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T-Mobile Representative
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Amazon Music Representative
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Odoo Representative
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Political Commentator
Fox News was in a complete and utter panic mode based on the job numbers that came out on Friday, well below expectations. Also a downward revision from the May and June months of about 258,000 less jobs than the government initially reported. This is like the worst jobs report during some of the worst days of COVID And if you wanna look for a jobs report that was, you know, the next worst right around then you're talking about right around the recession like 2009, 2010, kind of that period getting out of that recession. But you know, Fox is trying to figure out how do they grapple with this because they've been lying to their viewers and saying oh, everything's great. The tariffs aren't impacting anything. The Doge cuts and impacting any things that we've been saying, follow the data. Like it's not good out there in the job market. As the Trump regime continued to report, oh, 147,000 jobs created, I'm like, they're just making that number up. Wait till you see the revisions. And sure enough, that's what we saw. So Fox brings on Lori Chavez Darimer, the anti labor secretary, although she calls herself the labor secretary. And she's there and says, look, I know the numbers are bad, but at least we're putting America first, right? This is America first. Here, watch this.
Economic Analyst
The president has done a wonderful job in these trade deals. We're seeing more and more countries come to the table and this is another leg of the stool that can be assisting the American worker in the American business. And he's choosing not to do so. We need those interest rates down so that our businesses can borrow more money at a cheaper rate and invest in their companies, invest in the American economy and grow this economy even better. We've seen positive job growth. We have seen consumer, consumer confidence go up. We've seen unemployment hold steady. While we could have seen better jobs numbers, right now we're seeing American workers are being put first. Native born workers account for all of the job growth and that's key. And the president is going to lean in.
Political Commentator
You can almost see her like, like she knows, she's like, almost like laughing at us like we're putting America first though, right, Donald? And everything she's saying, just an absolute lie. Here was the segment right before that when Maria Bartiromo and the group of people on her panel reacted to what the job numbers were and they were kind of stunned into silence. But there's nothing stunning about this. It's obvious what Trump's doing here. Play this clip.
News Anchor
The Nasdaq down about 200, going 73,000 jobs. 73,000 jobs created in the month of July, number just coming out. And that's total 4.2% at the unemployment rate right in line with expectations. Here are the numbers for the month of July. Jobs came in at 73,000. That was lower than the expectation which called for 110,000 jobs. The unemployment rate right in step with expectations at 4.2%. Steve Moore, your reaction.
Political Commentator
Look, I think this is all a result. This disappointing number is a result of all the turmoil over tariffs and trade wars. By the way, the 4.2% unemployment number in my opinion also seems like one of those Trump regime fake numbers. If you just add up the numbers, it doesn't make sense that it would just be 4.2%. But, you know, the Trump regime keeps sending more and more people to go on and lie like you have. Remember, they said they were gonna do 90 deals in 90 days, and now their new line is, when Donald Trump just sets the tariff, that's better than a deal. And so we actually have a better situation. So here's Jameson Greer, the trade representative, saying, no, we did all the deals because Trump set the tariffs, and those are better than deals. Right here, play this clip.
News Anchor
So can you encapsulate where you are on the trade deals and what we should expect to come as of today?
Trade Representative
Sure. So, first of all, like you pointed out, for dozens and dozens and dozens of countries, we have tariffs at 15% and above, some as high as 50%. You know, China, with all the tariffs on top, is well over 50%. So these are the highest level of tariffs that we've seen. And this is a great deal for the country. And the president has also agreed that if a country has another plan where we could have some level of tariff, but also some investment and purchases and market opening, that we can have some deals. And so you already know about a bunch of deals we have, you know, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, EU, etc. There are others available if the president wants them, you know, at some point. You know, his view is maybe a tariff is better than a deal. So we certainly have some in the offing if he wants them. But we're very focused on making sure we can protect American manufacturing and be able to reduce our trade deficits.
