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Economy
Vance Compares US Economy Under Trump to... 'Checks Notes'... the Titanic
"Let him talk," said one observer of the vice president. "He's his own iceberg."
Jan 22, 2026
US Vice President JD Vance left observers scratching their heads Thursday after he touted the Trump administration's economic policies by comparing them to the doomed ocean liner Titanic.
Speaking at an event in Toledo in his home state of Ohio under a banner reading, "Lower Prices, Bigger Paychecks," Vance addressed the worsening affordability crisis by once again blaming former Democratic President Joe Biden—who left office a year ago—for the problem.
“The Democrats talk a lot about the affordability crisis in the United States of America. And yes, there is an affordability crisis—one created by Joe Biden’s policies,” Vance said. “You don’t turn the Titanic around overnight. It takes time to fix what was broken.”
Responding to Vance's remarks, writer and activist Jordan Uhl said on X, "The Titanic, a ship that famously turned around."
Other social media users piled on Vance, with one Bluesky account posting: "Let him talk. He's his own iceberg."
Podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen asked on X, "Does he know what happened to the Titanic?"
One popular X account said, "At least he's admitting what ship we're on."
In an allusion to the Titanic's demise and the Trump administration's deadly Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown, another Bluesky user quipped, "Ice was the villain of that story too."
Puns aside, statistics and public sentiment show that Trump has utterly failed to tackle the affordability crisis. The high price of groceries—a central theme of Trump's 2024 campaign—keeps getting higher. And despite Trump's claim to have defeated inflation, a congressional report published this week revealed that the average American family paid $1,625 in higher overall costs last year amid tariff turmoil, soaring healthcare costs, and overall policies that favor the rich and corporations over working people.
A New York Times/Siena College poll released Thursday found that 49% of respondents believe the country is generally worse off today than it was when Biden left office a year ago, while only 32% said the nation is better off and 19% said things are about the same. A majority of respondents also said they disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living (64%) and the economy (58%).
"You know, a thing about a phrase like 'lower prices, bigger paychecks' is that you can't actually fool people into thinking that you've delivered these things if they can look at their own bank account and see it's not true," Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson wrote on X.
"I know the Trump administration's standard strategy is to just make up an alternate reality and aggressively insist that anyone who doesn't believe in it is a domestic terrorist," Robinson added, "but personal finances are really an area where that doesn't work."
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Trump Backs Off Europe Tariffs After Reaching Purported Greenland 'Framework'
"Americans are tired of Trump’s circus of chaos," said Sen. Ed Markey.
Jan 21, 2026
President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed off his threat to levy new tariffs on European nations who were opposed to his efforts to seize control of Greenland after progress on a potential deal with NATO.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had worked out a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region."
"This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations," Trump continued. "Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1."
Hours earlier, Trump had once again demanded during a speech at the World Economic Forum that Denmark cede control of its self-governing territory to the US.
"We need Greenland for strategic national security and international security,” the president claimed. “This enormous, unsecured island is actually part of North America on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere. That’s our territory. It is therefore a core national security interest of the United States of America.”
Denmark and other European nations, however, have said that letting the US take over Greenland is nonnegotiable, and there is no indication that they have shown any willingness to give in to Trump's demands.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told NBC News that the "framework" referenced by Trump in his post "will focus on ensuring Arctic security through the collective efforts of allies, especially the seven Arctic allies," which is a far cry from letting the US annex the Danish territory.
After Trump's announcement, some Democratic lawmakers blasted him for pointlessly angering and antagonizing US allies.
"We don't yet know what exactly is in this 'framework,' but I am willing to bet that anything that the Danes/Greenlanders would be willing to agree to in this, they would have been willing to agree to before all of these threats," wrote Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.). "This isn't the Art of the Deal. It's the art of pissing off everyone for no purpose."
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) also declared himself unimpressed with the president's announcement.
"Once again, Trump creates an international crisis and then rides in on his hobbyhorse to 'fix' it," Markey wrote in a social media post. "Americans are tired of Trump’s circus of chaos."
