Truth in the Barrel: This Week Unfiltered (01.15.26) — January 16, 2026

Hosts: Amy McGrath and Miles Taylor (filling in for Denver Riggleman)
Main Theme:
A sharp, unfiltered discussion on the current crisis involving ICE, the Insurrection Act, U.S. foreign policy upheaval, the Trump administration’s unprecedented actions both at home and abroad, and the urgent need for public resistance and institutional reform.

Episode Overview

Amy McGrath and guest host Miles Taylor dive into the rapidly escalating fallout from the killing of Renee Goode by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, President Trump’s threats to invoke the Insurrection Act, and American public defiance in the face of government misinformation. The duo then pivot to pressing global issues: the fracturing of NATO, Trump’s imperial ambitions in Greenland and Venezuela, challenges in Iran, and threats to the independence of the Federal Reserve. They reinforce the power of grassroots activism and end with a heartfelt shout-out to America’s nurses.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. ICE Killing in Minneapolis & The Threat of the Insurrection Act

Timestamps: 00:43–11:38

• Amy leads with the killing of Renee Good and the Trump administration’s response—deploying more ICE agents and threatening the Insurrection Act.

  • “Instead of taking a step back and being truthful and trying to find out what has happened, they’ve put more ICE agents into Minneapolis. And now Trump is threatening the Insurrection Act. What is going on?” (00:50)

• Miles Taylor (former DHS official) underscores Trump’s longstanding desire to invoke the Insurrection Act for domestic crackdowns:

  • “The threat of the Insurrection Act is not bluster… He is just looking for the predicate. He has been for the predicate since then.” (01:24)
  • Explains the Insurrection Act as the U.S.'s closest equivalent to martial law, and how Trump’s search for exploitable moments has been ongoing since 2018.

• American public disbelieves official narrative:

  • “I was worried that we would have 50% of the American people believe the President's claim. ...The answer to that is no. The American people don't believe the bullshit. ...76% of voters say they've seen the footage.” — Amy (04:15)

• Key insight: Citizen documentation is changing the narrative.

  • “People woke up to the fact that using one of these [cell phones] to document your encounters with ICE can mean the difference between accepting a lie... and seeing the truth with their own eyes.” — Miles (05:40)
  • Grants announced to organizations (e.g., Witness.org, Menarca) for “know your rights” and documentation training.

• Call for radical reform of ICE—making agents wear identification, banning masks, demanding compliance with the law.

  • “We will not accept a literal shadow police force that walks around like this. And you cannot know who they are.” — Miles (09:40)

Notable Quote:

“You are paying to be repressed by this administration. So put aside any outrage about the most important things like the Constitution. I would be pretty pissed off and am pretty pissed off that I’m giving money to these guys to go kill my fellow Americans.” — Miles (10:00)

2. Foreign Policy: Morality, NATO, Greenland, and Venezuela

Timestamps: 11:38–31:46

Trump’s Global Authority & Unchecked Power

• Amy references a NYT interview in which Trump claims, “My own morality, my own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” (12:32)
• Miles describes Trump’s lack of moral center as the root danger:
  • “Everything you’ve seen in the past year was foreseeable… he was convinced not to do [it]... now Donald Trump’s conscience... is running wild.” (14:00–15:08)

NATO at a Breaking Point & The Greenland Crisis

• Trump’s threats and “imperial” actions—especially moves to “conquer” Greenland—are fracturing trust between the U.S. and allies.

  • “We have got NATO allies not preparing for an external invasion. They are literally preparing for an internal invasion.” — Miles (16:57)
  • Describes military deployments by France, Sweden, and Germany to Greenland to counter U.S. intentions—a total reversal of post-9/11 solidarity.

• “If you’ve ever been in a relationship where there was infidelity, because the moment that breach of trust happens… the relationship changes forever.” — Miles (17:56)

U.S. Imperialism: Venezuela, Oil, and Trump’s Motivations

• Trump openly connects military interventions to resource grabs — not security or human rights.

  • “Donald Trump has said it’s about oil. …It is literally the greatest threat to this nation that our president is so drunk on power, so imperialistic, he’s putting all of our alliances and national and international stability at risk.” — Miles (20:52)

• Amy questions the logic of throwing huge sums at Greenlanders to “join” the United States.

  • “At a time when Americans can’t afford health insurance... $100,000 apiece to Greenlanders to make it the 51st state. Seriously, this is crazy.” (22:54)

3. Venezuela — Motives, Oil, and the Dangers of U.S. Intervention

Timestamps: 24:59–31:46

• America’s “law enforcement” justification for intervention quickly pivots to an open resource grab.

  • “Donald Trump lied to you and you clearly bought it because he told you that this was a law enforcement operation... Just kidding. We are taking over the country. Just kidding. It is about oil and it was our oil. This is all stupid.” — Miles (26:21)

• Oil companies are not eager to participate due to political risk and likely future investigations.

  • “You don’t want to touch this with a 10 foot pole because the next administration [is] going to come in and investigate the pants off of these people.” — Miles (30:52)

Notable Quote:

“There’s a very rich history over the past several hundred years of Western powers imagining that they can go colonize places and use extractive industries to enrich themselves. …I’m just into the ways that aren’t incandescently stupid for doing that. And this is one of those very stupid ways.” — Miles (29:46)

4. Iran: Solidarity, Hypocrisy, and the Limits of U.S. Intervention

Timestamps: 31:46–41:03

• Widespread Iranian protests are addressed with “help is on the way” rhetoric from Trump, which both hosts find concerning and vague.

