Brett Meiselas (4:24)

Well, that escalated quickly, folks. I'm doing well. This, this, I think one didn't catch us by surprise in that we've been predicting this implosion to happen between Donald Trump and Elon Musk since day one or maybe since negative day 50 or whatever. However, the fact that it came, and it came so quickly just now with the two going at each other in the ways that they are doing it as well. Deeply personal, incredible accusations being levied on both sides here with Elon Musk going to the Epstein card and saying Donald Trump's administration is withholding the Epstein files for one reason and that is because Donald Trump is on the list. That is stunning to hear from Elon Musk. Absolutely stunning. And I want to remind everybody here that we have had Congressman Dan Goldman on the Midas Touch podcast just a few weeks ago and one of the things that he came on the Midas Touch podcast to discuss was the fact that it certainly seemed like there was a cover up going on in Trump's Department of Justice with Pam Bondi with Cash Patel, with Dan Begino. And they were covering up these files for Donald Trump, or that's what Dan Goldman was alleging. He wanted answers on that very issue. Now we go weeks later. Now Elon Musk, who is in the room, is making those same accusations, or not even accusations. He's making those claims that. He knows that for a fact. That's why I got to listen to the Midas Touch podcast, folks. You heard it here first weeks ago. Make sure you subscribe on audio and on Apple podcasts and on Spotify. But I know we've got a whole bunch to get into here today. I'll toss it over to Jordi. Catch up with you, Jordi. And then we gotta dive in because. Oh, my God.

Jordy Meiselas (6:00)

Exactly. I'm so excited for today's show. Benji, I'll toss it to you in one second. I mean, just Trump. Elon, this, this implosion that we've been predicting here on the show, to see it unfold, Brett, and to your point, in such a spectacular way, in such a public, deeply personal way, too. I mean, we knew that it was coming. And to see it play out the way it's played out today. I got my popcorn ready for tonight's show, folks. Benji, where we.

Brett Meiselas (6:25)

I gotta say, we all did. We all. We needed this, right? We all, we all kind of. We all deserve this. After what we've been through, we deserve this. Yeah.

Ben Meiselas (6:34)

I've seen people in the chat say, I don't know who to root for. And my answer is simple. Don't root for anybody. Don't root for Trump. You don't root for Musk. You root for the truth coming out and the cesspool of corruption that's been taking place. Elon knows where the bodies are buried. Elon was with Donald Trump during the campaigning. Elon was with Donald Trump at all of these sensitive meetings. Elon was with Donald Trump in the Middle East. And you can tell the White House is really freaked out about this. They canceled all of their interviews on Fox today. You had Stephen Miller abruptly canceling it. And Fox tried to play it off like, oh, this, this always happens all the time. They're trying to figure out what the hell they're going to do because they know Elon knows where the bodies are buried. But the latest, you know, and we'll kind of keep giving you updates throughout the night, is Donald Trump is now determining his options about launching criminal investigations into Elon Musk. Thinking about deporting Elon Musk. One of the things that we learned. New York Times reported earlier, Stephen Bannon, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the Musk, of Musk for months, said he is advising Donald Trump to cancel all of Musk's contracts and launch several investigations into Musk. Quote, they should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien and he should be deported from the country immediately, Bannon said. Bannon further said that the Trump regime should also investigate Musk's drug use, as reported by the Times, and his effort to get classified briefings on China from the Pentagon, which was also reported by the Times. Bannon said Musk's security clearance should be suspended during these investigations. And then you have Elon Musk repeating over and over again that Donald Trump is on the Epstein list. This is a Trump cover up taking place right now before our eyes and repeating over and over and over again. So I guess we should just go from the beginning, remind our viewers where this started. Elon Musk left the White House. His term, he was based on being a kind of a special advisor. His term expired by statute. And then Elon Musk won. He left, was very critical of Trump's disastrous budget bill. So Elon came out with this statement. It will. He said, I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork filled congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it. You know you did wrong. You know it. Musk then also posted, it will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.4 trillion and burden American citizens with corporations, crushingly unsustainable debt. Then Elon Musk posted earlier this morning, without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and Republicans would be 51 to 49 in the Senate. Such in gratitude is what he wrote. Elon Musk stopped file following Stephen Miller. By the way, Musk employs Stephen Miller's wife. We're not sure what the status is of that right now. Elon Musk unfollowed Charlie Kirk. Donald Trump was relatively silent on Elon Musk. But then during the Oval Office press conference with Frederick Mares, the Germany Chancellor, Donald Trump started talking about Elon Musk. And he goes, I think Elon misses the place. He's not the first. I think he has Trump derangement syndrome. Let's play that clip. Trump on Musk.

Donald Trump (10:03)

My administration, and they love us. And then at some point they miss it so badly and some of them embrace it. And some of them actually become hostile. I don't know what it is. It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it. But we have it with others too. They leave and they wake up in the morning and the glamour's gone. The whole world is different. And they become hostile. I don't know what it is. Someday you'll write a book about it.

Ben Meiselas (10:33)

Reminder, you have Germany's chancellor, the leader of Germany, sitting right next to Donald Trump while he's saying these things. Then Donald Trump says that Musk won, wore the hat. He wore a hat that said Trump is always right. Once you wear the hat, you can't criticize me. He says, here, play this clip.

Donald Trump (10:48)

Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we're well anymore. I was surprised because you were here. Everybody in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful send off. He said wonderful things about me. You couldn't have nicer said the best things. He's worn the hat. Trump was right about everything. And I am right about the great big beautiful bill. We call it a great big beautiful bill because that's what it is.

Ben Meiselas (11:14)

Donald Trump then posts, the easiest way to save money in our budget, billions and billions of dollars, is to terminate Elon's governmental subsidies and contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it and that kind of exposes that there were all these conflicts of interest which we of course talked about in Doge to begin with, and that Doge was all a fraud and that Doge was all a scam. So in trying to attack El, Donald Trump makes basically a very incriminating admission right there. And then Trump posts, Elon was wearing thin. I asked him to leave. I took away his EV mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted that he knew for months I was going to do. And he just went crazy. So then Elon Musk responds. Time to drop the really big bomb at real. Donald Trump is in the Epstein files. That's the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, djt. Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out. And then Elon Musk also post, in light of the President's statement about the cancellation of my government contracts, SpaceX will be decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately and that provides supplies to the International Space Station. So in other words, he's saying, good luck with NASA. Good luck with any space program, Donald. And then Elon Musk says that Donald Trump's Tariffs are going to cause us to have a recession the second half of the year. So I think that kind of brings us relatively current to where we are. The Tesla stock plummeted, you know, by almost 20% as a result of this attack. Notably when I was looking at Donald Trump.

Brett Meiselas (12:56)

Is it normal for a stock to be tied to how mad a president gets at an individual?

Ben Meiselas (13:01)

I think in Russia and I think in places where you have stocks are.

Brett Meiselas (13:05)

Supposed to work, folks or.

Ben Meiselas (13:07)

I always thought it had to do.

Brett Meiselas (13:07)

With like profit, profit and ebitda.

Jordy Meiselas (13:10)

It's directly tied to your relationship with the president or relationship.

Brett Meiselas (13:13)

Yeah, I said chat. I didn't know this. I'm learning, I'm learning, I'm learning about the markets.

