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A PSA from instacart. It's Sunday 5pm you had a non stop weekend. You're running on empty and so is your fridge.
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You're in the trenches of the Sunday scaries.
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You don't have it in you to go to the store, but this is your reminder. You don't have to. You can get everything you need delivered through Instacart so that you can get what you really need. More time to do whatever you want.
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Instacart for one less Sunday.
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Scary one.
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We're here.
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The American people are not buying what Donald Trump is selling. Or I should say the American people are off that Donald Trump has taken us in the direction of a devastating shutdown. And it seems that Donald Trump is enjoying this. He is giddy with causing pain to the American people. And if you just take a look at the graph that we just showed there on the YouTube channel, we what you will see right there is a new Washington Post flash poll showing that of 1010 people who were asked by Washington poll, who do you blame? 17% more people are blaming Republicans and Donald Trump. Also 71% of Americans are saying that federal health insurance subsidies should be extended because this is an issue that actually impacts American people's lives. And the Donald Trump's out there posting that. Russ Vogt, who was the Author of Project 2025 is just looking forward to harming and inflicting pain on the American people. Remember back in 2024 when Donald Trump said that he knew nothing about Project 2025, wasn't sure about it, no clue what it was at all. Well now we have Donald Trump saying I have a meeting today with Russ Vogt, he of Project 2025 fame, to determine which of the many Democrat agencies, most of which are political scams, he recommends to be cut and whether or not those cuts will temporary or be permanent. I can't believe the radical left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people. So maybe this is their way of wanting to quietly and quickly make America Great again. DJT Remember back in 2024 Donald Trump said I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who's behind it. I disagree with some of the things that they're saying and some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them. Well, we were telling you back then that Donald Trump is lying and former Vice President Kamala Harris was telling you back then that Donald Trump was lying. I Don't know how many times did the Midas touch network back in 2024 in get fact checked by so called corporate news fact checkers saying that that's not what Donald Trump said. Or how many times was former Vice President Kamala Harris fact check or this was from USA Today. Harris repeats the claim that Project 2025 is Trump's plan. That's still not right. Why? Because Donald Trump posted it. It was obvious that Russ Vote was behind the scenes pushing what the Trump fascist agenda was going to be. And you remember all when we would see former Vice President Kamala Harris give interviews with with corporate news and they would like press her and they'd be like why are you saying that Donald Trump wants to implement Project 2025? He never said that. Remember this interview? I could show you dozens. I'll just show you one of former Vice President Kamala Harris. Let's play this one.
A
Just read Project 2025. The former president said that's not true.
B
He would says everything.
A
Come on. Are we really taking his word for it?
B
Let's bring in Brett and Jordy. We've got a lot to discuss, brothers, in this episode of the Midas Dutch podcast. But one thing that I am actually feeling very energized about is I think that Democrats in the House and Senate are really beginning to fight back. I think there were two exclusive interviews today on the Midas Dutch network where I think people saw a different side of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries who challenged Donald Trump. JD, Vance maga, Mike Johnson, Senator Thune said, show up, show up, show up or shut up. Let's do this in front of the press. Let's do this in public on Capitol Hill. I'm ready to go. I'm waiting. Show up here. We're doing this in front of the cameras. And Jeffries looked at the camera and told the American people, we're not caving, we're fighting back. This is about your health care. And then in my interview with the Democratic ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, Congressmember Garcia, he was talking about a point that I think has been so underlooked or framed incorrectly and I think he just nailed it, which is where is the $17 trillion that Donald Trump claims that he brought in with tariffs that he keeps on a so called tariff shelf. Now we could all say, and probably rightfully so, this is just Trump, he's a liar. It's ludicrous. Of course he didn't bring in 17 trillion. Sure you have a good argument there. And I'm sure that's the accurate thing. But also, if there was $17 trillion, then show me the money. Why are we in a government shutdown? Why are we even talking about you cutting Affordable Care act subsidies that tens of millions of Americans rely on? If we have all of this money, we'll talk about that and more. Brett and Jordy, how are you?
A
I could feel that you're energized, Ben. I could feel the energy. I'm. I'm getting energized just watching you go. No, I'm, I'm doing good. It's great to see everybody. Great to see you, Ben. Great to see you, Jordy. Great to see you. Midas Mighty. Thank you for everybody watching here on YouTube. Thank you to everybody listening on platforms like Apple podcasts and Spotify. Make sure you check the podcast out over there right now if you haven't yet. It's about time the Democrats flip the script on the Republicans. And this shutdown has given them a very opportune time to do so. Because the Republicans are so obviously leading with cruelty in this moment. They do not have the facts on their side. Democrats have decided to take this targeted stand to try to protect these Affordable Care act subsidies. Subsidies that already exist that are going to expire, if they expire, will absolutely cripple Americans bank accounts, cause a lot of people to be thrown off their health coverage. This is the kind of thing that the American people want to see Democrats fighting for. And so it's, it's good to actually see them stepping up. You see the Republicans in real time doing what they always do, Lie. Gaslight. Try to tell people that this is about in the trans or illegal immigrants or whatever they want to throw at them. It's just not true. I mean, these are just fundamentally false statements. And so I'm glad to see them finally getting called out for this. And it's why I think it's so genius. And we'll show some of the clips from been great, great exclusive interviews today with Jeffries and with Representative Garcia. But them saying, okay, let's do this in front of the American people. No more lying. Say it to not only my face, say it to the faces of the American public. Because when they're behind closed doors, these politicians like Donald Trump and J.D. vance and Thune and Mike Johnson, they don't talk about the same things that they bring up in public. They don't talk about illegal immigrants. They don't talk about all this stuff because they know that they are lying. They know that they are completely Full of shit. And they don't have moral ground to stand on. Not only that, but we're also seeing these Republicans right now politicizing government agencies in ways that just feel so incredibly illegal. Turning government websites into propaganda arms of maga, spreading the same propaganda on there, literally taking over the email accounts of government employees, changing their out of office emails to blame it on Democrats. The shutdown, I mean this is really evil stuff that we are seeing. It's desperate. But despite all of that, and I want people to take this away, despite that massive propaganda machine that they have amassed, despite the billions of dollars that someone like Elon Musk has poured into Twitter to turn it into X, the American people still see through it according to these latest polls. We're going to dig into that and more first. You know, I always got to check in with Jordy and see how he's doing. Jordy, what's going on, little bro?
D
You know, I'm doing great. I'm just, I'm thrilled to get into today's show. So with that, Benji, where are we leading off today?
B
Well, you had MAGA Republican Senator Mike Lee. He talked about how Russ Vogt, the Author of Project 2025 and the Director of Office and Management Budget, who Donald Trump talked about in that post, how excited Russ Vote was to start harming. It's an opportunity to go after Democratic cities and Democrat agencies as Donald Trump refers to it. Well, MAGA Republican Senator Mike Lee says that Russ Vogt had been waiting for this moment since puberty. He uses the word puberty. Well, first off, like what adult uses the word puberty? Like I can't even think of the time where I've said the word puberty before other than maybe when I was like a teenager going through puberty. But like first up, what a weird creepy word to say. Yeah, that's some weird shit. Come on, read some weird, weird stuff. But, but, but, but it's deeper and darker that they're happy. I guess that means they're happy about this. I, I guess that's what the play the clip. But this is what they're doing.
