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Donald Trump and MAGA are collapsing in Texas across all of the major races there, the Senate race, the governor's race, the lieutenant governor's race, it is looking bad, bad for Donald Trump and maga. Let's just zoom in on the Senate race right now. You take a look at all of the major polls and I mean all of them from state regime Media, Fox to TSU to YouGov to TP O R to Recon, Mr. Sienna to Wedgewood, you name it. James Talarico, the Democratic candidate leads every single major poll, about half a dozen of them in Texas. On average, he's up about three points. You zoom in on the lieutenant governor race there not getting nearly enough attention. You have the maga, Republican Governor Dan Patrick trailing Democrat Vicki Goodwin. I mean, she's up significantly in some of the latest polling. Even where the Democrats were under sampled in the sample size here, 48% of likely voters are back Goodwin while 46% are backing Patrick. Also a neck and neck race for governor. You have Gina Hina Hosa, who we've had here on the Midas Touch Network, the Democratic candidate within about a point of or in some cases even with Greg Abbott, the MAGA sycophant whose recent actions over the past 48 hours, including promoting the destruction of Big Bend national park with Trump Don, also banning THC products. Yeah, Texas, the free estate. Except when the government tells you how the hell you need to live your life. Oh, and don't forget also that Greg Abbott is the guy who gave no taxes on electricity to all of the major data centers. I can't think of anybody who hates the state of Texas more than Greg Abbott. And frankly, in my opinion, Abbott's like a communist. I mean, it's part of the communist oligarchy. Trump saying, you know what? You want to bring data centers in, free data centers for all of the billionaires. It's just socialism and communism for the oligarchs while he screws the people. By the way, folks, you even have Republican Senator John Cornyn who's on his way out. I mean, let's just be real though. I mean, Cordon was quite pathetic when he voted to confirm Todd Blanche, but he is calling out right now Donald Trump, Abbott, the despicable Trump regime Magas for destroying Big Ben National Park. I mean, just think about it. It's a beautiful national park right by the Rio Grande. You have all of these Texas sheriffs, I mean all of them, I mean Republican, very right wing Republican sheriffs and sheriffs across the board saying what the hell are you doing? You're building border security fences in an area where there are no crossings. You're going to destroy Big Bend National Park. You're going to cut off the access of the people of Tex to the water. You're gonna be ceding territory for what? Oh, wait a minute. Donald Trump's buddies who are massive donors to Donald Trump's campaign. Guess what they got. You give Donald Trump a little campaign cash and it just so happens, coincidentally, you get $7 billion in contracts from people like Donald Trump and Greg Abbott. Barnard Construction. Yeah, they donated a million bucks to Donald Trump and now they seem to be getting massive contracts now. It's quite sad, actually, to see what's happening in Big Bend National Park. I mean, truly brought a tear to my eye as I've been studying more and more what is happening there. And again, this is a bipartisan issue to me. Same thing with thc, same thing with data centers, Same thing with the Trump regime covering up child sex trafficking rings. These are bipartisan issues. Take a look at Bing Ben national park right here. I'll run the B roll. As you can see these massive cranes just destroying this beautiful national park. Look at it. Just run over and bulldozed over. It's so fricking sad.
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Why?
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Because Donald Trump wants to pretend he's really tough while he hides in catering trucks in Turkey to sneak off the old Air Force One. Oh, by the way, did you hear what he said last night? I was in the more dangerous plane, actually, I took the bigger risk by sneaking out onto a container for catering in Turkey and crouching and hiding. It's so freaking pathetic, man. Never ending wars, covering up the Epstein files, making the cost of living so much more difficult. No wonder Donald Trump is fricking collapsing in Texas. Take a look. James Talarico's rally in Port Arthur, Texas, hitting capacity. James Talarico's rally in Pasadena, Texas, hitting capacity and overflow room there as well. And let me just share with you a little bit of this Talarico speech. I thought it was quite inspiring. Here's what he says. We can stop our government from spending billions of our tax dollars on this Big Ben project here. Listen to what he says. Let's play this clip.
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We can stop our government from spending billions of our tax dollars on a useless wall in Big Bend, one of the most sacred places in the state of Texas.
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And he talks about how we the people are all just getting screwed. Let's play this clip.
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We are getting screwed. Whether you're a little more conservative or a little more progressive. We're all getting screwed. None of us can afford groceries. None of us can afford gas. None of us can afford health care. The billionaire mega donors and corporate special interests that are buying the system, that are buying politicians like Ken Paxton, they don't care who you are. They don't care about your politics. They only care about their profits. They don't see us as Democrats and Republicans. They don't see red or blue. They see green. They see us as a group of people they can rip off. They see us as one opposing team, so we might as well start acting like one. It's time for us to come together across all these manufactured divisions so that we can take on the people at the very top who have been screwing us over for far too long.