Political Commentator
You're not protecting American manufacturing. Manufacturing jobs are down. There are no deals because there's no piece of paper behind them. There's not a single binding deal that exists. And how do I know that? Because I haven't seen a single deal on paper. In all the countries where you claim you made deals say that there's no binding agreement, like in Japan, the European Union, South Korea, where's the piece of paper tariffs are better than deals. I don't even know what they're talking about. The American workers are suffering. That's what's taking place. Government workers are suffering. People are suffering across the board. I wanna bring in the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the AFGE president, Everett Kelly. Everett, I showed you all of those clips right there, you know, at the outset. And it's this constant gaslighting by these Trump regime administration officials saying everything is wonderful. Well, you are the president of the main union that represents government employees. What are you seeing? Is everything wonderful like the Trump regime is saying?
Everett Kelly
You know, if it wasn't so hurtful, it would be laughable. Okay. It is definitely not okay, especially with the employees that I represent. I mean, we are experiencing these employees experiences. So much honor, so much pain because of the job losses, because of the reduction in forces that this administration is putting upon these employees, surely not because of efficiency, like they are saying, but because of retaliations and all of these types of things that this administration is throwing after federal employees. So I totally disagree with those assessments.
Political Commentator
You know, you have people who devoted their life working for the United States government, often in thankless jobs, but jobs that are needed. People, whether they're inspecting the food or looking at the railways to make sure that the trains don't get derailed, or, you know, people looking out for health and safety, people who are ensuring that the data gets aggregated in the right way, people looking, I mean, across the board in government parks, there are people doing these jobs with, you know, all they want to be done has been treating with dignity. And now Trump comes in, Doge comes in, wipes out their dignity. And I wonder what your thoughts about this and government spending is actually more than it is than it was last year. This time last year, now this year. So it didn't even accomplish the goal of reducing government spending. It's more spending and these jobs have been lost.
Everett Kelly
Yes. You know, and that's so true. You know, the people that I represent, the job that we do, you know, are so important to the American people. And that's what's missing here. I mean, when you talk about flying in the air, safe, you know, that's the TSA worker. You talk about making sure that our communities are safe at night. That's our Bureau of Prisons that God's prison got all day long. You know, these are people that make sure that our food is. Is safe. People to make sure that the air that we breathe is safe air. People that make sure that our children get quality education, such as at the Department of Education. These are people that are under attack, you know, and it's not. It doesn't even make sense. There is no plan for these reduction in force or rifts or layoffs. There is no plan. They just go in and they say, we're going to get rid of this many jobs. And they get rid of those jobs. Then there is nobody left to perform the services for the American people that is needed. These are vital services to The American people, services that the American people need and they deserve. You know, I mean, think about veterans that go and spend their lives, you know, taking care and defending America and come home and may need to process claims. And yet we're talking about reducing the services for those veterans. That's not right. And Social Security benefits, you know, reducing those services and the opportunity for people to, you know, apply for beneficial benefits, you know, those are the things that's going to be affected that the American people need to understand.
Political Commentator
So let's talk about what we can do to fight back. You know, you have the Supreme Court on a procedural maneuver that stayed paused the lower court's rulings, which would have blocked the reduction in force plans by the Trump administration. In other words, the Trump administration can implement its RIFs, its reduction in force plans, during the pendency of the litigation, which, as we all know, litigation takes a long time. So basically, the Trump administration gets carte blanche authority to implement these plans, fire all of these people, and then four years from now, if it's ever determined that Trump violated the law, these people have lost their jobs and they're not being welcomed to a very friendly American job market where we've seen jobless, where we've seen job cuts 75% higher now than it was at this time last year. So things are difficult. So with a difficult, some would say, incredibly corrupt Supreme Court, with a corrupt administration, how do you, as the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, how do you fight back? And what do you message and communicate to your union members?
