The President's Daily Brief - January 27th, 2023. Bryan Is Wrong, Part 1.

Episode Date: January 27, 2023

It’s January 27th. You’re listening to the President’s Daily Brief. Your morning intel starts now. ------ Today is our Special Brief about how Bryan is Wrong. It was an opportunity for you all to write in, tell me about how I was wrong about something, and offer up your view of what’s right. The first three topics this morning are on domestic affairs. First, we talk immigration — a fellow named Rowdy from Texas says I shouldn’t say the word migrant when discussing this issue and instead say immigrant. I’ll talk about the difference. Next, the Biden Intel Scandal. Rachel in South Carolina said it’s clear I have a bias for Donald Trump, because I’m giving him a pass about his intel scandal. So I’ll respond by telling you all a story I haven’t told anyone — Trump actually invited me to the White House in the summer of 2020. I’ll explain why, and how that actually connects to the Trump intel scandal. Third, Chris in Bloomington Illinois pointed out the fact that I don’t say President when describing Joe Biden. I only call him Mr. Biden. Why is that, Chris and others have wondered? I’ll explain. Then we shift gears to International Affairs. A listener named Sebastian says all I do is talk about Ukraine. Enough already. Well, Sebastian, I’ll share why it’s so important. ----- 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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officer Brian Dean Wright. Your morning intel starts now. Today is our special brief about how Brian is wrong. It was an opportunity for you all to write in, tell me about how I was wrong about something, and offer up your view of what's right. So the first three topics this morning are on domestic affairs. First, we talk immigration. A fellow named, Rowdy from Texas says that I shouldn't say the word migrant when discussing this issue and instead say immigrant. I'll talk about the difference. Next, the Biden intel scandal. Rachel in South Carolina is saying it is clear that I have a bias for Donald Trump because I'm giving him a pass about that intel scandal. So I will respond to Rachel by telling you all a story that I haven't told

anyone. Trump actually invited me to the White House in the summer of 2020. I'll explain why and how that actually connects to the Trump intel scandal. Third, Chris in Bloomington, Illinois pointed out the fact that I don't say president when describing Joe Biden. I only call him Mr. Biden or Joe Biden. So why is that, Chris and others have wondered. Well, I'll explain. Then we shift gears to international affairs. A listener named Sebastian says that all I do is talk about Ukraine.

Enough already. Well, Sebastian, I'll share with you why it is. so important. Next up, we got Sarah from somewhere in America. She is saying that, well, she's not sure how many segments I've done on dirty green energy, but, ugh, she's had enough. No more, please. I'll talk about why I can't make Sarah that promise. Later, I close out the podcast with a listener critique about how I close out the podcast, and it has to do with intelligence versus wisdom. But before we get to that, we got to get started with this. Rowdy from somewhere in Texas wrote in a very nice note about immigration. So here's what he said. Quote, when I was in school,

I was taught immigrant denotes someone from abroad coming to a new country, whereas migrant notes someone from a given country moving from within that country. And this wording is important because I am the son of an illegal immigrant. And you use the term illegals in the past to refer to these folks. Well, I'd prefer that you refer in that way to them over the word migrant, which frankly does not seem appropriate. Well, Rowdy, it's a really great question, totally fair. But I respectfully offer that you might have been misled a little bit about the difference between immigrant and migrant. Plus, I will tell you that this question in part comes down to politics. So to understand why, let's start with this.

When people apply for visas to come to America, the Department of State and, and Customs and Border Protection will tell you that people apply for either an immigrant visa or non-immigrant visa, which we might call a migrant visa. So the difference is that an immigrant visa denotes that someone intends to live permanently in the United States. The non-immigrant visa, the migrant visa, in other words, is someone who wants to come on a temporary basis. There are, in fact, 20 different categories of this group,

but the most common ones are for temporary work, tourism, medical treatment, business, or to study. So think about this immigrant versus migrant visa issue, as I tell you this. Research from the Pew Research Center shows that most folks coming to America illegally are coming for work. Amongst Guatemalans, for example, 91% of those deported cited work as the main reason for coming in the first place. so too did 96% of Honduran's and 97% of Salvadorans. Now, those numbers will ebb and flow depending on the year and the crisis in any particular country. So, for instance, Venezuela and Cuba as of late. But what we see generally speaking is that these folks are here for work, which again, based on these legal types of visas you can get,

that means you're a non-immigrant. You're a migrant coming here for what should be. a temporary time for a specific need, money and work, and then you move on. But this is where we start to get into individual politics. If you want or welcome illegal crossers, you tend to call them immigrants, and that's because you generally want to welcome them to stay forever. Meanwhile, there are others who want to stick a little closer to the law. These folks came here illegally and data show overwhelmingly for work.

