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Unknown Political Commentator
Donald Trump's uber rich treasury secretary who's worth about half a billion dollars. He's saying, we're on a roll right now, America. Sure there may be a recession looming and sure, you may be suffering, but isn't it all great? Don't you all love the vision? I mean, let me just show you what the oligarchy looks like. I mean, this is his $22 million mansion, as he says. Yeah, you could deal with a little bit of suffering. I think we have the dollhouse photo if we have it. No, no, that's actually Barbie's life. This is the one. He lives in a $22 million mansion and he's lecturing people, people don't want cheaper prices. That's not what people are looking for. It's not like Donald Trump promised he was going to lower prices on day one. Earlier in the morning, he was asked about the probability of a recession. Watch the arrogance as he answers this question. Let's play it. Sure.
Donald Trump
The other day you were asked a question by another outlet. Can you guarantee that we're not a recession? And you wanted to address that this morning. Yeah. Well, look, it was a silly, it was a silly question. Can you guarantee there's not going to be a recession? I can't guarantee anything. I can't guarantee that the journalist who asked me the question that her news program is going to be on it.
Unknown Political Commentator
I recall someone campaigning saying, I guarantee you on day one, I'm going to lower this on day One, there's going to be peace. And I guarantee you all of these things. And by the way, here, Scott Besson says we're on a roll right now. Don't you feel the momentum? Things are great, huh? Here, play right. These tariffs.
Donald Trump
No, no, no. Is Maria, what's going to happen on April 2? Each country will receive a number that we believe represents their tariffs. So for some countries, it could be quite low. For some countries, it could be quite high. So there's not an automatic 25 plus 25 that's going to happen. And the poll you just read, I think that that's a source of a lot of the consternation that's happening. And you know, what we can see here in the administration is President Trump is on what is seemingly an unstoppable role since January 20th.
Unknown Political Commentator
It would be funny if it wasn't so outrageous. Let me call in Democratic Congressmember from Texas, Greg Kazar. Greg. So as I see it, all of the countries, they're gonna get an envelope on April 2, which Trump calls Liberation Day. All of our allies and everyone abroad, and then they open it up and then they get a number of what they're going to be tariffed because Trump's on a roll. What do you make of all of this?
Greg Kazar
Look, on a roll, what I know is that when the ultra rich and special interests were on a roll in the 1920s and they started controlling the government, they crashed the economy and caused the Great Depression. When the ultra rich and the big banks were controlling the government, they were quote, unquote, on a roll and caused the Great Recession in 2008. And we've got to stop that role. We can't let them do something like that again. And the only cure, the only solution to oligarchy is the actual power of working people. The only solution to wanna be autocrats is more democracy. So we need more and more people to show up and speak out against Trump and Musk's abuses. And when people speak out, we start to recognize we actually still do live in a democracy where we can have a real check and balance on these billionaires. But it takes people being willing to organize and it takes elected officials of conscience being willing to stand up and fight.
Unknown Political Commentator
You're joining Bernie Sanders, AOC and others on the Fight the Oligarchy tour, where you're going into red and purplish states and districts and speaking to working class folks and probably a lot of people there who actually even voted for Trump. Look, you're someone who says, I'm unapologetically progressive. You think progressive ideas are going to be well received in these red and purple areas.
Greg Kazar
That's actually what I've always found. I don't think that as progressives or as Democrats that we have to throw any vulnerable people under the bus or have to give up our ideas of equality. We can actually say, look, we may disagree on some social issues here or there, but on the core economic issues, think about who you would rather have on your side. A person that cares about raising your wages, cutting your taxes, lowering costs, and taking on these big corporate oligarchs. Or do you want the Elon Musk's of the world on your side? And so I'm going on this Fight Oligarchy tour with Senator Sanders and with Congresswoman Ocasio Cortez because we can expose what Elon Musk is doing to the everyday person. Look, here's how I put it to people. Elon Musk and Trump want to share all these lies about Doge. But you can quickly explain doge with just two numbers. First, $8 million a day, $8 million a day is how much Elon Musk collects in federal government contracts. And the second number you need to know is $65 a day. That's how much money your average senior that's worked their entire life gets from Social Security. Elon Musk isn't looking to cut actual waste, fraud and abuse from big pharma or from big tech or from his own $8 million a day. He's looking to cut your parents $65 a day they get in Social Security. Elon Musk has called Social Security a Ponzi scheme and billions of dollars that he wants to, quote, unquote, eliminate. If you take that message out to working people, folks seem less like they're on the left or on the right and more that it's people that believe that we should be protecting Social Security. We shouldn't be protecting Elon Musk's $8 million a day. You know, folks that have been working their entire life, they're not the parasites and the moochers. Elon Musk is the moocher. That's the guy that's collecting $8 million a day and is in a corrupt way, trying to gather even more money from the government for himself.
