Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union Commission, issued a blistering denunciation on Monday against the brutal, despotic Islamic regime in Iran.
<a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_26_576">Speaking</a> at the EU Ambassadors’ Conference 2026 in Brussels, she stated, “I start with the Middle East — not only because of the gravity and speed of the conflict there, but also because of what it tells us about the world — and how Europe and its foreign policy fits into that.”
She defended the U.S.-led attack on Iran, stating, “You will hear different views about whether the conflict in Iran is a war of choice or a war of necessity. But I believe this debate partly misses the point. Because Europe must focus on the reality of the situation, to see the world as it actually is today.”
She then denounced the Iranian regime:
<blockquote>
I want to be clear: there should be no tears shed for the Iranian regime that has inflicted death and imposed repression on its own people. They slaughtered 17,000 of their own young people. And this regime has caused devastation and destabilization across the region through its proxies armed with missiles and drones. Many Iranians, inside the country and across Europe and the world, have celebrated Ayatollah Khamenei&#8217;s demise, as have many more people across the region. They hope that this moment can open a path towards a free Iran. The people of Iran deserve freedom, dignity, and the right to decide their own future — even if we know this will be fraught with danger and instability during and after the war.
</blockquote>
“British military bases have been targeted in Cyprus — who I want to reaffirm our full solidarity with,” she noted. “NATO troops have been called upon to shoot down a drone. Our citizens are caught in the crossfire. Our partners are being attacked — and I have been in touch with many of them across the region to express our solidarity and support.”
She called for a Europe more willing to assert itself in global conflicts:
<blockquote>
And the longer-term impact is already posing existential questions. On the future of our international rules-based system, or on how Europe finds unity in these situations. All of this shows how precarious the global situation is today, how diverse the threats are, and how Europe will always be affected by what happens around the world. So the idea that we can simply retrench and withdraw from this chaotic world is simply a fallacy. I believe it is vital that we understand this as we shape our foreign policy for the year ahead.
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Thank you, Madam President. It was encouraging to hear <a href="https://twitter.com/vonderleyen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vonderleyen</a> President of the European Commission, speak with such clarity. For the first time since the strong words of <a href="https://twitter.com/EP_President?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EP_President</a>, President of the European Parliament, we are now hearing Ursula von der Leyen, reminding… <a href="https://t.co/31euMycMz3">pic.twitter.com/31euMycMz3</a>
&mdash; Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlinejadMasih/status/2031308185630326912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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EU-Switzerland sign âAgreement Packageâ in Brussels

President Of EU Commission Issues Blistering Denunciation Of Iranian Regime

European Union

Iran

The European Union has paused approval of a trade deal with the United States following warnings from President Donald Trump that countries should not “play games” in response to a Supreme Court ruling striking down many of his tariffs. 
Bernd Lange, the chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, <a href="https://x.com/berndlange/status/2025945751197524466">announced</a> Monday that a trade agreement reached in July 2025, known as the Turnberry Deal, has been put “on hold until further notice!”
“Clarity &amp; legal certainty are needed before any further steps can be taken,” Lange wrote on social media. 
The announcement came as Trump warned that he could raise tariffs on countries that alter their course in response to the Supreme Court ruling. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/friendly-fire?utm_campaign=dwplus&amp;utm_content=20260224_sotu_aa_desktop&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=banner" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Watch the State of the Union with The Daily Wire! Live coverage from the nation&#8217;s capital begins at 7:45 ET.</a>
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court (sic) decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116120439459742948">said</a> Monday on Truth Social. 
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-secures-biggest-of-all-trade-deals-with-eu">trade deal</a> would have established a baseline 15% tariff on imports from the European Union, with higher rates for steel and aluminum. The bloc also agreed to purchase $750 billion in American energy, invest an additional $600 billion into the United States, and purchase American military equipment. 
After the Supreme Court ruled Friday, Trump announced a 10% global tariff on all imports into the United States. He later said he would raise it to 15%, though that increase has not yet taken effect. The 10% tariffs went into effect Tuesday morning, but a White House official <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-global-tariff-start-10-percent-despite-announcement-15-percent-rcna260369" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent">told</a> NBC News that they would be increased to 15% once the proper documentation was ready for the president to sign.
Lange <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/24/us-eu-trade-deal-eu-parliament-suspends-trade-deal-trump-tariffs-eu-retaliation-aci.html">claimed</a> that those actions violated the terms of the trade agreement. 
“We wanted to have really stability and predictability. And unfortunately, the government, the president of the United States, has really made a breach of this deal several times,” he told CNBC on Tuesday. “We need clarity, and this is also my clear request for the United States government — give us a certainty that for the next three years, we have no other irritations with new tariffs from the United States, and then we stick to the deal.”
In his dissent from the decision striking down Trump’s tariff, Justice Brett Kavanaugh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kavanaugh-trump-has-other-legal-paths-to-keep-tariffs-in-place-despite-scotus-ruling">warned</a> that the ruling “could generate uncertainty” around trade agreements negotiated under the tariffs imposed under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA).
Beyond adding confusion to existing trade agreements, the tariff decision has also prompted further litigation. On Monday, FedEx sued the Trump administration seeking a full refund of the tariffs it paid under IEEPA.