So by definition, they are migrants. here temporarily so long as the works here. And even if they change their mind down the road, they want to stay here forever, that doesn't mean that we ought to bend to that change. The laws say, all right, well, apply for, say, citizenship and come back legally. And if you don't and you just stay, well, you can and should be deported because laws matter. So there you have it, Rowdy. That is the difference between migrant and immigrant. By the way, I really appreciate the sensitivity of this issue based on your family's journey, very much. But I'm going to keep using this phrase illegal migrant because that hues more closely to the law. Still, as always, I think that

reasonable people on this one can disagree. All right, next up, it is Trump versus Biden and why I am being so soft on one and not the other. That, of course, is the allegation made by Rachel in South Carolina. So here is her reflection. Quote, it is clear that you love Trump because you're not devoting any time to the classified information that he had at his house. Probably, he probably even had more secret information than Biden. So please do your listeners of favor and show more balance on this. It's starting to affect my view of you and the show. Well, Rachel, I respectfully disagree because if you go back to August 18th, that show, that podcast, I made very clear what I thought about the situation at Mar-a-Lago. But,

let me refresh your memory, but I'll tell you, I'm going to do so framing it a bit differently than I did back in August. And it's a story that I haven't told anybody. Back in the summer of 2020, I got a phone call from the staff of President Trump. He wanted to meet with me to have a sit-down conversation in the Oval Office about issues related to the military and the intelligence community. Now, I had heard from friends that he'd been thinking about having me to the White House for a while. Apparently, he had seen me on TV. Well, we weren't able to coordinate schedules. He was a pretty busy man that summer and fall with his re-election campaign, but I thought a lot about what we would have discussed because I didn't know exactly what he wanted to chat about, so I had prepared a whole bunch of different things. And one topic was

about reforming the intelligence community. And there are just so many things that I want to reform, but one is this issue of over-classifying documents. Because you see, sometimes people in the Intel community or the Pentagon classify material so that they can hide activities that are either embarrassing or shameful. And that is both unethical and absolutely unlawful, but it does happen. So had there been this wide-ranging conversation at the White House with President Trump, I would have told him about this issue, and especially this classifying and declassifying stuff as we reformed the intel community. And as I told you all on August 18th, the principle that I would apply here that I would have told President Trump about is this. If you

are going to declassified documents and take them, which is what, in fact, President Trump suggests he did with all those materials discovered at Mar-a-Lago. Well, before you do that, sir, ask yourself, do you need that material or do you just want that material? All right? Need versus want. It's a big difference. If you just want it as a souvenir, that's not good enough. Now, legally or constitutionally, maybe you as president have the right. And indeed, Trump did have the constitutional authority to declassify it and take it all based on the 1988 Supreme Court case of the U.S. Navy v. Egan. But regardless, my counsel to him would have been.

No, sir, we ought to hold ourselves to a higher standard than simply want. And that higher standard is need. If you need to declassify something because someone was hiding something embarrassing or shameful, then yes, declassify it and share it with the world. Tweet it out. But as you declassify this stuff and tweet it all out, look very closely at how declassifying something like this might be damaging to either the sources or the methods of collection.

