The President's Daily Brief - PDB Situation Report | January 18th, 2025: Gaza Ceasefire Deal Reached & Why Greenland Matters

Episode Date: January 18, 2025

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: A major breakthrough in the Middle East as Israel and Hamas strike a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza. We’ll discuss the agreement, including the planned release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, with Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. President Trump’s recent remarks about Greenland are sparking debate over America’s role in the Arctic. With rivals expanding their influence, is the U.S. losing ground? Brendon Weichert, author and National Security Analyst at The National Interest, joins us to break it down. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and all birds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into...

Sign up for your $1 per month trial at Shopify.com slash special offer. Ryan Reynolds here for MintMobil, the message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just $15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch.

Up front payment of $45 for three-month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at MintMobile. mobile.com. Hi, Mike Baker here. I'm still out in the desert. It's an amazing track into great cause, raising awareness for the UK's Special Forces Benevolent Fund. While I'm gone, Mike Slater is stepping in to deliver the president's daily brief. Welcome to the PDV Situation Report. I'm Mike Slater filling in from Mike Baker, who's currently making his way through the deserts

of Saudi Arabia and Jordan on Camelback. Because why not, right? We've all done that before. It's Baker's turn. And then the meantime, Let's get briefed. Kick it off today's show. We've got a major development from the Middle East. Israel and Hamas have struck a deal to stop the fighting in Gaza and release some hostages. Part of the agreement, Israeli hostages of Palestinian prisoners could be released as early as this Sunday. We'll be joined by Jonathan Shanzer from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies for all the details.

Then later in the show, President Trump's recent remarks about Greenland, drawing some questions about America's role in the Arctic, where rivals have been steadily expanding their footprint in the region, raising questions about our priorities and our influence, and China's influence as well. Author and National Security Analyst at the National Interest, Brandon Weicker, joins us for more on that coming up in just a few minutes. But first, today's situation report spotlight.

At long last, it seems Israel, Hamas, I've reached an agreement to halt the fighting in Gaza, bringing the promise of a long-awaited ceasefire. It's a few days before President Trump takes office. The deal includes the phased release, of hostages and prisoners, Hamas expected to free 33 Israeli hostages taken during the attacks on October 7, 2023. So I'll emphasize that.

In exchange, Israel will release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. If implemented, the agreement would provide the first meaningful pause and violence for Gaza's war-weary population over a year. It could also pave the way for Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza and significantly boosts humanitarian aid into the region. While the deal offers a moment of hope, that success depends on the cooperation of both sides in this fragile moment of diplomacy. For the people of Gaza and Israel, Kamak a turning point, maybe just another fleeting pause and a long conflict.

For more on this, let me bring in Jonathan Shanzer, executive director of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, who is currently in Israel as we speak, Jonathan. Thank you for being here. My pleasure. Where is your head at on this Hamas, deal. What do you think? Well, I got here on Monday and we all knew that the deal was close. They'd been circling over this for, you know, for a couple of days. I spent the last days trying to just talk to senior people here, talking to the people who've been involved in brokering this deal. First, I'll just start by saying, this was a deal that was put on the

table by the Israelis back in May. The seen deal could have been accepted by Hamas, but it wasn't. really three reasons for that. One is, you know, Israel killed Yaya Sinwar, the head of Hamas last year. They also really just gave his Bala a shalacking, which took a lot of pressure off of Israel, put more pressure on Hamas. But I think the real game changer was the election of Donald Trump. It really, I think, changed their view of how much time they had to continue to kind of jerk everybody around and to keep this crisis going. they knew they had to get this thing done and we're going to see that this thing is going to get implemented on Sunday, one day before Trump's inauguration, and this is going to alleviate pressure on Hamas. From the Israeli perspective, they don't love the deal because it is likely going to see the release of about 1,600

Hamas and other terrorist fighters that have blood on their hands that have been sitting in Israeli jails. They're going to be set back out into the wild, and so there's a lot of people here in Israel who are grumpy about this. this, but it's going to see the release of 33 hostages, majority of whom are going to be women, elderly, sick, children. You know, these are the sorts of things that it's just been breaking the hearts of Israelis here. But the key, I think, for the Israeli negotiators was that they did not agree to end the war, not in phase one. After phase two, if there is a phase two, they might agree to it. But I don't think that's where the heads of the Israeli negotiators are. I think the way they look at it is if they're able to get everybody back,

I think they're going to go right back into that Gaza battlefield and try to finish off Hamas. We cannot skip past that third variable that he's talked about. In our intro here, I talked about October 7th, 2020, 3, this happened. And it cannot be a coincidence that it is just four days and ultimately say one day before the inaugurates. Like, that cannot be random. That has to be a major factor, right? Trump came out and said there's going to be hell to pay. And nobody knows what that means.

