Badlands Brief
Davos Elites Prepare ... for TRUMP-A-MANIA!
The Badlands Brief is your daily drop of Badlands’ takes on the narratives dominating the info war. Read on, and join the conversation in the comments section.
The World Economic Forum Is Back … and It’s Different This Time
President Trump is traveling to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, amid significant concerns among European leaders about the U.S.-European alliance.
His aggressive demands to acquire Greenland—including threats of tariffs on Denmark and EU allies—have bewildered attendees and strained transatlantic relations ahead of the visit.
Some of Trump’s key allies and cabinet members have already spoken at the event ahead of his arrival.
Ashe in America: It was at the 2024 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos where the energy at the forum first notably shifted.
Kevin Roberts from the Heritage Foundation spoke on a panel about what to expect from a possible Republican Administration, and he predicted a populist reckoning.
Then last year, the event vacillated between low energy cope and outright despair as Klaus Schwab resigned, but there was no new guy yet, and the main topic of discussion was the crisis of public trust in global institutions… kind of like Roberts predicted.
For last year’s event, President Trump attended via video. This year, he and the boys are rolling up.
Lutnick was a solid opener, yesterday.
He said the main plot plainly, out loud and to their faces: Globalism has failed.
There are signs Lutnick is right. Larry Fink came to see his old friends for their annual boondoggle with some bad news:
Boy, he sure sounds different than before, doesn’t he? Remember when he said he was going to force us all to change our behaviors?
Davos has always been about power projection, but for my whole life, these global central planners have wielded it. This year, the nations seem to be holding the power. At least our is, making the event now about who sets the rules and which institutions will remain in the Golden Age.
POTUS is set to speak later this morning, and we’ll have live coverage here on Badlands Media. (WATCH)
Panic in Davos!
At the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 20, 2026, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” over 60 heads of state and government leaders addressed deepening geopolitical fragmentation, trade disputes, and the erosion of multilateralism, with the Trump administration’s aggressive pursuit of Greenland emerging as a central flashpoint.
European leaders presented a united front against U.S. tariff threats imposed on eight nations supporting Denmark’s sovereignty over the strategically vital Arctic territory. French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a dangerous “shift towards a world without rules,” where international law is trampled and “the law of the strongest” prevails, rejecting any return to imperialism. He urged the EU to consider its anti-coercion instrument against the tariffs for the first time while prioritizing peace in Ukraine over escalating trade wars.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen questioned President Trump’s trustworthiness on trade deals, calling the measures a “mistake between allies,” while Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever declared Europe cannot be a “miserable slave” to U.S. demands, insisting red lines had been crossed.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney described the situation as a “rupture, not a transition” in the rules-based international order, urging “middle powers” to unite against great-power coercion and build domestic strength.
Danish and Greenlandic leaders emphasized respect for territorial integrity, with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning that “the worst may still be ahead.”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to de-escalate, reassuring allies that U.S.-NATO ties remain strong despite disagreements and advising partners to “take a deep breath” rather than retaliate. Business leaders and CEOs echoed calls for pragmatism over emotional responses, warning that outrage at Trump’s style could hinder strategic negotiations.
Broader discussions highlighted warnings against trade wars—with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng stating they have “no winners”—and calls for renewed multilateralism to address conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and beyond, as markets tumbled amid fears of prolonged disruption.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: In a shocking turn of events, the elites convening in Davos are openly speaking truth.
Larry Fink talked about how the current financial system was doomed, and tokenization was the future of banking — an idea repeated by the CEO of UBS Bank—along with all asset classes, meaning that Larry Fink and GMONEY are now championing the same message.
Fink went on to discuss that the emerging energy demands of AI and massive datacenters meant that the WEF must reevaluate its position on renewable energy like solar and wind, which Fink said were not reliable sources of energy, and therefore insufficient.
Belgium Prime Minister Bart (love the name) de Wever said that, thanks to President Trump, the US is no longer an ally of Europe.
Here is Bart (love the name) de Wever stating plainly that "...the Americans said, ‘if you want to speak, speak softly, but carry a big stick.’ We don’t have a big stick. We can only speak softly.”
True, Bart. Very true. (love the name, btw)
But Bart is right. We are not allies of the inbred European elite. We are allies of the European people, and should encourage them to overthrow their masters and reclaim their sovereignty.
We had Emmanuel Macron—fresh off yet another humiliation ritual by President Trump—show up looking like a total jackass.
Not only did he give his full speech in those sunglasses, he also wore them for the group photos, which he now has pinned to his X account.
And he wore them in one on one discussions.
