Merlin (3:22)

Is that who you think I was alone with? Maradin?

Ben Shapiro (3:28)

I knew your father. I am yet convinced that he was.

Donald Trump (3:32)

Not of this world. All men know of the great Taliesin.

Merlin (3:38)

You are my father. That the gods should war for my soul. Princess Garrus, savior of our people. I know what the Bull God offered you. I was offered the same. And there is a new power at work in the world. I've seen it. A God who sacrifices what he loves for us.

Ben Shapiro (4:01)

We are each given only one life. Singer. No.

Merlin (4:05)

And we're given another. I learnt of Yazu the Christ. And I have become his follower.

Donald Trump (4:13)

He's waiting on Meru.

Ben Shapiro (4:15)

And I think you can give him one. Trust in Yaezu. He is the only hope for men like us.

Merlin (4:21)

Fate of Britain never rests in the hands of the Great Light.

Garrus (4:24)

Great light, Great darkness. Such things mattered to me then.

Merlin (4:29)

What matters to you now? Mistress of lies.

Garrus (4:33)

You, nephew. The sword of a high king. How many lives must be lost before you accept the power you were born to wield? So, clinging to the promises of a God who has abandoned you.

Merlin (4:53)

I cannot take up that Sword again.

Garrus (4:56)

You know what you must do.

Ben Shapiro (4:59)

Great life. Forgive me.

Merlin (5:08)

The time has come to be reborn.

Ben Shapiro (5:15)

Alrighty, so President Trump did something pretty extraordinary in Davos. He gave a speech basically going directly at our European allies, telling them that they needed to up their game in terms of defense, in terms of economics, in terms of their own national sovereignty. And then he pried a deal away from Denmark with regard to Greenland. And we'll get into the details of that because this makes the markets sanguine. Again. The markets were very concerned about the possibility that President Trump was going to hit all. All of Europe with these gigantic tariffs based on a desire for sovereignty over all of Greenland. Give us Greenland or we will tariff all of you. That is no longer the case. A deal has been cut. What is that deal? Well, European allies will claim that President Trump really didn't get much in the deal. President Trump's supporters will claim that he got a lot in the deal. We'll go through the details that we know about at the moment. However, the really big story here is how the President of the United States is calling on Europe to stand up for itself. And this, of course, follows hard on a speech given by the vice president, J.D. vance, last year, in which he went to Europe and basically told them they need to reestablish their borders, they need to stop falling prey to mass migration, they need to allow their markets to actually function, and they need to move away from a. An economy based largely on Russian oil and heavily regulated industry. That means that Europe has been stagnating for decades. So the president arrived in Davos. It was a red carpet arrival. Here is what it looked like. That is a very, very long red carpet. That is indeed a very, very literal long red carpet that the President walked down, arrived in Davos. And I will say the president was very funny. He spoke for quite a while yesterday. He began by saying that it was good to be here with many friends and also a few enemies.

Donald Trump (6:58)

It's great to be back in beautiful Davos, Switzerland, and to address so many respected business leaders. So many friends, few enemies.

Ben Shapiro (7:13)

He's always Trump. That's the thing about President Trump. He never stops being Trump. Well, President Trump started off his speech by saying people suggest that he is anti European, but of course, he's of European descent. He's both Scottish and German.

Donald Trump (7:25)

I am derived from Europe, Scotland and Germany. 100% Scotland. My mother, 100% German. My father. And we believe deeply in the bonds we share with Europe as a civilization. I want to see it do great. That's why issues like energy, trade, immigration and economic growth must be central concerns to anyone who wants to see a strong and united West.

Ben Shapiro (7:57)

Now the President clocked Europe, calling it unrecognizable, suggesting that they had moved away from the principles that once made Europe the leading center of civilization.

Donald Trump (8:07)

The places where you come from can do much better by following what we're doing. Because certain places in Europe are not even recognizable, frankly, anymore. They're not recognizable and we can argue about it, but there's no argument. Friends come back from different places. I don't want to insult anybody and say I don't recognize it. And that's not in a positive way, in a very negative way. And I love Europe and I want to see Europe go good, but it's not heading in the right direction.

Ben Shapiro (8:39)

The President said that his goal in saying all of this wasn't just to dunk on the Europeans. Obviously his goal was to revitalize what he called a precious culture shared by Americans and Europeans. Here was the President at the World Economic Forum.

Donald Trump (8:53)

The explosion of prosperity and conclusion and progress that built the west did not come from our tax codes. It ultimately came from our very special culture. This is the precious inheritance that America and Europe have in common. We share it. We share it, but we have to keep it strong. We have to become stronger, more successful and more prosperous than ever. We have to defend that culture and rediscover the spirit that lifted the west from the depths of the dark ages to the pinnacle of human achievement.

Ben Shapiro (9:31)

Okay. The President also suggested, of course, that the Europeans have failed themselves in pursuing a green energy based economy. That has been a complete fail. He is right about this. Germany's economy particularly has suffered because of its reliance on so called green energy, which is to say less reliable, less, less effective forms of energy, like for example, windmills. The President is not a fan of the gigantic windmill farms and he made that very clear.

