The Megyn Kelly Show - April 16, 2024


Bonus Episode ｜ The President's Daily Brief with Mike Baker


Episode Stats

Length

15 minutes

Words per Minute

154.92833

Word Count

2,342

Sentence Count

155

Hate Speech Sentences

18


Summary

A few days after Iran launched its attack on Israel, we re getting a better insight into the successes and failures of the Islamic Republic s efforts. And in the Far East, China s reaction, or lack thereof, is raising questions about the Communist nation s claims to diplomatic leadership on the world stage.


Transcript

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00:00:30.900 Hey everyone, it's Megan Kelly.
00:00:32.280 I want to tell you about a podcast I think you might enjoy.
00:00:35.140 It's called The President's Daily Brief.
00:00:37.980 Each morning, the president of the U.S. receives a highly classified briefing
00:00:41.560 on the most important issues facing the country
00:00:43.860 and it's called The President's Daily Brief or PDB.
00:00:47.840 You can now get your very own PDB hosted by the great Mike Baker
00:00:52.400 which you can listen to an episode of right here.
00:00:55.620 And then go ahead and subscribe on his feed if you like it.
00:00:59.620 Talk to you soon.
00:01:11.980 It's Tuesday, 16 April.
00:01:14.280 Welcome to The President's Daily Brief.
00:01:16.360 I'm Mike Baker.
00:01:17.240 Your eyes and ears on the world stage.
00:01:19.660 Let's get briefed.
00:01:20.580 We're over 72 hours removed now from the historic attack on Israel by Iran
00:01:26.620 and a handful of their proxies.
00:01:28.580 Let's not forget them.
00:01:29.860 We're now getting a more complete picture of how the strike played out
00:01:33.000 and what it all says about Iran's military capabilities.
00:01:36.460 I'll bring you the latest details.
00:01:38.780 Coming up later, we'll pivot to Eastern Europe
00:01:41.300 for insights into the latest responses from Russian and Ukrainian leaders
00:01:45.560 following this weekend's events
00:01:47.480 and what these developments could mean for the conflict in Ukraine.
00:01:51.860 And in today's Back of the Brief, we'll turn to the Far East
00:01:55.100 where China's reaction, or lack thereof,
00:01:58.420 is raising questions about the Communist nation's claims
00:02:01.420 to diplomatic leadership on the world stage.
00:02:04.720 But first, today's PDB Spotlight.
00:02:06.940 A few days after Iran launched its attack on Israel,
00:02:10.940 we're getting better insight into the successes and failures
00:02:14.640 of the Islamic Republic's efforts.
00:02:17.480 First, the successes.
00:02:19.780 Now, contrary to earlier reports,
00:02:22.140 Iran managed to strike two air bases during the attack
00:02:25.580 with at least nine missiles that penetrated Israel's air defense network.
00:02:30.180 Most significantly, five ballistic missiles hit the Nevatim air base,
00:02:34.120 which Iranians claim was used to launch the sortie
00:02:37.640 that killed General Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Damascus earlier this month.
00:02:42.520 Now, that's a symbolic win for the Iranian regime,
00:02:45.040 but the impact of the missiles was fairly limited.
00:02:48.140 According to officials, the strike managed to damage
00:02:50.400 a single C-130 transport aircraft,
00:02:53.340 an unused runway, and empty storage facilities.
00:02:57.020 Four additional ballistic missiles hit the Negev air base in Israel's south,
00:03:01.380 but there were no reports of significant damage.
00:03:04.120 This all runs counter to official Iranian state media reports,
00:03:08.280 which claimed the base had sustained heavy blows.
00:03:11.360 All right, then there's Iran's failures.
00:03:14.580 Specifically, the success rate of the ballistic missiles
00:03:17.660 the Iranians used during the attack,
00:03:20.000 well, it doesn't speak highly of the quality control
00:03:22.600 of the Iranian arms industry.
00:03:24.920 According to U.S. officials speaking to the Wall Street Journal,
00:03:28.540 roughly 50% of the ballistic missiles Iran launched at Israel
00:03:32.640 failed to reach their intended targets,
00:03:35.440 now either due to failing during launch or malfunctioning during flight.
00:03:40.420 U.S. officials said that Iran launched between 115 and 130 ballistic missiles
00:03:47.600 that targeted Israel in total.
00:03:49.700 So, based on my kung fu-like grip on mathematics,
00:03:53.280 that would mean around 60 missiles either failed to make it off the launch pad
00:03:57.620 or veered off track and landed harmlessly in the desert.
