Trump Has Catastrophic AM as World Freezes Him Out

18 Jan 2026 · 21 min · 12 chapters

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In short

The episode claims Donald Trump is having a “catastrophic” political and military moment: it alleges he’s preparing 1,500 active-duty Army paratroopers to invade Minneapolis and St. Paul, escalating ICE and Border Patrol actions across Minnesota. It cites CBS polling that most Americans say ICE makes the country less safe, and says Democrats lead generic congressional polling by 16 points among highly motivated voters. Internationally, it alleges French/European intelligence cut off Ukraine/US info after a deception plan involving false intelligence reaching Russia. It discusses Trump’s Greenland threats, tariff demands, and NATO/Article 5 concerns, citing statements by Germany’s chancellor, Ted Cruz, and Canada’s Mark Carney. Guest/guest backgrounds: none mentioned in the transcript.

Notable examples

Scott Besant’s “avoiding a national emergency” tariff justification; Ted Cruz praising acquiring Greenland; Kristi Noem defending ICE tactics and chemical-agent use; claims about ICE stopping disabled people and window-smashing; discussion of officer Jonathan Ross and Renee Nicolgood.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Trump's Catastrophic Sunday

2:47 to 4:00

Discussion on Trump's chaotic political situation and actions in Minnesota.

“Donald Trump is having a catastrophic Sunday, and he is preparing 1 ,500 active-duty Army paratroopers off the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska to potentially invade Minneapolis and St.”

International Intelligence Cutoff

4:00 to 6:00

Exploration of how Trump’s actions lead to a cutoff of intelligence from European nations.

“You see what happened with France was they came up with a plan with Ukraine to test if Donald Trump and Trump's regime was giving classified information to Vladimir Putin.”

Tariffs and Greenland Invasion

6:00 to 7:40

Analysis of Trump's tariffs and the discussions around invading Greenland.

“This is a geopolitical decision, and he is able to use the economic might of the U.S.”

Ted Cruz's Involvement

7:40 to 8:30

Cruz’s comments on Greenland highlight the absurdity of the situation.

“Is Greenland or NATO more essential to the United States national security.”

NATO's Response to Greenland Threats

8:30 to 9:50

Exploration of Canada’s Prime Minister comments on NATO's obligations regarding Greenland.

“And that is only through President Trump.”

Media Bias in Reporting

9:50 to 12:00

Discussion on how different media outlets cover Trump's Greenland saga.

“Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's national economic advisor, had the following to say about Greenland.”

Fentanyl Deaths and Misinterpretation

12:00 to 14:00

Analysis of how the right-wing misinterprets statistics on fentanyl deaths.

“It's a game changer because as active, responsible citizens, we must get our news from reliable sources.”

Trump's Influence on Immigration Policy

14:02 to 15:00

Discussion on Trump's immigration rhetoric and actions by ICE agents.

“and they didn't realize how to actually read a graph and see that it was September 2024.”

Chemical Weapons Controversy

15:01 to 16:04

Examination of the use of chemical agents by law enforcement and ICE.

“And I'm hopeful that he does recognize that he needs to start working with us.”

Doxxing and Law Enforcement Risks

16:04 to 16:57

Debate over the risks faced by law enforcement officers and doxxing issues.

“And these ICE agents regularly throw chemical weapons at people of unknown origin to choking people.”
Show all 12 chapters

Minneapolis Incident and Federal Law Enforcement

16:57 to 18:56

Analysis of an incident involving ICE officers and the treatment of a disabled woman.

“Everybody can watch the videos and see that.”

Constitutional Rights and Federal Investigations

18:56 to 19:38

Discussion on constitutional laws related to stops and ICE operations.

“They were being let into this country by Joe Biden and Mayorkas.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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2:47Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump is having a catastrophic Sunday, and he is preparing 1 ,500 active-duty Army paratroopers off the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska to potentially invade Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota. Any moment now, further escalating the ICE and Border Patrol, Gestapo-SS invasion of those cities. and throughout the state of Minnesota. Donald Trump waking up to catastrophic news like this. Per the latest CBS News poll, the majority of respondents in America by far say ICE is making our country less safe. You go to the generic congressional polling. Yes, Democrats are pulling ahead significantly in the generic congressional polling for the midterms, But amongst those who are deeply motivated to vote, the Democratic advantage has now expanded to a massive 16-point lead heading into the midterm.