Donald Trump (9:56)

There are windmills all over Europe. There are windmills all over the place and they are losers. One thing I've noticed is that the more windmills a country has, the more money that country loses and the worse that country is doing. China makes almost all of the windmills and yet I haven't been able to find any wind farms in China. Did you ever think of that? It's a good way of looking at it. They're smart. China is very smart. They make them, they sell them for a fortune. They sell them to the stupid people that buy them.

Ben Shapiro (10:32)

You know what? When the man's right, the man is Right now. The president, of course, also made the case that under his tutelage, the United States has become significantly stronger. He talked about how if America booms, the rest of the world also booms. This is a domestic pitch for his constituents.

Donald Trump (10:49)

The USA is the economic engine on the planet, and when America booms, the entire world booms. It's been the history. When it goes bad, it goes bad. The whole we all. You'll follow us down and you follow us up.

Ben Shapiro (11:04)

And the President also talked about immigration in the United States, how he was ending illegal immigration in the United States and blowing drug boats out of the water, and some of his domestic achievements as President of the United States.

Donald Trump (11:16)

But equally importantly, we're cracking down on more than $19 billion in fraud that was stolen by Somalian bandits. Can you believe that? Somalia, they turned out to be higher IQ than we thought. I always say, these are low IQ people. How did they go into Minnesota and steal all that money? And we have, you know, they're pirates. They're good pirates, right? But we shoot them out of the water just like we shoot the drug boats out. They're not pirating too many boats lately. Do you notice.

Ben Shapiro (11:47)

Man, the comedy routine here? Now, the real message the President was there to deliver, of course, that the Europeans ought to be both independent, but also recognize that they are, in fact, reliant on the United States. And so in that vein, he went after Mark Carney, who is the Prime Minister of Canada. Of course, the reality is that Mark Carney would not be the Prime Minister of Canada if it had not been, I think, for the trade war declared on Canada by the United States, leading to the elevation of Carney in the polls in the late stages of an election against Pierre Poliev. In any case, Mark Carney gave a peculiar address that we discussed a couple of days ago on the program with regard to the United States, in which he suggested that the era of American dominance was over. And Trump basically said, well, that's weird, since if it weren't for us, your continent would be a little bit more at risk. We are your defense shield.

Donald Trump (12:36)

We're building a golden dome that's going to, just by its very nature, going to be defending Canada. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also. But they're not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful that they should be grateful to us. Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.

Ben Shapiro (13:05)

And, well, the president also dumped out the, the favorite line of those of us on the right, which is that if it had not been for the United States involvement in Europe, then everybody would be speaking German and Japanese. I mean, it's slightly weird that he was saying this in Switzerland, where actually the predominant language is German. But the general point holds, obviously.

Donald Trump (13:23)

And then after the war, which we won, we won it big. Without us right now, you'd all be speaking German and a little Japanese. Perhaps after the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that?

Ben Shapiro (13:43)

Okay, so, I mean, that history is not right. Denmark maintained control of Greenland even during the war. They signed a defense agreement that allowed the United States to essentially build up a military presence on Greenland. In any case, the President's main mission here, which was to tell the Europeans that they really need to up their game. That was a successful mission. And it seems as though a lot of people have gotten the message, as we'll see in just a moment. There's more on this in a moment. First, this episode is sponsored by Pure Talk. If your credit card balance is stressing you out after that holiday spending, I have something that can save you money right now. You can cut your cell phone bill in half by switching to Pure Talk's saver plan. Just 20 bucks a month for unlimited talk text and 3 gigs of high speed data on Pure Talk's superfast nationwide 5G network. And as a veteran led company that cares about giving back to those who serve, if you're active or former military or a first responder, you'll save an additional 20% every single month. The easiest way to free up cash flow is reduce your monthly recurring bills. Start with cutting overpriced wireless and switching to my wireless company. I've been using Pure Talk myself for years. Obviously, I take my business and personal phone calls pretty seriously. I want the best reception, I want the best price and a company that I trust. That's Pure Talk. Head over to PureTalk.com Shapiro make that switch today in as little as 10 minutes. Again, talk, text and data for just 20 bucks a month. That's pure Talk.com Shapiro. You'll save an additional 50% off your very first month of coverage. Pure Talk is America's wireless company. That's pure talk.com Shapiro to get started. Also, I've been spending some time, obviously traveling. My family is with me. We're having a great time together. And you know, all I care about in life really at the end is taking care of my family. And at the end of life, you do have to be worried about taking care of your family. Because when you go, so does your income. There's a weight that sits on you. When you've got a family making sure they're taken care of and you need life insurance, it can feel overwhelming to even know where to start. Which is where our sponsor Policy Genius comes in. It's an online insurance marketplace where you can compare quotes from top insurers side by side, completely free. No jumping around between websites, no endless phone calls. What really stands out is their team actually works for you. There are licensed agents who help you figure out what you actually need, not what some company wants to sell you. They walk you through coverage, amounts, prices, all of it. No guesswork, just straight answers. They handle the paperwork, they answer your questions, and honestly, they take that weight off your shoulders. You get clarity on what you need and you can move forward fast. It's the perfect time to lock this in and start 2026 with real peace of mind. Check out Policy Genius. They've got thousands of five star reviews from people who finally found the right policy for their needs. You'll thank yourself later with Policy Genius. Real users have gotten 20 year $2 million policies for just 53 bucks a month. Ease the weight of protecting a wonderful life. Head on over to policygenius.com Shapiro to compare life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save. That's policygenius.com Shapiro and then there was all the hubbub about Greenland. So of course the President had threatened European wide tariffs on basically the entire continent over failure of Denmark to turn over Greenland to the United States, over turning over sovereignty to the United States. And of course the United States had offered to pay Denmark for Greenland. The United States had attempted to sort of bribe the citizens of Greenland with $100,000 a piece in order to get them to sign on the dotted line and join the United States. None of that was working. The President at Davos said that he would not use force in an American attempt to take Greenland.

