The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 26th, 2024: Kamala vs. Netanyahu & Olympic Arson Attack

Episode Date: July 26, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly blindsided by critical remarks made publicly by Vice President Kamala Harris following a private discussion they held earlier on Thursday. She is now facing criticism from Israeli officials, who said her remarks could jeopardize ongoing ceasefire negotiations. Just hours before the Paris Olympic games are set to open, saboteurs struck France’s high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn arson attacks on Friday, highlighting some major security gaps and causing chaos for travelers. 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 PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Begin your day with the delicious taste of blackout coffee. It's a great family-owned American business, and they're dedicated to premium coffee, fresh-roasted, and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackout coffee.com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first time purchase. It's Friday, 26th July. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed.

First, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. was reportedly blindsided by critical remarks made publicly by Vice President Kamala Harris following a private discussion that they held on Thursday. We'll have the latest fallout and why some Israeli officials fear that the remarks from Harris could undermine ceasefire negotiations. Also, France was rattled by a series of arson attacks Friday morning targeting the country's high-speed train network just hours ahead of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. But first, our afternoon spotlight, Vice President and presumptive Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris got off to a bit of a rocky start in her diplomatic outreach this week,

facing widespread criticism from Israeli officials over her remarks after a private meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu that they claim jeopardized ceasefire negotiations. Netanyahu met with both President Biden and Vice President Harris on Thursday in separate private meetings to discuss ongoing ceasefire talks that the administration hope can bring a sustained calm to Gaza. Harris, however, followed her private meeting with some public remarks that caught Netanyahu off guard and angered leaders in Jerusalem, that's according to an exclusive report from Axios. Harris, like Biden, brought up the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and expressed concerns around civilian casualties in her meeting with Nanjahu. But her on-camera statement, well, that went much further.

After the Prime Minister left, she tore into Israel's handling of the war, criticizing the devastation, and, quote, death of far too many innocent civilians. She added, quote, we cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent, and quote. Playing much for the cameras. An unnamed Israeli official told Axios that, quote, Harris's statement after the meeting was much more critical

than what she told Netanyahu in the private meeting. The official said the statement irked Netanyahu, who was already disgruntled by Harris' demand that Israel agreed to a permanent ceasefire to end the war outright, despite the fact that Netanyahu has been clear that he intends to resume fighting at a later date to ensure the total defeat of Hamas. In her on-camera public statement, Harris said it was time to secure a permanent deal and end the war. A separate unnamed Israeli official said they were alarmed that Harris would openly criticize Israel in a public forum for the humanitarian in Gaza and for civilian deaths, particularly at such a delicate time in a ceasefire negotiation.

They said there was concern, including from Netanyahu, that Harris's statement could disrupt the ongoing negotiations. The official said that Hamas may interpret Harris's statement as indicating discord or disagreement between the U.S. and Israel, which may give the terror group an excuse to, quote, push a deal into the distance. The official elaborated, quote, when our enemies see the U.S. and Israel are aligned, it increases the chances for a hostage deal and decreases the chances for a regional escalation. When there is such daylight, though, it pushes the deal further away and brings a regional escalation closer. We hope the official continued that Harris's public criticism in Israel won't give Hamas the impression that there's daylight between the U.S. and

Israel, and as a result, make it harder to get a deal, end quote. Now, as a reminder, ceasefire negotiations, ongoing and appear somewhat promising, I think cautious optimism is possibly the phrase of the day. CIA Director Bill Burns recently said that there is a fragile but real chance to achieve a lasting truce. Harris's office attempted to downplay the incident Friday morning, claiming the reports are false and her remarks mirrored what she told Netanyahu in person. They framed the conversation as, quote, serious and collegial. Oh, ironically, the Israeli officials said that while Netanyahu's actual meeting with Harris was not tense or difficult, his three-hour sit-down earlier in the day with Biden was, quote, far more productive.

