Maga Podcasters Turn Against Trump as Approval Plummets

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast – “MAGA Podcasters Turn Against Trump as Approval Plummets”

Release Date: January 26, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (MeidasTouch Network)
Theme & Purpose:
This episode dives into the surprising shift among major right-wing/MAGA-aligned podcasters — including Joe Rogan, Theo Vaughn, Andrew Schulz, and Tim Dillon — as they openly criticize the Trump administration’s increasingly brutal ICE operations and apparent authoritarianism. The MeidasTouch brothers analyze why these pivots are happening, spotlight memorable statements from both “awakened” podcasters and guests like Bernie Sanders, and argue for unwavering, principle-driven support of democracy.

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Main Topics & Key Insights

1. Introduction: Right-Wing Podcasters Regret Their Choices

• The episode opens with the MeidasTouch hosts noting that several prominent MAGA or right-wing podcasters are publicly expressing regret or concern over their past support of right-wing oligarchs and Trumpist policies.
  • Ben Meiselas: “You know these MAGA podcasters who sold out their audience to shill for right wing oligarchs. Now they're deeply regretting it.” [00:00]
• The hosts distinguish between levels of complicity and betrayal, with Joe Rogan pointed out as “the most MAGA of them all, the deepest betrayal.”

2. Joe Rogan and Tim Dillon Discuss Epstein Files & ICE

• Clip Played: Joe Rogan and Tim Dillon react to the incomplete, redacted releases related to the Epstein files and pivot to criticizing ICE’s overreach.
  • Rogan: “What did they release? … It's weird. The whole thing's weird.” [01:21]
  • Dillon: “It reminds me of that Onion article where they're like, oh, CIA realizes they've been using a black highlighter… You just blacked out pages, redacted the shit out of everything.” [01:26]
  • Both agree that media distraction is possibly intentional: Rogan: “That's on purpose. Oh, 100%." [02:00]

3. Andrew Schulz & the ICE Masking Outrage

• The hosts highlight Andrew Schulz’s sudden discomfort with ICE agents operating anonymously and using intimidating tactics.
  • Schulz (paraphrased): Concerned that ICE agents are “terrorizing and torturing communities like terrorists, like the Gestapo, like the SS.” [02:07, summarized by the MeidasTouch host]
• The MeidasTouch team sharply points out the hypocrisy—these podcasters once branded themselves as “Don’t Tread on Me” anti-authoritarians but now confront the real outcome of Trumpian authoritarianism.

4. Bernie Sanders Schools Theo Vaughn on Authoritarianism

• Clip: Bernie Sanders appears on Theo Vaughn’s podcast, detailing ICE’s transformation into a “domestic military operation.”
  • Sanders: “What Trump is using ICE for now is a domestic military operation, and it's part of this intimidation… This is what Trumpism is about. It's intimidation.” [03:55]
  • Sanders: “Do we want guys with masks around their face dragging people out of their apartments, out of their cars? You know, I don't think so. I don't think that's what the American people want.” [04:41]
  • Theo Vaughn agrees: “I agree, Bernie. I agree. Trump has authoritarian energy.” [03:50, summarized]
  • Tim Dillon: “We see things more now … before you would just hear about it … now the visual effect makes you feel.” [05:09]

5. Joe Rogan Admits ICE Atrocities

• Rogan bluntly acknowledges the extremity of ICE abuse:
  • “But then it's also like, yeah, what ICE is doing, like fucking shooting that lady. Seems kind of crazy, you know, like grabbing people that happen to be American citizens and dragging them out onto the snow and asking them for their papers. That seems kind of crazy, too.” [05:56]

6. Bernie Sanders on AI & the Super-Rich (on Theo Vaughn)

• Sanders shifts to discuss wealth inequality and the role of AI:
  • “It is being pushed by the wealthiest people in the world who, in my view, could care less about ordinary people… Who is AI and robotics going to work for? Does it work to improve human life or does it work to make the billionaires even richer?” [07:49]

