Trump Davos Speech Was a Pathetic Disaster
PDS Published 01/21/2026
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Donald Trump delivered his long-awaited speech in Davos today, and it was, uh, how do I describe this … [Edit: we might pair this clip compilation with fitting music]
[Clip, 47:36 - 47:42] Caption: “They called me daddy, right? Last time? Very smart man said, ‘He’s our daddy.’”
[Clip, 41:53 - 41:56] Caption: “We’re bringing back battleships.”
[Clip, 37:19 - 37:21] Caption: “The media’s terrible.”
[Clip, 44:41 - 44:43] Caption: “We are gonna build a dome.”
[Clip, 52:19 - 52:21] Caption: “The auto pen. He was the auto pen president.”
[Clip, 01:10:38 - 01:10:43] Caption: “Some of these stupid people like Powell, they raise interest rates.”
[Clip, 49:04 - 49:07] Caption: “We’re gonna hit 50,000, and that stock market’s gonna double.”
[Clip, 01:13:51 - 01:13:54] Caption: “Fences are gone. We don’t have to worry about fences anymore.”
[Clip, 01:15:57 - 01:15:59] Caption: “Somalian bandits!”
[Clip, 39:08 - 39:12] Caption: “Armenia, Aber-baijan [Azerbaijan].”
[Clip, 01:10:01 - 01:05] Caption: “I don’t feel old, but I’m among the older.”
[Clip, 01:15:39 - 01:15:42] Caption: “They emptied their mental institutions into the United States.”
[Clip, 46:40 - 46:43] Caption: “Two weeks later they get a call. ‘Your son’s head’s been blown off.’”
[Clip, 55:11 - 55:17] Caption: “‘No no no, Donald, I will not do that.’ I said, ‘Yes you will 100%.’”
[Clip, 45:24 - 45:28] Caption: “‘Sir, everything you’ve done has been perfectly executed.’ I said, ‘I know.’”
… Yeah, maybe “batshit crazy” is the term I’m looking for.
Now actually, Trump arrived at the Swiss resort where this summit of global elites took place three hours late because Air Force One had what they called a “minor electrical issue” and had to turn around. [Image]
So reportedly Trump had to skip his planned “executive time” to make it to the speech on schedule, which, along with the field day mother nature’s had with the meat inside his skull, may explain the insanity that followed.
Now we’ll start with the topic everybody was waiting for: Greenland. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 31:37 - 31:42] Caption: “Big, beautiful piece of ice. It’s hard to call it land. It’s a big piece of ice.”
With Trump claiming that no nation or even group of nations is in any position to secure Greenland except the United States. [Image]
Then arguing that the situation we’re in today is pretty much comparable to the height of World War Two. [B roll, 03:51]
[Continue B roll and add Audio, 30:54 - 31:16, 31:58 - 32:03] Caption: “When Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting, and it was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled, we did it, we felt an obligation to do it, to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory, and hold it we did. … Without us, right now you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese perhaps.”
Then he says after the war, we were “stupid” to give Greenland back to Denmark, yet the Danes are “ungrateful” for it now. [[B roll]
But of course, critics point out that no matter how dire Trump thinks the threat from Russia or China is, it still doesn’t explain why he needs to own it, rather than just having military access there.
So today, he gave two reasons.
[Clip, 43:19 - 43:33] Caption: “Number one, legally it’s not defensible that way totally, and number two, psychologically. Who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or a lease?”
But that brings us to the big question everyone’s been wondering: is he going to invade Greenland?
Right, especially because yesterday, when someone asked him about it, he gave this chilling answer.
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:04] Caption: [Reporter:] “How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland?” [Donald Trump:] “You’ll find out.”
But in today’s speech, while he sort of provided some reassurance, it’s actually a little ambiguous if you hear it in context with the first thing he says. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 40:56 - 41:08, 41:15 - 41:20] Caption: “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable. But I won’t do that. … People thought I would use force, but I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
Also, he spent a ton of time relentlessly bashing NATO, to the point where it’s not even clear why he hasn’t just pulled out of it already.
With him claiming (falsely of course) that the U.S. paid for “100%” of it, literally “trillions and trillions of dollars,” and yet we got “absolutely nothing” in return.
