The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3602 – AIPAC in Illinois; Trump on his Own Private Iran; Cuba next?

Date: March 17, 2026

Overview

In this hard-hitting "Newsday Tuesday," Sam Seder and crew deliver broad, irreverent, and incisive analysis of major current events. The episode focuses on:

• The influence and tactics of AIPAC and “dark money” in Illinois primaries
• Trump’s war in Iran and its global fallout, including oil shocks and military quagmires
• The humanitarian crisis in Cuba caused by US embargoes—along with Trump’s cavalier colonial ambitions
• The US-Israel axis and impending crises in Lebanon and Gaza
• Larger systemic critiques: the corruption of US democracy due to dark money, and a government captured by oligarchic, militarist, and racist interests
• Listeners are treated to the characteristic blend of detailed policy discussion, biting satire, and somber reflection

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Illinois Primaries and AIPAC Dark Money

[06:53–19:49]

• AIPAC’s Massive Spending:

  • AIPAC spent over $21 million in Illinois through the United Democracy Project and various “shell” PACs, such as “Affordable Chicago Now,” “Elect Chicago Women,” and “Chicago Progressive Partnership” ([07:36]).
  • Crypto & AI super PACs have injected an additional $7.5 million.

• Tactics of Obscuring Affiliations:

  • PACs intentionally pick misleading names (e.g., “Chicago Progressive Partners”) to obscure their ties to pro-Israel or AIPAC interests ([07:36], [13:11]).

• Splitting the Progressive Vote:

  • AIPAC is running ads ostensibly for certain progressive candidates with the intention of fracturing the progressive vote and undermining genuine progressive challengers ([13:11]–[15:30]).
  • Notable ad supporting Bushra Amiwala, who forcefully rejects the outside support, stating:
    • “AIPAC is running ads supporting my campaign. We don’t want it, we didn’t ask for it, and we’re demanding they stop. This is an attempt to smear my name by putting my name next to pro-genocide, pro-war Trump-funded billionaires...Once I’m elected to Congress, I’m coming for dark money, starting with yours.” — Bushra Amiwala ([14:48]–[15:30])

• Cynicism and Backfire:

  • When AIPAC’s direct support was revealed for candidate Laura Fine, her favorability dropped 23 points ([13:11]).

• Polls/Tight Races:

  • Justice Democrats–backed candidates Janaid Ahmed (IL-8) and Kat Abugazaleh (IL-9) are within striking distance despite massive spending against them—evidence, Sam notes, of “how toxic AIPAC money has become” ([11:24]).

• Dark Money Post–Citizens United:

  • Matt displays a graph showing independent “dark money” expenditures skyrocketed post–Citizens United (2010): $1.3B in super PAC money vs. $43M in direct spending in 2024 ([16:13]–[18:10]).
    • “Everything we’re seeing in this Trump era, all of the anti-democracy…the erosion of our democracy and move toward oligarchy and fascism, is right there on that chart.” — Matt ([17:59])

• Corruption/Oligarchy Warning:

  • Sam: “When you go from a plutonomy to a plutocracy…that amount of money ends up being problematic not just because it drives things like inflation…really becomes stark. That type of wealth disparity, you suddenly have that type of political power disparity not compatible with democracy.” ([18:10]–[19:49])

2. Trump’s War on Iran: Lies, Contradictions, and Global Fallout

[26:29–48:21]

• Military & Economic Quagmire:

  • “We are still on the cusp of a quagmire…It can still get worse. We’re going to have an oil shock. We’re going to have a food supply shock…” — Sam ([26:29])
  • Trump administration assumed Iranian society was more centralized and would quickly collapse; in fact, regime remains resilient.

• Proof Experts DID Warn About This:

  • Trump claims, “Nobody expected that”—referring to Iran retaliating against Gulf states after the US attacked ([28:46], [29:02]).
  • But a National Security Council Iran expert (fired after being targeted by Laura Loomer) explicitly warned, days before the attack, that Iran would “seriously consider targeting Gulf Arab States’ energy infrastructure” ([33:29]).

