuesday, and regional observers warning that the strike may serve as a fundamental turning point that could bring Israel and Iran into direct conflict, well, as opposed to Israel already being in direct conflict with Iran's puppets, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah, which are fully funded, trained, supported, and resourced by Iran. The strike was one of the most devastating to Iranian interests since the assassination of former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani and a U.S. drone strike back in 2020 in Baghdad. Two of Iran's generals and five military advisors at its embassy and Damascus were killed in the strike on Monday, including General Mohamed Reza Zahidi, the commander

of the IRGC's Quds Force for Lebanon and Syria. While Israel, in keeping with its strategy in Syria, has not publicly commented on the strike, a senior Israeli government official told Reuters that those targeted had, quote, been behind many attacks on Israeli and American assets and had plans for additional attacks, end quote. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini lashed out in a statement on Tuesday, saying, quote, the Zionist regime will be punished by the hands of our brave men. we will make it regret this crime and others it has committed, end quote.

Well, somebody could use a smidgen of self-awareness. An advisor to Chamini added in a statement on X that the U.S. remains directly responsible for the attack, even if the U.S. was not aware of the specific plans. U.S. officials had communicated to Tehran on Monday that the U.S. had absolutely no knowledge of Israel's plans. Denunciations of the strike also poured in from, well, the usual suspects. including Russia, who called it a, quote, violation of all the foundations of international law. End quote, something that Putin obviously holds in high esteem. I mean, there is nothing

that Putin holds more dear than international law. As we noted previously here on the PDB, Monday's strike could risk significant escalation as the Iranian regime seeks to reassert their dominance in the region. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Iran has been happy to behind their regional proxy groups to stir conflict and instability with Israel and the U.S. However, the termination of their senior Quds Force generals operating in Syria to aid Hezbollah, well, that could change the calculus. Julian Barnes-Dacey of the European Council on Foreign Relations told Reuters, quote, While Tehran wants to avoid being sucked into a wider war,

it may feel compelled to respond more forcefully to maintain the credibility of its regional deterrence posture, end quote. Hesi Simantov, a prominent Israeli journalist, said the Iranian regime's rhetoric following the strike, which stresses that it was an attack on their diplomatic mission overseas, signals that they are preparing for a more forceful response. Simantov said Tuesday, quote, they are laying the groundwork to strike at Israeli diplomatic representations worldwide in the Arab world, Europe, the U.S., or South America. The assassination attributed to Israel certainly makes a confrontation between Iran and Israel more direct rather than indirect as it has been until now in Syria, end quote.

All right. Turning our attention to the war in Ukraine. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is engaging in a fresh push to get more military and financial aid to Kyiv, despite continued opposition from members of the Republican caucus. Specifically, Johnson is advocating structuring any new support in the form of a temporary loan, echoing an idea that former President Donald Trump has floated on the campaign trail. Johnson is currently balancing the interests of an incredibly slim Republican majority in the House. It's way fell thin, who may turn on him and boot him from the leadership role if he makes any

missteps. Boy, that's the way to govern. To sweeten the pot for Republicans wary of sending more money and munitions to a beleaguered Ukraine, Johnson has suggested tying any additional aid to legislation that would overturn the Biden administration's current moratorium on new liquefied natural gas export authorizations, which was imposed in January at the request of environmental activist groups, according to a report by the BBC. Johnson has also indicated his willingness to pursue legislation that would allow the Biden administration to confiscate and sell Russian assets frozen since the start of the war and give those funds to Ukraine. Johnson said recently, Quote, if we can use the seized assets of Russian oligarchs to allow the Ukrainians to fight them,

well, that's just pure poetry, end quote. As we've mentioned before, this controversial gambit would be an unprecedented move by the U.S. and Western allies, and many have raised concerns that it could undermine international use of the dollar and euro by spooking other foreign powers. We're already seeing a move away from the dollar through the Bricks Alliance, which accelerated since Russia's assets were frozen following their investment. of Ukraine. Still, the idea is gaining momentum, and there is currently a piece of bipartisan legislation approved by House and Senate committees that is now under broader consideration by both chambers.

It would let the administration confiscate around $5 billion to $8 billion in Russian sovereign assets currently under U.S. jurisdiction, and that's according to Politico. Another $300 billion in Russian assets remain frozen in Europe. However, there does seem to be greater resistance to the idea of using these funds among EU members. As a reminder, U.S. aid to Ukraine officially dried up in January, and the White House has been trying to get new assistance approved ever since. A previous attempt by Johnson to tie a $60 billion aid proposal to immigration reform ultimately failed in February. Meanwhile, administration officials continue to warn that Putin is gaining the upper hand in Ukraine in the absence of fresh American aid.

All right, coming up in today's back of the brief, a concerning surge at the U.S. southern border. Nearly 1,000 migrants evaded capture in just one day, crossing into the U.S. illegally. I'll be right back. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just. $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan,

equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. In today's back of the brief, according to a report from Fox News, almost 1,000 gotaway migrants illegally entered the U.S. border on Easter Sunday alone. Fox reports that this latest number brings the seven-day average of gotaways at the southern border to 761 per day. Now, as a reminder, gotaways are migrants who are not recorded in the official public border numbers reported each month. Since President Biden took office back in 2022, conservative estimates are that there have been between 1.8 and 2 million known godaways who evaded U.S. border patrol, but the reality

is, since they're evading law enforcement, we don't really know how many people have crossed over the border. In addition to all those gotaways, there's one other number that I want to throw your way today, and that's the surge in migrant encounters with Chinese nationals at the border. In the first five months of this fiscal year, which started in October of 23, CBP reports that it's encountered over 22,000 Chinese citizens. For context, in 2021, that number was 342 for the whole year. And I'll repeat, in the first five months of this fiscal year, it's 22,000 Chinese citizens. So, compared to 2021, that's an increase of 6,300 percent. And I checked my math. I believe that's correct. The number grew to more than 24,000 in fiscal year 2023, meaning we're on pace to more

than double the number of Chinese migrants we saw last year. Now, the news comes as a new poll shows that the border represents one of President Biden's most significant vulnerabilities in the November presidential election. That's not a shock. According to a poll taken in late March by the Associated Press, over two-thirds of Americans, 68 percent, disapprove of how President Biden is handling immigration compared to just 31% who approve? Who are these people who approve? I mean, seriously, what is their metric for a job well done? When broken out by party affiliation, only a slight majority of Democrats, 56% approve of Biden's handling of immigration. That number drops to 20% among independents. That should set off an alarm bell at the White House,

and predictably 9% among Republicans. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief for Wednesday, 3 April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Some follow the noise. Bloomberg follows the money, whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion-dollar swings. There's a money side to every story.

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