Trump Strikes Greenland Deal at Davos; China threats; Justice coming for Minnesota Fraudsters

Summary

10 Minute Drill – Episode Summary

Podcast: 10 Minute Drill
Host: Matt Whitlock
Date: January 22, 2026
Episode Title: Trump Strikes Greenland Deal at Davos; China Threats; Justice Coming for Minnesota Fraudsters

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Overview

In this fast-paced episode, Matt Whitlock offers a rundown of pressing news in U.S. and global politics. The discussion centers on President Trump’s headline-grabbing Greenland deal at Davos, the persistent threat from China, and new subpoenas in Minnesota’s sprawling fraud scandal implicating Keith Ellison and other top state officials. Whitlock also covers the personal background of Ellison, exposes questionable nonprofit finances behind recent Minneapolis protests, and briefly critiques health insurers’ political spending.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. President Trump at Davos & The Greenland Deal

• Davos Speech Highlights:
  • Trump delivered an assertive speech, emphasizing U.S. transformation and criticizing Europe’s changes and shifting alliances.
  • Trump quote (00:45): "In one year, our agenda has produced a transformation like America has not seen in over 100 years."
• Changing Europe:
  • Whitlock outlines how Europe is becoming less reliable for the U.S., referencing new EU attempts to undercut U.S. tech policies and ongoing purchases of Russian oil.
  • Host (01:07): "Europe has changed in the last several years… Europe has not been a reliable partner."
• U.S.-EU Tech Policy Tensions:
  • EU is allegedly undermining U.S. pro-growth policies through non-trade barriers and regulation.
• Energy Policy Irony:
  • Europe continues buying Russian oil while pushing the world to pay more to counter Russia.
  • Quote (Scott Besant via Host, 01:23): "They are financing the war against themselves…"
• Greenland Negotiations:
  • Trump positions the U.S. role in Greenland as a national security move, aiming to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic.
  • His earlier tough talk on possibly taking Greenland by force was seen as a negotiation tactic.
  • Trump quote (02:30): "People thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force, I won't use force."
  • Announced a framework for a deal regarding Greenland and the broader Arctic, following talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
  • Reporter (03:06): "Based on a very productive meeting…I have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region."
  • Wall Street Journal critiques this tactic for potentially driving allies closer to China.
• China’s Shadow:
  • While the U.S. focuses on excluding China from Greenland, Whitlock warns that close neighbors like Canada are opening doors to China through free trade, perhaps undermining strategic gains.
  • Security expert Peter Schweizer claims thousands of Chinese military pilots are being trained in U.S flight schools under civilian guise.
  • Michael Lucci tweet cited (05:03): “American flight schools are training China's military pilots… Communist China exploits our openness to attack our security.”

2. Minnesota Fraud Scandal: Keith Ellison’s Origins & Human Toll

• FBI Investigation:
  • Subpoenas issued to Minnesota’s governor, attorney general Keith Ellison, and others for alleged conspiracy to obstruct federal law enforcement, specifically during ICE operations.
  • Independent journalist Nick Shirley’s House testimony highlights the massive, ongoing misappropriation of funds in Minnesota.
  • Nick Shirley (06:12): “How long would it take for you to notice a million dollars…going missing? That's essentially what had been happening in Minnesota for years as billions…has been misplaced.”
• Keith Ellison’s Congressional Record:
  • Whitlock revisits Ellison’s decade-plus in Congress, noting he only passed one bill focused on ensuring remittances to Somalia continued despite terrorism financing concerns.
  • Ellison (06:58): “…how we can keep money flowing to Somalia.”
  • Ellison explains banks' hesitance due to a woman, Aminah Ali, being convicted of sending money to Al Shabaab.
  • Ellison (07:35): “Amina Ali was convicted of gathering money for Al Shabaab and then using a service to transmit that money.”
  • Whitlock alleges Ellison’s legislative effort eased federal oversight, facilitating large money transfers to Somalia.
• The Human Cost:
  • Citing Bethany Mandel, Whitlock emphasizes that the real victims of fraud are vulnerable people left without services—highlighting one tragic death due to fabricated care that never occurred.
  • Host (08:36): “As billions of taxpayer dollars were siphoned out…people these programs were supposed to serve were left without care altogether.”
  • Host (09:05): “A vulnerable adult enrolled in a Medicaid-funded…program was found dead…despite records showing the state had paid for hours of daily supervision.”

