The President's Daily Brief - January 3rd, 2024: Hamas Hit, Xi’s Rare Reveal, & Gay Gone

Episode Date: January 3, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We uncover the details of the Israeli military's strategic operation that neutralized a key Hamas figure, escalating tensions in the Middle East. We discuss President Xi Jinping's startling admission about China's economic struggles in his New Year's Eve speech, a first in his tenure. We recount the shocking assault on South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and his narrow escape from what could have been a fatal incident. Our coverage extends to America's southern border, where December saw an unprecedented surge in illegal migrant encounters, raising alarms on national security. And we conclude with the unfolding story of Harvard University President Claudine Gay, who resigns amid a scandal.   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, January 3, 2024. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. The Israeli military terminated its biggest Hamas target to date in a high-stakes operation that has sent ripples across the Middle East. Later in the show, we'll examine Chinese President Xi Jinping's unprecedented New Year's Eve disclosure of economic trouble in China. and the startling attack on South Korean opposition leader Li J. Myeong, who narrowly escaped a life-threatening assault.

Finally, in today's back of the brief, border crossings in the month of December break the all-time record, and the saga of Harvard University President Claudine Gay comes to a dramatic and, some may say, appropriate, conclusion. But first up, the PDB spotlight. senior Hamas official Salah Aruri considered the mastermind behind much of the group's activities in the West Bank was killed on Tuesday evening in an Israeli air strike. Aruri, Hamas's deputy political leader and co-founder of the Al-Kasan brigades, had a $5 million bounty on his head from the United States and had been a long-sought target of Israeli intelligence. Aruri was important to both the political and military elements of Hamas, essentially, functioning as deputy chairman to Hamas's leader Ishmael Hanyi, as well as an important

underlink to the military commander, Mohamed Dief, with significant responsibilities, as mentioned in the West Bank. He's been responsible for key liaison relationships and meetings with Hezbollah leadership, the Iranian leadership, and the IRGC. So what made this drone strike high stakes? Well, that has more to do with where the target was hit. He wasn't taken out in Gaza or the the West Bank, but in Beirut, Lebanon, during a meeting with Hezbollah officials. This strikes location underscores the transnational nature of Hamas's leadership, which operates in numerous countries. Now, Hamas has condemned the killing as a, quote, cowardly assassination, which is, of course, rich coming from Hamas. Although, to be fair, the terrorist organization has never been

known for its sense of irony. Israel remains silent on its involvement, despite noting the operations, quote, surgical precision. Lebanon's prime minister, Najib Mikati, has decried the attack as a, quote, new Israeli crime and is taking the matter to the United Nations Security Council. Now, the United Nations populated with a not insignificant number of Hamas apologists, will no doubt condemn Israel's actions. Israel appears to be making good on its promise to take out the group's leaders, no matter where they're hiding out. Just last month, Israel, top spy agencies said they're working on plans to hunt down Hamas leaders in Lebanon, Turkey, and Qatar. Now, I don't want to tell Mossad how to do its job, but typically, when planning sensitive

operations involving the removal of high-value targets, it's best not to publicize your plans. Defense Minister Yov Galant declared that Hamas leaders are living on borrowed time and are marked for death. Those efforts to kill Hamas leaders abroad might have something. to do with our next story. Turkey's National Intelligence Organization, referred to as MIT, it's Turkey's equivalent to America's CIA, reportedly detained 34 suspects as part of a Turkish operation aimed at disrupting Mossad efforts to target foreign nationals in their country. The suspects were arrested in raids across eight Turkish provinces in what Ankara is calling Operation Mole, with 13 suspects still at large, and discoveries of substantial

foreign currency, unregistered firearms, and digital materials, Turkey's message appears to be clear. It will aggressively counter Israel's efforts to target Hamas officials on Turkish soil. Now, this intricate web of intelligence, counterintelligence, and geopolitical maneuvering paints a picture of a region on edge, where secret wars are fought in the shadows, and the consequences resonate loudly on the international stage. Israel has a track record. of pursuing relevant terrorist targets, often taking years to identify, locate, and deal with them. Danjahou and others have made it clear that they will not relent in their pursuit of those responsible for the brutality of 7 October.