Some analysts (me) are now speculating that maybe he got pink eye and is hiding it.
Macron talked about the deterioration of international law and the emergence of a system of "might makes right."
EU President Ursula von der Leyen's speech had a similar theme.
Then Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney got up and gave a speech that was surprisingly truthful and [perhaps unintentionally] based.
Carney cited Václav Havel's 1978 essay The Power of the Powerless, saying,
"The system [of communism] did not persist because of violence, alone. It persisted through the participation of ordinary people in rituals they privately knew to be a lie. Havel called this 'living within a lie.' The system's power comes not from its truth, but from everyone's willingness to perform as if it were true."
Did Chris Paul write this speech?
Can't wait for today.
All eyes are now on President Trump as he prepares to address the world's elite in Davos.
What will his message be?
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Before Trump Arrives, the Hegemon Projects Power Abstractly
President Donald Trump’s aggressive pursuit of Greenland has triggered a sharp transatlantic confrontation, with the U.S. imposing tariff threats on several European nations to pressure Denmark into ceding the strategically vital territory.
The administration announced a 10% tariff on goods from eight countries—including Britain, Denmark, Germany, and others—effective February 1, with plans to raise it to 25% by June if unresolved. The measures were framed as retaliation for a small European troop deployment to Greenland, which included just 13 German soldiers.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, addressing the escalating tensions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, accused mainstream media of manufacturing “hysteria” and urged calm, comparing the reaction to past trade disputes. He expressed confidence in a non-escalatory resolution, reaffirmed unwavering U.S. commitment to NATO despite disagreements over Greenland, and firmly dismissed speculation that Europe might retaliate by dumping U.S. Treasuries, calling it a “completely false narrative.”
In Germany, political and business leaders responded with fierce rhetorical defiance, branding the U.S. demands “absurd” and “grotesque” while warning of severe economic burdens on export-dependent industries. Calls mounted for a decisive EU strategy, including potential €93 billion in counter-tariffs and even closer cooperation with China, though critics highlighted Europe’s lack of a coherent plan amid stark power asymmetries favoring the stronger U.S. economy.
Global markets reacted negatively, with European and Asian stocks declining sharply alongside U.S. futures, fueled by fears of broader trade disruption. Separately, some economic analysts argued that while geopolitical risks are real, markets may be overstating investment challenges in Greenland’s abundant mineral, oil, and gas resources—similar to those in Venezuela—where regulatory reforms and major capital could unlock high returns and transform global supply dynamics.
Burning Bright: Donald Trump’s Greenland Gambit is all about the Golden Age transition …
And the battle has flirted with actual power projection before transitioning to the more surgical domain of abstract power projection, compressing the Globalist Hegemon’s remaining timelines while exposing the structural weaknesses of its European protectorate.
Fresh off the successful regime change narrative in Venezuela—whatever you think of the actuals—Trump has pivoted with such speed and momentum that it has largely caught the EU Globalist bloc off guard.
His messaging is direct: strategic imperatives, tariff leverage and the clear assertion that the United States will no longer underwrite Danish (and by extension EU) claims to territory whose defense and development far exceed their capacity, never mind their strategic 'rights.'
While abstract in terms of its delivery mechanism, Trump's pivot is defined by actual power projection in its purest form.
The United States holds an overwhelming advantage in kinetic, logistical and technological domains over all other players on the game board, with the argued exceptions of Russia and China, both of whom make up the other two pillars of my theorized Sovereign Alliance, and in between whom the EU as an institution and as a story is being ground into dust.
While the same operational template that succeeded in Venezuela could be adapted to the Arctic if required, nobody really expects the Western Hegemon to go to war with the nation that has stood as their de facto army (and the foundation of their economy) for nearly a century.
The protectorate’s response has thus been revealing.
Barred from meaningful counter-projection in the physical domain, the EU bloc has defaulted to the only vector still available: macro fifth-generation warfare through engineered market disruption.
From threats to dump US Treasuries, coordinated media amplification of market hysteria and the provocation of deliberate volatility spikes, the protectorate's moves this week are designed to inflict short-term pain on American markets and, by extension, Trump’s political base ahead of what we're told is the most seismic fake election since the last fake election.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has already characterized this narrative blitz as recycled theater identical to the 2025 Tariff Tantrum, when similar panic evaporated once concrete negotiations (read: capitulations) began.
And I expect the same template to play out largely in accordance with the same timelines on the 2026 calendar.
To wit, the EU's threatened Treasury sales expose the underlying bind they're in: they have no viable pivot.
For decades, the United States has subsidized their defensive burden, their energy security and significant portions of their economic stability.