U.S. President Donald Trump Visits Scotland For Golfing Getaway

EU Pauses Trade Deal After Trump Warns Countries Not To ‘Play Games’

Donald Trump

Executive

Global Politics

Politics

trade

X announced Friday that it is challenging a $140 million fine imposed by the European Commission under what critics call the bloc&#8217;s digital “censorship” law. 
The social media company was hit with a fine in December 2025 for alleged non-compliance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping speech-regulation law that allows authorities to penalize companies for failing to remove so-called misinformation or other content deemed illegal. X filed an appeal on Monday in the E.U.&#8217;s General Court, arguing it was denied due process and faced a biased enforcement process. 
“This EU Decision resulted from an incomplete and superficial investigation, grave procedural errors, a tortured interpretation of the obligations under the DSA, and systematic breaches of rights of defence and basic due process requirements suggesting prosecutorial bias,” X’s Global Government Affairs team <a href="https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/2024803983093629298">said</a>. “X remains committed to user safety and transparency while defending our users&#8217; access to the only global town square.”
X&#8217;s move marks the first legal challenge to the Digital Services Act, which critics say enables political censorship and punishment of disfavored viewpoints. The law allows the European Commission to impose significant financial penalties on tech companies it claims are not doing enough to combat so-called disinformation.
The act relies on non-governmental organizations that advise regulators on whether online content may be deemed illegal for violating E.U. standards. It places significant reporting and compliance burdens on tech companies. In certain cases, American tech companies may be fined up to 6% of their global revenue if they violate specific conditions. 
The legal challenge is being supported by Alliance Defending Freedom International, which has spoken out extensively against the Digital Services Act. 
“X is where millions of people go to freely express their views. This is a crackdown on X by authorities who view a free speech platform as a serious threat to their total control of online narratives,” said Adina Portaru, a senior European counsel for ADF International. “By targeting X, they are targeting the free speech of individuals across the world who simply want to share ideas online free from censorship.”
Portaru said the legal challenge confronts what she described as the enormous power the European Commission wields to define the content moderation rules, launch investigations, and levy fines.
“If the Commission’s concentration of power goes unchallenged, it will further cement a highly problematic standard for speech control across the EU and beyond,” she said. 
In October, ADF International led a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/for-thursday-exclusive-free-speech-advocates-challenge-eu-over-pan-european-censorship-regime">letter</a> signed by more than 100 free speech advocates urging the European Commission to reconsider the law. In a November review, the commission claimed that the act was content-neutral. 
X owner Elon Musk called the fine against his company “bullsh*t” and, one day after it was issued, <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1997279325876367719">said</a> the European Union should be &#8220;abolished.&#8221;
Both the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have voiced opposition to the law.
“Look, Europe has to be very careful,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/europe-has-to-be-very-careful-trump-issues-stern-warning-after-eu-fines-elon-musks-x">said</a> while commenting on the fine back in December. “They’re doing a lot of things. … Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad for the people.”
Last week, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-would-give-american-victims-of-foreign-censorship-power-to-sue?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Bill+Would+Give+American+Victims+Of+Foreign+Censorship+Power+To+Sue">said</a> lawmakers are exploring legislation to protect American companies from penalties under foreign laws that regulate speech. The committee has released documents it says show the European Union pressured tech companies to create guidelines defining acceptable speech on topics ranging from mass migration to men competing in women’s sports.