3. Nonprofit Activism & the Minneapolis Church Protest

• Nekima Levy Armstrong:
  • Whitlock brings attention to Armstrong, who organized a church protest and, according to Fox News, earned more money leading a nonprofit than the group gave in grants.
  • Host (10:05): “It is incredible how lucrative it is to be a protester and agitator in a place like Minnesota.”
  • Armstrong is linked to broader actions pressuring corporations (e.g., Target) to adopt more political stances.

4. ‘You Can’t Make It Up’ Segment: Health Insurers & Political Spending

• Insurance Company Critique:
  • Briefly, Whitlock highlights a Daily Caller piece on major insurers pushing “woke” agendas and corporate DEI while premiums and denials rise.
  • Host (11:07): “Premiums are up, denials are up, but so are woke politics.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Donald Trump, on U.S. resurgence (00:45):
  "In one year, our agenda has produced a transformation like America has not seen in over 100 years."
• Whitlock, on Europe’s changing relationship (01:07):
  "Europe has changed… Europe has not been a reliable partner on a wide range of issues."
• Trump, on Greenland negotiations (02:30):
  "People thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force, I won't use force."
• Nick Shirley, on Minnesota fraud (06:12):
  "How long would it take for you to notice a million dollars… That’s essentially what had been happening in Minnesota for years as billions…has been misplaced."
• Keith Ellison, priorities in Congress (06:58):
  "The discussion focused on how we can keep money flowing to Somalia."
• Host, on Medicaid tragedy (09:05):
  "A vulnerable adult…was found dead at home unattended, despite records showing the state had paid for hours of daily supervision… In reality, no one showed up."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:40 – Trump’s Davos recap & Europe’s transformation
• 01:07 – Insight on EU’s opposition to U.S. tech policy
• 02:30 – Trump on Greenland, reassurance of no force
• 03:06 – Deal framework announcement on Greenland & Arctic
• 05:03 – China threat: pilot training in U.S.
• 06:12 – FBI investigation & Nick Shirley testimony on MN fraud
• 06:58 – Keith Ellison’s Somalia bill & interview audio
• 09:05 – Human cost of Minnesota’s fraud: Medicaid tragedy
• 10:05 – Nekima Levy Armstrong nonprofit finances
• 11:07 – Health insurers’ “woke” spending vs. rising costs

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Conclusion

This episode of 10 Minute Drill delivers a brisk yet expansive overview of major political developments, linking global strategies (Trump’s Greenland deal, China’s encroachment) to domestic controversies (Minnesota’s fraud crisis, activism finances). Whitlock’s analysis is pointed, often critical, and loaded with specific examples, quotes, and expert takes, making it accessible and thought-provoking for anyone seeking to get quickly up to speed on the week’s power plays and political drama.

Transcript

[Host]

We break down President Trump's remarks at Davos and the reception that he received. We're also going to talk about the Keith Ellison origin story, how the Minnesota Attorney General got involved in so much corruption. We're also going to talk about a New York Times bombshell on what happened to climate change, politics, all of that and so much more today on 10 Minute Drill. Everybody get up. Get up.

[President Donald Trump]

The story of America is the story of an adventure. I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. We are a nation under God and I believe God intended for us to be free.

[Host]

Yesterday, President Trump turned a lot of heads with a lengthy speech at Davos.

[President Donald Trump]

In one year, our agenda has produced a transformation like America has not seen in over 100 years.

[Host]

Well, he talked about a number of different issues that we're going to get into. One underlying theme of all of it was that Europe has changed.

[President Donald Trump]

Certain places in Europe are not even recognizable, frankly anymore. They're not recognizable and we can argue about it. But there's no argument.

[Host]

Now, to begin with our analysis on this, he's right. Europe has changed in the last several years. We've seen in a lot of different ways how Europe has not been a reliable partner on a wide range of issues. For example, just this week, this story broke. Washington reporter scoop EU attempts to undermine President Trump's pro growth policies on tech. This is from Matthew Folde at the Washington Reporter detailing how the European Union's parliament is talking about ways to already undermine our trade deal on tech policy. We've talked here extensively about some of the non trade barriers and regulations Europeans have tried to drop on American companies to make a profit. Those are issues that President Trump directly dealt with in the European Union trade deal that they're now trying to undermine. According to new leaked documents, we've talked about European energy policy that included continuing to buy Russian oil and gas while demanding the rest of the world pay more money to fight against Russia. As Scott Besant said, we have Europe buying Russian oil. Still, still four years later, they are financing the war against themselves and trying to enforce their overreaching anti free speech standards on American companies and even on their own citizens, on things they post on social media, which again does not feel like the European that shared so many values with us before. But one of the most important themes of President Trump's address was the future of Greenland.

