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Political Commentator
all hell is breaking loose as Donald Trump's former allies or former allies of the United States are publicly repudiating and rejecting him. Donald Trump is out there lying. He told the Wall what else is new? He Wall Street Journal on Sunday that he's heard from all of these nations and they're forming a coalition with him to head into the Strait of Hormuz in order to secure it for all of the cargo ships and fueling ships to leave and to normalize trade. Again, that is not happening. To the contrary, you're having nation after nation call out Donald Trump and rebuke him. Shall we go through one by one Right now? Australia announces we will not be sending nav ships to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a government minister said on Monday. Should we go to Japan? According to Japanese Prime Minister Taka Ishi, Japan is not even considering sending navy vessels to the Middle east to aid in efforts surrounding the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region Japan has. However, it will agree to some drawdowns of its strategic oil reserves as part of the multinational efforts of the International Energy Agency Agency to stabilize the market. It ain't stabilizing the market, okay? The 400 million barrels of oil internationally, that ain't going to cut it. Let's be very clear. How about in Germany? German's Foreign Minister Johann Wadfel was asked whether Germany would respond to Donald Trump's call to join a naval mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to a local paper there, Wade fall said the EU's operation mission previously, previously in the Red Sea regarding the Houthis from Yemen has not been effective at protecting commercial shipping from attacks over there in the Red Sea. So expanding this operation to the Strait of Hormuz would not provide any greater security. That's a significant insight there. That has a deeper meaning. Remember when the Houthis were effectively shutting down commerce in the Red Sea? And remember Pete Hegsetts, like, we're totally obliterated. Remember why Mike Walz is now the ambassador to the United nations and not the National Security advisor when they were all involved in those signal chats? That was not Persian Gulf, that was the Red Sea right there. And there's their own strait, their zone straight in the Red Sea, that the Houthis from Yemen have been very successful when they want to of shutting down and shooting at the commercial vessels there. So what we're seeing happen right now is as the Persian Gulf has effectively been shut down, the Strait of Hormuz has been shut down by Iran. People are saying, oh, well, can we get our oil from the Red Sea and transfer it the Red Sea out? Well, at a moment's notice, the Houthis are ready and they're just luring ships to basically come in. And I think that it's very clear that the Houthis are going to start operations in the Red Sea soon. I think the Germans are aware of that. That's why they're saying, why would we get involved? It wasn't effective in the Red Sea. Now you want us in these straitfromus, it's not going to happen. What about France? Well, France's leader, President Emmanuel Macron, has been speaking directly with the President of Iran. Pizzkin, remember how I've been reporting that both Italy and France have been involved in trying to do direct negotiations with Iran bilaterally to see if they can get their ship through the Strait of Hormuz and basically saying, hey, we want out of this thing. Right? Remember how I've been reporting on that? Well, there was another call between Macron and Pizzkin that took place over this past weekend. And one of the things that Macron has been talking about is a new political and security framework that can ensure peace and security for all. That's coded language right there when he talks about a new political and security framework. Inherent is that. Inherent in that is acknowledging the existence of the Islamic Republic in Iran as their right to function and a new framework away from the United States, a framework where you have Europe and Canada and Australia and Asian countries that are allied and united and not dependent on the United States anymore because the US has become a liability, a massive liability under Donald Trump for all of these nations. So not only is France saying we ain't doing it, they're saying we need to create a new framework to ensure peace and security for all. That's code for without the United States or removing the United States as a leader in any of these coalitions. You have a lot of other developments as well. I mean, just take a look at this Goldman Sachs report on the Gulf. They talk about how Qatar and Kuwait could each see their GDP contract by 14% this year if this conflict conflicts through April. A 14% contraction in the GDP of Qatar and Kuwait resulting in a two month halt of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia and the UAE would fare better, by the way, based on oil at least given their ability to reroute oil flows away from the critical Hormuz Waterway, but would likely see GDP drop by about 3% to 5%. But remember what I said before. Reroute to where? Reroute to the Red Sea. For now that may make sense, but if you look at this map that Javier Blas post in Map of the Day. While the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, the Red Sea is witnessing the arrival of an oil tanker or Mata to the Saudi terminal there. And isn't it just the most obvious trap as this armada is there? You have the leader of the Houthis saying, they literally are saying, we're waiting for you, come on, we're ready for you and we're about to be activated. They're saying it out loud, dammit. I just don't get. I mean, I know you appreciate our meticulous reporting here and we're ahead of the curve on what's being reported elsewhere. And I'm sure you'll hear in the next few days about the Houthis opening up a front on the Red Sea and how it was a trap. And I'd love to take credit and be like, wow, this is so brilliant reporting at the Midas Stud network. But they're saying it out loud. They're saying it out loud, which is what I'm reporting. No one reports on it until