By the way, I'm not even sure Trump knows what that means, but everybody knows one thing about Trump. He's unpredictable, right? You don't want to find out what he means. And so Trump put a huge amount of pressure on Hamas. He put actually some pressure on the Qataris. He put pressure on the Egyptians who've been brokering this deal. We put pressure on the Israelis.

Despite the fact that he's got a good, long-standing relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister. We don't know exactly what was being threatened, but nobody wants to find out, nobody wants to start off on the wrong side of Donald Trump when he steps into office. So this was without question the big game changer. Everybody all of a sudden started to jump. I'm going to say, as much as it says something about Trump and how much maybe the region fears him, I also have to say, where was Biden? Really, you know, when you think about the last 15 months, this is a president that could have said, hey, all hells, going to break loose. We're going to come down on you like a ton of bricks. It's not what he did.

He started asking for partners in the region to please work with him. Nobody feared him. Nobody wanted to go out of their way to make things happen for him. And so he had to limp along for the last 15 months. I think this is just a real indictment of Biden policy in the Middle East. And I think the entire region right now is looking toward Trump with some optimism, thinking that he just might be a guy that bears his teeth at Iran and actually backs that up, because as everybody knows, Iran is the primary patron of Hamas. There are the people who are behind the Houthi attacks, these ballistic missile attacks, and the harassment of American ships and the killing of American servicemen. It's the Iranians at the end of the day that I think are really worried, and all of those

countries in the Middle East that hate Iran, that's Saudi, that's Israel, that's the UAE, it's all of the allies of the United States, they are cheering on the arrival of Donald Trump. Wow, that's all the case study you would ever need is what's happening right now in real time. Okay, so at first glance, I don't love the deal, right? If you're just like out, if you don't really know the players involved or whatever, right? You're like 33 to what?

How many Palestinian fighters? Like, what are we supposed to learn from that? Well, look, back in, I think it was 2011, maybe it was 2010, the Israelis made a deal for one guy. a guy by the name of Gilad Shalit. He was an Israeli army corporal, and he was kidnapped along the Gaza border. And the Israelis ultimately traded a thousand prisoners for him, including, by the way, Yahyaz Sinwar, the guy that ultimately hatched the plot of 10-7,

the guy that ran the war until he was killed by Israel a couple of months ago in the Gaza Strip. This is now what Hamas knows it will get. It is, I think, probably the most wrongheaded Israeli policy. And I generally think that the Israelis know what they're doing. They're a top-notch military. They've got incredible intelligence. But as negotiators, my lord, when you start to set a precedent like that, you know, 15 years ago, of course they're going to try to do it again.

And Amas knew it. And so there's going to be a celebration. We don't know, I think right now the number of 1,600, at least, That's what we've heard so far with the open press reports. There are going to be some of these guys that go back to the West Bank, some that go to the Gaza Strip, and I think some of the more nasty types that they don't want to have anywhere near Israel, they're going to send them to Qatar and Turkey,

who are major patrons of Hamas. It's not going to play well. You're going to have a resurgence of Hamas for at least these 42 days. The Israelis know it. But I will tell you that the way that the Israeli public, their hearts have been breaking for these hostages, you know, talking about a baby who was kidnapped, young women who are kidnapped and almost certainly raped repeatedly, the sexual crimes that have been committed against these women. The people here, I mean, they hold vigils constantly. The news is filled with stories

of the hostages and the hostage families, this is going to be important to make this country here in Israel. It's going to be important to make them whole again. So they're willing to do it. They're going to get back as many hostages as they can. And then my sense again, though, is that even, you know,

after all of this is said and done, they're going to get back into Gaza and they're going to keep fighting until they get a surrender from Hamas. So from their perspective, look, the optics are not great. Hamas is going to celebrate. It's going to be a shot in the arm for them

for a period of time for these 42 days. But Israel, as I hear it anyway here, they're saying, we are not going to let them live. So let them celebrate all they want. It's not going to last long. Okay. Let's talk. We've got to take a quick break.