D
They're doing it deliberately. It's going to harm them because Russ Vote, the OMB director has been dreaming about this moment, preparing this moment since puberty. Russ Vote has a plan and that.
B
Plan is going to succeed in empowering further empowering Trump.
D
This is going to be the Democrats worst nightmare. So, and it's of their own making.
B
It's going to be their worst nightmare.
A
They really, they get off on this Stuff. It's bizarre. Like, they get off. And I mean like, sexually, weirdly. Like, they get off on firing people, on harming the American people. The whole thing is masochistic, sadistic, you name it. It's like you see these freaking incel creeps like Mike Lee over there and Russ Vaught, who clearly have all their mommy and daddy issues that are all pent up and they're taking out that rage on the American people. It's the craziest thing to witness. Tim Walls was right when he called him weird. We should all be still calling him weird every single day. These are some weird, deranged, evil people we are seeing.
D
The audio of that clip was weird and creepy, but just for our audio listeners, like, the video of it makes it 10 times more cre I.
A
He looks like a creep, too. Yeah.
B
When he said the word puberty, his eyes, like, lit up. I'm like, okay, let's. Enough, enough about that. I'm going to show you. I want to show you, obviously, Maga, Mike, J.D. like, they're lying. But, but let's, let's. I actually, when Democrats are fighting, finally, I want to highlight that. Okay? Like, that's what I want to highlight. So we have Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries exclusively on the Midas Touch network. Earlier today, I asked him point blank, I said, I saw this clip of JD Vance and he was like, well, I'm willing to show up on Capitol Hill and negotiate, which you know, they're not gonna do because MAGA Mike Johnson ordered the House Republicans not to show up. Donald Trump told Republicans, don't even talk to Democrats yet alone negotiate with Democrats. Remember, what was it a week and a half ago? An official statement from the White House was gonna fuck yourself. Was the actual quote. I'm not like paraphrasing. That's what they said about Democrats wanting to negotiate to protect Affordable Care act subsidies, which are about to expire and make tens of millions of Americans either go bankrupt or lose their health care or both. So here's what Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffrey said. He goes, meet me anytime, any place. I'm ready to meet tomorrow. Or if you're watching this and listening to an audio on Friday, let's do it in front of the cameras. Let's do this transparently, not what Donald Trump tried to do at the White House. Let's do this in front of the cameras. Yes, finally. This is what I've been fricking waiting for in the House. Let's play it. I want to just ask you Directly tomorrow would be Friday, October 3rd. Today we're recording this October 2nd of 2025. Are you willing to meet with Vice President J.D. vance, Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Thune in public before the press at the Capitol building tomorrow? Are you willing to tell him that right now in front of the world that you are ready, I know you were ready to do that before. You're ready to do it again in front of the press this time? Absolutely.
E
Anytime, any place. And we want to make sure that it's fully transparent. So we should absolutely do it in public so we can air out our positions. And they're hiding because they know their positions are indefensible. This is a Trump Republican shutdown. And it's part of what we've seen from them in terms of unleashing extremism from the very beginning of this presidency. This may be day two of the Trump shutdown. It's, I think, day 256 of the chaos that Donald Trump has unleashed on the American people.
B
So in response to that clip of J.D. vance that I just played, so there's no ambiguity out there Democratically, Leader Jeffries is saying to Donald Trump, to Senator Thune, to JD Vance, show up at the Capitol building today or tomorrow. We're going to do this in front of the press and let's address these issues in front of the American people like the American people want to hear. I guess we'll have to wait for their response. Leader Jeffries, but that's your position right now, correct?
E
That's my position. And we'll even let Mike Johnson into the meeting as well.
B
MAGA Mike Johnson, you're invited to the meeting as well. I don't know why I left MAGA Mike, out of all of the people when I was asking him that, but it was, it lent itself to a great answer right there. And here we have Democratic Leader Jeffries. This is making a ton of news right now. You may have seen it elsewhere, but it was exclusively broken on the Midas Touch Network. When I was asking Leader Jeffries like, so did the Trump regime, did Donald Trump, were they talking about these lies that they're spreading about the, you know, that these migrants are getting health care, the lies that they're spreading about transgender surgeries improve, like when you were in the White House, if that's a big concern, did they talk about that at all? Was that part of their discussions with you? He goes, they didn't even talk about it for 10 seconds because they know it's a lie. Then they go out and lie. Watch this part of my interview with Leader Jeffries.
E
Oh, what's interesting in that Oval Office meeting, it was the meeting lasted for over an hour. And the amount of time that we spent literally in talking about the issue of health insurance for undocumented immigrants was less than 10 seconds. You know why? Because they know it's a lie. So they didn't even bother to bring it up because the cameras weren't rolling. But they'll go out to their press conferences without us where we're not able to fact check them in real time and they'll continue to try to spout that lie. But the American people aren't buying it. They know this fight is about Medicaid. It's about their hospitals and nursing homes and community based health clinics. It's certainly about the Affordable Care Act.
B
So then I spoke with the Democratic wild, right? But remember when I spoke to California Governor Gavin Newsom right before Donald Trump was about to send in troops into Los Angeles? Remember what Governor Newsom told me? It's why it's helpful that we have this broader perspective, right? We speak to governors, we speak to Congress members, we speak to leaders, we speak to senators, we speak to council members, we speak to activists. Right. Governor Newsom told me same thing, that right before Donald Trump was sending these troops, when they spoke, Trump didn't want to talk about the troops. Trump kept talking about the Trump 2028 hats and the debate with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Do you like my hats? What did you think about the debate? What'd you think about? You like new scum? You like that? Those were the only topics that Donald Trump wanted to talk. And Governor Newsom was trying to bring the conversation back to reality and say, sir, we're trying to deal with this. And all he wanted to do was talk about Trump 2028 hats. It's like the same thing here. Now, speaking of another story we broke here at the Midas Touch Network, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, that means the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Robert Garcia, he's been crushing lately, right? He's been getting all those documents from the Epstein estate that we've been highlighting here on the Midas Touch Network. So I asked him a question. I said this should be a major issue of House oversight, should it not? That Donald Trump claims that he brought in $17 trillion, but apparently we're in a government shutdown because the government's run out of money. We're also hit a $2 trillion deficit for the past fiscal year. So if we hit a deficit, if last month we're at a deficit at 2 trillion, and let's say you brought in 17 trillion, doesn't that make a $15 trillion surplus? So why are we worried about even funding Affordable Care act subsidies? That should be pretty easy. In fact, if we really brought in $17 trillion, that means every American taxpayer could get back. You know, they talk about the Doge dividends or the tariff dividends or the Doge rebates, whatever the hell they were referring to those as, like, which never happened. You could give every American $53,000. Or if you want to just segment it by Americans who pay their taxes, who make less than $100,000, they could each get $153,000 dividend checks if we really brought in $17 trillion. Wow. But of course, it's all a lie. But watch how Democratic Congressmember Garcia addressed the question. This is how you fight. Go on the offense with your messaging. Here, play this clip. This is, I think, a serious oversight issue. $17 trillion is apparently missing right now, and we're in a government shutdown. Trump keeps saying he's got 17 trillion. Where did it go?