Unknown Political Commentator
You know, I love having you on the program because you make it so simple. And it's like, which person in the red state is voting to hand their Social Security over to Musk? So Musk can make $8 million every single day off of his own government contracts. Who's voting to gut their Medicaid and destroy veterans to pay for Donald Trump's what every weekend now he does more vacations in Mar a Lago. He plays in his own golf tournaments. Did you see at Mar a Lago, they were doing a Hermes. I think I'm saying it the right way. Birkin bag show, where they were displaying $447,000 croc birkin bags at Mar a Lago. And they were just talking about how rich they're. Why, if you're making it so simple, what's the disconnect? What's going on? Like, why is it that that and I appreciate you, aoc, Bernie Sanders, people like, in my view, Governor Bashir in Kentucky, someone a blue governor in a red state. I mean, there are others I could go on, but why is it hard for the message to be getting out.
Greg Kazar
When I think, you know, you can. Another key two numbers are that over 80% of Republican voters oppose these enormous cuts to Medicaid. But over 1. But 100%, not over 100%. But I'll say that again, over 80% of Republican voters oppose these massive cuts to Medicaid, but 100% of Republican members of Congress are trying to cut Medicaid right now. That's the enormous disconnect. The enormous disconnect is that Republican officials aren't acting as Congress people representing their constituents. They're acting like Trump Musk employees. And that's the space that Democrats and activists really need to step into and go and tell folks that voted for Donald Trump that they were sold a lie and that they need to hear the real truth and be a part of a big tent that includes all different sorts of people. And when you ask the question of why aren't people getting the message, why aren't they hearing the message is that sure, Democrats, I think, do need to improve our policies and improve our messaging. But there's another big question that Democrats need to grapple with, which is what if people aren't even hearing the words coming out of our mouth because we aren't being willing to pick a fight? What if we're not making politics interesting enough for people? We have to actually show people that we're willing to stand up and fight for them. We should be willing to name a villain to say that Musk is corrupt, to say that Trump is breaking the law, to not just act as business as usual, because then are people even going to notice what we have to say? So I think Democrats have to recognize that we need to be willing to be confrontational and not do things business as usual. Otherwise, is anybody going to hear us? So I want to talk some about being part of the stand and fight wing of the Democratic Party, not the play dead part of the Democratic Party, because a corpse is not very inspirational and many folks don't hear its message.
Unknown Political Commentator
We're going to be covering the Fight the Oligarchy tour. I've been covering all of Bernie Sanders speeches. I cover the full speeches. Even though corporate media gives it no attention, we give it attention. I assume people are going to tune in on the Midas Touch network, watch your speech, watch AOC speech, watch Bernie Sanders speech. But if they, if they're unable to make it talk, just talk to our audience. I mean, we do 350 million YouTube views every month here. We're beating Fox and the digital views, big audience here. So why should we be fighting the oligarchy? What's your message that you're bringing on tour in case our viewers aren't able to catch you when you're in Denver and Vegas and some of the other places you're going to?
Greg Kazar
Yeah. What I want people at home to know is that Donald Trump and Elon Musk want you to feel powerless in this moment because if you decide there's just nothing we can do, this is just too much of a lost cause, then they win and they get to control everything. And so it's people like you that after the ultra rich took over the economy in the 1920s, people like, just like you watching at home organized, elected fdr, the President, created Social Security and built the New Deal, it was people just like you that wouldn't give up. When segregationists had a stranglehold on the Congress and fought back, won the Voting Rights act, won the Civil Rights act, but actually at the same time, that same term, under a Texas president, we won the creation of Medicare and Medicaid and Head Start. So many of these things we're trying to create. So right now, in this moment of real despair, we cannot just give up. And I think it's an actual moment for us to say, look, this fight against oligarchy, which we've been fighting as a country since the inception of the country, this is an exceptional moment because the billionaires aren't trying to run the government behind a curtain, hiding anymore. They're bragging about it in public. They're playing golf at Mar a Lago. They are doing the corruption when the lights and cameras are on and when they're off. So this is a real time to expose that corruption and build the kind of movement not just to stop Trump and Musk's abuses, but to win a big enough majority to make things really better in the country and start turning things around.