If you don't mind, Jonathan, you can stick around. I want to talk more about that we just said. I want to talk about this corridor. There's two in particular, if I understand, right? One was right along the border with the guys in Egypt. I want to talk about that. And then this phase two that you're speaking of as well. So we can chat more about that with Jonathan Chanza right here on the president's

daily brief. is unpredictable, but you can flare less with ebbglis, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in 10 people taking ebbglis achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks, and most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. Emglis, Lebrichizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2-millimeter injection is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis that is not well

controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. Ebglis can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to Epglis. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with Epglis. Before starting Epglis, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about Ebglis and visit ebbglis.com or call 1800 LilyRX or 1-800 545 5979. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection, featuring three perfume intense scents,

inspired by a unique orchid accord, paired with vanilla, each with its own distinct attitude, each with its own universe, bold elixir, sensual, woody, addictive, magnetic elixir, sweet and romantic like a lingering touch, solar elixir, a radiant expression of joy, ultra-concentrated for amplified impact and lasting power. Find your euphoria. Discover the Euphoria Elixir Collection by Calvin Klein. Thanks, yours too. What does RAV stand for anyway? To me, it's the remarkably advanced vehicle. Really? To me, it's the runway approved vehicle for its amazing style. What about remarkably adaptable vehicle because of its versatile cargo space? Or really admired vehicle? Oh, or really awesome vehicle. It really is the recreational activity vehicle.

The stylish 2026 Toyota RAV4 Limited. What's your RAV4? Welcome back to the president's Dale brief situation report. I'm Mike Slater, filling in from Mike Baker. We're talking about the Hamas peace deal with Jonathan Chanzer who's in Israel right now. Jonathan, with the right word for it. Like, is Hamas peace deal? That's not the right word. What are they calling it in Israel? A cease spotter, you know, or you could even call the hostage deal, a prisoner swap. You know, you can call it whatever you want, but I mean, I think ceasefire is probably, 42-day ceasefire is probably the most accurate way of describing it. So you mentioned that 42 days. What does that mean?

That's the time that they're not going to release all 33 hostages all at once. Hamas doesn't want to do that. So what they're going to do is, I mean, the first trunch of hostages are going to come on Sunday, according to the reports that I've seen. And then they'll probably wait a couple days, and then they'll release two or three more. And then they'll wait a couple days after that. This is going to be the way that Hamas ensures that the group gets an opportunity to get back, you know, off of its knees onto its feet.

try to reorganize their ability to fight. These are the sorts of things that I expect Hamas to do when they ask for these 42 days because they need the room to breathe. The Israelis had cut off all of the pipeline of their weapons. They've been just mowing down the fighters on the battlefield. So Hamas needs to figure out what its new game plan is. Israel has agreed to let them try. And this is what's so counterintuitive. Everyone knows that Amas is going to try to take these 42 days to get stronger, to be able to fight Israel with new strategies and new tactics. The Israelis are confident enough in their military and their intelligence and the tactics and strategies that they have, that they're okay with that if they get back 33 souls

that have been held in Hamas custody in really ruling conditions. So 33 is the number. Now, you mentioned women, children, elderly, sick. How many hostages are there total? and what are we hearing about phase two? The numbers are as follows. So far, they're, well, okay, right now there's 98 hostages still in Hamas custody. Unclear how many of them are alive, how many of them are dead.

We just don't know. I'm not even sure that Hamas knows. You're going to get back out of those 98, you're going to get back 33. If the Israelis go to a second round, phase two, then there could be. be more, but the people there that would be released would be men of fighting age. So, you know, between, let's say, 17 or 18 and, you know, up to, let's say, 40 or 50, even 50 years old. And, but I don't expect there to be a phase two. I think the Israelis are not likely to want to go that long and to allow Hamas to regroup for any longer than they'll get in this first round.

I think there is a sense here. Whether it's right or wrong, I'll let viewers decide, but I think in their view, the men of fighting age, the people that have been conscripted into the Israeli military, these are people that knew what they were getting into. Many of them were wearing uniforms on October 7th. Israel, I think, is, I don't want to say he's willing to sacrifice them, but understands that this is the cost, right, that you lose soldiers in battle, and I don't think they're going to want to make deals. They may try, but I think. it seems unlikely from what I'm picking up. But in the end, when you look at the deal that happened after 10-7, right, where there were 80-plus hostages that were released in the first round,

and the Israelis were able to recoup a number of them, I think in the end more than a dozen or so, through operations where they saved individual hostages from tunnels or from apartments, where they were being held by Hamas operatives. Then you add, to that the next round of 33, what I understand right now is that we couldn't see out of the original 254 hostages that were taken that day, you're likely to see in the end maybe about 130, 140, maximum 150 returned alive. Many of the ones that are dead were dead on October 7th. And I don't know how to do the math here, but I think the Israelis believe that with the deal that they're making, they're going to get back upwards of 140, 150 people alive.

