NO MAN’S GREENLAND

Donald Trump’s threats are alienating America’s allies. China wants to fill the void.

• Only President Donald Trump could make news by announcing that he won’t launch a preemptive invasion against one of his country’s strongest allies. But that’s exactly what Trump did today in Davos, Switzerland, ruling out the use of force to conquer Greenland. Hours later, NATO announced that Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will work together to ensure security in the Arctic, although details remain extremely vague. Will Trump’s threats stop now? TBD.

• Trump’s erratic bat-shittery has already pushed America’s longtime friends away — and prompted Washington’s adversaries to do a happy dance. Just look at China, which is gleefully capitalizing on Trump’s self-destructive madness. All of a sudden, China has a new winning strategy to outcompete the United States: Just patiently wait for Trump to poke another hole in America’s boat. Then seize the advantage.

• In Davos, Trump’s incoherence gave Chinese officials a chance to look like the adults in the room. Trump ranted and raved, and confused Greenland with Iceland — like a senile warlord unable to even remember which land he wants to conquer. Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng, meanwhile, played statesman, telling the crowd at Davos: “The world cannot return to the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak.”

• This great power showdown is also playing out online. The Chinese embassy in the U.S. is trolling Trump with bizarre AI-generated videos depicting a greedy, maniacal Uncle Sam who ruins everything. Meanwhile, a new trend features users joking about “becoming Chinese,” as they semi-ironically indulge in some aspect of Chinese culture. There’s no explicit connection between these two phenomena… but I’m sure Beijing is happy that Americans are mimicking their citizens!

Beijing is already making inroads with Washington’s closest allies — including through new trade talks.

• The U.K. and China are planning to revive a “golden era” of business dialogue, referring to a recent high point in bilateral relations in the last decade. That initiative will reportedly be a major focus of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing later this week. The news comes a day after Britain greenlit the construction of a “mega” Chinese embassy in London, despite concerns about spying.

• Beijing is also courting America’s famously friendly northern neighbor, which Trump has repeatedly antagonized. Canada reset trade ties with China last week, lowering hefty tariffs on Beijing’s electric vehicles and other products. It signaled a major break with the United States, though Trump acted like he didn’t care: “It’s a good thing for [PM Mark Carney] to sign a trade deal. If he can get a trade deal with China, he should do that,” the president told reporters.

• Trump’s tumultuous tenure presents China with a huge opportunity to convince countries that it’s more reliable than the United States. Their argument? Just look at what’s coming out of the American president’s mouth.

• “By using Trump’s own words, policies, and governing style as evidence in plain sight, Beijing reinforces allied doubts about Washington while presenting itself — by contrast — as predictable, pragmatic, and open for business,” three China experts wrote in a blog.

Trump talks a big game about countering China’s global reach. His own unhinged rhetoric, however, is bolstering Beijing.

WHAT ELSE? 👀

Minneapolis and St. Paul law enforcement are raising concerns about ICE potentially violating citizens’ civil rights — after agents mistakenly targeted off-duty police officers. In one recent instance, agents boxed in an officer’s car and demanded paperwork, according to a local police chief. The agents knocked the phone from the officer’s hand when she tried filming, and the agents fled when she told them she was a cop, the chief said. Each off-duty officer targeted by ICE has been a person of color, he added.

Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including two children and three journalists, in the Gaza Strip today, according to local health officials. How’s that ceasefire going, again?

The GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee voted to advance resolutions to hold Bill and Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for skipping depositions about deceased child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Several House Democrats voted with Republicans. The vote could potentially lead to the Department of Justice charging the Clintons, which is what happened to longtime Trump allies Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon.

DOGE accessed Social Security information without agency officials’ knowledge, the Trump administration admitted in court for the first time. The agency has “discovered a secret agreement between a DOGE employee and an unidentified political advocacy group,” the Washington Post writes. I guess we were right to freak out about teens running amok in the government systems!

A massive winter storm is expected to stretch across 2,000 miles of the United States, from the Southwest to the East Coast, starting Friday. Get ready for power outages, hazardous travel conditions, and frigid temperatures if you live along the path. I, for one, am going to stock up on hot cocoa and blankets ASAP.

On that note, kudos to the Austin American-Statesman for this lede: “Ahead of an Arctic blast forecast to bring plunging temperatures … some Texans are asking a familiar question: Where is Sen. Ted Cruz?” That’s because Cruz was recently seen on a flight headed to Laguna Beach, California. But he isn’t trying to escape the cold this time, apparently! “He will be back in Texas before the storm is projected to hit,” a spokesperson said in a statement. Okay, right! Tanned, rested and ready to start shoveling out his neighbors, yeah?

LIGHT AT THE END… ☀️

The Supreme Court appeared likely to rule against Donald Trump’s firing of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. If Trump loses the case, it would be a major blow to his attempts to seize control of the country’s central bank.

Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s hand-picked U.S. attorney tasked with prosecuting former FBI Director James Comey, finally stepped down. It’s a huge blow to Trump’s case against Comey, after two judges separately disqualified Halligan from the job.

Thousands of Americans took to the streets to protest Trump’s first year in office yesterday, as polls show that he’s incredibly unpopular.

You’ve heard of Dry January. But many young Americans are participating in another version of the trend: No Buy January. The idea isn’t to buy nothing; participants simply try to avoid spending money on nonessential things, like clothes and electronics, that can add up.

Speaking of nonessential spending, it feels like every influencer is trying some experimental anti-aging product these days. I mean, just look at whatever tech mogul Bryan Johnson is doing. But one Harvard brain expert offered six tips to stay young: sleep well, minimize chronic stress, hang out with friends, exercise regularly, learn new things, and eat healthily. Yeah… I’d rather do this than follow in Johnson’s footsteps.

NASA is letting people sign up to have their names added to the SD card on the Orion spacecraft, which is expected to orbit the moon in the coming years. Here’s the sign up form!

A father from Maryland and his 8-year-old daughter earned a Grammy nomination for best children’s album. “It’s so much cooler that it happened in this way,” said the dad, a longtime musician and music teacher. They are adorable.