Trump’s Greenland Deal & D.C. Marches for Life | 1.23.26

Summary

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Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode: Trump’s Greenland Deal & D.C. Marches for Life | 1.23.26
Date: January 23, 2026
Hosts: John Bickley, Georgia Howe
Guests: Cabot Phillips, Amanda Presto Giacomo, Dan Ryan, Pam Bondi, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Lila Rose, Dr. Marty Makary

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Overview

This episode dissects three major stories:

• The Trump administration's Greenland military deal
• DOJ crackdowns on church protestors in Minneapolis
• The administration’s move to ban aborted fetal tissue research, coinciding with the March for Life in Washington, D.C. It closes with an analysis of Australia’s controversial new anti-hate legislation in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Greenland Deal — Security and Strategy

Segment Begins: [02:40]

Key Points:

• President Trump reached a landmark agreement with European allies regarding Greenland.
• The U.S. will not gain outright control but will greatly expand its military presence; some new bases could be sovereign U.S. territory.
• European NATO allies will also increase their military footprint with a new joint mission, “Arctic Sentry,” to counter Russian influence.
• Republicans pitch this as a negotiating win for Trump; critics on the left see it as a backpedal.

Notable Quotes:

• Cabot Phillips:
  “That agreement does stop short of giving the US outright control of Greenland, but reportedly makes way for the US to expand their military presence on the island and potentially opens the door for new bases to be considered sovereign U.S. territory.” [03:06]
• President Trump (via quote aired):
  “We’re going to have all military access that we want. We’re going to be able to put what we need on Greenland because we want it. We’re talking about national security and international security.” [04:10]
• Trump hints at constructing the “Golden Dome,” a missile defense system inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome. [04:19]

2. DOJ Responds to Minneapolis Protests

Segment Begins: [04:32]

Key Points:

• Recent protests escalated when activists—protesting ICE—stormed a Minnesota church, harassing clergy and worshippers.
• DOJ, led by Attorney General Pam Bondi, arrested three individuals said to have orchestrated the protest, including activist leaders Nakima Armstrong and Chantal Allen. Charges include violating the FACE Act and conspiracy to deprive rights.
• Notably, Don Lemon (journalist and ex-CNN host) participated in the protest and faces potential charges; a magistrate judge has (for now) declined to indict him.
• The administration, represented by both Bondi and Vice President Vance, vows to prosecute violent agitators, emphasizing peaceful protest as acceptable but drawing a hard line at violence or interference with worship.

Notable Quotes:

• Pam Bondi:
  “We will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith.” [05:53]
• Pam Bondi (on protest rights):
  “Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer, the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you to the fullest extent into the law.” [06:20]

3. Aborted Fetal Tissue Ban & The March for Life

Segment Begins: [08:14]

Key Points:

• The NIH (National Institutes of Health) bans the use of abortion-derived human fetal tissue in federally funded research (effective immediately). Tissue from miscarriages remains permissible.
• Move hailed as a major win for pro-life advocates, timed with the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.
• The March for Life is headlined by VP J.D. Vance; the theme is “Life is a Gift”; record turnout anticipated despite harsh weather.
• Pro-life leaders raise alarms about the increase in chemical/medication abortion (notably, mifepristone) post-Roe. Calls for stronger regulations continue.
• The FDA is reviewing the safety and data on mifepristone, noting that such analyses take time.

Notable Quotes:

• Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (NIH Director):
  “Now that there’s better technology, there’s no scientific harm to this, we’re still gonna be able to do the science we need while at the same time getting rid of this use of aborted human fetal tissue, which so many people—including me—find morally abhorrent.” [08:59]
• Lila Rose (Live Action founder):
  “The on-demand sale of the abortion pill via our postal mail system is the biggest public health crisis that we are facing. There are thousands of women going to the emergency room with severe health complications ... there are hundreds of thousands of children being killed in this country annually by the abortion pill.” [10:29]
• Lila Rose:
  “The FDA can in a moment make a ruling to ensure that the abortion pill requires at least one doctor's visit. The FDA could pull mifepristone ... from the market tomorrow ... that could happen within 24 hours.” [11:08]
• Dr. Marty Makary (FDA Commissioner):
  “Some people think that study can be done overnight, but a proper study at any university takes time ... The government shutdown was definitely a bit of a setback. But we are committed to getting this study done expeditiously.” [11:42]

4. Australia’s Post-Massacre Legislation and Civil Liberties Debate

Segment Begins: [12:58]

Key Points:

• Prompted by the Bondi Beach massacre, Australia’s parliament passed strict anti-hate and gun reform laws.
• The new anti-hate law enables the potential banning of political or religious organizations if they’re deemed to promote “hate crime,” even absent criminal acts.
• Penalties include criminal charges and up to 15 years imprisonment for group membership; new powers enable expulsion from Australia under expanded immigration rules.
• Dan Ryan (National Conservative Institute of Australia) expresses concern that these laws target speech and association rather than addressing root causes like immigration integration.

Notable Quotes:

• Dan Ryan:
  “Now they have the power to essentially outlaw ... certain political groups if particular criteria are satisfied ... But we've never really had anything quite like that before.” [13:26]
• Dan Ryan:
  “It will be a criminal offence to be a member of those groups, which would bring ... up to 15 years [in jail]. It's one thing to ban an organization which is actively engaged in terrorist activities, but this is a slightly different law ... which would apply even when there isn’t necessarily a criminal act that has taken place.” [15:12]
• Dan Ryan:
  “A lot of the worst legislation in history is done because people feel like we've got to do something, and the solution is worse than the problem.” [15:50]

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Memorable Moments & Tone

• Trump’s “Trump Land” joke (quickly walked back) highlights the podcast’s slightly tongue-in-cheek, but serious, approach to big news. [03:06]
• Pam Bondi’s forceful defense of churches and faith communities echoes the hardline posture of the current DOJ [05:53]
• Pro-life voices on the show exude both triumph and continued urgency over abortion policy, medical research, and chemical abortion regulation.
• The Australia segment demonstrates self-critical, probing discussion on the balance between national security, civil liberties, and multicultural policy, with Dan Ryan voicing caution against governmental overreach borne of tragedy.

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Important Timestamps

• Trump’s Greenland Deal Discussion: [02:40]
• Minneapolis DOJ Crackdown: [04:32]
• Aborted Fetal Tissue Ban & March for Life: [08:14]
• Australia’s Anti-Hate Law: [12:58]

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Conclusion

This episode delivers trenchant analysis of the Trump administration’s hard-nosed foreign and domestic agenda—from military strategy in Greenland to law-and-order crackdowns at home, while spotlighting major victories and ongoing advocacy in the pro-life movement. In closing, it features debate about civil liberties versus security in Australia, revealing the real-world complexity of policy responses to violence and cultural controversy.

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For more news and exclusive coverage, listeners are encouraged to check out Daily Wire’s reporting and follow ongoing developments from the March for Life.

Transcript

[Cabot Phillips]

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[John Bickley]

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[Cabot Phillips]

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[Georgia Howe]

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[John Bickley]

New details emerge on President Trump's Greenland deal as the DOJ starts making arrests over the Minnesota church storming.

[Pam Bondi]

They're scaring little kids who are there to worship God on a Sunday morning. Those people are going to be sent to prison so long as we have the power to do so.

[John Bickley]

I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Friday, January 23rd. This is Morning Wire.

[Georgia Howe]

As thousands descend on our nation's capital for the annual March for Life, the Trump administration delivers them a major win.

[Pam Bondi]

The only ban is on you have.

[John Bickley]

An abortion specifically to terminate the baby. The tissue then gets sold. That's what's being banned. And in response to the massacre at Bondi Beach, Australia passes anti hate laws, sparking more controversy.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up with MORNING wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.

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[Georgia Howe]

New details have emerged regarding Trump's historic Greenland deal as Vice President Vance and the DOJ crack down on violent demonstrators in Minneapolis.

[John Bickley]

Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips joins us with the latest. A. Cabot so a lot going on here. First, let's start abroad. Big news. We've been tracking the Greenland discussions. Pretty feisty at times this week. Trump says he's got a deal. We're starting to learn some more details about it. What's the latest?

[Cabot Phillips]

Well, they're officially renaming the island Trump Land. No, that's not actually happening, but we are starting to get a better idea of what is going on. So after his highly publicized address to the World Economic Forum, where he again reiterated his desire to acquire Greenland and then doubled down on his threat of tariffs, the Europeans came to the table with a new offer of their own. And Trump seemed to like it, saying that he had now agreed to the framework of a deal. That agreement does stop short of giving the US Outright control of Greenland, but reportedly makes way for the US to expand their military presence on the island and potentially opens the door for new bases to be considered sovereign U.S. territory. That's very important for the White House. For their part, European NATO states reportedly agreed to dramatically increase their military presence in Greenland, launching Arctic Sentry. That is a new mission aimed at countering Russian influence in the region. In response to the deal, many on the left accused President Trump of sort of abandoning his plan. But Republicans say this was all part of the negotiating process and he just scored a lot of what he wanted at little cost. Here's Trump himself making that point this week.

[John Bickley]

We're going to have all military access that we want. We're going to be able to put what we need on Greenland because we want it. We're talking about national security and international security.