F
Who the hell knows? I mean, he. First of all, Donald Trump is living in a fantasy land. And if there is $17 trillion somewhere, the government doesn't know about it, none of our committees have access to it, treasury has no idea what the hell he's talking about. And so you're absolutely right. We're in a government shutdown right now. Donald Trump could actually reopen the government back up, extend healthcare subsidies, fix America's public schools, provide some subsidies to actually lower the cost of goods across this country. But we know that Donald Trump is a liar. He's either a liar or he stashed away some money somewhere in some magical way, and there's even more corruption happening. And so, look, the media needs to also get on the game here. Donald Trump is claiming there's $17 trillion somewhere. Why isn't he being asked the question of where that money is every single minute of the day? And so this man is the most corrupt person to obviously ever be president. He lies, he steals, he cheats. Now, there's apparently $17 trillion somewhere that nobody knows about. And so we've got to ask the questions. And I think that's at this moment, during the shutdown. The fact that Donald Trump wants to claim that things are getting better for the American public is a joke. Costs are going up, healthcare costs are going up, the grocery bill is going up. So that's why we're in this fight, because we are saying hell no to more tax cuts for billionaires and let's actually lower the cost of healthcare, which if we stay strong as Democrats, we can actually hopefully negotiate and get done.
B
So if there's $17 trillion though, you now have the money. What I saw was that we ran a $2 trillion deficit the last fiscal year, and last month we ran a 345 billion deficit, but actually we're in a surplus situation. And all of this gets the farmers right, construction work, manufacturer, everybody, like this could be a great opportunity. So I'm shocked that James Comer, your buddy who chairs the House Oversight Committee, doesn't he want to know where the $17 trillion is? Because it solves everything that. What else would oversight be doing other than oversight of 65% of our GDP?
F
Look, I mean, yeah, and it looks like if this keeps going, we're gonna have to investigate where the hell these $17 trillion are. No question, because this is ridiculous that Republicans are the hypocrisy. Right? I mean, Republicans are saying on one hand, oh, there's not enough money for healthcare subsidies, and then on the other hand, they are stashing away money, giving it to their billionaire friends, doing all these tax breaks, the increasing exponentially the national debt, so they could really care less about working people.
B
It's true. I mean, we see that Trump and Vote and Vance and Magna Mike, they're giddy, taking away billions of dollars that were earmarked for blue states and blue cities. They announced that they were taking $18 billion away for critical infrastructure projects in Manhattan. And they announced the whole list of other Democratic states, but states that the crazy thing, man.
A
Right? It's what I said on the last episode. I've never seen a president in my lifetime, maybe ever, who so callously was just a president for the people who voted for him and refuses to be a president for all Americans. And you're seeing that in the rhetoric of all the agencies in this Trump regime, how they are specifically targeting blue states and saying, we're going to take away not everyone's funding. We're going to take away your funding. And they made comments like, we're going to. We're going to get rid of jobs permanently. We're going to get rid of the Democrat jobs, is what they say. We're going to get rid of the Democrats jobs. They're going to look through and see who are Democrats in the government. And they're. Those are the people they're going to fire. It's just really like, vicious, vicious stuff that they are doing. And that's why I love the framing by Garcia there to say, okay, basically, put up or shut up. You keep making all these claims. You brought in $17 trillion. So either A, you're lying, or B, you stole the money. Which is it, Donald? It's got to be one or the other. And it's great to finally have somebody putting them on the defensive and saying, answer the question. What is it?
B
Because MAGA Republicans want to talk about what right now. They actually want to talk about, yes, migrants, transgender people. But they also want to talk about Donald Trump posting wacky memes of Hakeem Jeffries wearing sombreros. So we'll show a little bit later in this episode. You know, MAGA Mike's like, oh, I know all of you want to talk about the sombrero. And we know that Hakeem Jeffries is getting all up in a dizzy about this sombrero thing. But I tell him, you gotta chill. You gotta chill. Governor Newsom's posting photos of me of the minion. So this is what you just gotta deal with. You know, it's like one of those things where they, like, act like people are angry about Sydney Sweeney, you know, the jeans. It's like, no, I mean, it's immature. There's real serious issues setting that. The city suicide. No one cares about that. I mean, this sombrero post, it's weird, it's deranged. People are looking at it like, this is a serious moment. Why are you doing it? Is it racist? Yeah, but like, the whole thing is just weird and deranged. It's like, what do you act like a grown up? That's really the reaction. But like, no one's real. People are worried that their health care is going to go bye bye. That's what people are worried about right now. They're worried that if they were paying 300amonth, they're now going to have to pay $900 a month for a family making $65,000. As Senator Raphael Warnock posted, he goes, here's the anthem plan. It was 300 last month. It's going to be $900 a month soon in 2026. Or there was another study that a family making $85,000 a year would have to pay $24,000. With the subsidies being removed in healthcare, how could a family making $85,000 a year pay 24,000 for health care? They can't. They lose their health care. You know what Happens what happened before Obamacare. They die. Or they have to, you know, become. I don't know. They have to sacrifice everything in their life in order to be able to pay for it. Americans understand that these are the issues, not these stupid things that the Trump regime is doing. So don't talk about what the Trump regime wants you to be distracted about. Come up with your own messaging. Like we saw with Hakeem, show up. Let's do it in front of the cameras. What are you scared about? Or like Garcia there, show us the money. That's what you have to do. You have to go on the offense. Stop living in MAGA framework. Come up with the framework that's actually aligned with the concerns of the American people. That's how you win this information war authentically. Authentically. With empathy and with the truth. All right, take our first quick break of the show. You all see this for our viewers on YouTube. You see a QR code over there? That's a new feature. So you just swipe that QR code or you do whatever. You scan the QR code. You don't swipe it there. You go in the QR code, and then you can listen to the full interviews that I referenced in all the episodes of the Midas Touch podcast. By scanning the QR code.
A
You scan it with your phone. We need a younger. We need a younger.
D
For everyone watching right now, please scan the QR code. And what that will do is it will take. Take you to our podcast, our audio podcast feed, and then you could subscribe there.
A
Okay, we need. We. We need a true millennial to actually correct both of you guys. You scan the. When you say scan, that means you take out your phone with the camera feature, and you put the phone up to the QR code and it will show you a link, and you click on that. It will bring you to the podcast. You don't need, like, a grocery store scanner. You do it with your phone. It's in your hand.
D
I give our audience enough credit that we've all lived through the pandemic where, you know, QR codes were a thing everyone knows.
B
Confused. I struggled with it right there. All right, we'll take our first quick break of the show. It was so great seeing everybody who joined us earlier this week on our Patreon Zoom. It was cool. We answered every que. Literally every question in 45 minutes. Amazing. We've got a lot to discuss when we come back, and I want to talk about Trump bailing out Argentina. Argentina, really? $20 billion bailing out the farmers. We saw the ADP payroll numbers horrific private payroll jobs reports negative 32,000 jobs in September. A lot of other bad reports that are coming out. And I guess the Trump regime isn't going to publish any more Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. They're going to use the shutdown not to do jobs reports or inflation reports. If you don't do testing, you don't have to even report the cases apparently. Remember that. Yep. It's this regime. Incompetent, idiotic and fascist. Call them out, hold them accountable and stay in this fight together. We'll be back after our first quick break.
D
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B
Brett? I think that I do this deep dive analysis, like very specifics, this data, that, that and this stat. This stat. And then I'm like, what do you do with the QR code?
A
You have to, it's like you take out your beeper, see, and then you dial a scan and I'm like, I don't fumble anything.
