The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 18th, 2025: Report: Trump Discussing A Weapons 'Mega-Deal' With Zelensky & Mexico Threatens Legal Action Against ICE

Episode Date: July 18, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—President Donald Trump is reportedly discussing a weapons "mega deal" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that would see Washington buy battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kyiv purchasing American-made arms. Later in the show—Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum threatens legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the death of a migrant worker during a raid at a cannabis farm in California. 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 TriTails Premium Beef: Visit https://trybeef.com/pdb & get $10 off 20 Lbs Ground Beef Special DeleteMe: Visit ⁠https://joindeleteme.com/BRIEF⁠ & Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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I'm Mike Baker. ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, President Trump is reportedly discussing a weapons quote mega deal with Ukrainian President Zelensky that would see Washington by battlefield-tested Ukrainian drones in exchange for Kiev purchasing American-made arms. Later in the show, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum threatens legal action against U.S. immigration and customs enforcement or ICE after the death of a migrant during a raid at a cannabis farm in California. It's an interesting thought that litigation and legal action makes you wonder if the U.S. could take legal action against Mexico for all the deaths caused by the fentanyl crossing the border.

But first, today's afternoon spotlight. President Trump's once frosty relationship with Ukrainian President Zelensky continues to thaw, opening the door for a weapons deal that could help transform the Pentagon's lagging drone program. Now, as we've been tracking on the PDB, the president already pivoted on sharing advanced U.S. weapons with Ukraine earlier this week, and now, while the pair are reportedly discussing a weapons mega deal to help modernize each other's aerial technology. Zelenskyy teased the development in an exclusive interview with the New York Post published on Thursday, saying the U.S. is considering buying battle-tested Ukrainian drones

in exchange for Kiev purchasing a large package of unspecified American weaponry. As part of the potential breakthrough deal, Kiev is offering to share with the Pentagon everything that it has learned about modern warfare over the course of the more than three-year conflict with Russia, and that's quite a bit, where drones have emerged as arguably the most important battlefield tool. Zelensky told the post, quote, the people of America need this technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal. I think this is really a mega deal, a win-win, as they say, end quote.

Now, it would certainly be a considerable boon for the U.S. military, as U.S. drone technology is currently far behind that of Russia and China. National security officials and drone experts have warned that American troops are currently ill-equipped to effectively fight a drone-based war or defend against the technologies being honed by America's top adversaries, calling it a major blind spot for the Department of Defense. The shortcomings of America's drone technology were put on full display during a testing drill just last month in Alaska. During that exercise, which tested both defensive and offensive capabilities, American troops

and private contractors repeatedly failed to intercept prototype drones. Test launches of prototype drones proved also just as disastrous, with many failing to launch or missing their targets entirely. The project manager of the autonomy portfolio at the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit recently told the New York Times, quote, we all know the same thing. We aren't giving the American warfighter what they need to survive warfare today. He added, quote, if we had to go to war tomorrow, do we have what we need? No, he answered, end quote. But out of necessity, Kiev has become an expert in drone warfare. Despite Russia's domestic production of Iranian-style Shahed suicide drones, used in the Kremlin's relentless aerial bombardments on Ukraine, Keeb's creative use of drone technology

has helped their military keep Moscow on the back foot. In May, for example, Ukraine used in updated Marine drone to successfully destroy a Russian SU-30 fighter jet over the Black Sea, and in July, Ukraine flew a drone some 800 miles into Russia, successfully blowing up a Russian anti-aircraft missile plant. But their most impressive display came in early June of this year, when Ukraine pulled off an audacious operation that destroyed dozens of Russian strategic bombers stationed at four separate military bases deep in the heart of Russian territory. dubbed Operation Spider Web, Keev launched 117 Ukrainian drones guided by artificial intelligence tools and armed with precision munitions. The strikes, which involved 18 months of intensive planning,

reportedly disabled nearly a third of Russia's cruise missile bomber fleet and caused roughly $7 billion worth of damage, dealing an embarrassing blow to the Putin regime. The attack showed a level of sophistication on the part of Ukrainian intelligence that stunned even Kiev's closest allies, particularly as the drones were assembled and launched from inside Russia. The Pentagon is eager to learn from Kiev's battlefield insights. Now, on the other side of the fence, we know that the Chinese military has been observing keenly what Russia's been doing on the battlefield in terms of drone warfare in particular. Drones offer a low-cost but highly effective tool for modern warfare, which is increasingly fought in the skies. Zelensky noted that drones have been the key to

