The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | October 7th, 2025: Trump Calls Off Venezuela Diplomacy & White House Looks To The Insurrection Act

Episode Date: October 7, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   The White House has called off diplomatic efforts with Venezuela, marking a sharp shift away from negotiation and toward confrontation. We’ll have the details on what led to the decision, how U.S. forces are positioning in the Caribbean, and why Caracas is now holding war drills.   Later in the show—as National Guard deployments expand, President Trump says he may invoke the Insurrection Act if legal challenges and state officials continue to block the moves.   To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com.   Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.   YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybriefTrue Classic: Upgrade your wardrobe and save on @trueclassic at https://trueclassic.com/PDB #trueclassicpod   Birch Gold: Text PDB to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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and state resistance continues. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Venezuela have reportedly broken down, making a sharp turn away from negotiation and toward confrontation. According to our report in the New York Times, President Trump has ordered an immediate halt to all negotiations with the government of Nicholas Maduro, a move that officials say could pave the way for a new phase of confrontation in America's campaign against Latin American drug cartels. Richard Grinnell, who had been quietly leading talks with senior Venezuelan officials, was told directly by President Trump to stand down. Those talks had focused on a potential deal that would have opened up Venezuela's oil industry to U.S. companies

while avoiding direct conflict. But that effort, well, at least for now, seems over. Sources tell the times the president made the call after growing frustrated with Maduro's refusal to step aside and his insistence that Venezuela's government has no role in the region's drug trade. Administration hardliner. including Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio are said to have pushed strongly for this shift, describing Maduro as a, quote, fugitive from American justice. Rubio and others have pointed to U.S. indictments,

accusing Maduro of running a narco state and have raised the American bounty on his capture to $50 million U.S. dollars. The White House, for its part, says the President is prepared to use every element of American power to stop narcotics from entering the U.S. As we reported here on the PDB last week, President Trump formally notified Congress that the U.S. is in an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels, designating cartel members as unlawful combatants. Taken together, the decision to end diplomacy and the language coming out of Washington

suggests that the administration is moving toward a more forceful phase of its anti-cartel operations, one that could, possibly, soon include targets inside Venezuela itself. And while Washington debates its next move, the Maduro government is sending its own signal, one of defiance and preparation. There are growing signs that Venezuelans, well, at least those loyal to the Maduro regime, they're preparing for war. In Caracas, Mayor Carmen Melendez appeared at a subway station defense drill, wearing camouflage, ooh, and declaring herself a combatant.

She told reporters that while she hopes an American invasion won't happen, quote, if it does, we'll be ready. Well, is there anything more adorable than a mayor cosplaying as a soldier? The exercise she attended was one of several nationwide drills ordered by President Maduro. The official reason was to practice a response to a cyber attack on Venezuela's subway system, but the timing is hard to miss, coming just days after Washington abruptly ended diplomatic outreach. Maduro himself has framed the U.S. military presence in the U.S. military presence in the U. Caribbean as proof that Washington is preparing an invasion. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to ratchet up the pressure on the Maduro regime with its continued and growing presence in the Caribbean.

New footage released by U.S. Southern Command shows Marine Corps fighter jets conducting live-fire drills over the Caribbean Sea, AV-8B herriers and F-35B stealth fighters, taking off from the amphibious assault ship USS Iwojima, dropping bombs on surface targets in a show of force. Now, the Iwojima itself has been spotted near the U.S. Virgin Islands, while other Navy destroyers and support ships patrol the waters just north of Venezuela. As of Friday, U.S. forces have carried out at least four strikes on boats Washington claims were carrying narcotics. Those strikes have killed more than 20 people, and Defense Secretary or Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, says they were conducted in international waters. The new classification gives U.S. forces a broad latitude to

strike targets without a traditional declaration of war, and it's raising concerns inside the administration that Venezuela itself could soon become a target under that same justification. For now, the Caribbean is filling up with U.S. warships. It's getting crowded over there. The rhetoric is hardening on both sides, and the window for diplomacy, if not already closed, appears to be closing fast. All right, coming up next. President Trump warns that he could invoke the Insurrection Act if governors and courts keep standing in the way of his National Guard deployments. I'll have those details. Hey, Mike Baker here. PDB host, former CIA fellow, and known globally as a fashion icon. Did you know that? Yes, I am a bit of a fashion icon. So let me give you a valuable

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restore order. If the president's follows through. It would mark the first use of the law in more than three decades, aimed at what Trump calls a, quote, criminal insurrection in cities overrun by anti-ice protests, and at breaking a deepening standoff with a block of liberal governors resisting his orders. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said, quote, we have an insurrection act for a reason. You look at what's happening with Portland over the years, it's a burning hellhole, and then you have a judge that lost her way that tries to pretend that there's no problem, end quote. His comment. His comment, Comments came a day after a ruling from a federal judge in Oregon, who temporarily blocked the

administration's attempt to send National Guard units into Portland in what was the second such ruling. The decision further inflamed the clash between state and federal powers. The White House quickly appealed, arguing that, quote, the federal government will not be paralyzed by rogue local officials and authorized preparations to transfer troops despite the legal freeze. So what exactly are the details of this insurrection act? I'm glad you asked. Signed in the law back in 1807, it grants the president authority to deploy military forces domestically to enforce federal law or suppress civil disorder. Historically, it's been used sparingly, most notably by President Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy during the civil rights era to

enforce desegregation orders following the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling. If enacted, troops would assume full law enforcement powers over local police, including their ability to enforce curfews and make arrests. The White House insists the potential move is rooted not in politics but in constitutional duty, an attempt to restore order where, in the president's words, quote, governors have completely lost control. Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller accused the courts of, quote, mounting an insurrection against the Constitution, warning that federal authority was being openly defied by liberal state leaders. But the conflict is no longer confined to Oregon. California and Illinois have each filed a new lawsuit seeking to block the president's

troop deployments, even as the National Guard began mobilizing under federal command. In Illinois, Trump ordered 300 guard members to Chicago following a surge in anti-ice protests and crime. A senior military official confirmed that 200 additional troops from Texas are on route, with operations set to begin within days. Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, reportedly the least-liked mayor in America, responded by declaring, quote, ice-free zones across the city, pledging to block any federal detentions conducted without warrants. California Governor Gavin Newsom, always keen to make headlines,

went further, threatening to withdraw from the National Governors Association, to bipartisan lobby resistant to federal authority, altogether unless it condemned Trump's actions. Recent court filings show that the already 300 troop deployment in California has been quietly extended through January of 26, seen in Sacramento as overreach, but in Washington as a lawful extension of National Security Authority. As for the last time a president invoked the Insurrection Act, well, that would be 1992 when George H.W. Bush sent federal troops to Los Angeles at the request of California.

governor to silence riots after the Rodney King verdict. Trump's situation is far more complex, as he's weighing the law's use over the objections of state officials not at their request. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday the 7th of October. Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, please just reach out to me at thefirsttv.com. And of course, to listen to the show ad-free, that's a very simple thing to do, just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB Premium.com.

I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslaught Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamaba's history. Club Serrano members can earn daily instant prizes and secure a spot in the finale.

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