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In our latest Two Brothers Talking conversation, Don Lemon and I covered a lot of ground in a short time.
We started with Davos, and how Trump’s foreign policy is defined by ego, theatrics, and a worldview that recklessly wields American power, even when it destabilizes alliances and the post-WWII order.
I also checked in on how Don is doing, given the Trump Administration’s threats toward him after he was simply reporting on the ground in Minnesota, which is fully protected by the First Amendment.
You can find the full conversation above and key takeaways below.
Intimidation that is backfiring
We started by briefly talking about the Trump Admin’s threats over Don’s reporting.
Instead of isolating Don, it has done the opposite. Don described a wave of support, including organizations and advocacy groups he had never even heard of, offering representation and publicly rallying behind press freedom.
That matters.
Davos, Greenland, and the politics of spectacle
From there, we shifted to Davos and Trump’s renewed Greenland obsession.
The takeaway was simple: it is smoke and mirrors. “A framework of a deal” is not a deal. It is a headline designed to create the illusion of momentum. It is the same old trick, repackaged.
We talked about how the world is increasingly exhausted by Trump’s volatility and his constant cycle of escalation, backlash, and retreat. The spectacle is the point.
And as we said on the Live, this is not “America First.” It is America Alone.
NATO strain and the post-WWII order under pressure
We also talked about the greater danger beneath the theater.
Even flirting with the idea of coercing a NATO ally over territory destabilizes the logic of the post-World War II order. NATO was not built for an attack from within. And NATO leaders, like Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, are showing signs they are done flattering Trump and done pretending this is normal.
Who profits off the chaos
One of the more interesting threads in this conversation was following the money. I asked who knew that Trump was going to make this Greenland announcement and when.
When Trump throws markets into chaos and then “walks it back,” someone profits. Someone buys the dip. Someone gets rich. That question is not conspiratorial; it is basic accountability.
The public deserves to know who is benefiting from the volatility that is being manufactured from the top.
The media is not covering Trump’s decline with enough urgency
Don raised a question that needs to be asked more often: why is the press not treating Trump’s cognitive decline as a front-page story the way they treated Biden’s age?
We talked about the rambling, the mix-ups, the obvious deterioration, and the way aides and spokespeople attempt to gaslight the public after the fact.
If the standard was “eyes and ears” for one president, it has to be the standard for the other. This is not about partisanship. It is about fitness for office.
What MLK week reminded us
We closed in a way that felt fitting for the week.
I had just returned from Wisconsin after delivering my MLK Day keynote at the Capitol, and Don had just hosted the Rainbow PUSH King breakfast in Chicago.
We talked about the kind of support that reminds you what is still worth fighting for in this country, even when people in power violate the Constitution. We all have to continue to fight to push America forward, no matter the forces we face.
