What finally made me slow down
The Brand Brief 1.16.26: Maria Machadom, Tim Walz, Tim Tebow, Gavin Newsom, Adam Carolla, Glenn Youngkin, Ketanji Brown, and Greenland
Actionable media intel to keep you ahead: The Brand Brief delivers a daily snapshot of the conservative media ecosystem - FOX News, podcasts, and more. | Brought to you by On Brand Strategies | Written by Carly Moran and Nathan Brand
📣 Driving the Conversation…
1,539 words | 7 minute read | Written to be skimmable (14+ hours of media covered in The Brand Brief)
What Matters: Listening over the speed limit
New Media Voices: Shovel-wielding illegal immigrant
Leading FOX: ICE and Greenland
Trending and Pouncing: Ending the elections lunacy
What the Right is Writing: Machado and peace
✍️ WHAT MATTERS AND WHERE WE’RE GOING…
Nathan’s quick take on where we’re headed…
I watch everything on 2x or 3x speed - Podcasts, YouTube, Twitter videos. It was a game-changer when Instagram rolled out 2x speed for Reels. I consume too much media to watch anything slower.
Then I met my match: Ben Shapiro.
His conversation with Gavin Newsom is worth watching - but just not on double-speed. He is a rapid-fire speaker, but also dense. It reminds me of one of my first jobs in politics, manually transcribing debate prep audio for Marco Rubio. He compresses time.
Turns out, there is a speed limit. - NRB
I would love to hear your feedback - survey here. Thank you!
🎙️ NEW MEDIA VOICES
The Megyn Kelly Show - 1/15
During a traffic stop on an illegal immigrant in Minneapolis, he fled and attacked the officer with a shovel, and the officer shot his leg in defense
The New York Times removed from their headline the word “immigrant” so readers won’t know the man with the shovel was an illegal migrant
Kelly says the rhetoric of Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey is to blame for the violence, Walz claimed ICE was dragging pregnant women and kidnapping without due process
Guest actor Adam Carolla discusses the “Karen Intifada” of women who pretend they’re heroes for endangering law enforcement, and the media’s role in declining support for ICE
The Ben Shapiro Show - 1/15
An illegal immigrant was shot in the leg for attacking an officer with a snow shovel, rioters looted a gun locker and documents from an ICE vehicle
Minneapolis leaders like Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey claim they want to cool the situation while still villainizing ICE and encouraging people to record footage of the officers
Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act on Minnesota, freeze visas for dozens of countries
Shapiro questions how a regime change can be accomplished in Iran without U.S. support, while Trump works on Venezuela’s leadership and the acquisition of Greenland
The Matt Walsh Show - 1/15
Gov. Tim Walz gave a speech claiming thousands of ICE agents are conducting an “occupation” to identify “neighbors of color,” Walsh says the governor is an effeminate fraudster
An illegal immigrant got shot in the leg after attempting to knock out an ICE officer with a shovel, rioters responded by raiding a patrol vehicle and stealing firearms and documentation
Walsh aligns with Trump, saying the Insurrection Act may be needed to combat “fat, unemployed, neurodivergent” rioters
Despite leftist rhetoric, Trump’s approval remains higher than Bush and Obama’s at similar points, with Walsh celebrating the president’s strength in Greenland and Venezuela
Walsh criticizes pet-worship culture as a substitute for parental responsibility
The CJ Pearson Show - 1/15
CJ Pearson is back with a rebranded podcast to talk about the insanity of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s oral arguments, and how the ACLU attorney refused to define gendered terms
Actors wore pins in support of Renee Good at the Golden Globes, with Pearson calling it performative and praising Bill Maher for not joining the theatrics
Independent journalist David Khait revealed over 1,000 people registered to vote at a single Atlanta church address
Florida governor candidate James Fishback suggests implementing a 50% “sin tax” on all OnlyFans earnings, Pearson jokes that male subscribers should have to pay too
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he no longer can fund free city buses, Pearson says he’s remaining friendly with Trump to avoid federal intervention
📺 LEADING FOX NEWS
The Five
Trump threatens the Insurrection Act, Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt goes off on a reporter for saying Renee Good was shot without cause, after the ICE agent suffered internal bleeding from being hit by her car, Gov. Tim Walz tells Minnesotans to film ICE
AN OBGYN at a congressional hearing couldn’t answer whether men can get pregnant
Joy Behar fear-mongers that Trump will cancel midterm elections
Kamala Harris buys an $8 million Malibu mansion along the same coastline she said would rise in just a few years from climate change
