During President Donald Trump’s first term, his musings about acquiring Greenland were widely dismissed as a joke, serving as fodder for memes and late-night punchlines. In his second term, however, Trump has pressed the idea more seriously, raising it face-to-face with world leaders on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In his remarks, Trump described Greenland as ‘part of North America’ and argued that it is essential to both his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system and the broader protection of U.S. national security. “No nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States,” Trump said, arguing that Denmark, which owns the autonomous territory, had failed to meet its NATO obligations to defend it. In recent weeks, Trump has argued that both China and Russia pose a threat to the world’s largest island in the strategic Arctic. Biggest moment: Trump rules out force to take Greenland. “I don’t have to use force, I don’t want to use force, I won’t use force.” pic.twitter.com/PzOLorkjrR — Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) January 21, 2026 While Trump left open the possibility of military action as he set the stage for negotiations, he reassured the Davos audience that force would not be used, to the great relief of European countries. “We probably won’t get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be, frankly, unstoppable,” Trump said, before quickly adding, “But I won’t do that… I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.” Trump leaned heavily on World War II history, recounting how American forces moved into Greenland after Denmark fell to Nazi Germany in 1940, establishing bases to prevent enemy powers from gaining a foothold in the Western Hemisphere. He called the move to return Greenland to Denmark after the war foolish.  “How stupid were we to do that? But we did it,” he said, adding that the island was “much more necessary now” than it had been decades earlier. Trump on the U.S. controlling Greenland in WWII: “When Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So the United States was then compelled—we did it, we felt an obligation to do it—to send our own forces… pic.twitter.com/PnRdu0ISHn — Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) January 21, 2026 Trump rejected claims that he wants the island for its rare minerals, saying instead that Greenland’s value is a matter of national security, given its “key strategic location between the United States, Russia, and China.” He said that if there were to be a large war, “missiles would be flying right over the center of that piece of ice.” He also noted that past presidents tried to buy the island—likely referring to President Harry Truman, who in 1946 offered $100 million in gold along with rights to a tract of Alaskan oil. “But there’s so much rare earth, and to get to this rare earth, you’ve got to go through hundreds of feet of ice,” he said. “That’s not the reason we need it. We need it for strategic national security and international security.” He added that Greenland is “on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere.” “That’s our territory,” he said. Trump criticized Greenland’s defenses, claiming that Denmark failed to follow through with its pledge to invest $200 million to strengthen its security. “No sign of Denmark there,” Trump said, leaving out the joke he has made in recent weeks that Greenland is defended by dog sleds. “It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it and make it so that it’s good for Europe and safe for Europe and good for us,” he said. “And that’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States.” The president repeatedly criticized NATO during his speech, saying the United States does far more to defend Europe than it receives in return and therefore should be granted Greenland. Trump makes the case that NATO owes Greenland to the United States: “What we have gotten out of NATO is nothing except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia. We pay for NATO. And all we’re asking for is to get Greenland, including right, title, and ownership,… pic.twitter.com/rfUCu0UUWh — Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) January 21, 2026 “What we have gotten out of NATO is nothing except to protect Europe from the Soviet Union and now Russia,” he said. “We pay for NATO and all we’re asking for is to get Greenland, including right, title, and ownership, because you need the ownership to defend it.” During a question-and-answer session with World Economic Forum President Børge Brende after his speech, Trump said Denmark is a “small country” spending “hundreds of millions to run it.” “It’s a very big piece of ice. It’s very important that we use that for national and international security. That can create a power that will make it impossible for the bad guys to do anything against the perceived good ones.”

