A special report live from Nuuk, Greenland with Malcolm Nance, Dean Blundell, and Jacob Kaarsbo bringing firsthand reporting on NATO’s response to Trump’s territorial demands while covering the day’s critical stories from Minneapolis to Beijing.
5️⃣ Trump Deploys Homan to Minneapolis After Video Exposes Lies
Trump deployed border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis for meetings with Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey as federal agents began leaving the state. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino was pulled from command after video proved he lied about Alex Pretti trying to “massacre law enforcement,” but Bovino keeps his job, Kristi Noem keeps her job, and Trump made no public statement about either American killed by federal agents this month. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement threatening impeachment unless Trump fires Noem immediately, telling the administration “we can do this the easy way or the hard way” while Senate Democrats block DHS funding. Pretti’s sister Micayla condemned the “disgusting lies” told about her brother, writing “When does this end? How many more innocent lives must be lost before we say enough?” The retreat came after a two-hour White House meeting where Trump expressed frustration with Noem, but refused to accept her resignation or hold anyone accountable for the deaths.
4️⃣ NATO Deploys Troops as Trump Demands Greenland Base Sovereignty
Trump told the New York Post he wants U.S. sovereignty over American military bases on Greenland, a demand Denmark and Greenland immediately rejected as crossing a red line that would end NATO. Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, and the UK deployed forces to Greenland for Operation Arctic Endurance while Denmark accelerates $2.3 billion in Arctic defense spending. Broadcasting from Nuke, Greenland, correspondents reported finding no Russian presence despite Trump’s claims, discovering instead a pristine landscape where land ownership is prohibited to protect the ecosystem. The terrain makes military invasion nearly impossible, with fjords offering no resupply routes and temperatures that would freeze unprepared forces even in summer. Trump backed down from tariffs threatening eight NATO allies last week after meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at Davos, claiming they reached “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland that NATO says doesn’t exist.
3️⃣ Larry Ellison Censors “Epstein” on TikTok as Greatest Heist Chapter 8 Publishes
Larry Ellison’s first act after buying TikTok was blocking the word “Epstein” in direct messages, prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to open an investigation. The timing coincided with the publication of Greatest Heist Chapter 8, detailing how Trump made $54 million profit selling a Palm Beach mansion during the worst housing crash in history to a Russian oligarch who demolished it, while Leon Black’s Apollo ran similar extraction plays as ten million families lost their homes. TikTok also began closing accounts of prominent critics, including military analyst Malcolm Nance, in what observers called the Putin playbook of nationalizing social media platforms. Big Tech faced its first jury trial in Los Angeles over claims Meta, TikTok, and YouTube deliberately designed addictive features to harm children, with over 1,500 similar cases waiting for the verdict, though Snap and TikTok settled on the eve of trial.
2️⃣ Xi Jinping Purges Generals Who Said Taiwan Invasion Impossible by 2027
Xi Jinping purged his top two military commanders Saturday for defying his 2027 Taiwan invasion deadline, with Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli under investigation for “seriously trampling” Xi’s authority. Zhang wanted 2035 for joint operations capability and made clear in his November 2025 article he intended to fix training problems first, but Xi demands 2027 and wants “speed and scale.” When January’s training plan showed no correction toward Xi’s timeline, the defiance became visible across the PLA and Xi announced the purge on a Saturday afternoon, rushing the editorial overnight. The move follows a pattern of dictators setting unrealistic deadlines for unrealistic objectives, with Xi’s generals telling him 2027 is impossible but facing replacement by commanders willing to rush toward failure with increasingly aggressive training and exercises.
1️⃣ Trump an Hour Late to Sell Iowa Farmers Tariff Welfare
Trump was scheduled to speak in Clive, Iowa about “bridge payments” to farmers whose livelihoods his tariffs destroyed, but arrived an hour late to an empty podium. The billions in taxpayer-funded payments compensate for damage Trump caused, with Iowa farming groups furious the Republican House failed to include year-round E15 ethanol sales in last week’s spending plan. Trump sits at 61% disapproval nationally with Iowa giving him lower approval than any other Republican-led state, while three of Iowa’s four House districts remain competitive and Democrats see Senator Joni Ernst’s retirement as an opportunity. Broadcasting from Greenland, correspondents noted Trump appears increasingly ineffectual on the world stage, backtracking on Minneapolis executions, facing EU and NATO rejection of his Greenland demands, and threatening to punish Americans with more tariffs after Mark Carney embarrassed him at Davos.
The pattern revealed across today’s stories: retreat without accountability, threats without consequences, censorship timed to investigations, purges for truth-telling, and rallies selling failure to the people paying the price.
The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.
Thank you Nick Paro, Northern Variables, Story Carrier, ann schneider, Omar Moore, and many others for tuning into my live video with Jacob Kaarsbo! Join me for my next live video in the app.