When we come back, we'll unpack President Xi Jinping's rare acknowledgement of China's economic distress in his New Year's Eve address, and we'll bring you the latest on the knife attack against South Korean opposition leader Li J. Myeong. I'll be right back. Welcome back. In a rare admission of the economic turmoil plaguing much of China, President Xi Jinping acknowledged in a New Year's Eve speech that businesses across the country are struggling to stay afloat, and that jobs are increasingly hard to come by.

It marked the first time that Xi has ever mentioned the state of China's economy during his year-end address, which he first began giving in 2013. China is contending with a stubborn economic slowdown, driven by low business confidence, rising unemployment, and low consumer demand, according to a report by CNN and others. The situation is becoming hard to ignore, with Xi saying on Sunday, quote, Some enterprises had a tough time, some people had difficulty finding jobs and meeting basic needs. All these remain at the forefront of my mind. We will consolidate and strengthen the momentum of economic recovery,

End quote. Now, the address came in the wake of a report from China's National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday, which showed that in December, factory activity dropped to its lowest level in six months. It was also the third straight month that manufacturing had declined, suggesting that China is deep into an economic contraction. In early December, credit rating agency Moody's revised its view of China's government debt, shifting the outlook from stable to negative, suggesting that China could struggle to meet its debt obligations. Now, this news came as a report from the Wall Street Journal revealed that Chinese cities and provinces have racked up considerable amounts of undisclosed debt due to extensive borrowing and spending. The International Monetary Fund, the IMF,

and leading financial institutions, estimate that this hidden debt could be anywhere between $7 trillion to $11 trillion. I'll repeat that statistic. According to the IMF and others, hidden debt held by Chinese cities and provinces could total anywhere between $7 and $11 trillion. Across 2023, the CCP has struggled with widespread deflation, high youth unemployment, unmanageable local government debt, declining consumer confidence, and a deflating property bubble, just to name a few of their problems. Despite these issues, Xi continues to use authoritarian interventions that further undermine China's ability to compete. The CCP has engaged in a regulatory crackdown on private businesses in online commerce

in a bid to further state control of the private sector. That's wiping out more than one trillion in market value and sending investors fleeing for cover. In the latest example of this behavior, on Saturday, the People's Bank of China announced it was removing the top shareholders at AliPay, handing over control of the company founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Maugh, to the CCP. Finally, she's provocations on the world stage are doing little to quell the fears of international investors.

To that point, in his New Year's Eve address, she reiterated his intention to reunify Taiwan with mainland China. She said, quote, China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." End quote. She's decision to acknowledge current economic troubles in his speech is very likely an effort to appease or at least pay respect to the concerns of party elders, both serving and

retired. During key CCP meetings this year involving senior party elders, she reportedly received some rare and unwelcome criticism centered on his handling of the country's economy. While she was initially reportedly frustrated and MIFT, I don't know if MIFT has a translated word in Mandarin, at having to face criticism, there's a probability here that he's since decided that he needs to accept and acknowledge the criticism if he's to avoid internal dissent. The biggest threat to Xi's grip on power is the economy. While China is hardly in full-blown decline, its dominant position near the top of the global economic heap is in jeopardy.

All right, I want to shift our focus to South Korea, where an assassination attempt on the leading opposition leader has left leaders in Seoul rattled. Li Jiamyang, the Democrat Party leader, was stabbed in the neck by a 66-year-old man on Tuesday morning in the city of Busan. The unidentified man reportedly approached the 59-year-old Lee for an autograph as Lee walked through a crowd of journalists and supporters.

before rushing and stabbing him with a five-inch blade, according to a New York Times report. The assailant was wrestled to the ground and is currently under investigation for attempted murder. At this time, his motives remain a mystery. Lee was rushed to a hospital in Busan before being airlifted to Seoul National University Hospital. While his condition was not immediately known,

a party member said Tuesday evening that Lee was awake and recovering after a two-hour-long surgery to rebear his juggler vein and remove blood clots. A senior member of the opposition party said, quote, it was a close call because it was not an artery but a vein. Now, conservative South Korean president Yun Suk Yol, narrowly defeated Lee in the country's presidential elections in 2022.

