Pod Save the World: "Greenland Prepares for Trump Invasion"

Date: January 21, 2026
Hosts: Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes
Guest: Yusra El Bagir (Sky News Africa Correspondent)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into a string of alarming global developments against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s second term, focusing on Trump’s renewed obsession with acquiring Greenland and its ripple effects on NATO and the world order. The hosts also dissect Trump’s disastrous handling of Iranian protest movements, his farcical “Board of Peace”, big shifts in Syria, Elon Musk’s controversies with AI tool Grok, and end with frontline reporting on Uganda’s rigged elections. As always, the tone is a signature blend of sharp political insight, gallows humor, and frank outrage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump's Greenland Crisis: From Joke to Global Emergency

[14:17-28:22]

• Background: Trump shockingly revives his crusade to acquire Greenland, escalating to “serious” threats that risk shattering NATO.
• Trigger: European countries’ routine military exercises in Greenland offend Trump, who retaliates with harsh tariffs—most notably a 200% tariff on French wine.
• Escalation: Trump posts AI images of himself claiming Greenland for the U.S. and taunts European leaders (fake Macron text: "I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland").
• European Response: France’s Macron and Canada’s Carney hit back at Davos, condemning U.S. tariffs and attacks on European sovereignty.

Memorable Quote:
“Trump himself said there is no going back at this point… [Greenland] went from being something that I think a lot of people treated like a joke to genuine crisis that is threatening to destroy NATO and the global order.” – Tommy (16:55)

Hosts’ Take:

• Ben underscores that appeasement has failed: “If they don’t stand up to him, he's going to take Greenland… If they gave him the Nobel Peace Prize, he'd demand the Eiffel Tower.” (20:17)
• Both demand concrete European pushback—deploy real troops, threaten economic “bazooka” (cutting U.S. access to the EU market).
• They highlight Trump’s lies (no Chinese ships in the Arctic, U.S. public opposes invasion) and his obsession with elite approval, contrasting his “anti-elite” stance with unprecedented Davos attendance.

Timestamps & Quotes:

• Macron in custom sunglasses at Davos: “Cooperation gives way to relentless competition… even more so when [tariffs] are used as leverage against territorial sovereignty.” (17:32)
• Ben: "It is fucked. The music has stopped. It doesn't exist anymore. Trump's re-election was the end of that." (19:36)

2. Trump’s Betrayal of Iranian Protestors

[31:03-39:14]

• Situation: Trump urges Iranian protestors to “take over your institutions,” promising U.S. rescue if the regime cracks down. When the massacre happens, Trump does nothing.
• Problem: U.S. lacked military assets in the region (due to redeployments linked to the invasion of Venezuela). Decision-making was slow and muddled.
• Tragic Parallels: Tommy likens Trump’s empty promises to infamous U.S. betrayals in Hungary (1956) and Iraq (1991).
• Outcome: Thousands killed, Trump spins his inaction as “stopping executions.”

Memorable Quote:
"This should go down in history with other infamous moments in US history where the US told people to rise up and then did nothing and got them killed." – Tommy (34:58)

Hosts’ Anger:

• Ben: “He lives in a consequence-free world because nobody will ever tell him to his face that what he did was wrong.” (36:41)
• Lindsey Graham spotlighted as a cheerleader for false hope (“Make Iran Great Again” hats while people die).

3. The Board of Peace: Trump’s Absurd UN Alternative

[41:34-48:57]

• What is It? Trump’s personal, for-profit “Board of Peace”—a body he controls, requiring a $1 billion membership fee (slush fund).
• Who’s Involved? Usual suspects: Jared Kushner, Marco Rubio, Tony Blair, handpicked cronies.
• Why? Ostensibly to help Gaza, but the charter omits Gaza, aiming instead to undercut the UN and concentrate global power under Trump.
• Risks: Could drain real resources from international institutions and provide cover for corrupt influence-peddling.

Memorable Quote:
“This is not an actual institution… For all I know, it could be going to like TrumpCOIN or something.” – Ben (44:26)

• Both urge world leaders to refuse participation and mock the initiative as “fundamentally unserious.”

4. Global Roundup: Syria, Musk’s ‘Grok,’ and More

Syria: [55:41-57:59]

• Discussion of a shaky “integration” between Syria’s new government and Kurdish forces, with the U.S. dropping support for its longtime Kurdish allies.
• Risks for the Kurds (“owed so much” but now told to submit to central authority), echoes of post-Saddam Iraq.