And, you know, as appropriate, work with the intel community to do so carefully. But to be candid with you, maybe the CIA or NSA are the bad guys here. They've done some terrible things and you have to declassify. this stuff about their mal-behavior. And again, if so, let her rip. Never mind the damage. So the bottom line, Rachel, is that I've been pretty darn consistent about how I view this issue and frankly how I've talked about it. For the record, I don't love or hate President Trump. And if you wants my vote next year, he's going to have to earn it. Meanwhile, if I ever do get that White House meeting, my counsel to him or any other president won't change a lick

from what I am telling you all right now. And speaking of presidents, I got an email from Chris in Bloomington, Illinois. He said, quote, you seemingly only refer to Joe Biden as Mr. Biden and not President Biden. Now, I have no love for the man. I'll certainly say that he is in no position morally or mentally to be the president, in my view. Yet he still holds the title. And it is the title and the position that we have to respect, not the person. So I know that this isn't a huge deal, but I think it conveys a lot to people if you don't

say President Biden. It can really be viewed negatively or as a turnoff. The office should be given the respect that it is due, regardless of how we feel about the person sitting in the office. Well, Chris, your observation is right. I generally, if not always, refer to Joe Biden, either by his full name or simply Mr. Biden. And that's a choice I make. And I stand by it. And here's why. So my friend, you and I grew up in an era where we were born and bred to believe in honor and respect. Even when we have these gentlemanly disagreements with people, and that era and that belief is still in my heart. But I believe that we live in a different era now. And it breaks my heart.

I believe that the American Republic is under assault by some pretty dark forces that would like to end this country and rebuild it into a nation that, frankly, I don't want to be a part of. As just one example, the socialist movement of this country, seen in the cases of people like Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez and the Senate and House, respectfully. Well, that movement of theirs is real and it is growing. All right. Unlike the era of Jack Kennedy, socialism has not been pushed out of the Democrat Party, but rather embraced as a part of the caucus. Right. Never mind the absolutely verifiable and clear horrific history of socialism all around the world, including the slaughter of tens of millions of people in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, North Korea, Cuba, the list just goes on and on. on. Now, some of you might say, wait a minute, Brian, those are communist countries, not socialist.

Well, here's something you might not know. America socialists, they call themselves the Democrat socialists of America. They actually describe communism as, quote, advanced socialism. And no, I'm not joking. So that's one dark force that I see manifesting in this country. Let's talk about another one, specifically what Joe Biden represents. Now, the data show very clearly that he would not be in the Oval Office this morning had America's press been honest about the Hunter Biden laptop. And on that laptop, for those of you not aware of this, there are statements made by Hunter and his business partners that Hunter was acting as a cutout for his father to collect cash from foreign governments and businesses. Mr. Biden was described

as the big guy who would get 10% or more of these deals from some pretty awful countries. to include China our greatest enemy and Ukraine, where we are now fully engaged in war. And remember, and this is key, the media research center conducted a poll that showed that 16% of voters who voted for Mr. Biden would have either voted for Trump or not at all had they known about the Hunter laptop. So we can legitimately say that we have someone sitting in the Oval Office who likely should not be there, except for the audacious and corrupt behavior of America's media hiding it and their talking heads. In other words, we can legitimately say that Joe Biden is illegitimate.

And I tell you that as a former CIA officer, knowing what is on that laptop, I can't believe that it's not the number one story in America. I mean, just imagine if that during the Cold War we had reams of documents showing that Ronald Reagan or Jimmy Carter had secretly profited from Deagles with the Soviet Union via their kids. And then when pressed, they lied about it. All right, I am utterly convinced that in a different time, we would have already impeached and removed Joe Biden for being a threat to America's national security.

But we don't live in that time. We don't live in the time when you and I grew up, when we were told to honor and respect the office of the president, to be men and women of good character and integrity, to be respectful of the president, even if we didn't like them. So, Chris, I hope that we can get back to that time. You know, I don't have kids, but I sure hope that I get the chance to have some

and raise them in a world that I remember. Now, it had problems. In fact, there's no such thing as a perfect union. There's only the demand that we make this place a more perfect union. And that's why, in my small way, I will do my part to make it better and refuse to give Mr. Biden the honor of president next to his name. With that, ladies and gentlemen, let's take a quick break. When we come back, I've got some feedback on international issues and why I might be wrong.

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Find your perfect product at bows.com. Welcome back to the PDB. Next up, our critiques about how Brian was wrong, about international issues. All right. First up, Ukraine. I got a review from Sebastian from somewhere in America. He said he is tired of the podcast. He used to like it, but not anymore. He said, quote, same topics over and over again. I'm sure the president would get tired of you, Brian, talking about the same stuff every day. Dirty green energy, immigration, war on Ukraine, enough. Well, Sebastian, my friend, I agree to disagree, I suppose.

