Panicked Trump Reeks of Fear as Markets Get Twisted

Summary

Summary of The MeidasTouch Podcast Episode: "Panicked Trump Reeks of Fear as Markets Get Twisted"

Release Date: April 10, 2025

In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, the Meiselas brothers—Ben, Brett, and Jordy—delve deep into the recent economic and political maneuvers of former President Donald Trump. The discussion is robust, covering Trump's abrupt policy changes, potential market manipulations, legal challenges within his administration, and broader implications for U.S. democracy. Below is a detailed breakdown of the key topics covered, enriched with notable quotes and insights from the episode.

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1. Trump’s Abrupt Tariff Policy Reversal

The episode opens with an in-depth analysis of Donald Trump’s sudden decision to pause tariffs amidst significant market instability. The brothers dissect the implications of this move and its timing, suggesting possible underlying motives.

• Initial Tariff Implementation: Trump initially imposed steep tariffs, notably raising those against China to 125% while setting tariffs on other countries at 10%. This aggressive stance was ostensibly aimed at protecting American industries but had broader economic repercussions.

• Sudden Pause and Market Reaction: Just hours after these tariffs were enacted, Trump paused them for a 90-day period, citing economic turmoil. The Wall Street Journal headline featured in the podcast states, "Trump blinked on tariffs just hours after they went into effect", highlighting the swift policy reversal ([02:15]).

• Treasury Secretary Scott Besson’s Role: Treasury Secretary Scott Besson is quoted as having persuaded Trump to negotiate with trading partners under pressure from business leaders. Brett comments, "Trump gave press conferences yesterday where he said he was scared things weren't going as planned" ([04:30]).

• Caroline Levitt’s Defense: Trump’s propagandist, Caroline Levitt, defends the pause as part of the "art of the deal," arguing that the strategy was always intended to create economic leverage ([10:32]).

• Market Manipulation Concerns: The Political Commentator raises alarms about potential market manipulation, noting unusual trading volumes before the tariff pause announcement. "The NASDAQ call volume spiked minutes before the 90-day tariff pause was announced. It seems that some people had significant knowledge" ([06:00]).

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2. Executive Orders Targeting Election Officials

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Trump’s recent executive orders aimed at investigating key figures who publicly supported the integrity of the 2020 election.

• Targets of Investigation: The executive orders direct the Department of Justice to investigate Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs, citing their belief that the 2020 election was not stolen ([01:15]).

• Broader Implications: Brett emphasizes the personal threat these actions pose to individuals: "We are all Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor. Donald Trump is just waiting for the time to go after all of us" ([03:50]).

• Legal Overreach: The brothers critique Trump's actions as attempts to suppress dissent and undermine democratic institutions, portraying them as authoritarian maneuvers rather than legitimate legal inquiries.

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3. Legal Challenges and Judicial Interventions

The podcast addresses ongoing legal battles and legislative efforts aimed at curbing what the hosts perceive as judicial overreach.

• House Bill HR 1526: Introduced to prevent federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, the bill aims to limit judicial interference in executive actions. While the House has passed it, Brett is skeptical about its passage in the Senate due to political dynamics ([13:00]).

• Newsmax vs. Dominion: A Delaware judge has ruled that Newsmax defamed Dominion, setting the stage for a damages trial. The brothers anticipate significant financial repercussions for Newsmax, noting their stock volatility and market cap concerns ([11:30]).

• MS-13 Case: The attempt to dismiss charges against Henry Santos, a key MS-13 leader, is scrutinized. The commentator argues that the Trump administration prefers extrajudicial methods, such as deportation to El Salvador, over due process ([12:45]).

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4. Senate Budget Failures and MAGA Mike Johnson’s Setback

The episode highlights recent failures within the Republican agenda, particularly focusing on MAGA Mike Johnson’s unsuccessful efforts to pass budget proposals.

• Budget Discrepancies: The Senate proposed a budget with $4 billion in spending cuts, starkly contrasting the House’s $1.5 trillion cuts. This disparity underscores internal conflicts and strategic missteps ([14:30]).

• Impact on Trump’s Agenda: The inability to secure votes in the House derails Trump’s tax and budget plans, signaling fractures within the party and weakening the administration’s policy objectives ([14:50]).

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5. Jared Isaac’s NASA Nomination and Elon Musk’s Involvement

The brothers discuss the contentious nomination of Jared Isaac to head NASA, highlighting inconsistencies and potential conflicts of interest.

