Legal AF by MeidasTouch

Episode: Trump ‘Deal’ Exposed as Total Nightmare as Truth Exposed

Date: September 16, 2025
Host: Michael Popok (MeidasTouch Network)
Main Contributors: Ben Meiselas, Karen Friedman Agnifilo (not present in this segment)

Episode Overview

This episode offers an incisive, critical analysis of Donald Trump’s newly announced “deal” to facilitate the sale of TikTok to an American entity, likely involving Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Host Michael Popok breaks down the far-reaching implications of the deal, highlighting how Trump’s business interests and favoritism toward associates overshadow national security and the public interest. The discussion also situates the TikTok deal within broader questions of government involvement in the private sector, U.S.-China relations, and ongoing national security concerns.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The TikTok Sale: Who Benefits?

• Trump’s Role in the TikTok Deal

  • Trump’s team (specifically his trade representative Jamie Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant) is orchestrating the forced sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets, which have 170 million users, to an American buyer—potentially Oracle’s Larry Ellison, a known Trump ally ([01:56]–[04:00]).
  • Popok underscores that the purported national security concern about Chinese data access is being used as leverage primarily to benefit Trump’s friends and associates through the forced sale.

• Government in Business: A Pattern

  • The U.S. government, under Trump, has recently taken stakes in various private enterprises—Japanese steel, Intel, rare earth mineral companies—raising questions about why taxpayer money is used to intervene in the private sector ([02:58]–[03:17]).

“He’s supposed to be doing the people's business. He's getting paid to be the President of the United States, not the deal maker in chief.”
—Michael Popok ([02:52])

2. The “Art of the Deal” and National Security

• Leverage Misused:
  • The initial TikTok ban originated from Congress and the Biden administration as a national security move to curb Chinese surveillance through TikTok.
  • China responded by launching antitrust investigations into U.S. chip makers (notably, Nvidia), using this as negotiation leverage.
  • Trump’s response: allegedly “folding” on tariffs and brokering a sale that prioritizes Chinese “fair value” rather than American security ([04:00]–[07:07]).

“We gotta make sure the Chinese get enough money. Is that what you have to do? I thought we’re protecting America's national security.”
—Michael Popok ([06:03])

3. Conflict of Interest & Corruption

• Ellison and Media Consolidation:

  • Larry Ellison is positioned to benefit most due to his wealth and close relationship with Trump. His son, Scott Ellison, recently acquired Paramount (which includes CBS News), bolstering their media influence ([09:19]).
  • Popok warns this kind of consolidation puts powerful media assets under the control of Trump-aligned interests.

• Winners and Losers

  • Despite the deal being painted as a win for American security, Popok argues the real winners are the Chinese Communist Party (who receive billions in U.S. currency and tariff relief) and Trump’s close circle ([11:03]–[11:29]).

“The Chinese, the Communist Party just beat Donald Trump in a capitalist game.”
—Michael Popok ([11:03])

4. Broader Implications

• Undermining National Security:
  • Trump is accused of trading away significant national security leverage (like AI chip technology, as in the Nvidia deal) for superficial financial “wins”—often netting a government royalty of just 15%, a figure Popok calls “putting a price tag on national security” ([13:00]–[13:30]).

“You can put a price tag on that—15%. This is the Trump administration in action. This is where all those worlds collide: his corrupt foreign policy, his corrupt tariff policy, his corrupt national security policy... all coming to a head with his TikTok brokering.”
—Michael Popok ([13:12])

5. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Trump’s Priorities:

  "Stop using our taxpayer dollars to go off on the folly of investing in business and competing with private capital, and then to add insult to injury, undermine our national security to boot."
  —Michael Popok ([07:25])

• On TikTok’s Future:

  "TikTok was going to survive regardless if the Chinese didn't find a willing trading partner in Donald Trump and got billions of dollars off of Trump through his friends to do it and didn't have to give up anything and got their tariffs reduced."
  —Michael Popok ([11:03])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:56] – [04:00]: Breakdown of the TikTok deal, Trump’s connections, and implications for U.S.-China relations.
• [05:45]: Treasury Secretary Scott Besant’s announcement on the TikTok deal “framework.”
• [06:03] – [07:39]: Deeper analysis of the deal mechanics and the question: why is the U.S. government ‘in business’?
• [09:19]: Detailed speculation on Larry Ellison’s likely involvement and the broader media consolidation issue.
• [11:03] – [13:30]: Popok’s sharpest critiques: winners/losers, media influence, the true cost to national security, and Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy.

Takeaways

• The TikTok sale is argued to be less about national security and more about cronyism and self-dealing within Trump’s circle.
• By dropping tariffs and facilitating advantageous deals for allies like Ellison, Trump helps adversarial states (China) while undermining American security leverage.
• The episode underscores the dangers of government intrusion into the private sector, media consolidation among political allies, and transactional, self-serving foreign policy.
• Popok continually calls on listeners to follow the money and recognize patterns of corruption rather than accepting government justifications at face value.

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