December 3, 2025 • 12 mins
In this episode, Jon Decker breaks down three major stories shaping U.S. politics and global security. Decker examines new U.S. military strikes targeting international drug-trafficking operations, explores the latest developments in the Ukraine peace negotiations, and analyzes the fallout from a high-stakes special election in Tennessee. Decker also dives into the controversies surrounding American military action, the steep challenges of brokering peace in Eastern Europe, and how affordability concerns and economic pressures are influencing the political landscape ahead of 2026.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Wednesday, December third.
I'm John Decker. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsat says he didn't
see the strike on an alleged drug vote in the
Caribbean that killed two survivors.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I did not personally see survivors, but I stand because
the thing was on fire.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I was exploded.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
In fire or smoke.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You can't see anything. You got digital.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
There's this is called the folk of war.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
After five hours of peace talks in Russia, no deal
yet to end the war in Ukraine, and President Trump
rails against Democrats who say affordability is a major issue
for next year's midterm elections.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats.
I watched the other day where are some very low
IQ congresswoman talked about affordability, affordability, affordability. She had no
idea the prices were much higher.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
But we begin this Wednesday with more focus on a
decision by the US military to strike an alleged drug
boat a second time in an effort to kill two survivors.
President Trump had his ninth and final Cabinet meeting of
the year on Tuesday. It was more than two hours long,
but much of the focus in terms of news coming
(01:22):
out of that cabinet meeting was on Pete Hegseth, the
Defense Secretary, who gave his account about what happened on
September the second, when the US struck an alleged drug
vote in the Caribbean. Every one of the President's cabinet
members had an opportunity to talk to speak about what's
been accomplished during the president's first year during that cabinet meeting,
(01:46):
and Secretary Hegseth, during his moment to speak, defended the
policy of going after drug boats in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
You've only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco
terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they've been
poisoning the American people.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Hag Seth went on to say that the approach by
the Trump administration as it relates to going after drug
cartels is working.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
President Trump said, no, we're taking the gloves off. We're
taking the fight to these designated terror organizations. And that's
exactly what we're doing. So we're stopping the drugs, we're
striking the boats, we're defeating narco terror.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And although that policy is being questioned by lawmakers from
both political parties. Hag Seth said during the cabinet meeting
that the policy itself will continue for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
President Trump always has our backs. We always have the
back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult
situations than we do. In this case and all these strikes,
they're making judgment calls and ensuring that they defend the
American people. They've done the right things. We'll keep doing that,
and we have their backswors.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Right now defend. Secretary hegg Seth during the Q and
A portion of that very long cabinet meeting, said he
didn't see two survivors after an initial US strike on
that alleged drug boat in the Caribbean back on September
the second. But hag Seth also praised Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley,
the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, for executing the
(03:19):
operation to destroy that drug trafficking vote on September the second.
The President himself weighed in on what happened on September
the second and gave his take about his involvement and
his knowledge about that incident.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And somebody asked me a question about the second strike.
I didn't know about the second strike. I didn't know
anything about people I wasn't involved in. I knew they
took out a vote, but I would say this, they
had a strike. I hear the gentleman that was in
charge of that as extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Now, the initial attack killed nine people on board that
alleged drug vote, but it left two survivors, and hag Seth,
who on September third said he watched the operation live,
stated on Tuesday that he witnessed the first strike, but
he left the room ahead of the second attack for
another meeting, and he only learned of it an hour
(04:13):
or two later. Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday during the
cabinet meeting that Admiral Bradley had the complete authority to
order that strike.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I have empowered them to make that call now the
first couple of strikes, as you would, as any leader
would want. You want to own that responsibility. So I said,
I'm going to be the one to make the call
after getting all the information and make sure it's the
right strike.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
That was September second. Now, over the past few days
there have been shifting explanations for who in the Trump
administration ordered that second strike, and Hegseth on Tuesday, during
the cabinet meeting, provided further details about what occurred on
September second. I watched that first strike live.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
As you can imagine, the Department of War, we got
a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick
around for the hour and two hours whatever where all
the sensitive side exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on
to my next meeting.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Had made the which he had the complete authority to do,
and by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision
to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the third.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Now, lawmakers from both parties are now questioning whether targeting
helpless individuals in a shipwreck amounts to a war crime,
and both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees have
launched separate investigations. But despite that, hegg set said the
policy of targeting alleged drug boats from Venezuela will continue now.
(05:42):
Heggsets reiterated that he had authorized Navy Admiral Frank Bradley
to execute that operation and Bradley is expected to brief
senior lawmakers about both military strikes in a classified session
on Thursday. Even before that closed door hearing takes place,
Senator Ram Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, is sharply criticizing
(06:06):
Secretary of Defense Hegseth for defending that second military strike
on those survivors. He made remarks to reporters on Capitol Hill,
and in those remarks, Senator Paul said that Hegseth was
either lying to us about his knowledge of the strike
or he's incompetent. He went on to say that Secretary
(06:29):
heg Seth said he had no knowledge of this and
it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn't happen.