As a survivor of Saddam Hussein’s attempted genocide of the Kurdish people in northern Iraq, Sarkawt Shamsulddin knows what American resolve can mean for persecuted people. He and his family were spared thanks to an American-imposed “No Fly Zone”. So when he sent us the article below warning of rising persecution in Syria — accelerated by the release of thousands of ISIS fighters from prison — we took notice. Sarkawt knows the region’s tribes, sects, and power dynamics. He also knows the local Kurds, Christians, Druze, and Yazidis now face renewed danger. He’s not asking for American boots on the ground or nation-building. But he is asking for American leverage in Syria. — Joel Kneedler * * * The United States has long been the world’s most generous defender of persecuted peoples. After the Holocaust, America said “never again” and meant it. From the Balkans to Africa to the mountains of Kurdistan, when minorities faced extermination, America intervened. I am alive today because of that commitment. In the 1991, Saddam Hussein was slaughtering Kurds. The United States led a global coalition to establish a No-Fly Zone over the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that saved millions of lives — including mine. Today, Kurdistan is a multicultural, religiously tolerant region where no American soldier or civilian has ever been killed or harmed while the rest of Iraq became a death trap for Americans. American protection made that possible. Now, Syria’s minorities face a similar threat. And once again, America has the power to save them — without a single additional boot on the ground. A New Syria, Same Old Problems President Trump has chosen to give Syria’s new leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa — a former jihadi turned politician — a chance. Congress aligned with the President and lifted sanctions. The administration pushed for an integration agreement between Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), America’s partners who liberated Syria from ISIS. I support giving peace a chance. But let us be clear-eyed about what is happening. The new Syrian government has no popular legitimacy. There have been no elections. No constitution has been drafted with input from Syria’s diverse communities. The country is ruled by presidential decrees with no accountability. Those who seized Damascus from Assad are rewriting Syria’s future alone — without Kurds, Christians, Druze, Yazidis, or any other minority at the table. This is not democracy. This is conquest by another name. Broken Promises, Rising Violence On January 16, 2026 the United States brokered a deal asking the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to withdraw from Arab-majority cities like Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor in exchange for integration and unity and giving Kurdish dominated areas special status. The SDF complied in good faith — they withdrew. Damascus, however, did not honor its side of the deal. Mohammad Daher/NurPhoto via Getty Images Instead, militias aligned with Turkey — wearing Syrian government uniforms — incited tribal rebellions, advanced into vacated territories, and emptied ISIS prisons. Thousands of ISIS fighters are now free, blending into communities under Damascus control. The very enemy our American partners defeated is being unleashed again. These militias have already committed multiple war crimes, including massacres against Kurds and other minorities. Now they are advancing on Kobani — the city that became a global symbol of resistance against ISIS — and Hasakah province, which houses hundreds of thousands of displaced minorities who fled violence elsewhere. A leaked document from Syria’s Ministry of Endowments frames this conflict as Futuhat — Islamic Conquest — justifying violence against communities as religiously sanctioned. This is not integration. This is ethnic and religious cleansing with official blessing. America Has Done This Before President Trump recently threatened the Iranian regime with overthrow if they continued mass executions of protesters. Iran stopped — at least for now. American leverage, when applied, works. The United States is currently the guarantor of Syria’s new government. Washington lifted sanctions. Washington brokered deals. Washington gave Damascus legitimacy. That means Washington has leverage — enormous leverage — to demand that minorities be protected. Last year, Syrian forces attacked Sweida province and were on their way to wipe out the Druze community until Israel intervened and stopped the advance. The Druze survived because a foreign power drew a red line. Syria’s Kurds, Christians, and Yazidis need America to draw that same line. What Congress Can Do The SDF has significant military capability to defend itself. But military power alone cannot guarantee long-term stability for minorities in Syria. What these communities need is official American recognition and protection within a unified Syrian state — not division, but local autonomy that prevents Damascus-aligned militias from committing massacres. Congress should pass a resolution recognizing the special status of minority communities