Hank Johnson (4:16)

No.

Ben (4:16)

The deal that Donald Trump struck with the authoritarian Delsey Rodriguez and Hatib to Semaphore and Shelby Talcott and Ben Smith for their great reporting here, the money is being moved to a bank account in Qatar. Yes, Qatar, that bought the 747 jet for Donald Trump, that Donald Trump and Jared Kushner are in business with, that invests in Kushner's fund, that Qatar, who bailed Kushner out of his real estate deals back during the first Trump administration. That's where the oil money's going to Qatar in a bank account there. And meanwhile, you have all of these countries in Europe and Canada, by the way, as well, sending their special forces right now to Greenland and they're doing military exercises there with Germany, France, Sweden, of course, Denmark, Canada and others sending special forces to Greenland to prepare for a possible invasion by the United States. Caroline Levitt was asked about this. Well, is that going to deter Donald Trump from trying to acquire Greenland or invade Greenland? The fact that we're even having this conversation right now is utterly insane. And she said, no. Why would that deter us at all? That Europe is sending their army here? And you know who's loving all of this? And let me turn it over to Bretton Jordy, Vladimir Putin. Because what are we not talking about and who else is loving it? Trump. But we're going to talk about all these things because we're now longer talking about Ukraine. I mean, we're talking about it here on the Midas Touch podcast. But remember, what was it two weeks ago, three weeks ago, we were so close to a deal with Ukraine. If only Zelensky had the courage. Remember Donald Trump and Witkoff and Kushner trying to once again extort and bully Zelensky when we all knew that Putin never wanted peace in Ukraine. Putin's never even made a gesture of peace. Right then Putin said, ah, Zelinsky is trying to attack my home. And then all of a sudden, attention was turned to all these other areas. And Donald Trump thinks we're also not going to talk about the Epstein files. As the DOJ just blatantly covers up and perpetuates this violation of the Epstein Transparency Act. I mean, covering up for a child sex trafficking ring, the DOJ has become a criminal enterprise, a racketeering enterprise, covering up child sex trafficking. And then speaking of the doj, you had the resignations in their Minnesota office of their top United States attorneys there. You had resignations in their civil rights division in main justice of some of their top lawyers there. Because the Trump regime ordered all of these top prosecutors to go after the widow of Renee Nicole Goode. Criminally investigate Renee Nicole Goode's widow, and don't investigate Jonathan Ross, who killed Renee Nicole Good. And that was enough for those prosecutors to say, we're out. And the Minnesota prosecutors, those were some of the prosecutors who were going after the fraud and had prosecuted successfully fraudsters over there. So let's bring in Brett and Jordi. No, we got a lot to discuss on this episode. A lot going on internationally in that intro. I didn't even talk about Iran. We'll talk about what's going on there. Where apparently Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar, other countries where Trump has his bank accounts, they said, don't do that right now. Don't attack Iran. When Donald Trump said back on January 2nd he was gonna go in guns A blazing if they killed one protester and now seems they killed thousands and Donald Trump doesn't do anything at all there.

Jordi (7:55)

Yeah.

Brett (7:55)

Everywhere you look. Well, first off, I want to say hi, Ben, hi Jordy, hi Midas. Mighty. Hi everybody out there. If you're watching us live on YouTube or if you're listening on the Midas Touch podcast audio feed, it's great to be with you right now. And we're just seeing such reckless behavior and that doesn't even quite get to it. I saw somebody in the comments during our live. Right. I miss when politics were boring and I never worried about it. I think that just about sums it up. And it's also not just a matter of are we not talking talking about this topic or not talking about that topic. There's action behind talking about the various topics. There are resources that are required to actually do things. For example, I'll give my main point right here. Ukraine. What what Ben brought up before, not only are the public at large not talking about Ukraine as much right now, but the fact that all of these European countries right now have to worry about the United States as the aggressor and have to send their militaries to, to Denmark and Greenland to try to deter an American invasion or a Pearl harbor style attack on Greenland, as crazy as that is to say. You know what that means? That means there, those are less people who are able to be focused on actually supporting Ukraine. That means that the security apparatus of Europe has to be focused on American aggression rather than Russian aggression or they have to divide between the two because resources are finite. I find that incredibly disturbing. We're in a very dark place as a country. I mean, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We're at a dark place domestic, we're at a dark place abroad. And every single day we see more and more and more from this clown show and the participants in this clown show who, rather than stand up to these dictators and bullies, bow down to them like we saw today with Maria Karina Machado. And I understand that she's in a very difficult position. I get that. I will never be in the position that she is. But what she did to me is unforgivable. And I might upset some people by saying this, but frankly, I think it is completely pathetic. And I think it is a slap in the face to Americans who are fighting for our freedom here. I think it's a slap in the face to other people who are trying to stand up to Donald Trump abroad. And the whole thing just Completely, completely disgusts me. We have a lot to speak about, so I'm gonna pass it over to Jordi, but good to see everybody. Jordy, what's the latest?

Jordi (10:17)

Ben, Brett, those are some deep intros to start the show. But I mean, I get it. Like, the news right now, now is as wild as it's ever been, I guess. Just want to take a deep breath here. Say hello, Midas Mighty. How are you guys? Thank you for joining us tonight. Really excited. We are on our way to 6 million subscribers here in the Midas Touch YouTube channel. So please hit subscribe. Some folks think they're subscribed quickly realize they're not totally free to subscribe. So hit that subscribe button. Let's get the 6 million. I'm excited for tonight's show. We have a lot to get into. Ben, before I toss it over to you, one of the themes that I've been hitting on in the Midas Touch podcast and on the Midas Touch podcast over the last few weeks is I am worried about the United States standing in the world as we go forward as a country. Right. 5, 10, 15 years, let's say we get out of this Trump regime and we're back to a pro democracy sort of government here in the U.S. right? One can only hope. How do our allies get over the stench of what they're seeing right now? We, the United States, apparently we can't be trusted anymore. And that hurts. But like I understand it from their perspective, it's deeply hurting. As someone who really loves this country to see the leaders at the tippy top of government here. I'm talking about the Trump regime just really being children in a room when serious matters need to be handled by adults. And it's unfortunate, but it's exactly what the Trump regime wants. They want this chaos. They want the instability, and that's what they're getting. And the lack of trust now that we give. These other nations are allies. I mean, I get it from their perspective and it pains me. Ben.

Ben (11:49)

Absolutely. There are some people also who wonder if we're really live, when we're really live. So I'll prove it to you right now. Dana. Callie writes still at class. Ben, hope you don't have to hide out from those Gestapo ghouls right now. And so, yes, I started my professorship teaching back again at USC Law this semester. And so I'm in that area in general vicinity. And so it's hard for me to get back. So you'll probably see me hear more or sometimes at other locations When I record this, Brett, you look like Elijah wood according to zombie182. They want you to know that.

Brett (12:22)

You know, I get that a lot. That's been the most consistent one, I would say, throughout my time. But, you know, as far as celebrity comparisons go, I'll take that one.

Jordi (12:32)

You get two really good ones that.

Ben (12:35)

I'm reading their comments live.