[Clip, 39:31 - 39:47, 39:52 - 40:02] Caption: “What does the United States get out of all of this work, all of this money, other than death, destruction, and massive amounts of cash going to people who don’t appreciate what we do. They don’t appreciate what we do. … They have to work on Ukraine. We don’t. The United States is very far away. We have a big, beautiful ocean separating us. We have nothing to do with it.”
So Trump says that in return for all its supposedly given to NATO, all he wants is Greenland; that’s it! Just one little island!
[Clip, 47:51 - 47:55, 48:01 - 48:03] Caption: “A piece of ice, cold and poorly located. … It’s a very small ask.”
Then, with Greenland under U.S. ownership, he’ll build the Golden Dome, which will protect not just the U.S. but also Canada, yet Canada’s ungrateful, and here Trump made what seemed like a veiled threat against its prime minister, Mark Carney.
[Clip, 44:26 - 44:32] Caption: “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next Time you make your statements.”
With that referring to Carney’s speech yesterday — we covered it here; you can pause and go watch that if you haven’t. [B roll]
But in a nutshell, he warned that the rules-based international order is collapsing, in no small part thanks to Trump, and that any remaining like-minded democracies have to stick together to survive. [Same B roll]
So clearly Trump did not like that, and for everyone else, he laid out the deal with Greenland nice and simple, mob boss-style. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 51:05 - 51:15] Caption: “They have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.”
Also, speaking of picking sides, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff told CNBC that as many as 25 countries have signed on to join the “Board of Peace,” though not all have said so publicly. [Quote, find “25 countries”]
But as for the non-foreign policy stuff Trump talked about during his speech, he said the 2020 election was rigged, then made this announcement. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 36:57 - 37:05] Caption: “People will soon be prosecuted for what they did. That’s probably breaking news, but it should be.”
Next, he made another threat against a sitting Democratic lawmaker.
[Clip, 01:13:07 - 01:13:21; 01:18:00 - 01:18:20] Caption: “We actually are helping Minnesota so much but they don’t appreciate it. Most places do. … And then we have this fake Congressperson, who they just reported is worth $30 million — you believe this? — Ilhan Omar, talking about ‘the Constitution provides me.’ She comes from a country that’s not a country, and she’s telling us how to run America, not gonna get away with it much longer, let me tell you.”
But despite the countless tangents and rambling, Trump said the real purpose of this speech was to explain to the world how he achieved his “economic miracle,” so that they too can copy his methods for their own countries.
With him going down the list of his same old talking points: ariffs, tax cuts, DOGE cuts, deregulation, closed borders, and none of that gay-ass renewable energy.
[Clip, 27:20 - 27:28] Caption: “One thing I have noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses and the worse that country is doing.”
And of course, what’s a Trump speech nowadays without all his favorite numbers?
Eight wars ended, 18 trillion dollars invested from abroad, and prescription drug prices down four, five, six hundred , even 1,000 or 2,000 percent, which, as I’ve noted repeatedly on this show, is mathematically impossible.
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And even though Trump’s attempts to paint himself as a global economic savior have had a tepid response abroad, he has plans to continue that messaging here in the U.S.
But just like in Davos, it might be met with skepticism.
Right, Trump reportedly is reportedly going to ramp up his domestic travel ahead of the midterms to push messaging on affordability.
With Chief of Staff Susie Wiles telling Bloomberg he will travel “every week,” and it looks like his first stop is Iowa as he is slated to speak there next week.
And it makes sense that Trump needs to make a big shift into midterms mode right now, because the economy is a key issue on the ballot, and no matter what he says on stage, the country is not pleased with him.
According to an AP poll, half of the public feels that both the country and national economy are worse off compared to when Trump took office a year ago.[]
43% also believe he has harmed job creation, and over half think he has hurt the costs of living and healthcare, up from around just 40% in April.
And this is a big deal, because back in November of 2024, which seems like a lifetime ago now, the economy was one of the biggest factors motivating Trump’s voters, right, this is why he was put into office in the first place. []
But now, his approval on the issue is tanking among the general public.[]
And his cabinet is supposed to join Trump in this domestic travel blitz, and it seems they have a lot to make up for, as some have faced backlash for sounding out of touch on issues related to affordability.
Right, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also spoke at Davos, and while discussing bans on institutional investors buying single family homes, he suggested that your average retiree might own a dozen houses.