• Interview with Senator: During a contentious hearing, Jared Isaac evades questions about Elon Musk’s presence in the meeting where Trump offered him the NASA position. The brothers criticize Isaac’s lack of transparency ([10:00]).

• Elon Musk’s Role: The episode suggests that Musk’s involvement in government contracts, notably with SpaceX receiving $5.6 billion from the federal government, raises ethical concerns about favoritism and influence ([10:50]).

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6. Additional Economic Concerns and Predictions

Beyond tariffs and legal issues, the podcast touches on broader economic concerns stemming from Trump’s policies.

• Inflation and Prices: Despite efforts to manipulate tariffs, prices for essential goods, such as eggs and electronics (e.g., iPhones), continue to rise due to the complex tariff structure ([07:20]).

• Recession Risks: Citing JP Morgan’s forecast, Brett mentions a 60% chance of recession, attributing this risk to Trump's unpredictable and capricious behavior impacting market stability ([07:50]).

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7. Closing Thoughts and Future Analyses

In wrapping up, the brothers reiterate the significance of the discussed issues and tease future content that will delve deeper into specific topics.

• Upcoming Videos: Brett announces detailed analyses on market manipulation and MAGA Mike Johnson’s political setbacks, encouraging listeners to stay tuned to their YouTube channel ([14:45]).

• Call to Action: The episode concludes with an appeal to the audience to subscribe and engage with their additional content offerings, including the Midas Plus Substack for exclusive articles and reports.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Trump blinked on tariffs just hours after they went into effect." — Wall Street Journal headline ([02:15])

• "We are all Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor. Donald Trump is just waiting for the time to go after all of us." — Political Commentator ([03:50])

• "The NASDAQ call volume spiked minutes before the 90-day tariff pause was announced. It seems that some people had significant knowledge." — Political Commentator ([06:00])

• "Our plan is working perfectly and it's just a negotiation tactic, but it's also going to be permanent and we will be the world leader in textiles." — Senator Brian Shait ([09:38])

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Conclusion

This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast offers a critical examination of Donald Trump’s recent economic and political strategies, highlighting perceived missteps and their repercussions on the U.S. market and democratic institutions. Through a blend of detailed analysis, notable quotes, and in-depth discussions, the Meiselas brothers provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the current political climate and its potential future trajectory.

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For those interested in a deeper dive into these topics, be sure to watch the upcoming videos on The MeidasTouch YouTube channel and subscribe to the Midas Plus Substack for exclusive content.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

