The President's Daily Brief - March 3rd, 2025: Oval Office Fallout: Europe’s Hollow Embrace of Zelensky? & Hamas Rejects Ceasefire Extension

Episode Date: March 3, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Fallout from Friday’s explosive Oval Office shouting match between Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump, and Vice President JD Vance. As Zelensky receives a warm welcome in the UK, will Europe offer Ukraine more than just words? The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire has officially ended. A proposal to extend it is on the table, but Hamas has shown no interest in agreeing. A Norwegian fuel supplier is refusing to refuel U.S. Navy ships, citing President Trump's heated exchange with the Ukrainian President. And in today’s Back of the Brief: Antisemitic protests erupt once again on the campus of Columbia University and Barnard College. Pro-Israel activists are calling on the Trump administration to strip federal funding. 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. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side,

turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. It's Monday, 3 March. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. We'll start with the fallout from Friday's explosive, extremely well-publicized, Oval Office argument between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, President Trump,

and Vice President J.D. Vancex. As Zelensky receives a warm welcome in the UK as a follow-up, European leaders are vowing continued support to Ukraine. But what exactly does that mean for Ukraine's ability to fend off Putin and possibly secure a peace deal that doesn't equal appeasement? Later in the show, the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire has officially ended. Now, while a proposal is on the table to extend it, Hamas has shown no interest in agreeing. We'll have the latest. Plus, a Norwegian fuel supplier, a private company, is refusing to refuel.

U.S. Navy ships, citing President Trump's heated exchange with the Ukrainian president. Now, the Norwegian government, however, obviously a member of NATO, says they'll continue to honor NATO agreements and support to the U.S. military. And in today's back of the brief, as anti-S. protests once again erupt on the campus of Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, well, pro-Israel activists are demanding that the Trump administration, step in to remove the university's federal funding. But first, today's PDB spotlight. The fallout from Friday's Oval Office meeting

between Ukrainian President Zelensky, President Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance, well, was immediate. European leaders jumped onto social media, firing off a wave of tweets and messages, reassuring Keeve of their unwavering support. Zelenskyy wasted, well, little time, departing Washington and heading back to friendlier shores. His first stop was the United Kingdom, where Prime Minister Kier Starrmer welcomed him with

open arms at 10 Downing Street, promising him, quote, the full backing across the United Kingdom. Zelensky responded by saying that he was happy that Ukraine had, quote, such good friends. The two leaders then signed a 2.26 billion pound loan for military supplies with repayment, as with a previous agreement, coming from profits tied to frozen Russian assets. From there, Zelensky joined Starmor and other European leaders at a summit to discuss the future of the war. During that series of discussions, European Commission President Ursula Vondelian sounded the alarm on the continent's urgent need to rearm. After a long time of underinvestment, it is now of utmost importance to step up the defense investment for a prolonged period of time

She said, adding that Europe also needed to show the U.S. that it was ready to defend democracy. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., well, a different conversation is starting to take shape. And it's a conversation that Putin himself has been eager to promote. Is Zelensky still the man for the job? When asked on CNN, if Trump wants Zelensky to resign, White House National Security Advisor Mike Walts, well, didn't exactly deny it. Instead, he said, quote, we need a leader that can deal with us, eventually deal with the Russians, and end the war, end quote. And he went further, adding, quote, if it becomes apparent that President Zelensky's either personal motivations or political motivations are divergent from ending the fighting in his country, then I think we have a real issue on our hands, end quote. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed that sentiment, suggesting that maybe a different leader is needed. In an interview with NBC, he put it blood, either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude,

or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, end quote. Hmm. So while Zelensky is receiving standing ovations in European capitals, now the conversation in Washington is shifting, even among some of his strongest supporters. Senator Lindsey Graham, who's been one of Ukraine's most vocal advocates, is now suggesting that it may be time for Zelensky to step aside. That's a significant turn, and it underscores a growing sense of frustration in Washington, as well as a clear indication that Republicans in D.C. are unwilling to disagree with President Trump. As mentioned, Vladimir Putin has been pushing the idea of Zelensky as a dictator and the need for elections in Ukraine for some time.