In parallel, Europe outsourced critical energy infrastructure to Russia and much of its manufacturing and trade capacity to China.
Which is quite a pickle to be in.
Let’s see how that works out for them.
The Board of Peace is Actually the Sovereign Alliance …
President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”—initially authorized by a U.N. Security Council resolution to support a stabilization force in Gaza following a ceasefire—has expanded into a U.S.-led group chaired by Trump himself, aimed at providing strategic oversight, mobilizing resources, and ensuring accountability for the territory’s transition to peace and development.
More than 10 countries have signed on, with at least five publicly confirming participation: the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Morocco, Hungary, and Canada.
Membership involves financial contributions, such as $1 billion for permanent status or smaller amounts like $20 million for limited terms, though Canada has declined to pay. Funds will support the board’s Gaza mandate, separate from broader rebuilding efforts.
A signing ceremony is planned at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and invitations have extended to nearly 60 nations, including Russia despite its ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Russia has received specific proposals, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov describing the initiative as reflecting U.S. recognition of the need for cooperation among key countries. He views it as potentially constructive for Middle East stability—if it implements existing U.N. decisions, particularly on creating an independent Palestinian state—but stressed many questions remain and it is too early to confirm participation. The Kremlin echoed caution, noting numerous unresolved details.
When pressed on whether the board could replace the United Nations, Trump responded ambiguously with “Might,” criticizing the U.N. for failing to live up to its potential while affirming, “you got to let the U.N. continue because the potential is so great.”
The expanding scope beyond Gaza has raised concerns among governments and experts that the board could rival or undermine the U.N., evoking comparisons to imperial structures, even as the U.S. faces allied pushback over unrelated issues like tariff threats.
GhostofBasedPatrickHenry: “It’s just very confused as an idea,” said a senior European official. “What does “membership” mean? Is it an alliance or a body for mediation between adversaries?”
We speculated in yesterday's News Brief [and on Badlands Daily] that Trump's Board of Peace would set the stage for the Sovereign Alliance to confront Netanyahu and the globalists at the WEF.
Well, it didn't take long for that dynamic to emerge, as President Trump decided to host a press briefing—where he was particularly hilarious—and was directly asked whether his Board of Peace was intended to replace the United Nations.
What a perfect response.
Trump's response addresses the core problem with the UN: for all of the power and influence that it exerts, it never earnestly attempts to mediate kinetic conflicts between nations. Qatar has now demonstrated that, with the right mindsight and approach, it is possible to mediate kinetic conflicts when you are willing to host the two warring parties in a room together.
The UN is illegitimate because it attempts to act as a supernational regulatory authority in an obvious long game to become the one-world government that the elite keep insisting is so necessary. But it is also illegitimate because it has consistently failed to live up to its own stated core mission, which was to serve as a neutral forum for warring nations to use to mediate disputes before they escalated into kinetic conflict.
But President Trump wasn't alone in his messaging that the members of the Board of Peace were prepared to take on more than just the scope of the Gaza War.
Here is Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, from yesterday.
And when the press turned to the White House aides for clarity, they learned that Trump's veiled threat to the UN wasn't just hyperbole.
This screenshot is from an article published by the Financial Times of London.
It couldn't be more clear. This "Board of Peace" is the Sovereign Alliance, in tangible form. It has gone from a conceptual idea to a formal organization created by executive order, complete with a brick-and-mortar command center in southern Israel— which may end up getting attacked by Israeli-Settler terrorists in paragliding go-karts.
In all seriousness, here is a recently viral video showing Israeli Settlers attacking a Palestinian village in the West Bank with paragliding go-karts... and naturally, raising questions regarding the official narrative of October 7.
Accelerate.
Beneath the Drama, Actual Progress Being Made on the Ground in Minnesota
In early 2026, the Trump administration has intensified multiple federal investigations and enforcement operations in Minnesota, centering on immigration enforcement, potential obstruction by state officials, and alleged discriminatory housing practices.
The Department of Homeland Security, led by Secretary Kristi Noem, launched Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities, resulting in the arrest of more than 10,000 undocumented immigrants, including thousands in recent weeks, many charged with serious crimes. The operation drew widespread attention after a fatal shooting in which a U.S. citizen protester, Renee Nicole Good, was killed by an ICE officer, triggering protests across the region.
In a related move, the Department of Justice issued subpoenas to Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and other state and local officials as part of an investigation into whether they conspired to hinder federal immigration enforcement.
