| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray Good Monday morning. It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is Jack Blanchard. There’s no Playbook Podcast and no Playbook PM newsletter today due to the federal holiday. Get in touch. Your holiday weather: It’s going to be sunny but cold across the DMV, per the Capital Weather Gang, with afternoon “highs” topping out in the mid-30s and icy wind chills making it feel an awful lot colder than that. And watch out: The harshest temperatures of the winter are headed our way tonight. Tomorrow will be “dangerously cold,” forecasters say. Layer up. Seems like a good time of year to be in … Miami, Florida, where President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will both be attending the college football playoff national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium tonight. Ali’s (deeply unscientific) Playbook survey yesterday found most of you back the Indiana Hoosiers to beat the Miami Hurricanes — and likely by a good 20 points. Let’s see how it goes. And while we’re doing football: Did you ever see anything like that from Caleb Williams? I guess this is what happens when you have the literal pope on your side ... (Obviously it still wasn’t enough to overcome the Curse of the Honey Bears. But what a play.) NOW READ THIS: Happy anniversary! “One month after the congressionally mandated deadline to release all its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Justice Department has made only a fraction of the files public — and it remains silent on its plans to fully comply with the law,” POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs writes this morning. And here’s the rub: “Also keeping quiet about the DOJ delays are congressional Republicans, almost all of whom voted in November to release the records.” What they’re saying: “I don’t give a rip about Epstein,” Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said last week, when asked to take stock of the month since the Dec. 19 deadline. “Like, there’s so many other things we need to be working on. I’ve done what I had to do for Epstein. Talk to somebody else about that.” Other Republicans agree it’s now just a matter for Pam Bondi’s DOJ. Watch this space. In today’s Playbook … — Trump’s Greenland conquest threatens NATO alliance, Davos cocktails. — Minnesota on red alert for military incursion. — Did someone say “2028”? We got extracts from Josh Shapiro’s new book.
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President Donald Trump's quest for Greenland is dominating discussions ahead of the annual Davos summit this year. | Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images | MOUNTAIN DUES: The world elites head to Davos this week, but the usual Alpine frivolity will be in short supply. Fireside cocktails and C-suite hobnobbing will take a back seat at this year’s World Economic Forum as old-fashioned power-play diplomacy takes center stage. And the stakes could not be higher. Plenty of observers believe the decades-old Western security alliance — and perhaps the entire postwar order — are now on the line. It’s no joke. Trump’s decision Saturday to unleash economic warfare on America’s European and NATO allies as they resist his advances on Greenland has tipped an awkward diplomatic clash into a crisis, and a reeling Europe is now weighing its response. EU ambassadors met yesterday to discuss imposing $93 billion of retaliatory tariffs on American imports if Trump’s tariffs kick in as planned on Feb. 1. An emergency summit of EU leaders will be held in Brussels later this week, ahead of a decision next month. And so to Davos: Trump is expected to fly to Switzerland tomorrow ahead of a speech scheduled for Wednesday, assuming there's no last minute change of plan. The White House has not confirmed details of his bilateral meetings as yet, but something is definitely being planned and there will be plenty of allied leaders in attendance — including NATO chief Mark Rutte, Canadian PM Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. It’s clear we’re approaching an inflection point. Trying to dial it down: European leaders have been swapping frantic phone conversations all weekend, and it was telling to see which were nominated to give Trump a direct call. Rutte, British PM Keir Starmer and Italian PM Giorgia Meloni are perhaps the three European leaders with the warmest relationships with Trump. The fact that all three called the president yesterday looks like a collective effort to dial things down. In a news conference earlier today, Starmer denounced Trump’s tariff threat and said he would work to calm tensions, per Reuters. Indeed: In conversations with my POLITICO colleagues in Europe over the weekend, EU officials and diplomats were focused on de-escalating the crisis. “Escalation on purpose and fiery rhetoric are not our preference — negotiations are,” a senior EU government official wrote in a message to Brussels Playbook. “But of course Europe has leverage too and both sides need to be aware of that.” But still Trump's threats continue. You really have to read this extraordinary letter that Trump apparently sent to the prime minister of Norway, and copied to other European ambassadors. In the letter, obtained by PBS NewsHour’s Nick Schifrin, Trump suggests his aggression toward Greenland is in part a response to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize last year. “Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump’s letter begins. And the president was back on Truth Social again last night, criticizing Denmark for supposedly failing to “get the Russian threat out of Greenland” and warning its leaders: “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”
