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Political Commentator
World leaders are furious at the Trump regime and they are striking back. Headlines like this. Japan and Brazil, both fed up with the United States, are looking to begin trading beef with each other for the first time in history. That's what Donald Trump gets in Canada. You have Prime Minister Carney saying, we're going to speak to Donald when it makes sense. We're on our own schedule. Canada strong. And with Canada no longer being able to rely on the United states, Prime Minister Mr. Carney is pushing for new markets, new relationships and cutting out the United States. That was a headline from the New York Times. Now we also have one of the first times in seven years that Prime Minister Modi of India is looking to visit China to meet with Xi Jinping in the fallout of the trade negotiations with the Trump regime, or it should be viewed as Donald Trump's erratic behavior, clearly favoring Pakistan because they invested in Donald Trump's crypto enterprise, brought the military general from Pakistan into the White House, and Donald Trump has basically cut out and attacked India. So India says, okay, looks like we may go and take a visit at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit. And one of Modi visits Xi Jinping and we go all in on China. How about this, by the way, Australia now choosing Japan for warships even though it costs more than the United States. And a big sign also of how countries are moving away from the United States. Again, we saw this in Canada as well. Not buying US War planes as they know what, we're going to buy it from France. And also we saw in France it's President Emmanuel Macron saying, no, you know, we're not going to buy weapons from the United States to ship to Ukraine. We're going to provide our own weaponry to Ukraine. And speaking of Ukraine yesterday, Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's real estate buddy from back in the day, who has no foreign policy experience at all, no diplomatic experience. Yesterday he went back to Putin to put his hand on his heart and say, Mr. Putin, it is so great to see you. And then Donald Trump posted on social media that Steve Witkoff had a great and highly productive meeting with Vladimir Putin. Great progress was made, Donald Trump said. He goes on to say afterwards, I updated some of our European allies. Everyone agrees this war must come to a close and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Now, Jay and Keev and lots of people who are observing and following at a very close level what's happening on Ukraine predicted this was going to happen, that Donald Trump would find a way to taco yet again. Trump always chickens out to not impose sanctions on Russia. And now Donald Trump saying, I need a few more weeks, let's see what happens here. Or Donald Trump saying, Vladimir Putin wants to meet with me, so I'll meet with Putin first, me and Putin alone. And then let's try to get Putin and Zelinsky in a room together. But let's cut out our NATO allies, our G7 allies. Let's cut out Europe. And this is Putin's plan. Divide and conquer. Have Trump and Zelinsky and Putin bully Zelensky into submission and not have French President Emmanuel Macron. There are Frederick Mertz of Germany or Keir Starmer of the UK or Prime Minister Carney of Canada or Anthony Albanese of Australia. As Jane Keefe rightly points out, Putin's only goal now is to get Trump to force Zelinsky to stop destroying Russia's oil infrastructure. As long as Trump does that, Putin can continue this war and the planned wars ahead when Putin's going to go take over other countries in Europe next. As lots of people were predicting before the Witkoff Putin meeting. Like Alexander Jokic wrote, the only question on the Witkoff Putin meeting is will Trump accept another performative partial cease fire offer from Putin or not? Putin will not accept a full ceasefire at this moment. In fact, I don't even think they talked about cease fire. So what do you mean, Donald Trump that it was productive. By the way, Donald Trump then called our European allies, frankly, former European allies. The way Donald Trump has treated them. He did a conference call with Starmer of the UK Stub of Finland and Frederick Meltz of Germany and Marco Rut, NATO Secretary General. You also had J.D. vance and Marco Rubio on that call along with Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump said, European leaders, you are not going to get to meet with Putin. I alone, I'm going to fix it. I'm the Guy who said I would fix it in 24 hours, but now I say I was just being sarcastic. JK lol. I didn't really mean I would bring peace in Ukraine in 24 hours. I was just punking every the same way I punked everybody when I said I was going to release the Epstein files right away. One of my jokes that I tell because Donald Trump just thinks he's a standup comedian while Americans and the world suffers as a result of his dangerous behavior. European leaders were folks. They left this conference call with Donald Trump talking about a meeting with Putin one on one, which would elevate Putin so unnecessarily and then try to get Zelensky from stop sending the drones, knocking out the railroads and oil infrastructure structure and really crushing Putin's war machine. And European allies expressed, I guess to put it politely, skepticism afterward that this would all be effective, according to one official who was briefed on the call. Another person familiar with the call said the Europeans appear to accept what Mr. Trump said. The Europeans have tried to coordinate an end to the violence between Russia and Ukraine while supporting their European neighbor. We'll tell you what the European leaders are saying right now that Donald Trump is a crazy maniac and they need to be there to support Zelensky.