in northeastern Syria and calling on the administration to condition continued engagement with Damascus on verifiable protections for these populations. This is not nation-building. This is not regime change. This is America saying: if you want our support, you cannot slaughter the people who fought alongside us. No additional troops required. Just recognition. Just leverage. Just the moral clarity that has defined American foreign policy at its best. The Cost of Inaction The communities now facing annihilation in Syria are the same ones who bled alongside American soldiers to destroy the ISIS caliphate. They liberated territory far beyond their own homelands because America asked them to. They guarded tens of thousands of ISIS prisoners because the world had nowhere else to put them. If America abandons them now — if we allow Damascus and its militia allies to conduct ethnic cleansing while we look away — we will not just betray our partners. We will prove to every future ally that American promises mean nothing. And we will watch ISIS rise again from the chaos, just as it did before. President Trump wants to give Syria’s new government a chance. So do I. But that chance must come with conditions. Protection for minorities is not optional — it is the minimum price of American legitimacy. Congress has the power to act. The President has the leverage to enforce it. The only question is whether America will once again stand for the persecuted — or stand aside while they are destroyed. History is watching. So are Syria’s minorities. * * * Sarkawt Shamsulddin is a a former member of the Iraqi Parliament, non-resident fellow at Atlantic Council (2022-2025), founder and CEO of US Iraq Advisory Group The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Beneath the glittering facade of a $400 million ballroom project, President Trump is demolishing and rebuilding the White House’s nuclear bunker, a classified operation that officials argue is so critical to national security that construction cannot pause even for standard oversight. Dismantling History for Nuclear Preparedness The Presidential Emergency Operations Center once sheltered Vice President Cheney during the September 11 attacks and served as the secure planning site for Biden’s 2023 Ukraine trip. Now it exists only in memory. White House sources confirm with high confidence that demolition crews have eliminated all subterranean structures from the 1940s era, clearing ground for what officials describe as mission-critical upgrades. The original PEOC, commissioned in 1941 as America’s first presidential bomb shelter, evolved into a sophisticated command facility with secure communications, living quarters, and supplies designed for extended occupancy during nuclear emergencies. Eight decades of technological advancement rendered its infrastructure obsolete. The removal was no minor renovation. Everything went, from reinforced walls to communication systems, replaced by construction that White House Director of Management and Administration Joshua Fisher characterizes as addressing future needs through capabilities of a top-secret nature. The timing coincides with Trump’s second-term East Wing reconstruction project, announced as a venue for state dinners and public events funded entirely through private donations. What appeared initially as architectural vanity reveals dual purposes when excavation reaches below ground level. National Security Overrides Transparency Fisher’s December 2025 appearance before the National Capital Planning Commission offered rare public acknowledgment of what remains deliberately obscured. He referenced top-secret elements justifying why demolition proceeded before standard approvals, a deviation from typical regulatory sequences that govern federal construction in the nation’s capital. The commission, responsible for planning compliance oversight, effectively deferred to executive authority when classifications entered discussion. Court filings submitted last week make the administration’s position explicit: stopping underground work would compromise both national security and the public interest, language that insulates decisions from external scrutiny. The strategic bundling of surface and subsurface projects creates political cover while complicating accountability. Private donors fund the ballroom’s aesthetic grandeur while taxpayers finance bunker specifications that remain undisclosed. No cost estimates for the classified portions have entered public record, nor have architectural plans beyond generalities about nuclear resistance and enhanced functionality. This opacity follows precedent—previous PEOC upgrades occurred without detailed disclosure—but the scale of complete demolition and rebuilding marks new territory. The American public funds protection for leadership continuity yet learns details only through leaked fragments and carefully parsed official statements. Operational Realities During Construction White House operations continue despite the underground transformation, though not without disruption. Staff relocations accompanied the October 2025 demolition start, and contingency