Donald Trump (16:55)

We never asked for anything and we never got anything. We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay, now everyone's saying, oh good. That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark. Not long ago, after we defeated the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians, and others In World War II, we gave it back to them. We were a powerful force then, but we are a much more powerful force now. After I rebuilt the military in my first term and continue to do so today.

Ben Shapiro (17:54)

Well, the President went on to make the case for why the United States required ownership of Greenland. It wasn't enough just to have military bases there, which, again, under current military agreements, we absolutely have and can expand.

Donald Trump (18:06)

And all we're asking for is to get Greenland, including right title and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it. You can't defend it on a lease, number one, legally, it's not defensible that way. Totally. And number two, psychologically, who the hell wants to defend a license agreement or at least which is a large piece of ice in the middle of the ocean? If there is a war, much of the action will take place on that piece of ice. Think of it.

Ben Shapiro (18:42)

Okay, so the President went on to suggest that this is a small ask compared to what we have given Europe in the past.

Donald Trump (18:49)

It's a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades. But the problem with NATO is that we'll be there for them 100%. But I'm not sure that they'd be there for us if we gave them the call. Gentlemen, we are being attacked. We're under attack by such and such a nation. I know them all very well. I'm not sure that they'd be there. I know we'd be there for them.

Ben Shapiro (19:23)

The President then concluded by suggesting that people could say yes or they could say no, but we would certainly prefer yes.

Donald Trump (19:29)

So we want a piece of ice for world protection, and they won't give it. We've never asked for anything else, and we could have kept that piece of land, and we didn't. So they have a choice. You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative, or you can say no, and we will remember.

Ben Shapiro (19:54)

Okay, so what are the actual contours of a deal? And the reason we're talking about a deal is because the President came out after his speech and he said that a deal had been reached, a framework for a deal had been reached. He put out a statement saying, based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rudy, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic region. The solution, if consummated will be a great one for the United States of America and all NATO nations. Based upon the understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being had concerning the Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussion progresses. Vice President J.D. vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and various others, as needed, will be responsible for the negotiations. They'll report directly to me. So what exactly is the deal that belayed this tariff order from the President of the United States? And again, I'm glad that we are not doing a tariff war with the Europeans over Greenland. That seemed to me a policy that was, at the very best, smashing a fly with a nuclear bomb. It was something that was driving the Europeans into the arms of the Chinese. It was causing the Europeans to reorient away from the United States on behalf of what would be at best a marginal military interest for the United States. So what exactly is the thing that we are getting? Well, in order to understand what it is that we are getting, you first have to understand the deal that we currently have with Denmark. There's a 1951 agreement relating to the defense of Greenland. It replaced a temporary wartime agreement from 1941. It was revised in 2004. The original 1951 text established that the United States could establish, use and operate specific defense areas. Right. In other words, we could build bases in Greenland. And within those particular areas, the United States had the right to improve and generally to fit the area for military use. That meant that we could construct what we wanted in those areas, store supplies, we could put personnel on the ground in those areas. And that treaty was for an indefinite duration. So as long as NATO was still active, then the treaty remained in obligation. So today, presumably, there's a. An understanding. Under a 2004 bilateral agreement, it moved from bilateral U.S. denmark to a trilateral one because Greenland is now involved in the negotiations because they have a level of self government. Well, since 2004, the US presence does require the continued consent of the people of Greenland. But the reality is that the people of Greenland have never objected to the United States having a military presence there. They don't want the Russians washing ashore any more than the United States does. And again, there's not a lot to be said about the expansion of US Military presence. Presumably, if the United States had asked, then Greenland or Denmark would have said yes. And if they'd said no, that would have been a good predicate for the United States. To really put the pressure on. But there was no such conflict initiating all of this. So what exactly is the deal? Well, according to the UK Telegraph reporting yesterday evening, Connor Stringer, the Washington correspondent, and Joe Barnes, the Brussels correspondent, the United States will control parts of Greenland by designating them as sovereign base areas under the terms of a proposed deal agreed in Davos. Per the draft framework, which mimics Britain's agreement with Cyprus, American bases would be considered US Territory in the Arctic region. According to the UK Telegraph, that framework agreed between Donald Trump and Mark Rudy, the NATO Secretary General, on Wednesday evening, will ease Danish fears. The US Is preparing to annex the semi autonomous region entirely. The framework would allow the United States to perform military operations, intelligence and training, while also facilitating some local development, including potentially mining for rare earth minerals, without having to seek permission from Denmark. So that seems to be the only part of the framework that is a major change from the 1951 agreement. Now you can make the case that granting sovereignty means we no longer have to worry about any sort of threat from Greenland's government or from the Danish government about what we do in those military areas. Again, the reality is, practically speaking, that was not happening. Now, theoretically, we could get crossways with them. And so this is a better deal. This is the United States obtaining sovereignty over small portions of Greenland. It is not Greenland becoming the 51st estate or turning into Trumpland. As far as the potential mining for rare earth minerals, which the president is very focused on, given our dependence on Chinese rare earth minerals, unclear what extent that is is going to materialize, what that actually means at this point. According to one diplomatic source, the idea was to give Trump a deal. It was seen as a creative workaround to President Trump's demands for ownership of the entire island. So the the president again does have his eyes on some rare earth minerals in Greenland. 80% of Greenland, by the way, is covered in ice. And it means that the United States presumably would not have to seek permits like planning permission, and it would make it somewhat easier for the United States to station Golden Dome there. So on that level, it's a victory for the president. Now, did we have to go about it this way? Did we have to scare the bees out of the Europeans in order to get them to do all of this? Or could we have simply gone to them and said, guys, we want to build some extra military bases in Greenland to fight off the predations of the Russians and Chinese? And also we would like to make a deal with you on rare earth minerals. So it'll be interesting to See sort of what is found out over the coming days about how the negotiations actually went and what really does materialize here. Certainly it doesn't mean the United States is about to take over all of Greenland. It is, however, a more advantageous situation than we had before with regard to Greenland. The question is, what is the knock on effect? Is this going to mean that Europe sees the United States as a robust ally that just wanted a little bit more for its money? Or does it mean that Europe is going to completely reorient away from the United States, seeing in President Trump's tactics a sort of opening to move toward Russia, to move toward China? While the president of the ecb, Christine Lagarde, suggested this is a major wake up call and Europe may start to trend away from the United States, this.