Everett Kelly
Well, first of all, let me just say that we are very disappointed in the Supreme Court's ruling. Now, no president should have unchecked authority to restructure government agencies and lay off tens and thousands of public servants who make our country work. You know, Congress and not the White House, you know, controls federal funding and agency structures. We urge lawmakers to act now to reassert their constitutional authority before irreversible damage is done to our government and to the people that it served. Now, the Supreme Court declined to rule on the legality of these specific reorganizations, or RIFs, if you will. You know, we continue to believe that these efforts violate federal law, and we intend to keep fighting them. Now, based on course action, the administration will try to move full steam ahead, there's no doubt about that, with a plan to dismantle the central government's functions and eliminate thousands of jobs. But we're not backing down. We'll keep fighting to defend the public service that federal employees provide. To veterans, to seniors, to families and to communities across the nation and around the world. You know, now what's at stake here is the survival of programs that protect our health and safety, right. That serve our seniors and veterans and people with disabilities, that provide housing and educational opportunities for low and middle income families, you know, that help everyday Americans launch their own businesses and so much more. But, you know, just imagine, you know, sitting at the dinner table as we Americans do, right? You know, we're sitting there, you know, at dinner and we have a layoff notice and a stack of bills, right? You know, these workers aren't lazy bureaucrats in D.C. they're our neighbors, they are our doctors, our friends, you know, and only 15% of these employees work in D.C. you know, so they're not in D.C. you know,. As lazy bureaucrats, right? And so my thing is, you know, and I challenge, you know, every secretary, every director, you know, to really look at, you know, the agencies and determine what's really needed, what needs to be implemented. We don't need to be operating off of Elon Musk plan, because it really was no plan. We need to, and I'm asking, you know, that these directors, the secretaries, take a look at what's needed in order to make America work for the American people, you know, and that should be the plan of these secretaries and these directors that's been appointed to these positions.
Political Commentator
You know, I just think as Congress goes into recess all of the time, as you have people like Mag and Mike Johnson say, we're, we're, we're leaving, we're going on vacation because we don't want to talk about the Epstein file. So we're just going to leave and stop working. At the same time, they're defaming the hard working government workers who show up every single day, do their job, often, as I said, thankless jobs, and they're being defamed as what are these people doing? I think Donald Trump would say they're out there golfing all week. They're not even showing up into these buildings. And it's like not only are they taking away the jobs, but then they're also stripping away people's dignity, which takes place when you get rid of people's jobs. But to me, they're defaming the government workers as well, and they're defaming workers as well. Finally, I just want to mention, you know, the Midas Touch network is embedded in the AFL CIO better in a union bus tour that's been going around the country. Their most recent stop is in Indianapolis. I know that the AFGE, of course, has been affiliated with the AFL CIO since about the 1930s or so. And so part of the federation, part of these organizations. We'll see you at some point on the tour as well. But I think stuff like this is important. Meeting the people, shaking hands and being out there and just letting people know what's. What's going on. So before we go, any final words you want to say to the people out there and people wanting to know the importance of unions?
Everett Kelly
Well, you know, I think that the idea of having this bus tour to travel this country and educate, because this is the key, is to educate the Americans of what unions are all about and what it is that union do every single day, you know, and the services that we provide, you know, for the American people. I think this bus tour is a brilliant idea. I plan on being a part of that. I know that we're scheduled to be in California at some point next month. I will be there. And, you know, my. My job is to also offer hope, you know, for those federal employees that have been affected by these rifts and these realignments and all these things that's going on that's very chaotic in the lives of these Americans that are very patriotic, that take oaths every time they get a job, take an oath, you know, and they. They live up to that. And so my job is to offer some ray of hope because I truly believe that ultimately, you know, this will come to pass and that we will win in the end because we're on the side of right. You know, there's no doubt about that. You know, it's very paramount in the fact that the Supreme Court has not even ruled on the legalities of this issue, these issues, because I truly believe they know that it's incorrect. It also tells us a telling story, the fact that, you know, Mr. Johnson is on recess, right, and tell everybody to go home because they know this is not about efficiency. They know this is all about retaliation, you know, and those type of things for federal employees standing up against these acts, that is non American and inhumane. So, you know, I think that this bus tour is going to be a telling story that's going to get the American people to understand what's really happening in America.