7. Tim Dillon: From Denial to Outrage Over ICE Raids

• Tim Dillon, who straddles the MAGA and anti-establishment lines, now openly condemns the “clumsy, insane, over the top deportations.”
  • Dillon: “It’s unserious, it’s childish, it’s cruel… the only thing left now is performative cruelty.” [09:39]
  • On ICE raids: “Some of these ICE raids are so barbaric and they're so crazy. … A grandmother gets handcuffed and zip tied and thrown into a car by a bunch of masked psychopaths … not only is that wrong…” [10:42]
  • On CBS and Bari Weiss: “Barry Weiss… running that news company into the ground at a pace and a rate that even surprises me. … It's unbelievable.” [10:01]

8. Rogan: The Reality of ICE Deportations

• Rogan illustrates the real-life cost of ICE policies:
  • “They took this guy who had been brought over here when he was a baby, but didn't have American citizenship…they deport him, send them to Tijuana, can't speak Spanish…He is essentially an American citizen…He just doesn't have the paperwork. He's not a criminal. They sent him over to Tijuana and now he has to live in Mexico. He doesn't know what the fuck to do.” [11:16]

9. Tim Dillon on ICE “Cops” and Use of Force

• Dillon: “I don't believe the cop was justified in shooting her three times in the face, by the way… These are not well trained law enforcement people in ICE right now. … This is people in their third grade report card, the teacher wrote that has violent tendencies.” [12:34]

10. MeidasTouch Reflection: Unwavering Principle vs. Performative Outrage

• The hosts close by contrasting their own values with the wavering, late-in-the-game epiphanies of right-wing podcasters.
  • “Yeah, I mean, they're all having this awakening now. … Maybe it's because the Meidas Touch Network is the number one podcast in the country right now because we've stood on our values and principles. … We're fighting for the people. … Maybe that's why. Maybe that's where the people are.” [13:54]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Ben Meiselas (on Rogan): “I'm not the freaking left's Joe Rogan. I would never want to be anything like this guy at all. I just want to be the Midas Touch podcast that stands up for humanity…” [00:34]
• Joe Rogan: “But then it's also like, yeah, what ICE is doing, like fucking shooting that lady. Seems kind of crazy, you know, like grabbing people that happen to be American citizens and dragging them out onto the snow and asking them for their papers. That seems kind of crazy, too.” [05:56]
• Bernie Sanders: “What Trump is using ICE for now is a domestic military operation, and it's part of this intimidation. … This is what Trumpism is about. It's intimidation…” [03:55]
• Bernie Sanders: “Who is AI and robotics going to work for? Does it work to improve human life or does it work to make the billionaires even richer?” [08:37]
• Tim Dillon: “It is unserious. It's childish. It's cruel. … The only thing left now is performative cruelty.” [09:39]
• Tim Dillon: “Some of these ICE raids are so barbaric and they're so crazy. … A grandmother gets handcuffed and zip tied and thrown into a car by a bunch of masked psychopaths…” [10:42]
• Joe Rogan: “He doesn't know what the fuck to do. He's on the streets. There's no idea. It doesn't have any money.” [11:16]
• Tim Dillon: “I just think it's ridiculous so that they did that and they, you know, the guy. These are. These are not well trained law enforcement people in ice right now. We are taking people that did backyard wrestling. … This is people in their third grade report card, the teacher wrote that has violent tendencies.” [12:34]

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Segment Timestamps

• Opening monologue on MAGA podcasters' regrets: [00:00–01:15]
• Joe Rogan/Tim Dillon on Epstein files distraction: [01:16–02:00]
• Discussion of ICE tactics, Andrew Schulz critique: [02:07–03:20]
• Bernie Sanders on ICE as Trump’s ‘domestic army’: [03:55–05:12]
• Joe Rogan on ICE’s violence and civil rights abuse: [05:56–06:11]
• Sanders on AI and corporate power: [07:49–08:51]
• Tim Dillon on cruel ICE deportations and media capitulation: [09:06–11:11]
• Rogan on real human cost of deportations: [11:16–12:27]
• Dillon on ICE training and use of force: [12:34–13:54]
• MeidasTouch closing on principle and support of democracy: [13:54–14:31]

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Tone & Style

• Analysis laced with sarcasm and brotherly banter; MeidasTouch hosts blend earnest social critique with cutting, comedic commentary.
• Podcaster quotes keep their natural, conversational, and sometimes expletive-heavy style.
• Repeated theme: Former MAGA podcasters’ new outrage is “too little, too late” compared to the MeidasTouch’s committed pro-democracy stance.