SWITZERLAND-POLITICS-ECONOMY-DIPLOMACY

Elon Musk Escalates Fight With Europe Over ‘Speech Controls’

Censorship

Courts

Elon Musk

Free Speech

World

What does European censorship look like, and why should Americans care? I answered that question before the <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation-part-ii">U.S. House Judiciary Committee</a> this week.
The last time I <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation">testified</a> before the Committee in September, I highlighted the censorship potential of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which at the time still seemed theoretical. My message then was that this EU law controlling online speech was poised to censor lawful expression beyond Europe, including in the United States.
Many were not convinced.
But now we have moved from theory to practice. There can be no doubt now that the DSA is the tip of a massive censorship industrial complex with global implications.
I testified yesterday before the Committee that the enormous fines recently levied on X by the European Commission prove beyond all doubt that the EU means to strangle free speech by a systematic assault on US companies. This is corroborated by the Committee’s incendiary new <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-report-exposes-european-commission-decade-long-campaign-censor-american" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, which shows that American companies are already having to adopt EU content moderation policies.
The EU has a multi-pronged strategy to open a slew of investigations, to add more and more regulations, to impose crippling fines, and, ultimately, to either break up or ban companies such as X, which are pro-free-speech.
Free speech is such a threat to European elites that they intend to either cripple X with fines and investigations or force them to bend the knee at the altar of censorship. I hope X stands strong because we need free speech in Europe more than ever.
But it goes deeper; this censorship campaign is not just aimed at destroying free speech in Europe, it’s about imposing European Union speech laws globally.
Make no mistake, Europe’s draconian speech laws are being imposed across the world via global content moderation rules.
The EU’s obsession with eliminating free speech means that they are deploying a global campaign to ensure that all speech online bans “illegal content” and “prevents systemic risk” to the “discourse”.
And the costs are borne by real people, like my client Päivi Räsänen, a longtime Finnish parliamentarian, who has spent more than six years criminally prosecuted for peacefully expressing her Christian beliefs in a 2019 Bible verse tweet. Räsänen also testified alongside me before the Committee on her ordeal, as she awaits a verdict from Finland’s Supreme Court for “hate speech” charges under the national law for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Of course, “hate speech” has no meaning except speech that European elites hate.
This is what European censorship looks like in practice: the process itself becomes the punishment, designed to chill speech, exhaust dissenters, and warn others to stay silent. And if this is what happens to a sitting parliamentarian in a Western democracy, Americans should have no illusion that either American companies or their citizens will be spared if these censorship regimes are allowed to normalize globally.
* * *
Lorcán Price is an Irish barrister and legal counsel for ADF International.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Uncle Sam