Separately, the Department of Housing and Urban Development opened a probe into Minneapolis housing programs, alleging that race-based prioritization for certain ethnic groups violates the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act. The federal actions have also highlighted broader concerns about welfare fraud and corruption tied to state policies.
Ashe in America: The hysteria on this story is largely driven by accusations that the subpoenas are political retaliation, but the subpoenas were issued by a grand jury.
That’s not the Trump Administration. That’s an independent examination of the facts — at least in our current judicial construct and its definition of a jury.
We’re going to have a jury experience at GART Nashville, so get your tickets and join us in April!
As for the officials that got subpoenas…
No one is above the law.
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Canadian Military Develops Model for Asymmetric Defense Against Hypothetical U.S. Invasion
Amid heightened tensions with the Trump administration—including tariff threats, disputes over Greenland, and remarks framing Canada as a potential 51st state—the Canadian Armed Forces quietly developed a conceptual war game simulating a U.S. military invasion and Canada’s potential response.
The model, the first of its kind in over a century, envisions American forces rapidly overwhelming Canada’s conventional defenses on land and at sea within days to a week. Planners anticipate up to three months of warning if joint NORAD operations collapse, allowing limited preparation time. Additional scenarios include missile attacks from Russia or China on Canadian cities and infrastructure.
Unable to match U.S. conventional power, Canada’s simulated strategy relies on asymmetric insurgency tactics: ambushes, sabotage, drone strikes, hit-and-run raids, and improvised explosive devices, drawing lessons from the Afghan mujahedeen’s resistance against Soviet forces, Taliban operations against NATO (including Canada), and Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
The goal is to inflict heavy casualties and prolong conflict, potentially mobilizing a volunteer reserve force exceeding 400,000 while seeking reinforcements from allies like Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea.
Retired generals and experts acknowledge Canada could not repel a full invasion conventionally, but argue occupation would prove costly for the U.S., given its limited force structure for controlling vast Canadian territory and urban centers. They emphasize global backlash against any aggressor and the fierce motivation of defending homeland soil.
The exercises underscore urgent calls to bolster northern defense capabilities, enhance deterrence through rapid alliance-building, and maintain homeland resilience, even as Canada continues close military cooperation with the U.S. on shared continental defense systems.
Ashe in America: War with Canada is my favorite rug of the info war, and I’m very much on it. They keep provoking, from Carney last week flexing on Article 5 to this story of war games.
Canada isn’t real. Make the whole of the north red, white, and blue.
Besides, we should really get Britain off our border.
BONUS ITEMS
President Donald J. Trump Stops Wall Street from Competing with Main Street Homebuyers
President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at preventing large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, prioritizing individual American families and first-time buyers over Wall Street firms in the housing market.
The order directs federal agencies to issue guidance prohibiting government programs from approving, insuring, guaranteeing, or facilitating sales of single-family homes to institutional investors. It promotes policies giving individual buyers priority access to foreclosed properties, imposes disclosure requirements, and includes measures to prevent circumvention. The Treasury Secretary is tasked with reviewing rules on institutional ownership of such homes, while the Attorney General and FTC Chairman will scrutinize acquisitions for anti-competitive effects, with heightened enforcement in the single-family rental sector.
Additionally, the Department of Housing and Urban Development must identify institutional investors participating in federal housing programs through ownership disclosures. The administration will prepare legislative proposals to permanently codify restrictions on institutional purchases.
To further ease costs for homebuyers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are directed to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to lower borrowing rates.
The White House framed the actions as essential to restoring the American Dream of homeownership, which it claims was undermined by high inflation and interest rates under the previous administration.
Institutional investors, according to the fact sheet, have been outbidding families, reducing available supply, driving up prices, and converting neighborhoods into corporate rental portfolios. By reserving single-family homes for owner-occupants, the policies seek to increase affordability, build generational wealth through homeownership, and foster stable communities.
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Predictable freak out by the Globalist Eurocrats while Trump prioritizes the Western Hemisphere over Europe. Why are we paying for Europe’s security??
“Lutnick was a solid opener, yesterday.”
~ Ashe 👍❤️
Our Commerce Secretary:
“You shouldn't offshore your medicine. You shouldn't offshore your semiconductors. You shouldn't offshore your entire industrial base and have it be hollowed out beneath you.
“You should not be dependent for that which is fundamental to your sovereignty on any other nation. And if you're going to be dependent on someone, it darn well better be your best allies.”
Mark Carney, the 120th governor of the Bank of England, which, according to the chiquita's at prometheanaction.com, is the central villain of all banks and their Empire. Based on results I cannot argue with them.
Yes, Trump's response was perfect. Wow. Good to have a good guy wielding power for once.