And Paul went on to say, and then the next
day from the podium of the White House, they're saying
it did happen. Paul concluded by saying, I think it's
outrageous and should be universally condemned. Rand is among the
most prominent Republican senators speaking out so strongly about what
(06:54):
happened on September. The second Senator, Roger Wicker, the chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has also expressed concerns,
but a lot of this will be discussed behind closed
doors on Thursday. Also on Tuesday, ongoing efforts to end
the war in Ukraine a five hour meeting at the
(07:14):
Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and two US representatives
Steve Witkoff, the US envoy and Jared Kushner, the President's
son in law and the author of that original twenty
eight point peace plan proposal. They concluded that five hour
meeting without reaching any agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
(07:39):
A Russian official said that the talks were, in his words,
useful and constructive. The main stumbling block is territory. It's
emerged as the prominent stumbling block in terms of reaching
a deal. Russia has demanded that Ukraine seed all of
the eastern Ukrainian region of the Dnbas, but Ukrainian President
(08:02):
Vladimir Zelensky has rejected surrendering territory that Russia hasn't taken
in nearly four years of fighting. Just ahead of that
meeting on Tuesday, President Putin accused European leaders of trying
to sabotage peace efforts. He called recent proposed changes to
that initial peace deal for Ukraine absolutely unacceptable. That shows
(08:26):
you the difficulty of trying to reach any type of
peace deal with Russia. Even if some agreement is reached
on the Ukrainian side, that means that there may be
more difficulty in terms of reaching any type of deal
that would have to be signed off by President Putin.
As for President Trump, he said during his cabinet meeting
(08:48):
on Tuesday that his administration is hoping to soon end
the war in Ukraine.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Trying very hard to get to save twenty five to
thirty thousand people, mostly men, mostly soldiers every month.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
There is no word yet as to when another round
of peace talks involving either Ukraine or Russia will next occur. Finally,
much of the political world was paying a lot of
attention to an election to fill a vacant House seat
in a district just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Republican candidate
(09:24):
Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat aft In Ben to fill
this vacant seat after Republicans mounted an eleventh hour effort
to shore up support for Matt Van Epps. Almost all
of the votes have now been counted. Van Epps had
close to fifty four percent to forty five percent for
(09:46):
ben Turnout in the district was high for a special election.
It reached about the same level as in the twenty
twenty two midterms. Now, while that was a comfortable margin
for victory, the margin was much smaller than in past
wins in this heavily read district, and it could fuel
(10:06):
some unease among Republicans about voter sentiment ahead of next
year's twenty twenty six mid term elections. The reason has
to do with what has happened in the past in
that particular district. The contest was to fill the seat
vacated by Congressman Mark Green. He won his seat in
twenty twenty four by more than twenty points. As for
(10:29):
President Trump, in the twenty twenty four presidential election, he
won that district by thirty points, So you can see
the narrower victory by Matt Van Epps is concerning some
Republicans in terms of how they may fare in the
midterm elections next year, which will determine whether Republicans continue
to hold control of both the House and the Senate.
(10:51):
The primary issue in this special election was the issue
of affordability. It's been a successful issue for Democrats in
the governor's races that recently occurred in both New Jersey
and Virginia, and Democrats were trying to use that same
strategy to win back this congressional seat. On Tuesday, President
(11:13):
Trump was asked about the affordability argument that has been
used successfully in several of those winning campaigns.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I mean, these are the facts we have to get out.
And you know, there's this fake narrative that the Democrats
talk about affordability. They just say the word. It doesn't
mean anything to anybody, just say it affordability. I inherited
the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody
could afford anything.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Now both sides, Republicans and Democrats, are spinning the results
of Tuesday's election. Republicans are emphasizing a win's a win,
but for Democrats they see some positives as it relates
to the results and the narrow victory that the Republican
had in this special election. A final note about the podcast.
(11:59):
I hear from many of you that you enjoy the
podcast because it's just the news, no spin, no bias,
and that's the point. That's how I deliver the news.
And if you like what you hear, tell your friends
and family, Tell five people today that if you want
balanced reporting from the White House, then make this podcast
(12:22):
a preset. I greatly appreciate it. As for the President's
schedule for Wednesday, he has two items on his schedule.
At ten am, the President will participate in the White
House Internship Program Class photo that will be on the
South Portico. And then at two point thirty pm in
the Oval Office, the President set to make an announcement.
(12:44):
No word yet on what that announcement pertains to. That's
the White House briefing room for Wednesday, December third. I'm
John Decker. Have a good one.
Welcome to the White House Briefing Room for Wednesday, December third.