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77% of Global Millionaires Agree: Extreme Wealth Allows Uber-Rich to Buy Political Influence
Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo said that “extreme wealth inequality enabled” President Donald Trump, “and is the root cause of the trend towards authoritarianism we’re witnessing in the US and around the world.”
Jan 20, 2026
For years, progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have made the case that the world's richest people wield a dangerous level of influence over US politics—and it turns out that many millionaires agree.
New polling conducted on behalf of Patriotic Millionaires surveyed 3,900 millionaires across the world and found that 77% of them believe that extremely wealthy people are able to buy political influence, with 62% believing that extreme wealth is a threat to democracy itself.
Furthermore, 82% of millionaires surveyed endorsed limits from how much politicians and political parties can receive from individual contributors, while 65% supported higher taxes on the highest earners to invest in public services.
President Donald Trump's second term also received low marks from the millionaires surveyed, with 59% saying he has had a negative impact on global economic stability, and 58% saying that he's hurt US consumers' ability to afford basic necessities.
The poll's release coincided with the sending of an open letter signed by hundreds of millionaires across 24 countries asking world leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum to increase taxes on the ultrawealthy in the name of rescuing global democracy. Trump is set to speak at the event on Wednesday.
"A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet," states the letter. "What we treasure, rich and poor alike, is being eaten away by those intent on growing the gulf between their vast power and everyone else."
Actor Mark Ruffalo, a signatory of the letter, argued that the extreme dangers posted by Trump and his political movement were the direct result of global wealth inequality that has gone unaddressed for decades.
"Donald Trump and the unique threat that he poses to American democracy did not come about overnight," Ruffalo explained. "Extreme wealth inequality enabled his every step, and is the root cause of the trend towards authoritarianism we’re witnessing in the US and around the world."
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Danish Pension Fund to Divest Its Holding in US Treasuries After Greenland Threats
An investor at Deutsche Bank said the US reliance on foreign debt is a “key weakness” that could be used as leverage against Trump’s aggression.
Jan 20, 2026
A Danish pension fund is selling off its US treasuries in the wake of President Donald Trump's repeated threats to annex its sovereign territory, Greenland.
The fund, known as AkademikerPension, said on Tuesday that it was selling off assets worth $100 million by the end of this month.
Its investment director, Anders Schelde, insisted that the decision was due to "poor US government finances," and had nothing to do with Trump's bellicose threats in recent weeks, which have led several European nations to move troops to the island and conduct military exercises in preparation for a US invasion.
But, he said, Trump's threats "didn't make it more difficult to take the decision."
The US president said over the weekend that he would institute tariffs on several European nations if the US did not acquire Greenland by February 1. He has previously said he would not rule out using military force to conquer the island if diplomatic means failed, and when asked about it again on Monday, replied "No comment."
Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, responded on Monday that it would “not be pressured” and “stand firm on dialogue, on respect, and on international law.” A day later, Nielsen warned the people of Greenland to start preparing for a possible military invasion. He said, "It’s not likely there will be a military conflict, but it can’t be ruled out."
Trump's threats against Greenland have rattled markets in recent days, with CNBC reporting on Tuesday that bond prices have fallen along with stock prices and the value of the US dollar, as investors sell American assets that have long been considered among the safest investments.
While Denmark accounts for only a sliver, Europe collectively holds about 40% of foreign US Treasury holdings, which it could use as a choke point in the event of further escalation by Trump.
"Europeans hold roughly $10 trillion in US assets: around $6 trillion in US equities and roughly $4 trillion in Treasuries and other bonds," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. "Selling those assets would pull the rug from under US markets."
The idea of a wider European boycott of US bonds appears to have unnerved US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who protested during remarks at the annual World Economic Forum summit in Davos that it "defies any logic" and urged European nations not to "listen to the media who are hysterical."
George Saravelos, head of FX research at Deutsche Bank, said if Trump is intent on shredding the long-standing US military alliance with Europe, it can return the favor by backing out of its role as America's number-one lender, which could trigger heightened inflation, dollar depreciation, and higher interest rates that make borrowing and spending more costly.
"For all its military and economic strength," Saravelos wrote, "the US has one key weakness: It relies on others to pay its bills via large external deficits."
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