How Europe Plans To Strangle American Free Speech

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Europe

Opinion

Social Media

Twitter

Republican lawmakers will consider legislation that would allow American citizens to sue foreign entities that censor and violate their First Amendment rights.
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) said Thursday that lawmakers were looking into proposals that would protect Americans from foreign censorship. The legislation would mirror proposals introduced in states like Wyoming that would protect Americans from being penalized for their opinions. 
“We are definitely looking at that,” Jordan responded when asked by journalist Michael Shellenberger if Congress would consider proposals similar to the Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny and Extortion (GRANITE) Act <a href="https://www.wyoleg.gov/Legislation/2026/HB0070">introduced</a> on February 5 in Wyoming. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: Congress is considering stripping sovereign immunity of EU censorship officials, prohibiting social media from enforcing censorship orders, and enabling private lawsuits against foreign entities, says <a href="https://twitter.com/Jim_Jordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Jim_Jordan</a> echoing remarks made by <a href="https://twitter.com/UnderSecPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UnderSecPD</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrellIssa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DarrellIssa</a> <a href="https://t.co/AKjfbBJql9">pic.twitter.com/AKjfbBJql9</a>
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) <a href="https://twitter.com/shellenberger/status/2019456842997338152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jordan added that lawmakers were trying to find a “remedy” for foreign censorship, saying that “we&#8217;re taking a good look at that and seeing if there&#8217;s something we can do” regarding the GRANITE Act. 
The GRANITE Act would create a cause of action against foreign states and international organizations that implement censorship laws that violate the free speech rights of Americans, according to a summary of the bill. It would also prevent the state from working with entities that implement foreign censorship. 
Both Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) have already suggested that the United States should take action to protect Americans from being prosecuted under foreign censorship laws. 
Jordan’s comments come after the House Judiciary Committee <a href="https://x.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2018683758006665352">released</a> documents showing that tech companies were restricting the speech of Americans under Europe’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/for-thursday-exclusive-free-speech-advocates-challenge-eu-over-pan-european-censorship-regime">Digital Services Act</a> and other measures. 
The act empowers the European Commission to impose significant financial penalties on tech companies, which it says are not doing enough to combat so-called disinformation. In certain circumstances, American tech companies may be fined up to 6% of their global revenue if they violate specific conditions of the act.
According to the House Judiciary Committee, the European Union pressured tech companies to create guidelines on what was acceptable speech on topics from mass migration to men participating in women’s sports on the basis of their transgender identity. 
Americans&#8217; speech online has not just been censored by foreign bureaucrats, but also by the State Department. 
In February 2024, The Daily Wire, along with The Federalist and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/daily-wire-texas-ag-ask-court-to-block-state-departments-domestic-misinformation-efforts">sued the State Department</a> over its Global Engagement Center’s relationship with anti-“misinformation” outfits like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). The suit alleges that those outfits were focused on suppressing American conservative media, and the Global Engagement Center’s support of these groups violated the First Amendment.

Former US Special Counsel Jack Smith Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Bill Would Give American Victims Of Foreign Censorship Power To Sue

House May Empower Americans To Sue Foreign Entities That Censor Them

First Amendment

House Judiciary Committee

Jim Jordan

Belgian authorities have opened an investigation into the 2025 arrest of Lois McLatchie Miller and &#8220;Billboard&#8221; Chris Elston, one year after the activists were detained while conducting interviews on the street.
Miller, a British citizen, and Elston, a Canadian, were in Brussels interviewing passersby about radical gender ideology in June. Miller was holding a sign that read “Children are never born in the wrong body” and Elston — known for debating people on the streets while wearing sandwich boards — held one reading “Children cannot consent to puberty blockers.”
When a threatening crowd began to form, Miller called the police. Four police vans and fourteen officers arrived on the scene, only to arrest and strip-search Miller and Elston, who were held in custody for four hours.
“Opening up a criminal investigation into what happened is a major development,” Miller said. “It’s clear by any measure that our right to free speech was violated when we were put in jail cells for speaking about puberty blockers.&#8221;
Belgian authorities have not yet disclosed the scope of the criminal investigation, leaving open the key question of whether the inquiry is focused on potential misconduct by the police officers involved in the arrests or the conduct of the campaigners themselves. Miller and Elston have spent the past year petitioning the government to offer an apology and financial settlement for what they call an unlawful detention.
The scope of Brussels’s criminal investigation could signal a shift in Europe’s approach to free speech, which American officials warn is under attack on the continent.
“Free speech, I fear, is in retreat,” Vice President JD Vance said last year. “I look to Brussels, where EU Commission commissars warned citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest: the moment they spot what they’ve judged to be ‘hateful content’. Or to this very country where police have carried out raids against citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online as part of ‘combating misogyny’ on the internet.”
The vice president added that he believes Europe will rise to the occasion, and expressed his confidence that Europe’s democracies “are substantially less brittle than many people apparently fear.”
&#8220;We should be able to speak freely about one of the greatest medical scandals in modern history,” Elston said. “Children are being maimed, chemically castrated, and sterilized for an ideology which teaches they were born wrong.”
Elston is no stranger to brushing up against foreign speech codes and hostile crowds. In 2023, he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/canadian-cops-watch-as-radical-trans-activists-assault-lone-man-defending-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assaulted</a> during an event in Canada, an attack police did nothing to stop. The following year, he was put on trial in Australia <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/he-shared-a-link-on-x-now-hes-in-an-australian-court" target="_blank" rel="noopener">simply</a> for sharing a link on X.
Months after his arrest in Belgium, Elston <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billboard-chris-launches-global-nonprofit-to-fight-child-gender-exploitation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched</a> a nonprofit dedicated to fighting “medical malpractice of child transition” and defending free speech worldwide.
&#8220;We’re formalizing a grassroots movement to educate, activate, and equip people to protect children,&#8221; Elston told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview after the organization&#8217;s launch.“We will always endeavor to follow the law, while at the same time challenge abuses of authority.”