• Admin Purged Experts in Favor of Right-Wing Media Provocateurs:

  • Trump’s Iran policy increasingly directed by fringe figures (e.g., Laura Loomer, Tom Cotton, Lindsey Graham). Matt speculates this is “the Israeli government or Zionist lobby” influencing US policy via right-wing media ([32:06–32:25]).

• Trump’s Contradictions & Grandiosity:

  • Claims to have “predicted” every Middle East crisis, including 9/11—despite being repeatedly fact-checked and shown to be lying ([39:20]).
    • “I predicted Osama bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center. I made that prediction a year before he did. I said, you better get him, he’s a bad guy. I watched him be interviewed one time, and I said, that’s a bad guy. You better get him.” — Trump ([38:29])
  • Sam: “Here he is making 100% contradictory statements…No experts thought Iran would hit these countries, but also, they were going to take over the Middle East.” ([29:20])

• “Coalition of the Willing” Fizzles:

  • Trump attempted, and failed, to rally NATO, EU, China, and Japan for his war—no partners stepped up ([42:49]).
  • Iranians mock Trump with social media AI videos about his diplomatic isolation ([44:24]).

• Comparison to Bush’s Iraq War:

  • Approval for Iraq War pre-invasion was 80–90% ([45:02]), so antiwar voices were very isolated at the time.
  • Michael Moore’s infamous 2003 Oscars protest is featured, highlighting how lone opposition was in U.S. culture ([47:17]).

3. Systemic Disaster: Dark Money, Colonial Mindset, Oligarchy

[48:21–76:37]

• Historical Inevitability of Quagmires/Fascism:

  • Lack of accountability for Bush-era war crimes paved way for Trump’s reckless militarism:
    • “If we had prosecuted these people…if the AUMF had been rescinded—then perhaps Trump wouldn’t be able to do this on a whim.” ([51:39])

• Lebanon Next—‘Greater Israel’ Ambitions:

  • Israel preparing a ground invasion into southern Lebanon (“10% of Lebanese territory…3–400,000 people” to be depopulated by leaflet drops) ([56:06]).
  • Trump justifies Israel’s bombing of Lebanon via anecdote:
    • “A person whose parents live in Lebanon…explained to me that it’s really a different section of Lebanon…it’s where Hezbollah is. They get used to it, I guess.” — Trump ([54:06], [56:44])
  • Panel ridicules Trump’s ignorance of basic geopolitics and human life outside his narrow social circles ([57:34–58:19]).

• Humanitarian Disaster in Cuba via US Embargo

  • Cuba suffers a nationwide blackout; US embargo prevents essential supplies. Dialysis, ventilator patients, newborns at high risk ([62:01]).
  • Trump glibly boasts:
    • “I think I’d have the honor of taking Cuba. That’d be good…I think I could do anything I want with it…They’re a very weakened nation right now. They were, for a long time, very vulnerable, violent, very violent leaders. Castro’s a very violent leader. His brother’s a very violent leader.” ([63:31])
    • Panel: “He talks about ‘taking’ Cuba as if he’s roofied somebody.” — Sam ([62:24])
  • Host panel breaks down real history:
    • Cuba’s political repression an artifact of being under US siege; Trump’s “taking Cuba” would mainly benefit former sugar barons, with a return to colonial/plantation order ([65:06]–[65:26]).

4. Larger Critiques: Money, War, and Absence of Vision

[68:04–73:49]

• No Strategic Thinking, Only Oligarchic Extraction:

  • “These are legitimately white supremacists…They enjoy seeing people suffering.” — Matt ([68:54])
  • US government behaves as “a war machine operating autonomously…pushing and the politicians are abandoned.” ([70:18])
  • No clear endgame for war in Iran; panel ridicules fantasy that “Iran will implode and you’ll get a monarchy there…there’ll be much more stability.” ([70:18]–[70:56])

• Corruption at Home Mirrors Colonial Despotism:

  • “It’s analogous to the stage of capitalism we’re in, CEOs and board…running cottage industries within major corporations. There is no company, no notion of giving workers buying power. This is all about extraction.” — Sam ([72:24])
  • US oil & gas companies profit massively from Middle East turmoil; price gouged at the pump, no increase in production cost ([73:42]).