fending off Russia's aggression, making up for the fact that Russia's military significantly outnumbers Ukraine's. Zelensky told the post, quote, we will be ready to share this experience with America and other European partners. While the White House has not commented on a potential drone deal, earlier this week retired Army Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, toward Ukrainian defense facilities, and he preys on their rapid advancements in drone technology. Kellogg said, quote, I saw firsthand how Ukrainian-made drones are being built and developed. Incredible innovation. Our defense industrial base in the U.S. should take notice and adapt. All right, up next, Mexican President, Clodia Shinebomb, threatens legal actions against ice.

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Turning our attention to south of the U.S. border, the Trump administration's aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration is causing some diplomatic friction with leaders in Mexico. Earlier this week, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum announced that her government is exploring a lawsuit against U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, known as ICE, after the death of a migrant worker during a raid at a cannabis farm in California last week, which sparked significant controversy. To bring you up to speed, ice agents carried out two raids on July 10th at cannabis farms in Southern California, including at one of the largest marijuana grow operations in the world after receiving reports that they were hiring and harboring a number of undocumented workers,

according to a report from a local ABC affiliate. More than 360 people were arrested between the two raids, making it one of the largest immigration operations carried out under President Trump's administration. At least 10 undocumented money, were found at one of the cannabis facilities, and the farm is now under investigation for possible child labor violations. But during that raid, a migrant worker fell some 30 feet from the roof of a greenhouse breaking his neck and skull. The man identified as Jaime Alainz Garcia was quickly hospitalized, but later died from his injuries. Now, he may have been attempting to evade federal agents raiding the property, though the Department of Homeland Security said he was not being

chased by ice at the time of his fall. A spokesman for DHS said, quote, this man was not in and has not been in CBP or ICE custody. Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and then fell some 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medevac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible. But the tragic incident has provoked fury in Mexico. Garcia's family is demanding action from the Mexican government, accusing ICE of stoking chaos and fear among migrants during their crackdowns on illegal immigration. At a press conference earlier this week, Mexican President Scheinbaum called the actions of ICE agents, quote, unacceptable, and said her government was, quote, exploring the possibility of filing a

complaint. Shinebaum added, quote, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently reviewing the matter. It's very unfortunate that this happened. All our solidarity and support go to the family, and it must not be another case like this one. That's why the complaint must be filed in the courts over there. End quote. Now, the raid brought its own set of challenges for ICE agents who have been increasingly targeted with violence as they attempt to carry out their mission. During the raid of the cannabis farm, a group of protesters clashed with ICE agents, prompting law enforcement to deploy tear gas

and flashbangs to disperse the crowd. Some protesters then began hurling rocks at law enforcement, and one demonstrator reportedly fired a gun towards federal agents, though no injuries were reported from that shooting. Illegal immigration, along with the smuggling of the deadly opioid fentanyl across the southern border, continues to be the major flashpoint in U.S. Mexico relations. While President Trump has praised Shinebaum for her help in reducing illegal border crossings, he said Wednesday that the country has still not done enough to combat fentanyl trafficking. As a reminder, drug overdoses continue to plague U.S. communities, claiming the lives of more than 100,000 Americans in both 2022, and 2023, with 70% of those deaths involving opioids like fentanyl. Opioid-related overdose deaths declined

slightly in 2024 to roughly 55,000, but a CDC report from June warned that drug deaths are once again on the rise. Trump is certain to impose a 30% tariff on Mexico by the 1st of August, if the government doesn't do more to rein in the country's powerful drug cartels. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday the 18th of July. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. Of course, to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know you can do that. Just become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com. And make sure to check out the latest episode of our extended weekend show, the PDB Situation Report.

That hits the airwaves this evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV. You can also catch it and past episodes on our YouTube channel. Check that out and subscribe. You can find our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief as well as on all your favorite podcast platforms. I'm Mike Baker and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB Situation Report. 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, there's a money side to every story. And when you see the money side, you understand what others miss. Get the money side of the story. Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com.