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The President's Daily Brief
January 22nd, 2026: Trump Announces Major Deal On Greenland & Iran Crackdown Allegations
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It's Thursday the 22nd of January. Welcome to the President's Daily Br. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, yes, to answer your question, we are still talking about Greenland. But the good news is that apparently the US Will not be invading the world's largest island. President Trump announces a major new framework on Greenland, pulling plant tariffs off the table after talks with NATO leadership. I'll break down what's changed in the past 24 hours and what hasn't happen. Later in the show, new reporting out of Iran alleges severe abuse during the regime's crackdown. That's no surprise, including sexual assaults carried out by security forces against detained protesters. Plus, we'll take a closer look at President Trump's newly announced Board of Peace, who's been invited to join the board, and why. Some US Allies are already declining. And in today's back of the brief, Mexico hands over dozens of cartel members to U.S. authorities, signaling closer cooperation as the Mexican government faces pressure from the Trump administration. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. I wanted to continue our coverage of the Greenland issue. I mean, because can you ever, ever get tired of talking about Greenland? Across Europe, there's been something close to a collective sigh of relief, sort of. During his speech at the World Economic Forum yesterday, President Trump said clearly that he is not considering military action to acquire Greenland. And while the idea of US Troops landing on the island was always unlikely, the fact that it was even part of the public conversation understandably rattled nerves across Europe. So removing military action, no matter how unlikely, from the table, was welcome news for many American allies. But that clarification came with an important caveat. Trump made clear that while military action is off the table, his view of Greenland's strategic importance has not changed. He reiterated that the island sits at the center of US Security interests in the Arctic, touching shipping routes and natural resources and great power competition, particularly, of course, China and Russia. So, in other words, there's no D Day style invasion of Greenland coming. But the strategic interest hasn't gone away. Now While the lack of military action was welcome news, of course, the overall message from the president didn't land especially well with European leaders in Davos. Reports from the summit describe a noticeably cool reception. The concern isn't just about Greenland itself, but about the precedent of treating allied territory as a negotiable strategic asset. Then, later in the day, President Trump announced a new development. In a statement posted to social media, the president said he had what he called a very productive meeting that was, in quotes, a very productive meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and that the two had formed what Trump described as a framework for a future deal related to Greenland and, more broadly, the Arctic region. He said, quote, this solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the US and all NATO nations. Critically, Trump also announced that he would not impose the tariffs that had been scheduled to take effect on the 1st of February. Citing this new understanding, he added that further discussions are underway, including talks tied to missile defense coverage over Greenland. And he named a team of senior US Officials the usual suspects who would handle negotiations going forward. There are still important unanswered questions, of course, about what exactly is in this framework, but it does represent a significant shift in tone anyway from what President Trump had been saying previously. Yet even with the threat of force removed from the equation and a supposed framework for a deal, President Trump's pressure campaign has continued to reverberate through Europe and is colliding head on with another pillar of his international agenda, and that would, of course, be traded. European lawmakers had moved to suspend progress on a major U. S. Europe trade deal that had been agreed to last summer, explicitly tying that decision to escalating tensions over Greenland and the threat of new U.S. tariffs. From Europe's perspective, economic leverage was being used coercively in much the same way that territorial pressure had been. In fact, just hours before Trump's framework announcement, the European Parliament International Trade Commission chair warned that as long as proposed tariffs remained on the table, there would be no possibility of compromise. Trump's decision to pull those tariffs back, at least for now, may alter the conversation, but it doesn't erase what's already happened. And this is the part that matters. Strategically, President Trump's broader economic and trade goals depend heavily on allied cooperation, especially from Europe. Tariffs, trade deals, and coordinated economic pressure all require a baseline level of trust, and that trust has taken a hit. And there's an irony here. By taking military force off the table and now removing tariffs, the White House has stepped back from the most alarming elements of the Greenland dispute. But the political and economic aftershocks from the earlier rhetoric haven't simply vanished. European leaders are now weighing whether Washington sees alliances as actual partnerships or as business arrangements. And that leads to the bigger question. Is Trump's strategy forcing allies to engage more seriously on US Priorities? Or is it pushing them to slow walk cooperation, hedge their bets, and insulate themselves from American leverage? That answer isn't clear yet. But what is clear is that even rhetorical pressure carries real costs in America's alliances. And those costs don't disappear the moment the rhetoric softens. The events of the last 24 hours may have calmed nerves and deflated the immediate tension, but rebuilding trust can be a longer process. Alright. Coming up next, disturbing but not necessarily surprising new allegations from Iran of abuse against detained protesters and a closer look at President Trump's new Board of Peace, including who's been invited and why some US Allies are declining. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now. 