after, like, oh my God. And we've been shocked right here. Shocked. I tell you, one of the things though, also about the uae, which needs to be reported more. And I don't think Goldman Sachs even really captured this. Dubai is dead. Say goodbye to Dubai. Say goodbye to Abu Dhabi. You know, there ain't vacations happening there ever Again, there ain't Formula One races happening there in Bahrain. Again, there ain't Western vacationers or Asian vacationers going there ever again. It's done. People aren't living there. It's over. All the work they've done, all of the bribes they played to Trump and Kushner and the family, all the quid pro quos, the pay for play, they paid Trump and Kushner too weak to play, but of course, they couldn't. And by the way, the Qatari should have realized that y' all had to bail out Kushner for his real estate project in Manhattan, like 10 years ago at 666. You had to bail the guy out. He couldn't even run one building. You think he could run the Middle East? These are lifelong losers. The Trumps, the Kushner's. And you got played the way Trump's creditors screwed him over, the way Trump screwed over his creditors and the way he screwed over his contractors. This is how Donald Trump operates. And I want you to listen to this right here, a Kuwaiti analyst. So just the other day, openly criticizing Gulf policy toward Washington after the latest strikes, Thomas Keith explains saying the region paid billions for influence and received nothing in return. He pointed directly to Jared Kushner, noting, all this Gulf money flowed to him and to Trump and the Trump family. Yet the same states that finance those channels ended up facing strikes and pressure. His conclusion is that appeasing all of these people, you know, is the worst that you can do. You're not getting protection. Watch what he says. And I'm just showing you this for the perspective of, you can see what they're saying internationally at this point, right now. Watch what they're saying internationally.
Political Analyst
We need to know that you cannot appease Zionists. You cannot buy influence. Look at Jared Kushner. We know how much he took from the Gulf. It's open source public info. And now the same countries that gave him all that money for zero return are facing strikes and bombs. And they're trying to make it seem as if it is our duty to carry on the job that Israel wants to continue, which is very. A very crazy idea to begin with. So we need to change the way we think, how we can influence Washington, folks.
Political Commentator
And while that's happening, you have the foreign minister of Iran going on ABC and doing media appearances here. Well, here's what he say. He goes, I told this to cbs. Iran has neither sought a truce nor is engaged in talks. Such claims are delusional. So Trump's out there saying, oh, we're speaking with Iran, but we don't want to make a deal yet, Trump saying, because Iran is not offering us exactly what we want yet. And Iran's like, we're not even talking to you, dude. You're a delusional nutcase. We're not. We're having no conversations. The fact that the Iranian foreign minister has to show up and. And look sensible while Donald Trump looks like Baghdad Bob, that's a problem. And we all know that Trump is lying. We know that Trump isn't having conversations. He lies about fake conversations with world leaders. Everything out of his mouth is a lie. And the Iranian foreign minister says, look, our powerful armed forces will keep firing until Trump realizes that the illegal war he's imposing on both Americans and Iranians is wrong and must never be repeated. Victims must also be compensated. And if you look at what's happening right now in the Middle east as well, I mean, you'll see for yourself. Here are. You know, there were reports that there were several fuel tanks ablaze last night at the Dubai International Airport following a drone attack by Iran. Look for yourself. You can see what's going on right there at the airport in Dubai that's still being hit by Iranian drones. All throughout the night, you have the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defense announcing that they've tracked and shot down at least 30 Iranian drones, but who knows how many have hit. We know that they lie all the time about everything as well. Sirens were sounding again across Bahrain with residents of Manama reporting the sound of explosions and several interceptions in the sky there. Iran has launched another wave of ballistic missile strikes there. You know, that's what's going on. That's what's going on there. Here, I'll show you what it looks like. By the way. It's not to say that the US And Israel are hitting Iran hard. Destroyed a lot of the Iranian navy, let's be clear, destroyed a lot of Iranian kind of conventional weapons. But Iran still has its ballistic missile arsenal. Its shahed drones are cheap to produce, and they have a huge amount of shahed drones that they can keep sending. They control these Strait of Hormuz. Their leadership is in power. So, you know, on balance, this has been an unmitigated disaster for the United States. And then you have the US And Israel striking these civilian targets in Iran, kind of further pushing the people away from the United States and towards the Ayatollah. I mean, you have Israel preparing for a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. The Israeli government is set to approve the call up of 450,000 reservists as the Israel Defense Forces prepare yet another ground operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The prior reservist limit in Israel was 280,000. They're now raising that to 450. And they're going to, you know, they're going to invade southern Lebanon. I mean, they've already destroyed a lot of it. I mean, take a look right here at what southern Lebanon looks like. I mean, suburban areas, Beirut and other places just leveled. Here's a damaged car near a damaged building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on a health care center where according to a Lebanese state news agency, multiple members of medical personnel were killed in southern Lebanon. I think it was like 19 plus people who worked at this hospital were killed by this Israeli strike.
