The President's Daily Brief - November 29th, 2023: Hostage Handovers, Musk the Mensch, & Kochs Back Nikki

Episode Date: November 29, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:   As additional hostages are released in Gaza a major question arises: why are so few American hostages returning home?   Elon Musk's surprise visit to Israel makes waves as he meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and endorses the campaign against Hamas.   A deep dive into the Capitol's ongoing debate over financial aid to Ukraine.   In the Back of the Brief: The Republican presidential primary is upended by an unexpected endorsement for Nikki Haley from prominent figures.   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

It's Wednesday, November 29th. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. In today's PDB, more hostages are released in Gaza as major efforts continue in an attempt to extend the temporary ceasefire beyond this evening. Later, Elon Musk makes a surprise visit to Israel, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and throwing his support behind the elimination. of Hamas, plus an update on the ongoing debate in Washington over Ukraine funding. And finally, in the back of the brief, a major shake-up in the Republican presidential primary as former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley, receives a surprise endorsement from key players.

But first up, the PDB spotlight. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has entered its second day and we continue to see a steady exchange of captives. Just yesterday, Hamas released 12 hostages, and as with previous exchanges, they were all women and children. Now, among those let go by Hamas were 10 Israelis and a couple of foreigners, but no Americans in that group. That's something I'm going to circle back to in just a bit. On the other side, Israel has freed 30 Palestinian detainees from its prisons.

Now, since the beginning of this ceasefire, There have been 79 hostages released from Gaza. However, Israeli officials estimate that approximately 160 others remain in captivity, and this group includes 10-month-old Fer Bebas, who was abducted with his four-year-old brother and parents. Currently, there are concerted efforts being made to extend this ceasefire deal. CIA director Bill Burns held a meeting in Doha yesterday with the Mossad director and Qatar's prime minister.

The focus of their discussion was on the possibility of a second, perhaps more broad extension of the ceasefire, which would be contingent on Hamas releasing more hostages. Burns is trying to get Hamas and Israel to think bigger with their hostage talks, which have so far been limited to women and children. Burns is advocating for the inclusion of men and military personnel in these negotiations. And here's a key point. Burns is reportedly pressing hard for the quick release. of American captives.

This situation raises an important question about the U.S. government's role in these negotiations. Now, since October 7th, we've heard a lot about the White House's efforts to secure the release of American hostages. And there's no doubt that the U.S. has played a key role in supporting the negotiations of the Qatari and Egyptian governments, not only with the initial exchange, but also in the ongoing extended negotiations. President Biden has, according to the White House, been personally involved making calls during his Thanksgiving vacation in Nantucket.

But here's the thing. As of this morning, only one American has been set free. That's four-year-old Abigail Eden, who was released on Sunday. U.S. officials estimate that there are still nine American hostages remaining. So the million-dollar question, why aren't more American hostages coming home? The answer is leverage. Specifically, Hamas understands the value of the American hostages. They know the pressure that this place is on the U.S. administration, and subsequently, the pressure that the White House will put on Israel in terms of agreeing to any further cessation in military operations. As we've discussed previously on the PDB, Hamas understands politics.

They have a savvy public relations element, and they've taken control. control of the narrative, for the most part, in social media and international media. All right. When we return, Elon Musk makes a surprise visit to Israel and then update on the ongoing debate in Washington over Ukraine funding. I'll be right 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...

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groups regarding his seeming endorsement of anti-Semitic posts on X. Musk and Netanyahu visited a kibbutz where Hamas carried out one of their many, brutal, medieval attacks on Israeli civilians during the 7 October rampage. Musk, alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog, also met with the families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. Musk said, quote, it was jarring to see the scene of the massacre. and he spoke of the need to, quote, get rid of the ones who are hell-bent on murdering Jewish people. At the same time, Musk also expressed his desire to help rebuild Gaza after the war.

Now, the Israeli president did press Musk over the rise of anti-Semitic content on X, reminding the mogul that he has a large role to play in limiting the reach of hateful content. Musk appeared to agree, promising to do whatever is necessary, to stop the spread of anti-Semitism on X. The latest Musk controversy ignited when he appeared to give his support to an account posting anti-Semitic tropes. This prompted widespread outrage and allegations that Musk is an anti-Semite who uses his social media behemoth

to spread hate against the Jewish community. Musk later clarified that his ire was aimed at the Anti-Defamation League and their support of progressive policies. Regarding the accusations against him of anti-Semitism, Musk said, quote, Nothing could be further from the truth. His words, however, have done little to quell the controversy. Prominent advertisers on X, including IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate, and Paramount, have stopped advertising on the platform.