Donald Trump
Let.
Political Commentator
Let's actually look at what Zelinsky said because it's very telling. Zelinsky posted on his social media Right. On my way to our brigades here in the Sumi region, I spoke with Trump. This conversation happened after Trump's representative, Steve Witkoff visited Moscow. Our joint position with our partners is absolutely clear. The war must end and it must be done honestly, AKA you are full of shi. You know what I'm going to say. European leaders were on the call and I am grateful to each of them for their support. Right. Each of the European leaders for their support. We discussed what was spelled out in Moscow. Ukraine will definitely defend its independence. In other words, Trump, don't frickin tread on us. We're thankful for Europe standing by our side. We all need lasting and reliable peace, AKA stop falling for Putin's bs. Russia must end the war that it itself started. Thank you to everyone who stands with Ukraine. Did you see all the hidden messages in that post? It's pretty obvious to me as well.
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Political Commentator
Now, just to be very clear, as a reminder, Donald Trump's new line that he goes around and says when asked, well, you said you were going to stop the war in 24 hours. His line is, I was just joking. Everyone knew I was being sarcastic. That's just what I do. I tell funny jokes. One of those jokes, Donald Trump says is peace in Ukraine in 24 hours. Another one of Trump's sarcastic jokes. He says, Gaza. That he was going to bring peace to Gaza in 24 hours. He didn't really mean that, folks he actually met. He'll give Benjamin Netanyahu carte blanche. Authority. Of course that's what he meant. Here's Donald Trump saying he was being sarcastic. Let's play it. I'm not understating the complexity of all this, but as a candidate, you said you would have this war settled in 24 hours.
Donald Trump
Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that I would. What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled.
Political Commentator
And then, by the way, here's Donald Trump recently saying that as well at a NATO conference that it was all sarcasm by himself. Sick, sick man. Here, play this clip.
Reporter
You once said that you would end the Ukraine war in 24 hours. You later said you said that sarcastically.
Donald Trump
Of course it was sarcastic.
Reporter
But you've now been in office for five months and five days. Why have you not been able to end the Ukraine war?
Donald Trump
Because it's more difficult than people would have any idea. Vladimir Putin has been more difficult, frankly. I had some problems with Zelinsky, you may have read about him. And it's been more difficult than other wars. I mean, look, we just ended a war in 12 days that was simmering for 30 years, frankly.
Political Commentator
All right, now, yesterday at a press conference, Donald Trump was asked about the sanctions that he said he would be imposing. What was it in April? He said two weeks. And then a month ago or two months ago, he said 50 days, 60 days. Whenever we approach a deadline, one of these things happens. And then Donald Trump tacos, he always chickens out. So he was asked, you said, Donald, that you would know if Putin was tapping you along. What gives you the confidence now that he isn't just tapping you along again, that he isn't playing you, that he isn't buying time while they try to achieve their war objectives? Delay, delay, delay, while they make some advances in their invasion of Ukraine? Donald Trump says, I can't answer that. I'm going to have to get back to you in a few weeks. Okay, a few weeks. Here, play this clip. President passed. You said you would know if he was tapping you along. What gives you any confidence that he is or isn't doing that this final round?