Ben Meiselas (13:17)

Look, Donald Trump was getting ratioed on his own social media, like cult follower thing that he has there on what he calls Truth Social for the online people.

Brett Meiselas (13:27)

That means you're getting more comments, negative for the most part, than you are, you know, likes on your post for the, for the non online folks out there.

Ben Meiselas (13:36)

And so the Trump supporters were even saying, stop attacking Elon. Elon's right. You need to stop attacking him. Why are you doing this in public? This is embarrassing, you know, and there were thousands, tens of thousands of messages like that.

Jordy Meiselas (13:50)

So I found that interesting that that was on Truth Social that he was getting those comments there, because if you saw it on X, it'd be like, okay, yeah, well Elon controls X. That's his platform. Those could be bots, whatever. But you're seeing it. To your point, Ben, on Donald Trump's website right there, his own followers, like those are the real sycophants right there. You have a true social account. You are, you are maga.

Brett Meiselas (14:08)

I would think so. Here's the thing. You defending Elon, these MAGA followers, they position these two individuals, Donald Trump and Elon Musk, as these two infallible people who could do no wrong. And that, I guess, could work when they're on the same side pushing the same agenda. But this is why that this whole MAGA movement and authoritarianism in general requires everybody to toe the line, requires everybody to be doing the same thing and not speak out against the leader. Because the second you do, the house of cards crumb. And the fact that all of these mag supporters have invested their entire, like, worldview in these two people and now that these two people are at odds with one another, it's almost like, you know, they're divorced. You gotta pick a side. Whose side are you gonna pick? Because they're on Very opposite sides right here. You can't agree with both. And so you just see whether it's Fox or whether it's truth. Social commenters, you see people just then on the, on the right, these MAGA people panicked and unable to figure out, like, what do I do here? We need mommy and daddy to stop fighting. This is, this isn't okay. Please stop fighting anything but this. It's like their whole worldview is crumbling before them as we watch.

Ben Meiselas (15:17)

And look, they've already gone from 0 to 100 in under a second, basically, right? Like they're, you know how Trump's like, you don't got the cards. You don't got the cards. By the way, Ukraine had the cards. Donald Trump didn't have the cards. But in the fight, we'll talk more about Ukraine's brilliant military strategy and taking out 30 to 40% of Russia's strategic fleet by sending drones deep into Russia. It was just a. One of the most masterful war strategies ever. But in terms of the cards, like, if you were to say, like, what's the biggest card that Trump has against Elon and Elon has against Trump? I think Elon, by the way, is still holding some of his cards. But for Trump, it's basically cancel Elon's government contracts, right? Trump went there, like right away, try to deport Elon and say that he was here illegally and get rid of Elon from the country. They're going right there, right away, say that Elon's a criminal for going after classified information at the Pentagon. They're already right there, right away. And then in terms of Elon to Trump, Elon saying, you would not have won the election if it wasn't for me. And by the way, I know for a fact that the reason the Epstein files aren't being released is because you are all over them. And then Elon consistently, even as of this recording, right, Taunting Donald Trump over and over again with Epstein videos, Epstein images, you know, saying Trump was with Epstein. Trump said that Epstein likes young women. Who. And Epstein's a great guy who likes young women. I mean, post after post like this. And it's just interesting too, because, and this is what our editor in chief, Ron Filipkowski said, it seemed kind of weird when you had. And Cash Patel, who's the current director of the FBI, and Dan Bongino, who's the number two at the FBI, deputy FBI director. These were the two right wing podcasters who were out there spreading a ton of Jeffrey Epstein stuff. Like they were the ones you know, this needs to be released. Get it out there. It's interesting that Donald Trump made those two people the heads of the FBI. And then in their interview with Fox and Maria Bartiroma, they now say the opposite things that they were saying when they were right wing podcasters like here, Cash Patel and Dan Bugino said, yes, this was from May 18th. They said, yeah, Epstein killed himself. Here, let's play this clip.

Brett Meiselas (17:40)

You said Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide.

Howard Lutnick (17:44)

People don't believe it.

Stephen Miller (17:45)

Well, I mean, listen, they have a right to their opinion. But as someone who has worked as a public defender, as a prosecutor, who's been in that prison system, who's been in the metropolitan Detention center, who's been in segregated housing, you know a suicide when you see one. And that's what that was.

Ben Meiselas (18:02)

He killed himself.

Jordy Meiselas (18:04)

You again.

Ben Meiselas (18:04)

You want me to. I've, I've seen the whole file.

Jordy Meiselas (18:07)

He killed himself.

Ben Meiselas (18:08)

I've seen the whole file. I've seen the whole file. This was May 28, 2025, when Cash Patel was asked, so why aren't you releasing these files? I mean, you said months ago, Pam Bondi said in February that she was going to release it. Instead she gave the right wing MAGA influencers a binder that they were holding up and they were pretending it the Epstein files when it was actually Epstein's like Rolodex of phone numbers, which by the way, Trump's number was on that and lots of Trump associated numbers were on that. But this is what Patel said on the Epstein files on May 28, 2025. Let's play it. The other thing on the Internet is the Epstein files. What's the answer to that?

Stephen Miller (18:47)

The answer to that is the same as everything else. I'm not going to withhold information from the American public ever. But I'm also not going to rush to get it out there in a format in which they can't rely on it. So on the Epstein matter, any other matters, we are diligently working on that. And it takes time to go through years of investigations, years of political maneuvering and years of COVID up to get the American people what they deserve. And that's what I'm going to give them on everything.

Ben Meiselas (19:16)

Oh, that's what you're going to do. And by the way, remember the bromance between Musk and Donald Trump when Elon Musk would show up at cabinet meetings and basically be the co leader of these cabinet meetings wearing two hats at once, like cartoonishly weird. He'd wear like two Gulf of America hats. Over dark Maga hat. Here, play this clip.

Donald Trump (19:38)

Good job, Kelly. Thank you very much, Elon. I love the double hat, by the way. He's the only one that can do that, get away with.

Ben Meiselas (19:46)

Well, Mr. President, now they say I.

Donald Trump (19:48)

Wear a lot of hats.

Ben Meiselas (19:52)

Even my hat has a hat. And then you had Magam Mike in both of his personalities. You have Botox Magam Mike and then you have actual Maga Mike. They would go, yeah, he's got the Botox Maga Mike is, you know, is. Is about to show a clip where Maga Mike's face just looks like. It looks like a bad. It looks like the first generation of AI creations of people.

Brett Meiselas (20:22)

Perhaps one of Elon's robotic creations.

Ben Meiselas (20:24)

Exactly. So here you have Maga Mike Johnson, back in March, when they were kind of passing the first kind of steps to this disastrous budget bill, saying that, look, the reason that we know this budget bill is going to be great, he goes, elon's a game changer. He's got these algorithms that are so brilliant. And they figured it all out. And that's why we're going to make a great budget bill right now, because of Elon. Take a look at Botox Megamike.

Frederick Merz (20:50)

Well, here's what we tried to do. We wanted to pass a resolution that would effectively free spending so that the administration can continue its incredible work through Doge and through the other efforts of the administration to go in and root out the fraud, waste and abuse that we've been trying to target in Congress for decades. But. But we haven't been able to get to it because we didn't have the algorithms that Elon has. We didn't have the access to all the data and the funding. And so now the game has changed. So.

Ben Meiselas (21:16)

Well, the game has changed.

