The President's Daily Brief - May 29th, 2024: Floating Fiasco, Kim’s Satellite Setback, & Taiwan Trip

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: Biden’s $320 million boondoggle: the floating pier on the shore of the Gaza Strip, intended to provide a lifeline to Palestinian civilians, continues to struggle. The structure has been damaged by choppy waters, and there are reports that it may even be sinking. North Korea has made yet another failed attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit—another setback for the military ambitions of the nation’s leader, Kim Jong Un. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers visited Taiwan this week to assure the new government there that US weapons are on their way, despite warnings from Beijing. In today’s Back of the Brief, the Parliament of Georgia overrides a presidential veto on controversial legislation that could torpedo the nation’s candidacy for the European Union and bring it closer to Moscow. 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, 29 May. 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 today's show with what could end up being a $320 million floating money pit. We're talking about the floating pier, or, well, at least the makings of a floating pier, offshore of the Gaza Strip intended to provide a lifeline to Palestinian civilians. The structure has been damaged by rough seas, and there are reports that it may even be sinking. Later in the show, we'll move to the Far East, where North Korea has made yet another failed attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit, another setback for the military ambitions of the nation's leader Kim Jong-un. Plus, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers visited Taiwan this week

to assure their new government that U.S. weapons are on their way, despite warnings from Beijing. And in today's back of the brief, the Parliament of Georgia overrides a presidential veto on controversial legislation that could well torpedo the nation's candidacy for the European Union and bring it closer to Moscow. The Putin regime's far-reaching influence operations should not be underestimated. But first, today's PDB spot, When we discuss the Gaza war here on the PDB, we spend most of our time, frankly, examining the military and political situation on the ground. But today, I want to shift our focus to the humanitarian side of things, and more specifically, to U.S. efforts in Gaza to deliver aid to Palestinians.

It's been two weeks since the Trident Pier was opened off the coast of Gaza, and it's safe to say that it has not been smooth sailing. See what I did there? Pier, smooth sailing? That's word smithing. Last week, we discussed how American aid delivered through the floating pier, intended for Palestinian civilians, was hijacked and redirected away from its intended recipients. However, aside from the actions of Gaza bandits and Hamas, or, where am I being redundant, the pier itself continues to struggle to serve its intended purpose, and is rapidly becoming a money pit for the administration.

Just for context, the pier is made up of two main components, a large floating dock consisting of steel segments, and a two-lane, 1,800-foot causeway in pier. The causeway part of the project is composed of a series of interconnected 40-foot steel pieces linked together and attached to shore. According to the U.S. Central Command, which runs military operations in the Middle East, four boats, stabilizing the causeway broke free of their moorings on Saturday. day amid choppy waters off the Gaza coast. Two of them floated northward, eventually landing on the beach in Israel. The other two boats were retrieved and anchored on the beach close to the pier. Sentcom added that efforts to recover the vessels were underway with assistance from the Israeli Navy. Nobody was injured in the incident, however, several U.S. personnel were stranded on the boats as they're unable to step foot inside Gaza. U.S. officials initially reported that the pier was

still up and running despite the damage. However, it was later revealed that the operation had to be suspended, with the pier being removed from the coast for repairs. During a Pentagon briefing, spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters that over the next two days, the pier will be pulled out and sent to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, where U.S. Central Command will repair it. She said the fixes will take at least over a week, and then the pier will need to be re-anchored back on the beach in Gaza. While nobody was hurt in Saturday's incident, the pier has already led to some casualties. Last week, three service members were injured during the peer operations, including one soldier

who was evacuated to Israel for treatment. As of Tuesday, the Pentagon reported that that soldier was still in critical condition. According to the Pentagon, roughly 1,000 U.S. soldiers and sailors are involved in the Gaza aid mission in total, and the Pierrotty. itself has cost the U.S. so far around $320 million. To date, unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of the aid expected to be delivered via the pier has made its way to the intended recipients. All right, coming up after the break, a rocket carrying a spy satellite exploded shortly after liftoff, marking North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's second failed attempt to expand his surveillance capabilities over the U.S. and South Korea.

Plus, a group of U.S. lawmakers in Taipei vow to bolster Taiwan's defense against a potential Chinese invasion. We'll have 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. Instant room upgrade.

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mixed results. The regime gathered on Monday for the launch of their second spy satellite. However, shortly after liftoff, the ballistic missile carrying the payload exploded with the remnants crashing back into the sea, according to a report from the Associated Press. North Korea, which successfully launched their first reconnaissance satellite into orbit last November, has been attempting to expand their surveillance capabilities in the region, particularly so they can monitor the movements of South Korean and U.S. military forces. Now, they were attempting to use a newly developed liquid oxygen petroleum engine during the launch, which reportedly triggered the explosion.

Their failure on Monday deals a major blow to Kim Jong-un's ambitions to launch up to three spy satellites into orbit this year. Like previous launches, Mondays involve the use of an intercontinental ballistic missile or an ICBM, which North Korea is banned from using under UN Security Council resolutions. Their flagrant violation of the ban triggered the usual international condemnation, so that'll work, because really, if there's one thing that North Korea's leader pays absolutely, no attention to, well, that would be international condemnations. Notably, however, the launch came just hours after a trilateral summit in Seoul on Monday between South Korea, Japan, and China. Analysts have noted that it's highly unusual for the North Korean regime to engage in any

provocations when China is also engaged in diplomacy in the region. Now, some have speculated that North Korea was irritated at China's diplomatic outreach. with Japan and South Korea, particularly as the Kim regime has been pushing to strengthen their ties with China and Russia in the hopes of creating some type of eastern power block that could challenge the West. During the summit, the three countries, China, Japan, and South Korea, released a joint statement calling for the, quote, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Officials in North Korea slammed the joint statement as Western, quote, trickery. and condemned what they called, quote, wanton interference in its internal affairs, end quote.