B
But how what you're supposed to do with QR codes, which gives you some insight into my brain. But I'll give you some insight into the brains of the American people right now and what they think about this disastrous government shutdown. A Washington Post poll of 1010 people say that 47% of those ask blame Trump and Republicans in Congress for the government shutdown. 30% say Democrats in Congress are to blame. 71% of Americans say federal health insurance subsidies should be extended. I don't really know the other 29% that don't want subsidies for their own health care because chances are they're either on Medicare, Medicaid, or on an Affordable Care act plan. And all are under threat right now by the Trump regime just by their actions. So that 29%, you know, to me is actually, it's an okay thing. We need to do a more effective job letting them know what's really at stake here. I get it. The Trump regime, state regime, propaganda at Fox, they're out there pumping the lies that this is about migrants and this is about this and that. You know, when you really break it down, though, also, you know, in terms of what these, I guess what the MAGA people are, are saying is that if you're at an emergency room setting and you're there. And there's a undocumented person who is in the emergency room with you. Is it true that a doctor can get reimbursement from a Medicaid special kind of part that just gives doctors reimbursement for emergency medical assistance, which guess who this was all started under? When we talk about emtala, like the Emergency Medical Treatment Acts and all, like Republicans, this was a bipartisan issue, right? I mean, just think of Ronald Reagan, you know, was the person that lib. Just think about it like this, like, notorious. If I'm driving down the street and I see a dog on the side of the street that looks injured, right. I'm gonna try to probably do something to help. Like. Like if it was an animal, right? As we talk about human freaking beings here, humans. Is the Republican position, just to be clear. Let's just say there's an undocumented migrant. They're a roofer. They're not allowed to be on Medicare, okay? They don't have Medicare, they can't. They don't have Medicaid, they can't. They're not under an Affordable Care act plan. They can't. But let's say they're doing a roof. They're a roofer. They fall off and they're bleeding out on the floor, okay? And they're driven to an emergency room, right? Do. Are you saying in that situation right now where you've ignored comprehensive immigration reform, the type that there was a bipartisan agreement you didn't ignore, you killed it. When there was, when there was a bipartisan way to deal with comprehensive immigration reform, which we see how needed it was when former President Biden put it forward. And you had James Langford, a maga, Republican senator from Oklahoma, not really that all that maga, but kind of maga, you know, agreed with. So you had that. But what are you supposed to do? You're. You. Are you honestly saying you're going to let the human being die and bleed out and that. And that the doctor in the ER is not supposed to like, is supposed to ask, like, sir, think about that for everybody. It could actually. Let's just say.
A
Yeah, let me, let me, let me give the most selfish. Let me give the most selfish example possible. You, Mr. Maga, I know a lot of you watching this episode, perhaps it came up on your algorithm for some reason. I don't know, they saw Trump in the title.
B
I don't know.
A
This came up on your feed. Say you are the individual who fell off a roof or did whatever, and you are Bleeding out. You have basically minutes, seconds for your life to be saved. Do you want the EMTs to have to go to you or the doctors to go? Papers, please. You need to first prove to me that you are a United States citizen before I'm able to do anything. I don't think anybody wants that sort of barrier to their own health care. It's absolutely insane. It's disgraceful, it's inhumane. And I think you put people actually in that situation. I bet a large, large, large majority of the people would choose to help that individual, no matter who that individual is.
D
Propaganda aside, it's also why I say a lot on the show that the modern day Republican Party is not actually the pro life party. They are the pro forced birth party because they actually don't care about their fellow humans. Once they're out of the womb, they don't give a shit. And that is the most cynical and dark stuff of this whole thing, is you get to see these folks, these MAGA Republicans, actually push for scenarios and instances like the brothers just laid out where they will not give any help. They prefer. They prefer that, Ben, to your question, that is exactly what they prefer. They prefer not to help the roofer that falls off, because that's their position. Very pro life of y', all, Ben. Very pro life of them, isn't it?
B
Well, and that's the point that actually Pope Leo XIV made the other day where he said, how do people call themselves pro life in the United States, but that they treat immigrants this way? How do they call themselves pro life, but they support the death penalty? And he went on to give other examples. But let me just show you that whether you're religious or not religious, there is a logic to what he's saying here. Jordy, it's your point as well. Here, play this clip. Just wanted to ask one thing that.
A
Has become a bit of a divisive.
B
Subject in, in the US Right now with Cardinal Cupich giving an award to Senator Durbin.
A
Some people of faith are having a hard time with understanding this because he.
B
Is pro, or rather he's for legalized abortion.
A
How would you help people of faith.
B
Right now decipher that feel about that? And how do you feel about that?
G
I'm not terribly familiar with with the particular case. I think that it's very important to look at the overall work that a senator has done during, if I'm not mistaken, 40 years of service in the United States Senate. I understand the difficulty and the tensions, but I think, as I myself have spoken in the past. It's important to look at many issues that are related to what is the teaching of the Church. Someone who says I'm against abortion, but says I'm in favor of the death penalty is not really pro life. So someone who says that I'm against abortion, but I'm in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants or in the United States, I don't know if that's pro life. So they're very complex issues. I don't know if anyone has all the truth on them. But I would ask first and foremost that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together, both as human beings, in that case, as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics, to say we need to, you know, really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward as church. Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear.
B
Thank you thought. Those are powerful, powerful words, right?
A
I think it's really, really powerful words. And he said it best, Jordy. He really made your point. It's kind of wild also. Just like, this is totally separate, but it's pretty wild that there's an American pope, right?
B
When you hear the guy speak, you're.
A
Like, oh, yeah, dude's got an American accent.
D
Our brains are so funny. We must be brothers or something, because that's literally where my head went to him.
A
Like, you're expecting, like, from the movies and from the past, like, him to have some, like, you know, real, like, Italian kind of acts.
B
Literally, my brain went to. I'm like, dude, speaking English. I'm like, the dude is speaking English. I was going to show some clips of MAGA Mike lying, but I don't want to show that. We all get the point. He lies about everything. What I do want to show, though, is when you had Democrats, Democratic Senator Coons went on Fox and they tried to kind of use all of those talking points about, you know, well, there are two sides to this. On the one hand, let's be very clear. You've got the Republicans saying you want to give trillions of dollars of health care coverage to unlawful migrants. And then on the other hand, and then Senator Coons is like, stop. There's not. There's not two sides to this story. There isn't. We don't. We're not giving Cadillac health insurance, okay, to migrants who are not here with their documents. That's just not happening. They're not allowed to be on Medicare. They're not allowed to be on Medicaid. They're not allowed to have Affordable Care act plans. The questions about subsidies, that does not, that does not involve them at all. The only one area that involves them is what I said, which is what do you do in an emergency room setting where people are about to die? Do you have to now have doctors get people's papers which would actually backfire on people who are citizens? Is that what you. That's the only. If you want to have that conversation, you. But that has nothing to do either with the subsidies and the issue of the Affordable Care act subsidies that are about to expire, which keep, which kept those premiums. Like in the example of the Democratic Senator Warnock's post, it kept the price at $300 a month versus $900 a month. Okay. That's a big difference right now. Where people are living paycheck to paycheck, where they're psychologically tortured about the paycheck to paycheck situation that they have where they can't afford their rent, if they're lucky enough to have a home, they can't afford their mortgage or their car payment. What we've seen the largest credit delinquencies right now since the, every metric is like, since the Great Recession or even worse, the housing market, the worst since 1995. Right. Job claims, the worst since the Great Recession of 2008. You know, private payroll data from ADP negative 32,000, a revision downward of 57,000 from August to negative 3,000. The Trump regime is not even publishing the data. Every, every data point you look at right now has a corollary to a Great Recession, Mark. In our, in our history. But let me just show you this right here, just so you can see it, because this is what propaganda media is like. And this is what happens when you put a Democratic senator there who's like, looking like, what the hell are you even talking about here? Play this clip.