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Learn more. | | | | The irony, of course, is that Russian strategists are gleeful at this schism opening up in the Western alliance. Driving a wedge between the U.S. and western Europe has been a Moscow pipedream for the past 80 years, but it never looked remotely likely until now. Check out the triumphant language being used by pundits on Russian state TV (sample quote: “This is truly tremendous for Russia!”) or the mocking tone being employed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top negotiator, Kirill Dmitriev, as he trolls European leaders on X. By contrast: If you want a measure of public opinion in western Europe, check out the NBA game that was played in London yesterday, where one fan interrupted the Star Spangled Banner with a cry of “Leave Greenland alone!” The crowd broke out into spontaneous cheers and applause. And today’s highly partisan Fleet Street front pages reveal a rare cross-political consensus in Britain, from the conservative Daily Mail’s warning of “disaster” for NATO to the left-leaning Daily Mirror accusing Trump of “blackmail”. Mike drop: It all makes for an awkward week for Speaker Mike Johnson to be in Westminster — he’s due to address the U.K. House of Parliament tomorrow. Johnson told the BBC over the weekend that “diplomatic channels are the way to go” on Greenland, but offered no word of criticism of the president. Cruz control: Indeed, what’s been striking over the past 48 hours has been the lack of further Republican condemnation of Trump’s increasingly aggressive stance. Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas) even hit Fox News yesterday to voice his support for Trump’s approach. “When it comes to Greenland, I want to commend President Trump for being single-mindedly focused on America First,” Cruz said. “I believe it is overwhelmingly in America’s national interest to acquire Greenland.” One to watch: If Congress doesn’t come running to Europe’s aid, the Supreme Court still might. We’re expecting a ruling soon on the legality of Trump’s tariffs — and presumably these latest measures could be struck down along with all the rest if things don’t go the White House’s way. FURTHER READING: POLITICO’s Tim Ross goes behind the scenes with European government officials already starting to imagine a post-NATO future.
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| | | | IMMIGRATION FILES MINNEAPOLIS LATEST: Tensions remain high in Minnesota as protests over the Trump administration’s enhanced immigration enforcement operation continue, nearly two weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Good. The Pentagon has 1,500 active duty members on standby to intervene, and could be joined by other troops across the country for logistical support, POLITICO’s Paul McLeary writes. The battalions are not trained for crowd control, Paul notes. Immediately following Good’s death, the FBI launched a civil-rights investigation into the actions of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shot at Good, WaPo’s Perry Stein reports. The existence of any such review contradicts Deputy AG Todd Blanche’s statements that the shooting didn’t warrant investigation. The DOJ did start an investigation into Good’s partner, Becca Good, however. That’s not all: Videos of the shooting of another person in Minneapolis, a Venezuelan man fleeing arrest, are also casting doubt on ICE’s version of events, CNN’s Diego Mendoza and colleagues report. The view from the White House: In a heated interview with CBS’ Margaret Brennan, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem denied that ICE had used pepper spray or other tactics that were struck down by a judge last week. She later backtracked, saying federal officers “only use those chemical agents when there’s violence happening and perpetuating.” The view from Minneapolis: Mayor Jacob Frey said the city won’t be “intimidated” by Trump or his threats to invoke the Insurrection Act. “We’re not going to give them an excuse to do the thing that clearly they’re trying to set up to do right now, which is these 1,500 troops,” Frey told CNN. There are already five times the number of ICE agents than police officers in Minneapolis, he told ABC. LAST NIGHT’S TV: Almost a month after CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss shelved a “60 Minutes” segment that featured an inside look at the Salvadoran CECOT prison where Venezuelan men were deported, the story finally aired last night. The segment had a new intro and conclusion from correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, as CNN’s Brain Stelter scooped, but beyond that not much actually changed. Behind the camera: Weiss was adamant about getting Trump administration officials interviewed for the piece, and said she would personally book an interview with a figure like Noem or border czar Tom Homan, per CNN. “So ‘60 Minutes’ producers flew to DC from New York, and Alfonsi flew in from Texas, for a possible taping last Thursday. But the promised interview did not materialize, two sources said, and everyone went home empty-handed.”
