The President's Daily Brief - September 17th, 2024: Trump Gunman’s 12-Hour Hideout, IDF Readies for Hezbollah, & Putin Expands Russian Army

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We kick off with a chilling update on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. New details reveal that the accused gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, hid in his sniper’s nest for nearly 12 hours before being spotted by the Secret Service. Next, we head to Israel, where the Israeli Defense Forces have been ordered to prepare for a potential military campaign in Lebanon. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warns that the window for a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah is rapidly closing. As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ramping up military forces, ordering an additional 180,000 troops to bring Russia’s army to 1.5 million strong. In today's Back of the Brief: some tragic news from the IDF as they admit that three hostages were accidentally killed during an airstrike targeting Hamas commanders. 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] 🏅 Patriot Gold: Call 1-888-870-5457 for a free investor guide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Tuesday, 17th September. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker. Your eyes and ears on the world's stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, we'll start with an update on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Now, if you're keeping score at home, that would be the second assassination attempt. And accusations from Trump himself that inflammatory rhetoric is responsible for the latest incident.

Later in the show, we'll head to Israel, where the Israeli defense forces, the IDF, have been ordered to gear up for a potential military campaign in Lebanon. Defense Minister Yov Ghalit has issued a stark warning that the window for a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah is rapidly closing. Plus, as the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russian President Putin is looking to increase the size of the Russian military ordering an additional 180,000 troops to bring Russia's total troop numbers to 1.5 million. And in today's back of the brief, some tragic news, as the IDF admits that three hostages were accidentally killed back in November during an air strike that was targeting Hamas commanders.

But first, today's PDB spotlight. Former President Trump's alleged would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Ralph appeared in U.S. District Court yesterday, a day after he was arrested in West Palm Beach, Florida. The 58-year-old Ralph faces one counterpossession of a firearm by a prohibited person, meaning he's a convicted felon, and one count of a possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. The two charges carry a combined maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 total fine. Now, the suspect was seen laughing in the courtroom as the charges were revealed. Yeah, he seems perfectly stable. He's due back in court next week for a bond hearing. As you know,

Ralph was arrested Sunday after a U.S. Secret Service agent noticed a weapon, and poking out of the tree line as the Republican presidential nominee was playing a round of golf. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that the FBI is continuing to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt on Trump. Garland said, quote, we are grateful that the former president is safe. We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation, end quote. Now, initial claims that the suspect had an case-style weapon turned out to be false. The criminal complaint clarified that authorities have recovered a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope. As we reported yesterday afternoon, it's believed that

Ralph laid in wait at the golf course for nearly 12 hours prior to the encounter. We've also learned more about Ralph's extensive rap sheet, having had at least 100 run-ins. Well, he's quite the overachiever with law enforcement before his most recent arrest. His legal troubles stretched back to at least the 1990s, with arrests including drug possession, driving without a license, expired inspection and operating a vehicle with no insurance. Those are all petty charges compared to a felony conviction for owning a fully automatic weapon back in the early 2000s. As we noted yesterday, it was also reported that in 2002, Ralph was arrested after barricading

himself in his roofing company's office during a three-hour standoff that followed a traffic stop in which he put his hand on a gun before fleeing and you have to ask yourself, how is this guy still wandering around out in public? Meanwhile, Trump is laying blame for the attempted assassination directly on what he called the highly inflammatory language of President Biden and Vice President Harris. Trump told Fox News, quote, their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at when I'm the one who's going to save the country and they are the ones that are destroying the country both from inside and out, end quote. President Biden has also spoken out on the assassination attempt, praising the Secret Service for their work and saying that the agency needs additional resources.

Biden said, quote, the one thing I want to make more clear is the Secret Service needs more help, and I think Congress should respond to their needs, end quote. All right, coming up after the break, we'll examine Israel's preparations for a potential military campaign in Lebanon, and examine how Russia is, ramping up its military forces as the war in Ukraine drags on. I'll have those stories when we come back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin, way better than points. Never fly during a Scorpio full moon.

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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. Welcome back to the PDB. Shifting focus to Israel, preparations are underway for a possible military campaign in Lebanon as tensions with Hezbollah escalate. Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered the IDF to ready themselves

for military action. Defense Minister Yov Ghalen is still pushing for a diplomatic solution with the help of U.S. officials to avoid further conflict, but has advised U.S. officials that the window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution is closing. The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Iran's proxy, of course, began over 11 months ago when Hezbollah aligned with Hamas to attack Israel, further destabilizing the region. But of course, Israel and Hezbollah have a very long history against each other. Over the weekend, Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets into northern Israel, prompting IDF strikes on more than 140 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, including weapons manufacturing, sites, terror infrastructure, and observation posts. Some of these strikes

reached up to 90 miles deep into Lebanon and targeting launchers aimed at northern Israeli civilians. Netanyahu, speaking ahead of the IDF's latest rocket attacks, emphasized the necessity of changing the balance of power in the north to ensure the return of displaced northern Israeli residents. Nanyahu emphasized that a military campaign in Lebanon might be the only way to achieve this. Senior Israeli officials have confirmed that the IDF's operational plans for a full-scale campaign are ready, with the question now being just one of timing, weeks or months rather than years.