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Conclusion

The episode is a powerful dissection of how MAGA-aligned personalities are now backing away from previously supported authoritarian conduct — especially as ICE’s actions and Trump-era policies become indefensible — while highlighting the importance of values, consistency, and truth in media. The MeidasTouch brothers frame their own steadfastness as a lesson in holding the line against creeping authoritarianism.

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For listeners:
This summary highlights the pivotal moments and notable shifts discussed in the episode, providing an accessible overview for those interested in the current media landscape, the dynamics within the right-wing commentary ecosystem, and the continued fight for democratic values.

Transcript

[Midas Touch Host]

You know these MAGA podcasters who sold out their audience to shill for right wing oligarchs. Now they're deeply regretting it. You have Joe Rogan and Theo Vaughn and what's that guy Scholes and others who were saying, actually, what ICE is doing is really bad. Actually, Donald Trump is covering up the Epstein files on Theo Vaughn. They had Bernie Seed, Bernie Sanders as a guest this past week. I just want to show you as these MAGA Republican podcasters are admitting that they made the worst mistake of their lives. Now, some of these podcasters are worse than others, so I'll try to draw a distinction when possible. But first I'll show you the most MAGA of them all, the deepest betrayal of them all. I think to his listeners, Joe Rogan. It's always interesting to me because I'm always being told, you're like the left Joe Rogan. I'm like, I'm not the freaking left's Joe Rogan. I would never want to be anything like this guy at all. I just want to be the Midas Touch podcast that stands up for humanity, that fights for empathy, that wants to restore democracy and freedom. It's just that simple to me. But anyway, here's Joe Rogan this past week talking about the Epstein files here. Let's play this clip.

[Joe Rogan]

Well, it's going to go on for a long time, I suspect. I mean, they said they released them, but what did they release?

[Tim Dillon]

No, they're still not all out yet.

[Joe Rogan]

What do they release? Yeah, like, it's weird. The whole thing's weird.

[Tim Dillon]

It reminds me. It reminds me of that Onion article where they're like, oh, CIA realizes they've been using a black highlighter this entire time. Like, it's like that. It's like, oh, okay, you just blacked out pages, redacted the shit out of everything. Yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

It's like, what did they release? Did they release something recently?

[Tim Dillon]

No, they haven't released anything in a minute. They had that initial release where everything was blacked out and it was that picture of Winnie the Pooh, which is hilarious.

[Joe Rogan]

But isn't there talk about some new releases that are happening soon?

[Tim Dillon]

Have they? It feels like everything's been drowned out by everything else. Been going on with like Somali, the Somalians and the ICE shooting.

[Joe Rogan]

It feels like that's completely drowned out anything about it. I think some that's on purpose. Oh, 100%.

[Midas Touch Host]

And then you had Andrew Scholes this past week saying that he doesn't like how ICE is covering up their face. He's like, they got the sheistion. It's insane what these ICE officers are doing in the streets. They're terrorizing and torturing people, Andrew. They are terrorizing and torturing communities like terrorists, like the Gestapo, like the ss. And sadly, what you were doing before as a podcaster enabled this to happen. Weren't you all supposed to be like, the Don't Tread on Me crowd? This Trump regime is exactly like authoritarian regimes across the globe. Whether it's Putin or Kim Jong Un or Saudi Arabia or the Ayatollah in Iran, Trump is like them. Play this clip of shows. Let's play it. This is why all people need their names on their badges. Because now you're getting people mixed up in the crosshairs.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Talk to me.

[Joe Rogan]

Because if they're like, I don't know.

[Tim Dillon]

Apparently, like, they're not named. Like, apparently they don't have, like, yeah, they got the.

[Joe Rogan]

The sheisties on.

[Midas Touch Host]

Exactly.

[Tim Dillon]

It's insane. Yeah, Right?

[Joe Rogan]

It is insane.

[Midas Touch Host]

Yeah.

[Bernie Sanders]

Yeah.

[Joe Rogan]

It's a tough.