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Now contrast that to this virtual phone town hall that Ken Paxton had. Now lots of maga world very nervous that Ken Paxton is not really campaigning effectively. He just did his first ad in Spanish, and you can see the guy is really desperate. He spent a lot of the summer traveling around Europe. Is this guy even from Texas? I think he's from California. Um, but he's been traveling around Europe with his girlfriend, gallivanting around, you know. What was the latest Ken Paxton story? He was on the board of a hospital, and he. He gave himself as a board member of this hospital, the cell phone tower on top of the hospital he, like, claimed ownership over. And now he makes, like, million a year by basically using the utilities and writing himself into ownership over cell phone towers so that he could get paid literally millions of dollars. Around a million dollars a year for the rest of his life. Must be nice, Ken Paxton. Must be nice. But take a listen to what went down when a town hall caller said, hi, Paxton. Good to meet you. Why'd you cheat on your wife, Paxton? Here, play this clip right here. Hi, Paxton.
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It's nice to meet you. I'm just wondering, why did you cheat on your wife?
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I'm not gonna talk about personal issues that relate to my family. Just like I don't think you would want to discuss your marriage on a call with thousands of people. All I can tell you is that I'm proud of my kids. Got four wonderful kids. I've got seven grandchildren. Well, six and one on the way. And there's a lot at stake. And so while I care about this country, I'm not going to talk about things that would affect them. So thank you much for your question. Yeah, let's try a question from Rebecca inside. Rebecca, you're on. Yes, sir.
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Thank you.
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Powerful stuff indeed. Now let me show you a brief clip of my interview from with Gina Hinojosa. Here's what she's focused on. Let's play it.
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It's why nobody trusts government. I don't trust right now, government is working for the billionaires, just like you said. We're paying into a system that is working against us right now. So I've proposed $1,500 to every Texas household. It comes out of what we call a rainy day fund that is, like, overflowing. It's billions. It used to be at 10 billion. We'll take it back to 10 billion and use the rest to give back to the people of Texas because we have to prove that government can do something good for people. This is not a normal position, but these are not normal times. I just went through how Texans are struggling I will tell you weekly, I am running into Texans who are donating plasma as a second job. They are working Texans, teachers, crane operators, and they stand in line at the plasma center before they open two to three times a week to earn enough money to pay their bills. This unacceptable. It is tragic. It is Greg Abbott's Texas now.
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It should be noted as well that you have Ken Paxton this magasycopen now, Ken Paxton again. He's running for the senate seat over there in Texas. Now, he hates Texas. Like, obviously, Ken Paxton hates the. He's not even really from Texas. He hates the people of Texas. Loves criming, loves cheating on his wife, apparently loves releasing sex abusers from prison like, dude, the wor like the worst human being scum imaginable. And look at him go on state regime media fox and beg like a little dog for money. Paxton. Such a pathetic little fool, huh? Such a pathetic. Texas deserves so much better than the scumbag Ken Paxton. Here, play this clip right here.
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And those are the things we need to let voters know. Because most voters don't know the mainstream media, as Trump would call the fake media. They're not exposing his real record. And right now he's been on TV because he's got a lot of money coming in from California and other liberal states. So he had $30 million. When I finished my race. I had zero. So we're trying to, we're trying to get help from all over the country. So go to kenpaxson.com and help us because we need help.
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James Tallarico actually put out the following statement. I applaud Senator Cornyn for taking action on the corrupt be Big Bend border wall. He and I agree we need to secure our border by listening to local sheriffs and border patrol. But this monument to corruption represents wasteful, irresponsible government spending that no Texan asked for, enriching wealthy contractors without making Texas one bit safer. We don't need to wreck one of our nation's greatest treasures by building an expensive wall on an already existing natural barrier. There's fricking mountains there. Why do you need a wall? There's. This is why these Trump, they're so idiotic. It's like, you know, you want to talk about, we don't like windmills, we don't like clean energy. You realize there's a lot of windmills and clean energy also in Texas right now. I mean, you're just destroying industries with your fricking stupidity. Oh, we build the wall. There's a mountain there's a fricking mountain in Big Bend. We need bipartisan commitment, Talarico says, to modernize surveillance technology and hire more Border Patrol agents. Not sweetheart, no bid contract. That wastes billions of our taxpayer dollars. One thing I would add is Border Patrol means frickin border. It doesn't mean you send ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo marching through our fricking streets and killing people. Okay, I just want to be very clear where I am on that because I think ICE should absolutely be abolished. And I understand why there is a need for people to guard the border. I understand. I believe in strong borders. I believe in empathy. I believe in dignity of human beings. I actually thought that the good proposal, by the way, what Border Patrol did is completely deviated from what its purpose was. And that's why morale, by the way, is lower than ever within Border Patrol and especially lower than ever within ice. Because Trump wants his own personal ss. He wants his Nazis. That's what he's looking for. Not actually dealing with complex problems. Trump don't do good with complex problems. Okay? Trump isn't good about that. That's an understatement. Okay. There was a way to solve and address this. You know what the way was? There was a bipartisan immigration bill that Donald Trump killed. Why did Donald Trump kill it? Because he wanted there to be problems at the border, because he said it's a winning issue for him. So he made all of the Magaz block a bipartisan bill which would have actually enhanced border security. It would have sped up asylum proceedings to make determinations about whether asylum seekers meet the criteria, would provide dignity to people. It would provide a pathway to citizenship for people who were here paying taxes and working and contributing, not this hellish, ridiculous, dystopian SS world that Donald Trump and his Gestapo have created. Folks, I could keep on going on, but I'll leave you with this. It ain't just in Texas. It ain't just in Texas. You look at Nate Silver and I don't have citing Nate Silver, but his data conforms with my data right here. The probability of James TALARICO Winning Texas, 63%. The probability of Paxton winning, 37%. But you zoom in and then you zoom out. And then you zoom in. Then you zoom out, zoom in on the United States Senate right here, right now. Democrats favored to not just take the House, favored long shot to win the House, but they're also favored to win the Senate. Let me leave you with this.
