Amanpour – “Deescalating Tensions with US Allies”

CNN, January 20, 2026
Host: Bianna Golodryga (sitting in for Christiane Amanpour)

Episode Overview

This episode navigates a period of historic strain between the United States and its overseas allies one year into President Trump’s second term. Anchoring the discussion are the administration’s controversial pursuit of Greenland, escalating transatlantic tariffs, repercussions for NATO, reactions from European leaders, and domestic fallout from aggressive immigration enforcement in Minnesota. The episode features interviews with Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) from Davos, journalist Lydia Polgreen on the ground in Minnesota, and Moderna cofounder Noubar Afeyan with Walter Isaacson, examining the consequences of Trump’s funding and immigration policies on US science.

Key Segments & Discussions

I. US-Europe Relations and the “Greenland Crisis”

[Begins 00:52]

Context:

• President Trump’s renewed campaign to acquire Greenland has roiled NATO and the EU.
• Trump has floated a 200% tariff on French wine, conditioned participation in a new Middle East “Board of Peace,” and leaked private European messages.
• European leaders, notably France’s Macron, push back against what they characterize as US bullying.

Senator Chris Coons Interview

[Starts 04:02]

• Senator Coons recounts bipartisan congressional visit to Denmark and his dialogue with Greenlandic officials:
  “Is there a real and imminent threat to Greenland and its security from Russia and China? No.” (Chris Coons, 04:12)
• The president’s rhetoric, once a fringe threat, has now become an urgent, market-moving risk.

  “It is beginning to move our markets... The largest Danish pension fund is selling off its US Treasuries. European leaders... are saying they are alarmed and they’re going to begin hedging.” (Coons, 04:38)

• Coons frames Trump's policy as bolstering Russia’s long-standing goal to “end the NATO alliance.”
• Coons pushes back on claims justifying a US claim to Greenland based on WWII sacrifices:

  “25 years ago... the Danes didn’t even ask. They immediately joined us in deployments... they lost more Danish soldiers than any other NATO ally [per capita].” (Coons, 06:50)

• Reiterates NATO’s collective defense principle:

  “NATO is what is supposed to defend Greenland. And we're a part of NATO. None of the other NATO countries in Europe can defend themselves alone against Russia... but all of us together... are the strongest military alliance on Earth.” (Coons, 07:17)

• Expresses grave concern that Trump’s Greenland push is a “vanity project” with “enormous cost for US security and prosperity.”
• Pushes for de-escalation but doubts Trump will change:

  “I'm not sure I'm that optimistic. It's just that the alternative is so catastrophic.” (Coons, 08:44)

• Endorses European unity and a tougher response:

  “Governor Newsom is giving them good advice.” (In reference to standing up to Trump, 10:14)

On Potential Consequences

• US trading partners like Canada pivoting to China due to US tariffs:

  “Canada... stood by our side for years... and they were rewarded with tariffs... Prime Minister decided they had to go stand tough... and cut new deals with China... This is an alarming trend.” (12:58)

• Potential for devastating retaliatory tariffs:

  “If they [EU] apply 90 billion euros of tariffs... that’s over $100 billion. That’ll have a huge impact on our economy and our cost of living.” (13:50)

Congressional Options on Use of Force

• Trump has not ruled out military force to acquire Greenland.
• Coons calls for a War Powers Resolution to restrain the president:

  “That is the single most outrageous and dangerous thing President Trump is doing, is not ruling out the use of force against a NATO ally... Congress can and should take up and pass a War Powers Resolution...” (15:01)

• Notes limited current Republican public opposition, but rising concern:

  “More are willing to... they're hoping that private conversations will achieve that objective. But if not, when we get back into session... we’re going to need to move ahead.” (16:24)

Notable Quotes:

• “These developments by President Trump are encouraging Putin because his goal for decades has been to end the NATO alliance. This is accelerating that dangerous day.” (Coons, 04:53)
• “Greenland is a remote, barely accessible place... picking fights with our most trusted and valuable allies over this is just not a smart thing to do.” (Coons, 08:34)
• “Three quarters of Americans don’t want us to go after Greenland... they’d rather see us focusing on lowering health care costs...” (Coons, 11:42)