For months, officials in North Korea have accused the South of fomenting a security crisis on the Korean Peninsula, claiming that their actions are a response to South Korean and American military aggression in the region. While charged rhetoric against South Korea and the U.S. is expected, analysts said it was unprecedented for North Korea to publicly condemn a statement from China. As a reminder, North Korea has been aggressively escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula ever since successfully launching their first spy satellite into orbit last November. Since then, we've seen the collapse of a 2018 inter-Korean pact, renewed military activity along the DMZ, and several provocative ballistic and cruise missile launches by the Kim regime.

In January, North Korea effectively cut off diplomatic ties with South Korea and ended their decades-long commitment to reunification. Okay, shifting gears. As China steps up their harassment of Taiwan in the South China Sea, a U.S. congressional delegation met with Taiwan's newly inaugurated president on Monday in a show of diplomatic support. During the bipartisan visit, the American delegation vowed to help Taiwan bolster their military deterrence against China by accelerating the delivery of American-made defensive weapons. The delegation met with Taiwan President Lai Ching-Tai, who was inaugurated last Monday, along with their foreign minister, gifting the president a cowboy hat, and promising to firmly oppose the intimidation

tactics of the Chinese regime, that's according to a CNN report. The meeting came in the wake of massive military drills last week by China, during which their forces encircled type. Taiwan, putting Taiwan's military on high alert. Officials in Beijing claimed the exercises were punishment against separatist forces seeking independence, which they say President Lai supports. Ever since his election earlier this year, China has consistently tried to brand President Lai as a dangerous separatist who would lead the country into war against the mainland. For his part, Lai has pledged to neither, quote, yield nor provoke mainland China. Republican Representative Michael McCall, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and

leader of the delegation, said, quote, without deterrence, Chairman Xi has bold and aggressive ambitions, and we just need to do everything we can to make it possible for him to see that the risk outweighs the reward, that the risk is too high, end quote. The U.S. continues to serve as Taiwan's main military backer. However, officials in the island democracy have warned in recent years that longstanding delays in U.S. weapons deliveries could leave them vulnerable to a Chinese attack, much like the situation between Ukraine and Russia. Representative McCall vowed to ensure Congress continues to support legislation that will help strengthen Taiwan's self-defense capabilities. Taiwan's foreign minister said they were deeply grateful to the bipartisan delegation for their

powerful gesture of solidarity amid Chinese intimidation. China, as you might imagine, was quick to register their displeasure at the visit, ironically accusing the U.S. of interference and undermining regional security. The visit also came as tens of thousands of demonstrators descended on Taiwan's parliament to protest legislation that many say will give China greater control over their sovereign affairs. Taiwan's opposition nationalist party, which controls the legislature, approved a bill on Tuesday that would give the legislature greater power to control budgets including defense spending. Now, many in Taiwan see it as a concession to China and the Chinese Communist Party. China has long used their foothold within Taiwan's political system to undermine the nation's democratic

institutions and foment the vision. Still, the future of that proposal is far from certain, as both the Premier and President of Taiwan have the power to veto the legislation. Meanwhile, China continues to step up their harassment campaign against Taiwan, with near daily incursions into the waters near the island democracy for military exercises. And finally, in today's back of the brief, we've got an update on the controversial foreign agents law causing political unrest in the Eastern European nation of Georgia. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, we have a major update on the so-called foreign agents law causing political turmoil in the nation of Georgia. On Tuesday, Georgia's parliament

voted to overrule the Georgian president's veto of the controversial law, undermining its candidacy for membership in the European Union and potentially marking a dramatic pivot toward Moscow. As we've reported, the law mandates that organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas register as agents of foreign influence, the legislation is similar to Russian laws frequently used by President Putin to suppress Kremlin critics. The legislation has, been the source of considerable unrest in Georgia. The nation has seen months of massive protests and even a fistfight among lawmakers during a raucous session of Parliament. Despite the President's veto on May 18th, the Parliament Speaker announced that the ruling Georgian Dream Party

would override it. The bill was passed by Georgian MPs by a margin of 84 votes to four, with most opposition lawmakers abstaining. The bill will now return to the President's desk, and the president has five days to sign it. If she refuses, the Speaker of Parliament can sign it into law. The law's main provisions would then take effect 60 days after it's officially enacted. It's worth noting, the vote followed sharp criticism from the United States and European nations. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the State Department would begin implementing new visa restrictions against lawmakers who are, quote,

complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia. The mayor of Tbilisi, the nation's capital, labeled the U.S. an enemy following the announcement of the travel restrictions. U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson proposed legislation on May 23rd offering military trade and visa incentives if Georgia abandons the law, but the parliament doesn't seem to have any interest, at least thus far. EU countries are also considering sanctions, including suspending Georgia's visa-free travel and the nation's EU candidacy. The EU's top diplomat, Joseph Burrell, expressed disappointment over the decision, saying that it goes against Georgia's commitments as an EU candidate. Now, Georgia is scheduled to hold elections in October, largely seen as a referendum on the pro-Kremlin Georgian Dream Party.

Should they hold on to their majority, well, it could be the end of Georgia's EU ambitions. Protests against the law continue in Tbilisi, with thousands demonstrating daily in front of Parliament and City Center. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 29 May. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And remember, to listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdb premium.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. Because behind every headline is a bottom line. Whether it's the funds fueling AI or crypto's trillion dollar swings,

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