I'm John Decker. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsat says he didn't
see the strike on an alleged drug vote in the
Caribbean that killed two survivors.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
I did not personally see survivors, but I stand because
the thing was on fire.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I was exploded.
Speaker 1 (00:22):
In fire or smoke.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
You can't see anything. You got digital.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
There's this is called the folk of war.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
After five hours of peace talks in Russia, no deal
yet to end the war in Ukraine, and President Trump
rails against Democrats who say affordability is a major issue
for next year's midterm elections.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats.
I watched the other day where are some very low
IQ congresswoman talked about affordability, affordability, affordability. She had no
idea the prices were much higher.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
But we begin this Wednesday with more focus on a
decision by the US military to strike an alleged drug
boat a second time in an effort to kill two survivors.
President Trump had his ninth and final Cabinet meeting of
the year on Tuesday. It was more than two hours long,
but much of the focus in terms of news coming
(01:22):
out of that cabinet meeting was on Pete Hegseth, the
Defense Secretary, who gave his account about what happened on
September the second, when the US struck an alleged drug
vote in the Caribbean. Every one of the President's cabinet
members had an opportunity to talk to speak about what's
been accomplished during the president's first year during that cabinet meeting,
(01:46):
and Secretary Hegseth, during his moment to speak, defended the
policy of going after drug boats in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
You've only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco
terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they've been
poisoning the American people.
Speaker 1 (02:05):
Hag Seth went on to say that the approach by
the Trump administration as it relates to going after drug
cartels is working.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
President Trump said, no, we're taking the gloves off. We're
taking the fight to these designated terror organizations. And that's
exactly what we're doing. So we're stopping the drugs, we're
striking the boats, we're defeating narco terror.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
And although that policy is being questioned by lawmakers from
both political parties. Hag Seth said during the cabinet meeting
that the policy itself will continue for the foreseeable future.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
President Trump always has our backs. We always have the
back of our commanders who are making decisions in difficult
situations than we do. In this case and all these strikes,
they're making judgment calls and ensuring that they defend the
American people. They've done the right things. We'll keep doing that,
and we have their backswors.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
Right now defend. Secretary hegg Seth during the Q and
A portion of that very long cabinet meeting, said he
didn't see two survivors after an initial US strike on
that alleged drug boat in the Caribbean back on September
the second. But hag Seth also praised Admiral Frank Mitch Bradley,
the commander of Joint Special Operations Command, for executing the
(03:19):
operation to destroy that drug trafficking vote on September the second.
The President himself weighed in on what happened on September
the second and gave his take about his involvement and
his knowledge about that incident.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And somebody asked me a question about the second strike.
I didn't know about the second strike. I didn't know
anything about people I wasn't involved in. I knew they
took out a vote, but I would say this, they
had a strike. I hear the gentleman that was in
charge of that as extraordinary.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Now, the initial attack killed nine people on board that
alleged drug vote, but it left two survivors, and hag Seth,
who on September third said he watched the operation live,
stated on Tuesday that he witnessed the first strike, but
he left the room ahead of the second attack for
another meeting, and he only learned of it an hour
(04:13):
or two later. Hegseth told reporters on Tuesday during the
cabinet meeting that Admiral Bradley had the complete authority to
order that strike.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
I have empowered them to make that call now the
first couple of strikes, as you would, as any leader
would want. You want to own that responsibility. So I said,
I'm going to be the one to make the call
after getting all the information and make sure it's the
right strike.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
That was September second. Now, over the past few days
there have been shifting explanations for who in the Trump
administration ordered that second strike, and Hegseth on Tuesday, during
the cabinet meeting, provided further details about what occurred on
September second. I watched that first strike live.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
As you can imagine, the Department of War, we got
a lot of things to do, so I didn't stick
around for the hour and two hours whatever where all
the sensitive side exploitation digitally occurs. So I moved on
to my next meeting.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
A couple of hours later, I learned that that commander.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
Had made the which he had the complete authority to do,
and by the way, Admiral Bradley made the correct decision
to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the third.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Now, lawmakers from both parties are now questioning whether targeting
helpless individuals in a shipwreck amounts to a war crime,
and both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees have
launched separate investigations. But despite that, hegg set said the
policy of targeting alleged drug boats from Venezuela will continue now.
(05:42):
Heggsets reiterated that he had authorized Navy Admiral Frank Bradley
to execute that operation and Bradley is expected to brief
senior lawmakers about both military strikes in a classified session
on Thursday. Even before that closed door hearing takes place,
Senator Ram Paul, Republican senator from Kentucky, is sharply criticizing
(06:06):
Secretary of Defense Hegseth for defending that second military strike
on those survivors. He made remarks to reporters on Capitol Hill,
and in those remarks, Senator Paul said that Hegseth was
either lying to us about his knowledge of the strike
or he's incompetent. He went on to say that Secretary
(06:29):
heg Seth said he had no knowledge of this and
it did not happen. It was fake news. It didn't happen.