A
Sorry, I was just adding that there are people who came to the country illegally who got looped in under temporary protection status who do receive those benefits. And we're going to get into that a little bit deeper in the next. Yes, there are, there are people who have protection status, which makes Martha, quote, legal. And that's why they're falling under this legal protection because it was expanded during COVID And that's, you know, I understand that there's two sides to this argument, but that's that those are the people.
B
That are getting argued over right now.
A
There's not two sides to this argument. The president said Democrats want to give.
B
A Gold plated Medicare program for illegal aliens.
A
That's not true. You can only benefit from, from the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid if.
B
You have legal status in this country.
A
Which was so broadly clear.
B
We are not fighting for health care.
A
For people who are here illegally. That's not true.
B
But we are fighting for health care for Americans.
A
All right, there. I understand and appreciate your point on that.
B
So their other point there, if you hear her, is that people who are here with protected status legally, lawfully. Right. They may be asylum seekers, by the way, people whose families support Trump, the tps, Venezuelans, Cubans and others. Right. That, that even though they're here lawfully and by the way, Trump's revoked their status. So if Trump's revoke their status and they're no longer here legally, despite what we may think about their asylum claims and how cruel it is what Trump does, then they're not covered. You're either here legally or illegally. So if Trump gave the legal status TPS to all the Africaners in South Africa, remember Donald Trump lied and said that the white people in South Africa, they deserve the protection while engaged in these horrific acts with the migrants here, well, then actually they would be temporary. They would be here lawfully. But that's not what, that's where they're going with it. Like, it, like that's their whole discussion.
A
That's what they do with every argument. Right. They get called out on it. Right. And in that situation, he was able to call them out to their face. Right. It's unusual on Fox. They usually don't have any dissenting voices other than like a Jessica Tarlov who will make a point and then they'll just try to like mock her and try to silence her. Right. They try to use her as a punching bag, even though she's always right. But here you had a, you had coons who was able to actually fact check them on the spot and they do what they always do, which is move the goal posts. Every single time they move the goalposts, they start making different arguments. Oh, we weren't actually talking about, about illegals. We're talking about people who are here legally but are on temporary protected. It's like.
B
I know.
A
Well, that's not what you're saying, though. It's really not what you're saying. And if you watch like J.D. vance's messaging, because J.D. vance is like always on Twitter for some reason, that's like all he does all day, he tweets. Like, his messages are all like the most condescending fake intellectual that you will ever read. It's like you read, I read. I'm like, this guy's such a loser. But he always does the same thing also where he's constantly moving the goalposts and he acts like the arguments from the Democratic side. He makes a total straw man of what their arguments are. And then he argues against fake things like that's his whole strategy. And then he be just gets really kind of condescending and douchey about it all. And then he keeps trying to kind of evade the actual thing that's happening by moving the goalpost. Same strategy every single time, same rhetorical techniques. Like, we see through it. You know, it's all bs.
D
Absolutely. And you look at someone like JD Vance, I got a new nickname for him, just Dash Vance, because I heard he's running from Akeem Jeffries. He doesn't want that smoke. He doesn't want to get in front of the cameras and have that debate about how can we solve this crisis. Just Dash fans, man. He's not, he's not into it. He, he doesn't have the stones to actually get up there in front of cameras, in front of, in front of the media and make that argument that, that fake argument that they keep making on Fox News. And, and Brett, to your point, continuing to move the goalposts here. And Akeem Jeffries, as we listened to earlier, he wants to get up there.
B
J.D.
D
He want, he wants you. He wants to get up there and he wants to talk this out. So why are you afraid?
B
Why?
D
What do you run from?
B
We've got a lot to discuss when we get back. I want to show you Governor Pritzker calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked against Donald Trump. I want to show you Governor Tim Wall some great, powerful statements that he's been making recently about the way government should be operating. I want to talk about the bailout of farmers that's taking place. Donald Trump's going to try to do an end run around Congress, but guess what? There's not $17 trillion. So he's eventually going to need Congress. And this is at the same time he's bailing out Argentina. Apparently, you can take $18 billion away from New York City, then give $20 billion to Argentina, which is not subject to any issues regarding the government shutdown. Argentina gets their money first. Damn it. Javier Malay, by the way, he's just going to burn that money. Javier Malay. Because he's destroyed.
A
All these MAGA people are super silent, right? They told us for the past year. Oh, pro.
B
It's coming.
A
Argentina. This is the way. Cutting all these. Javier Malay, a genius. He has the MAGA philosophy. If only. Jacob, remember how, like, they hyped Argentina up as the model for the United States. And that's what they're trying to do here with all this Project 2025 stuff. And now, like a house of cards, it all collapses, by the way. Just you wait for what's going on here in our country. But it all collapses. And all of a sudden they're like, oh, we. We actually invested a lot of money there and we. This. This guy's a MAGA guy. So we're going to try to bail him out. We're going to send, you know, United States money to Argentina to bail out their failed experiment. I'm not sure that's what people thought when they heard the term America first, but I'll let you guys decide then.
B
It's going to burn the money. The guy's gonna. The first thing that Javier Malay did was lower the price of soybeans in Argentina and sell to China to undercut American soybean farmers. Like, that' screwed over the soybean farmers in America. The moment he gets the $20 billion deal, and then we have to then bail out the farmers again. You know, what is the definition of a Ponzi scheme? Robbing Peter to pay Paul? Like, we're literally just doing like, this Ponzi scheme of tariffs right now before. Before our very eyes, as Donald Trump claims, there's $17 trillion. The way Bernie Madoff. Let me be clear. Bernie Madoff said that there's all this money. It's all sitting in the account. I'm gonna make you all so rich, right? Bernie Madoff's was 45 billion. Donald Trump's was $17 trillion. All right, we'll take our last quick break of the show. I want to remind everybody about that QR code that's been up there. Scan, scan the QR code. Don't swipe it. There you go. Barcode. Listen to the full interviews and all episodes on the Midas Touch podcast. And also while you're at it, check out midasplus.com. that's our sub stack. Check it out. M E I-A S P L U S dot com. All right, take our last quick break of the show.
