Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Trump unleashes on Europe

Trump unleashes on Europe

Jan 20, 2026

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With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Makayla Gray

On today’s Playbook Podcast: Jack and Adam Wren run the rule over the first year of Trump 2.0, and consider where this presidency is headed next.

Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, honored to be marking my own anniversary today — one year of highly caffeinated nights and endless political drama at the helm of this storied newsletter. Thanks, as always, for reading Playbook. Do drop me a line.

And do wrap up warm: This could be the coldest day of winter, as Arctic air whips in from the north. In fact wind chill factors mean it’ll feel almost as cold in D.C. today as it is in Greenland. So at least we’ll get to see what all the fuss is about.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — “Kamala in La La Land,” POLITICO’s Will McCarthy digs into Kamala Harris’ retreat to California life after her 2024 defeat — and the signs of life that are kicking up. “Her political voice, quite suddenly, has returned,” Will writes for POLITICO Magazine. “That turn has some wondering what happened in those six months in self-imposed exile, and what it might portend for her willingness to ever fully return to the electoral fray.” Read the full story

In today’s Playbook …

— Donald Trump ramps up tensions ahead of showdown summit in Europe.

— Trump leaks private texts, slams Britain and France, invites Vladimir Putin to join his “Board of Peace.” Yes, really.

— And POLITICO editor-in-chief John Harris delivers his verdict on a year of Trump 2.0.

DRIVING THE DAY

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE: Donald Trump flies to Davos this evening ahead of a showdown summit with NATO allies. And judging by the president’s actions overnight, the Western alliance really appears to be hanging by a thread.

While you were sleeping: In a series of extraordinary late night statements, the president doubled down on his threats to take over Greenland — and Canada — while at turns mocking, threatening and humiliating the European leaders who have resisted his advances. This crisis feels like it’s spiraling out of control.

FIRST UP: Speaking in Miami after attending last night’s college football national championship game, Trump confirmed he has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join his Gaza Board of Peace. You can imagine the reaction in Europe, where Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Only last night, Putin’s military was bombing residential areas across Kyiv as thousands of freezing people cowered without water or power.

And there’s more: Trump then threatened to slap France with a 200-percent tariff on wine and Champagne after learning French President Emmanuel Macron is snubbing the same board over fears it seeks to ape and overshadow the U.N. — concerns widely shared around Europe, per the FT.

This you? After boarding Air Force One, a still-rankled Trump published a private text message from Macron showing the French president reaching out to him in friendly terms. In the text, Macron offers to work closely with Trump on Middle Eastern projects and to host emergency G7 talks in Paris later this week. “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland,” Macron writes. A French official told POLITICO the text is genuine.

Who needs sleep anyway?? By 1 a.m., Trump was busily posting AI-generated images to illustrate his designs on Greenland — one showing him planting a U.S. flag on the island, a second of him showing a modified map of the Americas to European leaders in which the U.S. owns Greenland, Canada and Venezuela. Are we about to see the first empire built entirely by meme?

Coming attractions: Trump then revealed a positive conversation on Greenland with NATO chief Mark Rutte, and confirmed he’ll hold talks “with the various parties” in Davos. “Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back,” Trump wrote. (The president also leaked a fawning private text message from Rutte for good measure.)

And finally … Trump unloaded on British PM Keir Starmer, with whom he has established a warm relationship these past 12 months. Starmer is under pressure at home over a decision to hand ownership of the Diego Garcia archipelago — which hosts U.S. and British air bases — back to Mauritius, and then lease the land back for 99 years. Trump had been careful not to criticize the agreement, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly welcomed it last year.

But now Trump takes aim: Posting at 1:38 a.m., the president mocked Britain for an “act of total weakness,” which he suggested played into Chinese and Russian hands. And he directly linked his newfound hostility to his quest for Greenland. “The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY,” Trump added, “and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired.” The U.K. government made clear this morning it’s not budging. Keep up with all the latest from POLITICO with our live coverage from Washington, Davos, Brussels and beyond

Take a step back: Trump’s hyper-aggressive response is little short of a disaster for NATO allies who have spent the past few days desperately trying to calm things down. The hope in Europe is still to strike some sort of deal with Trump, which would see a bolstered NATO presence in the Arctic, and perhaps a U.S.-Denmark agreement over Greenland’s rare earth minerals. But Trump is in full attack mode now — and it’s very hard to see where this ends.