evacuation protocols account for the bunker’s temporary absence. Sources familiar with security planning note that alternative secure facilities exist within the broader Washington area, ensuring presidential protection remains uncompromised during the construction window. The classified nature of these arrangements prevents specific disclosure, but the administration’s willingness to demolish existing shelter implies confidence in interim solutions and timeline management. The project’s convergence with Trump’s second term raises questions about priorities and legacy. Combining personal architectural ambitions with infrastructure modernization demonstrates pragmatic resource leveraging, yet the secrecy surrounding costs and capabilities fuels speculation about preparedness motivations. Global tensions and nuclear threat assessments presumably inform timing, though officials offer no public analysis connecting current geopolitical conditions to construction urgency. The bunker will serve presidents beyond Trump’s tenure, making the investment a long-term national security asset rather than individual benefit, assuming completion meets promised nuclear survivability standards. Implications for Governance and Preparedness This reconstruction entrenches a troubling norm: using classification to shield executive actions from oversight while accessing taxpayer resources for undisclosed purposes. National security justifications carry weight, particularly regarding continuity-of-government facilities designed for worst-case scenarios, but the principle of informed consent suffers when costs and specifications remain hidden behind top-secret designations. The National Capital Planning Commission’s deferral illustrates how security claims override regulatory checks, concentrating decision-making authority without corresponding accountability mechanisms. Short-term operational disruptions fade, but precedents for opacity persist. Long-term, a modernized bunker enhances America’s capacity to maintain leadership functionality during nuclear or catastrophic events, a capability that justifies significant investment given existential stakes. The 1940s infrastructure that served eight decades required replacement, and delaying upgrades until crisis conditions emerge would constitute negligence. Whether the current approach balances legitimate security needs with appropriate transparency remains contested. Defense contractors specializing in hardened facilities likely benefit from related classified work, though specific contracts and technologies remain beyond public view. What persists is certainty that beneath Washington’s ceremonial architecture, preparations for unthinkable scenarios advance regardless of who occupies the offices above. Sources: https://economictimes.com/news/international/us/is-trump-building-a-secret-white-house-bunker-reports-fuel-nuclear-shelter-speculation/articleshow/126851563.cms https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-white-house-makeover-underground-bunker-b2904108.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Emergency_Operations_Center

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Trump likes immigrants.

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Books Short Fiction Spotlight Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: December 2025 Ten excellent works of short fiction you may have missed in 2025 By Alex Brown | Published on January 21, 2026 Comment 0 Share New Share It may be 2026, but I’m not done with last year yet. While doing all my short fiction reading from December, I didn’t intend to but ended up picking ten science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories that mostly include authors I’ve never featured in this spotlight before. There are a couple repeat guests, but it’s been a few years at least since I last had them on. I hope you’re as excited to meet (or re-meet) these authors as I was. “Drink Poetry, Devour the Sun” by Jonathan Helland Written in the form of electronic messages between two people, this piece ends up in a surprising place. Andy is on sabbatical and raising his preschool-age daughter. She keeps saying strange things while playing with her toys or at daycare, things that are impossible for her to know. The longer this goes on, the more disconcerting her statements become. Andy reaches out to Carol, who gives him a clue as to what the claims might mean. The truth is even worse. If you’re a mythology nerd like I am, you will probably be able to guess where this story is going, but trust me, it’s worth the ride. (Trollbreath Magazine—Winter 2025; issue 6) “Mbali and the Lantern Men” by K.A. Mulenga “The first time Mbali swallowed a star, she was five years old. It shimmered above her, small and flickering like an ember dropped from the sky. She thought it was candy. When she opened her mouth, it tumbled down her throat, leaving a trail of silver in its wake.” Mbali drinks the stars in the sky, but this isn’t a horror story. Ultimately, it’s about finding the best in yourself and not letting anyone dim or smother that. I love how this story is written, too. It feels like a