Jordy Meiselas (21:18)

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Like comically bad Botox. I have to comment on it. I think I blacked that out of my mind when we first played it. For the audio listeners, it's just his lips moving. It's just his lips and his eyeballs moving.

Brett Meiselas (21:31)

It's like a chipmunk holding some nuts for the winter.

Jordy Meiselas (21:35)

RNC. Bad Botox vibes. Sheesh.

Ben Meiselas (21:39)

Yeah, it's like Nick Jr. Face here. Remember this?

Brett Meiselas (21:42)

Yeah, of course.

Jordy Meiselas (21:43)

Yeah. But I don't know how that ties into.

Ben Meiselas (21:47)

The game. The game has changed. You now have Elon Musk calling for Donald Trump to be impeached and replaced by JD Vance. He reposts this from Ian Miles Chung, who says Trump should be impeached at JD Vance should replace them. And Elon Musk goes, yes, yes, that's what should go down. So that's where we are right now. I'm sure this is going to escalate even further. What I hope happens, though, out of this is I want to get to the bottom as. As I call it, the cesspool of corruption. What was going down in the Middle East? Elon Musk knows what was going down in the Oval. Elon Musk. What was going on with the 2024 election and, you know, the, the dirty dealings, was involved in and paying off people and, and, you know, may, you know, and. And Elon Musk's, you know, overall involvement. Did it violate campaign finance laws? Musk knows all this stuff. So if Trump goes for the deportation, criminal investigation mode, which it seems that's where this is heading. You know, Musk is going to respond with the receipt spread journey.

Brett Meiselas (22:55)

Yeah. Maybe come to the might of such podcasts and just air it all out. You know, I'm sure our listeners and everybody would like to. Would like to know about everything that's been going on over there. Absol. Absolutely.

Ben Meiselas (23:04)

Should I do the Musk interview and say. I just think you should just.

Brett Meiselas (23:07)

Yeah, you just go, Musk. All right, listen, we got our differences. We don't really like you at all. However, just. Just talk and. And we'll hopefully get some good stuff.

Ben Meiselas (23:18)

We will increase the speed by like, 4. We will cut off the UMS and the AHS. We'll make it crisper.

Brett Meiselas (23:25)

I'm not sure this is the best.

Ben Meiselas (23:25)

Way to editing the footage. They may just. Then Donald Trump may sue and say it causes him so much mental and emotional distress. Mike has lawsuit against 60 Minutes on CBS.

Jordy Meiselas (23:36)

The difference there, though, Ben, is we wouldn't cave like those cowards did.

Brett Meiselas (23:41)

That's right. Just think about how quickly this is all escalated. What is it? Last week, like, days ago, you had Musk inside the Oval Office with Donald Trump handing him the key to the White House. They think they changed the locks. The key to the White House. Right. And, you know, heaping praise on each other. And even as we heard that that praise was happening, what were the reports behind the scenes? What were sources telling us? What were people that these two people really hate each other, that they really despise each other, and that this bill was causing the latest rift. And then we saw, there was that moment which I think was the. Was the straw that broke the camel's back, which was when Donald Trump decided to toss Elon Musk's handpicked guy for NASA. Once Donald Trump removed Elon Musk's NASA pick, who, by the way, probably would have gotten through with like, 70 plus votes, per what a lot of members of Congress, you know, in the US Senate are saying. Once he did that, that was it for Musk. He's like, screw this guy. And by. I think that was an open attack by Donald Trump on Elon Musk. He knew that this guy had given money to Democrats in the past. That was never a secret at all. He just came up with an excuse to get rid of this guy as a slight to Musk, purposely to basically hit Musk, and then Musk hit back. And now it's just been this back and forth of the biggest narcissists on the planet, each trying to make their case and ramping this thing up by the minute, trying to follow this thing today, it was just like, holy crap. Holy crap. And like the Epstein tweet, when that one came out, I was like, I had to go straight to the account, you know, make sure this was a real tweet that came from Elon Musk's. Musk's account. I could not believe it. And the fact that he wrote, you know, just wait for the next shoe to drop, you know, watch the space, basically. I mean, it's truly stunning stuff coming from the guy who has so buddied up with Donald Trump over these past few months.

Jordy Meiselas (25:30)

Absolutely. And look, there's no coming back from this. Like, you're gonna drop the Epstein tweet, like, that's it. Donald Trump's never gonna let him back in his good graces. And so now, now this MAGA community who has been both glazing Elon Musk and glazing Donald Trump nonstop, they're gonna have to decide now, oh, who do I want to continue?

Ben Meiselas (25:50)

Am I Team Elon?

Jordy Meiselas (25:51)

Am I Team Trump? And it's just such a bizarro way to look at the world and America in this country and politics in this country. It's why we never, you know, we don't chase people or politicians.

Ben Meiselas (26:03)

Right?

Jordy Meiselas (26:04)

We lead with our values here and our beliefs, and that's our guiding principle in North Star, because we can never succumb to, like, we know what our values here at the network. But now, if you're in this MAGA court right now, you have to decide, because you put people over the country, you put Donald Trump and Elon Musk over everyone in this country, and now you have to decide, are you gonna live with Mom? Are you gonna go live with Daddy? It's up to you, Gutfeld, who are you gonna go live with, buddy?

Ben Meiselas (26:29)

Who are you gonna go live with?

Jordy Meiselas (26:30)

Waters, who you living with?

Ben Meiselas (26:31)

Well, to be clear, that's how they're talking about it on Fox and on the right wing, Mommy or Daddy? You know, mommy and Daddy are fighting. That's like. That's literally what they're saying on Fox. I'll do a whole other take on what FOX is doing, but they're literally saying mommy and daddy are in a fight. And then you have Jesse Waters basically saying, this is what dudes do, man. Like, you know. You know, like, you could be best friends and you sleep with each other's girlfriends, and then you just bro it out the next day. And people are like, that's literally what Jesse Waters said on. On his show. I said I wasn't gonna play. Just. Just so people know that when I say it, like, that's actually what happened. Let me just show you, and then I'll stop showing Fox clips. This is what Jesse Waters said. Like, dude, just sleep with each other's wives and girlfriends or whatever. And then just. Then just fist bump. That's what we do. That's what men do.

Brett Meiselas (27:17)

Just what guys do.

Ben Meiselas (27:18)

Yeah. I wonder if this means Harold's friends will start buying Teslas again. They never stopped. Maybe Trump will torch the one that Musk gave him.

Brett Meiselas (27:28)

Sometimes when you're angry, you say things you don't mean.

Ben Meiselas (27:31)

Greg knocked my hair last week, and.

Brett Meiselas (27:33)

I said, he's on the Epstein list.

Ben Meiselas (27:35)

Yeah, you did.

Brett Meiselas (27:36)

I didn't mean that.

Ben Meiselas (27:37)

I made it up.

Stephen Miller (27:38)

How did you know, though?

Brett Meiselas (27:39)

How did Musk know?

Ben Meiselas (27:41)

No one knows what the list is. He didn't know. But sometimes guys fight. Guys sometimes will punch you in the face, and the next night you're having.

Brett Meiselas (27:48)

A beer, sleep with your girlfriend, and.

