April 22nd, 2025: Beijing Now Targeting Members Of Congress & Hamas Recruits Kids
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It's Tuesday, the 22nd of April. 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. We'll start things off today with China, and it seems that the Chinese regime, for whatever reason, is a bit testy. Beijing just sanctioned multiple members of Congress and top U.S. officials in a new tit-for-tat move over what it's calling, quote, egregious behavior on Hong Kong-related issues. Hmm.

We'll have those details Later in the show, Hamas steps up efforts to refill its depleted ranks, reportedly recruiting some 30,000 youths into its militant wing, including untrained minors

Plus, in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to end the war, the Trump administration has presented Ukraine with a confidential peace deal that would recognize Crimea as Russian, give Russia essentially the land they currently occupy inside Ukraine, and block NATO membership. In exchange, Ukraine gets... Well, that's not really clear. And in today's back of the brief...

As a second signal scandal surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth grows, President Trump steps in to defend him But first, today's PDB Spotlight We'll begin with an update on U.S.-China relations, which continue to deteriorate in the wake of President Trump's tariff war against the communist regime

And, in their latest diplomatic retaliation, officials in Beijing imposed sanctions on Monday against a number of U.S. Congress members, government officials, and leaders of American non-governmental organizations , though they didn't specify exactly who they're targeting. This time, China's anger centers on what they called "egregious behavior on Hong Kong-related issues," according to a report from the Associated Press.

The action followed sanctions imposed by the U.S. in March on six Chinese and Hong Kong officials over their alleged involvement in what the Trump administration described as, quote, transnational repression and other activity that...

threatens to further erode the city's autonomy. Well, here's a hint. Hong Kong doesn't have any autonomy. A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, quote, China has decided to impose sanctions on U.S. congressmen, officials, and NGO leaders who've performed poorly, oh, on Hong Kong-related issues.

The spokesman added, quote, any wrong action taken by the U.S. side on the Hong Kong-related issue will be met with resolute and reciprocal counteraction by the Chinese side, end quote.

For some background, U.S. officials have grown increasingly concerned in recent years over human rights issues regarding Hong Kong, particularly attempts by the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to crack down on pro-democracy activists. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China that, in theory, has a degree of autonomy from the mainland government. But that freedom has been significantly eroded. Let's just...

say, erased, shall we, since the historic pro-democracy protests that swept through the city in 2019. Again, it's all window dressing. The CCP does not allow for any degree of autonomy when it comes to Hong Kong. In 2020, CCP leaders imposed a controversial national security law to...

quell the anti-government protests and authorities in Hong Kong subsequently used the law to jail pro-democracy leaders and force activist groups and media outlets to disband While Hong Kong's Legislative Assembly once had a strong pro-democracy contingent many were run out of office or otherwise arrested under the national security law in the years following the 2019 protests

The local election laws were formally overhauled in 2021, allowing only Chinese "patriots" to hold office in the city, further aligning the city's government with CCP leaders on the mainland.

With this legislative dominance, lawmakers loyal to the CCP were able to fast-track new national security measures in March of 2024 that further expanded their powers to crack down on those that they deemed to be dissidents, drawing a rebuke at the time from the then-Biden administration.

Monday's statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry accused the US of interfering in the affairs of Hong Kong and violating international law principles, that's the Chinese regime accusing somebody of violating international law principles, by issuing the sanctions in March, calling the actions, quote, "despicable". Frankly, it's cute that the CCP protests about the violation of international law principles.

Turning to the ongoing trade war, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued a statement on Monday warning other countries—listen to this, this is very interesting—

warning other countries against striking new trade deals with the U.S. that undermine Beijing's economic interests, according to a report from The Hill. CCP officials promised economic retaliation against any country that does not heed this warning. Ooh, bully much? Though they did not elaborate on what that might look like. As I'm sure you're all aware, earlier this month, President Trump hit China with a 145% tariff

on most of their exports, though certain Chinese products are now subject to tariffs as high as 245% China retaliated by placing a 125% tax on U.S. goods and has vowed to stand their ground and "fight to the end" Despite the significant economic fallout already hitting the communist regime's export-dependent economy it does not appear U.S. and Chinese officials would be coming to the negotiating table anytime soon

All right. Now, before we go to the break, I want to give a quick plug for our YouTube channel, At President's Daily Brief. Hopefully, you've had a chance to visit. We're quickly closing in on 100,000 subscribers. And if you haven't checked it out yet, well, now's the time. Please do. You can watch full video episodes of the show and catch our weekly program, the PDB Situation Report, with even more in-depth analysis and interviews.