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| | | | 2028 WATCH TOP TALKER: POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky obtained a copy of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new book, “Where We Keep the Light,” ($24) ahead of its Jan. 27 release. She sent us a late-night email with the standout moments: — Shapiro toyed with launching a presidential bid in 2024 after Joe Biden dropped out, wondering: “Maybe there would be a process the party would engage in to replace him? Did I want to be a part of that?” But his wife, Lori Shapiro, was traveling at the time and nixed the idea when they connected by phone. “I am in a Canadian Walmart right now,” Shapiro recalled her saying. “I don’t think we are ready to do this.” Shapiro agreed — and endorsed Harris. — But Shapiro had reservations about being Harris’ VP from the start: “I knew that despite the honor of it, it just didn’t feel right for some reason.” He described being perturbed by the vetting process — “all of the questioning felt unnecessarily contentious” — and suggested that Harris’ team “didn’t understand where the people who would decide this presidential election really were.” — He was “surprised” by how much Harris “seemed to dislike the role” of vice president, writing how she “lamented that the Vice President didn’t have a private bathroom in their office, and how difficult it was for her at times not to have a voice in decision making.” — Trump “cautioned” Shapiro against becoming president “given how dangerous it had become to hold the office now” when the two spoke about a week after the arson attack on the governor’s home in April 2025. On the call, Trump ran through the roster of potential 2028ers and their chances. “He said he liked the way I talked to people and approached problems” and would be “more than happy to work together and form a relationship,” Shapiro wrote. And there’s more: Shapiro also delivers his most detailed accounting yet of the VP vetting process, NYT’s Katie Glueck reports. “Shapiro, who is Jewish, details a contentious vetting process in which Ms. Harris’s team focused intensely on his views on Israel — so much so that at one point, he wrote, he was asked if he had ever been an agent of the Israeli government.” BEST OF THE REST TRUMP ONE YEAR IN: As tomorrow’s anniversary looms, POLITICO Magazine has a must-read roundup out this morning on 25 things Trump did in his first year back in office that you may not remember or flew under-the-radar. Among the changes: Confederate names returned to military bases, aging coal plants were forcibly kept open, some health insurance access was eroded for legal immigrants, psychedelics went on the fast track and we bid goodbye to new U.S. pennies. THE VIBES IN THE BIG EASY: Rep. Julia Letlow is preparing to jump into the Louisiana Senate race against GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy after Trump publicly endorsed her, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney report. She could announce her decision as soon as today. How we got here: Trump called Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Friday and told him he was leaning toward endorsing Letlow, per Meredith and Jordain. Thune, though, encouraged Trump to support Cassidy, “pointing to the president needing his vote this year.” IN THE GARDEN STATE: Mikie Sherrill will be inaugurated as New Jersey’s next governor tomorrow, and will be “first up to bat” to address the affordability concerns that drove her victory back in November, POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez reports this morning in a preview of what to expect as Sherrill takes office. Madison also spoke with outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy for an exit interview on his time leading the state — and the code he thinks he cracked in dealing with Trump as a Democrat. “Be dogged about finding common ground, and at the same time, don’t abandon your values,” Murphy said. THE ECONOMY, STUPID: One year into Trump’s second term, and economists “have learned to stop worrying about Trumponomics,” WSJ’s Harriet Torry and Anthony DeBarros write. Forecasts now project 2.3 percent GDP growth for 2025 and 2.2 percent in 2026. Long gone are the days when economists were slashing their growth predictions over Trump’s tariffs. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: After reports Trump is pushing countries to fork out $1 billion for permanent membership on Gaza’s peace board, former British PM Tony Blair, who sits on the board’s executive panel, has been distancing himself from the idea, Bloomberg’s Alex Wickham and Brian Platt report. The makeup of the governing board is also stirring consternation in Israel, with PM Benjamin Netanyahu opposed to the inclusion of Turkey and Qatar, WSJ’s Div Leiber reports. Over in Iran: The country’s president is redoubling its warnings to the U.S., saying missile strikes would trigger a “harsh response” from Tehran — even as Iran indicates it may go forward with the executions of some of its political prisoners, per Reuters’ Parisa Hafezi. The streets of Tehran are now largely occupied by security forces, with rights groups claiming over 24,000 people were arrested in the protests, per the WSJ. Axios’ Barak Ravid has a tick-tock of how the U.S. decision to strike Iran never came.
