On the Media (WNYC Studios)

Episode: A Deadly ICE Shooting in Minnesota. Plus, Trump Plays King in Venezuela
Date: January 9, 2026
Hosts: Brooke Gladstone & Michael Loewinger

Overview

This episode explores two urgent media narratives:

1. The fallout from a deadly ICE shooting in Minnesota amid inflammatory claims of welfare fraud in Somali communities.
2. The implications of President Trump's intervention in Venezuela, examining how his administration bypasses norms of international relations for elite benefit—a system described as "neo-royalism."

The hosts and their guests scrutinize media coverage, political spin, and the mechanics of manufactured crises—both domestically and in U.S. foreign policy.

Part 1: A Deadly ICE Shooting in Minnesota

Key Points & Timeline

Context: Somali Daycare Fraud Claim Goes Viral

• (00:01) Claims about widespread fraud in Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota go viral, fueled by a MAGA YouTuber, Nick Shirley.
• (04:43) The video amassed 139 million views with boosts from Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance.

ICE Shooting of Renee Goode

• (01:06) Minneapolis police chief reports an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, legal observer, and mother, who was not a target of ICE.
• Notable Quote:
  “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.”
  – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (01:31)

Media Narratives and Spin

• (01:41) Early coverage used the vague, passive phrase "ICE-involved shooting."
• (01:54) National outlets like 404 Media, BBC, NYT, Bellingcat, and WaPo confirm via cellphone footage that Goode was driving away from, not toward, agents when she was shot.

Political Response and Misinformation

• (02:47) President, VP, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem claim Renee Goode behaved violently—statements directly contradicted by footage and reporting.
• Notable Quote:
  “From the President to the Vice President to Kristi Noem have stood and told you things that are verifiably false.”
  – Gov. Tim Walz (03:09)

Anti-Somali Narrative and Escalation

• (04:16) 2,000 federal agents descend on Minneapolis-St. Paul, called the largest immigration operation ever.
• (04:48-05:59) The narrative ties the crackdown to fraudulent Somali-operated daycares, centering dubious claims by right-wing sources and fanning xenophobia.

Investigative Reporting (with Jeffrey Mitraut, Minnesota Star Tribune)

• (07:29-10:45) Mitraut contextualizes the fraud claims: some cases of actual fraud, but mass criminality is a racist fantasy.
• (10:45-15:37) Their reporting finds that the majority of daycare centers in the viral video are legitimate, with regular violations mostly relating to paperwork, not fraud.
• Notable Quote:
  “To say that the vast majority or even all of them are criminals, it's just absurd.”
  – Jeffrey Mitraut (08:18)

Impact on Somali Community

• (18:16-19:08) Somali daycare providers receive harassment and death threats, with a climate of fear and violence escalating due to the viral narrative.

Link Between Narrative and Violence

• (19:19-20:42) Mitraut draws a line from manufactured federal "crisis" rhetoric to the shooting, calling the ICE presence "punishment" for political opposition.

Reflection and Warning

• (20:52)
  “People should be looking at Minnesota and not thinking of this as something that's happening in isolation. They should sort of be thinking about, gee, I wonder who's next and could it be us?”
  – Jeffrey Mitraut (20:52)

Part 2: Trump’s Intervention in Venezuela and “Neo-Royalism”

Key Points & Timeline

The Raid on Caracas and Media Framing

• (21:35-22:20) Trump orders a violent raid on Caracas, capturing Maduro; he explicitly ties U.S. intervention to gaining oil access.
• Notable Quote:
  “We’re going to have presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil… we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be.”
  – Trump (22:03, quoted)

Venezuela’s Information Environment (with Rafael Ocio Cabrices, Caracas Chronicles)

• (23:04-27:20) Rafael describes the decimation of independent media, widespread use of misinformation, and government suppression of online dissent.
• Notable Quote:
  “You can go to prison for a joke, for a tweet, for anything. People have no rights.”
  – Rafael Ocio Cabrices (27:34)

Contradictory Messages and Propaganda’s Efficacy

• (28:23-31:17) State media pushes both anti-U.S. and celebratory oil business narratives.
• Cabrices observes regime propaganda works only on a small Chavista minority; most Venezuelans see through it.

Critique of International and U.S. Media Narratives

• (31:28-33:17) Cabrices argues international media sometimes overcorrects against Trump by denying real drug trafficking or overstating U.S. oil interests.
• Notable Quote:
  “Those years of real hegemony of the Chavista thought and propaganda ended years ago with Hugo Chavez.”
  – Rafael Ocio Cabrices (31:17)

Why Venezuela? Cabrices’ Perspective

• (33:42-34:23) Cabrices speculates Trump’s actions are about business connections, expelling rivals, and reviving the Monroe Doctrine—not democracy or drugs.