Brett (12:36)

That's fine.

Jordi (12:37)

Elijah Wood and Steph Curry a lot. I'm like, wow, those are Steph Curry. One I don't quite understand.

Ben (12:43)

People think you look like Steph Curry, Brett.

Jordi (12:44)

All the time.

Brett (12:45)

I get all the time also.

Jordi (12:47)

Yeah, all the time.

Ben (12:49)

All right, maybe pull.

Jordi (12:50)

Unless there.

Brett (12:51)

Unless, Ben, there's a coordinated Instagram troll campaign against me to.

Jordi (12:55)

All right, let's get.

Ben (12:56)

Let's get a little bit of brother Ben. We haven't talked a lot today. So you saw us. We'll talk more after. The one thing I want to point out, though, that I don't think gets enough attention is the intentionality of the distractions, both in terms of the Epstein files and in terms of Ukraine. And they're both around the same time, I think, from the Epstein files, obviously, whether it was what Donald Trump did in Venezuela, just hoisting up another authoritarian regime, an extension of Maduro, and then Trump invading Minneapolis and St. Paul. I mean, every time it seems that we get closer to getting the Epstein files, a new city is invaded and the tactics get more brutal and the attention is turned there. And it's 247 on state regime media, and you've got Donald Trump's Gestapo ghouls, as you put in the chat, ICE and Border Patrol, like, gassing people in the community. You have peaceful protesters. They'll just throw gas at them and they'll raise their weapons at their faces. They'll beat people. They shot two more people. All the stories that always come out that ICE says happens, it's never actually true. And then. So distractions from the Epstein files and then Greenland, the invasion of Greenland. Remember when that picked up a lot? Donald Trump has been talking about that since the beginning of this awful and disastrous and historically pitiful term. But do you remember specifically when that guy, Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana, said, now I'm the special envoy, and we're going to take it over. And then the language ratcheted from there, and they were, Greenland, Greenland, Greenland. Do you remember exactly that weekend? I want you to pay attention because these things are all connected. That was the weekend that the Russians were in Miami and they were meeting with Witkoff and Kushner, that's when that started. And to me, that was part of a concerted effort and a concerted conversation. And I bet you Venezuela was talked about then as well, and deals were cut there as it relates to Venezuela. And then that's when there was all of a sudden special envoy to Greenland to take it over when there were Russian special envoys here in the United States. I don't think that's accidental. And if you remember, go back to the end of the first Trump regime, like 2019ish. Do you remember that NATO identified that Russia was going to try to plant stories that Trump wanted to conquer Greenland and 2019, 2020. Remember, it doesn't get reported a lot, but Greenland was mentioned back then as well. And one of the Russian plans to sow disunity in NATO then was to use Greenland as a way to do it. So I just put that out there for everybody. Let's talk about Machado, though. And here she was after she met with Donald Trump. And it's just, it's sad because she looks so utterly weak and pathetic. And she's someone who I once admired, or at least I thought I did, especially back in July 2024. She was banned from the election. So her proxy, Edmundo Gonzalez, was the person who was the pro democracy candidate of Venezuela, beat Maduro. Maduro wouldn't accept the l wouldn't accept the loss. And Machado's party was persecuted. And Maduro and Delsey and Deodato Cabello and that whole authoritarian crew, along with their roving gangs that call themselves the colectivos, were out there repressing people like they're doing now. And I admired Machado back then, but what she's had to become, or what she's thought she's had to become, it's just so weak.

Brett (16:54)

So let me show you here where.

Ben (16:55)

She says she gave the physical medal. You can't transfer the prize, as the Nobel Committee makes clear. But this is what she described happened when she was with Donald Trump in the Oval Office today. And by the way, this was a press conference that was not actually covered publicly at all. But let's play this clip. Maria, did you offer him, did you offer to President Trump your Nobel Peace Code? I presented the President of United States.

Caroline Levitt (17:22)

The medal of the priest, the Nobel Priest Prize.

Ben (17:27)

And I told him this. Listen to this.

Caroline Levitt (17:32)

200 years ago, General LA gave Simon.

Ben (17:39)

Goliva a medal with George election. You know what this reminds me? She reminds me of like a Republican or a Maga at this Point, right? Like that's how the maga.

Brett (17:52)

It's like watching Anna Paulina Luna or something.

Ben (17:54)

Anna Paulina Luna or. Yeah, exactly. Here's what the Nobel Peace center posted earlier. The Nobel Peace Prize medal. It measures 6.6 centimeters in diameter, weighs 196 grams, and is struck in gold. On its face, a portrait of Alfred Nobel. And on its reverse, three naked men holding around each other's shoulders as a sign of brotherhood, a design unchanged for 120 years. But did you, you know that some Nobel Peace Prize medals have been passed on after the award was given? A well known case is Dmitry Muratov's medal, which was auctioned for over US dollars, US$100 million to support refugees from the war in Ukraine. And the medal displayed at the Nobel Peace center is actually on loan and originally belonged to Christian Louis Lang, Norway's first Peace Prize laureate. But one truth remains. As the Norwegian Nobel Committee states, once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared transferred to others. The decision is final and it stands for all time. A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot. So how do you think Donald Trump repaid Maria Machado today? Well, you had Caroline Levitt, Donald Trump's chief propagandist. She was holding a press conference earlier, and during this press conference, she was asked, what is Donald Trump and this regime? What do they think about Machado? Does she have the respect of the people or not? Listen to the response.

Jordi (19:18)

Is it still the President's assessment that it would be very hard for Ms.

Brett (19:22)

Machado to leave Venezuela because he says.

Caroline Levitt (19:25)

She lacks the respect and support in that country and will he raise that with her today?

Jordi (19:30)

Ms.

Caroline Levitt (19:31)

I think the President's assessment that you just pointed out was based on realities on the ground. It was a realistic assessment, assessment based on what the President was reading and hearing from his advisors and national security team. And at this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed.

Ben (19:47)

Yeah, he's going to go with the authoritarian, he's going to go with Delsey. Why? Because Delsey is going to put the oil money with Qatar, and that's why. And again, I don't care what political party you're from, Democrat, Republican, Independent. You think that we should invade countries, take their resources and then put those resources in bank accounts in Middle east countries without accountability like Qatar. That's, that's what you think we should do? I just, I quite literally cannot understand anybody's like, yeah, get that money in Qatar. And by the way, let's get that president more 7:47 jets from Qatar. And yeah, when his son in law fails in business like that 666property. What a name. 666property in Manhattan. Qataris. You bail him out, man. You do it.

Jordi (20:47)

Yeah.

Ben (20:47)

America. America first. Like what, what are we talking about? Like, did y' all know that in December grocery prices had their highest increase since like 2022? And by the way, do you know this about the Consumer price index, the CPI, which is used to measure inflation? 40 to 50% of all of the inputs now are made up. Are made up. Admittedly, they are all estimates and guesses that the regime puts in. And they go, well, we're just doing our best good faith estimates because there's not enough people at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to send out the surveys to the businesses in order to gauge inflation. Inflation's still up, by the way, and it's not going down. But did you know that 40 to 50% of the data inputs are just all made up? That's never happened before. Let me ask you this, do you think year over year that you're only paying 2.7% more than you did last year? I sure as hell am. I tell you, things are a lot more expensive this year from health insurance. The things that I actually have that impact me, you know, I can't speak about inflation as it relates to, I don't know, other products that I don't use, okay? But as it relates to like electricity costs, okay, as it relates to groceries, as it relates to things like that, they're significantly higher year over year than 2.7%.