He clearly believes that if he can get Zelensky to step aside, Russia can work to get a pro-Russian ally in Kiev along the lines of of Victor Orban in Hungary. And now, following the dust-up in the Oval Office on Friday, senior Trump administration officials are beating that same drum. So the question for Ukraine is obviously what now? It does seem unlikely in the short term that Zelensky can salvage the relationship with the Trump White House. Putin is undoubtedly emboldened by what he watched on television with a bag of popcorn in his hand. and the EU and NATO while pledging ongoing support, well, they need to determine what that exactly means.

EU nations are vowing to increase their spending and support for Kiev, but there's little chance that they can fill the gap left if the U.S. ends their support. Interestingly, in an indication of things to come, late in the weekend, Zelensky did state, while in the UK, that he and his government are willing to sign the minerals deal. Obviously, that will require a response from the U.S. government. Now, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the predicament in an interesting way. Speaking from the tarmac to reporters before flying to the Ukraine Emergency Summit in London, Tusk noted, quote, 500 million Europeans are asking 300 million Americans to defend them against 140 million Russians. He added, Europe, if there is something we lack today,

it is not economic or demographic power, but the belief that we are truly a global force, end quote. Now, of course, Tusk didn't mention that those 140 million Russians currently control the world's largest nuclear arsenal, and that has factored into the equation ever since Putin launched his invasion back in February of 2022. It's a top-line reason why the West, for the past three years, has provided Ukraine with just enough support in hardware to maintain what is essentially a stalemate. That's the fear of antagonizing Putin and his 5,500 warheads. For what it's worth, look, peace is obviously the objective, an end to the death and destruction. But after Friday's debacle in the Oval Office, battle lines have now hardened, particularly in the U.S., over how to get there.

One side wants peace now. Just settle. Just reach a deal. Which implies, of course, that Putin gets what he wants, all the territory he currently holds, a guarantee that Ukraine never enters NATO, a guarantee that Ukraine shrinks its military, new elections in Kiev, and an easing of sanctions on Russia. That deal, of course, could allow for peace, at least in the short term. And that's fine. As long as folks are honest and admit that they're okay with Putin, coming out on top, that he's the winner. The other side wants to continue supporting Ukraine in an effort to allow Kiv to gain the upper hand for a future negotiation, or at least a stronger hand, to inflict sufficient pain on Putin that he has to make some compromises to reach a peace deal. But again, the folks in that camp need to be honest and admit that that will require support to Ukraine above and beyond what's been done for the past three years, with no guarantee that enough pain can be inflicted on Putin during this year or next to force him to come to the negotiating table in a weakened position.

All right. Coming up next, the Gaza ceasefire's first phase has ended with Hamas rejecting an extension, and a Norwegian fuel supplier company is refusing to refuel U.S. Navy ships. I'll be right back. You're juggling a lot, but you can still squeeze in a financial plan. With the Northwestern Mutual Financial Advisor as your partner, it's not only possible, it's personalized. So if you're tying the knot, closing on a house, or welcoming a little one, you'll be ready for whatever life tosses your way. It's the right time to feel less stressed and more certain.

That's a better way to money. Let's get started at nm.com. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When news breaks, we don't just report it. We go beyond the headlines to get the full story. Get live coverage, in-depth analysis, and perspectives from the voices you trust, all in one place. Whether you're at home or on the go, stay connected to the stories shaping our world.

Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. Welcome back to the BDB. Israel has thrown its weight behind a U.S.-backed plan to extend the fragile ceasefire with Hamas through Ramadan and Passover, setting the stage for a potential release of all remaining hostages. That is, if Hamas agrees. The endorsement came within minutes of the initial ceasefire phase expiring. The decision on Saturday followed a high-level four-hour meeting.

led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, and attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior defense officials, and Israel's negotiating team. According to Netanyahu's office, the plan, floated by Middle East Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff, would extend the ceasefire through the religious holidays, with half of the 59 remaining Israeli hostages, both living and dead, released on the first day and the remainder freed by the end of the period. However, the proposal is contingent on a person.