He remains a controversial figure and has been investigated by state prosecutors over allegations of corruption. Lee, who was expected to run again in 2027, has accused the current South Korean president of Yon, using his power to punish his political opposition. The office of President Yun said Tuesday that the leader had, quote, deep concern about the brazen attack and would be investigating the situation. The statement said the president emphasized that this form of violence should not be tolerated under any circumstances in our society, end quote. All right, coming up in the back of the brief,

we've got two stories for you. America's southern border witnessed its highest rate of illegal migrant encounters last month, shattering previous records. And Harvard University President Claudine Gay calls it quits under a cloud of plagiarism accusations. Now 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, we're getting an early preview of the numbers at America's Southern Border for the month of December, and let's just say, their record setting. The U.S. southern border witnessed its highest rate of illegal migrant encounters last month, shattering previous records. Sources winning Customs and Border Patrol said that migrant encounters soared to a staggering

300,000 incidents in December 2023. This translates to an average of approximately 8,400 apprehensions each day by U.S. border agents. Now, the surge is unprecedented. For the first time ever, migrant encounters have exceeded 300,000, the highest total for a single month on record. To put this in perspective, the previous monthly high in U.S.-Mexico border crossings was nearly 270,000 in September of 2023. The scale of this crisis is immense.

To try to put it in context, in the final quarter of 2023, a three-month period, a population comparable to that of the entire state of North Dakota illegally entered through America's southern border. Now, the spike in illegal crossings in December was largely driven by an increase in Venezuelan migrants. Border Patrol processed 50,000 Venezuelan migrants who entered the country illegally in December, compared to 23,000 in November. The border situation will be front and center this year, as we've officially entered the U.S. presidential election season, with record numbers of migrants being bust and flown into primarily Democrat sanctuary cities around the country, this is no longer a problem confined and

dealt with by the border states. Democrat mayors are attempting to blame the chaos and strain on their resources on Texas Governor Abbott, but the blame, frankly, rests with the White House and their inability or unwillingness to secure the border. The federal government's job is the protection and security of all its citizens, and that can't be accomplished without a secure border that controls both the flow and the knowledge of who is entering the country. The seriousness of the problem is tacitly being acknowledged by the White House now as the November election looms. They recently sent the Secretary of State and Homeland Security Secretary to meet with Mexico's president, and Democrat mayors, facing serious strain on their resources

and potential wrath from their constituents, are meeting in mid-January to discuss the problem. This is a major shift from past behavior when the Democrat Party acted as if the problem was non-existent and a made-up issue created by border states and the Republican Party. Finally, I wanted to quickly update you on one more story we've been following here on the PDB, and that's the saga of Harvard University President Claudine Gay. Now, you may remember that during a congressional hearing early last month, President Gay was one of three elite university presidents, who refused to say that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their school's conduct policy.

Claudine Gay's position was that, well, it depended on the context. After her statements, Harvard rejected calls to remove her from her position. Well, President Gay resigned yesterday, not for her comments on Jewish genocide, as odd as that seems, but amiss mounting accusations and examples that she plagiarized a significant portion of her academic work. Of Gay's 17 published academic works, eight had been found to contain alleged examples of plagiarism, a total of 50 separate incidents. Now, in her resignation statement, which, by the way, contained no apology for either her inability to condemn the call for Jewish genocide outright or the plagiarism issues, Gay stated in part, quote, this is not a decision, I came too easily.

Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words. She added, luckily, I did find this other person's resignation speech while Googling, and I'll just lift a few of their words. Okay, all right, fair enough. That last sentence wasn't hers. But, continuing with her actual letter for public release, President Gay did seem to blame the kerfuffle in part on racism. She wrote, quote, amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my

commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor, two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am, and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus, end quote. Oh, so, it wasn't her failure to simply say that calling for Jewish genocide was against Harvard's code of conduct, or her plagiarism that resulted in her resignation. It was somehow, in part, racial animus. And like the Swallows, returning to Capistrano, no sooner had she released her resignation letter than that old race-bader himself, Al Sharpton, came out and declared that calls for Claudine Gaye's dismissal were an attack on every black woman. It will be interesting to see if any intrepid

reporter decides to investigate whether the Harvard Corporation knew about Gay's plagiarism issues and simply covered them up. Having been responsible for selecting her as president, it does appear that they, at a minimum, failed to conduct any meaningful due diligence on the person chosen to run America's most prestigious university, a next to Ole Miss, that is, hotty-toddy. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 3 January.

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.