Podcast Summary: The Next Level

Episode 1049 (Jan 20, 2026):

LIVE REACTION: Sundowning Trump Stumbles Through Press Event
With Sarah Longwell, Tim Miller, and Jonathan V. Last (JVL)

Overview & Main Theme

This live episode captures The Next Level team’s real-time reactions to President Donald Trump’s extended (and meandering) press conference, marking his first year back in office. The hosts break down Trump’s performance, communication tactics, and policy pronouncements—especially his attempts to reset the political narrative amid plummeting poll numbers and global diplomatic tension (notably over the unprecedented US push to assert control over Greenland). Interwoven are discussions of global realignment, US domestic politics, and the sense of instability radiating from an administration increasingly disconnected from facts and political norms.

The overall tone is incredulous, darkly humorous, and at times alarmed—reflecting the hosts’ mix of political expertise, gallows humor, and genuine concern about the direction of the US presidency and its impact on the world order.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Communication Strategy in Crisis

• Attempt to Control the Narrative:
  Trump’s long, rambling list of “achievements” is seen as a defensive reaction to poor poll numbers and negative press.
  • Sarah: “Somebody showed Trump his poll numbers and how bad they're declining… So he decided, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to get up…the podium, I'm just going to tell everybody how great I'm doing to turn things around.” [02:02]
• Essential Trump Style:
  • “No matter how bananas I sound right now, no matter how crazy it is, I’m going to force everybody to talk about what I want them to talk about…this is how I point the laser and get everyone to chase it.” (Sarah, [09:21])

2. Trump’s Press Event: Memorable Moments & Themes

• List of “Achievements” and Grievances:
  • “He’s just reading them one by one and weaving in between.” (Sarah, [02:02])
  • Notable claims included: banning public sector remote work, ending “woke” leadership in the military, and promoting low gas prices, among others.
• Transphobic and Culture War Talking Points:
  • “Ban the use of puberty blockers, hormone injections and other chemical and surgical mutilation of children...” (Trump, [04:38])
  • “It’s a total Grandpa Simpson thing where he’s just…saying random talking points…bouncing around his little brain.” (Tim, [05:24])
• Obsession with Public Perception:
  • “I guess I have bad PR because we get no credit.” (JVL, [08:58])
• Odd Details & Anecdotes:
  • Claims of firing millions of federal employees who supposedly landed better factory jobs (JVL mockingly notes at [52:45])
  • Extended digression about being injured by a paperclip and not showing pain (“He went on a long rift about how if it had hurt his finger…he would have never shown the pain because he’s not weak.” Sarah, [54:41])

3. Policy Pronouncements & World Order

• Greenland Controversy:
  Trump’s pursuit of Greenland is ridiculed by the hosts—seen as unprecedented, destabilizing, and a flashpoint for US-European relations:
  • “I just don’t see any way in which this isn’t the end of the American-led world order that began in 1945...” (JVL, [59:54])
  • Discussion of new tariffs on European nations opposing the US claim to Greenland, and EU/Canadian realignment toward China and away from the US ([65:25]–[67:49])
• Board of Peace Concept:
  Trump’s proposal for a “Board of Peace”—a lifetime appointment for those who donate $1 billion, as an alternative to the UN/NATO, inviting autocrats like Orban and Putin:
  • “It is a new global system on which he will sit on the top... It’s like the evil US Legion of Doom, the evil NATO.” (Sarah, [82:13])
  • “As chairman, Trump can appoint and remove member states…sole veto power over its decisions…” (Sarah, quoting the charter, [83:24])
• Global Realignment:
  • Hosts highlight a serious, “deadly” realignment of allies and global order, as world leaders start to decouple from the US (Sarah, [46:53]; Tim, [61:47])
  • Canadian military reportedly war-gaming response to possible US invasion ([46:54])
• Host Deep Dives:
  • JVL’s maximalist argument: “There is no foreseeable future in which Greenland is not a disputed territory between Europe and the United States…” ([69:34])
  • Sarah and Tim counter that while damage is immense, some possibility of a “muddle through” solution remains.

4. Foreign and Domestic Press Interactions

• Press Pool Anomalies:
  Most questions at the press conference were from foreign or friendly right-wing outlets, with few real challenges. (Sarah, [54:41])
• Journalist Questions:
  Notably surreal moments:
  • “Do you think God would be proud of you?” (sarcastic reference—Sarah/Tim, [59:01, 59:05])
• Economic Claims:
  • Bold but likely inaccurate assertions about “$18 trillion” investment and reductions in drug prices “by 600%.” (Sarah, [54:41])
  • Proposed “$2,000 tariff dividend checks” to US citizens—executive branch to act “without Congress.” (Trump, [18:17]; hosts’ incredulity at [27:06])