Christine Lagarde (25:52)

Is a wake up call, a bigger one than we ever had. And I think that Europe is going to look at its strength, look at its weaknesses, do a, you know, a big SWOT analysis and decide what do we need to do to be strong by ourselves, to be more independent, to rely on the internal trade that we do with each other so that we can just not ignore, but at least be prepared. Another plan B just in case the normal relationship is not restored.

Ben Shapiro (26:21)

Well, Mark Rudy, the head of NATO, taking a very different attack from Christine Lagarde, clinging to the alliance with the Americans, recognizing that it's not going to be quite so easy for the Europeans to simply shift away from the United States. So you can be assured. Absolutely. If ever the US Will be under attack, your allies will be with you. Absolutely. There's absolute guarantee. A really want to tell you this because this is important. It pains me if you think it is not. And under your leadership, this alliance is stronger than ever. So again, I think that's the right approach by Mark Rudy. But you can see why the Europeans are feeling a little bit peevish right now and we'll have to see how they react to everything that's going on. Are we again entering a period of a multipolar world order, or is the president just flexing American muscles a little bit more than usual in an attempt to get everybody back on the same pro America, pro Western page? That that remains a bit of an open question. Well, the other subplots to Davos is that Gavin Newsom showed up, obviously. I spoke with the California governor last week on his program, not sure what he was doing in Davos other than running for president there. He met up with, wait for it, Alex Soros. So here is the thing. If you are going to claim, as Gavin Newsom is, that he is not in favor of crony capitalism, that he is not in favor of broader government centralization. If he's going to try and hit the Republicans from the right in the 2028 election. Hanging out with Alex Soros, who is again, the sort of Fredo Corleone of left wing politics. Right, he is the dumb son of a smarter father, George Soros, who is a nefarious figure in his own right for spreading far left wing principles around the globe, including in the United States. Alex Soros has been taking photos for a very long time with pretty much every major Democratic politician and then stuffing money in their pockets. Well, apparently Gavin Newsome stopped by the WF and met with Alex Soros. And Alex Soros put out a statement, quote, great catching up with the real star of the 2026 World Economic Forum, my friend Gavin Newsome. So glad he's here. Calling out world leaders for believing appeasement works. When it comes to Trump, it doesn't. It only emboldens him to become more chaotic and destructive. World leaders could take a page out of Nome's book. It's time to stand tall, stand firm and stand united before it's too late. See, the part of this that's a little bit bizarre is what is the thing that they are standing tall against Trump in doing? What is the thing, if it comes to, okay, we don't want Trump to simply grab Greenland. I get it. But if the idea is that broad spectrum, your goal is to stand up to the United States. I'm not in favor of foreign countries generally standing up to the United States as like a general broad rule. I think it's kind of bad. I think American interests ought to be pursued by pretty much every American, including, of course, Governor Newsom and for that matter, Alex Soros. Well, things got a little messy for Gavin Newsom right after Trump's speech. He called the speech remarkably insignificant. Here was Gavin Newsom. What was your reaction to what he.

Gavin Newsom (29:10)

Had to say about you?

Ben Shapiro (29:12)

None.

Gavin Newsom (continued) (29:15)

I think he said something very different last night. I didn't hear new scum. I heard news green scam. But I mean, come on, that's, it's, it was remarkably boring. It was remarkably insignificant. He was never going to invade Greenland. It was never real. So that was always a fade. And so he says, well, we should negotiate. Well, everybody here has been willing to.

Donald Trump (29:43)

Negotiate for a year.

Gavin Newsom (continued) (29:45)

So it had fire and fury, signifying absolutely nothing, even by Trump standards. I was rather curious and there was boorish parts of it, but those were not even that consequential, including name checking people he likes, people he didn't like. So, you know, I, I just, I was not. Honestly, it was just. I was a little disappointed, was a little nonplussed.