[Cabot Phillips]

Trump went on to say that this deal would potentially open the door for the US to build his Golden Dome. That is the high tech defense system that could intercept missiles before before they reached the US Mainland. It's similar to the Iron Dome over in Israel.

[John Bickley]

Right. The president really got a lot of what he was going for from the beginning in that deal. Now back stateside, we still have the crackdown in Minneapolis from the administration really focusing on these demonstrators, protesters, rioters against ice. What is the latest on that front?

[Cabot Phillips]

Yeah, the White House was already furious with Minnesota lawmakers over their refusal to cooperate with immigration efforts and their refusal to protect ICE agents on the ground. From violent agitators. But things undoubtedly came to a head this past Sunday when that violent mob broke into a church service, harassing parents with their children and getting in the face of the terrified pastor who they accused without evidence of working with ice. Now, the DOJ vowed to prosecute those responsible for organizing that disruption. And on Thursday, they followed through. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrest of two individuals who helped organize the mob, including Nakima Armstrong, that's a BLM advisor and former president of the NAACP Minneapolis, and Chantel Allen, a St. Paul school board member. The pair now faces charges related to violating the FACE act, which bars individuals from interfering with religious services. A third man, now William Kelly, was also arrested. He had live streamed himself breaking into the church, at one point telling a churchgoer to, quote, touch me and see what happens. And on Wednesday, he had this message for the doj, Pam Bondi.

[John Bickley]

You want to come and arrest me? You want to come and give me charges?

[Cabot Phillips]

So be it. And evidently, Bondi was more than happy to take him up on that offer. Yeah, he's now being charged with conspiracy to deprive rights. That is a federal crime. Bondi then followed up with a statement of her own, saying on social media, quote, we will protect our pastors. We will protect our churches. We will protect Americans of faith. Now elsewhere, VP Vance was also on the ground in Minneapolis Thursday, where he met with ICE leaders offering his support from the White House and had this message for those threatening them, come out and protest.

[Pam Bondi]

Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer, the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you to the fullest extent into the law.

[Cabot Phillips]

And it's worth noting there is a good chance that the DOJ continues to make even more arrests related to this church case. And left wing journalist Don Lemon could be next. The former CNN host marched into the church with demonstrators. He asked hostile questions of the churchgoers and even confronted the pastor on camera. The DOJ saw charges against him on Thursday, but a magistrate judge refused to sign off on those charges. DOJ sources told Daily Wire White House reporter Mary Margaret Olahan that Attorney General Bondi was, quote, enraged by that move. So don't be surprised if the DOJ finds other avenues to try and charge Lemon and others who were involved.

[John Bickley]

Yeah, hard to see the administration giving up so easy on this Gabon. Thanks for reporting.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Absolutely.

[Pam Bondi]

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[John Bickley]

On the heels of a major announcement from the Trump administration banning the use of aborted fetal tissue in research, the annual March for Life rally kicks off today in D.C.

[Georgia Howe]

Here with the details is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Presto Giacomo. So, Amanda, let's start with this announcement from the nih. This is a major victory for the pro life movement. Tell us about this new policy relating to research funding.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Yeah. So as first reported by the Daily Wire yesterday, the National Institutes of Health will end the use of abortion derived human fetal tissue in federally funded research, and that's effective immediately. Notably, though, if someone wants to donate tissue from a miscarriage, the NIH can use that for research. Here's NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya speaking to Ben Shapiro on Thursday.

[John Bickley]

Now that there's like, better technology, there's no scientific harm to this, we're still gonna be able to do the science we need while at the same time getting rid of this use of aborted.

[Pam Bondi]

Human fetal tissue, which so many people.

[John Bickley]

Including me, find morally abhorrent.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Now, clearly, the timing of this, just one day before the March for Life. This is a nod from the Trump administration to the conservative pro life movement.

[Georgia Howe]

Hmm. Now, speaking of March for Life, what can we expect this year?

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

Well, it's going to be headlined by Vice President J.D. vance. So again, the Trump administration supporting pro lifers there. The theme this year is life is a gift. It's going to be really chilly, but that does not deter these demonstrators. We expect thousands of young people, students, families, and, you know, potentially up to hundreds of thousands of people in total. And by the way, the Daily Wire's BRCA Stol will be on the ground at the rally. So definitely check out the Daily Wire for some exclusive content. Now I was able to speak to pro life activist and Live Action founder Lila Rose. She'll be speaking at Life Fest. That's a pre rally event for the March for Life. Rose really emphasized her concerns about the controversial abortion pill mifepristone. Now, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there's actually been an increase in abortion and that's largely due to mifepristone, specifically the mailing of abortion drugs across the nation. Pro lifers want this pill off the market because it kills unborn babies and they say it's not safe for women, especially how it's being administered with basically no safeguards. Here's Rose.