Ben Meiselas (27:51)

You patch things up. Really? Not your wife, your girlfriend. Who are your friends? Yeah, no one slept with my girlfriend. Let's put it that way. That's also one of the mechanisms that Trump, that Fox uses when it comes to their coverage to kind of make everything not serious. Right? Everything's a joke. Everything is what it is. And I think we have Gutfeld after that also. I said I wasn't going to play it, but play the clip.

Brett Meiselas (28:17)

It's too good.

Stephen Miller (28:18)

Well, I think what you're seeing is a battle between the purist and the pragmatist. I don't like it. I want it to stop. I want to tell them, if they're both watching, knock it off.

Donald Trump (28:29)

Off.

Stephen Miller (28:29)

We're done with this. This is an incredible moment for our country. It's awake, it's optimistic, it's on board with the golden age. Don't sabotage it with a self inflicted feud. You know, don't let, don't let the Dems get back up from the floor where they belong.

Ben Meiselas (28:49)

It's why our country is a laughingstock to the rest of the world. I mean, think about it. You have Frederick Mayors, the new chancellor of Germany on a very serious visit to go to the Oval Office to deliver an important message on behalf of the European Union and Ukraine after a stunning military successful operation by Ukraine against Russia with Ukraine having momentum. This is supposed to be a serious conversation about real geopolitical structures and how to combat Russia. And then you have this very serious fight between Trump and basically someone as a co president. And then you have Fox, which is state regime media saying knock it off, knock it off. And you know, it's why the world looks at the United States as a weirder version of North Korea right now. You know, you know, look, Donald Trump can't run Bedminster, right? Like the health inspectors that just went to Bedminster just gave Bedminster a 32 out of 100, like the lowest score. They found 18 separate health violations.

Brett Meiselas (29:55)

Literally the lowest score in the entire country.

Ben Meiselas (29:57)

County, the lowest score you can get. He can't run Bedminster. And just think about the people who go there and pay millions of dollars for their access who like have, who eat like this disgusting food there and are all grossed out by it. Like he can't run that. He can't run anything. Someone who's bankrupted everything in his life. Like what? Like this guy's never run. He doesn't run things. Good. And then you see why. I mean you see the behavior, you see it all falling apart right now. Anyway, that was about five minutes before I was, I was supposed to call the ad break five minutes ago, but we had to show you that. So let's take a quick ad break. REM reminder, we're close to 5 million subscribers, so make sure you subscribe. Tell others about the Midas Touch YouTube channel. Tell others about the network. Go to Midas Plus.com go to patreon.com tom patreon.com Midas Touch and go to store.midas touch.com for our pro democracy gear.

Brett Meiselas (30:46)

And add the Midas Touch podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and leave a five star review. Do it now. We got a lot of folks in there. I want to see you all in there. I want to see all of your comments. Brothers. Before we go to ad break, I'll leave the audience with this one question. Does Donald Trump keep or get rid of his Tesler? Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Concerns? I don't know. I'll let everybody ponder over this quick ad break. We'll be right back after this. As the weather warms up, I've been rethinking my skincare routine, especially because I used to rely on retinol. But retinol can make your skin more sensitive to the sun, which is not ideal for summer. That's why I've switched to One Skin's OS1 face, and I'm seriously impressed. OS1 face boosts collagen production, like retinol without the sun sensitivity. And unlike retinol, which could actually disrupt your skin barrier, OS1 strengthens it, helping your skin become more resilient to the heat, sun and pollution. Here's what makes it different. One Skin's patented OS1 peptide is the first ingredient scientifically proven to reverse your skin's biological age by reducing senescent cells, the root cause of skin aging. Aging. Instead of irritating your skin, it helps it look, feel and act younger. Personally, I've been using it on my face and what I love most is how smooth and healthy my skin feels. It's become a staple in my routine. Absolutely essential. One Skin is the world's first skin longevity company. By focusing on the cellular aspects of aging, Oneskin keeps your skin looking and acting younger for longer. For a limited time, you can try OneSkin with 15% off using code MIDAS at OneSkin co. That's 15% off OneSkin co with Code Midas M E I D A S and after you purchase, they'll ask where you heard about them. Please support our show and tell them we sent you. Give your skin the scientifically proven gentle care it deserves with One Skin.

Jordy Meiselas (32:36)

Let me tell you, if there's a surefire way to wake up feeling fresh after drinks with friends, it's with Pre Alcohol zbiotics. Pre Alcohol Probiotic Drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Now here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in the gut. Now it's a buildup of this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for rough days after drinking. Pre Alcohol produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make Pre Alcohol your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. Now, every time I've had pre alcohol before drinks, I notice a difference in ecstasy. Now, even after a night out, I can confidently plan on just waking up and feeling my best the next day without worrying. Look, I won't lie. I was a bit on the fence about pre alcohol initially. But then while hanging out with some friends at our bar, I gave it a shot. And believe me, it's the real deal. So I first gave pre alcohol a try when I was at a wedding. I drank it before my first espresso martini, and you wouldn't believe how on top of my game I felt the next morning. Now summer's here, which means more opportunities to celebrate the warm weather before that backyard barbecue brew or your glass of pinot watching the sunset at a beach or a cocktail by the campfire. Don't forget your Zebiotics pre alcohol. Drink one before drinking and wake up feeling great and ready to take on the next day and all that summer has to offer. Go to zebiotics.com midas to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use Midas at checkout. Zebiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee, so if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money, no questions asked. Remember to head to ZBiotics.com Midas and use the code MIDAS at checkout for 15% off. Let's go. Shout out to our Pro democracy sponsor, Zebiotics One Skin links in description of both YouTube and audio. Use the links, use the codes. If there's an exit survey, let them know we sent you. Brett, your face is. People think you're the youngest brother because you're using one skin. Your face. You look so good, big bro.

Brett Meiselas (34:52)

Think this comes naturally. Just this comes naturally. Now you got to poke some work in.

Jordy Meiselas (34:56)

There you go, Benji. Where to next?

Ben Meiselas (34:58)

Let's talk about that meeting between Germany's Chancellor Frederick Mars and Donald Trump in the Oval Office. The German Chancellor was there specifically on the heels of Ukraine's successful counterattack against Russia, where Ukraine snuck in all of these kind of cargo, these cargo trucks that were holding all of these drones. They hired Russian truck drivers who believe they were moving mobile homes kind of pretty close to various Russian military bases. And then remotely, by the way, Ukraine was working on this for over a year here, remotely. All of a sudden, the hatches open on the cargo and then the drones get released. And then the drones eliminated like a huge amount of Russia's air Force, I mean, just wiped them out. 31, 35 of the strategic fleet. I think it was actually 41 planes, including those with nuclear capabilities. And so there's momentum. Zelensky had the card. So that's what the purpose of this was. Germany just got a new chancellor in the recent elections who formed a government. So he's there. So with that as background, let's talk about what Trump said to him. Trump had a call with Putin yesterday, and Trump posted about his call with Putin and he described it as a good call. It was a very good call with Putin. Then when he described what made it a good conversation, he says it's not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace. Peace. Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attacks on the airfields. We also discussed Iran and the fact that time is running out on Iran's decision pertaining to nuclear weapons. I stated to President Putin that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran is allied with Putin's Russia. The Shahi drones that are attacking Ukraine are made in Iran that are killing the innocent Ukrainians. Putin is not going to tell Iran to enter into a nuclear deal. Notice Trump doesn't have any allies the way Obama did to try to deal with Iran. Trump's deal with Iran is way weaker than Obama's that Donald Trump pulled the United States out of during his first term. It has much weaker enforcement mechanisms. And Iran's rejecting Trump's deal because they just view Trump as weak. Why would we do any deal with you? You know, you don't negotiate in good faith. So Iran's turning down. So Trump runs to Putin on Iran, on. And then also says it was a good phone call because Putin says he's going to keep attacking Ukraine. Why is that a good phone call? You promised there would be peace in 24 hours. That was your campaign promise, which you failed to do. But I guess now a good. A good call means more attacks on Ukraine. The hell are you talking about? But here's how Donald Trump compares the war in Ukraine to children fighting. And this is what he said, he told Putin here.