Ben Shapiro (30:06)

Did it stand out to you that he said Iceland multiple times when he.

Donald Trump (30:09)

Was talking about Greenland?

Gavin Newsom (continued) (30:10)

You know, all and that every time a windmill turns, it costs $1,000? A lot of stuff stands out. None of this is normalized. There's a normalization of deviancy of consciousness and, you know, comments and commentary and no other president, he's, he's held to the curve. He's graded on a curve.

Ben Shapiro (30:30)

So, I mean, really, that, that's, that's the most. So the most you could say is insignificant, except the Europeans aren't taking it as insignificant. Newsom then went on to suggest that European leaders are very happy with him, that he said that they shouldn't put on knee pads for the President. I will say that Gavin Newsom is very fond of this sort of knee pads joke. In fact, back In October of 2025, he launched a satirical merchandise campaign selling signature knee pads on his Patriot Shop website. He actually had a pair of those knee pads framed in, in the background of his podcast studio. You can spot them there. So this has been a long time running joke for, for Gavin Newsom. He says the leaders were very happy he used the Newsom knee pads comments again.

Gavin Newsom (continued) (31:07)

I guess I heard a surprising number say, glad you made those comments. The exact opposite of what you might expect. They needed to hear those comments. And I know that people in America have that point of view and perspective. And so I was very.

Ben Shapiro (31:26)

Do you want to name names?

Gavin Newsom (continued) (31:27)

Absolutely, but I'm not. But I would love to. And I thought yesterday comments by Prime Minister Carney were effective. And Macron's comments, obviously the EU President's comments were effective and they helped shape, but the markets more so.

Ben Shapiro (31:44)

Okay, so in his opinion, it was Mark Carney making suggestions about the United States that caused President Trump to back off of his sanctions threat against the eu, not a deal that was cut. He does admit that the markets had some impact on this, which undoubtedly is true. When the markets dive, the President doesn't like it very much, but. And the Gavin Newsom suggesting that he is fond of it. When Mark Carney rips on the United States and simultaneously makes time with China is bizarre. Him suggesting that Emmanuel Macron is some sort of world leader in terms of morality, while the French have been making time with the Iranians for years is relatively insane. And I think you can disagree with a lot of what President Trump has been doing with regard to Greenland. I think the American people, broadly speaking, do. I have I've disagreed with the president's policy prescriptions in some areas with regard to grabbing Greenland. But that doesn't mean that I'm happy when Mark Carney suggests that the post American order is going to be a positive place. And it's strange for an American to believe that a post American order is going to be a positive place or that European leaders ought to be ripping on the United States and moving away from the United States at speed. It's one thing for Gavin Newsom to make the case that the President is alienating our allies needlessly. It's another thing for him to say that those European allies are doing the right thing by ripping on the United States and moving toward China, which is what Mark Carney has been doing. Well, the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessens then went after Gavin Newsom. By the way, all this really just does elevate Gavin Newsom. Let's be clear, Gavin Newsom is playing a very smart political game here. Just on a political raw level. What he is doing by going to Davos and earning the ire of the Trump administration and getting members of the Trump administration to attack him is elevating himself far above other Democratic candidates who don't get mentioned nearly as often by members of the Trump administration. And again, the Trump administration is not in high odor right now in terms of approval rating. So this is smart politicking by Newsom. As much as I disagree with his principles on a lot of things, the man is not stupid when it comes to playing the game. Well, here was Scott Bessant dunking on him.

Scott Bessens (33:37)

Governor Newsom, who strikes me as Patrick Bateman meets Sparkle Beach Ken, may be the only Californian who knows less about economics than Kamala Harris. He's here this week with his billionaire sugar daddy, Alex Soros. And the Davos is a perfect place for a man who when everyone else is on lockdown, when he was having people arrested for going to church, he was having thousand dollar a night meals at the French Laundry. And I'm sure the California people won't forget that.

Ben Shapiro (34:10)

And again, that is a pretty robust dunk from Scott Bessant. But let's be clear, Scott Besant is also not going to be the nominee in 2028, presumably. And so elevating Gavin Newsom as sort of the bet noir of the Trump administration, that's the game. Newsom is playing, and so far, just on a raw political level that is succeeding. Again, it's very clever what Newsom is doing. I talked about this last week. What Newsom is doing right now is he is posing as a political moderate while earning the ire of the Trump administration so that he appears to be in with his own base. It is a very smart tactical move, even if I think again, that Gavin Newsom seems to be willing to say pretty much anything to anybody, depending on on who he is talking to at the time. Well, all of this came to a head when Gavin Newsom was apparently informed at the 11th hour that his talk with Fortune at USA House in Davos was canceled. According to Politico, he had been invited to speak on Wednesday, an event sponsored by USA House, which for the first time was recognized by the U. S. Government as the country's official headquarters in Davos. But apparently an organizer told his office they'd opted not to include any US officials in the talk focused on CEOs and other business leaders. A new administration official accused the USA House under the auspices of the US Government of bowing to political pressure from the State Department. Now, the organizer denied that they said the government is still welcome in the venue. This is again, Newsome pretending that he basically is a co equal with Trump and they're punching at each other. That is the game that Gavin Newsome is playing. Again, on a broader international level, the President also had comments while he was in Davos about a wide variety of international situations. One of those, of course, is Iran. The latest statistics coming out of Iran from human rights groups suggest upward of 14,000 dead. Again, those statistics are not a final tally. We are not sure at this point how many protesters were simply shot in the streets by the Iranian government. Iran is still in a full state of lockdown. The Internet is not operative in Iran. They still have troops out on the streets every single day to prevent protesting in the streets. Well, President Trump at Davos said that Iran had been hemmed in.