Unknown Political Commentator
We'll be following the Fight the Oligarchy Tour. Thank you for fighting, speaking truth to power, power to the people. We appreciate everything you do. Congressmember Kazar.
Greg Kazar
Thanks so much for having me on.
Unknown Political Commentator
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The MeidasTouch Podcast: Rep. Casar Responds to Trump Wrecking Economy Release Date: March 23, 2025
In the episode titled "Rep. Casar Responds to Trump Wrecking Economy," the Meiselas brothers—Ben, Brett, and Jordy—engage in a robust discussion with Texas Democratic Congressmember Greg Kazar. The conversation delves into the current economic climate under former President Donald Trump's administration, the pervasive influence of oligarchs like Elon Musk, and the strategic initiatives aimed at combating economic disparities and restoring democratic integrity.
The episode begins with the hosts highlighting the controversial statements made by Donald Trump regarding the U.S. economy. An unknown political commentator critiques Trump's assurance that "we're on a roll right now, America," juxtaposing it against looming recession fears and visible economic struggles faced by everyday Americans. This sets the foundation for Greg Kazar's entry into the conversation.
[03:38] Greg Kazar: "When the ultra rich and special interests were on a roll in the 1920s and they started controlling the government, they crashed the economy and caused the Great Depression... The only solution to oligarchy is the actual power of working people... It takes people being willing to organize and it takes elected officials of conscience being willing to stand up and fight."
Congressmember Kazar draws parallels between historical economic collapses and the current administration's policies, emphasizing the dangerous consolidation of power among the ultra-wealthy. He underscores that combating oligarchy requires grassroots activism and principled leadership dedicated to safeguarding democratic principles.
[05:07] Greg Kazar: "We can expose what Elon Musk is doing to the everyday person... $8 million a day is how much Elon Musk collects in federal government contracts, and $65 a day is how much money your average senior gets from Social Security... Elon Musk isn't looking to cut actual waste, fraud and abuse... He's looking to cut your parents $65 a day they get in Social Security."
Kazar elaborates on the "Fight the Oligarchy" tour, a collaborative effort with Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC). The tour aims to educate and mobilize voters in red and purple states by highlighting the stark economic disparities perpetuated by figures like Musk and Trump. By presenting relatable comparisons—such as Musk's exorbitant government contracts versus the modest Social Security benefits—Kazar seeks to resonate with working-class individuals across the political spectrum.
[07:11] Greg Kazar: "Over 80% of Republican voters oppose these massive cuts to Medicaid, but 100% of Republican members of Congress are trying to cut Medicaid right now. That's the enormous disconnect."
Kazar points out the significant gap between Republican constituents' preferences and the actions of their elected officials. This disconnect fuels voter frustration and highlights the need for Democrats to effectively communicate their commitment to protecting essential services like Medicaid and Social Security. Kazar argues that embracing a confrontational stance—naming and challenging corrupt figures like Musk and Trump—is crucial for gaining public attention and support.
[11:04] Greg Kazar: "Donald Trump and Elon Musk want you to feel powerless in this moment because if you decide there's just nothing we can do, this is just too much of a lost cause, then they win and they get to control everything."
Kazar emphasizes the importance of collective action and resilience in the face of economic manipulation by the ultra-wealthy. He draws inspiration from historical movements, such as the New Deal and Civil Rights Act, highlighting how ordinary citizens united can enact significant societal changes. By fostering a sense of agency and encouraging active participation in the democratic process, Kazar aims to ignite a movement capable of reversing the detrimental policies imposed by oligarchs.
The episode culminates with a fervent appeal from Greg Kazar, urging listeners to recognize the pervasive influence of oligarchs like Trump and Musk and to take active steps in resisting their economic agendas. By participating in initiatives like the Fight the Oligarchy tour and supporting progressive policies, Kazar envisions a future where economic justice and democratic integrity prevail.
Notable Quotes:
This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast serves as a critical examination of the current economic policies under Trump's influence and the broader implications of oligarchic control over government affairs. Through insightful dialogue and compelling arguments, Greg Kazar articulates a vision for a more equitable and democratic society, rallying listeners to partake in the ongoing fight against economic injustice.