Senator Ossoff Calls Out Trump’s Attack on America

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast: "Senator Ossoff Calls Out Trump’s Attack on America"

Episode Information

• Title: Senator Ossoff Calls Out Trump’s Attack on America
• Release Date: March 26, 2025
• Host: MeidasTouch Network (Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas)
• Guest: Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff

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1. Campaign Kickoff and Public Reception

Host Introduction: The episode begins with the Meiselas brothers welcoming Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff to the podcast. The host remarks on the enthusiasm surrounding Ossoff's first kickoff speech for the 2026 campaign season in Atlanta.

Senator Ossoff on Public Response ([02:07]): Ossoff shares that despite minimal promotion, thousands of people attended his event. He emphasizes the widespread energy opposing the current administration's attacks on the rule of law and the Constitution. He highlights the unity among Democrats and others in Georgia standing against the administration's actions.

“It just speaks to the energy that there is in opposition to this attack on the rule of law and our Constitution.” ([02:15])

2. Georgia’s Political Landscape Post-2024 Election

Host’s Observation ([02:31]): The host notes that Georgia turned red in the 2024 elections, supporting Trump, and probes into the sentiments of the voters—whether there's regret or dissatisfaction among the populace.

Ossoff’s Insights ([02:46]): Ossoff explains the importance of challenging Trump’s leadership, citing a shift towards authoritarianism. He details actions taken by the administration, such as purging independent watchdogs and replacing officials with loyalists. Ossoff criticizes the administration’s focus on tax breaks for the wealthy, immigration restrictions, and power centralization, arguing that these policies neglect the needs of the electorate.

“His entire domestic agenda is tax breaks for the wealthy, rounding up immigrants, revenge, and centralizing as much power as he can in the presidency.” ([02:55])

3. Critique of Elon Musk’s Role in Government

Host Raises Concerns ([03:50]): The discussion shifts to Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government, highlighting concerns over data privacy and the handling of Social Security, veterans' services, and other critical areas.

Ossoff’s Criticism ([04:21]): Ossoff condemns Musk’s influence, pointing out the unpopularity of his actions even among the MAGA base. He highlights the detrimental impact of firing essential personnel and the administration’s indifference to ordinary Americans' struggles.

“They are the richest and most elitist and most powerful people in the history of the planet mocking the concerns of the American public.” ([04:42])

4. The Social Security Controversy

Host’s Example ([05:37]): The host cites Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s dismissive remarks about missing Social Security checks, juxtaposing them with the real-life struggles of senior citizens.

Ossoff’s Response ([06:44]): Ossoff criticizes Lutnick’s statements, emphasizing the severe consequences for seniors reliant on Social Security. He underscores the administration’s lack of seriousness towards public welfare and the dangerous rhetoric surrounding Social Security as a Ponzi scheme.

“Disabled students and the parents of disabled students in Georgia are calling my office every single day.” ([08:02])

5. Mockery of the Department of Education

Host’s Observation ([08:02]): The host brings up a meme posted by Trump mocking the Department of Education, highlighting the tangible negative impact on Georgia’s educational institutions.

Ossoff’s Reaction ([08:45]): Ossoff decries the administration’s trivialization of federal agencies, stressing the real-world implications for students and parents. He criticizes the elite’s detachment from the public’s educational concerns.

“These are not folks. You know, these are the wealthiest, richest, most powerful people in the world mocking the concerns of the American public.” ([09:40])

6. Trump’s Stance on Putin and Ukraine

Host’s Inquiry ([09:40]): The host questions Trump’s inconsistent foreign policy, particularly his praise for Putin contrasted with undermining Zelensky and destabilizing Ukraine.

Ossoff’s Analysis ([10:45]): Ossoff expresses deep concern over the administration’s alignment with authoritarian leaders like Putin. He links Trump’s foreign policy missteps to his domestic authoritarian tendencies, highlighting the unprecedented use of state power to intimidate political opposition.

“It is an affront to the basic values of political freedom that animate our republic and that are embedded in our Constitution.” ([11:00])

7. National Security Group Chat Scandal

Host’s Report ([12:38]): The host introduces a breaking news segment about a scandal involving national security officials discussing sensitive war plans in a group chat, inadvertently exposing classified information.

Ossoff’s Critique ([13:15]): Ossoff attributes the mishandling to Fox News personalities masquerading as government officials. He condemns the reckless behavior as both embarrassing and dangerous, underscoring the lack of professionalism and commitment to national security.