I'm going to talk about dirty green energy in the next little bit here, but let's focus on Ukraine for a second. The most obvious concern here is that we are now fully and undeniably in a proxy war with Russia, which, of course, is a nuclear armed state. So what I hear over and over again from folks in the Pentagon and the CIA is that if Vladimir Putin thinks that he's going to lose this war, we have a very real chance of a nuclear strike by the Russians to either win the war or fight. freeze it before a loss. And that's what I fear. And again, that is based on my conversations with some folks who really know this issue. And part of their fear and mind is also based on this. So go back about a year ago when Russia first invaded. And I want you to think about the arc of our involvement. Has it stayed flat or gone down? Or has it consistently gone up? Maybe even a rapid

clip. Because if it's going up, that means greater risk towards that nuclear outcome. All right. So what's the answer to that arc? Well, do you remember what the German government first offered Ukraine as assistance? Helmets. One year ago today, on January 27th, Germany offered Ukraine 5,000 helmets to defend themselves. Yesterday, one year later, the Germans offered Ukraine at least a dozen tanks that comes on top of previous allocations of military aid, which amounts to around $2.3 billion, according to the German media outlet DW. Okay, so how about America's arc of involvement?

On February 26th, the Associated Press reported that Joe Biden encouraged President Voluntimier Zelensky to flee Ukraine, to abandon his country. All right. Zelensky apparently replied, quote, I need ammunition, not a ride, end quote. All right. Well, how about now?

one year later, what is America doing? What's that arc? According to the data aggregator Statista, we have delivered around $23 billion in military aid, plus $15 billion in financial aid, and then another $10 billion in humanitarian aid. That was for all of last year. And then, of course, we just committed another battalion worth of our most advanced tanks, the M1A2 Abrams. So in short, Sebastian, the arc of involvement here, is going up, and so too then is the risk of nuclear war. All right. Say nothing of all the other issues and concerns, such as Europe's economy.

That's very important for the average American because they're an important trade partner of ours, and that impacts our jobs. Plus, we've got increasing utility bills for American consumers because our natural gas and oil supplies are getting shipped to Europe. And if you're still not convinced, Sebastian, let me say this differently. after the 9-11 attacks, how many times do you think the president was briefed on terrorism and for how long? I will tell you the answer. It was every day for a very long time.

Now, that doesn't mean that it was the only thing that he was briefed on or that I brief you all on. Now, I'm proud that I brief you all on things like China and the Battle for the Pacific or updates from strange cities like Uwagadugu and Timbuktu. Or all the things connected to dirty green energy from Peru to the country. So, Sebastian, I hope I keep you as a listener, but if not, it was an absolute pleasure to have you for however long I did. Come back, please, if you ever change your mind. And speaking of dirty green energy, I got an email from Sarah from somewhere in America. She has had quite enough of the dirty green discussion. All right, just for a short email. Quote, I don't know how many segments there have been on dirty green aspects of solar wind and electric vehicles,

but enough is enough. Way too much rehash. All right, I appreciate the critique, Sarah. As I told Sebastian just now, I work very hard to research and go all around the world with listeners and tell them about all sorts of things. But it is true.

I do emphasize certain things like the energy revolution that we see with solar, wind, batteries, and electric vehicles. And yeah, I'm proud that I coined the term dirty green energy to help folks process why it's not green or clean, or renewable, just like all forms of energy, it comes with costs. And it's important to talk about that. But Sarah, I want to help you think of this issue perhaps a little bit differently.