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Welcome back to the PDB. Every day we're getting new insight into just how brutal the Iranian regime's crackdown against those who took to the streets has been. Human rights groups now say the regime's security forces sexually assaulted protesters in custody, including a minor. Let me walk you through what's behind that claim. According to reporting by the Guardian, at least two protesters described sexual abuse they suffered to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network after being detained during an anti regime rally. A member of the network said the abuse occurred during their transfer. One of those reported victims is just 16 years old. Human rights groups say these accounts align with what they've been documenting across the Islamic Republic, particularly in Iran's Kurdish minority regions, where the crackdown has been especially severe. This isn't new behavior from the regime, of course. During the 2022 protests, similar reports emerged of rape, torture and beatings in detention, with activists warning at the time that sexual violence was being used as a tool of intim intimidation. Since this round of protests began on 28 December, human rights groups estimate that roughly 20,000 people have been detained, arrests are happening faster, legal access is being restricted more aggressively, and information is being cut off almost entirely. As I've mentioned, the regime has imposed a near total Internet blackout and making it increasingly difficult, of course, to verify events in the streets. Even so, reports of deaths in custody continue to surface. As of this week, at least one protester has been confirmed to have died from torture while in detention. That's according to the Hangar Organization for Human Rights. The victim was identified as a 40 year old Kurdish man arrested on the 7th of January. The organization said his body was, quote, barely recognizable due to the extent of injuries caused by repeated blows. The network also warned that at least 20 children and teenagers remained detained in Kurdish provinces, alleging they too are being subjected to abuse by the regime's forces. But as the detentions mount, the regime's posture has shifted visibly and deliberately. More violent There are new reports that gunfire echoed across parts of Tehran as heavily armed units were deployed to secure government buildings, state media facilities and major intersections. Video footage reviewed by journalists shows convoys of pickup trucks mounted with Russian made.50 caliber machine guns. A senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran told Fox News that those heavily armed units include regime proxy fighters linked to Hezbollah and Iraq's Popular Mobilization forces operating under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the infamous IRGC. The official said at least 5,000 foreign proxy fighters have been called into Tehran to help silence protesters. The human rights activist news agency reports more than 4,500 confirmed deaths, with another 9,000 deaths still under investigation. But those figures are likely not the full story, as I've previously discussed here on the pdb. With Iran under an Internet blackout, verification has become increasingly difficult. U.S. officials warn that death tolls initially placed in the low thousands likely understate the scale of the violence, citing assessments from international organizations that suggest the true number of protesters killed could potentially be around 18,000. And yet the protests haven't stopped. Anti regime linked sources say nighttime street clashes continue in parts of Tehran and other cities, with battles between protesters and security units as the regime attempts to suppress unrest through violence. Of course, all of this is unfolding as international pressure on Iran continues to build. Not necessarily effectively, but it continues to build. President Trump is now warning that continued threats from the regime against foreign leaders will trigger an overwhelming retaliation as more US Military hardware moves into the region. Now previously, of course, Trump had declared to the protesters that help is on its way. What's not clear is where the actual red lines are at this point for the Trump administration and what that promised help might look like. Okay, I want to turn your attention now to President Trump's new Board of Peace, because as invitations to join the board go out to world leaders, some US Allies signal they want no part of it. You may remember when Trump first proposed the Board of Peace idea back in September this past year, it was a part of his push to end the war in Gaza. The board's purpose and focus was to be Gaza, but the administration now describes the board as a broader conflict resolution framework that sounds grand, meant to step in when negotiations drag on and traditional diplomacy stalls, not just an entity set up to deal with Gaza as originally proposed. According to a draft charter reviewed by Reuters, Trump would serve as the board's inaugural chairman, giving the initiative a deliberately centralized leadership structure. The stated mission is to mediate conflicts and promote peace, operating alongside rather than within existing international institutions, such as, of course, the UN Membership would normally be limited to three year terms, though countries could secure permanent seats by contributing $1 billion each to the Fund's board operations, a provision that the administration argues ensures long term commitment and real skin in the game. And diplomats and officials briefed on the effort say roughly 50 invitations have already gone out, with about 35 countries already agreeing to participate. The White House has named Secretary of State Marco Rubio Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff. When does he find time to do it? Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the board's founding executive leadership. The idea is to combine diplomatic experience with political leverage and direct access to Trump in a setup meant to keep negotiations from getting bogged down. A senior White House official says early participants include several of Washington's key partners in the Middle east, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the uae, Qatar and Egypt. A handful of NATO members have also signed on, including, no surprise, Turkey and Hungary, whose leaders have forged personal ties with Trump. Beyond that, the list stretches across regions. Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Paraguay and Vietnam have all agreed to participate. There's also a symbolic element here. Armenia and Azerbaijan accepted invitations following a US Brokered peace agreement last year, something the administration points to as an example of what the board could help lock in. But I want to point out a controversial sign on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, signaling what appears to be a tentative thaw in relations between Washington and Minsk, despite Belarus backing of Russia's war in Ukraine. As for Russia and China, well, if I'm starting a Board of Peace, I would love to have one of the early members be Vladimir Putin, who likes peace better than Putin. For now, both Russia and China remain on the sidelines. Neither is said whether it will participate, and both are veto wielding members, of course, of the UN Security Council. That's a status that makes them wary of any initiative that could dilute their influence inside an existing system. At the same time, not all US Allies are on board. Norway and Sweden declined to join. Italy raised constitutional concerns that participation in a body led by a single foreign leader could violate domestic law. France also plans to decline the invitation, and Canada has agreed in principle but says key details are still being worked out. Ukrainian President Zelensky? Well, he's questioning how his country could sit on a board that might include Russia. Don't worry, I'm sure Russia will at some point take your board seat. And Britain, Germany and Japan have yet to take clear positions. It's also worth being clear about what authority the board has and where its limits are. While the Board of Peace is a Trump led initiative, it does carry a UN mandate of sorts. In November, the Security Council authorized the board's role in Gaza through 2027 as a transitional mechanism, again specifically focused on Gaza. That mandate allows the board to coordinate reconstruction funding under Trump's peace plan, temporarily oversee the territory, and deploy a limited international stabilization force. As an aside, might I point out Hamas has still not disarmed. But beyond that, the picture related to the Board of Peace is less defined. The board's charter says it will carry out peace building activities in accordance with international law, but offers few specifics on enforcement or how it would operate alongside established UN bodies. For now, the Board of Peace stands as a test of Trump's effort to reset global diplomacy, while Washington's closest allies view it as a challenge to the international order. But you know, honestly, a new organization focused on conflict resolution and peace, well, can't do any worse than the un. All you need to know about the feckless United nations is that Russia remains a member of the Permanent Security Council despite Putin's four year war on Ukraine. Oh, and also the UN is, is the organization that had Iran chair a human rights commission at one point. Not to mention the UN's UNRA infiltration by the Iranian backed Hamas. Although I guess I did just mention it. Okay, coming up in the back of the Brief, Mexico flies 37 cartel members to the US as the Trump administration continues to pressure the Mexican government to cooperate further on drug enforcement. I'll have those details. Hey, Mike Baker here. Well, it is officially 2026. You knew that. Now, did you make any New Year's resol? I did. I made a few. But the most important one I probably made was to get better sleep every night. All right. You know, this sleep is basically the foundation for the rest of your day. With a good night's sleep, well, you have more energy, you handle stress better, and you think more clearly. It's a very good resolution to make, by the way. And to help make it a reality, I turned to CBD products from CB Distillery. 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In today's Back of the Brief Mexico transferred 37 cartel figures to the US this week, the largest such handover to date after the Trump administration intensified pressure on the southern neighbor to accelerate its crackdown on drug traffickers. Mexican authorities describe those flown north as high impact criminals, a category reserved for senior operatives tied to the country's most violent organizations. Those transferred include figures linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Beltran Leyva Organization, the Northeast Cartel, and remnants of the Zetas. These are groups Washington has increasingly framed as national security threats, with several designated as terrorist organizations by the Trump administration just last year, marking a shift away from treating them solely as criminal syndicates. One of the more notable names among those transferred is Maria del Rosario Navarro Sanchez, the first Mexican national charged in the US with providing material support to a terrorist organization. That's according to a reporting from Fox News. The handovers come as U.S. pressure on Mexico's cartels intensifies, shifting from arrests and law enforcement cooperation toward open military warnings, with President Trump publicly suggesting that US Forces could strike land based narco terror targets if needed. It also follows direct conversations between President Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum just last week, where the White House made clear it expects faster, more decisive action against fentanyl networks. A Mexico analyst with the International Crisis Group told the Associated Press. This is Mexico resorting to extraordinary measures as pressure from the White House increases, end quote. But Mexico's security chief defended the transfers on public safety grounds, arguing that cartel leaders were continuing to direct criminal operations even while incarcerated inside Mexican prisons. In other words, officials are framing the extraditions not just as cooperation with Washington, but as a domestic security necessity. Still, the political backdrop is impossible to ignore. Sheinbaum has acknowledged the pressure that she's facing from the Trump administration while maintaining that US Military involvement inside Mexico Mexico is unnecessary and unwelcome. Publicly, she's emphasized cooperation and coordination, but privately. Well, privately she's navigating a narrowing path between domestic backlash over concerns of foreign interference and Washington's growing impatience with the pace and effectiveness of Mexico's campaign against the cartels. With Tuesday's extraditions, the total number of cartel figures sent to the US since Trump's second term began, now sits at 92. As we previously covered on the PDB, the first handover came last February, when Mexican authorities transferred 29 cartel figures to US custody, including veteran trafficker Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought by American authorities for his role in the 1985 killing of DEA agent Kiki Camarena. A second transfer in August followed, with 26 members from multiple cartel organizations flown north. Taken together, the transfers point to a clear pattern. Mexico is using extraditions to demonstrate cooperation with Washington, attempting to avoid deeper American involvement on its own soil. But whether that will be enough to move the needle with the White House, which continues to leave military options on the table, well, that remains an open question. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily brief for Thursday, 22 January. Now, if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me, db@thefirst tv.com and you're thinking to yourself, perhaps, I sure do love the pdb. I wonder what it would sound like without advertisements. Well, we can make that happen. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily brief by visiting PDB premium.com I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay co. It.