Donald Trump (36:09)

They were very close to having the nuclear weapon and we hit them hard and it was a total obliteration. If they, they may try again, but they're going to have to try from a different area because that area was obliterated. Incredible thing we did. And because we did that, we were able to make peace. If we didn't do that, I would say, Jared and Steve, if we didn't do that, there was no chance of making peace because the countries I just named and other countries could have never signed off. They were afraid they were afraid we had a bully. The bully was Iran. The bully of the Middle east, they used to call it. For years, they were the bully of the Middle East. They're not the bully of the Middle east anymore.

Ben Shapiro (36:51)

Well, it's unclear what's going to happen from here on. With regard to Iran, the foreign minister of Iran was granted an op ed in the Wall Street Journal to promote his lies, suggesting that they are going to basically shoot anybody who now participates in what they are calling a resistance. According to the foreign minister, quote, the protests began peacefully and were recognized as legitimate by the Iranian government. They suddenly turned violent when foreign and domestic terrorist actors entered the scene. So blocking communication among organizers of the rioters and terrorists was an imperative. So, again, the claim is going to be that it was what the CIA and Mossad that was responsible for all of this. According to the foreign minister, the people on the ground were targeting police and civilians alike. Officers were shot, burned, and even beheaded. Public buses, hospitals, ambulances, fire stations, health infrastructure, chain stores, even mosques were deliberately destroyed to maximize casualties and impede emergency response. The majority of those killed were police officers and ordinary civilians. Contrary to the lies being pedaled abroad, all unarmed victims have been officially recognized as martyrs. This means every affected family will receive full support, including the same compensation and benefits as fallen police officers. The violence on our streets has subsided and normal life has returned nationwide. Well, that's weird, since the Internet is still shut down. The Wall Street Journal editorial board put out a piece pointing out that actually none of this is true. That basically they printed this simply so that they could identify the lies being told by the Iranian regime. The President may be considering military options. Still. It would be very difficult, I think, for the President to not consider some sort of major move against Iran, considering he drew a red line. The mass murder of protesters. Iran didn't just cross the red line. They jumped over it with both feet, shooting protesters by perhaps the tens of thousands in the streets in Iran. According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump is still pressing aides for what he terms decisive military options. The discussions are happening while the US Sends an aircraft carrier and jet fighters to the Middle East. Those deployments may be the start of a broader buildup that would give President Trump the firepower to strike Iran should he choose to use them. So a revised suite of options are being created for the president, including some that would seek to push the regime out of power. How much can be done with air power is really the big question. The White House has to grapple with whether the administration is prepared to carry out a sustained military campaign that might last weeks or months should the protesters in Iran again take to the streets and appeal to President Trump for protection. However, suffice it to say that if the president really does not take significant action against the Iranian government in the aftermath of telling the protesters who stay out in the street and quote, help is on the way, that would not only be disastrous for the protesters in Iran, it would in fact be a signal to places like China that going after, say, Taiwan would not be reacted to by the United States with any sense of strength or alacrity. I very much doubt the President is going to do nothing in Iran. Iran, for its part, is trying to threaten the United States. Here is the Iranian armed spokes Armed forces spokesperson General Shakarchi promising retaliation against the United States or its assets in the region should the United States strike. We do not pay attention to Trump's bluster. He knows that if any hand is raised to assault our leader, we will not only cut off that hand decisively and courageously. And this is not just rhetoric, but we will set their world on fire. We will strip them of any security and leave no safe place for them. Now, again, Iran made those same sorts of threats to Israel during the 12 Day War. And suffice it to say those those threats did not really come true in large amount because again, if the Iranian government wishes to take on the United States military in true fashion, that will not go well for them. According to the Wall Street Journal editorial board, there's a strong case obviously for regime change in Iran. That case, regime change goes back decades. We'll have to see whether that is effectuated. At the same time, the President is expected today in Davos to hold a signlined signing of his Board of Peace agreement. So the Board of Peace was supposed to be part and parcel of the re governance of Gaza at a Board of Peace run by the President of the United States that is expected to allow for the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. The list of people who've been invited is bizarre to say the least. It includes not only some of the most robustly pro Hamas actors in the Middle east, like Qatar and Turkey, it also apparently includes Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the new Board of Peace, which seems kind of strange. Vladimir Putin suggested that after the Ukraine war ends, perhaps that will happen. So I guess he thinks that he's going to leverage the President into ending American support for Ukraine or forcing Ukraine into final concession so that Putin will join a Board of Peace. That's basically meaningless in the Gaza Strip.

Russian Official (41:41)

Considering Russia's special relations with the Palestinian people, I think that we would contribute $1 billion to the board of Peace from the frozen assets by the assets frozen by the previous administration and the remaining funds from the funds frozen in the United States could be used to rebuild territories that suffered Ukraine during hostilities. Once we sign a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, we're discussing this with the representatives of the U.S. administration.

