The Daily Wrap Up

12 Jan, 2026

[Transcript edited for clarity and flow]

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Hello, everybody, and welcome to this evening’s episode of Mary Trump Live. It is good to be here with you. There is a lot going on right now. Honestly, it can be difficult to keep everything straight, let alone make it relevant and coherent. But here we are.

Speaking of vindictive, petty little men, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may be in real trouble.

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who is the opposite of a petty little man, has filed a lawsuit against Hegseth and the Department of Defense. The suit alleges that Hegseth and the Pentagon moved to censure Kelly and downgrade his military rank in a manner that is unlawful and unconstitutional. Kelly, a Navy veteran and former astronaut, drew the attention of the Trump regime after appearing in a public service announcement reminding U.S. service members that they are not required to follow illegal orders.

That seems uncontroversial, unless you are the person planning to give the illegal orders.

Kelly’s lawsuit states, in part:

Never in our nation’s history has the executive branch imposed military sanctions on a member of Congress for engaging in disfavored political speech. Allowing defendants to punish a senator through military proceedings for his political speech erodes separation of powers and gives the executive a power over legislators that the Constitution does not contemplate.

There is a lot happening right now that the Constitution did not contemplate. I do take issue with one part of that statement, however. I do not think anything Kelly or the other participants in that video said was political. Six members of Congress appeared in that PSA, all Democrats, all veterans of the armed services or the CIA. They were exercising their First Amendment rights and telling the truth about American law and policy. That is not a partisan issue. It is spelled out in the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Kelly later released a statement elaborating on the danger of what Hegseth is attempting:

Pete Hegseth is coming after what I earned through my 25 years of military service in violation of my rights as an American. His unconstitutional crusade sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military. If you speak out and say something the president or secretary of defense does not like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.

This lawsuit is important, and not just because Hegseth is arguably the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in American history. It underscores something I have been saying for a while now. Donald is starting to pick the wrong targets.

We have seen this again and again. Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York. Adam Schiff, now Senator from California. James Comey. And now Mark Kelly. These are not shrinking violets. These are not people without resources or power. These are individuals with institutional knowledge, political capital, and access to legal representation most Americans could only dream of.

This tells me Donald is overestimating his ability to keep everything under control. He does not understand that there are some people who cannot be intimidated. There are some people who are not afraid of him and never will be, because they understand exactly who he is.

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And yet, emboldened by his recent military operation in Venezuela, Donald continues to float the idea of taking over Greenland. During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One, he said the following:

If we don’t take Greenland, Russia or China will take Greenland, and I am not going to let that happen. One way or the other, we’re going to have Greenland.

When pressed about NATO and whether such actions could compromise the alliance, Donald insisted that he had saved NATO and suggested he might consider pulling the United States out altogether if he felt the alliance was not financially beneficial.

Money, after all, is the only thing that matters to him.

Donald has been disastrous for NATO. Since World War II, no American leader has done more to weaken the Western liberal democratic alliance. Russia and China could only “take” Greenland if Denmark’s NATO allies allowed it. If Donald is suggesting the only way to prevent that is for the United States to seize Greenland by force, he is openly threatening an act of war.

Greenland is a semi autonomous territory connected to Denmark. It is not an independent nation, but it is also not up for grabs. If Greenland requires protection, it should be protected, not invaded. The problem is that Donald has never been held accountable for crossing lines, violating norms, or committing atrocities.

We still do not know how many people were killed in the Caribbean Sea or how many died as a result of the illegal strike in Venezuela, but estimates suggest it was well over a hundred. The global response has been little more than a shrug. So what happens next? If Congress refuses to stand up to this insanity, what will NATO do? What will the European Union do?

According to standard reporting, U.K. officials are now discussing the possibility of deploying military troops to Greenland to protect it from Britain’s ally, the United States of America. Officials have reportedly spoken with Germany and France about a joint NATO mission involving troops, vessels, and aircraft.

They are taking this seriously.

The stated goal would be to strengthen Arctic security and deter Russia, China, and, remarkably, the United States under the Trump regime from attempting to seize resource rich territory. NATO is now contemplating the possibility of protecting one of its members from another. That alone should horrify anyone who claims to support American leadership on the world stage.

Our closest allies now understand that the United States cannot be trusted. That damage will last for generations.

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Meanwhile, amid nationwide protests over the killing of Renee Nicole Goode in Minneapolis, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has announced the deployment of hundreds more federal agents to the city. The justification is that protestors are allegedly out of control, which raises an obvious question. Since when is crowd control ICE’s job?

Noem has claimed this surge is part of an investigation into alleged fraud in a local nutrition program. That has nothing to do with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has also alleged, without evidence, that nonprofits trained demonstrators to obstruct law enforcement and weaponize vehicles. None of that is supported by facts.

What is supported by evidence is that poorly trained ICE agents keep firing weapons into people’s cars, which is illegal.

Noem has repeatedly defended the agent, Jonathan Ross, who killed Goode, and has labeled the victim’s actions as domestic terrorism. This directly contradicts video evidence showing Goode turning her car away from officers in an attempt to escape.

Initially, I was cautious. I watched the available footage and was unwilling to speculate about Ross’s intent. But after seeing the video Ross himself recorded, complete with audio, I am comfortable saying that he murdered that woman.

Minnesota is not taking this lying down. In a late breaking development, the state announced it is suing the federal government to limit ICE operations. The lawsuit argues that Minnesota has fewer immigrants than states like Utah, Texas, and Florida, and alleges that ICE is being deployed not to enforce immigration law but to harass residents over their democratic politics.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced the lawsuit at a press conference, where he said:

“Enforcing federal immigration law and fighting fraud are just pretext for this surge. The real reason is no secret. Donald Trump and his administration have been targeting people, cities, and states that do not agree with them politically. He has attacked our funding, our programs, and Minnesotans themselves with despicable racist and xenophobic language.”

Despicable and xenophobic. That describes Donald and everyone he has surrounded himself with.

Illinois is also taking action. The state has filed a lawsuit against DHS, ICE, and CBP for unlawful activities, including altering license plates to conceal agent identities. As Illinois officials made clear, federal agents do not get to ignore state laws or compromise public safety.

I said this back in November 2024. Blue state governors may be our last best hope. We have to fight this state by state and hope some red states eventually realize what side they are on.

All of this is further proof that Donald is a thin skinned autocrat with aspirations of permanent rule. The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery recently removed references to Donald’s two impeachments from its exhibit. That is not history. That is capitulation.

And we cannot keep letting them do it.

If there is one lesson to take from this moment, it is that allowing this regime to get away with everything is no longer an option.

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