The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3563 – The World Leaves Us Behind; Greenland, Minnesota Fights Back
Date: January 21, 2026
Guests: Adam Federman (Type Investigations), Rep. Aisha Gomez (Minnesota House, District 62A)
Co-hosts: Emma Vigland, Matt Leckie

Overview

This episode grapples with the unraveling of the post-WWII world order, the chaotic US effort to claim Greenland, and the chilling ICE invasion of Minnesota. Sam Seder and the crew provide sharp analysis, irreverent commentary, and in-depth interviews with investigative journalist Adam Federman and Rep. Aisha Gomez, who gives a sobering ground-level account of events in Minneapolis.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New New World Order: Davos, Trump, and the End of US Hegemony

[07:34–19:50]

• Trump at Davos: The team discusses Donald Trump’s speech at Davos, where he rules out a military assault on Greenland—“which is nice, is good” (Sam, 09:03).
• Historic Shift: The crew unpacks two significant speeches—one by Mark Carney (former Bank of England) and Ursula von der Leyen (EU President)—signaling a rupture in the so-called rules-based international order.
• Mark Carney’s speech is treated as a “marker … perhaps the middle of the end or near the end of the end” (Sam, 10:39).
• Reality Check: Carney admits that “we all believe the lies because it benefited us” and warns of “a rupture, not a transition” to a truly multipolar world.
  • Quote:
    “We knew the story of the international rules based order was partially false … The strongest would exempt themselves when convenient…”
    (Mark Carney, 14:09–15:57)
• Panel Analysis: US allies are finally explicit about the demise of US-centered order, with complicity in events like the Gaza genocide accelerating this reckoning.
• Self-Reflection:
  “We’re realizing … Americans have become essentially the baddies, the bullies of the world.”
  (Emma, 13:05)

2. Greenland: Why Does Trump Want It?

[26:57–43:41]

Interview: Adam Federman (Type Investigations)

• Historical Context: Trump’s obsession started in his first term as a “buy Greenland” concept, mocked but now revived and weaponized.
• US Strategy Before Trump: The Biden admin used soft power, investment, base rebranding, and kept good relations, setting the table for the US in Greenland; Trump’s approach has “destroyed those advantages” (Federman, 29:07).
• Global Impact: The Trump-Greenland fiasco is the “nail in the coffin” for allies trusting the US:
  “It really does feel like this has been the final sort of blow … we can't trust these people anymore.”
  (Sam, 29:07–29:51)
• Manufactured Crisis: Trump and advisors (Stephen Miller, J.D. Vance) push false claims of a Russian/Chinese threat to Greenland, echoing Iraq WMD pretexts.
  • Quote:
    “It's like claiming Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.”
    (Federman, 31:46)
• Actual Geopolitical Stakes: Greenland’s Cold War significance (missile tracking, Arctic position) and new resources (rare earths, data centers).
• Possible Hidden Agendas:
  • Tech billionaires envisioning network states; private, profit-driven motives (“easy pickings”—Federman, 37:52).
  • Financial connections with firms like Cerberus, Critical Metals Corp (Howard Lutnick, Steve Feinberg).
• Trump’s “Childish” Motivation:
  “He saw Greenland as just a huge piece of real estate. It's big, it's there. He thinks he can have it. It's pretty basic. … It's primitive, it's childish, and it's how Donald Trump operates.”
  (Federman, 35:02)
• What Next?:
  • Trump likely won’t move on—“he has dug his heels in” (Federman, 42:27).
  • Possibility of endless stall tactics (working groups, committees) as a holding pattern.