Ben Shapiro (42:21)

Okay, well, what that amounts to, if you shorten that, is an attempt at bribery. Presumably the idea would be that if the Ukraine war ends and the United States forces Ukraine to the table and that Russia will then get its unfrozen assets and they will take those assets and pour it into the Gaza Strip in some way. Again, having the Russians involved in the Gaza Strip is just reconstituting Hamas. That is all that will happen there. Russia, Turkey, Qatar. Again, these are countries that were very much willing to facilitate funding for Hamas and turn that area into a terrorist hotbed. Again, President Trump, for his part, suggested the people being invited are people who will get the job done. I beg to differ. When you look at that list, all.

Donald Trump (43:01)

Nations where people have control, people have power, that we're not never going to have a problem. This is the greatest board ever assembled and everybody wants to be on it. But yeah, I have some controversial people on it, but these are people that get the job done. These are people that have tremendous influence. But all babies on the board. The winner be? Very much so. He was invited. He's accepted. Many people have accepted, I think. I don't know of anybody that hasn't accepted.

Ben Shapiro (43:30)

I mean, apparently some of the people who have been invited and accepted, apparently that that would include not just Vladimir Putin, but also Lukashenko in Belarus. I'm not, I'm not sure how those are some of the most effective people. Other people invited Brazil under Lua, which seems strange to me, as well as the leadership in Pakistan in the Gaza Strip. Okay, again, if you're going to posit an alternative to the un, I'm all in. I love that idea. An alternative to the UN would be wonderful. The UN is again, the worst place in international politics. But what you actually should pursue is a Board of Peace comprised of like minded democracies that actually share Western values. I have very little desire for a Board of peace that includes some of the worst actors on planet Earth. Now, the President did have some hopeful words for the Gaza Strip. He suggested that Hamas has agreed to give up its weapons. And he said that if they do not, then there will be consequences. Hamas is still waiting for the consequences.

Donald Trump (44:25)

Thus far there are some little situations like Hamas and Hamas has agreed to give up their weapons. Now, you know, they were born with a weapon in their hand, so it's not easy to do. When they were born, they were born with a rifle in their hand. It's not an easy thing for them. But they, that's what they agreed to. They've got to do it. And we're going to know, Jared, over the next two or three days, certainly over the next three weeks, whether or not they're going to do it. If they don't do it, they're going to have, they'll be blown away very quickly.

Ben Shapiro (44:55)

Okay, well, we'll see if that is the case because the question is who's going to be doing the blowing away? Right. Will the IDF actually be given the ability to go and do full scale operations in the Gaza Strip again? If in fact Hamas does not disarm? Because Hamas has no intention of disarming. Many of the talks so far have included getting rid of things like rockets and rocket propelled grenades, but not getting rid of small arms, which of course is the way that you control the population in the Gaza Strip because you can shoot people with AK47. Meanwhile, the President suggested while he was at Davos that both Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky are stupid if they don't get a deal done. Again, I'm just waiting on this particular deal. I'm just waiting for Vladimir Putin to show any flexibility whatsoever. We have yet to see any flexibility one iota from Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump (45:38)

So I believe they're at a point now. I'm going to meet with President Zelensky later today. I believe they're at a point now where they can come together and get a deal done. And if they don't, they're stupid. That goes for both of them. And I know they're not stupid. But if they don't get this done, they are stupid. So I don't want to insult anyone, but you got to get this deal done. Too many people are dying. It's not worth it.

Ben Shapiro (46:07)

I mean, again, it is not a matter of will when it comes to Ukraine. It's a matter of what people are willing to sacrifice. And so far the answer from the Russians and has been nil. And all this ties into again, what is the broader American orientation toward the world? Is it America first or is it America alone? Is it a multipolar world order or is it an America led world order where we are more muscular in pursuit of our own interests, and we expect more from our allies in helping us out with those interests. That remains the big question coming out of Davos. It was the big question going in. I'm not sure that the question has been fully answered at this point in time. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to progress on the executive level, putting forward excellent executive orders moving forward on the regulatory level. Dr. J. Bhattacharya, of course, is now the director of the National Institutes of Health and was previously tenured professor at the School of Medicine at Stanford University, among other superlatives. Dr. Bhattacharya, thanks so much for joining the program. Really appreciate it.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (47:01)

Thanks for having me on, Ben. It's nice to see you again.

Ben Shapiro (47:04)

So let's talk about what the administration just did with regard to fetal tissue research.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (47:11)