Equally: It was only two weeks ago that Trump was threatening to forcibly remove the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, from power. Then the two spoke by phone … and it was all smiles. So who knows?

And take another step back: It’s also something of a disaster for those strategists in the White House who remain desperate for the president to focus on domestic issues of affordability. Trump’s big Davos speech on Wednesday was supposed to be about U.S. housing policy and the cost of living. Once again, it’s going to be completely drowned out by foreign affairs.

Speaking of which: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt will hold a White House media briefing at 1 p.m., presumably to laud Trump’s achievements one year in. But no prizes for guessing what most of the questions — and most of the subsequent coverage — will actually be about. Plus ça change, as Macron might say.

FURTHER READING FROM POLITICO: Global power is in flux. POLITICO Forecast is a new daily briefing on where politics, policy and power are headed next, and the global moments where those shifts are debated and shaped. Drawing on reporting from across POLITICO’s global newsroom, Forecast brings insight from key power centers and major international gatherings, starting with Davos.Subscribe here

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A YEAR OF TRUMP

DOESN’T TIME FLY? We are officially one year into the Trump 2.0 project. So many norms have been shattered in the past 12 months that it’s difficult to know where to start.

You don’t need Playbook to list them — we’ve all lived it together, day after extraordinary day. The domination (and demolition) of federal agencies. The launch of multipronged trade wars at the president’s whim. The weaponization of the FBI and DOJ against Trump's enemies. The deployment of the U.S military onto U.S. streets. And that’s just the domestic part.

There’s no going back, as POLITICO’s founder and editor-in-chief John Harris writes in an essential “Altitude” column published this morning. “Trump is on track to change the character of American government and this country’s relationship with the world more profoundly than any predecessor in decades,” John writes.

Even if Democrats take back control of the White House in 2029, their future president will have to decide how much time they really want to spend undoing Trump’s work. “For a Democrat, pledging to end abusive practices by ICE officers is easy,” John notes. “Harder to answer is whether he or she will continue Trump’s border policies, which have virtually halted undocumented crossings.”

And there's more where that came from: “Protectionism … is historically an idea that flowed from the labor wing of the Democratic Party,” John notes. “Will a Democratic president wish to repeal that idea in full?” Trump’s subjugation of big business will likely continue, John writes, while no self-respecting president will undertake an “apology tour of Europe” once Trump is gone.

And as for that expansion of executive power? “Whatever power the Supreme Courts and public opinion leave Trump with at the end of his term is the same power that a president of either party who follows him will seek to preserve and use to full impact,” John writes. In short: the world has changed for good.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS: Tens of thousands of anti-Trump protesters are planning to walk out of work, school and commerce at 2 p.m., per Axios … An anniversary interview with Trump will air on NewsNation at 10 p.m.

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BEST OF THE REST

SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court may issue opinions again today at 10 a.m., as we wait for potentially massive rulings on Trump’s tariffs and the Voting Rights Act, among other topics. The justices will also hear oral arguments this morning in a notable gun case, in which a Hawaii restriction on guns in private businesses like hotels and shops is being challenged.

STICKING TO THEIR GUNS: “Justice Department weighs rollback of gun regulations,” by WaPo’s Perry Stein: “The Justice Department is considering loosening a slate of gun regulations as it seeks to bolster support from ardent Second Amendment advocates … Some of the changes are expected to ease restrictions on the private sale of guns and loosening regulations around shipping firearms.”

ON THE HILL: The House returns today with less than two weeks to go until the government will partially shut down without new funding — and neither the Senate nor Speaker Mike Johnson is here. Senators are out all week, while overnight Johnson became the first sitting speaker ever to address the U.K. Parliament. Acknowledging the tensions that have been stoked by Trump, Johnson said he felt it was his duty to “encourage our friends, and help to calm the waters.” (Nigel Farage clashed with Johnson, saying Trump’s threats to capture Greenland represent the “biggest fracture” in the transatlantic relationship since the Suez crisis.)