And I don't think anyone in this country thought from the original 254 that they would get back these numbers. So I think they're pretty happy with the total number of people they're getting back. It did take a really long time, though. And you have to wonder what kind of suffering some of these people have endured over the year and three months that they've been held in captivity. Well, the ones that have made it back alive, how are they doing? I imagine you don't just like take a shower and get back into things. No, look, you know, some are doing better than others. I think all of them are having trauma.

All of them are having survivor guilt for getting out while others, you know, stayed in for having lived when others died. And, you know, by the way, all these people and their parents and their brothers and their sisters and their cousins, they've always. become public figures in this country. They've become political figures, almost overnight, where people want to hear their thoughts. It's become a very public thing. I mean, I cannot overstate the way in which the hostages have become front and center and have stayed there for the entire war, right? We've been watching all the ups and downs of this war. There's been a front in Lebanon.

There's a front in Yemen. Syria collapses as an analyst of the Middle East like me. I'm watching, I'm watching all of these things and just, you know, it's jaw-dropping the sheer amount of activity, military activity, political, geopolitical activity. Here, the focus has been on these people. And so there will be a huge focus on whoever gets let out. They will have interviews nonstop. They will be celebrated. But then there'll be what happens quietly behind closed doors that kind of PTSD and the psychological trauma that they're going to have to contend with, this is not easy stuff. You know, I heard from somebody here recently that for the people who fought on 10-7, the people who were captured on 10-10-7, the waiting list just to get psychological therapy has been

astronomical here. It's just there's not enough social workers in this country to handle the workload, the trauma. And by the way, that doesn't even include the, you know, the soldiers who were injured or were fought in, were fighting in Gaza or in Lebanon, the families of the soldiers who were holding their breath waiting for their loved ones to come home. This is a country that is enduring a trauma that, you know, I think, you know, we haven't seen in this region in decades. And, you know, it's going to take some serious healing here. I do think that getting those 33 back will go a long way to start to make this country whole again. It's not just over as soon as they come back to the right side of the border.

Got about two minutes. What are the security controls that Israel will remain and have in Gaza, even as this deal is going on or beyond? Yeah, they're going to keep that border that you mentioned, the Philadelphia corridor. That's the area along the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. they're going to keep that. They're not going to have as many forces there, but they're going to keep this area.

That's going to prevent smuggling coming in from Egypt, which I think this is a country that's played a really nasty double game, negotiating the release, trying to be an honest broker while also having presided over these tunnels. It's dirty stuff, and I think Egypt needs to be held to account. There's another area called Nitzarim Carter, about two-thirds of the way up Gaza. These Israelis are going to be pulling out most of their forces there as well. but they'll be able to get back into it. It's semi-permanent structures now

that the Israelis have created and in the meantime, the Israelis are going to maintain security forces all around the border of the Gaza Strip, again, with the expectation that at some point, they will very likely need to go back into battle. Yeah, so just to be clear,

about a minute left. You don't think this is the end of the war. There's more to come from Israel side. Look, I don't think they'll go to phase two. I think right now, Phase one does not demand that Israel stop the war entirely. Phase one demands that Israel pauses in order to execute this trait, right, for the Hamas prisoners for these hostages.

When that's done, that's when I suspect the Israelis are going to have a plan for the complete elimination of Hamas. They've been very careful up until now. They've not wanted to really, I mean, you know, you hear all sorts of things about how this war is going. The Israeli's been fighting much more carefully than you think is they don't want to kill their own hostages. So they've been really careful. You get the vast majority of them out.

I think it changes the game for the Israelis. I think they've been waiting for a moment to be able to do this in a way that I think matches some of their war plans. And so I think it's just me talking here. I think they're going to go on the offensive after round one. And maybe there will still be hell to pay, as Trump said. Jonathan Shanzer, what is your organization? How can people help them and follow you? Sure. We're Foundation for Defense of Democracies, FD. You can find us on X, Act F-T-D, and you can find me on X at J-S-S-S-R. J-S-S-R. Jonathan, thank you for being here. Thank you for taking time in the midst of all this in Israel.

Super grateful for your insight. Thank you very much. Coming up next, Brandon Weikert, We'll talk about how we absolutely need Greenlit. That's next right here on the President's Daily Brief Situation Report. Fox News is now streaming live on Fox One. When it matters most, turn to the voices you trust. We go beyond the headlines, bringing you the stories you won't hear anywhere else. Live coverage, sharp analysis, real perspective. At home or on the go.