permanent ceasefire, and the Israeli defense forces have already confirmed that at least 35 of the hostages are already dead. And for background, Ramadan runs until 29 March, while Passover ends on 19 April. So far, Hamas has yet to accept a proposal, but Netanyahu's office made it clear that Israel is prepared to move forward, stating that, quote, if Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter negotiations on all the details of the Whitkoff Plan, end quote. While the government stopped short of explicitly threatening to resume hostilities, it pointedly reminded the Iran-backed terror group that under the original agreement, Israel is permitted to restart military operations after one March,

meaning an Israeli offensive could resume at any moment. The proposal comes amid renewed accusations from Netanyahu's government that Hamas has repeatedly violated the ceasefire. Under the original deal, negotiations on a second phase should have begun by day 16, yet that process never materialized. At the same time, Israel has refused to withdraw the IDF from the Philadelphia corridor, that's the narrow strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border, despite that step being required under the ceasefire terms. Meanwhile, Israel has announced an immediate halt to all shipments of aid into Gaza, citing Hamas's refusal to accept the Whitcalf proposal. Netanyahu's government claims this move as the full backing of Trump's White House,

further adding weight to Israel's hardened stance. Netanyahu justified the decision by accusing Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid for its own use. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was even more blunt, declaring that Israel would not negotiate a ceasefire without additional hostage releases and calling the aid freeze the official end of what he described as the, quote, free meals policy. Hamas, unsurprisingly, condemn the move. The terror group labeled Israel's actions as, quote, cheap extortion, a war crime, and a blatant attack on the agreement, while urging ceasefire mediators to pressure Israel into reversing its decision. Inside the Israeli war, cabinet, the IDF is gearing up for a possible return to full-scale conflict. If Hamas does not accept

the U.S. back proposal, Netanyahu's government has made it abundantly clear. Israel will not remain in diplomatic limbo indefinitely. Now, Wyckoff is expected to visit Israel in the coming days to discuss the next steps. Whether those discussions will be about fine-tuning the ceasefire or preparing for renewed military action will then now appear as to rest. with Hamas. All right. Turning now to Norway, and that's a sentence that I haven't said very often, a private oil firm has enacted an immediate and sweeping ban on fuel sales to U.S. forces docked in the country, citing outrage over President Trump's White House Exchange with Ukrainian President Zelensky

on Friday. In a now-deleted social media post, the company made its stance unambiguously clear, declaring, quote, no fuel to Americans, Slava Ukrainea, end quote. The petroleum giant, which supplied roughly 800,000 gallons of fuel to the U.S. military in 24 alone, said it would sever all fuel deliveries to American forces and prohibit any American military vessels from refueling at its Norwegian ports. Company owner Gunner Gran, speaking to a Norwegian maritime news outlet, didn't mince words, stating, quote, not a leader of fuel will be supplied.

vowing that the ban would remain in place, quote, until Trump is finished, referring to, of course, the remainder of his presidential term. Grant emphasized that as a private business, his firm is free to choose its customers, well, that's true, pointing to its existing ban on fuel sales to Russian forces imposed after President Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The company's abrupt decision comes as part of a broader wave of European fallout following the contentious Oval Office meeting, which left many across the Atlantic, questioning the future of U.S. support for Ukraine. The Norwegian firm blasted Friday's exchange, boldly branding the exchange as, quote, the biggest shit show ever presented live on TV.

And frankly, I had no idea that there was a word for shit show in the Norwegian language. See, you learned something new every day on the PDB. Despite the company's defiant stance, Norway's government quickly moved to distance itself from the controversy. In a statement Sunday, Norway's defense minister made clear that official policy remains unchanged. He stated, quote, we've seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian's government policy. The minister reaffirmed of Reuters that American forces would continue to receive the necessary logistical support to maintain Norway's defense commitments as a NATO ally. However, the move by the petroleum firm

well, raises larger questions about Europe's growing discontent with U.S. policy on Ukraine, particularly as Trump's handling of the war comes under increasing scrutiny from the EU leaders. It's unclear if other European countries will follow suit with similar bans. All right, coming up in the back of the brief. As anti-Semitic protests erupted Colombia and Barnard, pro-Israel activists push the Trump administration to strip federal funding from the university. I'll be right back. It's only 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 freeform. her life to find out how. Restrictions apply. Service is not available in all areas. Crispy chicken sandwich from 7-Eleven, people always call me loud. And I'm like, yeah, I know. I'm crispy. Did you expect me to whisper? If you want quiet, go eat some soup and

