Free Republic

The governor has been an unmitigated disaster for California. Why is he urging global resistance to a duly elected president? Mr. Newsom is in Davos, Switzerland this week, not for a ski holiday, but to attend the 2026 World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting. His latest appearance exemplifies the petulant, sore-loser mentality that plagues him, the California legislature, and the national Democratic Party post-2024. Newsom is using the global stage not for constructive dialogue but to shockingly lambaste world leaders for their supposed “complicity” in dealing with Trump, urging them to instead “buck up” and “grow a backbone” against the president’s...

Violent protests erupted in several Swiss cities as American flags were burned and riot police clashed with demonstrators ahead of President Trump’s arrival in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum. Trump is scheduled to arrive Wednesday and is expected to deliver a speech at the annual gathering of global political leaders and corporate executives. His visit comes amid heightened tensions with European leaders after Trump doubled down on his push to acquire Greenland for U.S. national security reasons and declined to rule out military options. The Davos forum, held in eastern Switzerland, is one of the world’s most high-profile...

Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a frank assessment of how he views the world in a provocative speech in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, where he said the longstanding U.S.-led, rules-based international order is over and middle powers like Canada must pivot to avoid falling prey to further "coercion" from powerful actors. Without invoking U.S. President Donald Trump by name, Carney referenced "American hegemony" and said "great powers" are using economic integration as "weapons." "Canadians know that our old, comfortable assumption that our geography and alliance memberships automatically conferred prosperity and security is no longer valid," Carney said. As it grapples...

DAVOS, Switzerland — President Donald Trump’s demands to take over Greenland, reiterated in an overnight barrage of social media posts, are transforming this week’s annual gathering of the global elite into an emergency diplomatic summit, as European leaders prepared to use the president’s arrival here Wednesday to de-escalate the spiraling crisis. Europe may not have a home-field advantage in Davos. The United States is seeking to dominate this year’s World Economic Forum by sending its largest and most senior delegation in history. Meetings with senior Trump officials are among the most sought-after engagements in town as European leaders, already reeling...

The U.S. federal government is about to begin construction of a new border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Mount Cristo Rey area of ​​Sunland Park, New Mexico. According to the El Paso Sector Border Patrol and the Ciudad Juárez Civil Protection Department, controlled detonations are expected to begin today (20 Jan) to prepare the ground and lay the foundation for this new border wall... ...last summer that approximately 1.3 kilometers of new border barrier were approved for the Sunland Park area, south of the mountain. The goal of this new wall in that area is to deter illegal...

The Justice Department on Tuesday served subpoenas to multiple Democratic officials in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, in connection with a probe into an alleged conspiracy to impede federal immigration officers, three sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. A copy of a subpoena seen by CBS does not specify which criminal violations the department is probing. However, multiple sources previously told CBS the primary statute being used as the basis for the probe is 18 USC 372 — the same one that was used against some of the rioters...

Donald Trump’s proposed takeover of Greenland is causing rifts inside Nato that have resulted in officials withholding intelligence sharing with the US. Sources from both sides of the Atlantic warn that the US-UK security relationship is at its lowest ebb since the 1950s, putting European security at risk. For more than 70 years, the special relationship between Britain and America has been a cornerstone of the Western alliance, with intelligence and military officials working together to combat all manner of threats, from direct war to clandestine operations. But Trump’s ambitions to acquire Greenland for national security reasons is destroying trust...

President Trump is correct to want to exercise control over Greenland, but his methodology is problematic. The present situation is unworkable since we are forced to spend money and risk our personnel with little benefit to us during the immediate period. Ownership is not the only solution to this conundrum. There are several possible methods to fulfill the requirements that Trump seeks. One proposal would be modeled after the arrangement Great Britain had with China for Hong Kong, in which the former had a 99-year lease for the territory. There are many variations on this theme. Mineral resources secured could...

Catholic personnel in the US military could in good conscience consider disobeying orders to attack Greenland, according to the bishop responsible for their pastoral care. The Archbishop of the Military Services Timothy Broglio said personnel “could be put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something that’s morally questionable” if the US acted on President Donald Trump’s threats of military action to take control of Greenland. Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday programme on 18 January, Archbishop Broglio said it would be “very difficult for a soldier or a marine or a sailor by himself to disobey an order...