And Paul went on to say, and then the next
day from the podium of the White House, they're saying
it did happen. Paul concluded by saying, I think it's
outrageous and should be universally condemned. Rand is among the
most prominent Republican senators speaking out so strongly about what
(06:54):
happened on September. The second Senator, Roger Wicker, the chairman
of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has also expressed concerns,
but a lot of this will be discussed behind closed
doors on Thursday. Also on Tuesday, ongoing efforts to end
the war in Ukraine a five hour meeting at the
(07:14):
Kremlin between Russian President Vladimir Putin and two US representatives
Steve Witkoff, the US envoy and Jared Kushner, the President's
son in law and the author of that original twenty
eight point peace plan proposal. They concluded that five hour
meeting without reaching any agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
(07:39):
A Russian official said that the talks were, in his words,
useful and constructive. The main stumbling block is territory. It's
emerged as the prominent stumbling block in terms of reaching
a deal. Russia has demanded that Ukraine seed all of
the eastern Ukrainian region of the Dnbas, but Ukrainian President
(08:02):
Vladimir Zelensky has rejected surrendering territory that Russia hasn't taken
in nearly four years of fighting. Just ahead of that
meeting on Tuesday, President Putin accused European leaders of trying
to sabotage peace efforts. He called recent proposed changes to
that initial peace deal for Ukraine absolutely unacceptable. That shows
(08:26):
you the difficulty of trying to reach any type of
peace deal with Russia. Even if some agreement is reached
on the Ukrainian side, that means that there may be
more difficulty in terms of reaching any type of deal
that would have to be signed off by President Putin.
As for President Trump, he said during his cabinet meeting
(08:48):
on Tuesday that his administration is hoping to soon end
the war in Ukraine.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
Trying very hard to get to save twenty five to
thirty thousand people, mostly men, mostly soldiers every month.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
There is no word yet as to when another round
of peace talks involving either Ukraine or Russia will next occur. Finally,
much of the political world was paying a lot of
attention to an election to fill a vacant House seat
in a district just outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Republican candidate
(09:24):
Matt Van Epps defeated Democrat aft In Ben to fill
this vacant seat after Republicans mounted an eleventh hour effort
to shore up support for Matt Van Epps. Almost all
of the votes have now been counted. Van Epps had
close to fifty four percent to forty five percent for
(09:46):
ben Turnout in the district was high for a special election.
It reached about the same level as in the twenty
twenty two midterms. Now, while that was a comfortable margin
for victory, the margin was much smaller than in past
wins in this heavily read district, and it could fuel
(10:06):
some unease among Republicans about voter sentiment ahead of next
year's twenty twenty six mid term elections. The reason has
to do with what has happened in the past in
that particular district. The contest was to fill the seat
vacated by Congressman Mark Green. He won his seat in
twenty twenty four by more than twenty points. As for
(10:29):
President Trump, in the twenty twenty four presidential election, he
won that district by thirty points, So you can see
the narrower victory by Matt Van Epps is concerning some
Republicans in terms of how they may fare in the
midterm elections next year, which will determine whether Republicans continue
to hold control of both the House and the Senate.
(10:51):
The primary issue in this special election was the issue
of affordability. It's been a successful issue for Democrats in
the governor's races that recently occurred in both New Jersey
and Virginia, and Democrats were trying to use that same
strategy to win back this congressional seat. On Tuesday, President
(11:13):
Trump was asked about the affordability argument that has been
used successfully in several of those winning campaigns.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I mean, these are the facts we have to get out.
And you know, there's this fake narrative that the Democrats
talk about affordability. They just say the word. It doesn't
mean anything to anybody, just say it affordability. I inherited
the worst inflation in history. There was no affordability. Nobody
could afford anything.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Now both sides, Republicans and Democrats, are spinning the results
of Tuesday's election. Republicans are emphasizing a win's a win,
but for Democrats they see some positives as it relates
to the results and the narrow victory that the Republican
had in this special election. A final note about the podcast.
(11:59):
I hear from many of you that you enjoy the
podcast because it's just the news, no spin, no bias,
and that's the point. That's how I deliver the news.
And if you like what you hear, tell your friends
and family, Tell five people today that if you want
balanced reporting from the White House, then make this podcast
(12:22):
a preset. I greatly appreciate it. As for the President's
schedule for Wednesday, he has two items on his schedule.
At ten am, the President will participate in the White
House Internship Program Class photo that will be on the
South Portico. And then at two point thirty pm in
the Oval Office, the President set to make an announcement.
(12:44):
No word yet on what that announcement pertains to. That's
the White House briefing room for Wednesday, December third. I'm
John Decker. Have a good one.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.