So did Donald Trump blink yesterday? Was he terrified seeing the bond market implode? Was he manipulating the market? Was he just trying to do a another distraction? Was it all of the above? Let's explore and let's not ignore some of the other disastrous things Donald Trump did yesterday, like signing executive orders directing the Department of Justice to investigate Miles Taylor and Chris Krebs because he said that they believe that the election from 2020 was not stolen. And because he believes the election was stolen and they're outspoken against Donald Trump's election lies, they need to be criminally investigated. Let's be clear. We are all Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor. Donald Trump is just waiting for the time to go after all of us. But let's explore first the financial and let's go into some of these other areas. So right yesterday, Donald Trump announces, voila, these big beautiful tariffs that are going to make us all rich. He's pausing the tariffs on the entire world that he imposed based on a fake formula other than China. He raised the tariffs against China to 125%, but the rest of the world will be tariffed at 10%. But all of those other tariffs that were above that 10% based on that fake formula, those would be paused for a 90 day period. So here's the headline from the Wall Street Journal why Trump blinked on tariffs just hours after they went into effect. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson helped persuade Donald Trump to take time to negotiate with trading partners in face of pressure from business leaders. So Donald Trump gave press conferences yesterday where he said he was scared things weren't going as planned. The markets were getting spooked and he was using words like that. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson, Trump's propaganda's Caroline Levitt said this was all part of the order of the deal. This was all part of the plan. So the plan was to lie to the people, lie to the markets, lie to corporations, lie to the world, crash the markets, wipe out $10 trillion from the markets and then say that was the plan to begin with and you think that you haven't lost all credibility? Well, you've already lost it pretty much months ago. And I think even before then, if anybody's ever been paying attention to this. But let's keep going. I want to talk about market manipulation soon. I'm going to do a whole video, by the way, on market manipulation this morning. I want you to watch that. I'm going to post that soon on the YouTube channel. Well, where I will break it down from a legal perspective. What I would investigate the questions I would ask. Take a look at this headline from the New York Times, from be Cool to Getting Yippee Inside Trump's reversal on Tariffs Economic turmoil, particularly a rapid rise in government bond yields, caused President Trump to reverse course on these steep levies. The real credit, Mr. Trump's advisors admit privately, should go to the bond markets. Trump's decision was driven by fear that his tariffs gamble could quickly turn into a financial crisis directly attributable to only one man, as Scott Galloway explained. So as a result, what Trump did is he pulled the knife halfway out of the economy's back. But the injury, no longer a reliable trading partner, will take years to heal. Hashtag stupid. Spencer at Kimian keeps a running list for everyone of all of the things that Donald Trump and his regime have been stating about tariffs. Tariffs are going to bring jobs back, so why are you pausing it, Donald? Tariffs are actually going to stop all fentanyl deaths, so why are you pausing it, Donald? Tariffs are actually to negotiate, so why are you pausing them, Donald? Tariffs are actually for external revenue. We're going to get rid of the irs, so why are you pausing them, Donald? Tariffs are actually to crash bond yields. Tariffs are actually to raise money, else tariffs are actually to fix trade deficits. Tariffs are actually to make the world stop depending on us and abusing US Tariffs are actually to make everyone be our ally again and only be China's enemies. Now keep adding to that list that a Kimian is making. As I mentioned before, Trump paused most tariffs for 90 days amid economic turmoil. He adds that he has authorized substantially lower reciprocal tariffs during this period of about 10%. But when you actually look at the tariff rate to the world, and you actually look at it from a blended perspective, the overall tariffs to the world, where you include China's in a blended average and all these other countries at 10% and then the other tariffs that still apparently remain, although with the chaos in Trump it was like unclear which tariffs are there, is Canada, Mexico, are those tariffs on steel, Aluminum, are those tariffs on but it seems like a blended rate of somewhere around 23 to 25% from like 2% where it was before. So that's going to raise the prices. Oh, and by the way, as according to Donald Trump's treasury secretary, this was all part of the plan. Screw the market, take 10, wipe away $10 trillion. Tons of parents were tapping their 529 college accounts for their kids because they that was part of the plan, apparently by the Treasury Secretary Scott Besson said. Or as Senator Brian Shait says, our plan is working perfectly and it's just a negotiation tactic, but it's also going to be permanent and we will be the world leader in textiles. And now there is a pause and everyone needs to chill. But also we will never back down. Or as we've done, the kind of cycle of Trump stupidity, I make a stupid decision, something really bad happens. I convince my followers the problem is now magically solved. I reverse my stupid decisions. Want to explore the market manipulation case? I'm going to do this in a longer video as well. Take a look at the NASDAQ call. Volume spiking minutes before the 90 day tariff pause was announced. As Spencer Kimian says, not a good look at all. Someone knew. When did they know it, why did they know it, how did they get this information? And you'll see all of a sudden a spike in volume. People were very much aware of what was going on. Yes, Donald Trump did make a post earlier in the morning. Now is a good time to buy Hell says that. Was that the signal? But even before then, we saw spikes taking place in unusual behavior. If you look at some of the exchanges and some of that trade parallel to the exchanges, like one of them is called Spy, which trades alongside the S and P. And it basically takes their kind of relative percentages and you basically trade the S and P. It's called Spy. There's one called QQQ and TQQ which trades alongside the NASDAQ. So those calls were up dramatically and rapidly before the announcement. And so it seems that some people had significant knowledge. Now one of the case that this was a plan from the outset, One, we know that Donald Trump has a history of being a fraud, right? He was found civilly liable for fraud, number one. Number two, he's a felon. Number three, he's a sexual predator. Number four, he bankrupts business. Number five, he's Donald Trump. But go back to this video Right here, December 12, 2024, Donald Trump goes to the New York Stock Exchange. He's standing with Jim Crame. Remember this moment where Jim Cramer asks Donald Trump, should working people buy more stock? And Trump says, I don't know, I would not want them to be in a situation where we have a dip or something. That's what Donald Trump said back in December of 2024. Remember this? Let's watch it.

[Donald Trump]

I know you've got a ton of things to do, but what can you.

[Jim Cramer]

Say to the working person who owns.

[Donald Trump]

Stocks, should they buy more stock?