Brett (22:22)

It's, it's crazy. It's absolutely crazy. And, you know, all Trump cares about here is retaining power, growing his power, expanding the power of the executive branch, and then using his power in order to extract whatever he can from everybody, be it the American public, be it Venezuela, be it Iran, it doesn't matter. And, and he does it under the guise of America first. And it cannot be more opposite of America first. Everything that Donald Trump is doing, and I think we need, it needs to be made abundantly that whether we're talking about Venezuela or whether we're talking about Iran, or whether we're talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Donald Trump's goal in any of these situations, including, you know, here at home, but in all situations is never, how do I actually act as a servant of the people? What am I gonna do here to actually help people's lives, to make their lives easier? His only goal is how do I get richer. And how do I bully these people who are in power in other countries into giving me exactly what I want? So Donald Trump gets rid of Maduro. He puts in Del C. Rodriguez. That is just fine with him, because she knows that I'll be able to remain in power as long as I cut deals and give Donald Trump oil money, which he could deposit in the secret Qatar bank account rather than the US treasury, and he could get rich. And I'll be in power, and I'll continue to oppress the people. I'll continue to crack down on all dissent. I don't give a shit about the Venezuelan people. That's the situation right there. We with Iran. The way that Donald Trump led the people of Iran on, to me, is one of the most despicable things. And I am seeing bipartisan condemnation of this from people who have considered themselves Republicans their entire lives and people have considered themselves Democrats their entire lives. Because when Donald Trump urges Iranians to keep protesting and says, and I quote, help is on the way. Take to the streets. Help is on the way. I will be there for you. And then those people hear his calls and they go to the streets and they protest because they are convinced that help is on the way. And the United States, the world's largest superpower, is going to have their back. And then they go on the streets and they get slaughtered by the thousands. And then Donald Trump says, oh, you know, the Ayatollah is actually doing a good job right now, actually, and is. And he promised me. He promised me no more killing this week. So all good. Nothing. Nothing to worry about here. To me, it just screwed up. To me, it just screwed up. You led these people on. They risked their lives. Thousands of them died because of you. We see situations play out like this now all over the world. Because no matter how much Donald Trump tries to wrap himself in this notion of a democracy or peace, we saw today, he was posting after he was with Machado, he's like, I'm making a new peace board. We're gonna have the board of peace. I'm the peace guy. He's the opposite of peace. This is the opposite of peace. He does not care about peace. He cares about propaganda and using that propaganda to make himself rich. I mean, I'm sure you've even seen the story about these Trump phones. Just to reiterate the point that everything is a scam. Remember all those people who bought those gold Trump phones, which I believe ended up being like. Like a stock phone that you get on one of Those. One of those Chinese websites, I'm forgetting the name of, like, Temu or, you know, whatever those sites are, and they cost, like, nothing. And Donald Trump was selling these gold Trump phones to his supporters for a ton of money. Not a single person has received these Trump phones, but Donald Trump has received their money. Oh, by the way, I wonder how. How people's bank accounts were when that automatic $5,000 donation hit on those Trump emails that we exposed were. Because, you know, a whole lot of those went through. It's just a fraud, scam, grift, take as much power as you can. And I think one of the kind of scary parts of the moment that we're in, or at least one of the kind of contradictions of the moment that we're in, is like Ben said, and who showed you the polling, the American people hate, hate, hate, hate what Donald Trump is doing right now, like, despise it in record numbers. In fact, even ice, which used to have a positive approval amongst the American people, now for the first time, has a negative approval from the American people because of the way that Donald Trump has unleashed ICE onto the streets, using them as a paramilitary force against the American people. So people hate what Donald Trump is doing right now. In fact, Donald Trump's numbers, even on immigration, have cratered. I say even on immigration, because that was like Donald Trump's whole big issue. It was like his number one issue that the American people for some reason bought what he was selling on. Well, even that has collapsed. But despite that collapsing, Donald Trump continues to use the levers of government that he has acquired to continuously expand his power and inflict more pain on the American people. And that's a move that we. We see through all the beginnings of dictatorships all throughout the world, as we've kind of said, you know, in past shows and podcasts that have gone through historic examples, you know, throughout history, a lot of these dictators were elected to power democratically. Right? I'm using quotes. They're elected to power, and they really only had, like, 30% support, but they were able to use that 30% support to then inflict this pain upon the majority of taking the power of the minority by doing all the various tactics that we see Trump is doing right now. And so to me, that's why we're in an extra dangerous situation at the moment. And it's just like the world we find ourselves in. So, like, I like to be like, and here's the positive news. I mean, there's not a lot of positive news right now there just isn't. Donald Trump said that, you know, he did his little joke to Reuters. His joke, I'm saying that. Very sarcastic, that now we may have to cancel the midterms because everyone loves me so much, I take him at his word. But I also think we also need to remain focused on midterms and on ensuring that people are informed and getting out the proper messaging so that people actually understand what's going on. So to that respect, I am happy that these messages are breaking through because we need some sort of check on power. We need some sort of accountability. And I think it begins with us here spreading these messages, spreading the word, documenting everything that this administration does, everything that this regime does. So hopefully, once we're able to get this regime out of power, we're able to get real accountability and have all of the crimes that they committed documented, have it on tape, shown to courts, shown to the American people, and truly expose the rot that has occurred over these years.

Jordi (28:51)

Well said. Yeah. Look, a lot of people often ask us, you know, what can we do at this time? Like, I feel so powerless.

Ben (28:57)

Right.

Jordi (28:58)

I think we all get that and hear that a lot. The best thing you could do is shine a light on everything, everything, every single day. Because what they're trying to do, what the regime is trying to do, they're trying to tire you out. They don't want you to be paying attention to every single crazy statement that Donald Trump makes. Oh, just because that's when corporate news says, oh, it's just Donnie being Donnie. I'm not going to take him seriously there. No, take him at his words. Take him at his words. You have to, and you have to amplify folks in the pro democracy community who are willing to speak out and just amplify messaging that that gets people to a spot where everyone's shining a light on the corruption that's going on right now. Donald Trump is the world's biggest scam artist ever. Right? He scammed his way out of Vietnam. He scammed his way into the White House. He is a scammer. He lies to you. And he only wants to benefit one person and one person only, and that is Donald Trump. He's bankrupted casinos. Think about how bad you have to be a business to bankrupt a damp casino. He is only looking out for himself at the end of the day, whether it be the phones that Brett just stated there or whether he tweets out these true social that he's sending help. Right. He's just trying to, I guess, appease Folks, for a time period, for a brief time to make himself look good, and then he doesn't send the help.

Hank Johnson (30:11)

Why?