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All right, coming up next, Hamas reportedly is recruiting thousands of youths, or youths, as Joe Petsche said in My Cousin Vinny, to rebuild its fighting force, while the Trump administration floats a last-digit peace deal to Ukraine that recognizes Crimea as Russian and blocks NATO membership. I'll be right back.

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Hamas is resorting to the recruitment of Gaza's youth to replenish their numbers after having their ranks devastated by Israel over the past 18 months of war. Palestinian sources, who recently spoke to a Saudi-owned outlet, revealed that Hamas's al-Qassam brigades have allegedly recruited a staggering 30,000 young people from across Gaza to join their terrorist battalions. Now, it's not entirely clear

when the recruitment took place, and of course the numbers have been verified, but the sources said the new members have already undergone training at secret military camps in guerrilla warfare tactics, including the operation of anti-tank missiles and IEDs, according to a report from the Times of Israel. The sources noted, however, that the new recruits lack any specialized military skills beyond what they received in their basic training, but it does mark a massive influx of new fighters, if accurate,

and Follis reports that the Iranian-backed terror group recruited 15,000 additional fighters back in January

Despite their reliance on recruiting miners to replenish their ranks, the group still reportedly has significantly less manpower than they did before launching their brutal 7 October attacks on Israel that ignited the war Their military resources also remain severely depleted According to the sources, Hamas is running low on long-range missiles and drones

They've resorted to recycling waste from unexploded IDF munitions to manufacture ground-based explosives and other improvised devices. But Hamas's problems don't stop there. As we discussed last week, Israel's renewed military offensive and tightened aid restrictions since the ceasefire collapsed in mid-March have helped choke off the group's access to cash, leaving them unable to pay many of their terror operatives and fighters.

Meanwhile, while Hamas attempts to regroup, Israel is continuing to press forward with offensive operations across Gaza On Saturday, the IDF announced that they had struck roughly 150 Hamas targets in an effort to further dismantle the terrorist group's infrastructure both above and below ground

On the diplomatic front, well, such as it is, Israel and Hamas remain at an impasse over terms for a new ceasefire, with Hamas rejecting the latest Israel offer last week, holding to their demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

In a speech on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated that he will not end the war until Hamas is eradicated and the remaining Israeli hostages are returned. As a reminder, the Israeli government believes that 24 of the remaining 59 hostages that were taken captive back on 7 October in 2023 are still alive inside the enclave. Netanyahu said, quote, I will not surrender to murderers if we yield to their demands all

All the tremendous achievements that we've gained will be lost. Okay, shifting gears. In a possible last-ditch effort to bring the war in Ukraine to a halt, the Trump administration has handed Kiev a confidential peace proposal that would reshape the map of Eastern Europe by recognizing Russia's hold over Crimea and shutting Ukraine out of NATO.

It's basically a proposal that mirrors Russian President Putin's demands The document, reported by the Wall Street Journal, was delivered to Ukrainian officials during a meeting in Paris on the 17th of April It sketches out a ceasefire along current front lines, establishes a buffer zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, and demands Ukraine formally abandon its NATO ambitions

A formal response from Kyiv is expected this week during trilateral talks with U.S. and European officials in London If the sides reach an alignment, the plan could then be passed on to Moscow If adopted, the proposal would mark a seismic reversal in American foreign policy Since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, Washington has refused to recognize the Kremlin's claims

In 2018, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the Putin claim on Crimea as a violation of a "bedrock international principle of territorial sovereignty" that's a position later codified by Congress But now, the White House appears willing to accept Russian control of the peninsula as the reality for the price of peace

Now, I want to point out that the document makes no mention of formally recognizing Russia's claims to the occupied areas that it currently holds, Donetsk and Luhansk and Kharizm and Zaporizhia. These are territories that Moscow partially occupies, but they annexed in 2022. Then again, the document doesn't call for a Russian troop withdrawal from those regions either.