[Tim Dillon]

And I think that, like, because we don't see it in New York, like, we're, like, somewhat detached from New Yorkers. Would not be going with this at all.

[Midas Touch Host]

Then they fight that happening 20th Canal.

[Tim Dillon]

And we weren't with that shit. And we were on Canal. It's fine. But they wouldn't be fine with that happen.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

We got to clean some stuff up.

[Tim Dillon]

That's how this works.

[Midas Touch Host]

And then you, Senator Bernie Sanders on the Theo Vaughn podcast, and Senator Sanders, let's listen to what he had to say. And Theo Vaughn's like, I agree, Bernie. I agree. Trump has authoritarian energy. Authoritarian energy, Theo, you're almost there. Authority. He is an authoritarian period. Here, play this clip.

[Bernie Sanders]

What Trump is using ICE for now is a domestic military operation, and it's part of this intimidation. And if you stand up and that woman in Minnesota. Good. Is her name. Yeah.

[Tim Dillon]

Renee Goode.

[Bernie Sanders]

Renee Goode. All right. I saw that video. You don't shoot somebody in the head who is in that car. And I think it's Trump saying, I have the power. And we got domestic army. It's called ice. And we're gonna go out there and we're gonna arrest and we're gonna intimidate. And part of that. This is what Trumpism is about. It's intimidation. All right, you're in the media, you're cbs. You say something, I'm going to sue you. You know, Theo, you say something I don't like, I may sue you. You know, in. I don't like Venezuela. I'M going to, you know, send in the troops. I got the power and I'm going to use it. That scares me because that's what authoritarianism is about. So do we. Should we deal with immigration through comprehensive reform? Absolutely. I think that's what the American people want. Do we want guys with masks around their face dragging people out of their apartments, out of their cars? You know, I don't think so. I don't think that's what the American people want. Yeah, More and more resentment to that.

[Tim Dillon]

So. And we're in a tough spot too, because we see things more now.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Right?

[Bernie Sanders]

We see all of it. We see it.

[Tim Dillon]

So before you would just hear about it, you would knew it was a plan. You didn't have the visual effect of it and how the visual effect makes you feel.

[Bernie Sanders]

Cell phones have revolution politics and that's. Everybody got a cell phone can take off.

[Tim Dillon]

And I think there's. That's one of the side effects, like, to like, I agree, like, Trump has an authoritarian energy.

[Midas Touch Host]

Right back to Joe Rogan here who says, you know what ICE is doing? They're like effing shooting a lady. It seems like kind of crazy, man. Yeah, Murders crazy Joe Rogan. We understand that. Terrorizing communities is crazy Joe Rogan. Sending people to concentration camp. Yeah, man, it's kind of crazy, dude. Kidnapping five year olds and two year olds. Yeah, man, that's kind of a little bit crazy. Listen to what Rogan says here, play this clip.

[Joe Rogan]

But then it's also like, yeah, what ICE is doing, like, fucking shooting that lady. Seems kind of crazy, you know, like grabbing people that happen to be American citizens and dragging them out onto the snow and ask them for their papers. That seems kind of crazy, too.

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[Midas Touch Host]

I want to show you one more clip of Bernie Sanders on Theo Vaughn. Let's play this CL here.

[Bernie Sanders]

This stuff is moving very, very quickly. It is being pushed by the wealthiest people in the world who, in my view, could care less about ordinary people who want more wealth and more power. Now, they deny all that stuff. That's my view. I think we got to slow it down and ask the question that you asked. All right. If AI can and it can do some good medical diagnoses, do some good blood testing, it's not a good thing. It is a good thing if you're working in a crap job in a factory. Right. You know, and I can increase worker productivity. So you could work 20 hours a week rather than 40 hours a week. Is that a good thing? I think it is, etc. Etc. Right.

[Tim Dillon]

If the company then shares some of the profits that the company is making with the work with the workers.

[Bernie Sanders]

So that's the issue. It's a very simple proposition. Who is AI and robotics going to work for? Does it work to improve human life or does it work to make the billionaires even richer? That's the question that we've got to focus on.

[Midas Touch Host]

Yeah. You know, now someone who's more of a right wing podcaster, I would say he's less MAGA and more right wing. But here's Tim Dillon. And Tim Dillon said, you know, these are clumsy, insane, over the top deportations.