Back in Washington, movement is still ongoing: House GOP leaders are rushing to pass another batch of government funding bills by Friday, ahead of a recess week that could be jeopardized if the legislation hits a big snag, per our colleagues on POLITICO’s Inside Congress. As of late yesterday, appropriators were trying to finalize text for the Defense, Transportation-HUD, Labor-HHS-Education and Homeland Security bills. “House leaders want the spending package on the floor Thursday, but may need until Friday if the release of the bills is delayed further.” The latest from POLITICO’s Inside Congress

Bill of health: As for health care negotiations, congressional leadership and top appropriators on both sides of the aisle “worked over the weekend on a smaller and far less contentious health care proposal that could hitch a ride on the next government funding package,” per Inside Congress. “Though the plan is on track to be included, House conservatives may still balk over spending increases in the appropriations package.” And Trump’s big health care plan already looks DOA, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill and colleagues report this morning.

THE LATEST AT HHS: Public health groups sued yesterday in federal court over the CDC’s pared-back vaccine recommendations for children, per WaPo. They asked a judge to block the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from any more meetings, arguing that its composition — with many vaccine skeptics — violates the law.

ICED OUT: A federal judge yesterday allowed the Trump administration to limit access to ICE facilities for members of Congress, saying the new requirement of a week’s notice can proceed for now — though noting that she was not yet ruling on its legal merits, per the AP.

CHURCH AND STATE: The Catholic Church’s three top archbishops in the U.S. put out an unusual statement warning about the morality of Trump’s aggressive interventionism against Venezuela, Greenland and more, though they didn’t cite him by name, per Reuters. Instead, the religious leaders said military force must be sparingly used, warning that the country’s moral role fighting against evil around the world is in question.

TOP TALKER: “Inside Bari Weiss’s Hostile Takeover of CBS News,” by The New Yorker’s Clare Malone: “The network’s new editor-in-chief has championed a press free from élite bias, while aligning herself with a billionaire class more willing than ever to indulge Donald Trump.”

KNOWING SEAN DUFFY: When news broke that Trump had selected a former “Real World” cast member to lead the Transportation Department, there was a bit of head-scratching in D.C. But even with his light transportation experience, Sean Duffy has since ingratiated himself to Trump while pushing through substantive policy changes, POLITICO’s Chris Marquette writes in from his deep dive on Duffy’s first year.

Among the revelations: Duffy declared that he will not be running for president — “in 2028, or ever.” There’s a proposal circulating within DOT that would give both Trump and Duffy sweeping powers to cast aside environmental reviews to speed up construction projects. And after a bumpy stretch in which Duffy lost a bruising fight for control of NASA and was targeted by far-right influencer Laura Loomer for ouster, he’s now on solid footing with Trump, according to many insiders. Oh, and Duffy is something of a Juul aficionado. Read the full profile

IT’S 2024 SOMEWHERE: “Walz was also asked about foreign ties during Harris vetting,” by CNN’s Isaac Dovere: “Josh Shapiro wasn’t the only finalist to be Kamala Harris’ running mate who was asked if he had ever been an agent of a foreign government … Tim Walz was, too. The Minnesota governor — whom Harris ultimately picked — was asked by her vetting team if he had ever been an agent of China.”

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TALK OF THE TOWN

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Nicholas Enrich, a senior USAID official who was ousted after he blew the whistle on the Trump administration’s failure to keep lifesaving aid afloat and the mass death that could result from its cuts, is publishing a new memoir on April 14. “Into The Wood Chipper: A Whistleblower’s Account of How the Trump Administration Shredded USAID” ($29) will be published by Summit Books, with a foreword from USAID leader Atul Gawande. The cover

BOOK CLUB — Jon Ralston’s new book, “The Game Changer: How Harry Reid Remade the Rules and Showed Democrats How to Fight” ($30), is out today from Simon & Schuster. POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin calls it “an invaluable study of how political power is amassed, wielded and maintained.” Read an excerpt on Reid’s 2010 reelection in The Nevada Independent

SPORTS BLINK — The college football national championship game in Miami last night was packed with politicians and first family members, including President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Dan Scavino, Steven Cheung, Boris Epshteyn … and even potential 2028 contender Stephen A. Smith.

