The President's Daily Brief - May 17th, 2024: The Putin-Xi Summit, AI Election Threats, University Caves To Palestinian Protesters, & Fico Fights For His Life

Episode Date: May 17, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:     Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are holding a summit aimed at forging a "new era" of partnership between the global powers, just as Moscow unleashes their forces in a new offensive against Ukraine. America’s top intelligence official is sounding the alarm on threats from foreign actors and artificial intelligence aimed at undermining U.S. elections. The president of a public university in Northern California is on leave just one day after bowing to the demands of pro-Palestinian student protesters and agreeing to an academic boycott of Israel. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, we’ll have the latest on the condition of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico following a shocking assassination attempt, as authorities reveal more about the suspect. 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 Friday, 17 May. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. Today, we'll kick things off in the Far East, where love is in the air. Oh, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Shishing Ping are holding a summit aimed at forging a new era of partnership and bromance between the global powers,

just as Moscow unleashes their forces in a new offensive against Ukraine. Later in the show, America's top intelligence official is sounding the alarm. on threats from foreign actors and artificial intelligence aimed at undermining U.S. elections. Plus, the president of a public university in Northern California is on leave. Just one day after bowing to the demands of pro-Palestinian student protesters, okay, all right, to be fair, probably most of them weren't students, they're outside activists, but okay, fine, and agreeing to an academic boycott of Israel. Lastly, in today's back of the brief, we'll have the latest on the condition of Slovakian

Prime Minister Robert Fico following an assassination attempt, as authorities reveal more about the suspect. But first, today's PDB spotlight. The blossoming relationship between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping was on full display this week, as the dictators met at a summit in Beijing aimed at deepening their no-limits partnership amid the war in Ukraine. Oh, get a room. The pair convened on Thursday, was a-year-old. She literally rolling out the red carpet for Putin as he began a two-day state visit to China. Okay, she himself didn't unroll the carpet. I don't want to mislead anybody. I mean, he's got minions for that. De Pair pledged a new era of cooperation, exchanged handmade friendship bracelets,

and cast the U.S. as a belligerent global actor that is sowing international chaos and intent on domination, according to a report from Reuters. Putin heaped praise on his Chinese counterpart, that had to be ugly, though there was plenty of urgent business on his mind. Analysts have said that Putin is after a natural gas pipeline deal with China, as well as greater military assistance and access to Chinese financial markets. You mean Putin is after something? The two leaders signed a joint statement on Thursday, opposing the U.S. on a variety of issues, including the war in Ukraine, the situation with Taiwan, and the threat posed by North Korea. They're particularly concerned about what they claim are U.S. efforts to tip the strategic nuclear balance and expand the global use of U.S. missile defense systems.

Their fears are really not surprising, given Putin's activities in Ukraine and Xi's ambitions regarding Taiwan. She, who has called Putin his best friend, oh, how sweet is that, said Thursday, quote, that China-Russia relationship today is hard-earned, and the two-sides. need to cherish and nurture it. China is willing to work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world, end quote, thus proving she possesses absolutely no self-awareness or sense of irony. Despite the ironic reference to fairness and justice, the visit comes as Russia has mobilized a massive new offensive in northeast Ukraine in an attempt to break through Kiev's front lines and spread Ukrainian military resources thin.

As a reminder, back in February 2022, just days before Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia agreed to a, quote, no-limits partnership that many say has enabled Putin's aggression. As we've previously discussed on the PDB, China is credited with greatly accelerating the rebuilding of Russia's defense industrial complex, filling the gap left by former European trade partners. Trade between the two countries reportedly surged by more than 26% in 2023, totaling roughly $240 billion. This essential support has allowed the Putin regime to fully rebuild its military capabilities. While China has not directly supplied arms to Russia,

like North Korea and Iran, they are walking a very fine line here. We should also remember that China has positioned itself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. They're so diplomatic, sending envoys to both countries. However, they've never condemned the invasion by Putin or even formally called the conflict a war. On that score, Putin thanked Xi for his purported efforts to broker a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. As a reminder, last year, China issued a vague proposal aimed at ending the war, which called for a ceasefire and for direct talks between Moscow and Kiev. It was rejected by the international community for failing to call on Russia to withdraw from occupied regions of Ukraine, and that's according to the Associated Press. Still, Putin praised