Donald Trump
Can't answer the question yet. I'll tell you in a matter of weeks, maybe less.
Political Commentator
So a reporter then asks, well, what's changed? You're giving him a few weeks now? More. Did he make some sort of concession? Did you talk ceasefire? And Donald Trump's like, here, play this clip. Mr. President, what was the breakthrough today? Did Vladimir Putin make some kind of concession that he has been willing to make before?
Donald Trump
I don't call it a breakthrough. I mean, we've been working on this a long time. There are thousands of young people dying, mostly soldiers, but also, you know, missiles being hit into Kiev and other places. But in terms of soldiers, I think Russia's lost over 20,000 since the beginning of the year. 20,000. And I guess the estimate for Ukraine is about 9,000. It's a. It's a terrible. It's a terrible situation. We want to get it stopped.
Political Commentator
I mean, it's just so utterly pathetic, isn't it? Then Marco Rubio goes on Fox Business yesterday, making clear that the latest Putin Witkoff meeting didn't result in much progress toward ending Russia's war on Ukraine. You could hear him talk about that himself. Play this clip.
Marco Rubio
You know, those concessions aren't easy. You have to also sell them to the public back in your country. But I Think what I can say is everybody wants the war to end. I think the conditions under which it's supposed to end is. That's always the hard part in this. But today was a good day. But there's a lot of work to. I don't want to exaggerate. We still have a ways to go here, but we certainly are closer today than we were yesterday, where we weren't close at all.
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Is Ambassador Witkoff, Steve Witkoff, coming back with a ceasefire proposal? You know, it's like a ceasefire on Thursday, a ceasefire on Friday, a ceasefire on Monday. Is that in the cards? Was that discussed at this meeting?
Marco Rubio
Well, I don't know about timing in terms of that. The specific timing of it is not discussed. I think what we have is a better understanding of the conditions under which Russia would be prepared to end the war. We now have to compare that to what the Ukrainians and our European allies, but the Ukrainians primarily, of course, are willing to accept. And what you try to see is how far can you get these two positions closer? How can you get these two positions closer to each other? If we can get what the Ukrainians will accept and what the Russians will accept close enough, then I think there's the opportunity for the president to have a meeting that includes both Putin and Zelensky to try to close this thing out. So we've got to get closer in that regard. But I think for the first time, perhaps since this administration began, we have some concrete examples of the kinds of things that Russia would ask for in order to end the war. We haven't had much of that to this point. Obviously, the Ukrainians have a say in this. We got to bring the two sides and the two positions close enough so that, you know, the ultimate closer, President Trump, can get involved and make it happen.
Political Commentator
And what was it, three months already ago or so? It was day 89 into the Trump regimes, Trump's presidency, his regime, where. Where Rubio said, look, at the end of the day, if we can't make a deal, the United States is just gonna move on. We're just gonna move on. I'll let you know in the next coming days if we can do a peace deal. Okay, well, that was day 89 of the Trump regime. That was, like, three months ago or so. So, w. W. Everything they say is a lie. Here's Rubio right here. Let's play the clip.
Marco Rubio
I'm not gonna tell you what the.
Political Analyst
Framework says, because when you start negotiating these things through the media and stuff, so forth, they fall apart. And It's a broad framework. It's a framework that gets us into a position to see, look, there are going to be differences. There's no, there's no one saying it's going to be done in 12 hours. But we want to see how far apart it is and whether those differences are, can even be narrowed, if it's even possible to get movement within the period of time we have in mind. And so we've talked about outlines of both sides. I thought we had positive meetings yesterday. Obviously, the Ukrainians have to go back home. They have to run it by their president. They have to, to take into account, you know, their views on all of this. And we hope to hear back from them very soon. But we need to figure out here now, within a matter of days whether this is doable in the short term, because if it's not, then I think.
Marco Rubio
We'Re just going to move on.