Stay connected when it counts. Stream Fox News on Fox One. Download today. This podcast is brought to you by Carvana. Selling your car should feel like one less thing on your list. Not one more. With Carvana, it is. Just go to Carvana.com and to your license plate or Vin and get a real offer down to the penny.

No back and forth, no surprises, just an experience you can trust. Like your offer? Accept it. Schedule pickup. And we'll come to you with a check in hand. Your car, your timeline, your terms. Visit Carvana.com to sell your car today. Carvana.

Delivery fees and terms may apply. Welcome back to the PDB situation report. I'm Mike Slater filling in for Mike Baker. You want to turn our attention to the Arctic, a region that's becoming a key battleground for global influence. While President Trump's comments about buying Greenland-grafts headlines, they also highlight a pressing issue. It's America's diminishing presence in the Arctic.

Rivals like Russia and China are spanning their reach, capitalizing on Washington, years of neglect. It's a crucial area, rich in resources, strategic value, but it's too late for the U.S. to turn things around. Joining us to break this down is our friend Brandon Weikert, author, and National Security Analyst at the National Interest. Branda, how you doing, brother? I'm very good. Thanks for having me back.

Great to talk to you. I love this story of Greenland and the Panama Canal, because when it first came out, everyone laughed, thought ridiculous it was, And the more you learn about it, the more you're like, well, like, obviously. How does it not already done? Like, we need to do this. So let's focus on Greenland here.

Why is it important that we control Greenland? Well, the Arctic is basically America's back door. And for about 30 years, at least since the end of the Cold War, we've left it relatively open and undefended. And for a period of time, that was okay. but now we're living in the age of, you know, the return of empires, the multipolar world order in which both Russia and China are operating together to try to damage America's standing in the world to threaten us, not just abroad, but closer to home. And one of the areas that Russia in particular

has pointed out for, you know, to become an area of Russian dominance is the Arctic. Greenland is a strategic location. It's sort of the linchpin for the whole. whole region, and it's basically sitting open. And Denmark owns it technically, although there's some debate even about that. But they're not really doing anything with it. And there's maybe 56,000 people living there. This is this massive landmass. And by the way, it's chock full of minable rare earth minerals. Denmark doesn't have the ability to mine for them. They turned to China during Trump's first term to try to get them to do it. And of course, that's what prompted Trump initially to say, we got to get Greenland. And he's continuing with that strategy because he

knows the Chinese and now the Russians aren't stopping. Correct. If I'm wrong, please, probably am. Eighteen military bases in northern Russia in the Arctic Legion. Why? Do they have that there? So it all goes down to minable rare earth minerals and oil and natural gas. All of that is some of the world's largest on-tapped reserves are in the Arctic. Russia has. Russia has like an 1,100 kilometer shoreline with the Arctic. In 2007, many people don't know this, but the Russians sent a submarine to the North Pole and planted a flag underwater in the North Pole. The indication was, or the symbol was, we're taking it.

A year later, the Russians announced in their national strategy memo that the Arctic was becoming a Russian enclave, that it was actually more important to Moscow than than even Ukraine or at the time Georgia was. So that shows you why they've been revitalizing those old Soviet naval bases in the Arctic. They're also, because of whatever's going on with the climate up there, there are these new waterways opening up. The Russians are building the world's largest icebreaker fleet to move the ice out of the way to build the northern sea route, which Russia says is going to become an alternative to the Suez Canal. So there's a lot of economic, military opportunities there.

And the Russians have about a 10 to 12 year start on us in developing the Arctic. Whoa. Okay. All right. Before we get to China, I got some questions. So they, so I'm done. We put the flag on the moon. They put their flag underneath the North Pole via submarine.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And they were clearly, that was not just a little PR stunt. At the time, BBC and these other Western media sources sort of downplayed it. It was like a little cutesy thing that the Russians did. But everybody, I mean, I knew what it was. They were telling us, they were telegraping what they're planning to do.