“We are going to give guidance at some point to see, what is a mom and pop. Maybe your parents, for their retirement, bought five, ten, twelve homes, so we don’t want to push the mom and pops out, we just want to push everyone else out.” (20:44-23:00)
And so those remarks were just eviscerated, politicians saying this just makes the Trump administration look totally out of touch with the reality Americans live in.[][][]
And he was not even alone in those kinds of comments.
Just last week agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins (Rall-ins rall like tall) did an interview on the administration’s new deity guidelines, and insisted it is very affordable to feed a family on that advice:
“We have run over 1,000 simulations, it can cost around $3 per meal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing. So there is a way to do this that will actually save the average American consumer money.” (3:21-3:38)
And people were just appalled she was suggesting that, yes of course it is very affordable to feed your family, just give them like three bites of food.
So again, Democrats seized on this, writing things like:
“Trump gets a gold-plated new ballroom. You get a piece of chicken, broccoli, and one corn tortilla.”[]
And this just compounds Trump’s and the GOP’s fear that affordability could cost them the midterms.
And you might think, well, based on the way his cabinet is speaking and Trump’s own Davos speech mess, is the best strategy to spread these people all over the country talking about this issue?
And well, there is at least reason to put Trump center stage.
With Politico explaining that this ramp-up “comes with the knowledge that his presence in states and personal endorsements have boosted candidates in prior elections.”[]
Right, so there is a history to base this off of, that Trump’s base does connect when he has boots on the ground.
But Trump has to appeal to more than just his core base.
And no matter where he is or what he and his team say about anything from Greenland to housing to grocery prices, Americans are living their own lives every day and feeling the realities of his policies.
And they are just not seeing the extraordinary economy Trump is talking about.
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Trump’s DOJ is now ramping up an investigation into top Minnesota Democrats over their opposition to his immigration crackdown.
And specifically, the department has subpoenaed at least five state and local officials who have spoken out.
Including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her (Kuh-lee Her).
As well as Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Attorneys for Hennepin (Henna-pin) County and Ramsey County – which are where Minneapolis and St. Paul are located.
And those last three may be especially notable because they have the power to open investigations into alleged crimes in their jurisdictions, including the killing of Renee Good, but experts say the subpoenas could make that more difficult. []
Although, of course, investigating is already a challenge.
And that’s because the FBI has reportedly withheld access to evidence and otherwise refused to work with state and local authorities.
But, in any case, you’ve had Ellison telling reporters that the subpoena his office received was only “for records and documents” and not for him personally.
With him also going on to accuse Trump of targeting his office because it just filed a lawsuit alleging that the administration’s mass deployment of immigration agents to the state violated the constitution – with Ellison adding:
“Let’s be clear about why this is happening: Donald Trump is coming after the people of Minnesota and I’m standing in his way. I will not be intimidated, and I will not stop working to protect Minnesotans from Trump’s campaign of retaliation and revenge.”
You’ve also had Walz calling this whole thing "political theater" aimed at “intimidating public servants”
And you’ve had Frey similarly accusing the government of weaponizing its power “to try to intimidate local leaders for doing their jobs.”
And notably, the subpoena he received? Unlike Ellison’s, it apparently is directed at him personally – asking him to appear before a grand jury on February 3rd
And telling him to bring “allrecords and communications relating to compliance or lack of compliance with immigration detainers in the State of Minnesota.” []
But with all that, the subpoenas? They reportedly didn’t cite a specific criminal statute.
They’re just tied to this recently revealed investigation into whether elected officials’ criticism of the crackdown in Minnesota amounts to a conspiracy to impede federal law enforcement.
And, as we’ve heard before with this administration, despite this apparently being an open investigation, officials haven’t hesitated to breach standard DOJ practice and throw around serious accusations before it’s finished.
With Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche recently accusing Walz and Frey of “encouraging violence against law enforcement” and even referring to their actions as “terrorism.”
And to be clear, what we have absolutely heard from Walz and Frey is harshly worded criticism:
“Get the fuck out of Minneaplis.” (BYTE: 0:02-0:04)
Walz has also openly encouraged citizens to record video of any arrests or other encounters between ICE agents and members of the public to create a database for potential "future prosecution" of wrongdoing by federal law enforcement.
But legal experts are skeptical that there’s any real substance to this case.
Which is notable when you consider that resources are being devoted to it when the department has indicated it won’t bring charges against Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot and killed Renee Good on camera.
And, on that note, the department is also actually looking into potential connections between Good, her partner, and left-wing protesters in Minnesota.