PLAYBOOK ARTS SECTION — “New protest art on National Mall takes aim at Trump and Epstein files,” by WaPo’s Joe Heim: “A massive replica of a birthday note and crude drawing signed with the typed name Donald J. Trump and a ‘Donald’ signature that was part of a 2003 book of birthday wishes for the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was placed on the National Mall early Monday morning.”

AND THE NOMINEES ARE … The Oscars will announce this year’s nominations at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Politics are central to many of the potential nominees, including Best Picture frontrunner “One Battle After Another,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up leftist revolutionary; “Bugonia,” which pits conspiracy theorists against Big Pharma; and “Wicked: For Good,” whose central concerns include state propaganda and scapegoating (of a literal goat). “The Secret Agent” and “It Was Just an Accident” are political thrillers from Brazil and Iran, respectively, and there are plenty of racial politics, geopolitics and economic politics in “Sinners,” “Marty Supreme” and “No Other Choice” too.

Narratives to watch: If a record three foreign-language films get into the Best Picture lineup (which is a distinct possibility), will Trump get frustrated like he did at “Parasite’s” victory? Could the recent mass protests in Iran have given “It Was Just an Accident” a boost? And which potent political documentaries will be nominated? Possibilities include “My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow,” about Russian journalists under threat of repression; “Apocalypse in the Tropics,” about Brazil’s far-right; and “Cover-Up,” about Seymour Hersh. But “Melania” will have to wait a year — it’s a 2026 release.

Speaking of awards season: Karine Jean-Pierre will host the African American Film Critics Awards next month, Variety’s Clayton Davis scooped.

PLAYBOOK FOOD SECTION — Washingtonian will reveal its list of the 100 best restaurants today, but the No. 1 has already been announced: Albi, for the second year in a row.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at Tom Kahn’s fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day brunch: Slovak Ambassador Andrej Droba, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk, Lithuanian Ambassador Gediminas Varvuolis, Dan Glickman, Bill Dauster and Ellen Weintraub, Steve Rabinowitz, Wyndee Parker, Ann Jacobs, Allen Kronstadt, Diana Meredith, Wendell Primus, Claude Fontheim, Tevi Troy, Jim and Claudia Thurber, Richard and Nan Kogan, Tom Staudt, and Gary and Anna Litman.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Larry O’Connor is the new editor of Townhall.com, succeeding Katie Pavlich. He has long written and hosted his daily podcast for Townhall Media.

MEDIA MOVE — Rob Crilly is now author of the Washington Secrets column at the Washington Examiner. He most recently worked for the Telegraph.

TRANSITIONS — Chloe Smith is now rapid response director at the Senate Leadership Fund. She previously worked for Virginia AG Jason Miyares. … Laurent Crenshaw is now VP of government affairs at Zocdoc. He previously helped launch the Recoding America Fund, and is a Patreon alum.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Nikki Haley … Ian Sams … Kellyanne Conway … Paul Mandelson … Robin Roberts of National Media … POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy, Sushant Sagar and Julia Kopstein … Bill Maher … Dan Schneider … CNN’s Diane Ruggiero … CBN’s Jenna Browder … Ben Watson … FTI Consulting’s Shannon Bañaga … Emma Thomas of Feldman Strategies … James Grimaldi … WSJ’s Gavin Bade … CBS’ Maria Gavrilovic … Sam Dealey of Monument Communications … Purple Strategies’ Alec Jacobs … Chip Englander … Paola Ramos … former Reps. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) and Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) … Tracy Russo … Merrill Hartson … Elena Robertson … Sophie Khanahmadi … RNC’s Zack Walz … Elizabeth Ray … Zach Beecher … Anti-Defamation League’s Dan Granot … Abby Greensfelder … Al Kamen … Joe O’Dea … Pablo Enrique Carrillo … Soroush Shehabi … Jessica Hanna … State Department’s Carter Allen … Emily Vandegrift

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Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook included an incorrect work affiliation for Megan Shannon. She works for Peggy Flanagan’s Minnesota Senate campaign.

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