By Ben Meiselas
Hi all. It’s been a busy morning for the MeidasTouch team. Thanks to all who are tuning into our live coverage of Jack Smith’s public testimony before Congress.
I’ll get to that hearing in just a moment, but first let me start with the latest developments out of Davos.
Trump’s weakness, deterioration, isolation, and dangerous detachment from reality is now playing out on the global stage. Trump remained in Switzerland after the opening of the World Economic Forum to meet with a group he is calling his “Board of Peace.” That name alone is a lie that could be ripped straight out of the pages of an Orwell novel. ”War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength”
None of America’s traditional allies were present. No NATO countries. No democratic partners. Instead, the group consisted almost entirely of authoritarian regimes, including representatives from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, and others. Vladimir Putin has reportedly said Russia will be joining as well.
As Trump spoke to the group, his physical condition was impossible to ignore. His left hand appeared severely bruised, discolored, and swollen, worse than the condition previously seen on his right hand. The discoloration became so pronounced that Trump left the event mid-appearance, disappeared for roughly 15 minutes, and returned with heavy makeup applied to his hand. British outlet The Telegraph published before-and-after photos showing the dramatic change.
The White House response only made matters worse, per usual. Chief Propagandist, I mean Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt claimed Trump injured his hand by hitting the corner of a signing table. That explanation followed an earlier claim that the bruising on Trump’s other hand was caused by excessive handshaking. This follows Leavitt yesterday claiming it was fake news that Trump mistook Greenland for Iceland multiple times during his speech, despite the fact that it was on video.
While standing beside his so-called Board of Peace, Trump claimed that he has “established peace in the Middle East” and “settled eight wars.” These statements are flatly false. Just one day earlier, Israeli strikes in Gaza killed multiple journalists, including a cameraman working with CBS News. Conflicts continue across the region and the world, many of which Trump has exacerbated through reckless rhetoric, abandoned diplomacy, and open contempt for international norms.
Regarding Gaza, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner presented a Gaza “master plan” at Trump’s “Board of Peace” event. Slides included his plans to develop what he’s calling “New Gaza” and “New Rafah.” Kushner is seeking billions in investments so he could build his new development on the land. It’s truly the heigh of depravity.
Trump also continued promoting another lie: that he reached a deal with Denmark and Greenland to grant the United States access to Greenlandic land. Danish officials directly contradicted this claim, stating there have been no discussions of any kind about transferring sovereign territory. Greenlandic sources confirmed the same. A spokesperson for NATO said Secretary General Mark Rutte never discussed such a proposal with Trump. This was not a misunderstanding. It was invented out of thin air, just as we told you it was yesterday. How many times do we have to tell the corporate media to stop running with Trump’s B.S. narratives?!
While still in Davos, Trump gave an interview to Fox News in which he disparaged NATO itself, claiming the alliance has “never really been there” for the United States. That statement not only morally offensive, but it’s just plain wrong. NATO allies fought and died alongside American troops in Afghanistan after Article Five was invoked for the first and only time in history following the September 11 attacks. Danish forces, in particular, suffered some of the highest per-capita casualties of any coalition partner.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also addressed the World Economic Forum after initially being blocked from speaking at a U.S. pavilion event. Newsom directly called out the abnormality and danger of Trump’s behavior, emphasizing the need to hold up a mirror to the chaos and call it what it is.
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Back in the United States, Trump spent the morning lashing out at the press. He threatened to sue The New York Times over its latest Siena poll, which shows his approval rating deeply underwater. Trump labeled the poll fake, accused the paper of fraud, and demanded internal records. The reality is that the poll shows Trump with a net approval of minus sixteen, and underwater on nearly every major issue, from the economy to foreign relations to immigration. Lawsuits do not change public opinion, and intimidation does not erase data.
At the same time, horrifying new reporting emerged about ICE agents using a five-year-old child as bait to abduct his father outside a preschool, an act caught on video. The child and his father were then taken into detention and transported out of state.
ICE whistleblowers and new reporting reveal a secret internal memo authorizing agents to force their way into people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, relying only on ICE-issued administrative paperwork that even DHS training materials say is unconstitutional. The memo was deliberately hidden, passed around verbally, and used to train new recruits anyway, explaining recent door-busting raids like the one in Minneapolis where no judicial warrant was shown. This is the Trump administration quietly shredding the Fourth Amendment in pursuit of mass deportations.
Adding to the mounting misconduct, the White House earlier posted what appear to be AI-generated images connected to ongoing arrests of protesters in Minneapolis, including an AI-altered image depicting a protest organizer with tears streaming down her face. The original image shows know such thing. This represents a deeply unethical abuse the federal government, effectively manufacturing visual narratives to intimidate, discredit, or prejudice individuals before they have had their day in court. This is a serious threat to due process, civil liberties, and the integrity of the justice system itself, and it underscores how far this administration is willing to go to weaponize power against perceived opponents.
The Trump DOJ also reportedly attempted to charge independent journalist Don Lemon for covering the protests, but a Magistrate Judge refused to sign off. The DOJ will likely continue to pursue this prosecution, despite this setback. We’ll keep our eyes on the courts to see how this unfolds.
Back to Jack Smith’s testimony.
Jack Smith testified before Congress and made clear that he stands fully by his decision to charge Trump, stating that the evidence proved criminal conduct beyond a reasonable doubt. The Republicans, to no surprise, are showing their typical disregard for the law. They’ve been berating Jack Smith all day for doing his job as they seek to rewrite the history of January 6th. It’s truly a disgrace.
No matter how much Trump tries to attack and arrest independent journliasts, we will not waver from our mission. Don’t let anyone gaslight you. None of this is normal. It is not sustainable. And it is putting the United States and the world at risk.
We’re going to keep on fighting. It’s your support that makes this possible, so thank you.