3:50Ben Meiselas:Now, Donald Trump is raging this morning. He's making posts like a lunatic, attacking the governor of Minnesota, attacking Mayor Frey. Let's talk about, though, what's going on internationally right now. Now, one of the things that we've learned this morning, and it's something that we obviously all expected, but French intelligence services and most other European intelligence services have completely cut off the United States from any of their information regarding Ukraine and most of their intelligence generally. You see what happened with France was they came up with a plan with Ukraine to test if Donald Trump and Trump's regime was giving classified information to Vladimir Putin.

4:34Ben Meiselas:So the French intelligence service and Ukraine shared false information regarding high priority intelligence issues to Donald Trump's regime. And then that fake information found its way to Russia. So it was very clear to both France and Ukraine that it was coming from the Trump regime who was providing the intelligence from the European services to Russia in order to kill Ukrainians. And of course, this is at a time where the Trump regime continues to talk about its invasion of Greenland. Donald Trump sent his sycophants all morning to do the various Sunday shows where they were talking about invading Greenland, taking it over, tariffing any country in Europe that doesn't support the invasion of Greenland.

5:25Ben Meiselas:You had Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary over here, Scott Besant. He was asked on Meet the Press. So what's the national emergency regarding why you will tariff these European nations if they don't support your invasion of Greenland? Watch what Besant says right out of the dystopian 1984 novel. Play this clip. Waiting. The Heigert's decision. What is the national emergency that justifies these new slate of tariffs? The national emergency is avoiding a national emergency. It is a strategic decision by the president. This is a geopolitical decision, and he is able to use the economic might of the U.S.

6:07to avoid a hot war. So why wouldn't we do that? Same thing.

6:14Ben Meiselas:Oh, yes. So the national emergency is avoiding a national emergency. Are you listening to yourself. And when this guy, Scott Besson, speaks, the arrogance that comes from, the way he just has his chin up and he's like, well, I think it's this way. This guy's one of the biggest scumbags of the entire regime, in my opinion. And I'll give you another data point why I think that. Welker then asks him, so is military action on the table, still on the table when it comes to Greenland? And then Besson is like, well, I believe the Europeans are going to hand it over a toss. They're gonna let us just acquire it is what they're gonna do.

6:53Ben Meiselas:That's my that's my besant impression here. Play this clip. I've heard has not taken military force off the table. If the United States were to take Greenland by force, how would that be different than Russia's annexation of Crimea? Look, I believe that the Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe and best for the United States. So but military action is still on the table? I haven't spoken with the president on that. And again, I believe that the Europeans will understand that the best outcome is for the U.S. to maintain or receive control of Greenland. More from Welker and Besant over here, where she goes, is Greenland or NATO more essential to U.S.

7:40Ben Meiselas:national security? Let's play this clip. So let me just put this to you bluntly. Is Greenland or NATO more essential to the United States national security. Well, Chris, that's obviously a false choice. That's a maximum. Not from the perspective of European leaders. The European leaders will come around and they will understand that they need to be under the U.S. security umbrella. What would happen in Ukraine that if the U.S. pulled its support out? The whole thing would collapse. That the U.S., Kristen, to be clear, since 1980, the US has spent US military spending versus NATO military spending.

8:20We have spent$22 trillion more than the Europeans have, that we are peace through strength. And the Europeans now are only trying to play catch up. And that is only through President Trump. President Trump believes in NATO, but he does not believe in the American people being dragged in. Well, in terms of the cost.

8:40Ben Meiselas:Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Maers, just posted, we stand resolutely and united by the side of Denmark and the people of Greenland. As a NATO member, we are committed to strengthening security in the Arctic. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and carry the risk of escalation. Then Donald Trump sent out Ted Cruz. Remember, Donald Trump said that Cruz's wife was ugly, that Cruz's dad killed JFK. He said all these things about Ted Cruz. But Ted Cruz is out there and says, well, I think that it's definitely American first to invade Greenland. Of course it is. Here, play this clip of Ted Cruz.

9:19Ben Meiselas:That's why you can't have, though, a normal conversation with these people. Sorry. Here, play this clip. When it comes to Greenland, I want to commend President Trump for being single-mindedly focused on America first, on U.S. economic interest and U.S. national security interest. I believe it is overwhelmingly in America's national interest to acquire Greenland. A year ago, as— Also a joint statement from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, also condemning the United States. Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's national economic advisor, had the following to say about Greenland.