Xi's efforts, saying on Thursday, quote, we are grateful to our Chinese friends and colleagues for the initiatives they are putting forward to resolve this problem. End quote. To resolve this problem? Okay, Putin has just wrestled the trophy away from Xi as the despot voted most likely to lack self-awareness. Amid the summit, Russian forces are continuing to gain momentum in northeastern Ukraine just a week after they launched their offensive in the Kharkiv region. It's estimated that Russian forces have seized around 50 square miles of new territory over the past several days, including at least 10 villages along the border. Still, Ukrainian soldiers are putting up a tough fight as Kiev mobilizes reinforcements. On Thursday, Ukrainian leaders said they had

repelled foreground attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region, and that while intense fighting continues, they were beginning to get a handle on the situation. Having said that, Ukrainian officials also expect Russia to launch another major offensive in the coming weeks. Their military remains heavily outnumbered, with Russia estimated to have amassed more than half a million troops on the front lines. All right. Coming up after the break, America's top intelligence official has issued a grave warning to Congress regarding election interference by foreign actors. Plus, the president of a public university in Northern California is on leave after agreeing to bow to the demands of anti-Israel student protesters. Now, it's not clear whether the leave is because of his fecklessness in the face of

protesters or because he's just simply taking time off to have a spine. surgically inserted. More on those stories when we come back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue.

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kids can't get enough of. All made with no artificial dyes. Try Welch's fruit snacks today. Welcome back. America's top intelligence official is sounding the alarm on the grave threads posed by foreign actors who are attempting to interfere in U.S. elections. Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, was on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to deliver a briefing to the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding the myriad risks facing the U.S.

as we head into another election season. She described a diverse and complex threat landscape with particular concern given to the activities of Russia and China, surprise, according to an NPR report. Haynes noted that the use of AI technologies has helped to greatly expand the scope of Russian and Chinese influence operations, which increasingly use things like lifelike images, video, and audio to spread disinformation and deep fakes among America's voters. Haines said, quote, Russia remains the most active foreign threat to our elections, noting that they employ a vast multimedia influence apparatus aimed at, quote, eroding trust in U.S. democratic institutions,

exasperating socio-political divisions in the United States and degrading Western support to Ukraine, end quote. Now, anybody remember, go back a few years, there was a moment in time when Mitt Romney, remember him, stated that Russia was our number one threat. And in response, Barack Obama condescendingly sniggered and said the 80s called and want their foreign policy back. Do we remember that?

Now, whoever wrote that line for Obama, and Obama himself, should at some point do the right thing, come clean, and apologize to Mitt. Regarding China, Haynes noted that while the CCP refrained from direct interference in the 2020 election fearing diplomatic backlash, they continue to leverage influence operations to spread disinformation. You could argue that spreading disinformation is actually direct interference. Now, as we recently discussed on the PDB, a cyber threat report published by Microsoft in April found that for the first time the Chinese government is employing generative

AI tools in their covert state-sponsored influence operations aimed at Americans. The Chinese link campaigns use fake accounts to push false information on everything from the U.S. drug crisis, immigration policies, racial tensions, and the upcoming presidential election, not to mention the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. Officials at Microsoft said that while these operations typically fail to gain traction, some have had a profound impact. Most notably, following the devastating fires in Maui, Chinese accounts spread conspiratorial narratives that went viral, alleging the U.S. government had triggered the fires with weather weapons. The old weather weapons. Haynes also warned that AI tools are allowing other state actors, including Iran,

to step up their own cyber operations targeting America. Still, she said there was some hope. Oh, there's hope, as the U.S. has significantly improved its ability to safeguard elections. It has, drawing on lessons learned from 2016. She said they've also stepped up their efforts to counter disinformation proliferating on social media platforms. Still, Haynes stressed that the advent of artificial intelligence means Americans will likely be hit with an onslaught of fake content as the election approaches. And for that, Averill Haynes is awarded today's PDB, statement of the obvious award. That award just keeps getting passed around. It's a reminder that

amid these technological advancements, it is increasingly down to individual Americans to stay involved in current events and to heavily vet the information they consume. The bottom line is that tools to detect deep fakes and disinformation are critically important, and proactive tools and measures to guard against outside attacks and influence campaigns are being developed. But, ultimately, each individual needs to be on guard. We need to think about the sources of the information that we consume to ask questions about the information, is it credible, can it be corroborated by other sources? Basically, it's down to the individual to be curious. All right, I want to turn our attention back to the chaotic anti-Israel protests that have engulfed college campuses across

the country. The president of a prominent public university in Northern California, found himself in hot water this week after he seemingly abandoned his community of Jewish students to side with pro-Palestinian student groups, according to a report from the Times of Israel. Now Mike Lee, the president of Sonoma State University, oh yeah, go sea wolves. What is a sea wolf anyway? Announced Wednesday he had been placed on administrative leave after he failed to secure the appropriate approvals to negotiate with anti-Israel protesters who had been placed. set up an encampment on campus grounds. I want how many of them were students and how many of them were outside activists and agitators. Just a day earlier, Lee endorsed an academic boycott of