D
Does listening to the craziness of the world just make you want to cuddle up on the couch with your cat? Well, me too. This podcast is sponsored by Smalls. If you're a listener of this show you know that my cat cannot live without smalls. To get 60 off your first order plus free shipping, head to smalls.com and use our promo code Midas for a limited time only. Smalls cat food is protein packed recipes made with preservative free ingredients that you'd find in your fridge and it's delivered right to your door. That's why cats.com names Smalls their best overall cat food. My cat Chubbs eats Smalls every day. His favorite flavor is the chicken and turkey. My cat prefers Smalls way more than their previous cat food. Now I legitimately did a taste test. I put two balls side by side and they immediately went to Smalls. Since making the switch to Smalls, my cat has had fewer hair balls, more balanced energy, a healthier weight, a softer and shinier fur coat and a less stinky litter box. Still not a believer in Smalls? Forbes ranked Smalls the best overall cat food while Buzzfeed said my cats went completely ballistic for this stuff. Smalls is possibly one of my favorite sponsors because my cat Chubs is frankly obsessed. I use Smalls as a topper to transition Chubs to Smalls and the transition just went perfectly. My cat's breath is much better and therefore coat is much softer. Ever since I switched to Smalls, Smalls also has a bunch of amazing treats and snacks that you can add in your order. My cats love the treats that came in our most recent box. After switching to smalls, 88% of cat owners reported overall health improvements. That's a big deal. What are you waiting for? Give your cat the food they deserve for a limited time only. Because you're a Midas Touch podcast listener, you get 60% off your first smalls order plus free shipping by using code MIDAS. That's 60% off. When you head to smalls.com and use our promo code Midas again, that's promo code midas for 60% off your first order plus free shipping@smalls.com let's be honest, most dress clothes are uncomfortable, high maintenance and just don't feel good to wear. You spend too much time ironing, dry cleaning and tugging at stiff fabrics. That's why I love Mizzen and Mane. Mizzen and Mane makes classic menswear with performance fabrics so it's effortless to look sharp and feel great. Mizzen and Main actually invented the performance fabric dress shirt over 10 years ago and since then they've perfected it with modern fabrics. Mizzen and Main's shirts and Pants look refined, yet they're stretchy, lightweight, moisture wicking, wrinkle resistant and completely machine washable. No ironing or dry cleaning. When you put their clothes on, you'll feel the difference instantly. Professional style that's actually comfortable. Whether you're in the office, on the road, or even out on the golf course, it's timeless style you can invest in once and enjoy for years. That's why thousands of guys swear by Mizzen and Main when they want to look great without the hassle. I'm a huge fan of their collection and I know you will be too. Right now, Mizzen and Main is offering our listeners 20% off your first purchase at mizzeninmain.com promo code MIDAS20. That's Mizzen spelled M I Z Z E N and main m a I n.com promo code MIDAS20 for 20 off mizzenandmain.com promo code MIDAS20. And if you'd rather shop in person, you can find Mizzen and Main stores in select states. Let's go. Shout out to our sponsors links in description to both the YouTube and the audio. Use the links, use the codes. If there's an exit survey, let them know we sent you. Benji, just gonna make fun of you a little bit. And that was still really confusing. Like, I don't know when you're promoing the QR code where I am landing. So just doing an exercise with the audience watching right now. Everybody please take out your phone, you put it up to the QR code, you click it, Boom. Podcasts will pop up on your phone. You click that link and you get taken right there to the Midas Touch podcast feed.
A
Benji, with all this talk about this QR code, the podcast better shoot up to number one.
D
I do feel bad for the audio listeners who are like, I can't get in on the fun. But you're already there.
A
You're already there.
B
Yeah.
A
You won the game. Yeah. You won the prize.
D
Congrats.
B
Do you remember that show on Nickelodeon where, like, the person would do the, like the race and they would, like, touch all the virtual things and they'd have to, like, jump and hide.
A
Global guts.
B
I don't know I'm talking about. But it was. No. At the end when you won the game, you were like, on the digital, like.
A
And you would like Legends of the Hidden Temple.
B
Let it. Okay.
D
That gave an entire generation trauma of the. I was always abducted by those, like, zombie people.
B
Yeah. I don't know what they were. Scary stuff.
A
Terrifying I just wanted to run up the agra crag on.
B
I remember what I was thinking. It could have been the end of the agar. Anyway, I won't waste more time in this. All right, let's talk about Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. He was asked, look, this is. This is Farmageddon is what they're calling it right now. And it's not just soybeans. It's corn, it's cotton. It's everything right now. Why? Because there are foreign countries. When Donald Trump attacks them, they don't want to buy American products. Okay. And they also don't view America as a reliable trading partner in general because at any given point in time, Donald Trump can change the deal right on them. So why would you do business with an unreliable trading partner? I mean, just think about in your own life. I mean, have you ever been scammed before by somebody? Right. Do you want to redo business with the person who scammed you? No. So why. It's a very basic concept, in addition to Trump's tariffs, that if you are getting scammed or you're being called out or hidden being, like, if someone's mocking you, do you want to do business with them? No. So China's bought in, like, zero soybeans. Like, not even, like, not even like a bean. Okay. Yet alone, $12.6 billion in soybeans, which is what they bought last year. Right? Now it's zero dollars. Right? That means, like, even, like a little teeny, tiny bean didn't even, like, get in with another shipment. They're get out of here. And then across the rest of the world, we're seeing the same thing. You know, people are getting their beef from Brazil or Australia. You know, people are getting, you know, their produce from the Canadian farmers are doing great. You know, Argentina undercutting the United States while it needs a bailout from Javier Malay. So here's how Treasury Secretary Scott Besant put it when he was asked. And do you what are the chances that he mentions former President Biden as the reason that China right now is not buying US Soybeans? Just before I play the clip, let me do a fact check in advance. Versus on the tail end, you pull up the soybean chart. Under former President Biden, soybeans were being sold to China at a significant amount. On that soybean chart that we showed you before, there it is right there. U. S. Soybean sales to China. Look, when it starts to decrease, oh, what happened? What happened in that month of November? And then. Whoa. What happened? I don't know, maybe the same person who attacked China back in 2018 won again and did the same thing. And we had to do a bailout of our farmers, the first Trump administration. And now a bigger bailout this time. Otherwise, just think about if we didn't do the bailout. I just want to let people know the United States is in a Great Depression, okay? If we don't bail out the farmers, like, I know we took mail out, we use all these words. If we don't bail them out, we're immediately in a Great Depression. So this bailout is not just some insignificant thing. And you'll see this arrogant piece of. Sorry, this arrogant piece of crap. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson. Excuse my language. I shouldn't be, I shouldn't go there. But, but he just goes there, he's like, it's Biden's fault. Yeah, Biden did it. Biden. It's like, dude, shut up. Like, all of these people are straight out of central casting of Assholeville. Here, play this clip.
C
And Joe, to go back on the ag purchases and President Trump's phase one trade deal that was signed in January 2020. There were over 50 billion of ag purchases. The Chinese followed through during President Trump's term in 2020. And then, then under President Biden, their feet were not held to the fire for these ag purchases. And at the meeting in Geneva, when I asked them, why didn't you continue buying soybeans and the other products, they had one word, guess what it was Biden.
B
Biden.
D
That sounds like malarkey. Come on, man.
B
All right, Treasury Secretary Jordy, that's your guy right there.
D
I thank you for tossing. So, so what happens is I, I watch Squawk Box in the morning just because I need to see just like what they're doing. It, it, it is the most insane op that CNBC Squawk Box is running. And that Joe Kernan, he is the biggest putz in the world, man. I cannot friggin stand this guy. He is a MAGA mouthpiece. And it's so disgusting when you turn on a channel like a CNBC and you just want to get like updates as to what's going on with finances, huh? What's going on with the stock market? I just, just really want to know. And then he, he platforms Besant. He, he platforms a maga, Mike Johnson, and he just, oh, like, it hurts my brain.
A
I don't care about platforming, but like, don't give, don't spread MAGA propaganda. Like push back on this.