II. The Gaza “Board of Peace” and Strained US-Israel Relations

[Begins 17:12]

• Trump proposes the "Gaza Board of Peace" (GBOP) as part of a 20-point Israel-Hamas postwar plan, inviting leaders including Putin and Lukashenko.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu objects to the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in key committee roles; opposition leader Yair Lapid calls it a “diplomatic failure.”
• Jeremy Diamond (correspondent) reports from Jerusalem on real policy friction:

  “There does also seem to be... some real friction between the United States and Israel over the formation of this executive committee to oversee... governance of the Gaza Strip.” (Jeremy Diamond, 18:23)

• Turkey and Qatar, while previously accused of supporting Hamas, were critical to securing the ceasefire and hostages’ release.
• Ongoing issues include Israel’s delayed opening of the Rafah crossing, friction over the phase two announcement, and US efforts (led by Jared Kushner) to “take back control” of Gaza reconstruction.
• Broader ambitions:

  “There have been those that have suggested this is a sort of trial balloon for a replacement for the United Nations. And invitations have gone out to capitals around the world.” (Bianna Golodryga, 21:03)
  “The president himself... talked about the Board of Peace being... used to manage and resolve conflicts around the world as they continue to crop up.” (Diamond, 21:27)

• European officials wary, especially of Putin’s inclusion and the board’s vague, global mandate.

III. Inside the “Civil War” Atmosphere in Minneapolis

[Begins 24:17]

Lydia Polgreen Interview

[Interview starts 25:40]

• Lydia Polgreen, NYT columnist and Minnesota native, describes immigration enforcement as an “occupation designed to punish and terrorize.”

  “We are getting these glimpses and snapshots... but in fact there's just a broader atmosphere of intimidation. And I think I would go so far as to call it terror.” (Polgreen, 25:55)

• Personal anecdotes: Local officials—like St. Paul’s mayor, a Hmong refugee—carry proof of citizenship for fear of ICE; citizens, even those with no immigration violations, swept up aggressively.
• Federal agents arresting people with no criminal history:

  “National numbers... say that 70% of the people who have [been] detained have not even a traffic violation in their background. So it’s sweeping up everybody.” (Polgreen, 30:19) “It’s really hard to imagine how children of that age [12] could possibly be the worst of the worst.” (Polgreen, 30:55)

• Protest response:

  “You are definitely seeing protesters go out there and quite forcefully assert their First Amendment rights... I did not see anything that I would even remotely characterize as violence.” (Polgreen, 32:16)

• Community solidarity: Locals organize text networks for food, mutual aid.
• Government crackdown broadening: DOJ investigating officials for “obstruction.”
• Mayor Jacob Frey on rising federal militarization:

  “The best way to get safety is not to have an influx of even more agents, and in this case, military, in Minneapolis. I never thought... we would be invaded by our own federal government.” (Frey, 34:42)

• Polgreen on Minnesota as a target:

  “Minnesota actually has a rate of undocumented immigrants that is half that of the national average... I think that really what this is though, is an assault on a state that represents in some ways the kind of polar opposite of what the Trump administration... are trying to impose.” (Polgreen, 35:21)

IV. Trump’s Funding Cuts and Science Under Threat

[Begins 38:55]

Walter Isaacson interviews Noubar Afeyan (Moderna Co-Founder)

• Trump has frozen or terminated $3B+ in NIH and NSF grants; his term is marked by “inflammatory statements on everything from vaccines to autism.”
• Walter references Afeyan’s warning:

  “While we're closer than ever to realizing biotechnology's full potential... we’re also closer than ever to throwing that potential away. We’re at a risk of taking a sledgehammer to our miracle machine.” (Isaacson, 39:41)

• Afeyan on science under siege:

  “What we’re seeing in the recent past is a level of attack on the output of science... being basically attacked without any countervailing data.” (Afeyan, 40:17)

• On the consequences of funding cuts:

  “We have enjoyed an expansive... period where investments by the government... produced the thousands of inventions... that has been to the benefit of American citizens and then the whole globe... What we’re seeing now with a fairly indiscriminate reduction of funding... the scientific enterprise is becoming crippled.” (Afeyan, 44:50, 45:35)

• Immigration and talent pipeline in peril:

  “The notion that we would exclude essentially students from different parts of the world, or make it difficult for them... This is a surprising, in my view, regression.” (Afeyan, 47:33)

V. President Trump Press Conference

[Begins 48:21]

• Trump opens with a lengthy defense of aggressive federal enforcement in Minnesota, framing immigrants as criminals and economic threats.
• Attacks predecessor Joe Biden’s immigration policy, links Minnesota surge to foreign criminality.
• Makes derogatory references to Somali-Americans, conflating them with financial crime; minimizes homeland legitimacy.