Screenshot 2026-01-31 at 1.54.02 PM

Belgium Investigating Arrest And Detention Of ‘Billboard Chris’ And British Activist

Billboard

gender ideology

President Donald Trump touts his first-year economic wins as American allies make trade deals behind the scenes, the White House switches things up in Minnesota, and another government shutdown looms as Senate Dems hold up a funding bill.
It’s Wednesday, January 28, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trumps-economic-line-minnesota-tactic-shift-1-28-26/id1576594336?i=1000746991084" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Sells Economy While Europe Turns To India</h2>
President Trump hit the campaign trail Tuesday to tout his economic agenda, as Europe finds a new trading partner, and sends a message to Washington. Trump has traveled the country in recent months, working to convince the American people that he has made progress on the economy. While he won’t be on the ballot, he is fighting to maintain control of the Senate. He delivered a speech on Tuesday in Iowa, where an open Senate seat is up for grabs. Meanwhile, Europe is pivoting away from the United States in trade, thanks in part to the president&#8217;s aggressive trade wars. On Tuesday, the European Union announced the framework of a massive trade deal with India, the world’s most populous nation. The agreement will eliminate or significantly reduce nearly all tariffs between the two sides, mainly on agricultural products, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, and allow Europe to finally sell its cars on the Indian market. 
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Changes Tack After Pretti Killing</h2>
President Trump is shuffling his personnel and changing his administration’s message after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. But he remains committed to deporting illegals in Minnesota. As Trump looks to shift his strategy on mass deportations, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing criticism for labeling Pretti a domestic terrorist and claiming he showed up armed to massacre federal agents. Some Congressional Democrats, including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), have called on Trump to oust Noem. Trump, however, appears to be standing his ground. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has begun settling in and meeting with state and local officials, including Democratic Governor Tim Walz. They agreed to an “ongoing dialogue” on continued federal immigration operations.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">DC Stares Down A Shutdown</h2>
In Washington, the government is inching closer to a partial shutdown on Friday as the Senate debates funding for Homeland Security. As funding runs out, the House is out of town this week, even though it already approved the funding bills. But since Border Patrol agents shot and killed Pretti, an ICU nurse, the tone on Capitol Hill has shifted, and Democrats want a shutdown over DHS funding because they want strings attached. It is unclear if there could be any deal that would avoid even a short shutdown. Democrats want DHS funding separated from other bills to prevent a broader shutdown. Many Democrats have called for “constraints” on ICE and Border Patrol, as Sen. Fetterman and House Democrats have called for Homeland Security Secretary Noem to be fired. Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas has warned against a “mob veto.”