D
And that's what I know. But Brett, it goes beyond that, and that's what I mean. Because it's not just platforming. It's amplifying and. And buying into every right wing talking point that's out there. And I have to say, he' literally, the Joe Kernan, he is a MAGA mouthpiece who is just totally delegitimized that entire network. It is such a farce, man. It actually blows my mind. I wake up every morning angry, and I text the brothers. I'm like, y' all gotta see what happened on Squawk Box this morning, because it was Banana land.
A
I'm laughing because this really does come from a genuine place of rage from Jordi. And I do wake up here on the west coast in California to angry rage texts from Jordy, like, literally nearly every morning about Squawk Box. Like, he hate watches the show, and then he texts us in our chat. And one of the first things I wake up to every single day is whatever crazy Trump thing is. And I'm like, yo, Card.
B
And I'm like, yeah.
D
And here's really why, too. And I'll toss it back to Ben in a second. We get going with the show. It's because folks who are tuning into that show may not actually, like, really, like, care as much about the politics of everything that's happening right now, and they just kind of want updates on. On the financial sector. And when they tune into that show and they just get Joe Friggin Kernan up there just literally being a mouthpiece for the Trump administration, it really upsets me because it's just like, what is going on here? And it confuses folks.
A
It really. Does anybody, anybody out there want to be in this tech chain? You could tell tell it's a lot of fun.
B
You can get. If you're on the West coast at 4:30am you could get Squawk Box text messages. Did you guys see Squawk Box? No, dude.
A
That's 4:00am I'm sleeping, dude.
B
I'm trying to sleep. Jordy. All right, I want to talk. But. But, Jordy, look, the main point, though, right? I mean, $17 trillion Trump says he's bringing in. You're supposed to be a financial network. Like, if former President Biden or Obama or anyone just made up trillions of dollars that don't exist at the threshold, you should fact check that and not adopt that as the reality. And then you look at every metric. Every metric is going in a horrible direction other than the fact that you have the stock market is Being propped up by what looks like a bunch of financial shenanigans of kind of pump and dumpy ish things that are taking place while rich people are getting richer before there seems to be a massive drop that's about to take place. Because if you look at the systemic issues about hiring and about people actually purchasing things and about how frozen the job market is and about consumer confidence, about business confidence, about freight volume, about you, every single metric, it's like, this is the worst since the Great Recession. This is the worst since the Great Recession. And it's like, okay, I get it. Like we, but we need to, you know, and it's just, it's, it's one of those things where, where someone says to me, well, you know, someone asked me, a reporter the other day, well, why is it then that a lot of this kind of right wing stuff, like, why does it landing. I'm like, because it's very easy to tell people a lie. Like I, I gave the example on the last episode. You show up at the doctor and you're sick and you actually tell the person they're sick. The MRI shows you got a real issue. We got to address it. The person's going to leave the doctor's office upset, right? But you tell the person they're doing great, even though you know there's a real big issue, they're going to leave happy. Then they come back and they get more sick. Then you blame other people for it. That's a very easy loop to get into. And eventually something bad happens and then it crashes versus actually dealing with it. Right. The firefighter has to take a lot of heat when they go into the fire to put out what the arsonist did. It's not easy. People aren't happy what they see afterwards. The whole house gets burned down, a building gets, gets burned down. But you can't attack the firefighter. You got to understand the sources of where this is coming from. I think so much of former President Biden's term was he's the firefighter putting out the arsonist and he's getting blamed like he's the arsonist because he's actively addressing what's happening. He's saying, yes, there is inflation because of what Trump did. We have to deal with this as an inflation reduction act. Yes, there is instability around the world because what Donald Trump does. But here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to add Sweden and I'm going to add Finland to NATO. We're going to strengthen our alliances Abroad, yes, we're having issues with our supply chain, but I'm going to do the chips act and I'm going to bring the semiconductor industry here. Yes, we've fallen behind on wind and solar energy from China, but that's why we're going to make billions of dollars of investments in red states and blue states and purple states, and we're going to have to become the leader again and not cede our leadership to China. That's not easy to do. It's easy to tear down. It's hard to build. Trump was never a builder. Trump has always been a destroyer, a bankrupter, a sexual abuser and a felon. That's who he is. And we have to recognize that that's who. That's how he's behaving right now.
A
So here's an example. And I didn't, I, I wasn't like coming armed with this reference today. But, like, this is through history, it's often been much more difficult to be a truth teller. It's much more easy to tell lies and appease a crowd, especially when there's something like groupthink going on. And I think back to centuries and centuries ago with Galileo, the astronomer.
D
Galileo, Galileo reference on this pod. Let's go.
A
You never know what you're going to get here on the Midas Touch podcast. Right? But what did he do? He came up with the concept that the Earth actually goes around the sun and not the opposite. The sun doesn't go around the Earth. The Earth isn't the center of the, of the solar system. The actually the Earth goes around the Sun. And for that, he was arrested and put on house arrest for the rest of his life by the Catholic Church. I mean, that's just an example. I always thought, when I learned that in history class and stuff growing up, I thought, how could a society do that to one of their greatest thinkers? Because he came up with this, you know, theory based on science and actually studying what's going on. What kind of society could banish a truth teller in that sort of way and put them under house arrest? But sure enough, that's what happened then. And we see a lot of that same sort of group think happening right now with this MAGA movement, where you better hold the line whether it's true or false, and it's most likely false most of the time. And if you're not telling the truth, we are going to metaphorically throw you in jail. We're going to excommunicate you. You will not be a part of this movement. You will not get put in these positions of power. We are going to actively work to harm you.
D
Joe Kernan is such a piece of.
B
Yeah, we're going back to squad. We can't end the episode.
D
I'm sorry. Because you know what really pissed me off the other day?
A
No more joker. We're done with Joe.
D
The whole trans illegal thing.
B
He's like, healthcare for transal.
A
Right. The guy's insignificant. Who watches the show?
B
Governor Pritzker saying the 25th amendment needs to be invoked against Donald Trump. I want to play that clip so I can try to pivot us away from Jordy talking about slack box right now. Let's play it. It appears that Donald Trump not only is dementia set in, but he's copying tactics of Vladimir Putin sending troops into.
F
Cities, thinking that that's some sort of.
B
Proving ground for war or that indeed there's some sort of internal war going on in the United States is just frankly, inane. And, and I'm concerned for his health. The idea that you're going to go suggest that you're going to arrest people or that people don't deserve to be US Citizens be when they are, just because they oppose the President of the United States. There is something genuinely wrong with this man. And the 25th Amendment ought to be invoked powerful words. Let me show you over here. Next, Governor Walls was speaking today and he talked about a number of topics, including this massive misinformation campaign that's taking place. Let's play it.
D
Trump administration will start firing workers instead of furloughing them.
B
And you think they might.
C
I do, I do. I think it goes back to this question, Tom, that I. It appears like they're trying to do that. The disruption is there. The willingness of the speaker of the House to blatantly. I have seen every. I have seen Fox News even correct this issue that trying to tell the public we're in a massive misinformation campaign. The President himself tweeting out AI videos of fake news reports on health care. This is really dangerous and it's really hard. And I cannot express to you the concern and the absolute baffle, must and fear of our European allies asking me is this stuff really going on? So, yeah, I have a feel that they do that. And again, they're going to tell you this. And like with the va and this is what really drives me crazy. They'll come back and tell you, oh, we're not firing anybody important. We're not going to fire doctors. No, no, just the people who change the linens or get the surgical instruments clean so they're ready to go. Those people aren't there. Or the it, the people that allow you to schedule your appointment with the va. There's a reason that all these people work together in agencies and everybody's valuable in them. So, yes, I do worry about that, Tom.