[Georgia Howe]

This is the Wild west and this is the greatest public health crisis. The on demand sale of the abortion pill via our postal mail system is the biggest public health crisis that we are facing. There are thousands of women going to the emergency room with severe health complications and sometimes life threatening health complications because of the abortion pill. There are hundreds of thousands of children being killed in this country annually by the abortion pill.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

And while Rose really gave high praise to the Trump administration for a number of big pro life wins, she did say that more could be done regarding mifepristone.

[Georgia Howe]

The FDA can in a moment make a ruling to ensure that the abortion pill requires at least one doctor's visit. The FDA could pull mifepristone used as an abortive patient from the market tomorrow, pull approval for that. That could happen within 24 hours. So the administration has everything they.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

I was also able to speak to FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. He stressed to me that a comprehensive review of the pill is something that will be done. It's currently in the data acquisition phase, but he told me the science will take time.

[John Bickley]

Some people think that study can be done overnight, but a proper study at any university takes time. Now, in the government, there are some delays associated with procurement acquiring databases. The government shutdown was definitely a bit of a setback. But we are committed to getting this study done expeditiously. And I can assure you that there are no attempts to delay any such study. People deserve to know the answer.

[Georgia Howe]

Well, putting some guardrails back on mifepristone is definitely a common sense step for a lot of reasons. Amanda, thanks for reporting.

[Amanda Presto Giacomo]

You're welcome.

[Georgia Howe]

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[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss is Dan Ryan, the executive director of the National Conservative Institute of Australia. Dan, thanks for coming on.

[Dan Ryan]

Thanks very much.

[John Bickley]

So these laws were prompted by something that there's a lot of sympathy obviously for a desire to do more to prevent another tragedy like the Bondi beach massacre. But you argue this is the, the wrong direction. We wanted to specifically ask you about that anti hate legislation that was just passed. What exactly does this law entail?

[Dan Ryan]

Well, it pared down from what was initially proposed. They were going to introduce very wide ranging laws against racial vilification which would have potentially expanded that to other categories as well. So, you know, you couldn't say things about a variety of different protected classes. But now they have the power to essentially outlaw political, certain political groups if particular criteria are satisfied. They say they've put safeguards in place for that. So that will only be exercised in sort of certain limited circumstances. But we've never really had anything quite like that before.

[John Bickley]

Sounds like an extremely slippery slope there. How would this work exactly? How would they actually outlaw a political group?

[Dan Ryan]

If an organization and members of an organization have engaged in what is defined as hate crimes, then then, and there's a recommendation from the intelligence agencies and there's, you know, real harm which is defined in the legislation which is likely to occur then even though the organizations have not breached any existing criminal or other law, then it would be possible for those organizations to be outlawed. The two examples that they give are something called the National Socialist Network, which is this kind of people who are purportedly Nazis and running around pretending to be that. So obviously kind of objectionable groups. And another one is an Islamic group called Tisba Turia. They're the two off the bat that they are saying will be banned under this legislation.

[Georgia Howe]

And when you say banned that those organizations are forbidden from operating as organizations going forward or what exactly does that ban mean?

[Dan Ryan]

Yeah, it would be banned. They've introduced additional changes in the immigration law which would allow people to be expelled from Australia. If certain criteria are met. It will be a criminal offence to be a member of those groups, which would bring, you know, jail time of, I think it's up to 15 years. So quite serious and draconian penalties would apply to those. It's one thing to ban an organization which is actively engaged in sort of terrorist activities, but this is a slightly different law that's being introduced which would apply even when there isn't necessarily a criminal act that has taken place.

[John Bickley]

You obviously disagree with this approach. A lot of the worst legislation in history is done because people feel like we've got to do something and the solution is worse than the problem. Do you think there are some more practical approaches to preventing extremist violence?

[Dan Ryan]

I think the underlying cause of what occurred in Bondi and an underlying cause of the sort of ethnic tensions that are playing out on the street has been the problems with our immigration program in Australia. Vast numbers of people that have come here in huge numbers that haven't had time to properly assimilate or have come from cultures where there are long standing animosities against other ethnic groups, which played out in Australia. Now, I think there was reluctance among the legislators to address that more directly because of the concerns that they won't get particular, you know, votes from ethnic groups in their electorate. And so they've. They proposed this instead.

[John Bickley]

Well, Dan, thank you so much for talking with us.

[Dan Ryan]

Thanks for having me.

[Georgia Howe]

Thanks for waking up with us. And if you're listening to the show now, you can watch for free on Daily Wire. We'll be back later this evening with more news you need to know.

[Pam Bondi]

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[John Bickley]

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[Pam Bondi]

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