9:55Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. Europe is pretty outraged over this. These eight states deployed their militaries as a symbolic defense against a NATO ally. the French president seemed to compare the U.S. to Russia even saying, quote, no intimidation nor threat will influence us neither in Ukraine nor in Greenland. A member of a Danish member of the European Parliament called this economic warfare and called to sanction, quote, Trump's oligarchs. If the EU sanctions American firms like banks or tech firms, Microsoft, Google X, what kind of an impact could that have on the U.S. economy? The one thing I've learned, Jackie, is that when you are engaged in negotiation with any country and with President Trump, that you'll see both sides take very strong extreme positions.

10:42But in the end, the president is the person who wrote the art of the deal because he's so good at deal making. And so I think right now it's really a good time for cooler heads to prevail and for us to disregard the rhetoric and get to the table and see if there can't be a deal that's worked out that's best for everybody. OK.

10:59Ben Meiselas:Now, Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada, also has expressed really deep concerns about the escalation on Greenland after Trump's threatened all of these countries with tariffs. Carney also stated that Article 5 of NATO would apply if the United States invaded Greenland and thus the rest of NATO would therefore be going to war with the United States in the event that that took place. Take a look at this article right here. You'll see that 0 % right-wing media is covering what Prime Minister Carney said about potentially invoking Article 5 and that Carney's concerned about the U.S. escalation on Greenland after tariffs.

11:44Ben Meiselas:The only coverage that we've seen is from left-wing media and kind of center media. I just want to let you know, I get often asked, how do I stay up to date on the news to make these videos? I stay up to date on the news in order to do this podcast. My biggest go-to news source is Ground News. You guys, this is a subscriber-funded app and news site, and every day they pull in thousands of articles from around the world and organize them by story and then show you what the right is reporting, what the center is reporting, and what the left is reporting. It's a game changer because as active, responsible citizens, we must get our news from reliable sources.

12:19Ben Meiselas:In Trump's America, being informed about the facts and media bias is the most important thing you can do, But that's why we love ground news. For every article, they also tell you, did a media conglomerate put this news out or was it independent media? And they also list the degree of factuality, which is interesting as there are a lot of news sources from media conglomerates that have mixed or low factuality. Independent media seems to have a higher factuality, but you get all of that with your ground news vantage subscription. I especially like their Blindspot feed, which highlights stories that are disproportionately covered by one specific side.

12:55Ben Meiselas:Is it the right wing? Is it left wing? Is it center? Like the story I just shared about Carney. So join us. Go to ground.news slash MTN to get 40 % off of the Ground News Vantage plan that I use every morning. They are subscriber funded. And by subscribing, you're not only getting a tool we all need today, you're also supporting our work here on this YouTube channel. That's G-R-O-U-N-D dot news slash MTN. And we've pinned the link to purchase your subscription below. That's ground.news slash MTN. Also, I noticed that a lot of right wing accounts and Trumper accounts were posting this chart right here to show the massive drop in fentanyl deaths.

13:35Ben Meiselas:But when you look at the chart, it ends on September 2024. 2024, Biden did a great job in bringing down the fentanyl deaths. And we've seen a continuation of that decrease. And any fentanyl death is tragic. There's still way too many fentanyl deaths taking place right now. Let's be clear. But look at when the drop took place. It took place in 2023, 2024 under Biden. Eric Trump and other right-wingers were gushing over the fact that fentanyl deaths in the U.S. plummeted under Biden's presidency. and they didn't realize how to actually read a graph and see that it was September 2024. Donald Trump sent some of his other sycophants, his other SS leaders, onto the various networks today.

14:16Ben Meiselas:You had Christine Noem going on Face the Nation, and the line that she uses, and this is just total regime propaganda, is ICE and Border Patrol, what they're doing in Minneapolis and St. Paul, they're there to stop the pedophiles. and we get praised all the time when we try to stop the pedophiles. Y 'all are covering up the Epstein files, the biggest child sex trafficking ring there is. Here, play this clip. I can't tell the people of Minnesota exactly how many dangerous criminals they have. I do know that they're extremely grateful every time we get a pedophile off the street. We arrested an individual this week that was raping children.

