We received what amounts to an extortion letter last night: either change our “exaltation” of Donald Trump, or the reader will cancel their Grey Swan membership.
Heh.
Our reader, we’re confident, will be shocked to know we’ve only voted once in our lives… only to regret it later.
The closest we come to a political opinion is consistent with P.J. O’Rourke’s 2011 book of essays entitled Don’t Vote: It Just Encourages the Bastards.
Since Donald Trump got into politics in 2015, American politics have made little sense.
We do have a theory that the root cause of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is Hilary Clinton’s embarrassment from having a husband who was impeached as president for “not having sex” with Monica Lewinsky and then later losing her own presidential bid to another man who became the 45th and 47th president.
It’s just a theory. Nothing proven. Don’t hang the theoretician.
That said, we have to admit we’re endlessly intrigued by the passion and reverence with which readers and fellow scriveners hold their own opinions.
Often confused with political views of his own, the radio and film producer John Nesbitt referred to the more fantastic and exaggerated stories in American history as the “passing parade.”
If you’d like to review some of the other writers who we believe got the story of America correct, look to the satirists of old.
P.J. O’Rourke is one. H.L. Mencken, another.
John Cheever. Freeman Tilden.
Frank Chodorov, Russell Kirk and John T. Flynn were all master polemicists of what Murray Rothbard described as The Old Right: they more or less opposed the New Deal, socialism, and centralized government… valued established institutions, cultural heritage, and moral order… were skeptical of foreign entanglements and U.S. entry into global conflict… and worried about the decline of Western culture and the rise of materialism.
And they had a lot of fun doing it.
Who stipulated that politics and money have to be serious?
We do, in fact, write about money, the economy and financial markets. It’s to our own peril if we ignore the “passing parade” and its impact on them.
Populism as practiced by President Trump and the MAGA crowd is equally as pernicious, in our view, as the open worship of collectivism as expressed by Mamdani, AOC, and the progressive snollygosters gaining momentum among younger voters.
The system, as it were, is broken in all kinds of interesting ways. But we still have to live in it. And make decisions about our lives… our money… our families and our future.
So… you are free to cancel if you wish.
For the rest, let’s get on with it, shall we?
Minneapolis Heats Up Despite the Winter Chill
Last night, federal immigration agents in Minneapolis shot a Venezuelan immigrant in the leg after a pursuit and violent scuffle. Two bystanders joined the fray, attacking the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle.
The agent, fearing for his life, fired his weapon. The immigrant is now hospitalized; the others are in custody.
The reaction? Predictable. Protesters descended quickly, throwing fireworks at federal agents, who responded with flashbangs and pepper balls.
The scene echoes similar episodes across the country, turning enforcement into flashpoints and stoking the fire under Trump’s ICE surge. The question remains: is this about border control, or something much larger?
Meanwhile, in Iran…
Over 2,000 protesters are dead. Some reports suggest it could be as high as 20,000.
What began as outrage over economic misery has morphed into a broader uprising against the regime. Trump has publicly advocated for Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old protester scheduled for execution.
“We have been informed… the executions won’t take place,” Trump said yesterday. “I hope it’s true. Who knows?”
The U.S. has begun repositioning troops out of Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, just as it did before striking Iranian facilities last year.
If this isn’t the opening act of a broader conflict, it’s certainly a dress rehearsal.
In Mamdani’s America
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has named Kamar Samuels as schools chancellor. The new priority? Racial integration, above all else.
Never mind performance. In 2026, ideology trumps outcomes.
This is the ideological mirror of Trumpian populism: one substitutes identity for merit; the other, grievance for governance.
Bilt Bends the Knee
It’s a banal story, really. Jerome Powell is under federal investigation. The official excuse? Budget overruns on the Fed’s D.C. renovation.
The real reason? Political pressure to cut interest rates and step aside.
If you missed it, on Monday, Powell issued a rare video response: “We will not set policy based on the president’s preferences.”