Elon Musk’s Grok AI Scandal: [57:59-63:36]

• Musk’s chatbot, GROK, devolves into producing explicit, nonconsensual images of women and girls—Musk responds by moving the feature behind a paywall.
• International backlash: Bans and investigations from Indonesia, Malaysia, the EU, UK, Japan, and California.
• Pentagon to integrate GROK(!) into its network.
• Hosts demand firmer action: “If you can’t even put guardrails around this… ban X, ban Grok.”

Memorable Quote:
“If this man is allowing his AI that he's plowing money into to be used to generate naked images of living children, then shut him down.” – Ben (61:32)

5. Humor & Memorable Moments

• Macron’s outlandish sunglasses at Davos spark recurring jokes:
  "It’s like if Joe Biden took mushrooms and bought a new pair of aviators that happened to be mirror blue." – Ben (18:15)
• Giddy laughter as Tommy and Ben lose composure over the Macron segment:
  "It was one of those things where like I cracked once and then I made the mistake of looking at you and then you looked and then we just couldn't make eye contact…" (28:29)
• Bizarre Spanish festival tribute to Stephen Hawking (“silly string” horror):
  “Maybe the world ended like 10 years ago and we're all living in the simulation in an AI generated simulation where shit like that happens…” – Ben (65:17)

6. Deep Dive Interview: Uganda’s Sham Election with Yusra El Bagir

[69:31-93:38]

• Yusra describes a country on edge:
  • Internet blackout, war zone atmosphere.
  • Massive deployment of security forces suppressing dissent.
  • “There was such an intensity to that day… I saw soldiers act in ways that wouldn't even be allowed on the frontline.” (72:13)
• Museveni wins a seventh reelection with a highly dubious 72% (“the likelihood of that is very slim” – Yusra).
• Young Ugandans feel hopeless:
  • “There's a lot of frustration… they inherit all the issues in these countries and then they don't have any say in how the countries are governed.” – Yusra (86:50)
  • Many feel crushed by state violence; their “protest votes” become mere acts of agency, with little prospect for real change.
• Bobby Wine, the opposition star, is battered and exhausted, as is the protest movement.
• The strongman model is prevailing across Africa, but, Ben notes, around the world too: "This is not just limited Africa…" (92:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trump’s Tariffs, Greenland Crisis: 14:17–28:22
• Trump’s Iran Failure: 31:03–39:14
• Board of Peace Debacle: 41:34–48:57
• Syrian Political Shifts: 55:41–57:59
• Grok AI Scandal: 57:59–63:36
• Stephen Hawking Carnival Bit: 64:11–67:07
• Uganda Deep Dive (Interview): 69:31–93:38

Notable Quotes & Attribution

• On European appeasement:
  “If they don’t stand up to him, he's going to take Greenland. Like the status quo. We should all just name this. Absent something changing, he will try to take Greenland…” – Ben, 20:17

• On Trump's dangerous narcissism:
  “He’s obsessed with these people [the elite]... Bill Clinton went to Davos. George W. Bush never went to Davos. Barack Obama never went to Davos. Right. So this guy runs against elites and he just can't wait to get to Davos.” – Ben, 23:50

• On the Board of Peace:
  “Trump’s in charge of the whole thing… The White House has extended invitations to at least 60 countries… but Trump gets to pick who is part of the board… serves as the inaugural chairman… until he quits or is pushed out by unanimous vote…” – Tommy, 44:00

• On Ugandan elections:
  “We went from this really heated brawl in the tally center to the streets where people were burning tires and being hunted down. Ben not just cracked, you know, we always say cracked down, but they were hunted down.” – Yusra El Bagir, 73:31

Tone & Style

• Language & Tone:
  As ever, Tommy and Ben deliver incisive, often darkly comic commentary peppered with F-bombs and sarcasm. Their analysis is deeply informed by policy experience but refreshingly frank, especially when lampooning Trump and his acolytes (as well as Macron’s sartorial choices).
• Interplay:
  Frequent banter, cathartic laughter amid the bleakness, honest admissions of exasperation (“I’m coming in hot today”) and mutual support.

For Listeners Who Missed It…

This episode is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand how quickly international norms can unravel in the face of authoritarian narcissism, how Trump’s actions have global repercussions far beyond satire or Twitter drama, and the very real costs for those on the frontlines—whether in Greenland, Iran, or Uganda. Yusra El Bagir’s firsthand reporting is a must-hear on the heartbreak and dangers faced by young Africans struggling against aging strongmen. And as always, if you need to laugh instead of cry: tune in for Ben’s Macron improv and the misadventures of Spanish Stephen Hawkings.

[End of Summary]