A decision led to the resignation last week of six prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis.
Including the one who oversaw the fraud investigation that Trump and his allies have repeatedly used to criticize Democratic leaders in the state and justify the initial surge of agents.
And this is reportedly one reason why the department is extremely short-staffed in Minnesota – with another reason reportedly being that many prosecutors left last year as the administration offered buyouts and encouraged them to quit. []
And so now the administration has been bringing in prosecutors and agents from other states – apparently not just to keep working on that fraud investigation but to pursue criminal charges against protesters it says have impeded the activities of ICE agents.[]
Although, notably despite Trump officials repeatedly claiming that protesters have been breaking the law…
You’ve had the Washington Post reporting this week that only seven people have been charged with assaulting or impeding federal agents since December – and only two since the killing of Renee Good on January 7th. []
Of course, that’s not to say there haven’t been people getting swept up in this, they’re just not protesters.
Right, you’ve had CBP Commander Gregory Bovino revealing recently that officers have made 3,000 immigration arrests in the past six weeks.
And DHS Secretary Noem claiming that 10,000 have been arrested in Minneapolis overall – describing them as “criminal illegal aliens who were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror.”
But here’s reason to doubt that that description applies to all or even most of them.
Right, because despite claims that they’re going after the worst of the worst, it’s been reported that ICE has arrested thousands who have had only minor offenses — from traffic violations to weed possession.
And that’s as the agency has also reportedly arrested tens of thousands of people with no criminal records at all.
With a recent CBS analysis of internal government data also finding that less than half of the now record-high detainee population have had criminal charges or convictions in the U.S.
And on top of that you’ve now even have local police speaking out against the tactics used by at least some federal agents in the Twin Cities– including their alleged targeting of people based on the appearance of race.
With the police chief of one Minneapolis suburb revealing at a news conference yesterday that more than one off-duty officer in his department had been targeted by ICE and that all had been people of color – saying:
“I wish I could tell you that this was an isolated incident. In fact, many of the chiefs standing behind me have similar incidents with their off-duty officers.”
“....if it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day.” (BYTE: 4:10-4:20, 4:33-4:41)
And with that, you also had the sheriff for Henna-pin County agreeing that people were being “stopped, questioned and harassed solely because of the color of their skin” – adding: []
“We demand more from our federal government — more professionalism, more accountability, more humanity. We demand lawful policing that respects human dignity.” (12:52-13:02)
And, finally, you had St. Paul’s police chief similarly reporting that city employees had been subject to “traffic stops that were clearly outside the bounds of what federal agents are allowed to do.” []
Bovino, the CBP commander, responded to the criticism and defending his agent’s tactics – saying:
"Everything we do every day is legal, ethical and moral, well-grounded in law." (BYTE: 19:57-20:03)
And you had Trump also mostly doubling down but sort of acknowledging that immigration agents might not be in the right “every day.”
WIth him saying he “understood” both sides of Renee Good’s shooting and felt terrible about it – adding:
“They’re going to make mistakes,”
“Sometimes ICE is going to be too rough with somebody or, you know — they deal with rough people. They’re going to make a mistake. Sometimes it can happen terribly.” (BYTE: 1:25:55-1:26:04)
But in the case of Renee Good, we’ve actually recently been given more reason to think her death wasn’t just a mistake, but the result of callous disregard for her life.
And I’m not talking about the shooting itself but what happened after.
Right, because you’ve had MPR News and APM Reports analyzing videos, 911 calls, fire department records and dispatch logs.
And they found that it took more than 10 minutes after Good was shot before someone gave her CPR – even though ICE agents are supposedly trained in the procedure.
And not only that, ICE agents allegedly left her bleeding and alone in the car for almost three minutes – which was apparently around the same amount of time it took before they contacted emergency services in Minneapolis.[]
Of course, bystanders had already done so at the point, so first responders were on their way.
Although, notably, they reportedly had difficulty reaching the scene because the street was filled with vehicles – many belonging to ICE. []
And while they were waiting, as we’ve seen from earlier video, one bystander identifying himself as a physician was actually turned away:
“Can I go check a pulse?”
“No, back up! Now.”
“I’m a physician.”
“I don’t care.” (BYTE: 0:00-0:07)
A DHS spokesperson has defended the ICE agents’ response by saying Good didn’t have a pulse, but:
1) A lack of a pulse is kind of one of the reasons you would administer CPR.