folktale. (F(r)iction—Winter 2025; issue 25) “One Hand Washes the Other” by Karl El-Koura Pietr thinks he’s being held hostage by his two crewmates who have been turned into pod people by an alien hivemind. But what if he’s wrong? Or worse, what if he’s right? El-Koura stages a sci-fi drama that puts trust at the forefront. It’s a fun slice of space opera that feels like an excerpt from a novel. Sadly, this the last ever issue of On Spec. The Canadian magazine was founded in 1989 and has been publishing incredible speculative fiction ever since. It’s won numerous awards over the years, and on a personal note, it is one of those titles I always get really excited to see in my inbox. Fare thee well, On Spec. (On Spec—issue 134) “ReproTech RealWomb User Manual” by Xauri’EL Zwaan This is a very weird story, both in content and in structure, so I’m not going to tell you anything except go read it. And kinda disconcerting. It’s a little cyberpunk, a little satire, and a whole lot great. (Baffling—December 2025; issue 22) “Tapetum Lucidum” by U.M. Agoawike What a gorgeously written story. I also don’t want to tell you too much about this piece since it’s so short and the twist in the plot is a gut punch. It’s about children who play in the Darkwood by a cottage and the awful thing that happens to them out there. It’s written from the perspective of one of those children after it happens. It flows like a nightmare or a particularly dark fairy tale, one of those that the Grimm Brothers might have found too unsettling to include. (Augur—#8.3) “The Matriarch” by Malena Salazar Maciá “He told you he didn’t like your hair.” In our narrator’s culture, hair is how memories and traditions are passed down the generations. Not that her husband cares. He is from the capital where, from his perspective, they are civilized and don’t have all that wild, untamed hair. She gives into his demands, and it still isn’t enough for him. After reading this story, I thought about the comments white people used to make to me as a child about how my hair was “crazy,” as well as how during slavery Black people would weave patterns and seeds into their hair to guide them when they escaped. I thought about “Kill the Indian, save the man” campaigns meant to forcibly assimilate Indigenous people out of their “savage” ways, and how one of those weapons was cutting off their hair at the boarding schools. And yet, despite all that, our people are still here, still resisting, still holding onto our cultures. (Fantasy Magazine—Winter 2025; issue 99) “The North” by Subodhana Wijeyeratne Our narrator is from a land that was terrorized by Northern raiders generations ago. Their culture still tells the stories of those years as if they survived the worst humanity had to offer. Now our narrator is joining a sailing party headed North in search of a passage to the other side of the world, as well as sea creatures they plan to hunt and sell. They find the creatures and the Northerners, but things don’t go the way our narrator expects. Wijeyeratne weaves in commentary on capitalism, resource exploitation, and dehumanization. It’s a world that feels just close enough to ours to make the analogy hit hard. (khōréō—volume 5, issue 4) “The Red River Summers” by Inda Lauryn Madear escapes slavery and makes it as far north as the Territory of Wisconsin. There she gets a little revenge on some white people before she settles into their cabin and builds herself a life. Most people leave her alone, what with the threat of her witchcraft, but not the Indigenous people of the region. The story takes place around the time of Mahkatêwe-meshi-kêhkêhkwa, aka Black Hawk, the Sauk warrior who led a war against the United States in 1832. Lauryn blends real history and fantasy in compelling ways. The characters don’t get a happy ending—if you know anything about this historical era, then Black Hawk’s fate won’t surprise you—but the journey is powerful. (Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction—Summer 2025) “The Short History of a Long-Forgotten, Ill-Fated Telenovela” by Dante Luiz The cast and crew of the telenovela Senhora must be cursed. It ran only for a season in the early 1970s, but had an outsized impact on the television industry. It’s the only thing that explains why they all keep dying in painful ways. We follow a few of these victims through their involvement in the production of Senhora and after, peeking into their lives and the cruelties they meted out to others before their bill came due. It’s a creepy story with a lot of smart things to say about fame. (Nightmare—December 2025; issue 159) “Who Are You Wearing?” by Russell Nichols The gig economy gets dark. Well, darker. You are a divorced parent trying to do your best for your 9-year-old daughter. You work random jobs wearing an exo suit called a Hardiman, anything from a courier to a raccoon evictor to hauling heavy objects. The work sucks, but you put up with it because what other choice do you have? A sharp story that isn’t all that far-fetched, exo aside. (Uncanny—December 2025; issue 67)[end-mark] The post Must Read Short Speculative Fiction: December 2025 appeared first on Reactor.