Now, as an aside, it's interesting to note that these same companies have bent over backwards to appease progressives and what is often referred to as the woke mob, many of whom have been out in the streets and on college campuses recently across the U.S. flying Palestinian flags and shouting the anti-Semitic from the river to the sea. To paraphrase Doc Holliday from the outstanding Western Classic tombstone, their hypocrisy knows no bounds. Now, during the trip to Israel, it appears Musk also reached the same. an agreement with the Israeli government regarding the use of his Starlink satellite network.

This was the source of much consternation in the early days of the conflict. Under a tentative agreement reached Monday, Israel's communications minister said that the Starlink system can now only be used in Israel or Gaza with the express consent of Israel's communication ministry. Okay. Moving our focus to the war in Ukraine. NATO leaders are trying to pin down the U.S. regarding commitments to provide greater financial and military aid to Ukraine.

Jen Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, warned Tuesday at a gathering of foreign ministers at NATO headquarters that continued support is critical to maintaining global security and curbing the ambitions of Putin, this according to a New York Times report. The situation is particularly precarious, given the that the current aid package is dwindling amid Ukraine's stalled counteroffensive. With the harshword or months approaching, NATO leaders are eager to ensure Ukraine has the financial and military support it needs to continue to repel attacks by the Putin regime. NATO anxiety over U.S. support for Ukraine comes as a White House proposal to send $61.4 billion in additional emergency aid to Ukraine

has stalled in Congress. The Republican-led House, indicated their desire to separate supplemental funding packages for Israel and Ukraine, and to tie further aid to Ukraine to U.S. border policy reforms. Now, Democrats in the Senate have promised to vote next week on a single aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific region. Despite the gap between Republican and Democrat interests, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed optimism in remarks at the NATO meeting yesterday. promising that the U.S. will be, quote, strongly reaffirming our support for Ukraine as it continues to face Russia's war of aggression. Now, here's the truth of the matter. Without continued funding

and resources from the U.S., Ukraine cannot do any better than a stalemate against Putin's military. And frankly, that's a best-case scenario. All right, staying with Ukraine, we're learning that the wife of Ukraine's military spy chief was recently poisoned with heavy metals. Mariana Budenova, the wife of Kirillo Budnov, is reportedly recovering at a hospital after receiving treatment for the poisoning, which officials suspect was put in her food.

While the details of the incident remain a mystery, and officials cannot yet say who was behind the attack, well, we have a hunch, and it rhymes with Putin. The guy's never met a dissident or foe, that he's not willing to poison. I mean, seriously, Novichoke, Polonium, ricin, thalium, dioxin. Putin and his intel apparatus are keeping the toxins industry in business. They should send him a nice fruit basket every year just for his support. The poisoning happened just a few weeks after Russian leaders added Budenov to their wanted list

on terrorism charges related to drone strikes in Russian territory. Butanov heads the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, GUR, overseeing. clandestine operations against Russian forces. Ukrainian intelligence officials previously said there have been at least 10 attempts on Budanov's life by Russian forces since the war began. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, a potential shake-up in the GOP presidential primary race as former UN ambassador Nikki Haley receives a key endorsement. I'll be right back. In today's back of the brief, big news in the GOP presidential presidential primary race yesterday, former South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley, snagged a huge endorsement.

Americans for Prosperity, the political heavyweight operation of the Koch Brothers Network, has thrown its weight behind Nikki Haley's presidential bid. Now, they're promising to rally their nationwide activists and open up their deep pockets to help Haley take on former President Donald Trump in the GOP primaries. Here's a direct quote from the AFP president and CEO Emily Seidel. AFB Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November, end quote.

This support from the Koch Network is a game changer for Haley, especially as we're just seven weeks out from the Iowa caucuses. Haley's campaign, which has been struggling with fundraising, is likely to get a serious boost. But this is not great news, obviously, for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn't quite managed to position himself as the go-to Trump alternative. And speaking of Trump, in response to this endorsement for Haley, Stephen Chung, as spokesman for Trump's campaign, didn't mince words. He said, quote, Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the China First, America Last Movement, has chosen to endorse a pro-China open borders

and globalist candidate in Nikki Birdbrain Haley, adding that no amount of shady money will stop Mr. Trump from winning the Republican nomination and the election, end quote. Well, I'd like to say that we're in for a 2024 campaign season on both the Democrat and Republican sides of civility, seriousness, and honesty. But I have too much respect for you, the PDB, listeners to even suggest such a thing. The reality is we're heading into a maelstrom of name-calling, finger-pointing, misstating of facts, outright lies, and good old-fashioned mud-slinging.

As Mark Twain once said, politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 29 November. 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.