The Fed’s independence, long considered sacrosanct by bankers, is being tested in ways not seen since the 1970s. For students of Demise of the Dollar, this is familiar terrain: central banks always serve their political masters in the end.
In response to Trump’s call to cap credit card rates at 10%, Bilt is launching new cards with exactly that cap.
For their part, JPMorgan, Citigroup, and Bank of America all issued dire warnings of “unintended consequences” and “a credit crunch” among middle-income earners, whom the cap is supposed to help.
Translation? If they can’t skim the margins anymore, why offer the credit?
Trump may not be able to control the Fed outright… but he’s already reshaping financial markets by force of will.
The Davos Conundrum
Trump will return to the World Economic Forum in Davos, January 19-23, with a record-sized U.S. delegation. The event itself will attract 850 CEOs and 64 heads of state from all strata of self-importance.
Critics see it as a den of elite dealmaking. Trump sees it as a global stage for American leverage.
We’re speculating this morning what he could possibly say to this group about Minnesota, Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, China, tariffs… uh, anything that he hasn’t tweeted out on Truth Social already…
What will Trump push? Likely: energy dominance, deregulated AI zones, and perhaps… another bid for Greenland.
We’re also suspecting that between now and then, he’ll announce more government investment in critical mineral producers in North America. The Fast 41 program will be among the hot topics we discuss with Shad Marquitz in our Grey Swan Live! Metals Mania conversation this afternoon. (Details below!)
Greenland, Redux
Trump is, no doubt, obsessed with Greenland. We traveled there in the summer of ‘23 with a group of scientists, climate activists and a reporter from the New York Times. We were invited to investigate the melting glaciers. They are, in fact, melting. (There’s a lot more to this story, better suited for another time.)
One thing we remember. It’s still cold. Even in August. Oh… and… not a lot of people live there. Some Inuit fishing communities and dog sled runners… a couple of families of Danish descent.
A cohort of tech elites, including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, have been floating ideas for a “freedom city” — an AI-powered, libertarian utopia on the icy frontier.
Dryden Brown, co-founder of Praxis, has already attempted to negotiate a deal. Backers want spaceports, AI training centers, and micro nuclear reactors.
Sounds like sci-fi? Perhaps. But so does Elon Musk building AI infrastructure in orbit…
The Donroe Doctrine
Trump’s intervention in Venezuela is being dubbed the Donroe Doctrine — a reboot of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 “international police power.” Maybe that’s the real conclusion one should draw about Trump’s second administration: he was born in the wrong century.
In 1903, Teddy Roosevelt threatened Germany and Britain over their own blockade of Venezuela. It became known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (named after the fifth U.S. President, James Monroe, a century before).
In 2026, Trump one-upped TR by sending in a strike team, reportedly using new weapons the military has not revealed to the rest of the world yet.
Roosevelt warned, “The Monroe Doctrine may force the United States to the exercise of an international police power.”Trump has updated it for the 21st century: regime management, not regime change.
Obedience? Okay.
Democracy? Meh.
~ Addison
P.S. In 1988, we voted for Ron Paul for president.
P.P.S. This afternoon in Grey Swan Live! we’ll be joined by Shad Marquitz and take a close look at the precious metals market in 2026 – the timing couldn’t be better for an event we’re calling Metals Mania.
In a brief discussion last week, Shad let slip his interest in one particular company that has labeled itself a gold and silver miner because of regulations that have restricted their sale of existing copper and antimony (used in drones and other defense tech).
Those restrictions are being lifted this month, along with other regulations that the Trump administration is trimming.
The details of this one company alone are telling for investors interested in capitalizing on the new retail interest in both precious metals and critical minerals. Shad’s an encyclopedia on the entire resource market. Every conversation yields a wealth of new market insights. Today’s Grey Swan Live! promises the same. Don’t miss it!
If you have requests for new guests you’d like to see join us for Grey Swan Live!, or have any questions for our guests, send them here.
