The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | September 25th, 2024: Iran's Ongoing Plots To Assassinate Trump & China Fires First ICBM In Decades

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   We’ll start things off with an update on Iran’s plots targeting former President Donald Trump, who warned on Wednesday that the Islamic regime is engaged in ongoing attempts to have him assassinated. Then, we’ll turn our attention to the Pacific, where China just successfully test launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time in decades. 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].  Blackout Coffee: https://www.blackoutcoffee.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Blackout coffee is a great American family-owned business. It's completely focused on producing 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 Wednesday, 25 September. Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed.

First up, U.S. intelligence officials have briefed former President Trump on the wide-ranging assassination threats posed to him. by the Mullahs of Iran, who appear intent on targeting him as the election approaches. Then we'll turn our attention to the Pacific, where China just successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on ICBM, for those of you who love acronyms, and honestly, who doesn't love an acronym. And that ICBM launch, by the way, by China, it's the first one since 1980. But first, our afternoon spotlight. We'll start things off with an update. Iran's plots targeting former President Trump, who warned on Wednesday that the Islamic regime is engaged in ongoing attempts to have him assassinated. Officials with the Office of the Director

of National Intelligence, that's the ODNI, oh, apparently it's acronym Wednesday, briefed Trump on Tuesday regarding what they described as real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and so chaos in the United States. To be clear, The schemes are unrelated to the two assassination attempts on Trump since July, and they also come as Iran engages in a large-scale hacking operation targeting the former president's campaign. A spokesman for the Trump campaign said they were told that these coordinated plots have intensified over the past few months, though details of the plots remain unclear. They added that all intel agencies are working to ensure Trump's protection and that, quote, the election is free from interference. Trump quickly took to social media on Wednesday morning,

well, there's a switch, saying any country that would target a former president has a, quote, death wish. Trump continued, quote, big threats on my life by Iran. Moves were already made by Iran that didn't work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before, end quote. He also took a moment to thank Congress. for uniting in a bipartisan vote to approve more funds for the Secret Service regarding protectees,

saying it was, quote, nice to see Republicans and Democrats get together on something, end quote. And how interesting is it that it took two assassination attempts on former President Trump to get the Republicans and Democrats to find something that they could work together on? A representative for the ODNI confirmed that the briefing took place, but would not elaborate on the nature of the alleged attempts on Trump's life, the Iranians. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, Trump has narrowly avoided two assassination attempts since July, unrelated to this Iranian threat. But shortly after the first attempt on Trump's life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania back on 13 July, news broke that the U.S. was tracking

an Iranian assassination plot against Trump. Intelligence suggests that Trump is being targeted over the killing of Iranian military commander Kassim Soleimani in an air strike that that Trump approved back in 2020. Former Trump administration officials also continue to face assassination threats over Soleimani. The US government has been providing round-the-clock security for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo,

former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Trump's former special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook. We know of at least one case involving Bolton and Pompeo where authorities disrupted an active plot to assassinate both men. In July, Trump responded, to the news of the plots by making his own threat to Iran. He said, quote, if they do assassinate President Trump, which is always a possibility, I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off

the face of the earth. If that does not happen, America's leaders will be considered gutless cowards, end quote. Now, honestly, look, the problem is with the Iranian regime and its revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, not the citizens of Iran. To be fair, much of the Iranian population would like to see the regime gone. We should note, the President of Iran is currently in the U.S. this week, attending the U.N. General Assembly, where he spoke on Tuesday. Because why wouldn't the General Assembly give the head of the largest state sponsor of terrorism and the cause of much of the instability, death, and chaos currently happening in the Middle East,

a prime speaker's spot? Yeah, it just makes sense for the U.N. I'm surprised that they didn't invite representatives from Hamas and Hezbollah to also address the assembly. Coming up, we'll turn our attention to the Pacific, where China just successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since 1980. Now, for those of you currently doing the math, that's 44 years ago.

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Download today. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. In a demonstration not seen in over four decades, China successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead on Wednesday into the Pacific Ocean. Now, historically, China's ICBM tests occur within its borders, usually in the Taklamakan Desert of the Xinjiang region. China last launched an ICBM into international waters all the way back in May of 1980, making this recent event highly unusual. The geopolitical environment surrounding this launch

is intensely charged. While Beijing's defense ministry labeled the test as, quote, routine and notified some countries of the launch, Japan's government spokesperson reported receiving, quote, no notice. Now, this action has, as you might expect, further strained relations in the region. Already wary of China's military movements, Japan's defense ministry pledged to continue

monitoring Chinese military activities closely. The ICBM test signals Beijing's growing military capabilities and its readiness to project power. Experts like Drew Thompson from Singapore's Li Kuan-Yu School of Public Policy believe that while China claims the test is not aimed at any specific nation, the events timing suggest a broader message aimed at intimidating multiple regional countries. The Chinese regime, frankly, rarely does anything not tied to strategic messaging. It shouldn't be lost also on observers that Xi's military launched this ICBM during UN General Assembly Week in New York.

According to U.S.-based defense analyst, John Ridge, the missile test may be a form of strategic posturing aimed at the U.S. Yeah, that's a high likelihood there. Despite somewhat improving relations between Washington and Beijing over the past year, several sticking points remain, including China's territorial ambitions in the South China Sea, U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and China's expanding nuclear arsenal. Yeah, I'd call all of those sticking points. The Pentagon has projected that China will have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by the year 2030, with approximately 350 currently deployed as ICBMs. In contrast, the U.S. and Russia each maintain over 5,000 warheads,

but China's rapid expansion is a growing concern in global security circles. China suspended its nuclear arms control talks with Washington back in July, citing its frustration over the continued U.S. arms sales for China. Taiwan. In addition to nuclear developments, China has increased its naval and air operations regularly conducting exercises in disputed waters and air spaces. As we reported on the PDB back in July, Chinese military drills led Japan to scramble fighter jets when a Chinese aircraft reportedly entered its airspace. Now, the growing frequency of such incidents has prompted Japan to bolster its military readiness, aligning more closely with the U.S.

Beijing's claims over Taiwan remain a core issue driving regional insecurity. In recent months, Taiwan's defense ministry has continued to report Chinese naval and aircraft incursions around the island. As China continues to expand its nuclear capabilities, regional actors like Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan remain on high alert. While Beijing insists that this ICBM launch was routine, the strategic implications of the test suggest a broader intent to showcase its evolving, military prowess. And of note, this Chinese ICBM launch follows, as reported yesterday on the PDB, a failed ICBM launch by Russia at their Plisetsk Cosmodrome. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Wednesday, 25 September. If you have any questions or comments, please, reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And as you may know by now, to listen to the show ad-free,

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