Israeli universities as part of an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters that would see the university divest from anything tied to Israel. Who really? Who is this guy? He also agreed to set up an advisory council to oversee divestment plans made up of members of the controversial groups Students for Justice in Palestine, oh, while also expanding the number of Palestinian studies programs and demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. This guy really has no spine. As we covered in our recent deep dive of the student protests and then have funding behind them, Students for Justice in Palestine, whose National Umbrella Organization praised the 7 October attacks on Israel has allegedly been one of the main coordinators of the protests, and by allegedly I mean they have been. They received

more than $3 million a year from a litany of charities, including one with links to Hamas. Students for Justice and Ballastine also receives indirect funding from charities, link to financier George Soros, him again, as well as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Now, Lee sent a campus-wide email earlier this week affirming the agreement that he made with protesters. He's the Neville Chamberlain of the academic world. The Sonoma State Chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, subsequently celebrated the concessions from Lee in an online post on Wednesday

that included screenshots of the email. The deal that Lee made with protesters would mark the first time that a U.S. university agreed to an academic boycott of Israel. Local Jewish groups immediately condemn the statements saying, quote, the civil rights of Jewish students and faculty are not a bargaining chip that should be used

to quell campus unrest, end quote. Now, mercifully, senior officials within the California State University system that oversees Sonoma stepped in and placed Leon leave pending the outcome of an investigation. Leaders with the Anti-Defamation League praised the rapid response by state university officials, thanking them for, quote, correcting a terrible misstep which put Jewish students on campus in danger, end quote. For his part, Lee expressed regret about engaging in the unilateral negotiations, acknowledging he had marginalized the campus's Jewish community

and hoping then eventually he'll grow a pair. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, we'll have the latest on the condition of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico following an assassination attempt. I'll be right back. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. In today's back of the brief, I want to provide a quick update on the assassination attempt of Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot multiple times at point-blank range by a gunman on Wednesday morning. After a tense day with few updates regarding Fico's condition, his deputy prime minister said late Wednesday evening that Fico had been stabilized and was expected to survive the attack, according to a report from the New York Times.

He did urge caution, however, adding on Thursday morning that doctors were continuing to carry secondary procedures aimed at improving his condition. An official at the hospital treating Figo stressed on Thursday that while he was no longer in life-threatening condition, his condition remained, quote, truly very serious. Doctors reportedly worked for five hours to save the 59-year-old leader's life after one of the bullets struck his abdomen, leaving him in critical condition. The shooting occurred as Fico was outside a cultural center greeting supporters ahead of a scheduled meeting in the city of Handova. We're also beginning to learn more about his attacker. The shooter, identified as 71-year-old Uri-Sintula, was charged on Thursday with attempted assassination.

Officials said that while an investigation found the shooter has no formal ties to any left-wing or right-wing political extremist groups, his motivation was almost certainly political. Well, that's a confusing statement, isn't it? Officials described him as a, quote, lone wolf, who was radicalized after the presidential elections in March and April, though they did not expand on his political leanings or what specifically caused his radicalization. Neighbors of the shooter expressed shock, saying he didn't appear to have strong political opinions outside of some broad criticisms of crackdowns on free speech occurring in the country. He was reportedly an amateur poet who previously worked as a local security guard. Fico, known for his nationalist and populace,

stances is widely perceived as having pro-Russian sympathies, well, because he does. This is his second stint as the country's prime minister, after being forced to resign in 2018, due to a corruption scandal and mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a journalist who was investigating said corruption scandal. He won his election on October on promises to oppose EU sanctions against Russia and military aid packages for Ukraine. Fico, currently currently remains in an intensive care unit. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Friday, 17 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com.

And to listen to the show, add free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. And don't forget as if you could possibly forget this. Saturday, right? May 18th, it's a debut of our extended weekend PDB show the PDB Situation Report. It's got news, it's got analysis, it's got great guests, very informative, possibly entertaining, right? Available on all your podcast platforms by audio and also with video on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief. So subscribe and tune in

every Saturday. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Wireless can feel like a world of traps, but not with Visible. It's one-line wireless with unlimited data and hotspot. Powered by Verizon for $25 a month, taxes and fees included. Plus, for a limited time, new members pay just $20 a month for one year on the Visible plan. Using the code Fresh Start.

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