Jordi (30:12)

Because he doesn't actually care. He doesn't care. He doesn't care about the Iranians. He doesn't care about you, the American people. He's tricked these people who wear the Don't Tread on Me T shirts to applaud when the FBI raids the homes of journalists. That's what he's done. He scammed people out of their money, out of their time, and out of their damn dignity and out of their own self respect, quite frankly, to continue to applaud these moves like this Maga ilk, this MAGA movement, it's just so vile and so evil. But he's done a good job at corrupting the brains and eroding the minds, whether it be the trillions of dollars of propaganda that gets poured into the ecosystem to confuse people that what they should be is patriotic. This is. At the end of the day, you just have to take a step back. You have to take a deep breath and you have to just morally put your conscience out there and be like, hey, is this the right thing? Should the FBI be raiding the homes of journalists? And should I, as an American, want to applaud that? And I think the answer lies in yourself. At that point, you should know, no, this isn't a good thing. This isn't patriotic. It is crazy to see what's going on right now. And I'm glad that we, the collective, we the Midas mighty, this community is here to speak out against all the madness, quite frankly.

Ben (31:25)

Let's take our first quick break of the show. A reminder, make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel. You may think you're subscribed, but you may not actually be subscribed. So subscribe. Turn the notifications on. Also subscribe to our substack@midasplus.com m e I-a s p l u s.com and I'm sure you've seen the fact that we've opened up a Washington D.C. bureau. We've got Pablo Manriquez on the ground there who's joined Midas Touch, who's asking the politicians the questions that you want answered. We've been expanding our team, expanding our staff, expanding our resources. That's thanks to you. If you don't want to go to the substack and you just want to become a member of our YouTube, you can just click the join and you can gift memberships here as well. And that helps us grow and expand. And so that's something you can do as well. Let's take our first quick break of the show. We will be right back.

Jordi (32:18)

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Brett (33:56)

You know that sluggish, heavy feeling that hits right after the holidays when you're off your routine, your energy's all over the place and you feel like you need a hurdle. Hard reset. That was me. And honestly, I didn't want another resolution that I'd abandoned by February. I wanted something structured, something that actually works. Prolon's five day fasting mimicking diet makes it incredibly easy to reset your body habits and energy heading into the new year. It works at the cellular level to rejuvenate you from within, supporting fat loss, glowing skin and sharper Focus. And because it's a simple structured plan, you can build real momentum in just a few days. Days. Every new year we all say we want to move more, lose weight, eat better. But willpower alone just doesn't cut it. Prolon's fasting mimicking diet is a revolutionary plant based nutrition program that nourishes your body while keeping it in a fasting state. It's based on more than two decades of research developed with USC's Longevity Institute and backed by top medical centers. It's been shown to support fat focused weight loss, energy, metabolic health, skin appearance, all the things we need coming out of the holidays. And the best part is how easy it is with Prolon. You get everything prepackaged and ready to go. Each kit comes with five boxes labeled by day so you know exactly what to eat. No planning, no guesswork. Plus three consecutive cycles of Prolon have been shown to reduce your biological age score by an average of 2 1/2 years and your waist circumference by 1 1/2 inches. I use this. And you should too. Just in time for the new year, Prolon is offering Midas listeners to 15% off their five day nutrition program for your post holiday. Glow up when you go to prolonlife.com midas that's P R O L O N life.com/midas me I D A S for 15% off prolon life.com midas.

Jordi (35:53)

Let'S go. Shout to our sponsors links in description of both YouTube and the audio. Use the links, use the codes. If there's an exit survey, let them know we sent you. I saw a few folks over break gifting people membership. So now people could use the emojis in the chat which is always fun when I get to see a Ben and Brett emoji pop up on my screen. Feel free to gift memberships on the YouTube chat. That's a cool way to grow the channel. Benji, where to next, big bro?

Ben (36:14)

Jordy, what you were saying before the break I think should be reemphasized now that we're back from the break, which is just to ask ourselves sometimes, what's the role of government? What's the point of this? Why do we have a government? I know we don't ask these questions. When people cover politics it's often what did this person do? What did that person do? And then within like the parties, this person's going to primary, this person died, this person said that I gotcha, you know, or like you know, you have the, those, those shows on corporate News where they all yell at each other, mad at you, you suck, blah, blah, blah, you're awful. Blah, blah, blah, you're okay. Take a step back. Okay. What is the role of government? Do we want a government that makes people's lives better, that uplifts, that empowers, that protects, that provides? Just think about. I don't care what your views are necessarily about Mamdani, although I'm a big Mom Donnie fan. I like what he's doing. Not because I like the personality of Mom Donnie. I like what he's doing. I like what he's done in the first two weeks. I like that his focus has been on things like universal child care, say, parent. That's a big deal. I know. It makes my life easier and more affordable. If there is child care that the government can help support, that's a good. That's a win. Health care lunches, things like that versus invasions of cities or sending masked agents to terrorize communities. Not to go. We all want, and we'd all be supportive of federal agents working with law enforcement at a local level or on their own going after the truly bad guys and bad gals. I'm all for that. Especially if the people are very dangerous, the rapists, the murderers. Absolutely no one wants to get in the way of that. But that's not what's happening. They're using those words, they're weaponizing those words to go after people who are doing roofing work on top of the roofs, people who are in the restaurants who are working hard, people who are food vendors, people who are working on farms and construction jobs, people who are just trying to go about their lives or they're driving there kids to a special ed school, right? People who are showing up as lawful asylum seekers to their court appearances. People who are contributing and they're attacking in the most vile ways. Armed agents wearing masks, 3,000 of them in a city saying, let me see your papers, Let me see your papers. Prove to me that you're. Let me see your papers, Let me see your papers. In the United States of America. And if someone says, I'm a citizen, prove to me that you're a citizen. That's what they're doing. And I saw this stat. I interviewed Governor Pritzker earlier, but I saw the stat in Chicago. Over the past 30, 40 years in Chicago, they never used chemical weapons once. Chicago pd, They've dealt with a lot of stuff. And I'm not trying to act like Chicago PD is a perfect police department. There really is none. But Chicago PD has gone through some things, eh, dealt with some things. They're not masked. They don't use chemical agents on their population. And when you watch what's going on on a day to day basis In Minneapolis and St. Paul again, 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol Gestapo who are out there and as people are peacefully protesting, they throw gas at them, they gas them, they shoot into crowds with non lethal, which could be lethal. They block.

Brett (40:42)

They're blinding people.

Ben (40:43)

They're shooting people in the face. They killed Renee Nicole good. And then they ordered investigations into her widow.

Brett (40:51)

What are we?

Ben (40:52)

That's what you want your government to be doing on a day to day. What are we doing here? There are so many things that the American people really need. Housing, people can't afford their rent right now. Food, people can't afford. Groceries right now. Health care, people can't afford health care right now. And they're getting kicked off of the Affordable Care act plans because the subsidies were not extended. So people don't have health care. They may have to show up to an emergency room or just die. That's what's happening in our country right now. People who are working jobs can't make enough money to support their family while their CEO makes 3,000, 5,000, 10,000 times what they're making, gets every tax loophole in the book and they're paying less taxes than the person who's even, who's working for them. Is that what we want a government to be doing? You know, and for all the people like we don't like what Mamdani's. That's socialism. You want to know what socialism or communism looks like? It's what Trump's doing for his billionaire friends. There's socialism for the billionaires. That's what's really taking place right now.

