November 26th, 2025: Trump Ready for Direct Talks With Maduro & Moscow Signals 'No Deal' On Ukraine
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It's Wednesday, the 26th of November. Thanksgiving is almost here. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And with apologies for the late upload this morning. A bit of technical difficulty meant a late release. All right, let's get briefed. First up, an unexpected twist in Washington's pressure campaign on Venezuela. It looks like President Trump is now ready to talk one-on-one with Nicolas Maduro, even as the US labels him a terrorist. Later in the show, an unusual moment on the diplomatic front. Xi Jinping personally phones President Trump to talk Taiwan and Ukraine, a rare move from Beijing. Plus, the ball is now in Russia's court, and all signs point to them picking it up and going home.
Sources say Moscow is poised to reject the latest U.S.-Ukraine peace plan, meaning, of course, the fighting won't stop anytime soon. And in today's back of the brief, a Russian drone pushes further into NATO territory than any previous incident, forcing Romanian and German jets into the air yet again. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. a major development in the standoff between Washington and Caracas. President Trump is now signaling that he's ready to speak directly with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. That's a notable shift in tone, considering that the administration just formally designated Maduro as the head of a terrorist organization tied to drug-running networks. And behind the scenes, U.S.
officials are now openly acknowledging that while military options remain on the table, diplomacy appears to be taking the lead, at least for the moment. According to senior officials who spoke with Axios, the president has told his advisers he intends to make direct contact with Maduro. That alone is a remarkable reversal, possibly almost even surreal. As we've been tracking here on the PDB, the White House has spent months now authorizing targeted maritime strikes against Venezuelan vessels believed to be involved in narcotics trafficking. Those operations have rattled the Venezuelan government, tightened Maduro's circle of loyalists, and sparked fresh fears of a broader confrontation in the Caribbean.
And yet, here we are, with the president now expressing willingness to talk. When asked about the possibility of the U.S. attempting to snatch or assassinate Maduro, one White House official told Axios, "...nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch him at this point. I wouldn't say never, but that's not the plan right now." That phrase, at this point, signals that Washington's pressure campaign is still very real, of course, and very active, or at least they want to give that impression, but that the White House also believes diplomacy may now offer something that military strikes can't, and that would be leverage. And that leverage brings us to a critical question. What exactly does Maduro have to offer the U.S.
in any potential negotiation? Well, the answer, according to analysts who spoke with Reuters, may be, you can probably guess, oil. Venezuelan crude is heavy and dirty, but U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are built specifically to process that kind of oil. When the U.S. halted Venezuelan imports years ago and imposed sanctions on the Maduro regime, refiners had to seek alternatives, often, of course, at higher costs or more logistical difficulties. Now, with markets still tight and energy prices playing a major role in global politics, there's renewed interest in whether Venezuelan shipments could re-enter the picture. Right now, Venezuela exports about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day. More than 80% of that goes to China.
That means Maduro actually does have flexibility, the ability to redirect cargos, sweeten deals, or offer dedicated supply to American refiners, if it means gaining political or economic concessions from Washington.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–5:30
2
Why is Trump ready for direct talks with Maduro?
5:30–6:44
3
What did Xi Jinping discuss with Trump during their rare call?
6:44–7:28
4
How is Russia reacting to the latest U.S.-Ukraine cease-fire proposal?
7:28–7:50
5
What implications does the Russian drone incursion into NATO airspace have?
7:50–20:06
6
What are the potential offers Maduro could make to the U.S.?
20:06–23:50
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from The President's Daily Brief
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