And like I said, a year after that, that's when Moscow issued their national strategy memo, in which they said by 2020 they planned to basically control over half of the Arctic, which they did by 2020. And now there's a new round of national strategy documents being released by Moscow, which clearly indicate that not only are they going to accept. expand upon that dominance, they're going to bring the Chinese with them. And so now we've got the Chinese crawling around in our backyard. The icebreakers you mentioned, what are those? And the shipping lanes that could continue to be opened or widened, do you know what the benefit of those is? Because I know we've talked a lot about the Panne McAnow recently and how that saved 22 days of going

on the southern tip of South Africa, South America. So we're getting some like, I can like visualize, like, okay, we're saving 22 days. Got it. Yeah. Yeah. What are we saving or whoever, controls those, what would they be saving with? So, yeah, like, that's a great question. The Russians have the Northern Sea route. Of course, America and Canada are sitting on the Northwest Passage, the famous Northwest Passage. We can't use it because the United States and Canada are in a territorial dispute over who controls it, which is ridiculous.

And by the way, this is why Trump's another reason he's talking about absorbing Canada, is to settle that dispute in our favor. But the Russians with their Northern Sea route, they're using new. nuclear-powered ice breakers. They have, I think, seven of them or eight of them. We have two very old non-nuclear icebreakers. We're having trouble building new icebreakers. So the Russians have a lead on us. They use those ice breakers to basically create paths in the ice for ships to follow through either civilian container ships or military vessel surface warships. And now the thing with with this route is it basically connects Vladivostok, which is Russia's farthest port city on the

Pacific Ocean, all the way up to the Baltic Sea of Northern Europe. And so basically, this is being built as a safer, easier route for ships to use. It's actually shorter for ships transiting through the Suez Canal, rather than using the Suez Canal, which, as we remember two or three years ago, there was these huge jams in the, there was a ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. There's all the instability of the Middle East that we always have to worry about that could blockade Suez Canal transit routes. So this is bypassing the instability of the Middle East,

basically by getting an international shipping to go through Russia's backyard, which of course will give them a lot of advantages. Wow, that's amazing. Okay. I, correct if we're on, but we have a space base in, Greenland? Yeah, we have a Space Force facility in Greenland. It's a monitoring and tracking facility officially.

There might be more going on there than meets the eye in terms of surveillance and whatnot. But yes, that is we used to in the Cold War have basically an entire network of facilities and tracking stations in Greenland, throughout going to Iceland throughout Canada that we maintained. that was part of our national defense for tracking incoming Soviet intercontinental ballistic missiles. Today, we don't have those capabilities the way we used to. We mothballed them at the end of the Cold War. I was speaking actually yesterday with a Russian in Russia, I was communicating with them over Zoom. And one of the things he said is the Russians are very worried about what Trump is saying, because not only could that allow for the Americans to possess the rare earth minerals of greenless,

and have real capabilities to compete with Russia economically for control over these trade routes up there. But more importantly, the Russian submarine force, which is probably their best naval asset, their submarines. They plan, if a war breaks out between the United States and Russia, they plan to basically sneak their submarine nuclear submarine fleet underneath the ice of the Arctic, which is poorly defended, and to launch nuclear strikes on American East Coast cities

by transiting through the Arctic, which we are not defending against. And so they're worried that we're going to plug that gap under Trump, and I think we will. Last question on this. We'll take a break, and we'll pivot to China. What is holding up the possibility that is happening? I'm thinking back to 2015 when Trump said he's going to run for president. Everyone laughed. And they laughed and laughed until he won the hesitancy and now he's back again.

People are laughing right now. But what's holding this up, actually, of us taking over agreement? Personally, I think it's already a done deal. I think it's just a question of officially recognizing it. It looks like the Greenlanders are already going to be pushing for independence from Denmark. If anybody remembers the absorption of Texas and California into the United States in the 19th century, both of those entities were once part of Mexico. They declared independence. They existed for a period of time as independent republics.

And that made it easier for them to be ultimately absorbed into the United States. States, something similar, I suspect, is happening. The bottom line is Denmark cannot develop Greenland or provide for the Greenlanders the kind of possible opportunities, economic opportunities, that the United States could with all of the development programs we want to do in terms of building sort of mining operations there and sort of creating a really an entire industry of mining rare earth minerals, oil, and natural gas up there that will bring all kinds of prosperity to that. region. Totally. I mean, Greenland can either continue hanging out with a middling European country with a GDP the size of Colorado or become a part of our senior. And it would be a

massive state. It would become a massive economic boom, not only for Greenland, but it would increase our GDP as well as a nation. Okay. It has to happen. Brandon Weikert, he's author in National Security Analyst at the National Interest. Sticker week break. And we'll talk about China, I didn't even think Russia was the biggest problem here, but leave it to Brandon to know the truth there. But we'll talk about Russia or China and their role in the Arctic as well. I'm Mike Slater, filling up for Mike Baker on the president's daily brief. How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi-vehicle discount, safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount, legacy.