Donald Trump (37:54)

But sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy. They hate each other other. And they're fighting in a park and you try and pull them apart. They don't want to be pulled. Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart. And I gave that analogy to Putin yesterday. I said, president, maybe you're going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot because both sides are suffering.

Ben Meiselas (38:20)

How is he talking about. It's like kids fighting in a park. That's what he told. Put Putin, and that's what he's saying in front of German. I mean, it's so embarrassing. I mean, I still rank the biggest embarrassments of those visits. Number one being the Zelensky meeting. Number two being Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa. This is a close. This was a close second. Then, Don, this is what is weird.

Brett Meiselas (38:46)

Can I just, like, say the weirdness, this pause for a second that this always happens when he brings in a world leader into the Oval Office and then just spirals out of control, even if it has nothing to do with the person who's in the Oval Office. And the conversation should have nothing to do with anything else but the conversations they're having. Somehow he goes on all these tangents that it ends up about Elon Musk or it ends up with this crazy Putin. Like, it's just. It's just bizarro land that this happens every time.

Ben Meiselas (39:13)

Like, it's an easy. Let's just say you get asked the question about Putin, right? How do you answer this question? I mean, you don't. Like, there's. There's really only one way to answer the question. Wrong. Wrong. Like, if you're the president, he answered it like the way. The worst way to possibly answer the question. Like, all you have to do is saying, look, a lot of what we say in these communications, we're not going to disclose. We're here having very productive conversations with the Chancellor of Germany. We greatly appreciate his insight and perspective into the realities that are facing a very complex world right now. We're going to have further discussions and again, we're grateful for. For this visit. The United States and Germany have had a close bond over the last several decades, and we intend to keep it. Like, like, like literally, you just do some version of what I said and you answer that with every question. Right. That's how these things happen in other countries. Right? Not this. And this is what Donald Trump says on what Putin told him. This is. This is what Donald Trump says in front of Germany's chancellor. Here. Play the.

Donald Trump (40:17)

There's some additional fighting that's going to go on. You know, he was. He attacked and they attacked pretty harshly. They went deep into Russia. And he actually told me. I mean, I, I made it very clear. He said, we have no choice but to attack based on that.

Ben Meiselas (40:35)

And again, how do you answer that question? So pitiful, so weak. Zelensky has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire. He Said it over and over again. Russia has not agreed to an unconditional ceasefire. Russia continues to kill innocent Ukrainians every single night. Hundreds of ballistic missiles, tens of thousands of drones, over and over again. Ukraine needs to defend itself. That's the reality. So, no, Donald, you don't need to encourage Russia to fight more when Russia was the one who unlawfully invaded. And again, when you see that, that it's. It's a step even worse than weakness. It's weakness and idiocracy combined in one. And then again, you have Frederick Mers again being. Being very diplomatic, as you would normally be in something like this. And Friedrich Merz is talking about how Tomorrow, how on June 6 is the anniversary of D Day. And the connection, Friedrich Merz is trying to say is that, that we need to stop Putin, who's ravaged the world and Russia the way Hitler did that to Germany. And Donald Trump hears Frederick Mer saying that, and he goes, that was not a very good day for you. D Day. It was not a good day for you. Just how offensive can you be? Here, play this clip.

Frederick Merz (42:02)

June 6th, tomorrow. This is D Day anniversary. When the Americans once ended a war in Europe. And I think this is in your hand, in specific, in ours.

Donald Trump (42:15)

That was not a pleasant day for you.

Frederick Merz (42:17)

No, that was not a pleasant 12 in the long run, Mr. President. This was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship. And we know what we owe you. But this is the reason why I'm saying that America is again, in a very small, strong position to do something on this war and ending this war. So let's talk about what we can do jointly, and we are ready to do what we can. And you know that we gave support to Ukraine and that we are looking for more pressure on Russia. The European Union did, and we should talk about that.

Jordy Meiselas (42:51)

Brett and Jordy, how do you entertain this? I can't even call him a person. But, But Donald Trump, his brain is like, I'm just. His brain is mushroom. Like, he slouched over. He's looking down. His, like, hands are being all erratic. And we're like, y' all are just okay with this maniac just sitting. Not, not you guys, not the Midas Mighty, not everyone listening here. But, like, to the reporters out there that want to go and talk about, you know, president's competencies, haven't you looked just straight ahead and see that a guy that is clearly very unwell, and I'm not giving him an out, but I'm just trying to hold him account? This guy has the nuclear codes and his brain is mush.

Brett Meiselas (43:34)

Brett I will say it was very peculiar that he basically went away to golf over the weekend, was not with Zen, not seen until like yesterday basically. And it just went radio silent. Very atypical for him. And when he first resurfaced, it wasn't in a live in front of the press setting like it normally is. It was a pre recorded like him signing a new travel ban and his eyes looked puffy and he looked horrible. Like it just, it's just atypical is all I'm going to say. Not to get too conspiratorial about why he was maybe just out of the public eye mysteriously for like three or four days. Just very odd in the, in the Trump world, I will say. I do want to highlight the fact that we currently have reporters on the ground in Ukraine doing some incredible work. And so I want to give a shout out, you know, to Ken Harbaugh, Ken Harbaugh who's here with the Midas Touch Network. I know many of you have seen the Ken Harbaugh show, which airs here most nights of the week and follow that podcast and have followed his YouTube channel, Valor Network. Just fantastic job. And he's in Ukraine right now with the Ukrainian military. I'm not going to give away his exact, you know, the exact places that he is. But I can tell you that this footage that he just sent me is from the aftermath of a drone attack on Odessa. And I just think the footage that he's getting is, is really breathtaking. And when you see the scale of these drone attacks and what it actually looks like from somebody on the ground, you know, I think it, people aren't seeing it enough, I think in my opinion, like the realities of the horrors of what's going on. So I want to share with you clip from Ken Harbaugh and thank Ken and thank Valor Media and everybody over there, all the brave journalists who are on the ground there and all the Ukrainians and send them, you know, our love and our support and our strength here at the Midas Touch Network. But, but take a look at this exclusive clip from the Midas Touch Network.

Ben Meiselas (45:20)

Ken Harbaugh with the Midas Touch and Valor Media Networks here in a suburban neighborhood in Odessa, Ukraine. Nothing of military significance anywhere around here. Families already recovering from a shahed strike last night.

Ken Harbaugh (45:34)

Putin is on a rampage after Zelensky humiliated him and his military in that.

Ben Meiselas (45:41)

Massive Ukrainian drone strike.

Ken Harbaugh (45:43)

Taking out strategic targets deep inside Russia.