• “Peace Through Strength” is Not Anti-War:

  • Trump’s claim to antiwar stance is a lie, simply dupe for further war crimes because “this is the only language they (Iranians) understand.” Panel references fascist, colonial logic at work ([74:40]).

• Republican/Right-Wing Foreign Policy is About Supremacy, Not Diplomacy:

  • “If you think antiwar is enough, then you don’t really look at how fascism and colonial politics inform each other…the violence inflicted abroad eventually boomerangs home.” ([75:26]).

Notable Quotes

On AIPAC and Dark Money:

• “When you go from a plutonomy to a plutocracy…that amount of money ends up being problematic…You suddenly have that type of political power disparity not compatible with democracy.” — Sam ([18:10])
• “Everything we’re seeing in this Trump era, all of the anti-democracy…is right there on that chart.” — Matt ([17:59])

On Trump’s Iran War:

• “Nobody thought that they would hit these countries at all. No experts. But what they were going to do was take over the entire Middle East.” — Sam (paraphrasing Trump, mocking contradiction) ([29:20])
• “I predicted Osama bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center. I made that prediction a year before he did…” — Trump ([38:29])
• “To have the President of the United States have the capacity to engage in this bombing campaign on a whim is the direct result of the lack of accountability for Bush-era war criminals.” — Matt ([51:39])

On Lebanon & US/Israeli Policy:

• “Over the years, they’ve gotten used to the fact that it’s being bombed, but they explained to me that it’s really a different section of Lebanon…It’s a section where Hezbollah is. And they get used to it, I guess.” — Trump ([56:44])
• “He talks about ‘taking’ Cuba as if he’s roofied somebody.” — Sam ([62:24])

Important Timestamps

• AIPAC Spending & Illinois Primaries: [06:53–19:49]
• Dark Money/Citizens United Impact: [16:13–19:49]
• Analysis of Trump’s Iran War: [26:29–48:21]
  • Trump caught in lies and contradictions: [28:46], [38:29]
  • Expert warnings about Iran quagmire: [32:40–35:41]
  • Michael Moore Oscar speech flashback: [47:17]
• Israel/Lebanon Offensive Discussion: [54:06–59:16]
• Cuba Blackout, Embargo, and Trump’s Colonial Mindset: [62:01–66:49]
• Synthesis on Oligarchy/Corruption/No Vision: [68:04–74:40]

Memorable Moments

• Bushra Amiwala’s furious rejection of AIPAC money and demand to outlaw dark money (14:48)
• Trump grandiosely boasts about “taking Cuba,” as if colonizing a country is an “honor” (63:31)
• Panel’s mockery of Trump’s confusion about civilians living overseas, and how US bombing is just another part of their daily lives (56:44)
• Michael Moore Oscar speech, met with awkward silence in liberal Hollywood, illustrating manufacturing of consent during the Iraq War (47:17)
• Matt and Sam’s raw critique of the failure to prosecute Bush-era war criminals as enabling Trump’s current excesses and illegal wars (51:39)

Summary Tone & Language

The episode is biting, bleakly humorous, and deeply critical, mixing clear-eyed policy analysis with sarcasm and moral outrage. The hosts scrutinize the disastrous consequences of US foreign and domestic policy under Trump, the bipartisan rot of dark money, and the failures of liberal opposition. Listeners don’t just get the news—they get context, history, and a call to see the US’s crisis as structural, not exceptional.

If you missed the episode, this summary has you covered—from Illinois to Iran, from the Gulf to Havana, and from machine politics to the machine logic of war and money.