Bulwark Takes: Trump Melts Down at Davos, Confuses Iceland and Greenland
Podcast: Bulwark Takes
Date: January 21, 2026
Hosts: Sam Stein, JVL, Andrew Egger
Episode Overview
This episode of Bulwark Takes dives into the chaotic and headline-making 72-minute speech (plus ~30-minute Q&A) delivered by former President Donald Trump at Davos. The Bulwark team—Sam Stein, JVL, and Andrew Egger—unpack what they interpret as a widely meandering, often incoherent, and potentially dangerous address. Trump’s speech covered an array of topics, including a confusing and aggressive stance toward Greenland, repeated jabs at U.S. allies, historical ignorance, bizarre asides, and threats of future retribution. The hosts use the speech to reflect on the state of American constitutional checks, the U.S. global standing, and economic risks.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Trump’s Erratic Performance at Davos
- The hosts describe the speech as a "meltdown," laden with factual errors, confused analogies, and insults toward U.S. allies.
- Trump repeatedly confused Iceland and Greenland, bizarrely referred to being called “Daddy” by European leaders, and made aggressive demands about acquiring Greenland.
- He alternated between downplaying the importance of Greenland (“just a piece of ice”) and insisting U.S. security depended on owning it.
Quote:
“He also kept confusing Iceland for Greenland. He also trashed NATO allies repeatedly, made some sort of weird analogy to Denmark getting overrun by Nazis and therefore we need Greenland. He threatened Canada … He had a weird aside about Ilhan Omar, which I know Andrew wants to get to, that was just totally crazy and wild and inappropriate.”
—Sam Stein [03:59]
2. International Reaction & Breakdown of Diplomacy
- The panel notes the stunned reaction of foreign dignitaries seeing Trump in action rather than merely reading about him.
- JVL recalls a previous moment when military leaders saw Trump unfiltered, drawing a parallel to world leaders’ growing alarm.
Quote:
“You see the reality of what America is being led by, and you see that the American constitutional order, which has the power to remove him, but which will not, is broken.”
—JVL [02:32]
- Trump’s approach to diplomacy is described as extortionate, all stick, no carrot, with empty threats (“we’re not going to send in troops—probably?”) and no credible negotiating tactics.
Quote:
“The things he's doing do not seem like they're designed to get to a transacton. They are extortion.”
—JVL [09:19]
3. Notable Moments and Quotes
Confusing Iceland and Greenland
- Trump: “When I told them about Iceland, they loved me. They called me Daddy, right?...But now what I'm asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly located, that can play a vital role in world peace and world protection.” [07:45]
Threats Toward Allies
- To Canadian PM: “Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that Mark the next time you make your statements.” [14:55]
- JVL sums up: “Nice little country you got there. Be a shame if something happened to it.” [16:37]
NATO Ignorance
- JVL rants about Trump’s disrespect for NATO and his ignorance of Article 5 and historical context:
“The President of the United States to stand up there and say oh, I don't think that you would come and, and help us if we needed it after [9/11], I. What?”
—JVL [17:26]
Grievances with Ilhan Omar
- Trump refers to Rep. Ilhan Omar as a “fake congressperson” and bizarrely questions her legitimacy, to the bewilderment of the international audience.
“Can you imagine Putin or Xi coming to, coming to an international forum and, and like saying things like that about one of his lawmakers?”
—Andrew Egger [13:29]
4. Economic Fallout & Markets’ Role
- The hosts link Trump’s threats and global chaos to direct market effects—including a tanking stock market and spikes in Treasury yields.
- JVL and Andrew discuss how these economic disruptions become permanent, with once-lost trade relationships not easily repaired.
- JVL explains the seriousness of sovereign states dumping U.S. Treasuries, which could endanger America’s fiscal stability—“extinction-level event” [26:29].
Quote:
“You can't afford a house because Trump is threatening Greenland. … It's literally the case.”
—JVL [24:36]
5. Erosion of Global Order
- Canada and other mid-sized countries are banding together to resist “hegemonic power,” notably including the U.S. under Trump—a reversal of America’s traditional leadership role.