“They are talking about the execution of lethal military operations, international diplomacy, intelligence information... It is deadly serious.” ([13:30])

8. Ossoff’s Campaign Message and Strategy

Host’s Prompt ([13:56]): The host inquires about Ossoff's message to voters as he launches his 2026 campaign.

Ossoff’s Vision ([14:15]): Ossoff outlines his campaign as a response to rejecting attacks on the Constitution and restoring democratic values. He delves into the systemic corruption fueled by money in politics, referencing the Citizens United decision's impact. Ossoff positions himself as the only Democratic senator seeking reelection in a Trump-won state, expressing confidence in a landslide victory while acknowledging potential financial challenges from wealthy opponents like Musk.

“The way that money in politics since the Citizens United decision has corrupted policymaking in the United States, has caused people to realize that, yes, the system is in fact rigged.” ([14:30])

9. Closing Remarks and Support Channels

Host’s Closing ([15:51]): The host directs listeners to Ossoff’s campaign website, encouraging support and further engagement.

Ossoff’s Final Thoughts ([16:01]): Ossoff expresses eagerness to continue engaging with constituents and maintaining open communication throughout his campaign trail.

“We need to get into that mindset... We have to reject this un American attack on our Constitution and our core values.” ([14:20])

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Key Takeaways

• Opposition to Authoritarianism: Senator Ossoff strongly criticizes the current administration's drift towards authoritarianism, highlighting actions that undermine democratic institutions and the rule of law.

• Elon Musk’s Government Influence: Ossoff condemns the influential role of Elon Musk in the federal government, citing mismanagement and disregard for public welfare.

• Social Security and Public Services: The administration’s treatment of Social Security and other essential services is portrayed as neglectful and elitist, adversely affecting vulnerable populations.

• Foreign Policy Concerns: Inconsistent and concerning foreign policy positions, especially regarding Putin and Ukraine, reflect deeper authoritarian tendencies within the administration.

• Campaign Strategy: Ossoff positions himself as a defender of constitutional values and democratic principles, aiming to combat systemic corruption and secure a decisive victory in the upcoming election.

• Public Engagement: The episode emphasizes the importance of voter support and engagement in countering the administration's policies, with Ossoff advocating for unity and active participation in the democratic process.

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Notable Quotes

• Senator Jon Ossoff on Election Turnout:

  “It just speaks to the energy that there is in opposition to this attack on the rule of law and our Constitution.” ([02:15])

• Ossoff Critiquing Domestic Agenda:

  “His entire domestic agenda is tax breaks for the wealthy, rounding up immigrants, revenge, and centralizing as much power as he can in the presidency.” ([02:55])

• Ossoff on Social Security Attacks:

  “Disabled students and the parents of disabled students in Georgia are calling my office every single day.” ([08:02])

• Ossoff on Political Corruption:

  “The way that money in politics since the Citizens United decision has corrupted policymaking in the United States, has caused people to realize that, yes, the system is in fact rigged.” ([14:30])

• Ossoff on Foreign Policy and Authoritarianism:

  “It is an affront to the basic values of political freedom that animate our republic and that are embedded in our Constitution.” ([11:00])

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Conclusion In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, Senator Jon Ossoff delivers a compelling critique of the current administration's policies and leadership style, emphasizing the threats to democratic institutions and the rule of law. He articulates a clear vision for his 2026 campaign, focusing on combating political corruption and restoring public trust. Through engaging discussions and insightful analysis, Ossoff positions himself as a steadfast advocate for American democracy, resonating with listeners who share concerns about the nation's political direction.

Transcript

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[Host]

I'm joined by Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff. Senator, welcome to the Midas Touch podcast. Hey, people seemed pretty fired up at your first kickoff speech of the 2026 campaign season in Atlanta. What were you seeing out there? What's the reaction of the people right now?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

It was a great event and we did not even do that much promotion. We had thousands of people come out. It just speaks to the energy that there is in opposition to this attack on the rule of law and our Constitution. And it was an opportunity for not just Democrats, but folks across the spectrum in Georgia to speak out together against what this administration is doing to our country.