[Jim Cramer]

Well, I don't want to get into a situation where they do and we have a dip or something because that can always happen. You know that better than anybody in the world probably. I think you're the leading authority in going up and going down, but you always end up. He always ends up. That's the good news. But we have like Doug Burgum standing right over here, has done a fantastic job. He's been on your show many times. And we have, we have just tremendous people. I would say this. I think long term, this is going to be a country like no other. We had the three best years ever until Covid came in. And then we did a good job getting rid of it. The stock market, if you look at the markets, were higher than just previous to Covid coming in when we handed it over.

[Political Commentator]

And so then yesterday, here's Donald Trump saying why he instituted a pause because people were getting yippee. Here, play this clip. You started the morning saying be cool.

[Jim Cramer]

And hours later there was a pause put in on the tariffs.

[Political Commentator]

Can you walk us through your thinking.

[Jim Cramer]

About why you decided to put a 90 day pause? Well, I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line. They were getting yippee. You know, they were getting a little bit yippee, a little bit afraid, unlike these champions, because we have a big job to do. No other president would have done what I did. No other president. I know the president. They wouldn't have done it.

[Political Commentator]

The Ways and Means Democrats posted the following as the markets were crashing. Color me yippee. Yippee. And afraid. Caroline Levitt, Donald Trump's chief propagandist, said this was all part of the art of the deal. Play this clip.

[Caroline Levitt]

Excuse me. Excuse me. If I could just add to what the secretary said. Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal. You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here. You, you tried to say that the rest of the world would be moved closer to China, when in fact we've seen the opposite effect. The entire world is calling the United States of America, not China, because they need our markets, they need our consumers, and they need this president in the Oval Office to talk to them. And that's exactly why more than 75 countries have called. Because the United States of America is the best place in the world to do business. And as the President has shown great courage, as the secretary have said, in choosing to retaliate against China even higher. Elena, go ahead.

[Political Commentator]

And by the way, this is not getting a lot of attention, so I want to give it attention here. There was a hearing that was held with Trump's nominee to head NASA, guy named Jared Isaac, man who really, really, really did not, as Jamie Dupree explains, did not want to admit that Elon Musk was in his meeting with Trump over NASA. Because Elon Musk getting them government contracts, they got what I think SpaceX got what, like $5.6 billion from the federal government recently. Here, play this clip.

[Senator]

Was Elon Musk in your meeting when Trump offered you the NASA position at Mar A Lago?

[Donald Trump]

Senator, I was interviewed by the President of the United States.

[Senator]

Was Elon Musk in the meeting when he offered you the job?

[Donald Trump]

Senator, my meeting was with the President of the United States.

[Senator]

So Elon Musk was not in the meeting. So just.

[Donald Trump]

Senator, I was being interviewed and speaking with the President of the United States.

[Senator]

Just say he was not in the meeting. Was he in the meeting or not in the meeting?

[Political Commentator]

I.

[Donald Trump]

Senator, I'm trying to be as transparent as I can. I was being interviewed by the President of the United States.

[Senator]

It's not a difficult question. Was Elon Musk in the room when the President offered you the job?

[Donald Trump]

Senator, I was. Again, my meeting was with the President, United States.

[Senator]

I'm assuming that you don't want to answer the question directly because Elon Musk was in the room. Unless you wanted to speak dispel us of that notion.

[Donald Trump]

Senator, I got and I was being interviewed by the President, United States.

[Political Commentator]

How embarrassing is that? Now, as I said, with all the chaos going on, I don't want to get distracted from a lot of things, right? Prices are not going down, prices are going up. One of the things we learned is one of the ways that Trump regime has tried to take down egg prices is buying them from foreign countries that by the way were tariffing and then selling them for lower prices here to manipulate the market. When it comes to eggs, there's always a scam, right with Donald Trump. But prices are going to still be surging. I mean the blended tariff rate international is now 25%. If 125% tariffs on China means all your stuff from Amazon, all the stuff that you're buying is going to be a lot more expensive. Think about what the cost of an iPhone is going to be very soon. JP Morgan still has a 60% chance of recession based on Donald Trump's arbitrary and capricious nature and behavior. And I don't want to forget that. You know, Donald Trump signed these executive orders yesterday directing the Department of Justice to go after Chris Krebs, who ran cybersecurity, was a major player in the intelligence community protecting the 2020 elections from interference by Russia. And Chris Krebs said it was a free and fair and safe election. So Donald Trump hates Chris Krebs because Chris Krebs was technically part of the Trump administration. Miles Taylor as well, who is a whistleblower against Trump. And look what Trump wants to do to Krebs and Miles Taylor, he wants to do to all of us here. But play this clip of Donald Trump signing the executive order yesterday and whining that the election was rigged. Here, play this clip.

