The President's Daily Brief
January 9th, 2025: World Reacts To Trump's Threats Of Expansion & Russia's Troop Losses Fuel Fears Of Population Collapse
Thu, 09 Jan 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We’ll begin with an update on President-elect Donald Trump’s bombshell press conference on Tuesday, as world leaders react to his threats of American expansion through economic coercion and, potentially, military force. Later in the show, Russia’s troop losses in Ukraine just passed another grizzly milestone, as experts warn that Russia faces a “demographic timebomb” that could lead to a devastating population collapse. Plus, Iran, catastrophically weakened by their proxy war on Israel, is reportedly rushing to recoup 25 million barrels of oil from China before Donald Trump returns to office and tightens sanctions on their energy exports. In our 'Back of the Brief' segment, the Israeli military said on Wednesday that IDF forces have recovered the body of a hostage taken from Israel during the 7 October attacks, as well as another set of remains that may belong to the man’s captive son. 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
Chapter 1: What updates were shared about Trump’s press conference?
It's Thursday, 9 January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, an update on President-elect Donald Trump's headline-grabbing press conference from Tuesday as world leaders react to his suggestions of American expansion through economic coercion and potentially military force.
Later in the show, Russia's troop losses in Ukraine just passed another grim milestone, as experts warn that Russia faces a, quote, demographic time bomb that could lead to a devastating population collapse. Well, thanks, Vladimir Putin.
Plus, Iran, seriously weakened by their proxy war on Israel, is reportedly rushing to recoup 25 million barrels of oil from China before Donald Trump returns to office and tightens sanctions on their energy exports.
And in today's Back of the Brief, news out of Gaza, where Israeli forces have just recovered the body of a hostage held in the enclave, as well as evidence that raises questions about the state of another related captive. But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
We'll begin with the global fallout over President-elect Donald Trump's threats to carve out a new sphere of influence for America by seizing or otherwise acquiring overseas territories, including from NATO allies. As we discussed on yesterday's PDB,
Trump gave one of his trademark headline-grabbing press conferences on Tuesday, where he outlined a second-term foreign policy agenda rooted not in global alliances and free trade, but in economic coercion and potentially unilateral U.S. military action.
The president-elect spoke of his intention to acquire Greenland, the Panama Canal, and even Canada, arguing that they're vital to securing America's economic and security interests from the threat of Chinese and Russian expansion. Now, regarding Canada, Trump ruled out seizing the country through military force. Well, that's good. But said the U.S.
could likely annex Canada by applying economic pressure through steep tariffs on their exports. As roughly 75% of Canadian exports go directly to the U.S., Trump said extreme tariffs would leave our northern neighbors with little choice but to join America as the 51st state to avoid financial ruin. Well, as you might imagine, world leaders are doing what they always do regarding Trump.
Well, first they're taking his comments literally, and then they're heading for the fainting couch. Canada's foreign minister fired back that they would, quote, never back down in the face of threats, and said Trump's comments show a, quote, complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country, eh? Okay, I added eh, hoser.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Russia's troop losses in Ukraine?
Now, most Iranian oil sold to China is re-documented as non-Iranian while en route, relying on a web of shadow tankers to obscure its origins. The current stockpile, however, is explicitly documented as Iranian. complicating its sale or transport. The oil is currently stored in Chinese facilities operated by PDA Energy and the China General Plastics Corporation.
These operators are demanding over $450 million in accumulated storage fees. Iran, desperate to reclaim the trapped resource, has entered negotiations with the Chinese operators to resolve the impasse. But it won't be simple.
According to an Iranian source familiar with the matter, to retrieve the oil, Iran must undertake a complex process involving reloading it into tankers, conducting ship-to-ship transfers at sea, and re-documenting it to disguise its origin before it can be marketed anew. Yes, I did use the word anew.
Iran's foreign minister visited Beijing in December to address the issue and reportedly made some incremental progress. Yet the details of these negotiations remain murky, and the scale of the obstacles suggests any resolution will be hard won. Iran is attempting to leverage its broader relationship with China, its ally and trading partner, of course, to free the stranded oil.
compounding the Iranian regime's urgency as Trump's upcoming inauguration. During Trump's first term, his administration imposed some of the most punishing sanctions in Iran's history, crippling its oil-dependent economy. According to Reuters, analysts anticipate a similar hardline approach from Trump's incoming administration.
The stranded oil underscores the challenges Iran faces in maintaining its trade despite U.S. sanctions, even with China's cooperation. It also emphasizes Beijing's cautious approach, balancing its economic ties with Tehran against the risks of directly provoking Washington.
Okay, coming up in today's Back of the Brief, news out of Gaza, where Israeli forces have just recovered the body of a hostage held in the enclave, as well as evidence that raises questions about the state of another related captive. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, here's an interesting fact.
Did you know that 60% of the clothes that we buy end up in a landfill within a year of being made? Think about that. 60%, one year, Bob's your uncle, landfill. Contrast that with the past. I mean, historically, our clothes were something that we held onto for a long time, right? But big apparel companies, well, they're constantly finding ways to make clothes faster and cheaper.
They're turning clothes into disposables. And this is where American Giant comes in. Choosing American Giant means taking a stand for hardworking people, local communities, and quality clothes. Mega corporations obsessed with growth are essentially churning out cheap stuff that leaves everyone feeling empty. But American Giant is about durable, not disposable products.
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Chapter 3: How is Iran responding to potential sanctions from Trump?
In today's Back of the Brief, the Israeli military said on Wednesday that IDF forces have recovered the body of a hostage taken from Israel during the 7 October attacks, as well as another set of remains that may belong to the man's captive son.
The deceased hostage was identified as Yosef Zeyadni, a man in his 50s from an Arab Bedouin city in southern Israel who had been taken hostage along with three of his grown children during Hamas' brutal assault. Now, two of his children, both in their late teens, were released in November of 2023 during the limited truce between Israel and Hamas.
But Yosef, along with his 22-year-old son Hamza, remained in captivity. Yosef's body was recovered from an underground tunnel in the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, alongside the bodies of his captors.
While officials with the Israeli military said they're still investigating the circumstances of his death, they uncovered information about his son Hamza that, quote, raised serious concerns for his life. The army is now reportedly running tests to determine whether another set of remains recovered from the site belong to Yosef's 22 year old son.
The discovery is adding pressure on leaders in Jerusalem to finalize an elusive ceasefire deal with the terror group after more than a year of fighting.
The families of hostages chastised Israeli officials for failing to secure a deal last year with a representative of the hostages' families forum, saying a negotiated ceasefire, quote, comes far too late for Yosef, who was taken alive and should have returned the same way, end quote. They added, quote, every day in captivity poses an immediate mortal danger to the hostages, end quote.
According to our report from the New York Post, both men were believed to still be alive. Yosef's name even appeared on a list issued by Hamas on Sunday of 34 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza who could be released in the first stage of a ceasefire agreement. Now, as we noted earlier this week, however, that list was months old, the same one provided by Israel to mediators back in July.
As a reminder, Israeli officials say there are 96 hostages remaining in Gaza, though they say at least 30 are thought to be deceased. Now, Hamas reportedly doesn't even know where all the hostages are located. Other reporting surfacing this week paints a more negative outlook, stating that some estimates now indicate that perhaps only 20 of the remaining hostages are still alive.
The reality is that because Hamas has failed to provide any details, nobody really knows how many hostages remain alive. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that mediators were, quote, very close to securing a ceasefire deal that would begin with the release of roughly 34 hostages.
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