Political Commentator
By the way, here was Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's real estate buddy, meeting with Putin. You can see how much Witkoff loves Putin. Play this clip. And as our friend Olga Lautman says, Russia puts out the first photo of Witkoff strolling in the park with Krill. Dimitri the most bizarre part, Russia media, it's not really that bizarre when you think about it. The Russian propaganda machine, whenever Witkoff comes in town, it's like a humiliation ritual for the United States. And that's how they frame it on state regime media in Russia. Look, here comes Witkoff. Here he lands. They, they cover it like, like a car chase in Los Angeles or I try to like, like a, they cover it like, here comes the US Humiliation ritual. Here it comes. And then they basically mock Donald Trump and they'll maybe show nudes of Melania on tv, which is one of the things they do to mock Donald Trump. So that's what world leaders feel about Donald Trump. Utterly pathetic. Utterly pathetic. We'll keep you posted every way. And you see the world moving, saying bye bye, moving away from Trump in the United States, we see these other alliances forming. And Donald Trump taco once again, always chickening out. Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Can't get enough Midas. Check out the Midas+ substack for ad. Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free free now@midasplus.com.
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The MeidasTouch Podcast Summary
Episode: Furious World Leaders Strike Back at Trump for Surrender
Release Date: August 7, 2025
In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas delve into the escalating tensions between former President Donald Trump and global leaders. The discussion centers on Trump's controversial attempts to mediate the Ukraine-Russia conflict through his associate, Steve Witkoff, and the resulting backlash from international allies. Combining sharp political analysis with their signature brotherly banter, the Meiselas brothers provide a comprehensive overview of the geopolitical shifts and the ramifications of Trump's actions on global democracy.
The episode opens with a detailed analysis of the growing frustration among world leaders towards Trump's policies and his handling of international relations.
Trade Realignments: The podcast highlights how countries like Japan and Brazil are reconsidering their trade partnerships. "Japan and Brazil, both fed up with the United States, are looking to begin trading beef with each other for the first time in history," (00:29).
Canada's Independence: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed a desire to reduce reliance on the U.S., stating, "We're going to speak to Donald when it makes sense. We're on our own schedule. Canada strong," (00:29).
India's Shift Towards China: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contemplating a visit to China amidst failing trade negotiations with the Trump administration. The podcast mentions Trump's favoritism towards Pakistan, which has strained relations with India. "Prime Minister Modi of India is looking to visit China to meet with Xi Jinping in the fallout of the trade negotiations with the Trump regime," (00:29).
Australia's Defense Purchases: Australia is opting to purchase warships from Japan instead of the United States, signaling a move away from traditional U.S. alliances. "Australia now choosing Japan for warships even though it costs more than the United States," (00:29).
European Military Support: French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that France will supply its own weaponry to Ukraine instead of relying on U.S. support. "President Emmanuel Macron saying, no, you know, we're not going to buy weapons from the United States to ship to Ukraine," (00:29).
These developments underscore a significant realignment in global alliances, driven by dissatisfaction with Trump's leadership and policies.
A significant portion of the episode scrutinizes Trump's latest endeavors to influence the Ukraine-Russia conflict through his real estate associate, Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff's Meeting with Putin: Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, a move criticized for lack of diplomatic experience. "Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump's real estate buddy from back in the day, who has no foreign policy experience at all, ... he went back to Putin to put his hand on his heart and say, Mr. Putin, it is so great to see you," (00:29).
Trump's Social Media Statements: Following the meeting, Trump lauded Witkoff's "highly productive" discussions, claiming progress towards ending the war. "Great progress was made, Donald Trump said," (00:29).
Lack of Concrete Outcomes: Experts and political commentators express skepticism about the effectiveness of this unconventional mediation. "Alexander Jokic wrote, the only question on the Witkoff Putin meeting is will Trump accept another performative partial ceasefire offer from Putin or not?" (10:01).
European Allies' Response: Trump held a conference call with European leaders, asserting his sole responsibility in brokering peace, which was met with disappointment and skepticism. "Donald Trump talking about a meeting with Putin one on one, which would elevate Putin so unnecessarily ... European leaders expressed ... skepticism," (10:07).