  • “The president is saying, we’re with you, the Iranians who are protesting. The problem, of course, is that, what does that mean...?” — Amy (33:23)

• Miles: The contradiction of Trump touting free speech in Iran while criminalizing protest at home is stark.

  • “He is designating people who speak freely in the United States as domestic terrorists. That is reprehensible.” (35:31)

• Trump's foreign policy logic revealed—he acts based on personal grievance, not strategic principle.

  • “Once you use that as the decoder ring, you understand all of Donald Trump’s foreign policy because he has personal grievance against the Iranian regime and the regime in Venezuela because both... have tried to undermine him or make fun of him.” (37:43)
  • Example: Trump was motivated to target Maduro after being mocked for his dancing.

5. The Federal Reserve: Independence, Intimidation, and the Economic Stakes

Timestamps: 41:03–49:42

• Trump’s DOJ subpoenas and seeks to prosecute Fed Chair Jerome Powell over spurious allegations—seen as attempted political intimidation for not lowering interest rates.

  • “The Trump administration is trying to criminally investigate me. This is insane. We are going to push back.” — Paraphrasing Jerome Powell’s statement (43:09)

• Miles gives an accessible analogy of why central bank independence matters:

  • “All leaders care about, especially would-be autocrats, is... the short term, the people liking them. … But it is inevitable that if you keep doing that, you will break the economy on the back end.” (44:10)
  • Inflation explainer: Giving everyone money raises prices for all. Loss of Fed independence would “ruin this economy.”

Notable Quote:

“This is the magic trick of dictators. It will ruin this economy. The people on Wall street know it. The American people need to know it.” — Miles (46:48)

6. Congressional Resistance & The Power of Public Pressure

Timestamps: 49:42–54:56

• Amy questions whether public outreach to Congress can make a difference.
• Miles affirms: grassroots pressure has recently flipped votes on high-profile issues — Venezuela, Epstein, health care.
  • “You just need enough Republicans to tip the balance of power... these elected representatives... are so scared of losing their jobs.” (52:35)

7. Ongoing Health Care Crisis

Timestamps: 53:18–54:56

• ACA premiums are tripling for many — Congress is under pressure, but Trump signals intent to veto proposed subsidy extensions.
  • “I’ve talked to a lot of people... they had healthcare premiums at $450 a month. Now guess what, it’s up to 14, $1500 a month. ...So it’s not doubling, it’s tripling.” — Amy (54:12)

8. Shout-Out: America’s Nurses — Guardians of Trust

Timestamps: 55:35–58:47

• To end on a positive note, hosts praise nurses for their consistent ethical trustworthiness:

  • “Nurses continue to be the most trusted profession in America. ...75% of Americans think that nurses have very high ethics, and I think that’s great.” — Amy (55:49)

• Miles ties it to politics: when trusted community members (like nurses) speak out, it has extraordinary impact.

  • “That was one of the ones I remember the most is just this exhausted nurse in the ER. So thank you to our medical professionals for all they do and for the nurses around the country.” (57:32)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The President of the United States is a wannabe dictator and he is living out those repressive fantasies on the national stage every single day.” — Miles (05:21)
• “This is the moment Donald Trump wants, and we cannot let him exploit it.” — Miles (03:05)
• “We will not accept a literal shadow police force...” — Miles (09:40)
• “He [Trump] admitted to it. He’s admitting to it in the pages of the New York Times... that his conscience could be the downfall of America.” — Miles (14:38)
• Amy on Greenland: “I mean, I just, again, it’s one of these things that’s just this harebrained, stupid thing that he has got in his brain when he sits on the toilet and tweets out, and now it's destroying global security.” (19:24)
• “Personal grievance. All of it. Once you use that as the decoder ring, you understand all of Donald Trump’s foreign policy.” — Miles (37:50)
• “Do not be wusses… Do not be Josh Hawley. Do not cave. Do not run from the fight.” — Miles, on how Congress must act (50:19)
• “Speak out. …When people who are trusted in the community speak out and say the truth, it really matters… If you're out there and you're thinking about speaking out, now's the time for your country.” — Amy (58:13)

Timestamps for Main Segments

• ICE, Insurrection Act, Public Defiance: 00:43–11:38
• Foreign Policy (Trump’s morality, NATO, Greenland, Venezuela): 11:38–31:46
• Iran Uprising: 31:46–41:03
• Federal Reserve Threats: 41:03–49:42
• Congress & Grassroots Pressure: 49:42–54:56
• Shout-Out to Nurses: 55:35–58:47

Takeaways & Action Items

• Document, Document, Document: Video evidence is a powerful tool for transparency and accountability.
• Pressure Works: Public pressure and calling members of Congress can still flip critical votes.
• Don’t Be Complacent: Constitutional guardrails are under assault; public vigilance is vital.
• Trust Local Voices: Community figures have moral authority—when they speak up, people listen.
• Support Those Who Serve: Recognize and value those (like nurses) who truly serve the public good.

For further resources and to join the conversation, visit www.TruthintheBarrel.com