MRN_260128_V1

Morning Brief: Trump’s Midterm Pitch, Minnesota Tactic Shift, & Shutdown Showdown

Morning Brief: Trump’s Midterm Pitch, Deportation Shuffle, And DC Heads Toward A Shutdown

Congress

Immigration

Kristi Noem

Minnesota

Morning Wire

Opening Day Of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026

The WEF Made One Thing Very Clear: If Democrats Win We Are Totally Screwed

Canada

Globalization

Leftists

Mark Carney

Matt Walsh

NATO

Switzerland

World Economic Forum

President Trump did something extraordinary in Davos. He gave a speech targeting our European allies, telling them that they need to up their game in terms of defense, economics, and their own national sovereignty.
Then he pried a deal away from Denmark with regard to Greenland.
The markets were very concerned about the possibility that President Trump was going to hit all of Europe with these gigantic tariffs based on a desire for sovereignty over all of Greenland.
But that is no longer the case. A deal has been cut.
The really big story here is how the President of the United States is calling on Europe to stand up for itself.
The president said that his goal in saying all of this wasn&#8217;t just to dunk on the Europeans. Obviously, his goal was to revitalize what he called a “precious” culture, shared by Americans and Europeans.
“The explosion of prosperity and conclusion and progress that built the West did not come from our tax cuts,” he stated. “It ultimately came from our very special culture. This is the precious inheritance that America and Europe have in common. We share it. But we have to keep it strong. We have to become stronger, more successful, and more prosperous than ever. We have to defend that culture and rediscover the spirit that lifted the West from the depths of the Dark Ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.”
He also suggested that Europeans have failed themselves in pursuing a green energy-based economy.
When the man&#8217;s right, the man is right.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
The real message the president was there to deliver is that the Europeans ought to be both independent, but also recognize that they are reliant on the United States.
In that vein, he went after Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada. Carney gave a peculiar address with regard to the United States in which he suggested that the era of American dominance was over. And Trump basically said, well, that&#8217;s weird, since if it weren&#8217;t for us, your continent would be a little bit more at risk. We are your defensive shield. We&#8217;re building a golden dome that just by its very nature is going to be defending Canada.
“Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way,” Trump said. “They should be grateful also, but they&#8217;re not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn&#8217;t so grateful. They should be grateful that Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”
The president also articulated the favorite line of those of us on the Right, which is that if it had not been for the United States’ involvement in Europe, everyone would be speaking German and Japanese.
“The problem with them, though, is that we&#8217;ll be there for them 100%,” he said. “But I&#8217;m not sure that they&#8217;d be there for us if we gave them the call.”
You can see why the Europeans are feeling a bit peevish right now.
We&#8217;ll have to see how they react to everything that&#8217;s going on. Are we again entering a period of a multipolar world order, or is the president just flexing American muscles a little bit more than usual in an attempt to get everybody back on the same pro-America, pro-Western page? That remains a bit of an open question.
All of this ties into what the broader American orientation is toward the world. Is it America First, or is it America Alone? Is it a multipolar world order, or is it an American-led world order where we are more muscular in pursuit of our own interests, and we expect more from our allies in helping us out with those interests?
That remains the big question coming out of Davos. It was the big question going in.
I&#8217;m not sure that the question has been fully answered at this point in time.