reflect. Like, I know I'm a handful. I'm bold, I'm juicy. Throw some pickles and barbecue sauce on me and baby I'm a whole meal. And with seven rewards, I'm just $4. Quiet, no. Krisby, saucy, and $4? Very. Only at 7-Eleven. 2326, participating stores only while supplies last the app for full terms. And in today's back of the brief. Well, like the swallows to Capistrano, the anti-Semite students and their professional activist organizers have once again roosted in New York City.

Pro-Khamas protests are back on the campus of Columbia University. Last week, dozens of anti-Israel protesters, donning Hamas-style kefya hedgescarves to hide their identities, that's brave, took over a building at Columbia. Columbia's Barnard College for several hours, assaulting a school employee in the process who was subsequently hospitalized, and that's according to a report from the New York Post. The masked group, led by members of Columbia's chapter of students for justice in Palestine, oh, we know all about them, you should do your due diligence, said they were protesting the

expulsion of two students who stormed into classrooms in January and threw around flyers, loaded with anti-Semitic rhetoric. In a video posted to social media by the group, who's by a bio, reads, long-lived the student in Defada, protesters can be seen occupying Milbank Hall, the oldest building on campus, while beating drums and chanting hateful slurs through a megaphone. Well, the drums are always a nice touch. The group later issued a long list of extreme demands, including a reversal of the expulsions, blanket amnesty for any students punished during last year's anti-Israel campus protests, the abolition of Barnard's disciplinary process, what else?

are they asking for? Oh, look at that. A pony for every protester and a formal review of all past disciplinary actions related to last year's protests. In other words, there should be no consequences for bad behavior. Yeah, that sounds about right. Robin Levine, Barnard College's vice president for strategic communications, quickly condemned the protests, saying they showed a, quote, blatant disregard for the safety of our community. He added that the community and the University had made multiple good faith efforts to de-escalate, but were refused. Instead, the protesters graffered messages on the walls of Milbank Hall, which read Free Palestine and F-U-C-K Barnard. How imaginative and creative. While the protesters vowed to stay until the demands were

met, they subsequently left Milbank Hall just before 11 p.m. Wednesday night. Well, I'm going to get something to eat. But on Thursday, the protest. The protestant, tests reignited, with roughly 100 anti-Israel demonstrators gathering outside Barnard chanting, quote, one solution into Fada revolution. Almost rhymes. In response to the hateful demonstrations, pro-Israel activists demanded the Trump administration strip federal funding from Columbia University and Barnard College, arguing that the school's administrators have failed to protect Jewish students from the rampant anti-Semitism. It's according to a report from Israel National News. A pro-Israel advocacy group called Stop Anti-Semitism also sent a letter to the Justice Department

requesting they launch an investigation into the radical students for justice in Palestine and revoke visas and deport foreign students involved in the violent protests. A spokesman for the group said, quote, the university administration has completely failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff, allowing a hostile and dangerous environment to fester unchecked, end quote. As a reminder, while these protests are far from organic, as we covered during the pro-Palestinian protests that spread across dozens of college campuses last spring, the group in question students for justice in Palestine receives more than $3 million a year from a litany of charities,

including at least at one time a charity with links to Hamas. Their national umbrella organization also praised the 7 October attacks on Israel. Well, that should be a clue. Additionally, students for justice in Palestine, receives indirect funding from charities linked to liberal financier George Soros, as well as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The group was said to be one of the main coordinators of the protests last spring, and they're once again driving the renewed unrest at Columbia. While the Biden administration took a hands-off approach to the chaos on college campuses, many expect the pro-Israel Trump administration to wield federal funding against universities that fail to crack down on anti-Semitism.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Monday, 3 March. Now, I hope you had a chance to catch our latest episode of the PDB Situation Report over the weekend. If not, it and past episodes are available for your viewing pleasure, frankly, on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief, as well as all the podcast platforms out there in podcast land. And as a public service announcement, to listen to this show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed.

Stay safe. Stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistants assistants to switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do 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.