14:54I think those parents in Minnesota can sleep better at night knowing that that person isn't free. Sure, but...

15:00Ben Meiselas:And then more over here from Kristi Noem talking about, well, she was asked, are your agents going to comply with court orders saying that you can't use chemical weapons on people? Here, play this clip. And I'm hopeful that he does recognize that he needs to start working with us. Are your agents going to comply with the White House has asked him to? Sorry, with the federal order on Friday to not use chemical agents. that federal order was um a little ridiculous because that federal judge came down and told us we couldn't do what we already aren't doing um we we are we just saw video of chemical agents being used we only use those chemical agents when there's violence happening and perpetuating and you need to be able to establish law in order to keep people safe that's the only situation so that The judge's order didn't change anything for how we're operating on the ground because it's basically telling us to do what we've already been doing.

15:56Madam Secretary, thank you for your time this morning. I just want to be clear.

16:00Ben Meiselas:It's not normal to use chemical weapons on people in any situation. Police departments don't use chemical gas on people. And these ICE agents regularly throw chemical weapons at people of unknown origin to choking people. You see it. We saw a six-month-old almost die from some of these chemical agents. More from Kristi Noem right here. She's asked about the officer Jonathan Ross who killed Renee Nicolgood. As you know, Renee Nicolgood's widow is now under federal investigation and Jonathan Ross is under no investigation at all. Brennan says, can you tell me about Jonathan Ross? To which Kristi Noem goes, oh my God, you're doxing our officer.

16:40Ben Meiselas:Don't say his name. You've doxed him. You've said his name. Again, these people are sociopaths. These are sociopaths. Here, play this clip. Well, you know that it is in dispute about weaponizing a car versus driving forward, but I'll put that aside. No, it's really not. Everybody can watch the videos and see that. Well, let me talk to you about the officer, Jonathan Ross. He was struck. He was hospitalized. Don't say his name. I mean, for heaven's sakes, we shouldn't have people continue to dox law enforcement when they have an 8 ,000 % increase in death threats against them. I know, but that doesn't mean it should continue to be said.

17:16His life, he got attacked with a car that was trying to take his life. And then people have attacked him and his family. And they are in jeopardy. And we have law enforcement officers every day who are getting death threats and getting attacked at their hotels. Well, can you tell me about his status right now? I was thrown at them. Well, of course, no one condones violence against anyone.

17:37Ben Meiselas:More over here from this week, ABC, you have Congress member McCall, who used to act like he was, you know, this more centrist minded Republican, more moderate Republican, not at all. Watch this interaction here. Play this clip. So you've seen all the videos that are constantly coming out of what's happening in Minneapolis. Let me just play one of them. This was an incident with a woman who was, you know, kind of driving into a situation. She was going to a doctor's appointment, apparently, and is obviously confused about what's going on. But look at how the ICE officers deal with this woman who says she is disabled and is telling them that she is disabled and is on her way to a doctor's appointment.

18:27I mean, what do you think when you see this kind of stuff? No, the optics are, yeah, it's not good. They go through federal law enforcement training on conflict resolution, how to deal with that type of situation. I mean, they smash the window of her car. They cut her out. They throw her to the ground. It appears to be a little overzealous. But what about the actions of the murderers and the drug traffickers? Well, those are horrible. But that's not our government. They were being let into this country by Joe Biden and Mayorkas. What about the rights of average Americans from people like that?

19:03And finally, on this door-to-door stop thing, there's fundamental constitutional criminal law 101 is a Terry stop. You cannot stop a person without reasonable suspicion of crimes being committed. But if you're impeding a federal investigation... You can't just stop somebody because you think they look like they're an undocumented immigrant. You have to have a reason.

19:24Ben Meiselas:That would not be counted. It does appear to be bad because it looks like it's out of Russia. I mean, this is an authoritarian regime that's taking place. This is an invasion that has taken place in our country. Thanks, everybody, for watching. hit subscribe, help us get to 6 million subscribers, and we appreciate y 'all so much.

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From the publisher

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump being freezes out of key intelligence sharing from the world as the Trump’s disapproval rapidly accelerates in the United States and across the world and no one trusts anything Trump and as team are doing.

Go to https://Ground.News/MTN to cut through misinformation, critically analyze the news shaping our lives and hold the media accountable. Save 40% off unlimited access to Ground News with my link or scan the QR code on screen.

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