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Political Commentator
I just can't even emphasize how utterly pathetic Donald Trump looks while all of this is going on as well. I mean, he's out there saying he told the Financial Times that NATO nations face a very bad outlook if they fail to seriously aid in efforts to open these Strait of Hormuz amidst the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US And Israel. Trump also said I may delay my visit to China for a summit with Xi Jinping later this month should they also fail to aid in efforts to open these strait, adding that nations who benefit the most from trade, trade through the straight should be more invested in its reopening. Loser. Loser. Loser. Loser. Listen, you loser. China is invested in your failure and in the failure of the United States. Russia, I know you think that, you know, hahaha, I'm releasing these sanctions against Russia and allowing them to. I'm really owning Zelinsky right here. Right? So P.T. barnum, you know, continue to mock Zelensky. You're a Putin bootlicker. You've removed the sanctions against Russia. Now they're allowed to sell oil to so many, to basically every nation. Russia is invested in your failure and the death of America. They're helping Iran right now, okay? Don't you see that? And you've attacked so many of your allies, so many other nations. You've attacked NATO, you've attacked all the countries in the G7. You betrayed the G7 by releasing the oil sanctions against Putin. Nobody wants to help you in these Strait of Hormuz. Nobody wants to bail you out. You started this unlawful war with Netanyahu against Iran and now you're like, other countries need to get involved. You sound so utterly weak. And it's really, really embarrassing as an American just to see this transpire like this. And I reported earlier yesterday, and we've seen this reported in Politico elsewhere, how Taiwan is reporting a large scale Chinese military aircraft and naval presence near their island as well. And by the way, let's not forget what's happening in Gaza, where there's been more murders of people in Gaza by Israel. Israeli forces killed 16 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the west bank, health officials said, in one of the heaviest death tolls in a single day in weeks as Israel continued to launch attacks on Lebanon and Iran. And there's been close, maybe more than a thousand deaths in Gaza. And yes. Has some Hamas been killed? Absolutely. And Hamas is a terrorist group and they should be targeted, but not innocent people in Gaza. Let me be very clear about that. The atrocities and heinous, heinous. His conduct in Gaza needs to be condemned in the strongest of terms with Netanyahu's conduct, that of a war criminal and Donald Trump's as well, that of a war criminal. I mean, it is horrific to see what is happening there. And again, more Palestinians have been killed as well over these past, over this past weekend when there was never a ceasefire to begin with. It was just more lies from Donald Trump and his return regime. Let me show you what Mets Fredriksen, the prime Minister of Denmark, had to say about Trump's Greenland threats. You can hear for yourself what she had to say when she was in Oslo with numerous other nations. Here, play this clip.
Mette Frederiksen
I am very grateful, I have to say this for all the help we have received in the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland and Denmark. We have had a totally unacceptable pressure from us and the US President. It has been very difficult for the people in Greenland to experience this. And one of the reasons why we have been able to stand firmly on very common values, that you have to respect sovereign states, that you have to respect a people's right for self determination is because of our good friends in the Nordic countries, in Europe, but also with partners outside, especially you, Mark. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you for that.