5. Immigration, Enforcement, and ICE

• Inconsistent Messaging:
  Trump equivocated on illegal immigration: suggesting “we have to have a heart,” but also touting deportations.
  • “The thing that he did was try to have it both ways…trying to say, ‘no, no, no, those people we want here’ while saying ‘look at all these nasty criminals, we’re getting them out.’” (Sarah, [48:28])
  • “Trump doesn’t have the stomach for it…he’s a little queasy on this front…he wants to seem like he’s strong and he wants credit for going after the bad guys, but…when it makes him look bad, he doesn’t want to see it…” (Tim, [49:03])
• Projection and Retaliation:
  Attempts to prosecute Democratic officials—seen as vindictive and “projection” for Trump’s own legal troubles. (Sarah, [97:17])

6. Democratic Factionalism and Strategy

• Kamala vs. Shapiro:
  Some debate about the intra-party sniping between Democratic hopefuls, whether it’s necessary or counterproductive ([87:38]–[93:11])
• Advice for Democrats:
  • “They need to get out there with strong messaging, kind of with one voice, stop fighting with each other and start really fighting with Republicans.” (Sarah, [100:19])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• JVL, on Trump’s listing of achievements:
  “We just sat through a extended press conference from the President of the United States in which he listed the 365 amazing things he did. Yuval Levin, hardest hit.” [39:34]
• Sarah Longwell, on global realignment:
  “We are in the middle right now on this day of the total reshuffling of the world order…we are watching the sphere of influence of the United States be drowned out by our insanity.” [46:53]
• Tim Miller, on US foreign policy vs. world reaction:
  “These two leaders [Carney and Macron] are having these very serious, momentous conversations about how the US basically needs to be left behind because we’re a menace on the world stage. Meanwhile, Trump this afternoon…just dissembling, rambling.” [43:37]
• Sarah Longwell, on the Board of Peace:
  “Trump is going to run this global order like that is the plan. [As] chairman, Trump can appoint and remove member states. He has sole veto power…It ensures Trump or a handpicked successor would remain in the position indefinitely.” [83:24]
• Tim Miller, on the unhinged nature of the press conference:
  “My top three [moments]: the Mike Lindell TV person asking about Venezuelan machines…Trump said he’s going to leave that to his lawyers; when he almost injured himself on the paper clip and then threw the papers down angrily; and when he was asked about America first and then he talked about all the foreigners whose lives he saved…” [53:29]
• JVL, on government stability:
  “What is being fundamentally altered for a very long time…is people cannot trust the United States the way that they used to. And, we are going to start being treated almost unfathomably as a potentially hostile power in the globe.” [73:09]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:00 – Show goes live, banter about press conference marathons
• 02:00 – 05:26 – Discussion of Trump’s rambling press conference; Sarah explains Trump’s “laundry list” tactic
• 05:24 – Tim: “Grandpa Simpson thing…random talking points bouncing around his little brain”
• 09:21 – Sarah: “Essential Trump communication style…he’s going to force everybody to talk about what I want them to talk about”
• 13:12 – 18:17 – Trump on trade, tariffs, and “$2,000 dividend” from tariffs
• 27:30 – 37:28 – Humor over Trump’s economic claims, Board of Peace, press questions
• 46:54 – Canadian military war-gaming response to US; seriousness of world realignment
• 59:54 – JVL: “I just don’t see any way in which this isn’t the end of the American-led world order that began in 1945”
• 61:47 – Tim: Reasons world is moving away from US, possibility of “muddle through”
• 69:34 – JVL’s maximalist view on “Greenland as permanent disputed territory”
• 76:16 – Is the American approach to Greenland like Russia’s approach to Ukraine?
• 82:13 – 84:11 – Introduction and breakdown of Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ and its charter
• 87:38 – 93:11 – Discussion of Democratic Party factionalism (Kamala vs. Shapiro, and party unity)
• 97:17 – 100:19 – On Trump’s pursuit of prosecutions as vengeance and advice to Dems on messaging
• 103:43 – Polling on Greenland: only 8% support military action; hosts doubt such issues will sway MAGA voters

Final Thoughts & Tone

• The hosts oscillate between dark laughter, alarm, and sober analysis as they process the consequences of Trump’s performative, erratic leadership.
• Consensus: US credibility and stability are undergoing seismic shocks, with far-reaching consequences for alliances and domestic politics.
• Their advice to Democrats is to unite, clarify their message, and “fight with one voice”—while recognizing that some damage to trust in American leadership may be generational.
• The episode closes with lighter moments—sports banter and Sarah discovering a love for football—but the underlying message is clear: “We are never doing that again.” (JVL, [106:49])

For those who missed the episode, you’ll find detailed reactions to pivotal moments, the hosts’ signature irreverence, and a comprehensive chronicle of Trump’s increasingly erratic tenure—an episode blending sharp political analysis and the exhausted exasperation of veteran observers watching history lurch off its rails.