3. Minnesota Under Siege: The ICE Invasion

[45:38–67:47]

Interview: Rep. Aisha Gomez (Minnesota House, District 62A)

• Ground-Level Reality: Armed ICE “secret police” have occupied Minneapolis for three weeks. Widespread brutality, extrajudicial killings, and daily violence.
  • Description of military-style agents, lack of transparency, and fear infecting the community.
• Harrowing Accounts:
  • Confirms murder of constituent Nicole Good by ICE agents.
  • Details an incident where chemical munitions (tear gas, mace) were used on high school students and a disabled woman:
    “They used chemical munitions on students, parents, and educators as school was dismissing.”
    (Rep. Gomez, 47:14)
  • Story of a father carrying his toddler through tear gas:
    “A completely terrified man with a completely terrified toddler in a residential neighborhood in an American city, rushing across the street … through clouds of tear gas … This is what's happening on the streets of Minneapolis.”
    (Rep. Gomez, 50:20)
• Federal Retaliation: The state is “balancing on a razor’s edge” (Gomez, 56:42); federal funding has been cut off, officials are being subpoenaed. Local law enforcement is powerless:
  “No local law enforcement around the country has arrested one of these guys. … We have 600 cops and there's 3,000 of these guys here.”
  (Gomez, 56:42)
• Limits of State Policy:
  “State and local policy are not the tool with which to respond to an authoritarian federal regime. Those tools are inadequate.”
  (Gomez, 59:18)
• Community Response: Organize, Protect, Resist
  • Grassroots defense—neighbors rally, make noise, use whistles to warn and protect.
  • Call for national vigilance and solidarity: “Communities across the country, you can't wait until they come to your doorstep. You have to start organizing now.” (Gomez, 55:40)
• General Strike:
  • A “Day of Truth and Freedom” set for Friday—asking Minnesotans not to work, shop, or attend school, with hundreds of unions and businesses participating.
  • “We are part of a lineage. … We’re just one in a long string of fighters for freedom and justice in our country.” (Gomez, 60:42)
• Best Practices:
  • Resources (defend612.com) and support networks forming.
  • Advice shared from similar defense alliances in Chicago, L.A., DC.
• Final Thought:
  “These are such hard times for my community and for my city. And I've never been so proud to be from this community and this city and this state.”
  (Gomez, 66:11)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the End of the World Order:
  “It’s the first time we've heard really one of our allies be explicit in acknowledging the hollowness of the rules based international order.”
  (Emma, 12:35)

• On Complicity and Rupture:
  “We bought into the lie because it worked for us… but as a pragmatic exercise, it doesn't work anymore.”
  (Sam, 17:43)

• On Trump’s Greenland Obsession:
  “It's primitive, it's childish, and it's how Donald Trump operates.”
  (Federman, 35:02)

• On ICE Brutality in Minneapolis:
  “After they murdered my constituent, they went to a high school… used chemical munitions on students, parents, and educators as school was dismissing.”
  (Gomez, 47:14)

• On Community Defense:
  “They had guns and we have whistles.”
  (Rep. Gomez, 54:39, quoting her constituent’s widow)

Important Timestamps

• [07:34] - Trump in Davos and the “end of the world order”
• [13:40–15:57] - Mark Carney’s pivotal speech on the rules-based international order
• [26:57] - Adam Federman: Why Trump wants Greenland, and what’s really at stake
• [31:46] - Media and intelligence pushback on Trump’s Greenland claims
• [35:02] - Trump’s “childish” motivations explained
• [45:38] - Rep. Aisha Gomez: First-hand account of ICE occupation in Minneapolis
• [47:14] - Teargas incident and public trauma
• [55:40] - The organizing mantra: “You can't wait until they come to your doorstep.”
• [60:42] - The call for a general strike and historical context
• [63:45] - Resource sharing for community defense across cities
• [66:11] - Rep. Gomez’s final, emotional call to action

Tone and Style

Irreverent, darkly humorous, but deeply concerned—a trademark Majority Report blend. Interviews are candid, detailed, and empathetic, especially around the gravity of real-world suffering and resistance.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

This episode delivers a timely, comprehensive take on the collapse of US global dominance, the farcical and dangerous Greenland “crisis,” and the terrifying realities of federal state violence in Minneapolis. It features compelling expert voices, actionable organizing information, and signals both grave warning and hopeful solidarity. If you want to understand the crossroads America faces—and what communities are doing to resist—this is essential listening.