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com slash auto discounts. Restrictions apply. This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home.

With agents who close twice as many deals, when you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get started at Redfin.com. Own the Dream. Choice hotels get you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day. Don't you wish you were getting away? Pack your bags and come on through.

Texas, Ohio, Alaska, we're up there too. Comfort Inn. It's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim. Well, I hope you like my little song. Book direct at sourcevilletales.com. Welcome back to the President's Daily Brief Situation Report.

I'm Mike Slater filling in for Mike Baker. We're talking to our friend Brandon Weikert, author, national security analyst at the national interest. We're talking about Greenland, how this has to happen. This is like the ultimate no-brainer. Real quick, Brandon, before we get to China and there are contesting against them, what do you make of, there's like this? We're told that it's like immoral.

Like the maps after World War II cannot change. you cannot move at all. These are the countries and these are the maps. And any type of expansion is imperialistic or empire building and immoral and wrong. What do you make of that? I am the worst person to talk to about this because I'm a fundamentally an offensive realist. And I do not believe morals should ever enter into the equation when we're talking about the affairs of nations in the international order. It's a game of power and the ability to basically defend.

yourself while keeping your enemies on the back foot. We are no longer, in fact, in the post-World War II environment that you're talking about where there was a rules-based order. We are back to the 19th century, a multipolar order, specifically a tripolar order in which there will be spheres of interest, and it will be a question of which power has relative greater power over the others. The three powers today, the United States, Russia and China, all of us, all of us. And we're a little to the game in the United States are doing this in our respective spheres of influence. Russia and Ukraine, China with Taiwan and the South China Sea. This is just the nature of the beast, and we'd all better get used to it and start playing

the game better than they do. So there are five countries that claim control over the Arctic Ocean. We got Russia, America via Alaska, Canada, Denmark, via Greenland, and then Norway. Are those the five? Yep. where's China? They're not anywhere near this. What's their role here?

Of course. They've come up with a BS-laden term that's never existed before calling themselves a, quote, near Arctic power. And that is sort of their attempt to muscle in on the great game that's going on for all those massively lucrative resources in the Arctic and all the they want access to the trading routes up there that are being created. And so my personal opinion is if Beijing were smart and they won't do it because it's very complicated legally, but if they were smart, they could possibly make a claim on the South Pole

and Antarctica, but they really cannot make the claim on the Arctic. There is no shoreline that they share. There is no ocean that they share with the Arctic. That is not their area. But what's going to happen is the closer that Russia and China, to become over the Ukraine war, the more likely that Russia will bring the Chinese with them, and it's already starting. And that's where the complications are going to arise for the United States. What is in the interest of Russia for bringing China alongside them?

Well, Russia is, they're a strong power. And a lot of the Western media gets Russia wrong. At the same time, though, they're not the strongest of the three great powers. The United The States is still the top dog. The Chinese are second and the Russians are third. And so by basically pairing Russian military strength in the Arctic with the economics and science of China, you have a really unstoppable force. China's the second largest economy, GDP. So they're a real competitor with the United States.

And so Russia brings them along. It's like a double whammy for the Americans. Okay. What is the threat that China brings to? us if they were to have greater control over that Arctic region. Well, the first point, the first part always with China is the geo-economic, even more so than the geopolitical threat. So basically, we talked earlier, they tried to basically angle in on those rare earth

minerals in Greenland. They almost got them in Trump's first term. That's what prompted him to basically become obsessed with Greenland. They're trying to do that again, the Chinese are, and they're trying to do that not just in Greenland, but in parts where the Russians control as well, they're working with the Russians creating partnerships and whatnot. And so that's the biggest problem is the Chinese have like a 90% share of the world's rare earth minerals. Those are essential for building any kind of technology that was designed after 1970, basically. Laptops, phones, everything require rare earths.

The Chinese already control almost 90%. The worst thing for the United States would be to allow them to get a complete monopoly on those things. By getting Greenland before China does, we basically ensure that we're getting our own source of rare earth minerals. So we have a silly media. I think that's pretty exactly. They laugh at this idea. Are serious people on board with what we're talking about right here? Yeah, well, I mean, I am considered a fairly serious person except on X where I tend to make really inopportune jokes. But other than that, I am a serious person and I'm fully on board. In fact, this is the basis of my next book. I've been working on it for three years, the race for the Arctic. And multiple people I've spoken to for the book, real policy people,

heavy hitters, military people, retired and current, are very serious about this. And this is conversations that have been had, even before Trump was in office the first time. So this is, I mean, remember, we tried to buy Greenland at least two other times in our nation's history. William Seward, the guy who bought Alaska under Lincoln, was the last. guy to try to do this. So this is, and actually I think back, no, Harry Truman. Harry Truman was the last guy after World War II. We tried to do that. It was sewered and under Lincoln and then Truman. So this is not new. This is, you know, our media is just, as you say, silly. And they also, it's the same kind of reaction they had to when Trump said

he was running for president the first time you were right when you said that. It's the same thing with Greenland. And they're going to be proven wrong again in the media, just like they were with Trump's presidency. Yeah. A little fun little trivia point to that I learned the other day that we bought the Virgin Islands from Denmark. So we have business history, going back with Denmark as well. And I understand it, if we're wrong, and we'll chat another day about the Panama Canal in greater detail.

But the reason why Wilson wanted to get the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was the Danish West Indies at the time, 1917, was because of its strategic location next to the Panama Canal. So, like, this Western Hemisphere lockdown is very important. But, like, I don't, people don't, People don't think this way, but like we need to start thinking this way again, right? Like, what is the Western hemisphere? Well, it's basically if you don't control and look, just look at what China's doing in the

South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific. Look at what Russia's trying to do in Eastern Europe, specifically with Ukraine. If you don't control the areas nearest to your country, there's no possible way you can project power reliably outside of that area. And you will always be threatened by rival powers who will move into. those areas. And right now we have significant gaps geopolitically in our hemisphere. We need to plug them because we're entering the New Age of Empires. And if we don't secure our sphere the way China and Russia are securing theirs, they will eat our lunch here. And then we will be surrounded the way

that the Americans surrounded the Soviet Union in the Cold War. You mentioned Antarctica on the bottom, right? What's going on there? What's the benefit of that one? Just like the Arctic, there's a bevy of On tap natural resources. The Chinese have built a... Yes, yes. The Chinese have built a bunch of satellite stations there. There's a lot of stuff going on in the South Pole. But I would argue maybe even more than what's going on in the North Pole.

The thing with Antarctica is there is technically an international treaty that is governing the use and development of Antarctica that regulates how many people can come from each country. that regulates what exactly countries that have research stations there can do. It's predominantly supposed to be used for scientific research purposes only. But that's why it's so, it's not a lot going on there in terms of people going back and forth the way that there is in the Arctic because it's heavily regulated. But I argue, just as with space, the treaties governing Antarctica are going to evaporate in the New Age of Empires. And whoever gets there first will have a lot of sources at their disposal. Wow, Antarctica. That's crazy. I never, never think about that,

obviously. Okay, give me one more country. So I heard this line the other day. Let me know if you think this is right. Help me workshop this. It's something like healthy countries expand or think about expanding or something. So help me workshop that. And if that's true or something like that is true, what's next? Where else should we be looking at Randalliker? That's a great question. I would say it's not even a question of expanding. For us, it's a question of just fulfilling what was begun by our founding fathers. If you look back at our history, yeah, we started out as a collection of 13 colonies that became states. But one of the reasons we went to war with Britain in the first place for the revolution wasn't just because of no taxation without representation. It was because

they weren't letting us go beyond the Appalachians and we wanted to keep expanding. So it's just sort of a completion of a natural flow that's been going on. Where we should go next, after we get Greenland, we should seriously talk about Canada, if not the whole country of Canada, then Alberta and Saskatchewan. And we need to be talking about Iceland as well in terms of the northern. And then obviously Panama Canal Zone is another one we need. Brandon Weicker. What's the name of the book?

I'm coming, the newest book. A disaster of our own making, how the West lost Ukraine. It's available now wherever books are sold. I want your Twitter for everyone. At We the Brandon. Beautiful. Brandon, great to talk to them. We'll do it again soon.

Nice to see you. Good stuff there. Good stuff. I get fired up. Fire up where you go. On my radio show today, we played in light of the Pete Higsef confirmation hearing. We played a lot of the Top Gun anthem. Now, now, now, now, now, now.

It's going to be fired up. Talking to Brandon, can be fired up as well. That's all we have for the PDB situation report. As always, you can email me and the PDB team. And Baker, of course, although he probably designed a great cell reception on top of the camel in the Middle East, but you sell email us at PDB at thefirstTV.com. The podcast of this show,

ad free if you'd like it. You can be a premium member at the president's daily brief by visiting pdb premium.com. Mike Slater, filling in for Mike Baker. Until next time, stay safe. Spread the word. 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.