Political Commentator
Everett Kelly, president of the afge, the American Federation of Government Employees. Thanks for joining us.
Everett Kelly
Thank you for having me, man.
Political Commentator
Look forward to seeing you on the bus tour, everybody. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. The truth is more important than ever. Check out our new Truth over lies collection@store.midas touch.com All 100 USA Union made this is one of the most spectacular venues with all kinds of character and hospitality scenery.
Everett Kelly
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JJ Harrison
I'm JJ Harrison, Ellensburg Rodeo Clown and I want to invite you to the rodeo. Come hang out with us in Ellensburg. Great rodeo, Great time. Two performances on Saturday. One is the Extreme Bulls of the Year event. Do not miss the Ellensburg Rodeo August 29th through September 1st. We'll see you there.
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Release Date: August 4, 2025
Episode Title: AFGE President Everett Kelley Responds to Trump Job Loss Numbers
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Guest: Everett Kelley, President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, the Meiselas brothers delve into the alarming job loss numbers reported under the Trump administration. The discussion centers around the impact of these figures on government employees, the integrity of reported statistics, and the broader implications for American democracy. The episode features a critical interview with Everett Kelley, the President of AFGE, who provides firsthand insights into the challenges faced by federal employees amidst administrative changes.
Time Stamp: [02:03] – [05:03]
The episode kicks off with the hosts addressing the recent job numbers released on a Friday, which reported significantly lower job growth than expected. The political commentator highlights the gravity of the situation by comparing it to some of the worst job reports during the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession of 2009-2010.
Fox News's reaction to the job numbers is scrutinized, pointing out their attempts to downplay the data despite clear indicators of economic distress. The commentator criticizes Fox News for presenting possibly fabricated numbers under the Trump administration's narrative.
Time Stamp: [05:03] – [07:51]
The discussion shifts to the Trump administration's trade deals and tariff policies. An economic analyst praises the president for securing trade deals that prioritize American workers and businesses. However, the political commentator counters this by arguing that manufacturing jobs are declining, and no binding agreements have been finalized.
Jameson Greer, the trade representative, is cited discussing high tariffs imposed on countries like China, which the commentator argues have not translated into tangible benefits for American workers.
Time Stamp: [07:51] – [16:41]
The podcast transitions to an interview with Everett Kelley, who vehemently criticizes the Trump administration's reduction in force (RIF) plans that have led to significant job losses among federal employees. Kelley emphasizes the detrimental effects these layoffs have on essential government services and the dignity of public servants.
Kelley underscores the importance of federal employees in maintaining vital services such as food safety, education, and public health. He criticizes the lack of a strategic plan behind the job cuts, highlighting the absence of binding agreements and the superficial justifications provided by the administration.
Time Stamp: [16:41] – [18:35]
The conversation focuses on strategies to combat the ongoing administrative actions that threaten federal employment. Kelley discusses the disappointment with the Supreme Court's ruling, which allowed the administration to proceed with RIFs despite legal challenges. He calls for legislative action to restore congressional authority over federal agency structures and funding.
Kelley also highlights the importance of union activities, such as the AFL-CIO bus tour, aimed at educating the public about the vital role of unions and the services provided by federal employees.
Time Stamp: [18:35] – [19:35]
The episode concludes with Kelley emphasizing the significance of public support for unions and the critical services that federal employees provide. He expresses optimism that sustained efforts and public awareness will lead to the preservation of essential government functions and the protection of workers' rights.
The Meiselas brothers wrap up the episode by reinforcing the message of unity and the importance of supporting democratic institutions against challenges posed by current administrative policies.
This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast offers a critical examination of the Trump administration's handling of job numbers and trade policies, highlighting the adverse effects on federal employees and essential government services. Through the insightful interview with AFGE President Everett Kelley, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the struggles faced by public servants and the urgent need for collective action to uphold democracy and workers' rights.
Notable Quotes:
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights presented in the episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the critical issues surrounding job losses and the fight to protect federal employees under the Trump administration.