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Find out more. | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | COMING SOON TO THE DMV — “A 6,000-seat immersive ‘mini-Sphere’ venue is planned for D.C. region,” by WaPo’s Erin Cox and Travis Andrews: “The company behind Sphere unveiled plans Sunday night for what [it] says will be the world’s first ‘mini-Sphere’ venue off the Potomac River in Maryland, a 6,000-seat immersive experience that would open in 2030. … The new one would be roughly a third of the size, but it would cost half as much to build — more than $1 billion, situated near an existing casino at National Harbor.” NOT ON STEPHEN MILLER’S LAWN — WaPo’s Olivia George has a deep dive on Barbara Wien, a 66-year-old retired peace studies professor who was accused by police of a “coordinated plan to intimidate and harass Stephen Miller,” Trump’s deputy chief of staff. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — An IG investigation into Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer allegedly “uncovered an alcohol ‘stash’ in her Washington, DC, office — and evidence she took subordinates to a strip club while on an official departmental trip,” NY Post’s Josh Christenson scoops. “Secretary Chavez-DeRemer firmly denies any allegations of wrongdoing,” her attorney said in a statement to the Post. WHAT WE’RE ALL WONDERING — “Why the Trump Administration Is Obsessed With Whole Milk,” by The Atlantic’s Yasmin Tayag: “The idealized era of perfectly safe, perfectly wholesome dairy never really existed. … Nevertheless, it resonates with the MAHA and MAGA agendas, which both center on the belief that America will return to its former glory if it can re-create the past.” OUT AND ABOUT — GlobalWIN and Cornerstone Government Affairs partnered for a brunch and game experience as part of the PWHL Women's Hockey Takeover Tour at Capital One Arena last night. SPOTTED: Helen Milby, Angeli Chawla, Stacy Rich, Kirsten West, Sarah Venuto, Shanetta Paskel, Luxembourg Ambassador Nicole Bintner-Bakshian, Lee Kane, Senay Bulbul, Kathleen Mellody, Tammy Haddad, Keenan Austin Reed, Sydney Paul, Amy Murphy, Nana Pierri, Brian Rice, Joanna Orlando, Alex Dillie, Chad Kreikemeier, Amy Scheer and Jayna Hefford. TRANSITIONS — Ashley McKeon is now director of agriculture policy at the Environmental Defense Fund. She previously worked at Growing Strategy. … Terry Lemons is joining Frost Law as the firm’s public relations director. He previously was at the IRS. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Coco Smith, news and politics manager at YouTube, and Brandon Smith, a partner at Holtzman Vogel, welcomed Mary Louise Smith on Jan. 2. She is named for her great-grandmothers. Pic … Another pic — Conrad Lucas, a lobbyist with Capitol Resources and former chair of the West Virginia GOP, and LeFlore Barbour Lucas, executive director of Kanawha Valley Tourism and an RNC alum, on Tuesday welcomed Tripp, who joins big sister Stollings. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker … New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill … UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba … Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg … Dan Holler of the State Department … POLITICO’s Dianne Manian and Emma Albright … Del. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (I-Northern Mariana Islands) … Jon Karl … Sarah Farnsworth … John Avlon … Evan McMorris-Santoro … Anne Dechter … WaPo’s Drew Harwell … Substack’s Catherine Valentine … Bloomberg’s Tyler Kendall … NBC’s Megan Shannon … Philip Reeker … Jason Waskey of Blue Crab Strategies and Civic Nation … Melissa Boteach … Brennan Hart … Meta’s Caitlin Rush … Mike Goodman of Cornerstone Government Affairs … Shelley Fidler … Brooke Ericson Donilon … Jerry Howe … Ann Compton … Marc Schloss … Adrienne Jacobs … Lori Wallach of the American Economic Liberties Project … Puru Trivedi … Phil Verveer … Joshua Gulbranson … Deloitte’s Brian Hawthorne … Kyle Sanders of Thorn Run Partners … Catherine Horst Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our deputy editor Garrett Ross. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Indiana University quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s birthplace. He was born in Boston. | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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