During a phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday, Defense Minister Gallant acknowledged that the window for diplomacy with Hezbollah is closing fast, but still urged U.S.-led efforts to be given a chance. U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein has been leading Washington's initiative, attempting to diffuse the situation before it, escalates into a wider regional conflict. However, Israeli officials are doubtful that Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, will agree to disarm or retreat north of the Latani River, so military action remains the most likely outcome. The U.S. plays a critical role in mediating between Israel and

Hezbollah, aiming to, again, prevent a broader regional war involving Iran. Israeli officials believe that the U.S. military presence has deterred Iran from direction. involvement, but any Israeli action against Hezbollah does risk provoking Iranian retaliation and opening multiple fronts. As Netanyahu and Ghalent debate the best course of action, concerns grow, obviously, over how a northern campaign might affect Israel's efforts to secure the release of the remaining 101 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Families are concerned that shifting military focus could deprioritize rescuing their loved ones. Netanyahu is repeatedly stressed that the two issues are separate and that any potential military action in Lebanon will not detract from efforts in Gaza.

Moving on to Russia, President Putin has signed a decree to increase the size of the country's military by 180,000 troops. That's marking the third time that he's expanded Russia's military forces since his invasion of Ukraine back in February of 2022. Now, looking back to August 2022, Putin ordered an expansion of 137,000 troops, bringing at the time the total number of personnel to over 2 million, with 1.15 of those being active troops, 1.15 million, I should say. Then in September, 22, after Ukrainian forces launched a successful offensive in the east, Putin announced a partial mobilization, subjecting citizens with military experience to conscription, not a popular move with the Russian population. This led to an additional 300,000 personnel being called up by November of 2023. Now, Putin's latest decree, set to take

effect in December, calls for an additional 180,000 troops, pushing the total overall number of military personnel to nearly 2.4 million, with 1.5 million of those being active troops. This increase comes as Russia grapples with Ukrainian forces increasingly taking the fight across the border into Russian territory. As we've been tracking here on the BDB, Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border attack on the southern Russian region of Kursk last month. The attack obviously rattled Moscow, embarrassed them, and forced the Kremlin to accelerate its military efforts to repel further Ukrainian incursions. In response, Russian forces stepped up their offensive to reclaim control of Kursk, while continuing efforts to gain ground in the eastern Donbos region in Ukraine.

The latest troop surge appears aimed at consolidating Russia's gains in these contested areas and fortifying defenses against further Ukrainian advances into Russian territory. Now, despite these efforts, Russia continues to face staggering casualties on the front lines. According to the UK's Ministry of Defense, Russian forces are losing over 1,000 troops per day. both Ukrainian and Western intelligence sources warn that Russian military losses will likely continue to grow as its forces become increasingly overstretched. Now, official casualty numbers from Russia have not been updated since September of 2022 when Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shogh reported at that time just under 6,000 casualties.

However, independent estimates from Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies suggest that Russia has suffered far greater losses. In an update published this month by the general staff of Ukraine's military, Keev claims Russia has suffered over 616,000 casualties, a figure echoed by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense, which estimates Russia's total losses to be over 610,000. Now, these figures account for both killed and wounded Russian troops. As the war grinds on, the costs for both sides obviously remain immense, and the likelihood, unfortunately, of a swift resolution, while that seems increasingly remote. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief, tragic news from the IDF, as they confirm that a November airstrike targeting Hamas commanders unintentionally claimed the lives of three hostages.

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It's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim. Book direct at storesholtails.com. In today's back of the brief, the IDF, as reported that their investigation has determined that three Israeli hostages who were found dead inside Hamas' tunnel network in Gaza last year were likely killed as a result of an Israeli air strike. Now that air strike was part of an effort to target a top Hamas commander.

The hostages, Sergeant Ron Sherman, Corporal Nick Bezer and Elia Toledano, were among those captured during Hamas' attacks on 7 October. Sherman and Bezor were part of the IDF's coordination of government activities in the Territories, Coordination and Liaison Team, overseeing aid transport into Gaza. Tolladana was taken hostage while attending the Nova Music Festival. Now, their deaths occurred during a 10 November air strike in Jabaliyah that was aimed at Ahmed Gondor, and he was a high-ranking Hamas commander, believed to be responsible for coordinating attacks from Gaza. Israeli intelligence received information that Gondor was operating from a tunnel complex

and that the hostages were located elsewhere, leading to the decision. to target the tunnel. The IDF revealed the findings of their investigation on Sunday, confirming that the hostage's deaths were a, quote, byproduct of the airstrike. However, the IDF cannot definitively determine the exact cause. Bezor's mother criticized the lack of intelligence, asserting that her son and the others were likely used as human shields. Chmassad previously released propaganda videos, teasing the deaths of the men before the IDF recovered their bodies in December. While the IDF maintains it avoids conducting airstrikes in areas where it knows hostages are being held, Hamas claims Israeli airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of several captives.

Some former Israeli hostages have also supported those claims, stating that the locations where they had been hidden were hit by Israeli air strikes during their captivity. Currently, Israel estimates around 100 of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas remain in Gaza, with 33 of those believed to be dead. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, 17 September. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. And don't forget what your mother told you. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief

by visiting pdb premium.com. Remember, moms are always right. Now, I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB, afternoon bulletin. Until then, well, you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Start the spring season off right with a new pair of Ticova's Western boots. Hand-crafted and over 200 steps from genuine leather. They're built to last and feel broken in the moment you put them on. From cowhide to exotic leathers, Ticovas blends timeless style with all-day comfort. pair them with premium denim, Western shirts, and accessories for an effortless, polished look. Shop quality Western goods in store or online at decovas.com.