The podcast highlights the frustrations European allies feel towards Trump's unilateral approach to the Ukraine crisis.
Marco Rubio's Insights: Senator Rubio discusses the complexities of negotiating peace, emphasizing the need for both Russian and Ukrainian concessions. "I think what I can say is everybody wants the war to end ... But there's a lot of work to do," (12:44).
Historical Context: Reflecting on earlier statements, Rubio recalls Trump's unrealistic promises, such as ending the war in 24 hours, which have proven unfeasible. "I'm not gonna tell you what the framework says ... we have to see how far apart it is and whether those differences can even be narrowed," (15:08).
European Media Perspective: Russian media portrays Witkoff's meetings as a U.S. humiliation ritual, further straining international relations. "Look, here comes Witkoff ... They kind of mock Donald Trump and they'll maybe show nudes of Melania on TV," (15:54).
These sentiments reflect a broader disappointment with Trump's inability to foster effective international cooperation and his propensity for unpredictable actions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly addressed Trump's involvement, emphasizing Ukraine's unwavering stance against Russian aggression.
Zelensky's Social Media Post: "On my way to our brigades here in the Sumi region, I spoke with Trump. ... Ukraine will definitely defend its independence," (06:41). He underscores gratitude towards European support while rejecting reliance on Trump's mediation.
Hidden Messages: The hosts interpret Zelensky's message as a clear directive to Trump to respect Ukraine's autonomy. "Zelensky, don't frickin tread on us," (06:41).
Zelensky's comments highlight Ukraine's commitment to self-defense and skepticism towards Trump's unconventional diplomacy.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that his promises to end conflicts swiftly were made in jest, a tactic that the podcast criticizes as misleading.
Sarcastic Claims: When questioned about ending the Ukraine war in 24 hours, Trump asserted it was sarcasm. "Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that I would ... I'd like to get it settled," (10:01).
Consistent Inconsistencies: During a NATO conference, Trump reiterated his sarcastic stance on quickly resolving conflicts. "Of course it was sarcastic," (10:24).
Reporter Confrontation: A reporter pressed Trump on his unfulfilled promises, to which Trump deflected by questioning Zelensky’s role. "Trump always chickens out," (11:54).
These remarks demonstrate Trump's pattern of making grandiose promises without substantiating them, undermining his credibility on the international stage.
The episode concludes with a somber assessment of Trump's diminishing influence and the realignment of global alliances away from the United States.
Global Realignment: The shift towards alternative alliances signals a weakening of U.S. dominance, exacerbated by Trump's erratic behavior. "We see the world moving, saying bye bye, moving away from Trump in the United States," (17:43).
Future Implications: The podcast warns of continued instability as Trump’s actions may embolden other authoritarian leaders and disrupt established democratic partnerships. "As Jane Keefe rightly points out, Putin's only goal now is to get Trump to force Zelinsky to stop destroying Russia's oil infrastructure," (06:41).
The Meiselas brothers emphasize the critical need for stable and reliable leadership to support democratic values and maintain global peace.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: "We're going to speak to Donald when it makes sense. We're on our own schedule. Canada strong." (00:29)
Donald Trump: "Great progress was made," regarding Witkoff's meeting with Putin. (00:29)
Marco Rubio: "Everybody wants the war to end. I think today was a good day. But there's a lot of work to do." (12:44)
Volodymyr Zelensky: "Ukraine will definitely defend its independence." (06:41)
Donald Trump: "What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled." (10:01)
The MeidasTouch Podcast episode provides a thorough examination of the strained relationships between the U.S. under Trump's influence and its traditional allies. By dissecting Trump's mediation efforts and the resulting geopolitical shifts, the hosts underscore the challenges facing global democracy and the imperative for cohesive and principled leadership on the world stage.
For more in-depth analysis and updates, subscribe to the MeidasPlus Substack and follow The MeidasTouch Podcast on YouTube.