[President Donald Trump]

People thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force, I won't use force.

[Host]

Now, as we talked about a little bit last week. There are a few legitimate reasons behind President Trump's push for the United States to play a greater role in Greenland. The fact primarily that it is a giant physical shield between Russia and the rest of the world, China as well. And President Trump has had a major focus on protecting the US Hemisphere, the Western Hemisphere, from influence from around the world. But he did make a lot of European allies very nervous with any conversation about taking it by force. Just yesterday afternoon, he announced this.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The president has posted this on Truth Social, quote, based on a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Ruta, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region.

[Host]

Now, what that future framework of a deal entails, we will find out as we go. However, a lot of experts were pointing to the fact that President Trump's positioning and scaring people into believing that the United States might take Greenland by force was a part of a negotiating tactic to try and get the best deal possible. Now, you may ask if that's the best way to deal with our allies. The Wall Street Journal doesn't really think so. Here's what they say. The sad irony is that China and Russia may be the biggest winners. Though Mr. Trump justifies his Greenland necessity in the name of deterring both Canada's prime minister bent the knee to Xi Jinping last week, and Britain's prime minister is heading there this month. The EU and South American countries have struck a big free trade pact. So what the Wall Street Journal is pointing out there is one of the main reasons we've wanted Greenland is to keep out Chinese influence, while at the same time, Canada, our closest neighbor, has invited in more Chinese influence into our hemisphere with their own free trade deals and talks. So while President Trump has taken an aggressive tone on Greenland, one of the negative impacts of that is that it's actually potentially pushing some of our closest allies to work more closely with China. While they might view the United States as a less reliable trade partner at this same time, this report from Breitbart Top Secret. Thousands of Chinese pilots are trained every year in California and Arizona, strengthening the CCP's military power. That is from national security expert Peter Schweitzer, who has a new book about the threats that America faces from China. China expert Michael Lucci, the founder of State Armor, tweeted this about it. Peter Schweitzer exposes an insane reality. American flight schools are training China's military pilots. The CCP disguises military pilots as civilians and sends them to schools in Arizona and California. Communist China exploits our openness to attack our security. So again, the threat from China remains the biggest in the world. Even as we focus on ways of using countries and territories like Greenland to bolster ourselves, we, we also have to be mindful of what countries in our own hemisphere are doing in terms of partnering with China, giving them more access to the regions around us. And I would just note that as Susie Wiles was landing in Davos with President Trump, she told the media that President Trump will not be taking very many more international trips as he looks to focus on midterms. On Tuesday, the FBI announced that they had issued subpoenas to a number of high ranking officials in Minnesota, including Governor Tim Waltz and Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry. The FBI has apparently just served subpoenas to several officials here in Minneapolis, including members of the office of Governor Tim Waltz, Fox News reported. The subpoenas are part of a federal investigation into alleged conspiracy to coerce or obstruct federal law enforcement during ongoing ICE operations in Minnesota. Meanwhile, independent journalist Nick Shirley testified before the House of Representatives yesterday.

[Independent Journalist Nick Shirley]

Governor Waltz has said he's been fighting fraud in Minnesota since 2019 and said the buck stops with him. However, how long would it take for you to notice a million dollars being leaving your bank account and not knowing where it's going? That's essentially what had been happening in Minnesota for years as billions of dollars has been misplaced.

[Host]

We've talked extensively about Keith Ellison and his role in this fraud scandal. But the reality is Keith Ellison's role in fraud, particularly working with the Somali community, goes back much further than this. So today we're going to talk a tiny bit more about Keith Ellison's origin story. Keith Ellison served in Congress for a little over a decade but is only known for passing one bill. And here he is talking about that issue.

[Keith Ellison]

Well, first of all, let me say salaam alaykum, Elias. It's good to be here with you with the Mogadishu Times. The discussion focused on how we can keep money flowing to Somalia.