[Host]

Look, Georgia turned red this 2024 election. They voted for Trump this time around. What are you hearing, though, from the people. Are you hearing that there's regret? Are people pissed off or what's going on?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

That's actually one of the reasons I think it's so important to go right at him. First of all, we have this spiral toward strongman rule and authoritarianism in the United States. In his first few months, he's purged the government of independent watchdogs, filled the most powerful offices with personal loyalists. He's commanded them to go after his opponents. We're seeing the use of fear and intimidation against the political opposition unlike anything, I think, in our republic's history. And he's so consumed by his efforts to secure revenge and to crush his enemies and, you know, conquering Greenland that he's doing nothing for the people who elected him. His entire domestic agenda is tax breaks for the wealthy, rounding up immigrants, revenge, and centralizing as much power as he can in the presidency.

[Host]

And what are people saying about this hostile government takeover by Elon Musk, this unelected billionaire? And doge coming in with a wrecking ball, dismantling the federal government, attacking veterans, taking people's private data, Social Security data, medical records, and saying, trust me, bro, we're billionaires. We ain't going to do anything bad with them. We just want to look at them. What are people saying in Georgia?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

It's incredibly unpopular. I think that there's even a significant amount of the MAGA movement that hates what Elon Musk has been empowered to do. You know, you got the. The richest man in the world who spent $300 million to elect this president, being given the keys to the kingdom, unfettered access to sensitive personal information of Americans, and the incompetence of firing tens of thousands of people, and then realizing that, you know, they fired the folks who protect the nuclear weapons, and they fired the folks who protect us from Ebola, and they fired the folks who man the Veterans Crisis Hotline, and they're scrambling to rehire them. So it's this combination of corruption, of incompetence and elitism, Right? The point I made in the speech at the rally is like, you've got the richest cabinet ever. You've got the richest man in the world doing whatever he wants. Their agenda is tax breaks for the wealthy. They're not even talking about anything that matters to ordinary people, health care or child care. They are the elites that they pretend to hate.

[Host]

Take a look at this. I think it exactly proves your point. Howard Lutnick, the Commerce Secretary, he's a billionaire, and he said, look, if you complain about not Getting your Social Security check one month. The fact that you're complaining probably means you're the fraud that we should be going after. He's like, my mother in law, she's 94. If she missed a Social Security check for a month, she would be like, whatevs, it's going to come the next month. So people are afraid that they're going to go after Social Security and they're seeing Social Security offices shut down. Let me just show you what Nick said and let me get your response to it. Let's play it.

[Guest Speaker]

Let's say Social Security didn't send out their checks this month. My mother in law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain. She just wouldn't. She thinks something got messed up and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining.

[Host]

When you hear that, what do you say to him?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

I mean, his mother in law's son in law is a billionaire and one of the richest and wealthiest people in the country. So maybe she would be okay. But seniors in Georgia who would have to cut their pills in half or turn off the air conditioning in summertime or go without groceries because they didn't get their Social Security check would be in deep trouble. And it is really alarming that they talk about Social Security in this way in particular, and Musk talking about it as a Ponzi scheme because it betrays that they are serious about going after Social Security. I mean, Musk posted on his website just a couple of weeks ago plans to shut down like five Social Security offices in Georgia alone. And again, that's like they are the richest and most elitist and most powerful people in the history of the planet. And they, they, they have this like anti elite populist shtick. But what are they doing? Again, it's the whole agenda is tax breaks for the wealthy, rounding up immigrants, revenge and power. And that does nothing for my constituents, for my constituents who voted for Trump, for my constituents who voted against Trump, they're doing nothing for the people.

[Host]

And to your point, there you have the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, posting a meme of Donald Trump at a cemetery in front of a grave, which is just ghoulish in and of itself, kind of mocking the grave. But the grave is for the Department of Education and it's spelled wrong. Department is spelled without the t at the end of it. And they're mocking the fact that they're gutting the Department of Education and Donald Trump's putting out an executive order to get rid of it. I mean, things like this, Senator, it's going to make a horrible impact on your state. Right? I mean, the Department of Education getting gutted, that's going to hurt Georgia?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

Well, it's the way that they post about it and talk about it and treat it all like it's a game, right? Like these federal agencies are their playthings. And they're mocking the concerns about what happens when they act recklessly. You know, disabled students and the parents of disabled students in Georgia are calling my office every single day saying, what's this gonna mean for me? What's this gonna mean for my child? And, you know, they're like, posting about it online to own the libs. But it just reveals the total lack of concern for ordinary people. And these are not folks. You know, these, again, are the wealthiest, richest, most powerful people in the world mocking the concerns of the American public who are asking, what's going to happen to public education?

