The President's Daily Brief
February 14th, 2025: European Leaders Chastise Trump Over Putin Call & White House Unveils Plans For Reciprocal Tariffs On US Allies
14 Feb 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We'll start things off in Europe, where leaders are criticizing the Trump administration following the president’s recent call with Vladimir Putin seeking a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine. Later in the show, President Donald Trump ups the pressure on U.S. allies by announcing his plans for widespread "reciprocal tariffs" on American trading partners. Plus, in an apparent effort to thaw relations with the West, Belarus’s autocratic president and Kremlin ally releases an American prisoner and two others from jail. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, Israel has uncovered a plot by Iran to smuggle cash to Hezbollah militants via Beirut’s international airport in an attempt to help the terror group rebuild its military operations. 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 Ramp: Get $250 when you join Ramp. Go to ramp.com/PDB. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
It's Friday, 14 February. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And would you look at that? It's Valentine's Day in the U.S. And honestly, it's not too late to send me chocolates or flowers or maybe those candy hearts with the wacky sayings on them.
And while you're at it, yeah, make sure to get something for that special gal or fella or partner in your life. And honestly, I don't know if we're still allowed to say gal or fella, but I believe I just did. So anyway, happy Valentine's Day. All right, let's get briefed.
We'll start things off in Europe, where leaders are chastising the Trump administration following the president's recent call with Vladimir Putin seeking a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine. Now, I don't know that chastising someone with Trump's personality is going to get you the desired result. Later in the show, President Trump ups the pressure on U.S.
allies by announcing his plans for widespread reciprocal tariffs on American trading partners. Plus, Belarus's autocratic president and Kremlin ally, or as they say in diplomatic circles, Putin's toady, releases an American prisoner and two others from jail in an apparent effort to thaw relations with the West.
And in today's back of the brief, Israel has uncovered a plot by Iran to smuggle cash to Hezbollah militants via Beirut's international airport in an attempt to help the terror group rebuild its military operations. Well, I, for one, am shocked that the Iranian regime and its Revolutionary Guard Corps would stoop that low. But first, today's BDB Spotlight.
We'll begin with the fallout from President Trump's call with Russia's favorite warmonger, Vladimir Putin, regarding the war in Ukraine as alarmed European leaders demand a seat at the negotiating table and denounce the White House for appearing to offer concessions to Moscow in advance of potential peace talks.
As we discussed yesterday on the PDB, Trump held his first phone call with Putin since returning to office on Wednesday morning and announced that the pair had agreed to start negotiations, quote, immediately to bring Russia's war on Ukraine to a close.
Now, that same day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it was unrealistic to think that Ukraine could reclaim their lost territory or join the NATO alliance. Both, of course, major priorities for leaders in Kyiv.
The news reportedly sent shockwaves through European capitals, prompting condemnations from Kyiv and its European allies, who expressed concerns that Trump might seek to make a deal without their input. Officials across the continent took a firm line on Trump's overtures for peace, saying it would be impossible to implement any future deal unless NATO allies play a central role in negotiations.
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