- Carney’s speech suggests the “middle powers” must look out for themselves.
Quote:
“Carney's new model is: the hegemons … America and China … are now pushing around the little guys. And the little guys are going to need to band together in order to stand any chance of withstanding hegemonic power…”
—Andrew Egger [11:10]
6. Checks and Balances: Markets, Congress, & the 25th Amendment
- Hosts debate constitutional levers left to contain Trump: impeachment, 25th amendment, or, in reality, only the markets.
- Sam points out: “When the markets go south, he tends to notice … and then he course corrects a little bit.” [22:21]
- Andrew cautions that relying on market crashes as a check is “so unsatisfying as a reassurement … it's not like that fact suggests he's a great doctor all the rest of the time.” [30:08]
7. Trump's 2020 Election Claims and Promise of Prosecutions
- Trump repeats the lie that the 2020 election was rigged, promising imminent prosecutions—a statement the hosts highlight as deeply destabilizing for foreign investors and global confidence.
Quote:
“'It's a war that should have never started, and it wouldn't have started if the 2020 US presidential election weren't rigged...People will soon be prosecuted for what they did.'”
—Donald Trump [29:05]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)
-
On the broken constitutional order:
“If it's not happening, that means either the American people support it or the Constitution is broken.”
—JVL [02:32] -
On Trump's negotiation style:
“It’s no carrot, all stick. It’s these tariffs.”
—Andrew Egger [06:30] -
On the weirdness for Davos attendees:
“They must be like, what is going on in his brain?”
—Sam Stein [07:10] -
On Trump’s Ilhan Omar aside:
“In this speech to world leaders at Davos … he brings up this grievance with a random domestic lawmaker...She comes from a country that's not a country and she's telling us how to run America. Not going to get away with it much longer.”
—Andrew Egger quoting Trump [13:29] -
On U.S. market instability:
“One of the things is the bond market explodes....that would be enormous...”
—JVL [26:29] -
On the futility of relying on institutional checks:
“Of course [the 25th / impeachment is] not going to happen. But just … the fact that it's not going to happen doesn't mean that we shouldn't consider the fact that they could do it at any time.”
—Andrew Egger [21:31]
Timeline: Timestamps for Key Segments
- 01:29: Hosts introduce and set context for Trump's Davos speech
- 03:58: Breakdown of speech’s erratic content
- 06:29: Economics of Greenland “deal”
- 07:45: Trump’s “Daddy” and “piece of ice” comments
- 09:19: Analysis of Trump’s tactics as extortion
- 11:10: Mark Carney speech (Canada), global order shifting
- 13:29: Trump’s Ilhan Omar grievance
- 14:55: Trump threatens Canada
- 17:26: JVL’s rant on Trump’s NATO ignorance
- 19:46: Economic and geopolitical fallout
- 22:21: Only markets act as effective check on Trump
- 23:11: Trump “rules out” military invasion of Greenland (clip)
- 29:05: Trump’s 2020 election subversion claims (clip)
Closing: Where Does This Go Next?
- The group debates likely next steps:
- Will Trump lose focus and drop Greenland?
- Will he escalate, possibly by symbolically “annexing” it or incrementally expanding U.S. presence?
- The “disputed territory” status may persist, changing NATO and global calculations.
- Final banter about speech lengths and the endurance of world politicians versus podcast hosts.
Quote:
“Greenland is disputed territory now ... and until such time as it is renounced, or there is legislation preventing the annexation from Greenland, or we withdraw our military base ... we are more than a single election away from another Republican pursuing that claim.”
—JVL [35:50]
Tone
The tone is at once incredulous, exasperated, sardonic, and darkly humorous—capturing both the absurdity and real anxiety the hosts feel about U.S. leadership and international stability following Trump’s Davos appearance. There’s a recurring sense of disbelief at Trump’s antics mixed with grave concern for the ramifications.
Summary prepared for listeners seeking a comprehensive, insightful recap of the Bulwark Takes’ Davos/Trump episode, with all key themes, developments, and memorable quotes.