[Tim Dillon]

Play this clip when you have this clumsy, you know, kind of somewhat insane over the top deportations, people are looking at this and going, you know, and this is. What do they use? The Sabrina Carpenter song? Yeah, play this. Let's see.

[Midas Touch Host]

Have you ever tried this one? Have you ever tried this one? Have you ever tried this one?

[Tim Dillon]

It's unserious. It's Unserious, it's childish, it's cruel. I think one of the problems with whatever the MAGA movement is evolved into is it's duped their hardcore followers so much that the only thing left now is performative cruelty.

[Midas Touch Host]

And Tim Dillon went after Bari Weiss and CBS for their total capitulation. Play this clip now.

[Tim Dillon]

Barry Weiss, friend of the show, is the editor in chief of CBS News. And Barry is running that news company into the ground at a pace and a rate that even surprises me. I'm even shocked. It is a 1990s slapstick comedy. How Bari Weiss is failing over there, by the way. It's unbelievable.

[Midas Touch Host]

And then Tim Dillon talked about how these ICE raids are so bad and so crazy. Listen to what he has to say here. Let's play this one.

[Tim Dillon]

And some of these ICE raids are so barbaric and they're so crazy. And these like 19 year old college students are being deported to Honduras and they've lived there their whole life. Again, it's wrong on its face, like it shouldn't be happening in the chaotic, insane way that it's happening. It's, you know, when you look at someone, a grandmother, get handcuffed and zip tied and thrown into a car by a bunch of masked psychopaths, not only.

[Midas Touch Host]

Is that wrong, and more right here on Joe Rogan saying the quiet part out loud. Let me play this clip.

[Joe Rogan]

Then they start showing up at Home Depot. Instead of like looking for gang bangers, looking for criminals and cartel members, they go to whatever's easiest pickings so they can get numbers up. There's. Do you know Ed Calderon? Do you know who he is? He's, he worked, he was a Mexican military guy who now is an American citizen. But he reports extensively on the cartels and just was telling me some horror stories about ICE raids. And one of them was they took this guy who had been brought over here when he was a baby, but didn't have American citizenship. His family, you know, came over here illegally, lived here for 20 years, can't speak Spanish, they deport him, send them to Tijuana, can't speak Spanish, can't speak Spanish, does not speak Spanish. He is essentially an American citizen. He just never lived anywhere else. He just doesn't have the paperwork. He's not a criminal. They sent him over to Tijuana and now he has to live in Mexico. He doesn't know what the fuck to do. He's on the streets. There's no idea. It doesn't have any money.

[Midas Touch Host]

And then finally, let me show One more clip of Tim Dillon saying, I don't believe the cop was justified in doing the shooting. Here, play this clip.

[Tim Dillon]

I don't believe the cop was justified in shooting her three times in the face, by the way. I've always believed this, and this is something that I've caught heat for, but I've literally believed it since I'm a kid. I don't believe you should ever shoot someone in the face more than once. I've. No, seriously. I think. I just think it's ridiculous so that they did that and they, you know, the guy. These are. These are not well trained law enforcement people in ice right now. We are taking people that did backyard wrestling. I mean, we are. The people that are in ice right now are. I mean, this is your cousin who, like, was in backyard wrestling. Like, this is tough. This is not the cream of the crop. You know, the guys who kidnapped Maduro, like Delta Force, Navy SEALs. This is not them. This is not the Delta Force Navy SEAL people. This is people that, like, had. This is people in their third grade report card, the teacher wrote that has violent tendencies. You know, I mean, this is not. It just is what it is.

[Midas Touch Host]

Yeah, I mean, they're all having this awakening now. I mean, maybe it's because the Midas Touch Network is the number one podcast in the country right now because we've stood on our values and principles. We didn't waver in our values and our principles. We're fighting for the people. We're fighting for the general strike that took place in Minnesota. We're standing on behalf of democracy. Maybe that's why. Maybe that's where the people are. And maybe you shouldn't betray the people. Anyway, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Let's subscribe to our audio podcast as well. And thanks so much for watching. Love this video. Support independent media and unlock exclusive content.

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[Tim Dillon]

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[Bernie Sanders]

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