B
Meanwhile, as Donald Trump continues to complain about the escalator at the United nations from what, two and a half or three weeks ago, Governor Walls has a message about that. Dude, just stop whining about the escalator. Use the damn steps. Shut up. Here, play this clip.
A
Obviously you're on his radar.
B
But, but.
A
You are mentioning Trump, you are mentioning Vance. Does it change your approach at all.
B
Thinking that it could hurt your state.
A
If you go after them too much?
C
I'm not going after them speaking the truth. I'm certainly not going to bend a knee to what they're doing. I'm certainly not going to say, oh, this is fine, the way they talk like that. I think you hear my rhetoric is, is that we're willing to find working solutions. And I think the contrast here was, look, and I have said this and given credit to Republican legislators here in Minnesota. We navigated, I think, and I said, had it not been for the horrific murder of Melissa and Mark, there was a real success story there to get out of this budget year the way we did together. And I think that's the model. So I'm not going to moderate that. I'm going to tell him to go back to work and I am going to challenge him. I mean, my God, we've got the White House threatening investigations, in jail time because an escalator stopped. Walk up the damn stairs. This stuff happens. This is life.
B
Life.
C
Do not normalize this. So I'm going to continue to approach them, I'll continue to work with them. We'll kind continue to deliver. And I said, if there, if there are lawful laws that are in place, we will follow that. If we need to challenge in court, we'll challenge in court. But this idea that you've got to go and kiss the ring or you've got to go and give some type of award to get basic services that he swore an oath to defend, that is outrageous. So, no, I will not change how we approach that.
B
Finally, when Donald Trump used to say the world was laughing at the United States, when actually the United States was the leader of the free world, the most powerful economy in the world, the envy of the world in terms of world economies, not anymore. The world is quite Literally laughing at Donald Trump. Trump's been continuing to say he's stopped wars and he just makes up country names. I mean, that's where we're at right now. And Donald Trump said that he stopped a war between Azerbaijan and Albania, and the Azerbaijan leader and Albania leader with French President Emmanuel Macron were laughing at in Donald Trump's face, essentially. Let's show you this. Let's play it. You should make an apology.
A
Because you didn't congratulate us on the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania.
B
I'm sorry for that.
D
Yeah.
B
And he worked very hard. He goes. He worked very hard on a peace deal between Albania and Azerbaijan. The two leaders there just. It's just so utterly embarrassing. And again, we've talked about it on other episodes, so I don't think I'll just talk about it very quickly. At the end here, that Donald Trump speech with Pete Hegseth in front of the military generals in Quantico, where all of the generals and admirals, about 800 of them, we're talking about three star, four star, two star generals who were there, all went radio absolutely silent on Donald Trump. Didn't laugh, didn't clap, just gave him basically like a death stare. And they refused to, you know, even, like, kind of acknowledge, you know, even anything that he was saying, which from a lot of the military experts we've had on, was actually something that they said was a sign of a. Of a silent protest against what they were observing. So I'll leave everybody with that right there. For those who fasted today, and the Jewish holiday hopefully was a reflective, a good fast, and we wish you all the best. And of course to everybody else, we wish you all the best as well. Stay in the fight, right? This Trump regime, they want us to feel like what they're doing is inevitable, but they are weak. They are weak, weak, weak people. You hold the power, and together we all hold a power that is far exceeding what this Trump regime can throw our way. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but if we stay in there together, we will prevail. We will reclaim our democracy, and we will look back at this time together as something that was so meaningful that we can tell future generations about how we saved the United States of America and made the world a better place. On that note, I thank everybody. You can swipe or scroll or snapshot or whatever you do to QR codes. You can scan the QR code. The other S word right there. Scan the QR code above. I'm touching it right there. There's the QR code. Raising the roof of the QR code. Brett, anything else you want to say? No, we'll.
A
We'll rehearse that. We'll get them next time with the qr. But so many people I know are doing it right now. The podcast is just shooting up the charts because everybody's doing that.
B
Majority take it away.
D
Shout out to the Midas.
B
My day.
A
We will get it right.
D
Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content Only available@midasplus.com.
B
Morning, Zoe. Got donuts.
A
Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above a our garage?
C
Well, I dig the mattress and I.
B
Want to be in a T mobile commercial like you teach me. So Dana.
A
Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at t mobile get the new iPhone 17 Pro on them. It's designed to be the most powerful.
C
Iphone yet and has the ultimate pro camera system. Wow, impressive.
B
Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got got the best network.
A
Nice. Jeffrey, you heard them.
B
T Mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on us with eligible traded in any condition. So what are we having for lunch?
C
Dude, my work here is done.
B
The 24 month bill credits on experience beyond for well qualified customers + tax and 35 device connection charge credit send and balance due if you pay off earlier Cancel Finance agreement. IPhone 17 Pro 256 gigs 1099.99 and new line minimum 100 plus a month plan with auto paypals, taxes and fees required. Best mobile Network in the US based on analysis by Oklahoma Speed Test Intelligence Data 1H 2025 Visit t mobile.com.
Episode Theme:
The Meiselas Brothers dissect the Trump-led government shutdown, Republican propaganda, the fight to preserve Affordable Care Act subsidies, Project 2025, media misinformation, and the Democratic strategy to go on offense—delivering both analysis and signature banter.
| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Moment | |-----------|---------|----------------| | 03:35 | Ben | “I think that Democrats in the House and Senate are really beginning to fight back...” | | 07:10 | Brett | “Turning government websites into propaganda arms of MAGA...” | | 09:58 | Brett | "They get off on firing people, on harming the American people. The whole thing is masochistic, sadistic..." | | 12:12 | Leader Jeffries | “Any time, any place. And we want to make sure that it’s fully transparent...” | | 14:15 | Leader Jeffries | “The amount of time talking about health insurance for undocumented immigrants was less than 10 seconds. You know why? Because they know it’s a lie.” | | 17:47 | Rep. Garcia | “Who the hell knows?... Donald Trump is living in a fantasy land.” | | 23:09 | Brett | “…a family making $85,000 a year would have to pay $24,000 for healthcare if subsidies are cut. They can’t. They lose their healthcare. You know what happens? ...they die.” | | 33:55 | Jordy | “The modern day Republican Party is not actually the pro life party, they are the pro forced birth party...” | | 35:34 | Pope Leo XIV | “Someone who says I’m against abortion, but says I’m in favor of the death penalty is not really pro life...” | | 54:22 | Ben | “If we didn’t bail out the farmers, we’d immediately be in a Great Depression.” | | 58:32 | Ben | “If Obama just made up trillions of dollars that don’t exist... you should fact check that and not adopt that as reality.” | | 60:24 | Ben | “It’s very easy to tell people a lie... but actually dealing with the problem is hard.” | | 62:04 | Brett | “[Galileo]... For that, he was arrested and put on house arrest... what kind of society could banish a truth teller in that sort of way? ...and we see a lot of that same groupthink happening right now with this MAGA movement.” | | 66:45 | Gov. Walz | “Walk up the damn stairs. This stuff happens. This is life. Do not normalize this.” |
(For full interviews and referenced content, listeners are urged to scan the QR code provided in the episode.)