Brett (42:09)

By the way, Ben, I love how like all these, you know, MAGA people are like unlimited money could be spent, right? As long as it's on trying to invade other countries, do all this foreign intervention, on attacking the people, sticking a paramilitary force against the American people, all the money spent on that, the billions and billions and billions of dollars, they're like, yes, I voted for this. I voted for this. This is the best. Yes, keep it going. And the second someone's like, all right, let me give like a few million dollars, you know, billion dollars, let's get maybe child care, health care, you know, let's make sure people afford their, you know, health care and that they don't die. They're like, what? Where's this money coming from?

Ben (42:50)

This is social.

Brett (42:51)

Where's this money coming from? How are you doing this? Maybe ask that. With the trillions and trillions of dollars that are being spent on our military budget, Donald Trump wants to expand it to $1.5 trillion. Nope. No problem with that. That doesn't concern you at all? While he's militarizing our streets? That's perfectly okay with you? And all the other money that Donald Trump is spending on all of this other garbage to line his own pockets. And the second someone actually tries to do something that's actually for the people, like the bare minimum, to help people, provide childcare, make sure people get health care, all of a sudden, these people act all holier than thou. I will take. I'm happy when my taxes go towards funding things that actually help people. And it disgusts me to see our tax money being spent in ways to inflict harm on the world and on the American people. And that's the difference in what's happening right now under this regime. All of this money going to the federal government, and they are using it to inflict pain on the world, to terrorize the world and to terrorize the American people here at home.

Jordi (43:53)

Not to get into a whole tax conversation here, but I do want to, like, just. I'm okay paying tax. Like, yes, pay taxes towards things that will help this country continue to grow and prosper. What I cannot stand is, Brett, when these billionaires use these tax loopholes, people who are making, like, hundreds of millions of dollars, billions of dollars per year, and then don't pay a damn dime, while the American people are certainly paying. Because you know what? Uncle Sam's gonna get his. He's gonna get his from the regular folks who don't have the fancy schmancy lawyers out there to get into the tax loopholes and evade all of this stuff. And it drives me insane. Right? That's why this whole conversation, too, around billionaires, it's like, look, if you're gonna make your money, go make your money, man. You want two yachts? That's awesome. Do you really need 14? Do you? And if you want it, okay. I mean, that's. To me, it's kind of fucked up, but fine. But pay your damn taxes. Pay your taxes to this country, man. Because that. Nothing makes me angrier than that.

Ben (44:51)

Sorry, Let me. I'll bring attention to something that's getting no attention anywhere else, but it deserves attention. It just shows you. Like, what are the MAGA Republicans focused on right now? I told you all of those things that the American people are really in need of. In need of. But the hearing this week was on giving legal immunity to the artificial stone industry. That's what Republicans were holding hearings on. And the issue is artificial stone, when it is utilized in construction has been known to cause something called silicosis, which is a deadly lung disease. And so people have been suing these companies that have used artificial stone because they've gotten silicosis from working in these areas and fields with artificial stone. So the big hearing that was taking place was granting immunity to artificial stone companies so people who get silicosis can't sue. That was the big hearing this week. I'll show you what Democratic Congress member Hank Johnson said where he says, can we just talk about the absurdity right now of granting legal immunity to artificial stone companies? That that's what the priority is right now. Here, play this clip.

Hank Johnson (46:14)

We give immunity for some medicines and some vaccines and those are highly regulated and they go to market and directly benefit people's health. And we also give immunity to some defense contractors who are creating weapons for use in war to protect our national security. Are there any national security implications to the manufacture of fake stone which your company, by the way, is the largest fake stone manufacturer, manufacturer in the United States by far. Is there any critical national defense contribution that the company makes with this product?

Caroline Levitt (47:04)

Yeah, first of all, this new term.

Brett (47:06)

Fake stone, I'm unfamiliar with.

Hank Johnson (47:08)

Well, let me, let me. Is there any, I mean this, it doesn't cure any diseases or anything like that, does it?

Brett (47:17)

This, this.

Caroline Levitt (47:18)

Yeah, I, I'm here to tell you.

Hank Johnson (47:19)

Call it artificial stone. I call it fake stone. I don't think there's much of a difference.

Ben (47:24)

That's what they were doing in Congress right there. And I guarantee you the artificial stone industry are big lobbyists for the Republicans. Let's take a look at when it was happening in another hearing. So the MAGA Republicans created their own January 6th subcommittee in order to say that January 6th never happened and to go after the January 6th committee. So they previously scheduled a hearing on the pipe bomber before they realized that the pipe bomber was a two time Trump supporter who now wants the pardon that Donald Trump gave to everybody on January 6th goes, I'm a Trump supporter and I put the pipe bomb in because I believe that the election was stolen. So I was there around January.

Brett (48:16)

Real quiet on that story once again.

Ben (48:18)

But they still had to hear. They still had.

Jordi (48:20)

What do they think was going to happen?

Ben (48:22)

They still had the hearing though. And you had.

Jordi (48:25)

Congressman, hold on, sorry. What did they think was going to happen. The guy that had a pipe bomb, when Trump told everyone to go to January 6th and invade the Capitol, was on their side. Yeah. You told, you, you told him to come. Donnie, of course, he's your guy.

Ben (48:40)

By the way, if the guy, the guy's going to get the pardon. I don't know how he doesn't get the pardon. Like, if you read how that pardon was written, it's for anything relating to or around January 6th on the day of any crimes committed in D.C. by the Capitol in January.

Jordi (48:56)

Right.

Ben (48:57)

I just, I don't know how you say that. It doesn't, it applies to the Oath Keeper, but it doesn't apply to the pipe bomber. And guess who they invited into the hearing? The main Oath Keeper. They invited Stewart Rhodes. The MAGA Republicans put in the VIP area that's usually reserved for the family members of a witness, the Oath Keeper, who was there on Capitol Hill and watch Moskowitz say. So we've got an Oath Keeper in the House here. Play this clip.

Jason Crow (49:25)

By the way, the head of the Oath Keepers is here with us in the audience. Stuart Rhodes is here. Here today. It's not every day, of course, not every day. Of course. You get to meet someone who was convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States. Hasn't happened in 30 years. Of course. Sitting in the front row in the reserved section, which is controlled by my colleagues across the aisle. Not sure why he's here. I don't know if he's here to tell us about the Oath Keeper's secret handshake or what tree house they meet in or whether girls are allowed in. I've always wondered that about the Oath Keep. But, yeah, he's here. I mean, I don't know. You have any questions? My colleagues across the aisle for the head of the Oath Keepers, that's sitting in the reserved section of, of this hearing. I mean, he wasn't pardoned. He's still convicted of seditious conspiracy. Something you guys say didn't happen.

Jordi (50:18)

Right.