[Host]

And Senator, what do you make of Donald Trump and his administration? I call regimes kind of consistent, going out of their way to praise Putin. We believe what Putin's saying, but then when it comes to Zelensky, they try to humiliate him in the Oval Office and consistently say, you know, just spread Russian propaganda. They had Steve Witkoff, the special envoy to Russia and Ukraine, go on the weekend shows, and here's what he had to say about Putin. He goes, we should trust Putin. Why wouldn't we trust this guy Here? Play this clip.

[Guest Speaker]

I've been asked my. My opinion. So. About what? What President Putin's motives are on a larger scale. And I simply have said that. I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe. This is a much different situation than it was in World War II.

[Host]

What do you make of the way Donald Trump's been. He promised that there would be peace in Ukraine on day one.

[Guest Speaker]

There.

[Host]

It's obviously another lie. What do you make of all that?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

Two thoughts on that. The first is that it's hard to overstate how alarmed the rest of the free world is that the United States seems to be not just abdicating its leadership of the free world, but aligning itself with the most brutal authoritarians on the planet. Second thought is that the president's affinity for the Kremlin and his apparent admiration of President Putin, when you think about it in the context of what Donald Trump is trying to do domestically, which is to wield the power of government to crush his political opposition, something that we have never seen in American history, not even at the height of McCarthyism. It's really chilling, right? I mean, he is trying to use every instrument of state to entrench his and his political party's power. And I have never seen fear and intimidation used like this in American politics, and certainly not in modern American history. Hasn't been used like this in American politics, where the message from our own government is pay tribute, do not criticize us or face retribution. And that is something that should send a chill down the spine of every patriotic American, regardless of our political affiliation, because it is an affront to the basic values of political freedom that animate our republic and that are embedded in our Constitution. You even see right now that other countries around the world are advising their nationals not to travel to the United States because the erosion of civil rights and civil liberties in our country is happening at such an alarming rate.

[Host]

Senator, what's your reaction to the breaking news on Monday? That there was this group chat with all of the top national security do, dod Vance, they were all there discussing war plans in a group chat with emojis and text messages and discussing all this sensitive compartmented information over text message. And now they're attacking the reporter from the Atlantic who they apparently accidentally invited to this chat. That's how it's been uncovered. You've seen a lot, Senator, but what do you make of this?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

This is what happens when you have Fox News personalities cosplaying as government officials. I mean, this is the most clownish, amateurish. It honestly, it would be funny except that it is deadly serious. Right. They're talking about the execution of lethal military operations, international diplomacy, intelligence, information. And these are people who absolutely should know better. It is an embarrassing and dangerous, reckless and amateurish demonstration of just how they lack any commitment to conscientiously doing their jobs.

[Host]

Senator, your message as you kick off this campaign season for 2026. Wow, time flies. I remember when you were running in 2020. What's your message to the voters in Georgia and your message just generally to Americans who are just worried and nervous right now?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

Well, look, first of all, I want to remind folks that I am the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state that Donald Trump won and I will win and we will win in 2026 in a landslide. And we need to get into that mindset. But I'm going to have huge amounts of money, probably from Elon Musk coming in against me, and I would appreciate support. And, and my message to the public is, first of all, we have to reject this un American attack on our Constitution and our core values and the rule of law. But we also have to recognize how we got here. How is it that a demagogue like Donald Trump, who threatened to burn down the whole system, was elected twice? And I think we have to look deeper than Trump. It's about corruption in American politics that predates him and that gave rise to him. The way that money in politics since the Citizens United decision has corrupted policymaking in the United States, has caused people to realize that, yes, the system is in fact rigged. Members of Congress live in fear of super PACs. That's why public policy doesn't serve the needs of ordinary families. That's why there's such cynicism and resentment of the ruling class in this country. And that is what gave rise in large part to Donald Trump. But Trump is not trying to unrig a rigged system. He is trying to re rig it for himself, for his political party and for his cronies.

[Host]

Senator, where can people find out more information about the 2026 campaign?

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

It's electjohn.com electjon.com and I'd be grateful.

[Host]

For support Senator John Ossoff's first time on the Midas Touch Network. We hope you come back and keep us updated as you tour Georgia and you hit other districts there and other constituents there.

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

We'd love to come on the road, man.

[Host]

Maybe I'll take you up on that. Well, to be continued. Thanks, Senator.

[Senator Jon Ossoff]

Thanks for having me. Thank you, everybody.

[Host]

Hit subscribe let's get to 5 million subscribers. Can't get enough Midas. Check out the Midas substack for ad Free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more. Sign up for free [e-mail].