  “Somalians, can you imagine? And they don’t do it. A lot of very low IQ people... They come here and they become rich and they don’t have a job. Somalia is not even a country....” (Trump, ~53:20)

• Frames ICE and Border Patrol as patriotic, majority “Hispanic” forces.
• Asserts “paid agitators and insurrectionists” are behind protests.
• Cites “over 10,000 criminals arrested in Minnesota alone.”
• No pivot to diplomatic language or acknowledgment of community impacts.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On US-Greenland relations
  “This is a fight with enormous cost for US security and prosperity, driven by little more than a vanity project.” – Bianna Golodryga quoting Chris Coons (03:15)

• On Allies' Trust
  “The way that you earn trust with allies is through sacrifice. The Danes... lost more Danish soldiers than any other NATO ally.” – Sen. Coons (06:40)

• On Transatlantic Market Repercussions
  “The largest Danish pension fund is selling off its US Treasuries. European leaders I've met... are alarmed and... opening to other partners than the United States.” – Sen. Coons (04:41)

• On NATO’s Principle
  “That is the single most outrageous and dangerous thing President Trump is doing, is not ruling out the use of force against a NATO ally...” – Sen. Coons (15:01)

• On Gaza Plan’s Realities
  “There does also seem to be ... some real friction between the United States and Israel over the formation of this executive committee to oversee... Gaza.” – Jeremy Diamond (18:23)

• On Minneapolis Crackdown
  “We are getting these glimpses and snapshots... but... there's just a broader atmosphere of intimidation. And I think I would go so far as to call it terror.” – Lydia Polgreen (25:55)

• On Protester Conduct
  “I did not see anything that I would even remotely characterize as violence... The tactics really seem to be walking right up to the edge of what would be considered obstruction. So filming, delaying, distracting, things like that...” – Lydia Polgreen (32:16)

• On Science at Risk
  “We’re also closer than ever to throwing that potential away. We're at a risk of taking a sledgehammer to our miracle machine.” – Noubar Afeyan quoted by Walter Isaacson (39:41) “... cutting across the board just means that the enterprise is not valued.” – Afeyan (44:50)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:04 – Episode setup & segment previews
• 00:52 – US-Europe tensions; Trump aims for Greenland
• 04:02 – Sen. Chris Coons on crisis in Denmark/Davos
• 08:44 – Will Trump listen to reason on Greenland?
• 12:58 – Fallout with Canada; global economic shifts
• 15:01 – Congressional action to restrain Trump (War Powers)
• 17:12 – Jerusalem: Board of Peace tensions
• 24:17 – Lydia Polgreen on Minnesota “occupation”
• 30:19 – Realities of immigration enforcement: who is being targeted
• 32:16 – Protest tactics in Minneapolis
• 34:42 – Mayor Frey warns about militarization
• 35:21 – Why Minnesota is being targeted
• 38:55 – Trump’s science funding cuts; Afeyan interview
• 44:50 – Damage to US research enterprise
• 48:21 – Trump’s live press conference

Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Urgent, tense, and combative. Frequent expressions of alarm, disbelief, and resolve by guests and host.
• Bipartisan frustration at US isolation and “vanity” policy risks.
• European and Canadian pivots signal shifting alliances; global trust in US declining.
• Gaza peace process complicated by US unilateralism, exclusion of Israeli priorities, and global ambitions.
• Domestic unrest over immigration tactics described as “civil war” conditions by reporters.
• Science, innovation, and medical progress at risk due to funding and immigration restrictions.

This episode delivers a gripping, multifaceted snapshot of a superpower at a crossroads—externally, with its closest allies, and internally, with fundamental questions about values, safety, and leadership.