Political Commentator
Here's what Zelensky had to say, speaking with CNN with Fareed Zakaria when asking, well, you know, Donald Trump keeps on attacking you. Here's what he had to say. Play this clip.
Interviewer
You worried though that you still have not been able to persuade President Trump, it seems to me, because he tweeted out saying if America does not have enough weapons, it's because Joe Biden gave them all to Zelensky and he compared you to P.T. barnum. It does seem that President Trump still has some anger or resentment toward Ukraine and even toward you personally. I don't know, Fareed, be honest. I'm looking just to the facts. So what Middle east countries and American bases, what they, what they need now just to be in more strong security. So they need interceptors. It's drawn in the centers these new technologies. It's our technologies. So President Biden, we are thankful to America and bipartisan support and President Trump. But we never got drones interceptors from the United States. So we never asked. It's just new technologies. But we've got Patriot missiles and we are thankful to America that we could get some missiles. But also at the same moment, I want to underline that Middle east partners had more missiles for Patriots than we've got from the United States and Europeans during all the war they used more missile, they used more than 800 Patriot missiles during first attack, during first 24, 36 hours. So more than we had during all the months. But when we speak how to close the sky, I mean we, we gave what we had and what our American friends, they don't have or European friends they don't have, I mean such a big system of these experts. They have more other things, very strong things, but not this. And Middle east countries asked us exactly
Political Commentator
about more from Zielinski right here. Let's play it.
Interviewer
And I still should that America has to make big pressure on Putin, otherwise he will not negotiate. He wants only ultimatums from us that we have to withdraw from our territory. But he will not end with this. No, no, it's not enough for him. Of course this situation in Iran gives him more money and the process of taking off the sanctions. This new sanctions policy also help for him personally. And that's why of course it gives more sure to Putin that he can continue the war and we will see. Now we are asking our partners from the United States that we have to fix the date of trilateral meeting. We always supported this format, supported President Trump and his team. Now the American side postponed because of Iran postponed the the meeting. But if we really want to stop the war, we need to meet. We need to meet on technical groups. We need to meet on the level of leaders. We need more pressure on Russia. If we will not do these steps. Yes, we will not be closer to the peace.
Political Commentator
Show you some of the videos that they're making in North Korea as Donald Trump has removed the Thaad and Patriot missiles from South Korea. Kim Jong Un in North Korea is making videos of himself testing his rocket launch systems and just mocking South Korea right now because Donald Trump removed their critical defenses. And by the way, Trump took out our troops who were In Japan, about 5,000 of them from a powerful Marine expeditionary unit to send him over to the Middle East. Here's the video of Kim Jong Un. And here's what the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said on American media about Donald Trump saying, oh well, we do this for fun. You know, we're going to, we're to going we may bomb the hell out of the Karag island for fun. And again, this is easily utilized by Iraqi and others. To say, look, these Americans are war criminals, like you're handing the Ayatollah and the Iranians a gift here. Why are you doing this? Trump's behavior is so repugnant that he's for he's allowing the Ayatollah to consolidate power by by Trump's behavior is so idiotic and so weak and pathetic. And it's sad, it's sad to see as an American how weak we look. This is what we look like Trump's loser, bankrupt casinos. And I just, I try to warn about all this, it's loser behavior. We hear. Play this clip.
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Trump said this weekend he, he is not ready to make a deal with Iran because the terms aren't good enough yet. His administration is saying this war could last another three and a half weeks or so. Has Iran asked for a ceasefire?
Iranian Official
No, we never asked for a ceasefire and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes and this is what we have done so far and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory. And you know, there are, you know, people being killed only because peasants and Trump wants to have fun. This is what he has said.
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Have fun.
Iranian Official
We are, yes, this is what he said, that they are sinking, you know, ships and targeting different places because it is fun. And the Secretary of War has said that there is no mercy and this is actually a war crime. Even, even saying that is a war crime. So this is a war. This is a war of choice by President Trump and the United States and we are going to continue our self defense.