Ben Meiselas (45:46)

Putin's response, attacking civilians. Okay, time to go inside. Yeah, that's every night. And there's some other footage that we really can't even show and disclose because of operational security, of the potential ways in which the threats are being or attempting to be neutralized. And I'll just, I'll just leave it.

Brett Meiselas (46:24)

There's basically a strict approval process in, in terms of, you know, what we can and what we can't because of the seriousness, the sensitivities of the natures of things on the ground. But, you know, I also want to let everybody out there know, you know, we're this, you know, independent network over here. We're doing this coverage. It's all thanks to you. And so, you know, shout out to Ken Valor Media and to all of you who support us and make coverage like that possible and bring those images to us here in the United States so that people could see what's really going on. And I think you're really. It's a reality check, right? Because we're watching this clown show. We're watching Musk and Trump bicker. We're watching Trump speak about his deranged conversation he had with Putin. And it's all just so embarrassing. And sometimes you just need to step back, watch stuff like that and just remind yourself there are lives on the line here. And that's why, you know, we're fighting so hard for, for these values every single day because we cannot let this go on. And, and we got to speak out. And that's what we promised to do.

Ben Meiselas (47:19)

Here we come back. I want to talk about what's been going on in Congress. I mean, some incredible cross examinations by Democrats of these Trump cabinet members and other Republican witnesses really exposing the dangerous idiocracy that exists. And then I want to just talk about a few other developments with whether it's Trump seeking to remove the. Columbia's being an accredited school after Columbia really kind of kissed the ring. Trump's taking away way there being becoming an accredited university. You have Donald Trump's actions removing reversing former President Biden's executive order requiring hospitals to provide emergency health care in the form of abortion care when women are show up at emergency rooms dying. Trump's latest travel ban based on the Egyptian national who engaged in the terrorist attack in Boulder, Colorado. But Egypt isn't on the list because Trump says he likes Egypt. So he's not going to put Egypt on that list and much more. So let's take our last quick break of the show. Reminder. Subscribe now. We're on. We're very close to 5 million subscribers. We could hit 5 million this month for sure. So help us do that. Share this podcast and this YouTube channel with people you know. Subscribe on audio, Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your audio podcasts, go check out patreon.com Midas Touch check out store midas touch.com and midasplus.com let's take our last quick break of the show.

Zebiotics (48:56)

It's 2025. Why aren't my blinds smart and automatic like the rest of my home? Are your blinds still from 2025? Look, there's a better way to buy blind shade shutters and drapery. It's called three day blinds. They are the leading manufacturer of high quality custom window treatment in the United States. And right now, if you go to three day blinds.com my Midas, they're running a buy one get one 50% off deal. Look, we can shop for almost anything at home, so why not shop for blinds at home too? Three Day Blinds has local, professionally trained designed consultants who have an average of 10 years plus experience. They provide expert guidance on the right blinds for you in the comfort of your home. Just set up an appointment and you'll get a free no obligation quote the same day. It's what I did. And then I put their blinds all over my home except for right there because my neighbor's a Midas Touch fan and she likes to see her green friends when I do these hot takes. Look, if you're not very handy like I am, just go trust them. They come into your house, they figure it out for you and you're not going to regret it. I am so happy I have three day blinds. Look, it's 2024. I have so many smart gadgets and gizmos in my house. Why not do that for your blinds as well? That's what I did. I'm very happy. So right now, get quality window treatments that fit your budget with 3 days blinds. Head to 3day blinds.com Midas for their buy one get 50% off deal on custom blind shade shutters and drapery for a free no charge, no obligation consultation. Just head to three day blinds.com Midas one last time. That's buy one get 50% off when you head to the number 3D a Y blinds.com Midas and spell Midas right. M E I D A S. Thank you.

Ben Meiselas (50:36)

Thank you.

Jordy Meiselas (50:37)

It's an interesting time for business. Tariff and trade policies are dynamic, supply chains squeezed and cash flow tighter than ever. If your business can adapt in real time, you're in for a world of hurt. You need total visibility from global shipments to tariff impacts to real time cash flow. That's NetSuite by Oracle, your AI powered business management suite trusted by over 41,000 businesses. NetSuite is the number one cloud ERP for many reasons. It brings accounting, financial management, inventory, HR into one suite. You have one source of truth, giving you the visibility and control that you need to make quick decisions. With real time forecasting, you're peering into the future with actionable data. And with AI embedded throughout, you can automate a lot of those everyday tasks, letting your team stay strategic. Netsuite helps you know what's stuck, what's costing you and how to pivot fast. I use this and you should too. It's one system, full control. Tame the chaos with NetSuite if your revenues are at least in the seven figures, download the free ebook Navigating Global Trade 3 Insights for Leaders at NetSuite.com Midas that's NetSuite.com Midas My dogs Taquito.

Ben Meiselas (51:58)

And Chiquito are the happiest dogs ever. You know why? Because I give them sundaes for dogs which is, let's face it, the best dog food ever. What I love about Sundays for Dogs is that like unlike other fresh dog food, sundaes does not require refrigeration or preparation because of their air drying process. You just pour it and serve it and you can cancel or pause your subscription with Sundays for Dogs at any time with their 14 day money back guarantee. It's fresh dog food. It's made from a short list of human grade ingredients which I love and I know my doggies love. It was co founded by Dr. Tori Waxman, a practicing veterinarian who tests and formulates every version of each recipe and Sundaes contains 100% all natural meat and superfoods and 0% synthetic nutrients or artificial ingredients. So here's the deal we negotiated for your puppies because I want them to be as happy as mine. Get 40% off your first order of Sundays. Go to sundaysfordogs.com midas or use code MIDAS at checkout. Go to sundaysfordogs dot com midas or use code Midas at checkout. My doggies Taquito and Chito tell me that your doggies will love Sundays also.

Jordy Meiselas (53:25)

Let's go. Links in description of YouTube and audio use the links use the codes. If there's an exit survey, let them know we sent you. Benji. Where to next?

Ben Meiselas (53:34)

You know one of the posts about an hour ago you had the Foreign Minister of Poland who Musk attacked a few months ago, reposted Elon Musk attacking his him. It was Poland's Foreign Minister Sakarski, a big defender of democracy, big defender of Ukraine. And Elon Musk said, be quiet, small man. You pay. This was Elon Musk wrote this March 9th of 2025 Be quiet small man. You pay a tiny fraction of the cost. And there is no substitute for Starlink. And then Sikorski, right. See big man, politics is hard, harder than you thought. It's a good post right there. By the way, we should mention this as well before moving on to other topics. So one of the people that the Trump regime just picked to lead the Department of Homeland Security, if it wasn't embarrassing enough that you had Dan Bongino, the right wing podcaster, and Cash Patel, a right wing podcaster running the FBI, they picked this guy Thomas Fugate, or Fugate as the Department of Homelands, one of the top positions at Department of Homeland Security tasked with overseeing the government's main hub for combating violent extremism. Hat tip to ProPublica for breaking the story. 22 year old intern, basically the intern was just put in charge of running basically the one of the key departments within the Department of, of Homeland Security. You can't make this stuff up, right? Let's talk about some of these congressional hearings. I think Democrats were doing a really good job job exposing how just disastrous and cartoonishly evil and dumb these Trump cabinet members are. I want you, I want to show you first Democratic Congresswoman Dean her questioning to Howard Lutnick asking, I know you are very upset about this concept that America has a deficit with a lot of countries. Do you remember though when America actually had a surplus as against the rest of the world? Do you remember what that time was? Here, play this clip for me.