U.S. President Trump Attends World Economic Forum In Davos

Trump’s Davos Doctrine: A Muscular Reassertion Of The West

Trump's Davos Doctrine: A Muscular Reassertion Of The West

Davos

Energy

The European Union, one of America&#8217;s largest trading partners, voted on Wednesday to pause a trade deal with the United States that was initially agreed upon last summer. The finalization of the major trade deal is now uncertain over the bloc&#8217;s opposition to President Donald Trump&#8217;s efforts to acquire Greenland.
European Parliament member Bernd Lange said that Trump&#8217;s plans to impose a 10% tariff on European countries that oppose his Greenland push go against the framework of the U.S.-E.U. trade deal, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/21/european-lawmakers-suspend-us-trade-deal-amid-greenland-tariff-tensions.html">reported</a>. Lange pointed to Trump&#8217;s remarks at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, when the president said that he would continue to push for control of Greenland and called for &#8220;immediate negotiations.&#8221;
“I guess he didn’t revise his position,&#8221; Lange said. &#8220;He wants to have Greenland as part of the United States as quick as possible.”
Lange, the chair of Parliament’s International Trade Committee, added in a statement that the European Union will pause its work on the trade deal &#8220;until the US decides to re-engage on a path of cooperation rather than confrontation,&#8221; Fox Business <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/european-parliament-halts-work-us-trade-deal-response-trump-greenland-push">reported</a>. While the United States and the European Union agreed to the trade deal&#8217;s framework last year, it can&#8217;t go into effect until the European Parliament gives final approval.
During his speech, Trump said he would not use military force to take over Greenland, which Lange called a positive development, but the European Parliament member added that until Trump takes the additional tariff threat off the table, “There will be no possibility of compromise.” Lange called Trump&#8217;s tariff threats “an attack against the economic and territorial sovereignty of the European Union.”
Trump imposed tariffs on European countries shortly after being sworn in last year as part of his massive &#8220;Liberation Day&#8221; tariff agenda, and the European Union responded with tariffs on U.S. goods. The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/08/joint-statement-on-a-united-states-european-union-framework-on-an-agreement-on-reciprocal-fair-and-balanced-trade/">announced</a> a trade agreement with the European Union last August, saying that the bloc &#8220;intends to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and to provide preferential market access for a wide range of U.S. seafood and agricultural goods.&#8221; As part of the deal&#8217;s framework, the Trump administration agreed to drop the tariff rate on the European Union to 15%.
European countries have roundly criticized Trump over his plan to take over Greenland, but the president continues to argue that the United States needs the territory for national security. Greenland controls its own internal affairs, but Denmark oversees the territory and guarantees its security.
While speaking in front of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Trump said the United States needs Greenland to stop the &#8220;bad guys.&#8221; Trump has repeatedly claimed that China and Russia have their eyes set on conquering Greenland, which would threaten U.S. and global security.
&#8220;All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we&#8217;ve already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians and others in World War II,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We gave it back to them.&#8221;
&#8220;So we want a piece of ice for world protection,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;And they won’t give it. &#8230; They have a choice: you can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no. And, we will remember.&#8221;

USA International Relations Photo Illustrations

European Union Suspends Trade Deal With U.S. Over Trump’s Greenland Push

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After Spain, France, and Italy blocked a move to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, Dutch member of the European Parliament Bart Groothuis blasted the decision.
The IRGC acts as the &#8220;praetorian guard&#8221; for the Supreme Leader of Iran, tasked with ensuring the regime&#8217;s survival by crushing any internal opposition. Reports indicate that IRGC and Basij forces used live fire against peaceful demonstrators and even raided hospitals to arrest injured protesters. Estimates range from 5,000 to more than 15,000 deaths in January. The IRGC <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/14/iran-detainees-ill-treated-and-disappeared-after-israeli-evin-prison-attack">controls</a> its own intelligence apparatus and secret detention centers (such as Ward 2A of Evin Prison), where dissidents, journalists, and dual nationals are subjected to physical and psychological torture, forced confessions, and summary executions. Through its Quds Force, the IRGC operates as the world&#8217;s most active state sponsor of terrorism, conducting operations on nearly every continent.
Germany and the Baltic states are among the countries <a href="https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2026/01/14/pressure-mounts-on-eu-to-list-irans-revolutionary-guards-as-terror-organization?utm_source=chatgpt.com">pushing</a> for the European Parliament to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Under EU rules, all 27 member states must agree for the designation to move forward.
“Italy, Spain, and France are against putting the Islamic Iranian Revolutionary Guard, IRGC, on the EU terrorist list,” Groothuis noted. “Let’s call things as they are: France, Spain, and Italy say there are legal obstacles. Well, maybe murdering people inside Europe, or funding several terrorist organizations, or burning synagogues in Düsseldorf; maybe that is not enough. But surely, unleashing chemical weapons on the Iranian population or killing many thousands of innocent civilians.”
“Spain, Italy, and France say they need a legal court order; well, there is one, like in Düsseldorf. And please ask Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States, Canada, Bahrain, who have already designated IRC a terrorist organization, whether there was a diplomatic collapse: there wasn’t. Can the High Representative formally acknowledge here today that it is these three countries — like the press is reporting constantly in the Council — who are blocking to list the IRGC? Will the High Representative be on our side to sanction the IRGC, and expose their children and grandchildren who are studying here in Europe, enjoying our liberties, while their relatives are pouring chemical weapons over the heads of innocent, freedom-abiding Persians?”
“Let’s call things as they are,” he repeated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
WOW. I’m speechless.
Spain, France, and Italy have BLOCKED the declaration of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Bart Groothuis from the right-center party bloc &#8220;Renew Europe&#8221; opposes the blocks set by Spain,… <a href="https://t.co/LDAbCOwbeF">pic.twitter.com/LDAbCOwbeF</a>
— Chaya’s Clan (@ChayasClan) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChayasClan/status/2013946594601599432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