Maybe I'll change your mind. Because each individual brief might seem like repetition or overkill, but that really misses what an incredible moment this is that we're living in. We are living in one of the most important times in global history. All right? Let me explain. Estimates range on the amount of money being invested. invested in solar, wind, the electric vehicles and batteries and such. But it is easily in the trillions,

some say tens of trillions. So, of course, that's between the mining, transport, the refining, manufacturing, the installation, the recycling, the disposal, all of it, and for all the different elements, right? The solar panels, the windblades, the cars. This is a moment that we haven't seen in a very long time. The last time, frankly, that we have seen this fundamental switch of power human life was the discovery of oil. And I want you to ask yourself, how did that change the world? Let's just take one country. On March 3rd of 1938, the company that would later be known as Chevron tapped into a well in Saudi Arabia. Before that date, the Saudis were a nomadic people traveling the desert on camels. Most of their income came from tourists, especially those

Muslims traveling for the annual Hajj to the Holy City of Mecca. Saudi Arabia was, if I can be impolite, a backwater, hotter than Haiti's, no thank you, sand dune country. Right? How about now? Well, I think we all know about Saudi Arabia now, don't we? And the Middle East. The number of billionaires they've got, we've had oil wars.

And then, of course, the 9-11 hijackers in radical Islam. But let's actually push aside oil. Let's go back even further in time. a bit further when the world was largely reliant on wood. And then the Industrial Revolution kicked off in England, and they went all in on coal. That changed the world too. In fact, we still live with its legacy,

because people moved from mostly rural communities to mostly urban centers where the factories were at and still are. The point, Sarah, is that you are living in one of those same moments of energy transition. It will change your world and that of your family. And that's happening whether you like it or not. So my goal is to make folks realize that, yeah, it's happening. And then to empower you to shape that energy revolution. Again, not with opinions, but with facts.

To be blunt about the dirty costs, like, of course, the fact that China controls most of it, or that it's killing eagles and yet our government won't tell us how many. Or that the amount of mining for lithium and cobalt and nickel is so mind-boggling that we are going to have to destroy more of the earth than perhaps in all of human history. That's according to estimates out of the United Kingdom and France. So for those reasons and more, Sarah, I'm going to keep talking about this energy revolution. I'll try not to do so every day, but I might on occasion because it's that important. To me, to you, and to the world.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we conclude your special morning brief. but I've got one more thing before I let you go. We'll be right back. You tell yourself, no one wants your college-era band tease, but on Deep Pop, people are searching for exactly what you've got. You once paid a small fortune for them at merch stands. Now, a teenager who calls them vintage will offer that same small fortune back. Sell them easily on Deepop.

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What about remarkably adaptable vehicle because of its versatile cargo space? Or really admired vehicle? Oh, or really awesome vehicle. It really is the recreational activity vehicle. The stylish 2026 Toyota Rap 4 Limited. what's your rap for welcome back to the PDB folks i've got one more thing before i let you go this morning over the past 10 months since we launched the PDB i've had a couple people take exception to how i close out the podcast so as you all know i say this it's the creed of every good spy and every smart

american it's from john chapter eight verse 32 and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Well, Matthew from somewhere in America wrote in to say, well, something about that bothers him. And here's what he said. Quote, being smart is certainly important when you say, Brian, that every smart American, right? But it's not the same thing as being wise. Being smart may mean having a lot of knowledge on a certain subject, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you know how to apply that knowledge in any sort of practical or wise way. wisdom on the other hand encompasses both knowledge or smartness and the ability to apply it in a way that is beneficial to oneself and others it's about having good judgment and being able to make sound decisions it's about understanding the bigger

picture and how different things are connected in the book of proverbs wisdom is often referred to as more valuable than even wealth proverbs 1616 states How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver. So, Brian, maybe think about changing that, no longer saying smart Americans, but wise Americans. Ah, you know what, folks, this is why I love y'all. Seriously. This is why this podcast and you all are different. The PDB and us listeners, y'all are just not screamers.

Passionate, you bet. opinionated? Yes. But you all are elevated thinkers and you're part of what I would say is a pretty darn special tribe. And so I am so honored to host this show for however long I'm here. And I will remember you and this experience for whenever I depart. So Matthew, thank you. Thank you for the time that you took to write your note and the discernment you showed in writing it. I don't know you, but I suspect that you are a good man and one worth knowing. So I don't know if I'll change the ending as you're proposing. I'm going to think about it.

But for today, I'm going to change it because your note and your wisdom deserve it. And that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes your morning brief. As always, we close out the show, reminding each other of why we are here, talking about our country and our world. It's the creed of every good spy and every wise American. It's from John, Chapter 8, verse 32. And you shall know the truth. And the truth shall make you free.

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