And 2) When firefighters arrived on the scene more than six minutes after the shooting, they reported that, while Good wasn’t breathing, she did have a pulse, which was described as “thready and irregular.” []
With a local doctor who works in an emergency room saying:
“Somebody with a thready or diminished pulse is not deceased, and to walk away from an individual at that point is somewhat mind-boggling.” []
And he is just one of many medical professionals in the state who have have expressed outrage – with another speaking at a press conference yesterday, and saying:
i, one thing we’ve known from early on is that agents at the scene denied at least one person identifying himself as a physician who wanted to go check for a pulse:
“Can I go check a pulse?”
“No, back up! Now.”
“I’m a physician.”
“I don’t care.” (BYTE: 0:00-0:07)
And you actually had another Minnesota doctor expressing outrage about all this at a press conference yesterday, saying:
And speaking of doctors, you’ve also had dozens of physicians from across Minnesota coming out and saying that patients – undocumented and citizens – are suffering because of ICE agents in the state.
With them saying they don’t want to leave home and are missing appointments and running out of medicine and food.
And actually, ICE isn’t only ruining lives in Minnesota, it may be about to cause another government shutdown [transitioning into Lili’s piece]
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ICE isn’t only contributing to chaos in Minnesota, it may be about to cause another government shutdown.
Right, Congress has until January 30th to pass a funding bill that will keep the government open.
And yesterday, after months of work, a group of bipartisan negotiators released a 1,000-page deal that would avert a shutdown.
But funding for ICE could block the entire bill from passing.
Right, while the deal covers a wide range of things, it would essentially keep ICE funding flat at $10 billion for the rest of the fiscal year.
But that funding comes on top of the ADDTIONALY $75 billion for detention and enforcement that has already been allocated to ICE in the GOP’s big, beautiful bill.
Now, notably here, the bill would also reduce funding for enforcement and removal operations slightly, by $115 million.
And it would require DHS to spend $20 million on body cameras for ICE agents, as well as another $20 million for inspections and oversight for ICE detention facilities.
But many Democrats have demanded that any ICE funding come with conditions to rein in and reform the agency, especially after the killing of Renee Good.
I mean, just last week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued the killing showed that “clearly there are some common-sense measures that need to be put in place” to hold ICE accountable and gain Democratic support for a spending bill.
And already, we’ve seen multiple Democrats saying they will reject this bill if there are no reforms to ICE, with Rep. Ro Khanna calling the deal “a surrender to Trump’s lawlessness” and vowing to “help lead the opposition” to the funding measure.
Now, that said, we’ve also seen some key Democratic lawmakers defending the bill.
Like Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, who noted that the bill still rejected many Trump-backed cuts while investing in Democratic issues like education, rental assistance, and medical research.
Claiming that a government shutdown over the ICE funding wouldn’t solve anything because ICE could operate during a shutdown, thanks to the $75 billion in the big, beautiful bill.
With her going on to note that while ICE would be fine, other key agencies like the TSA and FEMA would have their funding shut off, arguing:
“The suggestion that a shutdown in this moment might curb the lawlessness of this administration is not rooted in reality.”
And adding “in a shutdown, this administration can do everything they are already doing — but without any of the critical guardrails and constraints imposed by a full-year funding bill.”
Meanwhile, over in the House, you also had the top Democratic appropriator, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, voicing her support for the bill.
But, notably, she didn’t really appear to encourage her colleagues to embrace the deal that she helped negotiate.
With DeLauro openly acknowledging that the package didn’t include the broad reforms Democrats had demanded, and adding:
“I understand that many of my Democratic colleagues may be dissatisfied with any bill that funds ICE. I share their frustration with the out-of-control agency. I encourage my colleagues to review the bill and determine what is best for their constituents and communities.”
Now, as far as what happens next, the House is expected to vote on the measure later this week, and they will be able to pass the bill as long as basically all Republicans vote in favor, or if a few Democrats join most Republicans.
But the Senate is a different question — right, they’re not even in session until next week, meaning they would have mere days to avert a shutdown.
And because 60 senators are needed to pass the legislation, Republicans will need Democrats to get on board.
And that could be a tall order — not only because Democrats view the bill as a blank check to fund ICE without any conditions, but also because it doesn’t address the Obamacare subsidies that expired at the beginning of the year.