00:04:01.260 As one U.S. official put it,
00:04:02.820 quote,
00:04:03.400 so much for the vaunted ballistic missile capability of Iran, end quote.
00:04:07.740 Now, none of this is meant to minimize the threat that Iranian weapons represent.
00:04:12.580 It's clear that what the regime lacks in quality,
00:04:15.720 they more than make up for in quantity.
00:04:18.080 While not a single drone managed to penetrate Israeli airspace,
00:04:21.700 these cheap weapons have the ability to overwhelm the country's air defenses,
00:04:25.800 and that appears to be precisely the strategy that they intended to use this weekend.
00:04:31.080 The Iranian regime has warned that if Israel retaliates now,
00:04:34.640 the next attack will be at least tenfold greater.
00:04:37.600 One other thing we've learned in the days following the attack
00:04:41.120 is the extent of America's role in defending Israel.
00:04:45.040 In a post-2X, U.S. Central Command revealed that U.S. forces,
00:04:49.460 supported by European command destroyers,
00:04:52.100 took out more than 80 drones and at least six ballistic missiles
00:04:55.420 that were fired from both Iran and Yemen.
00:04:58.740 CENTCOM said that included a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle
00:05:01.940 and seven UAVs destroyed on the ground
00:05:04.500 prior to their launch in areas controlled by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
00:05:09.240 All right, coming up after the break,
00:05:11.400 we turn our attention to Eastern Europe,
00:05:13.680 examining responses from Russian and Ukrainian leaders
00:05:16.360 in the aftermath of this weekend's Iranian attack
00:05:19.140 and the potential impact on the Ukrainian conflict.
00:05:23.320 I'll be right back.
00:05:25.920 Welcome back.
00:05:27.380 It appears that, at least on the surface,
00:05:29.460 the bromance between Vladimir Putin and the Iranian mullahs
00:05:33.060 may be experiencing some relationship issues,
00:05:36.200 at least when it comes to Russia's response
00:05:38.420 to Iran's weekend bombardment of Israel with drones and missiles.
00:05:41.860 If the mullahs in Iran were banking on the full-throated support of the Kremlin
00:05:46.000 for their unprecedented retaliatory operation against Israel,
00:05:50.140 they were likely somewhat disappointed.
00:05:52.740 Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement on Sunday
00:05:55.000 saying that they were alarmed at the escalation by Iran,
00:05:58.640 adding that it is, quote,
00:05:59.760 in no one's interests, end quote, according to a CNBC report.
00:06:03.860 Now, the foreign ministry added,
00:06:05.460 quote,
00:06:05.800 we prefer that the Iranian regime give us the drones and missiles
00:06:09.020 for our war with Ukraine,
00:06:11.200 rather than wasting them on Israel.
00:06:13.520 Okay, that was a made-up quote.
00:06:15.780 I'm sorry about that.
00:06:17.300 While the Kremlin called on all parties involved to exercise restraint,
00:06:21.040 they stopped short of either voicing support for Iran
00:06:23.660 or condemning the regime outright,
00:06:25.400 and reiterated their position that Iran has a right to self-defense.
00:06:30.140 They also said the primary driver of the current violence
00:06:33.320 is the Israel-Hamas conflict,
00:06:35.540 and criticized the West for not doing more to ease tensions
00:06:38.780 through the UN Security Council.
00:06:40.940 The Kremlin failed to note that there is currently an Israel-Hamas conflict
00:06:45.620 because, well, the Iranian-sponsored Hamas started the conflict
00:06:49.140 with their slaughter of Israeli citizens in early October.
00:06:51.740 Now, I'm sure that that was just an oversight.
00:06:54.180 They forgot to put that in their official statement,
00:06:56.380 and I'm sure they'll do better next time.
00:06:58.960 The foreign ministry said, quote,
00:07:00.280 we express our extreme concern
00:07:01.960 at yet another dangerous escalation in the region.
00:07:04.880 We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint.
00:07:08.400 We have repeatedly warned
00:07:09.600 that the numerous unresolved crises in the Middle East,
00:07:12.860 primarily in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,
00:07:15.960 which are often fueled by irresponsible, provocative actions,
00:07:18.800 will exasperate tensions, end quote.
00:07:21.740 And that's quite the run-on sentence from the Kremlin.
00:07:24.840 That last line, referencing, quote,
00:07:26.740 provocative actions, appeared to be a dig at Israel
00:07:30.080 for the strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria
00:07:32.480 that preceded this weekend's attack by Iran.
00:07:36.080 Despite Russia's not-so-veiled criticism of the U.S. and Israel,
00:07:39.960 leaders in Iran are likely disgruntled
00:07:42.520 with what they see as a lackluster response
00:07:45.900 from their supposed ally.
00:07:47.360 As a reminder, Russia has been relying on Iran, among others,
00:07:52.000 for drones and missiles and other munitions
00:07:54.040 to resupply their shrinking stockpiles in Ukraine.
00:07:57.380 Since the invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022,
00:08:01.080 Russia has significantly expanded
00:08:03.000 their military cooperation with Iran,
00:08:05.180 and Iranian drones in particular have been used
00:08:07.760 to very damaging effect by the Putin regime.
00:08:11.520 Now, the former head of the Iranian parliament's
00:08:13.960 National Security Committee lashed out at the Putin regime
00:08:17.160 on Monday over their refusal to defend Iran's attack
00:08:20.660 on the global stage.
00:08:22.120 He said, quote,
00:08:23.020 "...the developments showed that Iran is alone in the region.
00:08:26.340 The world's powers came to Israel's aid
00:08:28.140 to reduce the aerial pressure on Israel,
00:08:30.780 but other powers did not come to Iran's aid,
00:08:33.540 even in wartime conditions."
00:08:35.520 Okay, no doubt, given their friend group
00:08:37.680 of despot nations is pretty small,
00:08:40.180 the two nations will kiss and make up soon.
00:08:42.140 I wouldn't look for this spat to impact
00:08:44.680 their long-term relationship.
00:08:46.980 Speaking of the war in Ukraine,
00:08:48.680 President Zelensky is warning that Iran's attack
00:08:51.220 on Israel should serve as a wake-up call to the West
00:08:54.560 to do more to support their beleaguered allies overseas.
00:08:58.140 Zelensky and his top officials said the remarkable success
00:09:01.060 of Israel and its allies in defending against Iran's attack
00:09:04.720 shows what Ukraine could achieve against Russian forces
00:09:07.720 if it only had greater support from its international partners.
00:09:11.220 Leaders in Kyiv used the moment to put the pressure
00:09:14.600 on U.S. officials, particularly Republicans in Congress,
00:09:18.220 to approve new financial and military aid for Ukraine
00:09:21.400 that's been languishing in a deadlocked Congress
00:09:24.040 since the fall.
00:09:25.600 Zelensky said, quote,
00:09:26.860 "...it is critical that the United States Congress
00:09:28.900 make the necessary decisions to strengthen America's allies
00:09:32.300 at this critical time.
00:09:33.780 Words do not stop drones and do not intercept missiles.
00:09:37.160 Only tangible assistance does."
00:09:39.220 The parallels between Iran's attack on Israel
00:09:42.820 and the situation in Ukraine are striking,
00:09:44.900 as Russia has subjected the people of Ukraine
00:09:47.560 to a near-constant barrage of drone attacks
00:09:50.180 targeting their energy infrastructure.
00:09:52.640 These drones are often the very same Iranian-made Shahed drones
00:09:56.280 that the Islamic regime used to attack Israel on Saturday.
00:10:00.920 Ukrainian officials reiterated their pleas
00:10:03.100 for the country's Western allies
00:10:04.680 to provide more air defense systems,
00:10:07.360 pointing to the effectiveness of the Israeli Iron Dome,
00:10:10.360 which prevented serious damage or casualties
00:10:12.640 during the Iranian bombardment.
00:10:15.400 Zelensky said, quote,
00:10:16.240 "...the whole world sees what real defense is.
00:10:18.920 It sees that it is feasible."
00:10:21.200 End quote.
00:10:22.480 Now, allies of Zelensky were also mobilized
00:10:24.800 in the wake of the Iranian attack,
00:10:26.420 some speaking directly to Republicans
00:10:28.400 and former President Trump.
00:10:30.680 Ukraine's former infrastructure minister
00:10:32.280 was particularly direct, saying, quote,
00:10:35.260 "...I hope that Iran's attack on Israel
00:10:37.040 will send a powerful message to Republicans,
00:10:39.380 namely to Mr. Trump.
00:10:40.720 He cannot wait a side anymore.
00:10:43.080 China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea
00:10:44.980 persistently attack the West."
00:10:47.600 End quote.
00:10:48.980 It appears that U.S. leaders are feeling the pressure
00:10:51.900 following the events of the weekend.
00:10:54.180 U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson
00:10:55.780 vowed Sunday that he will attempt
00:10:58.520 to bring a roughly $95 billion
00:11:01.180 supplemental aid package for Ukraine and Israel
00:11:03.900 to the floor for a vote this week.
00:11:06.760 Within that package,
00:11:08.080 roughly $60 billion is earmarked for Ukraine.
00:11:11.680 Now, Johnson will have to find a way
00:11:12.780 to sway the more conservative wing of the GOP, however,
00:11:16.220 who have grown, let's call it weary,
00:11:18.580 of sending continued aid to Kiev.
00:11:21.380 As a reminder,
00:11:22.740 U.S. aid to Ukraine officially dried up in January,
00:11:25.280 and the White House has been trying
00:11:26.820 to get new assistance approved ever since.
00:11:29.040 A previous attempt by Speaker Johnson
00:11:30.720 to tie the $60 billion aid proposal
00:11:33.100 to immigration reform
00:11:34.360 ultimately failed in February.
00:11:37.620 All right, coming up in the back of the brief,
00:11:39.720 we'll examine China's muted response
00:11:41.640 to this weekend's attacks
00:11:43.180 and what it reveals about their stance
00:11:45.780 as a global leader.
00:11:47.480 I'll be right back.
00:11:50.020 In today's back of the brief,
00:11:52.060 I want to shift our focus over to China
00:11:54.120 to address their, well,
00:11:56.240 we'll call it muted, shall we,
00:11:57.720 reaction to this weekend's attack.
00:11:59.860 In a statement posted
00:12:00.920 to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website,
00:12:03.340 they wrote,
00:12:04.340 China calls on relevant parties
00:12:06.020 to remain calm and exercise restraint
00:12:08.360 to avoid further escalation of tensions.
00:12:11.340 They went on to call on the international community,
00:12:13.760 especially what they termed influential countries,
00:12:16.720 to play a constructive role
00:12:17.900 in maintaining regional peace and stability.
00:12:20.080 Now, that's not exactly a hard-hitting statement,
00:12:24.000 especially for a country that's been attempting
00:12:26.420 to demonstrate a position of leadership
00:12:28.500 on the world stage.
00:12:30.340 Moreover, it's worth noting
00:12:32.140 that China failed to even condemn the Iranian attack,
00:12:35.060 even though it did condemn the strike
00:12:36.940 on Iran's consulate in Damascus earlier this month.
00:12:40.240 This stance is obviously a stark contrast
00:12:42.720 to other regional players,
00:12:44.340 including Japan and South Korea,
00:12:46.640 both of which condemned Iran.
00:12:48.120 China's weak statement didn't go unnoticed by Israel,
00:12:52.540 which has publicly stated their disappointment
00:12:54.360 with the response.
00:12:56.120 The deputy chief of the Israeli mission in China
00:12:58.060 said at a press briefing on Monday,
00:13:00.300 we were hoping for stronger condemnation
00:13:02.340 and clear acknowledgement of Israel's right
00:13:04.660 to defend itself.
00:13:05.760 Unfortunately, we did not see that,
00:13:08.080 which is why we were unhappy with the statement.
00:13:10.400 End quote.
00:13:11.560 China's statement follows a pattern in recent months,
00:13:14.500 as they failed to contribute anything helpful
00:13:16.360 during the Gaza war or in the events that followed.
00:13:19.660 Now, this isn't the first time
00:13:21.320 that China has failed to show up.
00:13:23.680 As a matter of fact,
00:13:24.860 this is almost the same exact reaction
00:13:26.640 Israel gave to China's initial response
00:13:28.480 to the October 7th attacks
00:13:30.140 when China failed to condemn Hamas.
00:13:33.260 And that's something they still haven't
00:13:35.080 mustered enough energy to do.
00:13:37.540 In the event that the UN Security Council
00:13:39.560 is actually pressed to condemn
00:13:41.120 or sanction Iran for their attack,
00:13:43.180 it will be interesting to see
00:13:45.000 if China takes a stand one way or the other.
00:13:48.060 While we know what cards Russia will play
00:13:50.280 as a member of the Security Council
00:13:51.960 when it comes to Iran,
00:13:53.560 there is the slightest of chances
00:13:55.860 that China will not fall completely in line
00:13:58.780 with the Iran-Russia evil league of evil.
00:14:02.600 And that, my friends,
00:14:04.140 is the President's Daily Brief
00:14:05.520 for Tuesday, 16 April.
00:14:07.480 If you have any questions or comments,
00:14:09.240 please reach out to me
00:14:10.380 at pdb at thefirsttv.com.
00:14:13.520 I'm Mike Baker,
00:14:14.480 and I'll be back later today
00:14:15.560 with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin.
00:14:18.100 Until then, stay informed,
00:14:20.300 stay safe, stay cool.
00:14:22.160 We'll be right back.
00:14:52.160 Don't let life's challenges
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