Political Commentator
There you have it folks. Let me know what you think about all this. We'll keep you posted every step of the way. Hit subscribe let's get to 7 million subscribers. Thanks for watching new Midas merch head to store.midastouch.com today and get yourself the
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Episode: All Hell Breaks Loose as Trump Gets Ghosted In War!!
Date: March 16, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (MeidasTouch Network)
This episode dives into the escalating chaos in the Middle East, focusing on how former President Donald Trump is being publicly rebuffed by U.S. allies and global leaders as he attempts to form coalitions and reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing conflict with Iran. The hosts analyze the diplomatic fallout, the region’s mounting military and economic crisis, and the widespread perception of American weakness under Trump’s leadership. Laced with their signature unapologetic humor and brotherly banter, the Meiselas brothers also incorporate international voices and expert analysis to showcase just how isolated and ineffectual Trump’s U.S. has become.
[03:45-07:40]
“So not only is France saying we ain't doing it, they're saying we need to create a new framework to ensure peace and security for all. That's code for without the United States…”
— Political Commentator (08:30)
[08:00-10:00]
[10:40-13:16]
“All this Gulf money flowed to him and to Trump and the Trump family. Yet the same states that finance those channels ended up facing strikes and pressure. His conclusion is that appeasing all of these people, you know, is the worst that you can do. You're not getting protection.”
— Political Commentator paraphrasing Kuwaiti analyst (11:30)
Notable Quote:
“We need to know that you cannot appease Zionists. You cannot buy influence. Look at Jared Kushner… Now the same countries that gave him all that money for zero return are facing strikes and bombs.”
— Kuwaiti Analyst (12:33)
[13:16-16:30]
[16:30-18:00 & 18:31-21:58]
“Let me be very clear about that. The atrocities and heinous, heinous conduct in Gaza needs to be condemned in the strongest of terms.”
— Political Commentator (20:28)
[21:58-22:43]
“We have had a totally unacceptable pressure from… the US President. …You have to respect sovereign states.”
— Mette Frederiksen, Danish PM (21:58)
[22:43-26:23]
“We never got drones or interceptors from the United States...I want to underline that Middle east partners had more missiles for Patriots than we've got from the United States and Europeans during all the war.”
— Zelensky (24:15)
[26:24-28:12]
“Trump’s behavior is so idiotic and so weak and pathetic. And it's sad, it's sad to see as an American how weak we look. This is what we look like: Trump's loser, bankrupt casinos.”
— Political Commentator (27:30)
[28:12-29:49]
“Has Iran asked for a ceasefire?”
“No, we never asked for a ceasefire and we have never asked even for negotiation. …We continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory.”
— Iranian Official (28:29-29:12)
| Timestamp | Segment Description | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:45 | Trump’s former allies rebuke his coalition-building; breakdown by country. | | 08:00 | Economic impact—Goldman Sachs’ dire assessment; the Red Sea trap explained. | | 10:20 | Dubai's decline and the futility of Gulf money spent on Trump's White House. | | 12:33 | Kuwaiti analyst denounces the failed approach to buying U.S. influence. | | 13:16 | Iranian Foreign Minister on lack of any talks, calls Trump “delusional nutcase.” | | 16:30 | Israeli escalation: reservist call-up, southern Lebanon operations, civilian tolls. | | 20:28 | Condemnation of atrocities in Gaza. | | 21:58 | Danish PM’s gratitude for European stand against Trump’s pressure over Greenland. | | 22:43 | Zelensky addresses U.S. military aid comparisons and Trump’s attitude on CNN. | | 25:04 | Zelensky on the need for more pressure on Putin and trilateral high-level talks. | | 26:24 | North Korea’s mocking propaganda after U.S. missile defense withdrawal. | | 28:29 | Iranian official: “No, we never asked for a ceasefire…” |
Staying true to their “hilarious brother banter” and deeply pro-democracy stance, the Meiselas brothers deliver a hard-hitting, sometimes scathingly sarcastic analysis of Trump’s diplomatic and military failures. They paint a picture of American leadership in crisis, increasingly abandoned by allies and mocked by adversaries, with grave consequences for global security, economics, and democracy.
For listeners: This episode offers a detailed, front-line perspective on how Trump’s foreign policy blunders are being viewed around the world—and includes sobering warnings about the global order’s future if America’s standing continues to plummet under his watch.