[Host]

As Alison just said there, his priority of the one bill that he passed during his time in Congress was, was about how he could get more money flowing to Somalia. And this was with the Mogadishu Times. Now, they had talked about the fact that some banks were getting skittish over those remittances, which is how people in the United States send money to other countries, in a lot of cases, developing countries, to family members back home and things like that and Allison explains why they were skittish, worried that they could.

[Keith Ellison]

End up being prosecuted on a criminal basis, or be it having the regulations come on them. Because recently a lady named Amina Ali was convicted of gathering money for Al Shabaab and then using a service to transmit that money.

[Host]

Now, he mentions there a woman named Aminah Ali who was arrested. Now, you may be asking, why was she arrested? She was arrested for sending material support to Al Shabaab, the terror network. So as banks were getting nervous about remittances because they were tied to funding terrorism, Keith Ellison passed a bill to make it easier for these banks to get around federal oversight for those remittances. So he has been involved in trying to get more money into the Somali community and then back to Somalia his entire professional life. And one important part of this Minnesota fraud discussion that hasn't gotten enough attention is the human cost of it. Bethany Mandel had a great piece in the Washington examiner looking into the fact that this fraud isn't just Monopoly money disappearing. Every dollar that goes into a fraudulent scheme is one less dol that goes to support a person who actually needs these programs. They were being scammed from like Medicaid and things like that. As billions of taxpayer dollars were siphoned out of programs meant to provide food, medical care, housing assistance, and support for people with disabilities, state officials ignored repeated warnings. Whistleblowers were sidelined, and the people these programs were supposed to serve were often left without care altogether. Every dollar lost to abuse is a dollar not spent on real people whose health, safety and stability depend on those services. When the government fails to stop fraud early on, the result is not just waste, but neglect, abandonment, and in some cases, preventable tragedy. Local investigative reporting has documented repeated instances in which Medicaid providers billed Minnesota for services that were never delivered, sometimes to people they never even met. In one particular harrowing case, a vulnerable adult enrolled in a Medicaid funding home care program was found dead at home unattended, despite records showing the state had paid for hours of daily supervision. On paper, comprehensive care had been provided. In reality, no one showed up. So again, a person died because they were a part of a program that, instead of actually serving him, as the money flowed to the people that were intended to serve him, they actually were checking a box saying they provided hours of daily care and supervision and hadn't checked on this person for weeks when he was found dead. So again, we're gonna learn more and more about the human costs of this fraud and the investigations into people like Keith Ellison or are far from over. We talked a lot this week about Don Lemon and his role in leading a crazy protest into a church and shutting down a worship service, chasing people to their cars, et cetera. We wanted to introduce another person that was heavily involved in that from Fox News. The far left agitator who organized the Minnesota church storming raked in over $1 million from anti poverty nonprofit this is a big, big, deep background into Nekima Armstrong. Nikima Levy Armstrong, who is one of the organizers of the storming of a Minnesota church to protest ice on Sunday, raked in over $1 million during six years leading a Minneapolis civil rights nonprofit that addresses anti poverty issues. Armstrong, whose website identifies her as a civil rights lawyer and scholar activist, helped to organize the storming of city's church in St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday. What's notable in this reporting is that she runs a nonprofit focused on fighting poverty, but she made more money from it than they gave out in grants to poverty programs. It is incredible how lucrative it is to be a protester and agitator in a place like Minnesota. Armstrong's also been heavily involved in some of the activities terrorizing stores like Target to pressure them to take more intense political positions. For our you can't make it up segment today, the Daily Caller has a very interesting piece about insurance companies. Insurers bragged about being woke while bilking taxpayers. Even as Americans grapple with rising health insurance premiums, growing out of pocket costs and an increase in claims denials, many of the nation's largest insurers and their executives are spending time and resources promoting gender ideology and corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Premiums are up, denials are up, but so are woke politics. And this is a major problem you're going to see as we continue to have this health care conversation about why people are having to spend so much money on health care while outcomes and actual quality of service and care is drastically going down. One reason, because insurance companies that are charging you insane amounts of money are also funding their own involvement in incredibly political programs like this. That is all the time we have for today. Thank you so much for joining us on 10 Minute Drill. Please like subscribe, leave a review, tell your friends and we will see you next week.