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American Democracy Is Showing Signs of Life

January 20, 2026 at 12:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Quinta Jurecic writes that “the popularity Trump enjoyed after the election has vanished, protesters have marched in record numbers to oppose his one-man rule, and citizens have shown up to defend their neighbors from immigration enforcement and other federal forces.”

“None of this means that American democracy as we know it will survive—especially given the threat of Trump’s potential interference in the 2026 and 2028 elections—but it has a pulse. As Trump’s term goes on, the administration appears less capable of establishing durable authoritarian rule, and the possibility that the nation will find a way through the chaos with self-government intact no longer seems quite as remote.”

Supreme Court Again Doesn’t Rule on Tariffs

January 20, 2026 at 11:50 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Supreme Court didn’t rule on President Trump’s tariffs Tuesday, meaning it probably will be at least another month before a challenge to his signature economic policy is resolved, Bloomberg reports.

A ‘Rupture’ in the World Order

January 20, 2026 at 11:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada did not mention the United States or President Trump by name in a speech on at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, but it was clear where he placed the blame for what he called a “rupture” in the world order, the New York Times reports.

Said Carney: “Every day we are reminded that we live in an era of great power rivalry. That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong do what they can, and the weak suffer what they must.”

He added: “Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.”


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Congress Clinches Bipartisan Health Care Deal

January 20, 2026 at 11:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan, bicameral health care deal early Tuesday morning they hope lawmakers will pass later this week as part of a four-bill government spending package,” Politico reports.

“In a continued blow for members on both sides of the aisle, the agreement would not revive enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year and are causing premiums to spike for individuals on Obamacare insurance plans.”

Greenlanders ‘Bewildered’ by Trump’s Actions

January 20, 2026 at 11:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Greenlanders are “bewildered” by President Trump’s “devastating” bid to annex the Arctic island, its business minister has told CNBC, as the issue turns into a geopolitical firestorm.

Trump Has Used His Office to Make at Least $1.4 Billion

January 20, 2026 at 11:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “President Trump has never been a man to ask what he can do for his country. In his second term, as in his first, he is instead testing the limits of what his country can do for him.”

“He has poured his energy and creativity into the exploitation of the presidency — into finding out just how much money people, corporations and other nations are willing to put into his pockets in hopes of bending the power of the government to the service of their interests.”

“A review by the editorial board relying on analyses from news organizations shows that Mr. Trump has used the office of the presidency to make at least $1.4 billion. We know this number to be an underestimate because some of his profits remain hidden from public view. And they continue to grow.”

Five Bullets

January 20, 2026 at 11:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just published: Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York’s Explosive ’80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation by Elliot Williams.

“Crime was at an all-time high. So was racial tension. Was Goetz, who was white, a hero who finally fought back? Or a bigot whose itchy trigger finger seriously wounded three unarmed black kids and condemned a fourth to irreversible brain damage?”

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Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
Five Bullets: The Story of Bernie Goetz, New York's Explosive '80s, and the Subway Vigilante Trial That Divided the Nation
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  • Williams, Elliot (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 384 Pages - 01/20/2026 (Publication Date) - Penguin Press (Publisher)
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Denmark Sends More Troops to Greenland

January 20, 2026 at 11:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

With Donald Trump continuing to ramp up pressure in his bid to annex Greenland, Denmark is boosting its military presence on the Arctic island, according to local press reports, Politico reports.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

January 20, 2026 at 11:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“To be clear — I’m not critical of the president. I’m critical of the bad advice he’s getting on Greenland.”

— Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), on CNBC.

Canada Has Modeled a Hypothetical U.S. Invasion

January 20, 2026 at 10:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Canadian Armed Forces have modeled a hypothetical U.S. military invasion of Canada and the country’s potential response, which includes tactics similar to those employed against Russia and later U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan,” the Globe and Mail reports.

“It is believed to be the first time in a century that the Canadian Armed Forces have created a model of an American assault on this country, a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a partner with the U.S. in continental air defense.”

The Economist: Canada’s armed forces are planning for threats from America.

This Trade War Would Be Unlike Any Other

January 20, 2026 at 10:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “His threat to hit several European countries with tariffs of 10%, rising to 25%, if they oppose the U.S. annexation of Greenland is entirely different. It would be an unprecedented use of tariffs against an ally for a strategic, as opposed to a domestic, goal.”

“This is the logical endpoint of Trump’s core doctrine: that the U.S.’s economic size and influence give it leverage to achieve a variety of goals through tariffs, including some that previously required military force. If it succeeds, it could usher in a new sort of trade war, one whose aims aren’t mercantile but geostrategic, including the annexation of more territory.”

Said France Finance Minister Roland Lescure to the BBC: “We’re living through uncharted territories. We’ve never seen this before. An ally, a friend of 250 years, is considering using tariffs … as a geopolitical weapon.”

Trump’s Health Care Plan Faces Tough Path

January 20, 2026 at 10:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump announced his “Great Healthcare Plan” to little fanfare on Capitol Hill last week, Politico reports.

“The question now is how willing and able congressional Republicans will be to actually pass any of it into law after stumbling for years over politically toxic plans to undo Obamacare. The prognosis is not encouraging for the White House.”

“Key parts of the light-on-details proposal likely won’t meet the strict Senate rules for party-line legislation that could skirt a Democratic filibuster. Similar cost-reduction proposals from Republicans ran into problems on that count in last year’s tax-cuts-focused megabill.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

January 20, 2026 at 10:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“He’s driving deep. Remember, our strategy—I say it every day—is maximalist, a maximalist strategy. You have to take it however deep you can take it and, quite frankly, until you meet resistance. And we haven’t met any resistance.”

— Steve Bannon, quoted by The Atlantic.

Julia Letlow Launches Trump-Backed Senate Bid

January 20, 2026 at 10:48 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Julia Letlow announced her primary challenge to Sen. Bill Cassidy on Tuesday, just days after President Donald Trump lent his endorsement in the race,” Politico reports.

“The entrance of Letlow, a Louisiana Republican who has served in Congress since 2021, is a major blow to Cassidy, who was already fending off another MAGA-aligned challenger in a state Trump carried by 22 points in 2024.”

Trump Exhaustion Syndrome

January 20, 2026 at 10:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ashley Parker: “A year into Trump’s second term, the emboldened president’s maximalist strategy—pushing every norm to its most elastic, and then a bit beyond, and from that new breaking point pushing yet again—conjures the boiling-frog theory, in which a frog placed in boiling water will immediately hop out, but a frog placed in cool water that is slowly heated will complacently boil to death. (And yes, I know that this amphibious metaphor for failing to notice incremental negative changes is apocryphal, but the lesson is still apt.)”

Trump Changed the Presidency and There’s No Going Back

January 20, 2026 at 8:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The presidency will never be the same.

That is already the most enduring legacy of Donald Trump 2.0, which reached its one-year mark today.

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Trump Won’t Say If He’ll Seize Greenland by Force

January 20, 2026 at 8:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said he had “no comment” when asked if he would use force to take control of Greenland, NBC News reports.

Quote of the Day

January 20, 2026 at 8:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“With Trump, you have to resist the temptation to intellectualize what he is doing. They’re emotional responses, flying all over the place.”

— A former National Security Council staffer, quoted by the New Yorker.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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