Still, former Trump National Security aide John Uliot opined that the meeting was the clear as sign yet that Harris has begun taking over the leadership role from Biden, particularly since she was the only one to give an on-camera statement surrounded by American flags. He told Fox News, quote, she is definitely pushing her agenda now, and she's taken over from Biden, end quote. The reality here is that Harris and Herb campaign team are, of course, focused on the upcoming November election. And the last thing that they want to do is anger their progressive base, which includes folks like Representative Rashida Thlebe, who sat through Netanyahu's address to Congress the other day, holding a sign that said, quote, war criminal. Is there a chance

that Harris said one thing to Netanyahu during their private conversation and then came out talking tougher to the cameras afterwards in order to play to her anti-Israel colleagues and Arab-American voters. But come on, folks, as President Biden would say. It's Washington, D.C. It's politics. Of course there's a chance. And when I say a chance, I mean, that's exactly what happened. Coming up after the break, France was rattled by a series of arson attacks Friday morning targeting the country's high-speed train network ahead of the opening of the Summer Olympic Games. I'll be right back. This episode is brought to you by Ultima Replenisher. Health is all about balance, like a salad with fries.

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Subscribe now at Bloomberg.com. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Just hours before the Paris Olympic Games are set to open, Saboteurs struck France's high-speed train network in a series of pre-dawn arson attacks on Friday, highlighting some major security gaps and causing chaos. for travelers. The perpetrators targeted signaling installations on France's Atlantic, northern, and eastern high-speed lines, damaging substations and cables along the lines, connecting Paris with cities across the country. An additional attack near the Paris-Marsay line

was reportedly foiled by authorities, according to a report from Reuters. Authorities said the damage was caused by fires, triggered by explosive devices placed inside the rail network. No group, as claimed responsibility, but based on the nature of the attack, early suspicion in France has fallen on leftist militants or environmental activists who have a history of these kinds of operations. French Prime Minister Gabriel Atal said he had mobilized the country's intelligence services and law enforcement to track down the suspects. Atal said, quote, what we know, what we see, is that this operation was prepared, coordinated, that nerve centers were targeted, which shows a certain knowledge of the network to know where to strike. He also warned that, quote, the consequences

for the rail network are massive and serious, end quote. Thousands of rail workers have been deployed to repair the damage, but normal operations are not scheduled to resume on certain lines, well, until late Saturday. Some 800,000 customers, including visitors for the Olympics, were facing disruptions following the attack. One Paris resident told Reuters, quote, it's a disaster. Today is the opening of the Olympic Games, a huge event that was supposed to be magnificent, and this is spoiling people's joy, end quote. The attacks fed into a sense of apprehension across Paris, ahead of the much-anticipated opening ceremony tonight on the River Sen. Following the news, services at France's Basel-Mollhouse airport near the border with Switzerland, was briefly suspended following a bomb alert. As far as

security for the events is concerned, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he was unconcerned. and had full faith in the ability of French authorities to secure the Games. Now, France has gone to unprecedented lengths over the past few months to prepare for the wide-ranging security threats facing the Olympics. There's particular concern about attempts by Russia to sabotage the games, as well as the risk of attacks from Islamic terrorists who have stepped up their activity internationally ever since the war in Gaza broke out.

Earlier this week, French authorities arrested a Russian man suspected of planning to destabilize the upcoming games on behalf of Moscow's intelligence services. That followed the recent detention of a 26-year-old Ukrainian Russian man who was apprehended last month after a bomb he was building in a hotel room in Paris exploded. France has deployed some 45,000 police, 10,000 soldiers, and 2,000 private security agents to secure tonight's opening ceremony, which is expected to draw roughly 300,000 spectators. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, 26 July. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. Now, to listen to the show ad-free, well, it's simple. Become a premium member of the president's daily brief by visiting pdbpremium.com.

And in case you hadn't heard, today is Friday. And that, of course, means that another episode of the PDB Situation Report drops, as the kids say, tonight at 10 p.m. on the first TV. It's our extended weekend version of the PDB, and it's also available, of course, on all podcast platforms and our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief. Check it out. It's informative, entertaining, and has zero calories. 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. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I 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.

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