A new trend turns doing your chores together into a date
FOX & Friends
Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt rebukes a reporter after claiming Renee Good was murdered, her former father-in-law joins FOX to say he understands Trump has to enforce the law, blames spiritual warfare not politics
Trump is sending military assets to the Middle East in preparation for potentially assisting Iranian citizens
Multiple people have been charged in a college basketball sports betting scheme involving at least a dozen schools
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports eight to 18 year olds average 7.5 hours of screentime a day
Guest Gov. Jeff Landry, special envoy to Greenland, reports on Europe deploying troops out of fear of America invading the island
Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin’s attorneys are looking to remove the prosecution team with claims of conflicts of interest
FOX speaks with Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Machado about presenting her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump
HHS Sec. RFK, Jr. tells the Katie Miller Podcast he doesn’t know “how [Trump] is alive,” due to his McDonalds diet
Three illegal immigrants are arrested, one shot in the leg for attempting to ambush ICE officers
Guest NFL star Tim Tebow calls for the passage of the Renewed Hope Act, which would help prevent online child exploitation
A new nostalgic trend pretends 2026 is the new 2016
First Lady Melania Trump will promote AI educational programs today
FOX Newsroom
Guest former DHS Sec. Chad Wolf reacts to a suspect arrested in connection to stealing FBI weapons from an agency vehicle; three Venezuelan illegal migrants tried to ambush an ICE agent, one shot in the leg
Tyler Robinson’s defense team is attempting to replace the prosecution team, citing conflict of interest, a family member says his boyfriend refused to give info until probed by police
Guest former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove responds to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s claim that Democrats can win in Ohio, Alaska, Maine, and North Carolina
Guests former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker and columnist Dan Senor discuss Trump’s next steps for Iran, Venezuela
Guest Allie Beth Stuckey touts the success of Australia’s youth social media ban
FOX provides live coverage of Trump promising $50 billion for rural healthcare
Guest Ben Shapiro discusses his appearance on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast, how he got him to bash his own social media team
Multiple blue states sue HHS for removing transgender medical funding
🍿 TRENDING AND POUNCING
Tomorrow’s news today…
Newsom walks back calling ICE operations “state-sponsored terrorism.” [X, Daily Wire]
New York Times headline 12 years ago: “Cancel the Midterms because they derail Obama’s agenda and are too White.” [X, Heiens]
Citizen journalist exposes a single building in Los Angeles housing literal dozens of “health” businesses in the exact same location. [X, Daugherty]
Liberal: They are recruiting ICE Agents using Nazi propaganda! Brianna Lyman: What was the Nazi phrasing? Liberal: That we’re “one people!” [X, Daugherty]
Minneapolis officials are spending your tax dollars on circle time with therapy goats as the city is run into the ground by crime, violence, fraud, and illegals. [X, LibsofTikTok]
🗞️ WHAT THE RIGHT IS WRITING
Leading FOX News Digital
Defense argues conflict of interest exists in Charlie Kirk’s assassination case [FOX News]
Minneapolis mayor shifts tone on immigration enforcement after violent unrest [FOX News]
Aircraft carrier en route to Middle East as tensions rise to fever pitch in Iran [FOX News]
Breitbart
Machado Presents Trump with Her Nobel Peace Prize [Breitbart]
Minneapolis Police Fail to Respond as Rioters Rip Open ICE Weapons Lockers [Breitbart]
ICE Agent Who Fatally Shot Woman Suffered Internal Bleeding [Breitbart]
Macron: France to Deploy Troops to Greenland ‘at Request of Denmark’ [Breitbart]
Wall Street Journal Editorials
The ‘Insurrection’ Actors of Minneapolis [WSJ Ed]
The ObamaCare Enrollment Apocalypse That Wasn’t [WSJ Ed]
Youngkin’s Strong Virginia Legacy [WSJ Ed]
David Webb, Transparency Advocate [WSJ Ed]
New York Post
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal in White House meeting [NYP]
The disturbing reason Iran appears to have stopped slaughtering protesters [NYP]
Greenlanders to US: We’re ‘not for sale,’ but you can back our independence [NYP]
Washington Free Beacon
As Tim Walz Encourages Resistance, Minnesota ‘ICE Watch’ Declares ‘Time Is Ripe To Embrace Militancy’ [WFB]
NEED HELP NAVIGATING CONSERVATIVE MEDIA?
On Brand Strategies would love to help you navigate the conservative media ecosystem. Learn more at OnBrandStrategies.com, or connect with Nathan (Nathan@OnBrandStrategies.com) and Carly (Carly@OnBrandStrategies.com).