Yeah. So human fetal tissue research is, I mean, obviously has been a quite a controversial topic for a long time. The NIH had a big debate in the early 2000s over this. It's the tissue itself is often derived from aborted fetal tissue. So someone has an abortion and then some researcher goes and buys the tissue and then uses it for research projects. During Trump, Trump won the the policy was that if so there's two parts of the nih. There's intramural researchers that directly work for the NIH and there's extramural. All the people that the NIH funds, all in the universities. TRUMP 1 banned intramural use of aborted fetal tissue, human fetal tissue. This time we're going beyond that and we're saying not just the intramural research, but all of the support for the NIH has had, especially during the Biden administration, for human fetal tissue research more broadly, outside in universities that's derived from abortions is banned. Sorry, Brad. Sorry. Just there's one a couple of nuances really important here. One is that if there's tissue from a miscarriage, not from a specifically from an abortion, that's okay. The reason that's important, there are some research uses, like, for instance, understanding how fetal lungs develop. That's useful to know to have that. So there's some we've been tracking this very carefully. And the use of human fetal tissue in research has been declining pretty sharply even after the Biden administration sort of reversed the ban. The amount of money that the NIH has spent on human fetal tissue during the Biden administration research has declined very sharply. And so what's happened is there's all these, like, big advances where you can use alternate methods that you no longer need. Human fetal tissue A lot of the angst and fights over this, that happened over in the early 2000s. I think now that there's, like, better technology. It's really that the point is that there's no scientific harm to this. We're still gonna be able to do the science we need to make, you know, for human health, for advancing health of babies and all that while at the same time getting rid of this. This. This sort of. This sort of, like, use of aborted human fetal tissue, which so many people, including me, find morally abhorrent.

Ben Shapiro (49:35)

So let's talk about the scientific value here. So you say, obviously, and so does the administration, that the use of aborted fetal tissue is now largely unnecessary. We have alternative methods for doing this. Obviously, opponents of the policy are suggesting that something terrible is happening scientifically, that research that would have gone, that would have been happening is no longer going to be done, that there will be medical gains that we have to forego because of all of this. What is the scientific case that that's false?

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (50:02)

Well, first I would ask them to look at the actual policy, right? So someone who's had a miscarriage and then wants to, you know, do a meaningful thing to put that. And they donate the tissue from the. The miscarriage to science that's still allowed. Right? So the only ban is on you have an abortion specifically to terminate the baby, and then the tissue then gets sold. That's what's being banned. Not all fetal, Human fetal tissue. The other thing I point out is, Ben, is that if you look at the actual data on the use of. Of NIH funds for this, during the Biden administration, there was a sharp drop in spending on. On human fetal tissue research. And the reason is very simple, is because of the. The advances in alternatives to the human fetal tissue, for instance, induced polio protein stem cells for many uses is you can produce tissues that are comparable or better without having the sort of moral qualms. And, Ben, if I make another. Make another sort of public health case about this, and during the pandemic, there were vaccines, for instance, the Johnson Johnson vaccine, not an MRNA vaccine, but another technology that was produced using basically embryonic stem cells. I heard from so many people during the pandemic that Catholics and others who had qualms about using this technology because they didn't want to be gaining from what their moral system said was a illicit fruit of the poison tree. Right? And I completely sympathize with this. In public health and in science, we should seek to produce knowledge and products that are as widely available for everybody. If there are large numbers of people with moral systems that say, well, look, if you don't go down this line and use research, do research with, you know, aborted fetal human, fetal tissue, I'm not going to, I'm not going to participate in it. I'm not going to visit a vaccine or whatever it is, I'm not going to use it. Well, what good was the research if a large part of the population feels ethically bound not to participate or use the products of that research?

Ben Shapiro (52:24)

Well, that's Dr. Jay Bhattacharya over at NIH. Obviously he is deeply involved in every aspect of Trump administration policy, ensuring that the best of science is brought to bear. Despite the left wing media trying to claim that science is somehow on back burner in the administration, Dr. Bhattacharya ensures that is not the case. Dr. Bhattacharya, really appreciate the time.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya (52:42)

Thank you, Ben. Nice to talk with you as always.

Ben Shapiro (52:45)

Alrighty folks, the show is continuing for our members right now. We'll get to a Supreme Court story and also whether in fact the Beckhams are not amazing parents. I know it's a wide variety. It's a smorgasbord, if you will, of stories. Remember, in order to watch after be a member. If you're not a member, become member. Use code Shapiro at check out for two months free on all annual plans. Click that link in the description and join us. What was it like, Merlin, to be alone with God?

Merlin (53:16)

Is that who you think I was alone with? Martin?

Ben Shapiro (53:23)

I knew your father. I am yet convinced that he was.

Donald Trump (53:26)

Not of this world. Poor man.

Ben Shapiro (53:31)

Know of the great Taliesin.

Merlin (53:33)

You are my father. That the gods should war for my soul. Princess Garrus, savior of our people. I know what the bull God offered you. I was offered the same. And there is a new power at work in the world. I've seen it. A God who sacrifices what he loves for us.

Ben Shapiro (53:55)

We are each given only one life. Singer.

Merlin (53:58)

No, we're given another. I learned of Yazu the Christ and I have become his follower.

Scott Bessens (54:07)

He's waiting on a miracle.

Ben Shapiro (54:09)

And I think you can give him one. Trust in Yezu. He is the only hope for men like us.

Merlin (54:15)

Fade to Britain. Never rests in the hands of the great light.

Garrus (54:18)

Great light, Great darkness. Such things mattered to me then.

Merlin (54:24)

What matters to you now? Mistress of lies.

Garrus (54:27)

You, nephew. The sword of a high king. How many lives must be lost before you accept the power you were born to wield? So clinging to the promises of a God who has abandoned you.

Merlin (54:47)

I cannot take up their sword again.

Garrus (54:50)

You know what you must do.

Ben Shapiro (54:53)

Great life. Forgive me.

Merlin (55:02)

The time has come to be reborn.

Gavin Newsom (55:26)

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