[Jim Cramer]

And this guy Krebs was saying, oh, the election was great. It was great. Well, it's been proven that it was not only not great, when you look at all these lawyers and law firms that are signing, giving, giving us hundreds of millions of dollars, it was proven by so many different ways in so many different forms, from the legislatures not approving to, to the 51 intelligence agents that worked from all of the different scamming operations. There's a very corrupt election. They used Covid to cheat.

[Political Commentator]

And I also want to mention this story because it's not getting enough attention as well. But despite being called one of the top three Ms. 13 leaders by the Trump regime, federal prosecutors yesterday moved to dismiss the charges against Henry Santos. This was one of the individuals they did this whole press conference with Bondi and Cash Patel, and they said, this guy's Ms. 13. Well, very quietly, the Trump regime moved to dismiss, dismiss the charges against the person they said was the Main Leader of Ms. 13. And one of the things that they want to do is not have to go through a trial. They want to take him now and then send him to El Salvador without process. They don't want to have to go through the court system to prove the evidence against them. Now, look, which is due process. If the evidence shows that he's Ms. 13 and he's a criminal, then the guy should be in jail forever, you know, or whatever the time the judge sentences him to. We all think bad gang members and people who commit crimes should go to jail. What the Trump regime wants to do here, though, after saying he's Ms. 13 is send him to El Salvador. So they want to dismiss it, snatch him, disappear him to El Salvador versus go through a trial. Now, here's the thing. The Trump regime was bragging on March 5 about extraditing, bringing people into the United states who are MS.13 to try them in the United States legal system, that's not uncommon. To bring these gang members in who are coordinating gang activity abroad, not to let him free on the streets, to put them in prisons. In the United States, we have a due process system, and then it goes through a process where they're charged and there's prosecution. The way, like El Chapo was found guilty, was in the highest prison facility that there is, highest guarded prison facilities, went through a process guilty because there's more supposed to be more security here than like, in the Mexican prisons when Chapo left. So what are we talking, like, what are we even talking about here? They just, they want to disappear people, and they think that they have a green light to. To do that right now. Um, also, the House of Representatives introduced a bill, HR 1526, to basically stop federal judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, which the Trump judges did all the time under the Trump administration. That passed the House. It goes to the Senate. I don't think the Senate's going to pass that at all. You know, one of the interesting things, though, as they talk about all these. These activist judges, a lot of these judges are appointed by George W. Bush, who are issuing injunctions against Trump. Judge McFadden, who issued the injunction reinstating the Associated Press in the White House after Trump blocked the Associated Press because they called the Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Mexico, not the Gulf of America. Judge McFadden, a Trump appointee. So all these activist judges, you mean your own judges, George W. Bush judges? Sure. Judges appointed by Biden and Obama and others. But their injunction frequency is because you frequently are committing crimes and violating the law. That's why. Two other stories I want to mention right now. Number one, a Delaware judge has made a finding that Newsmax affirmatively defame Dominion. This is a legal finding, meaning the trial will now just be about damages. You'll recall Newsmax went public, the stock went up to like, $100 and then kind of pumped up and looks like a Trump meme coin or the American economy right now. And then it crashed to like. I think it's at like, 33 right now, but it's still got a market cap pretty freaking high right now. And so Newsmax going to trial next month just on damages. They've been found liable for the conduct itself of defaming. So it's just the money at this point. So I think Dominion's well placed for either getting a huge settlement, bigger than Fox, especially now that Newsmax went public. But we'll be following that story right there. And also yesterday, I'll do a whole video on this as well, so keep checking. Back on our YouTube channel, Maga Mike Johnson was supposed to pass the Senate's version of the budget blueprint and then reconcile it to push forward Trump's tax agenda and budget agenda. But he didn't get the votes in the House of Representatives. That got derailed. And so that's moved to today. We'll see if there are votes today and what's going to happen. But the Senate budget has spending cuts of about $4 billion. The House has cuts of about 1.5 trillion. So they're figuring out how to, I guess, deal with that. But it was very embarrassing for MAGA Mike Johnson. So we covered a lot of ground, a lot of stories right there. I like doing these recaps in the morning. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 5 million subscribers. Check back. I'm going to do a whole analysis on the YouTube channel on market manipulation, a whole video on MAGA Mike getting humiliated. We'll talk about it all and more. Thank you for watching the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 5 million. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas plus substack for AD. Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free [e-mail].