Jason Crow (50:18)

There wasn't an insurrection. I don't know how you get convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Ben (50:21)

Sick, sick, sick stuff. We're going to take our last quick break of the show. When we come back, we have much more that we still want to discuss. So let's take that last quick break. A reminder, hit subscribe on our YouTube channel and join if you can. You can gift memberships to other people that helps this channel grow. And I hope you've seen the growth because we've made a very diligent effort to execute the plan that we told you all we were going to do at the end of last year. And I think it's having an impact. I mean, when we have somebody on the Hill asking questions of politicians like, do you support more funding for ice? I don't care if it's a Democrat or Republican, we're gonna ask them that question. And I think it was a big service that Pablo Manriquez did this week where he asked all the Democrats that question. Did everybody see him do that? And he said, you know, and this is, I think the power of the Midas touch, having someone on the Hill went to everybody, including the main people who do the appropr creations.

Brett (51:26)

Some of them got quite mad at us because we, we presented them talking about the Democrats because we showed their answers to the American people. When they said when they wouldn't answer the question or wouldn't commit to not increasing ICE funding or wouldn't commit to reducing ICE funding or getting rid of ICE entirely, we just play their answers, their own words. Some of these people got quite upset and then had to try to do damage control and all that. But the American, American people need to know, and I'm telling people right now, stop chasing the polls. By the way, the polls are already gotten ahead of you. Right? You're living in polls from years ago. Right. The American people have turned against ice. They've seen what happens when you give unlimited resources to an organization that is a paramilitary force that could be used against the American people. The way it's being used. The American people hate this stuff. So if you're gonna keep thinking about in this old school way that I'm gonna see where the polls go and I'm gonna make my decision based on that because it may not sound politically good and they might say I'm against law enforcement if I'm against ice. No, these people are not real law enforcement. These people are a gestapo like force that's being inflicted on the American people. They are torturing and terrorizing the American people. All politicians need to grow a damn spine and stand up to these people and say, no, no more. We're not going to let this happen. We're defunding them entirely. This is, it's not like a sacrosanct organization. It's not like ice has been here since our founding or anything. Ice is younger than me. Ice is much younger than me.

Jordi (52:49)

Ice is like 23 years old. Ice can barely have a drink.

Brett (52:52)

Ice can barely have a drink. What the hell are we doing here? What are we doing here, people? It's unbelievable.

Ben (52:57)

Let's take our last quick break of the show. I wanted to mention that though, because, you know, I think it's important because the politics of I care about the issues more than the politicians. That's what we all do here. That's, that's to me at the end of the day. And if you're not going to support defunding ice, I'm going to make sure that that's very clear to the American people because the American people want ice defunded right now. Right? I mean, it's a Gestapo force anyway. Let's take our last quick break of the show. We'll be right back.

Jordi (53:26)

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Brett (56:17)

I always do looks.

Jordi (56:18)

You gave me a look. Anyway, I wanted to add one thing. Going conversation before break is like, I don't want to speak for you guys as the brother I'll speak. I don't view myself as a political person. I've never viewed myself as a political person. That was until I guess, you know, the politics of it all threw itself in front of us. And maybe that's to a fault, right? Maybe, you know, we should have been more engaged younger in our lives or whatnot. But when the pandemic hit, as this community knows, that's when us as brothers at least sort of got together and was like, whoa, this stuff is crazy.

Ben (56:50)

There.

Jordi (56:51)

There are mobile morgues right now in New York City. What is going on? And it just became too much to sort of avoid. And at that point, year after year after that, you know, the craziness just kind of seemed to not stop. And here we are with ICE now, murdering people on the streets. And that is just so despicable to me in so many ways. And so bringing this full circle here is. I'm just really proud of where we are. This community is five years later now. That or six years later. Sheesh. Now that we're in 2026 here and continuing to go strong here as this community is that I don't care what political party you are, quite frankly, Democrat, Republican in the traditional sense or what that as long as you want to have pro democracy ideals, like let's sit down and have a good faith conversation here. It's just what's going on with MAGA and ice. It's too much at times. It's really just I'm going to give.

Brett (57:40)

This selfish analysis for the rich people out there, right? For the people who are running companies, for the people, people who are making movies, for the people who are, you name it, right? And that's that that fabric of society only works when there is stability in society and people don't feel left out of the society and sidelined by the society and made an enemy of the state. Because people, I think are much more inclined to care about things like, I don't know, like the Oscars or the Grammys or the Golden Globes or, you know, this celebrity or that celebrity or, you know, respect this entrepreneur, that entrepreneur if they feel like they have a piece of the pie, if they feel like they are included, you know, in society and if they feel like the state hasn't completely turned against them and isn't trying to terrorize them. But when people are on a day to day basis being traumatized by the government of the United States and when they're being traumatized and psychologically tortured because they can't afford a proper meal or can't afford to buy a house or can't afford to send their kids to college or you name it, right? You name what sort of day to day issue it is, then there's a lot less time to actually be engaging in these other aspects of society and to say, I feel good, I want to be entertained, let's watch a movie, let's care about the celebrity gossip, you know, all that stuff, right? And so I think we're in a time right now of just such crisis that I actually think it's bringing down everything. Like, I think it's so much more than politics right now. And that goes to your point, Jordi, where this has intruded on, I think the turf of people who never cared about politics before or just want to go about their lives or to the commenter who made the comment earlier in the show saying, I just want things to be boring, right? And I think all of us want things to be boring so that we could be spending our time and our mental energy doing things other than caring about this. But we're kind of like in a, you know, how like these European nations are Like a war posture in Greenland. Like we're all kind of like that in the United States right now, right? We are all together in this, forming a community in order to push back against the overreaches. And that's an understatement of this regime. And I think there is a power in that, though. And if there's one silver lining, it's that we do have this community and that the community continues to grow and continues to build and that I think people are all in this same mission together. But that's my selfish analysis of the situation for all of those out there who think, why should I be caring about politics? I just want to make movies or I just want to run my business or whatever. It affects you. All of this, all of this affects you and it affects our society when we are so morally rotten the way we are right now.

Ben (60:47)

You know, you take a look at. And Brad, it's such a great point. Democratic Congress member Jason Crow posted the following. Trump gets a gold plated new ballroom, but you get a piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli and one corn tortilla, one small piece of chicken. What he's referring to is the Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins for the Trump regime ran 1,000 simulations. And she's saying, look, at the end of the day, if you just ate one piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli and one corn tortilla a day, you could pretty much accomplish this at around 3 bucks. So I'm not really sure why everybody's complaining about affordability. We've run a thousand simulations. That's what it looks like right there. Let's play the clip of what she says. Let's play it.

Caroline Levitt (61:38)

I think the question you're asking, and it's a really important one, is while we're asking Americans to reconsider what they're eating, are we actually asking Americans, especially those who are living on the margins, are we asking them to spend more on their diet? And the answer to that is is no. We've run over a thousand simulations. It can cost around $3ameal for a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, you know, corn tortilla and one other thing. And so there is a way to do this that actually will save the average American consumer money.