The US president said the UK's decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take control of Greenland. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticised the UK's deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, calling it an "act of great stupidity" and "total weakness." Trump said that relinquishing the remote Indian Ocean archipelago — home to a key joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island — was "another in a very long line of national security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired." "Shockingly, our 'brilliant' NATO...

n 1969, Charles de Gaulle told his friend André Malraux that America’s “desire – and one day it will satisfy it – is to desert Europe. You will see.” It has taken nearly six decades, but de Gaulle’s prophecy now looks uncomfortably close to fulfillment. After years of diplomatic effort to manage, placate and charm successive American presidents – and Donald Trump in particular – European leaders are coming to a grim realization: the United States is, at best, indifferent to their interests and sensibilities and, at worst, openly hostile to them. Some, such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, still believe...

Gov. Gavin Newsom told world leaders to “stand up” to President Donald Trump and show “backbone” during the Democrat’s visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.“It’s time to buck up, it’s time to get serious and stop being complicit,” Newsom told a reporter when asked if he had any message for Europeans concerned about the White House’s comments on acquiring Greenland. “It’s time to stand tall and firm and have a backbone. I can’t take this complicity, people rolling over. I should have brought a bunch of kneepads for all the world leaders.” *** “I mean, handing out...

As 79-year-old US President Donald Trump enters the second year of his second term, questions about his physical and cognitive health are a recurring topic amid viral images, defiant responses from the White House and a lack of medical disclosure. The debate echoes earlier controversies around the health of US leaders – and raises uncomfortable questions about transparency and power. Let’s be clear: we have no idea what his health condition is. All we can really assess is what we see,” presidential historian Barbara Perry says. “And what we witness is an almost octogenarian man who keeps nodding off at...

Former U.S. ambassador John Bolton criticizes President Trump's escalating rhetoric on acquiring Greenland, possibly by military force, because of security concerns. "This is a tragedy that just unfolds day by day, causing us more and more harm," Bolton tells "NewsNation Prime." Trump's Greenland threats aren't real, but they're harmful: John Bolton | 5:24 NewsNation | 2.52M subscribers | 302,702 views | January 18, 2026

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin received an invitation to join his new Board of Peace that will supervise the next phase of the Gaza peace plan. Trump confirmed Putin's invitation while speaking to reporters at the College Football National Championship Game in Florida, where Indiana defeated Miami. The Kremlin said earlier on Monday that Putin had received the invitation, adding that it is now "studying the details" and will seek clarity of "all the nuances" in communications with the U.S. government. France has also received an invitation but does not plan to join...

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Shockingly, our “brilliant” NATO Ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital U.S. Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER. There is no doubt that China and Russia have noticed this act of total weakness. These are International Powers who only recognize STRENGTH, which is why the United States of America, under my leadership, is now, after only one year, respected like never before. The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is...

The EU has strengthened its energy security by cutting gas demand by over 20% between 2021 and 2024 and curbing gas imports from Russia. However, this progress masks a new vulnerability for the EU: Incentivising imports of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) has created a potentially high-risk new geopolitical dependency. Following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU has gradually reduced its reliance on Russian gas. The bloc’s imports of Russian gas (including pipeline gas and LNG) fell by 75% between 2021 and 2025. Despite this shift, Russia remains one of the EU’s largest gas suppliers. The EU...

Oh, my GOODNESS! This is some wild news coming out of Canada, and I'm not talking about that loser Carney sucking up to Xi Jinping the Pooh.Canada announced its “alignment” with China on the Arctic and Greenland. Really dumb move. https://t.co/z6kyDQmZwB— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) January 17, 2026A little over a week ago, the first stops on the petition drive for to force a referendum on separating from Canada began.The petition was approved by Elections Alberta in December, and after getting organized, the teams went out to start collecting the 178,000 verified signatures they needed to force a referendum on...

Netanyahu said he opposes the deployment of Turkish and Qatari troops in Gaza, though a source told Haaretz on Saturday that his public criticism was largely for show. Two additional sources told Haaretz that Netanyahu has been invited by Trump to take part in the Board of Peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Knesset speech on Monday that Israel is at odds with the United States and will not accept the presence of Turkish or Qatari soldiers in the Gaza Strip, despite a source familiar with the matter telling Haaretz on Saturday that the composition of the Gaza...

RAQQA, Syria — The Syrian government Sunday announced a ceasefire with the Syrian Democratic Forces, taking almost full control of the country and dismantling the Kurdish-led forces that controlled the northeast for over a decade. The announcement comes as tensions between government forces and the SDF boiled over earlier this month, eventually resulting in a major push by government forces toward the east. The SDF appeared to have largely retreated after initial clashes on a tense front line area in eastern Aleppo province. Syria's Defense Ministry said it ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement...