Did Gulf Allies Force Trump To Halt Project Freedom?
5/8/202626 min
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief:
First up — officially, Project Freedom was paused to give negotiations with Iran a chance. Unofficially? New reporting suggests key Gulf allies may have pushed back hard against the operation behind closed doors, raising questions about fractures inside the coalition confronting Tehran.
Later in the show — the IDF says it killed a top Hezbollah Radwan commander in a precision strike on Beirut, marking Israel’s first attack on the Lebanese capital in weeks.
Also later in the show — Ukraine launches a massive drone assault...
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMike Baker· Host0:00
[upbeat music] It's Friday, the eighth of May. Welcome to The President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And yes, back on the road and coming to you from a nondescript airport lounge somewhere. All right, let's get briefed. First up, officially, Project Freedom was paused to give negotiations with Iran a chance. But unofficially, well, new reporting suggests that Gulf allies may have pushed back hard against the operation behind closed doors. Later in the show, the IDF says it's killed a top Hezbollah Radwan unit commander in a precision strike inside Beirut, marking Israel's first attack on the Lebanese capital in weeks. Later in the show, Ukraine sends hundreds of drones into Russia ahead of Victory Day, reportedly hitting a key logistics hub near Moscow and striking a Russian ship capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles. And in today's Back of the Brief, Japan fires an anti-ship missile during joint military drills with the US and allies near the South China Sea, as regional tensions with China continue to rise. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. President Trump's abrupt suspension of Project Freedom, the US military operation