Howard Lutnick (55:46)

I have a pretty large trade deficit with my local grocer or my hairdresser. It's a good thing. It means I have money enough to get my hair done once in a while and to keep food on the table. It tells nothing about my overall financial position. Do you know when this country actually had a trade surplus? Secretary.

Cash Patel (56:17)

The president likes to speak about.

Howard Lutnick (56:19)

Before, historically, when did we have a trade surplus? That's the, I'm not talking about the president.

Cash Patel (56:24)

Historically, I think early, about.

Ben Meiselas (56:29)

About 100 years ago.

Howard Lutnick (56:30)

It was the Great Depression. It was a sign of what was going on. It was during the Great Depression. That's a direction none of us wants to go. Tariffs, it's 90 days. We're going to have 90 deals in 90 days. Then there's a 90 day pause. Many of these tariffs, as they say, punishing tariffs on things that make no sense whatsoever ever. Where are we going to go with the remaining deals? I know of one deal that has been apparently resolved with the United Kingdom. We got 89 more deals to do in just a few more days. Where are we on those deals?

Cash Patel (57:08)

We are in the midst of negotiations with dozens and dozens of countries. We could sign deals, but they're only going to get better as we negotiate.

Brett Meiselas (57:18)

The guy, such a huckster. Oh my God.

Ben Meiselas (57:21)

Then she asks him about bananas. Do you know what the tariffs on bananas are? And he goes, we could build bananas here. She's like, you can't build bananas. What are you talking about? Here, play this clip.

Howard Lutnick (57:33)

What's the tariff on bananas? Americans, by the way, love bananas. We buy billions of them a year. I love bananas. What's the tariff on bananas?

Cash Patel (57:43)

The tariff on bananas would be representative of the countries that produce them.

Howard Lutnick (57:48)

And what, what's that tariff generally?

Cash Patel (57:50)

10%.

Howard Lutnick (57:51)

Correct, 10%. Walmart has already increased the cost of bananas by 8%.

Cash Patel (57:56)

Recognizing countries do deals with us that will go to zero as countries do deals with us.

Howard Lutnick (58:03)

On the American consumer now and on the businesses with the confusion now. Mr. Secretary, I believe you know better. I believe you recognize that a trade deficit is not, not something to fear. I believe you know that predictability, stability is essential for businesses. I wish you would show that truth to this administration. And I yield back.

Ben Meiselas (58:27)

Time of the gentle lady is expired.

Cash Patel (58:29)

Mind, Mr. Chairman, if I make one quick comment to the end, would that be okay? I'm sorry, would you mind if I make one quick comment to the Representative?

Ben Meiselas (58:37)

Please?

Cash Patel (58:38)

There is no uncertainty. If you build in America and you produce your product in America, there will be no tariff. We can't be building in America and pay no tariff. We cannot very, very clear.

Howard Lutnick (58:49)

We cannot fighting for bananas in America.

Ben Meiselas (58:53)

Time of the gentle lady has expired.

Brett Meiselas (58:55)

Well, he walked right, he walked right into that one too. He asked for extra time to embarrass himself.

Ben Meiselas (59:01)

Well, but then I thought the most revealing was when he was in front of the Senate. It was actually a question that was asked by a MAGA Republican senator named John Kennedy who's no affiliation with the Kennedy family. This is the MAGA Republican senator from Louisiana who changed his voice like when he became a Republican after being a Democrat many, many decades ago. Like, like if you go back and watch his original voice, it was never like this. But anyway, he made up this whole new Persona. We see that a lot with MAGA Republicans. But this guy also is someone who believes that Trump has the power to tariff the world. Kennedy does. So what Kennedy was trying to give softball questions to the Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, about and trying to understand. So we're negotiating. We're using tariffs as a negotiating posture, right? And if. Just say, a country like Vietnam removes every possible barrier to trade. Every. Everyone. And they go, you win. You're the greatest. We'll make sure 0%, not. Not. We'll put no trade restrictions. So. So he goes, so then you declare a victory, right? And then Howard Lutnick is like, no, no. You know, no. And then they keep having this conversation. I want to. I want you to pay attention to it. Then Howard Lutnick starts, you know, they basically go into, well, then what if, like, Vietnam agrees to, like, buy all of these things from the United States, you know, which. It's a poor country, so it can't do. But then Lutna, Nick's like, now you're talking. Now you're talking.

Brett Meiselas (60:40)

Truly good luck.

Ben Meiselas (60:41)

I want you to think that this is the guy who's in all of these negotiations with. I want. This is the guy negotiating with the European Union and Canada and China and all of the, you know, and all of these other places, you know, and. And throughout the world. And this is what. And this is his view of a deal, that even if a country says, we're going to remove every type of tariff against the United States that could possibly exist, you win. The US Would not view that as a win and would not reduce the tariffs against the country. Here, watch this.

Ken Harbaugh (61:14)

If Vietnam, for example, came to you tomorrow and said, okay, Mr. Secretary, you win. We're going to remove all tariffs and all trade barriers. Would the United States please do the same saying, would you accept that deal?

Cash Patel (61:34)

Absolutely not. Absolutely not. That would be the silliest thing we could do.

Ken Harbaugh (61:39)

Why is that?

Cash Patel (61:41)

Vietnam has a $125 billion exports to us and imports from us $12.5 million. And you're thinking Vietnam exports 125 billion.

Ken Harbaugh (61:56)

I'm aware of the figures, but tell.

Cash Patel (61:57)

Me, where do they get it from? They buy 90 billion from China.

Ben Meiselas (62:00)

China.

Cash Patel (62:01)

Then they mark it up and send it to us. So you just a pathway of China to us.

Ken Harbaugh (62:05)

You wouldn't accept that deal?

Cash Patel (62:07)

No, it's a terrible deal. We're the one with money. We're the one with the store. Of course they want us to take.

Ken Harbaugh (62:11)

What's the purpose of reciprocity then? Is Reciprocity, not one of your goals. Are you telling the president that we shouldn't seek reciprocity? If that's what you're telling him, why are you trying to do these trade deals?

Cash Patel (62:26)

What do we want? We want, want. We want to encourage Vietnam to produce products they're great at producing.

Ken Harbaugh (62:31)

I want to get back to reciprocity. You just, you just said you don't believe them. You don't accept reciprocity as a go. What are you negotiating in these trade deals?

Cash Patel (62:39)

Why would we open our bank account and their bank account?

Ken Harbaugh (62:42)

Why are you negotiating trade deals? You're trying to get other countries to lower their trade, their tariffs and trade barriers in return for us lowering ours.

Cash Patel (62:54)

That's true for the things that they'll take from us.

Ken Harbaugh (62:56)

That's called reciprocity.

Cash Patel (62:57)

Of course.

Ken Harbaugh (62:58)

So you. Are you or are you not seeking reciprocity in these trade deals?

Cash Patel (63:04)

We are thinking we are absolutely seeking reciprocity with respect to things that can be reciprocal when they're importing from China and sending it to us.

Ken Harbaugh (63:13)

A country came to you and offered you the ultimate reciprocity, no tariffs, no trade barriers in return for us doing the same. You would reject that, of course, because.