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This.
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I think that Democrats are going to take the control of the Senate, take control of the House. And I think there's going to be a blue tsunami like has never been seen before. I'm going to explain to you why, if you've been following the special elections, Democrats have been overperforming the polls by 10 to 15 points. More along the lines of 15 points. They've been overperforming. People are livid at this fascist regime. I think there's a great deal of distortion right now taking place with these stupid gamified debates that corporate news wants to have that we the people don't give a shi. You know what I'm going to say. Like we know, you know, all these things that they want us to be focused on. That's not where the people are. We the people recognize there is a fascist regime in the Oval Office who's destroying the White House, who's destroying our country, who's made us weaker, who's covering up child sex trafficking rings, who's made the cost of living so much worse for the American people. It's very obvious to we the people and it's important to have accountability. Accountability. And that's what the Democrats are going to be judged on. They come into power, no weakness, no accountability. There's a criminal, rogue fascist regime in power who need to be held accountable. Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers, everybody. Hey, if you want the full story, how democracy got here and how we take it back, pre order our new book, WTF America Today, just scan the QR code or click the link in the description. Let's do this.
Episode: It All Just Collapsed for Trump in Texas
Date: August 12, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Podcast: The MeidasTouch Podcast (MeidasTouch Network)
This episode examines the crumbling political position of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement in Texas. The brothers break down new polling in major Texas races, scandals involving top Texas Republicans like Ken Paxton and Greg Abbott, and widespread bipartisan anger over controversial policies, notably the destructive Big Bend border wall project. The episode features direct analysis, notable poll statistics, audio from Democratic candidate rallies, and clips from awkward Republican campaign moments. The hosts also discuss broader national trends and the potential for a sweeping Democratic victory in 2026.
[00:00 – 04:19]
Ben highlights that Democrats are leading in all major Texas polls for the Senate, governor, and lieutenant governor races.
Ben critiques Abbott’s recent policy choices: promoting destruction of Big Bend National Park, banning THC products (calling out the hypocrisy of Texas as the "free estate"), and controversial tax breaks for data centers.
The hosts note even Republican Senator John Cornyn has joined in criticizing the Trump/Abbott destruction of Big Bend—while local Republican sheriffs are also in revolt.
[02:50 – 06:00]
The wall threatens to destroy a natural treasure on the Rio Grande despite a lack of crossings, highlighting how campaign donors (e.g., Barnard Construction) gain lucrative contracts after contributions to Trump and Abbott.
Bipartisan frustration is rampant:
[04:20 – 06:43]
Talarico rallies in Port Arthur and Pasadena are packed, reflecting grass-roots energy.
Notable Quote [05:25]:
Notable Quote [05:45]:
[08:24 – 09:41]
Ken Paxton’s lackluster campaign is ridiculed. Accusations of self-dealing, benefiting from cell phone tower contracts, and prioritizing personal gain over public service.
A town hall caller bluntly asks Paxton, “Why did you cheat on your wife?” [09:41]
[10:28 – 11:40]
[11:40 – 12:51]
[12:51 – 14:40]
[15:30 – 16:57]
Nate Silver’s data (and MeidasTouch analysis) shows a 63% chance for Talarico (D) to win Texas’s Senate seat, with Democrats now favored to win both the Senate and, as a long-shot, the House nationwide.
Ben predicts historic Democratic overperformance, thanks to widespread disgust with the “fascist regime” and declining cost-of-living conditions.
Notable Quote [16:21]:
Overperformance in special elections (+10 to +15 points) evidences public appetite for change and accountability. Ben stresses the need for Democrats to hold the criminal Trump regime accountable if they return to power.
With lively banter and pointed commentary, the Meiselas brothers present a dire immediate future for Texas Republicans, fueled by scandal, unpopular policies, and a robust Democratic grass-roots surge. They frame 2026 as a pivotal year for American democracy, with Texas as the movement’s epicenter and accountability as the people’s urgent demand.