The Human Cost Behind the Headlines

• (34:23-35:35)
  “Venezuela is not part of a board game. It’s a country with 28 million people living under a horrendous dictatorship… not talking about the suffering of a nation unravelled by violence, poverty, and mass migration.”
  – Rafael Ocio Cabrices (34:43)

Part 3: The Trump Doctrine as “Neo-Royalism” (with Prof. Abe Newman, Georgetown)

Key Points & Timeline

Defining "Neo-Royalism"

• (36:55-37:45)
  "Neo-royalism is when international affairs is driven not by national interests, but by a small group of elites. This is a story of kings—of Louis XIV: 'I am the state.'"
  – Abe Newman (37:45)

Who Benefits? The Citgo Acquisition Example

• (40:04-41:35) Brooke and Abe discuss how Citgo, recently bought by Trump donor Paul Singer, stands to benefit, as does Trump’s circle, not the U.S. at large.
• Notable Quote:
  “It’s not going to be a remarkable amount for the US consumer, but it is going to flow into the hands of the Trump administration and particularly Donald Trump… it’s still about what a presidential campaign would cost.”
  – Abe Newman (41:08)

Elite Self-Enrichment and Historical Parallels

• (41:35-43:33) Abe contrasts Trump’s behavior with pre-modern monarchs:
  “Nobody would say, 'Catherine the Great was corrupt'—it was just a different set of principles.”
  – Abe Newman (46:54)

Neo-Royalist Foreign Policy Tactics

• (42:49-44:44) Trump uses tariffs, threats, and symbolic “gifts” (like Apple’s gold iPhone) not to advance U.S. interests, but as “tithes” from those seeking favor.
• (44:44)
  “What he really wants is for actors to bend the knee… He just has to use a little bit of coercion to get quite a lot of return.”
  – Abe Newman (44:44)

Dangers of Normalization and International Response

• (45:45-49:35)
  “What I’m worried about is that people will get normalized, that they’ll start to just routinize how this kind of politics is gonna work.”
  – Abe Newman (45:45)

Systemic Ramifications

• (47:28) Discussion of proposals for oil profits to flow to private accounts controlled by Trump.
• (48:54-49:35) Europe, without a clear counter-vision, faces the risk of becoming “a vassal.”

Final Observations

• (47:48)
  “None of it is really about anything except enabling Trump to amass enough resources that he can reward his friends and punish his enemies.”
  – Brooke Gladstone (47:48)

• (48:40)
  “You have to be able to name it, and then you have to mount an alternative…Domestically and globally, other actors have to stop debasing themselves to this logic.”
  – Abe Newman (48:40)

Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Highlight | |-----------|---------|----------------| | 01:31 | Mayor Jacob Frey | “This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.” | | 03:09 | Gov. Tim Walz | “They have determined the character of a 37 year old mom that they didn't even know.” | | 08:18 | Jeffrey Mitraut | “To say that the vast majority or even all of them are criminals, it's just absurd.” | | 20:52 | Jeffrey Mitraut | “People should be looking at Minnesota... I wonder who's next and could it be us?” | | 22:03 | Trump (quoted) | “We’re going to have presence in Venezuela as it pertains to oil… we’re going to get the oil flowing the way it should be.” | | 27:34 | Rafael Ocio Cabrices | “You can go to prison for a joke, for a tweet, for anything. People have no rights.” | | 34:43 | Rafael Ocio Cabrices | “Venezuela is not part of a board game. It’s a country with 28 million people living under a horrendous dictatorship.” | | 37:45 | Abe Newman | “Neo royalism is when international affairs is driven not by national interests, but by a small group of elites.” | | 41:08 | Abe Newman | “It is going to flow into the hands of the Trump administration... what a presidential campaign would cost.” | | 44:44 | Abe Newman | “What he really wants is for actors to bend the knee.” | | 47:48 | Brooke Gladstone | “None of it is really about anything except enabling Trump to amass enough resources that he can reward his friends and punish his enemies.” | | 48:40 | Abe Newman | “You have to be able to name it, and then you have to mount an alternative.” |

Conclusion

This episode interrogates the construction and consequences of dangerous media narratives—from the ground-level panic and violence in Minnesota, rooted in viral fraud claims, to the global ramifications of Trump’s self-enriching, monarchic approach to foreign policy. The discussions highlight how political power is wielded through narrative manipulation, manufactured crises, and the erosion of institutional norms for the benefit of a select elite, with grave consequences for democracy, free speech, and those caught in the crossfire.