Ben (62:10)

That's their view on affordability. And by, I mean, could you imagine the things that they're saying? I mean, so you've got. That's their view on affordability. We'll show you what's going on in the streets right now of Minneapolis this is taken from Status Coup. They're on the ground right now in Minneapolis doing an incredible job, showing you what's really taking place there. Let's play this clip.

Brett (62:43)

Oh, I got hit in the head really bad.

Riley Gaines (62:47)

Oh.

Ben (62:54)

Out of the blue, police are moving forward, shooting, firing. I got him, the head, man. The hell are we doing? I mean, seriously, what the hell are we doing? What is that? I know. How's anybody support what? What is that? You know, one of the things during COVID that sticks with me right now is the way life was viewed by the so called pro lifers as actually having no meaning at all. Mass death was so normalized and just an acceptable thing. I mean, just think about in the first year of this Trump regime when you talk about the Guadalupe river flooding. And hundreds of kids died needlessly too, and there were still kids who were missing and they died because at every level, Republican leadership at state, local and federal level failed. But it was just like, whatever. That's how it was being. I'm like watching this, you know, and Donald Trump's like. And the waves were so high that, you know, and then Melania was like. And they gave me a little charm ring. They gave me a charm ring. And it was such a beautiful charm ring. They just go in the. The mass death that took place, that was just glossed over. And truly the federal government, state and local were all responsible. And the Biden administration gave the state and local authorities the money for the warning system, and they rejected it and stole it and gave it as bonuses for the officers. And then Kristi Noem shut down the call centers. So when people needed emergency aid, nobody called. Remember the reconnaissance vehicles and the reconnaissance missions? They weren't activated until like three days later. And then the head of that unit quit because they were being blamed. But they wanted to go. They just didn't get the authorization from Kristi Noem, who wasn't responding during the holidays. And people just, boom, just forget about that. Like when we're talking about what's happening in Iran, when Trump was asked about it, how many people died? I don't know. Could have been a thousand. I heard different numbers, big numbers, small numbers. When he said, if one protester was killed, America's got their back. And it may be as much as 20,000 protesters who are killed right now.

Caroline Levitt (65:27)

So.

Ben (65:29)

It'S living, having a meaning. And when you see what's taking place there in Minneapolis, that clip, it's like, what the hell are we doing here? Then there was.

Jordi (65:40)

But Ben. But Ben, the Trump regime. They've ran over 3,000 simulations.

Ben (65:47)

3,000 simulations and you get 3,000 simulations. I mean, could you imagine if like, do you remember the don't tread on me stuff? What was one of the main things that don't tread on me bullshit was all about Michelle Obama's school lunches recommending healthier lunches.

Jordi (66:04)

Don't you tread on me, Michelle.

Ben (66:07)

That's what it was about. A lot of it.

Brett (66:09)

Now they're like, tread on me, daddy. Tread on me now, daddy.

Ben (66:12)

Tread on me.

Brett (66:12)

Thanks for treading on me. I appreciate you treading on me.

Ben (66:17)

I wasn't even going to show these, but they're literally like tread on me, daddy. Pull the Fox clips from earlier. Like I'll just, I could give you, I give you the earlier. Where, where's the one where they were like Dr. Oz said that he's got the most testosterone ever here, let's, let's.

Caroline Levitt (66:33)

Play this clip I saw this morning. Actually it was Dr. Oz who said that President Trump has the highest testosterone level of any man over 70 that he's ever seen. So you compare, he knows that. He actually went on to say like President Trump's going to be really thrilled that I, that I said that. But you compare President Trump to someone, I mean any of the Democratic male leaders, someone like Tim Walls, if you will, you know, Mr. Jazz Hands, you ask any 20 year old boy, especially on a college campus who they would rather spend a day golfing with. President Trump or Tim Waltz. You have to imagine that majority of them are going to say President Trump.

Ben (67:15)

Actually Donald Trump's approval amongst Gen Z right now is at like an all time low. Right now. Gen Z hates this guy. And by the way, what's the whole point of that? And like, you know, she tries to project like I'm for women's rights or whatever. It is like the whole thing that she's trying to say there is that Governor Walls is gay. Right? That's like he is jazzed. Like that's what they're trying to.

Jordi (67:40)

Yeah, that's the whistle.

Ben (67:41)

That's what she's saying, that he's gay. And Trump's. And Trump's got all you and it's like, what do you even, what, why is this a conversation? And you know, I've said this before, like JD Vance said he was gay throughout all of high school and then said that he converted and he's no longer gay anymore. I mean that's in J.D. vance's book, that he was gay and now he's not gay. Why can't we just love people in general? Like, why, why, why are you mocking jazz hands? And this is that. It's just the most ridiculous.

Jordi (68:11)

But I don't want to belabor that clip right there. But, like, like, just step back. It's weird, right? Like, y' all just watch that and listen to that. That's weird. We would never get on here and be like, Joe Biden. Oh, man, he is an alpha. Look at all that testosterone. Most testosterone for anyone over 70 ever. How incredible is that? I wanted to play golf with somebody. It would be. It would be President Biden. It's just weird. And you would get mocked, and we would get mocked off YouTube. We would get mocked. And by the way, rightfully so.

Ben (68:39)

That.

Jordi (68:40)

That is a news network right there. Fox News. I put news in quotes. That is being beamed. Beamed into the homes from your. From their devices, into people's brains 24 7. Because they have a trillion dollar propaganda arm that is funneling them. And so it is just absolutely insane when you watch that clip. It is so beyond pathetic that that's a serious conversation that they were having on air.

Brett (69:04)

If we ever do a broadcast like this, I give you, all of you in the comments, everyone watching, I give you permission to say, all right, right, pull the plug. You've jumped it. You've jumped the shark. Time to wrap it up. And I'll say, point taken. This is our last show.

Ben (69:18)

Like, I will, I will.

Brett (69:20)

I will happily admit to that if we ever go in that direction. But it really, it truly is just. Just so weird. And you could imagine, as Jordy often says, the outrage. If a Biden administration person said, we've got the affordability thing figured out. We've run our calculations, and it's a corn tortilla, a piece of chicken, one floret of broccoli, and possibly one other thing. Like, like, the outrage would be insanely so.

Jordi (69:47)

And another thing, like, she didn't even have. It was four things. She couldn't remember the four, she couldn't find the fourth.

Ben (69:52)

And some other thing.

Brett (69:53)

Just.

Ben (69:54)

Just whatever.

Jordi (69:54)

The other simulation. It's these three things and another thing.

Ben (69:57)

But then this is what they said. Like, Riley Gaines now is like a host on Fox, apparently. And she's like, they call Donald Trump a massage. Watch what she says. Here's the most ridiculous thing. Let's play it.

Brett (70:08)

Well, I have to. I have to find that one.

Ben (70:10)

They called him a misogynist, but he's the worst misogynist ever. Then there's the other one. He's a billionaire, but he's a different kind of billionaire. He loves his family.

Brett (70:21)

All right, I got it. We could start with misogynist. Here it is.

Riley Gaines (70:23)

He respects women. He's hired a lot of tremendously talented women. We've interviewed them, we've met them.