European Defence And Security Summit Held In Brussels

Dutch Lawmaker Slams France, Spain, Italy For Blocking Terror Label On Iranian Revolutionary Guards

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Greenland dominates discussions in Davos ahead of President Donald Trump’s speech, Erika Kirk files a motion to advance the trial of her husband’s alleged killer, and a look back at one year of Trump 2.0.
It’s Wednesday, January 21, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Vs. Europe</h2>
President Trump is set to join global leaders at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, kicking off a series of high-stakes meetings on tariffs, Greenland, and more. Every year, the WEF holds its annual meeting in Davos, hosting thousands of Fortune 500 business leaders, diplomats, and heads of state. Leaders from across the European Union huddled on the sidelines of the conference to formulate a strategy that could spark an enormous economic war. French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU “should not hesitate” to use its “Anti-Coercion Instrument,” known unofficially as the Trade Bazooka. That mechanism, which has never been used before, would include widespread bans on American investments in Europe and restrictions on the import and export of American products. They could also take a more subdued approach and simply withdraw from the previously agreed-upon U.S./EU trade deal.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Erika Kirk Files To Speed Up Trial Of Her Husband’s Alleged Killer</h2>
Erika Kirk has filed a motion to speed up the trial of her late husband Charlie Kirk’s killer, accusing the defense team of delay tactics. Kirk’s attorneys are using Utah’s victims’ rights laws, which are designed to prevent unnecessary delays in serious criminal cases. They argue that the case has remained stuck in this pretrial phase while the defense files multiple motions, and that those delays are compounding the trauma for the victim’s family. The filing specifically noted Charlie Kirk’s love for the U.S. Constitution, saying that while the Constitution “guarantees criminal defendants many rights, it does not guarantee them the right to cause undue delay in the criminal justice process.” Meanwhile, the suspect, Tyler Robinson, has still not entered a plea.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">One Year Of Trump</h2>
One year into his second term, President Trump says his agenda is delivering results, bringing the country into what he calls a new “golden age.” Trump has drastically reduced illegal immigration, effectively securing the southern border. Federal officers have surged into major cities to arrest illegal aliens. The United States experienced annual negative immigration for the first time in decades in large part because of Trump’s approach. On economic policy, the president cut numerous trade deals around the world while receiving pledges of investment worth trillions. It remains to be seen whether those pledges bear fruit. Trump has also ignited a series of trade wars, the latest being with Europe over his desire to acquire Greenland from Denmark. The aggressive posture could have consequences later as countries seek to diversify their trading partners. On foreign policy, the president has severely set back Iran’s nuclear program and toppled the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela. He has also settled a number of open and near-conflicts, while the war in Ukraine continues to rage. Domestically, Trump has waded into prominent culture war topics such as DEI and transgenderism. He has pardoned several people prosecuted and imprisoned under his predecessor, including pro-life activists. He has battled universities to root out woke policies or risk losing federal funding.

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Morning Brief: Greenland Tensions, Erika Kirk Seeks Faster Trial, & Trump’s First Year Back

Charlie Kirk

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