Cash Patel (63:26)

They buy from China and send it to us. Don't you agree with.

Ken Harbaugh (63:29)

Suppose they said we won't buy from China.

Cash Patel (63:31)

Now we're talking.

Ben Meiselas (63:32)

Now we're talking.

Cash Patel (63:34)

If it was Vietnam, would you accept that deal? We would consider it. For what? Things want to change? Well, there are certain products we want to reassure. We don't want other people making them. We want to make pharmaceuticals here.

Ben Meiselas (63:50)

So how do you do a deal with that guy when he's basically saying that the only deal he will accept, apparently, is if he literally destroys another country's economy, is the only type of deal that he's even open to? And they have these weird views about a trade deficit. When you have a poor country or a poorer country like Vietnam. Vietnam and a smaller entire GDP is $476 billion, which, by the way, though, is larger than Qatar. Just to be clear, when Donald Trump's like, Qatar is the largest. Qatar's entire GDP is 200 billion. And Vietnam is a. Is a poor country. Their entire GDP is 476 billion. How are they going to be buying more things from the United States than the United States buying the cheap things that are being made in Vietnam? It's. It's the strangest war view. And they view disparity, the deficit as a tariff, which it just is.

Brett Meiselas (64:51)

It's the wildest thinking, and they view it as a national emergency. And that's the entire basis for Donald Trump blowing up the global economy and makes no sense. It's also antithetical to anyone who ever claims that they're into free markets because they're trying to disrupt the free markets. We're going to have a surplus with some folks, we're going to have a deficit from some folks. Neither is not inherently good nor bad. It's just. It is what it is. Right? And to try to, I don't know, bully Vietnam to buy more of our crap, like, it's not how markets work. I'm sorry, like, to Ben's point, a poorer country, it's a smaller country, they're not just going to be able to get people to buy American products. Like, it's just not how it works. I was in Vietnam. I went there for my honeymoon a few years back. You know, everything is so cheap in Vietnam. You could buy, get like a really nice dinner with alcohol for like five bucks. In Vietnam, you think they're going to be importing American products that they can't afford? It just, it's just like everything just insane about it on its face. And then to base this entire trade war, disrupting the entire global economy on this just false premise is so absurd. And then to have just no end game, you could see why anytime we hear behind the scenes about what any of these countries I could name specifically, but I'll be going through all of them. What any of these countries are saying about their dealings with the United States, they all have some version of, yeah, we don't even know what they want. It's erratic. They don't make any sense. It's incomprehensible. And when you see Lutnick there, you see why. Because even in what should be the point of the negotiation, I guess to get all trade barriers and tariffs down to zero, that's unacceptable and unacceptable. Unacceptable because you're still going to have a trade deficit.

Ben Meiselas (66:23)

It.

Brett Meiselas (66:23)

And the whole thing just doesn't make any sense. They're dealing with morons who don't actually have a goal in mind, who don't even necessarily know what they want. And so when there's no clear delineation of what the goal is, there's no way to actually get to the end of a deal. It's. The whole thing is crazy.

Jordy Meiselas (66:39)

Every time I hear Lutnick speak, I. I actually get dumber in real time. Like, he's such a huckster. He talks in circles. He makes no sense when he speaks, it's not a rational thing, thinking he comes off calm or whatnot. But he's not like, none of this makes any sense. Like, my head hurts watching him talk. And you could see there Kennedy was, was like, what are you saying, buddy?

Ben Meiselas (67:04)

Yeah. A few other pieces of news I want to bring up, just that I think is important. And you know, I see sometimes people say don't get distracted by this. We still need to focus on the budget bill and that it's cutting Medicaid and Affordable Care act health coverage from tens of millions of people. We could walk and chew gum at the same time. We're not going to be distracted. We're going to talk about the budget bill over and over again. We're going to talk about Donald Trump's attack on women's reproductive rights. We're going to talk about Donald Trump attacking the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. We're going to food stamps. We're going to talk about Donald Trump making millions and more people unhoused by attacking rental assistance. We're going to talk about Donald Trump disappearing. Hearing human beings in the United States will highlight stories like what happened in Milford, Massachusetts, where the Trump regime detained an 18 year old named Marcelo Gomes, who was attending high school, was one day away from graduation, was a star volleyball player at the school and was going to be playing in the band for graduation. And he was disappeared. He's in a detention center right now. There was a walk, walk out there, you know, that the Trump regime has to meet its a 3,3000 a day deportation quota. So they're standing outside courtrooms, raiding construction sites and restaurants and going after, you know, removing asylum status and temporary protected status of people who are paying taxes and contributing to the country. We're not going to stop reporting on all of those things. You know, we're going to report, for example, as I said earlier, Columbia University University, their ability to be accredited was just removed by the Trump regime after they kissed the ring and bowed down. They did the opposite of Harvard and they still ultimately got attacked. Electricity prices are surging. 75% of companies have already raised prices in response to tariffs. We're seeing a lot of people who are still working in government worried that the Labor Department is not, does not have accurate data anymore, that even the inflation numbers are inaccurate and that a lot of the data is just can't be relied upon anymore. We're not going to stop reporting on Trump gutting FEMA and what that means in hurricane season or how the new head of FEMA who's never worked in disaster or emergency management in any capacity before, said that he didn't know that there was a hurricane season and then said, oh, obviously it was a joke. So you, you joke as the head of FEMA about not knowing what hurricane season is, which can cause tens of thousands of people to lose their lives. And look, we're going to report on the fact that Trump begged for a phone call with Xi Jinping earlier in the morning. China made, they put out a statement right away. Trump asked for it. The United States isn't denying that what happened was the United States was running out of a supply of rare earth minerals that we needed from China. So Trump had a call Xing Ping and basically beg for it. And then, you know, the way Xi Jinping's statement after Trump called, it looked like the way a United States would respond after, like China would call after another world leader would ask for a call. So Xi Jinping says US should cancel all negative measures taken against China. The two sides should reduce misunderstanding. Trump is welcome to visit China again as, as though, as though it's like Trump asked for permission to visit. Xi Jinping says US should handle the Taiwan issue carefully. That was the statement from them, like a statement of strength against Trump's deranged and, and, and unhinged posts there. So we're not distracted. We're going to cover all of those things and we're going to cover what's going on with, with Musk and Trump and we're going to give you all the updates. So we're on our way to 5 million subscribers. Everybody please make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. Subscribe on audio Wherever audio podcast. If you're not an audio listener, just still subscribe to the audio. Leave a five star review. We got all those Rogan listeners who try to give us one star reviews to try to nuke our reviews. So give it a 5 star review. Go to patreon.com Midas Touch next week we'll be holding, holding our zoom meeting. It was going to be this week but as many of you know, I've been having some back problems lately and I've been seeing doctors for it. So I don't, I, I'm not going to do it this week. We'll try to do it next week. Midasplus.com is our substack. Check it out Midasplus.com and store.midas touch.com go there for our pro democracy gear. Thank you everybody. Was a busy day. Brett, anything else you want to say about before we go.

Brett Meiselas (71:55)

That's it. I'll pass it over to Jordy.

Jordy Meiselas (71:57)

Shout out to the Midas.

Ben Meiselas (71:58)

My day.

Jordy Meiselas (72:17)

Can'T get enough Midas. Check out the Midas plus substack for ad. Free articles, reports, publish podcast, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free now@midasplus.com.