Jordi (70:29)

Them.

Riley Gaines (70:30)

And my dad, former military, as you know, used to say that the test of a man is how he treats the women in his life. Can he be that alpha and be loving and generous and all those things?

Caroline Levitt (70:42)

Yeah, they call him a misogynist, but really he's like the worst misogynist ever gives away. Yes. Susie Wiles, Tulsi Gabbard, Caroline Levitt, all one wonderful women.

Ben (70:55)

Here they go. He's a billionaire, but a different type of billionaire. Here, play this clip.

Riley Gaines (71:00)

Yeah, you know, it kind of goes back to something that Riley just said. He's a billionaire, he's different. Yeah. It's ironic though, but he's not really all that different. He loves McDonald's, he likes to hang, he loves his family. Kind of like, not that McDonald's is core to being like an all American, but I think it is. I love those fries. Totally.

Jordi (71:19)

Two things super quickly. In the first clip, Riley Gaine called him the worst misogynist ever. And there was just, just. That was. That wasn't us not talking. That was the clip playing out. Everyone went dead silent. And Riley saw it on her face that like she did this flub on air and it's like she's just so beyond pathetic. And listen, look again. You want to be a billionaire. It's weird. What if. What? I'm not. What, you're gonna spend your time, your free time judging Teen USA pageants as a billionaire? Can we just. Like that's weird, right? Like, that's weird, right? You're. You could do anything you want. You're a billionaire. You're going to spend your free time judging Miss Teen USA pageants. It's a red flag. Sorry. Red flag, Sorry.

Ben (72:02)

But that is regime me. That's why I call it regime meat. I don't even know what the hell that is. And that's what they feed to this right wing audience every single day. And that is truly some Kim Jong un. That's a weird way of dealing with politics. That's very, very strange. And that's why, you know, you got to pull back sometimes and say, what are we doing here? And what. Why are we doing it? And what is the moment that politics becomes a form of kind of entertainment and the entertainment value exceeds the ability of it to Deliver. And that shrouds the purpose of government. That's one of the reasons you have Trump. I mean, the reality guy, the dystopian reality thing that we live in right now, it's one big sick, disgusting reality show where we're non consensual extras. And you wake up every day and it's like a game of Survivor or, you know, one of these stupid shows. And it's just like, I just want to be able to raise my family and not have to deal with this guy bringing armies in my streets. I just want to be able to raise my family and not worry, is this guy going to invade Greenland today or threaten this country today or say America's a predator today or threaten to arrest the chairman of the Federal Reserve today or threaten this person or that person? Or like government right now is simply a tool of a maniac who's unleashing it on the people, on you and what we have to do. What's clear to me is that Trump looked back to 2025 as and as he thought that the Elon Musk plan doge that he would be able to capture the country and make people bend to his will. He thought that was going to happen in the first term. That did not happen in the first term. I mean, the first year of this term, I think he starts 2026, he accelerates all of this stuff and he's going to try to continue to accelerate it. And it's Minnesota now, it's the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. But then it goes, as we've seen, it ratchets up in all of these areas. That's what they want. And where this ultimately heads is for the midterms to shut down the midterms. That's where it's all going. And so I say this not to scare you. I say it so we can all be prepared. And the type of no Kings protest that we previously saw last year needs to be 10 times bigger. And the ability of independent media to unite needs to be taken very seriously. We need to make sure that we are taking account of what happens. And as he accelerates, we have to accelerate our resistance and our desire for protecting democracy. That's what has to happen. And that's what's going on right now. That's why we've accelerated at midas touch what we're doing.

Brett (75:48)

And I think also that's why I, that's why we try to flag so much of this propaganda as well, because so much of this depends on these billionaires controlling the flow of information to you and figuring out ways to mask the information that's getting to you and wrap it in ways that seem palatable and legitimate. And Fox does that with its shiny sets and chirons and graphics and all of that stuff. They present you with the trappings of a real news network, and then they give. Deliver you North Korean propaganda. But then there are organizations right now that are even far more sinister than that, in my opinion, as we've seen with, like, the direction that CBS News has taken in these past few weeks or months or. I don't know, time is all together for me. But you see how they are deploying their ownership of these new propaganda arms. Because, like, the other day, yesterday, today, because I have no sense of time. But CBS News did, like, a tweet that was like, we've learned from two anonymous sources inside the Trump administration that Jonathan Ross, the officer who shot Renee Goode, suffered internal bleeding and he wasn't doing very well. We're like, really? That's weird to suffer internal bleeding from not being hit by anything. They just mean he has blood flowing through him like. Like a human being. Like, what are you talking about? But CBS News tweets that out, whether they're just believing the Trump administration officials, anonymous officials who lied about the whole situation every step of the way and lie about everything, and then they parrot that propaganda or if they're doing it on purpose, whatever it is, but they put that out so that JD Vance could then come through and he could say, look, CBS News, unbiased, right? Cba, legitimate news station. They are saying the truth about what happened here. To me, that's what makes it so evil and malicious and devious as to, you know, what they're doing here by legitimizing the propaganda of this regime. Because, you know, the average person, their guard is up, I think more when it's like an oan, right? When it's an OAN or a newsmax, I think most people kind of instinctively know or know through experience. Experience that those are MAGA propaganda stations. And so if JD Vance is quoting a. An OAN to say that this officer has really suffered so much. This guy. It's not an officer. This guy Jonathan Ross has really suffered so much, and he's in all this. But people could go out, it's oan. It's bullshit, right? It's propaganda. But CBS saying that, oh, now, now the regime has something that they could hang their hat on and that they could go to try to manipulate the American people with. And that's why I think it's important, important that we show what's happening on Fox and speak about what is happening with the takeover of various platforms and, and organizations like cbs. Because the administration, the regime is counting on people not always putting these things together and that's how they get away with some of their worst behavior. I'll tell you, if like a Fox didn't exist, this media control didn't exist, the approval of this administration would be like 5%. Like the, the only reason it's propped up by all of this press propaganda that is a potent propaganda, plays on people's hate, tells people that Trump hates the same people who they hate, gets people on their side with all of these very vicious tactics. And so I think it's part of our job here to call it out and to get firsthand information whether it's linking up with groups who are on the ground in Minneapolis with partnerships, whether it's bringing on people to have a D.C. bureau and ask the questions directly to politicians and get their raw, unfiltered answers to the public. And we couldn't do without you. And so just, just, just wanted to say that absolutely.

Ben (79:39)

Thank you everybody for watching this episode of the Midas Touch podcast. We're grateful for you. Thank you all so much. Make sure you hit subscribe if you can join as a paid member of our YouTube, great. No worries if you can't. You can gift memberships to people as well if you're able to. It's a great way to be able to spread the love. But again, no worries if you can't. Also check out our substack midasplus.com we continue to grow that as well. So we're grateful for you. Thank you all so much and we'll see you next time on the Midas Touch podcast. Have a good one everybody.

Jordi (80:13)

Shout out to the Midas. My day the Midas mighty.

Brett (80:22)

Against the fascists. We sing our song.

Jordi (80:33)

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.

Ben (80:48)

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