Additionally, it does not address Ukraine's long-term security guarantees However, American officials have reportedly reassured Kyiv that Western military support would continue Well, that should be very reassuring The plan doesn't require Ukraine to cut in troop numbers or rule out future deployments of European forces

Perhaps the most geopolitically explosive clause, the proposal would lock Ukraine out of NATO, a non-starter for Kyiv and a long-sought trophy for Moscow Since day one, the Kremlin has framed NATO expansion as a red-line provocation and a central justification for its invasion

The plan also calls for placing the Zaporozhye nuclear facility under direct American oversight In a March phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, Trump touted the idea as the, quote, best protection for the site Zelensky later confirmed the conversation, but clarified that any U.S. role would be limited to that facility, not Ukraine's broader nuclear infrastructure

From what we know currently, the Kremlin seems intrigued. Well, of course, that might be because, at least from early reporting, the proposal gives in to Moscow's primary demands. Mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov welcomed the U.S. statements on Monday, indicating Ukraine's NATO accession is, quote, out of the question, quote,

calling it, quote, something that satisfies us. Well, that's nice. The U.S. push for peace follows a meeting earlier this month in St. Petersburg between Trump's special envoy, Stephen Witkoff, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. There, Witkoff reportedly floated U.S. support for Russia's claim to the four eastern regions as the most expedient path to a ceasefire, complicating the administration's new proposal. Although, again, the new proposal apparently doesn't say they can't.

can't stay there. A senior State Department official was quick to frame the new plan as merely a "list of potential options," not a finalized blueprint. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that if no progress is made in the coming weeks, the U.S. could pull out of its mediation role entirely. Trump, for his part, remained upbeat on Sunday, telling reporters, "I hope they make a deal this week. But if history now is any guide,

and recent ceasefires are any indication, well, Kiev may find itself staring at the same battlefield lines and the same hard choices by week's end. All right, coming up next in the back of the brief, Pete Hegseth's signal scandal doesn't seem to be going away, but President Trump says he's standing by his defense chief. We'll have those details next.

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In today's Back of the Brief, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remains under fire following revelations that he used a second-signal chat group to discuss military operations. But President Trump has made one thing clear. He's standing firmly behind his Pentagon chief, which is a safer place to stand, considering all the arrows being fired at Hegseth currently by the Democrats and the media.

Speaking to reporters at the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, Hegseth dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, calling them, quote, anonymous smears from disgruntled former Pentagon officials. He stated, quote, I've spoken with the president and we are going to continue fighting, adding he and the commander in chief are on the same page.

Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that the second chat group was used in March to circulate details of an imminent U.S. strike on Houthi positions in Yemen The parallel signal chat group was created by Hegseth during his confirmation process President Trump, when asked about the controversy, brushed aside any criticism, telling reporters, quote, Here we go again. Just a waste of time Trump praised Hegseth, stating, quote, He's doing a great job. Ask the Houthis how he's doing

White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt struck a similar tone during a Monday appearance on Fox & Friends, calling Hegseth, quote, phenomenal at leading the Pentagon and reiterating that, quote, the president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth.

Levitt also echoed the Pentagon chief's line of attack, accusing former Pentagon officials of orchestrating a smear campaign and praising Hegseth for cracking down on internal leaks. She stated, quote, the administration and the president have taken a very strong stance against anyone who leaks, continuing, quote, especially sensitive and classified information that can put our troops and our warfighters at risk, which may or may not include operational details about planned strikes against Houthis.

But the mounting criticism from Democratic lawmakers on X has turned Hegseth into a lightning rod. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unleashed fiery posts calling for Hegseth's firing. Well,

Well, now, to be fair, unleashing fiery partisan posts is kind of Schumer's signature move. It's almost his raison d'etre. That's French for don't get between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera. But for now, Trump's unwavering support to mute the partisan noise makes one thing clear. No shakeup at the top of the Pentagon appears to be on the horizon.

And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Tuesday, the 22nd of April. Look, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdbatthefirsttv.com. And of course, as you've probably read on the Super Secret Signal chat group that I set up where we relay classified stuff, you can listen to the show ad-free by becoming a premium member of the President's Daily Brief. It's simple. Just visit pdbpremium.com.

And as I mentioned earlier in the show, don't forget, please check out our YouTube channel, Ad President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.