Trump Caves After US Plane Shot Down!!

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Trump Caves After US Plane Shot Down!!
Date: May 19, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Theme:
A sharp and comedic analysis of the fallout after Iran, via Houthi proxies, shot down a US MQ9 Reaper drone—and Donald Trump’s subsequent public response. The episode breaks down Trump’s retreat from military action, the media and social media reaction (including Iranian taunting), his awkward press conference on “Trump RX,” public polling, parallels to history, and the ongoing U.S.-Iran confrontation.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers dissect Donald Trump's handling of the latest military incident involving Iran, centering on the MQ9 Reaper drone downing over Yemen. They scrutinize Trump's hasty withdrawal of planned retaliatory strikes, analyze the awkward and self-congratulatory “Trump RX” press conference, and highlight political, media, and international reactions. Throughout, they sustain their trademark blend of political outrage, brotherly banter, and comedic skepticism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Immediate Fallout from the Drone Incident

• [01:45] The hosts set the stage by recapping the news: Iran, through Houthi proxies, downed a US MQ9 Reaper drone, narrowly missing striking another, and initiated further regional provocations (UAE nuclear plant, Saudi and Israeli sites hit/exploded).
• Trump’s Reaction: Trump abruptly cancels planned military strikes, citing appeals from Middle Eastern allies (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) for restraint and “negotiations.”
• Media and Global Reaction:
  • Iranian embassies and social media mock Trump’s indecisiveness:
    • “Enough with these theatrics and the endless loop of calling off your own artificial deadlines. No one's buying it anymore. Just swallow the pill already.” (Attributed paraphrase; [03:00])
    • Iranian embassy in South Africa posts: “Trump lives in his own parallel universe.”

2. Trump’s Press Conference – An Exercise in Deflection

• [04:49] Trump:

  “Well, thank you very much. It’s great to be here on this very beautiful day. Lot of very positive things happening.”

• [05:24] Trump:

  “We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I put it off for a little while. Hopefully maybe forever, but possibly for a little while…”

• [07:03] Trump:

  “We’ve taken a country that was going to have a nuclear weapon and we've virtually destroyed its military. They have no navy, they have no air force…their leaders are gone. At the first level, the second level, we're dealing with half of the third level…”

• The hosts skewer Trump for claiming military and diplomatic “successes” despite visible evidence of U.S. retreat and regional chaos.
• [07:45] Graphic Iranian social media response mocking Trump as a drowning figure, emphasizing Iran’s refusal to “retreat from the legal rights of the people.”

3. Awkwardness and Distraction: The “Trump RX” Spectacle

• The press conference rapidly pivots to a bizarre pharmaceutical infomercial for Trump RX, with Amazon executives in tow.
• Trump appears disengaged or bored, even dozing off during an Oz (presumed Dr. Oz) speech.
  • [10:27] Trump RX Promoter: pitches the Trump RX site and health delivery.
  • [12:44] Trump:

    “Would you like to say something? You’re over there. You look so beautiful and nice. You too, come on over here. Just say a couple of words…”

  • The hosts and reporters question the validity and originality of Trump RX, noting it seems to simply repackage existing generic pharmaceutical offerings as a “breakthrough.”

4. Media and Public Opinion Backlash

• [11:18] CNN Reporter:

  “New New York Times polling says that 65% disapprove or strongly or somewhat disapprove of the way the President has handled the war in Iran. What’s his reaction…?”

• White House response is “he acts in national security’s best interest, not polls.”
• [12:10] Hosts highlight polling shows double-digit disapproval for Trump on every major policy front.

5. Blurring Boundaries: War, Politics, and Cronyism

• Trump is questioned about a $1.776 billion DOJ “slush fund” for insurrectionists:
  • [15:33] Trump:

    “It’ll all be dependent on a committee. Committee’s being set up…There has to be compensation for people that were destroyed. You have families absolutely destroyed…”

• Parallels drawn to historic slush funds (1933 German trade fund subsidizing stormtroopers and Nazi officials) with the hosts warning of dangerous echoes.

6. Propaganda and Misinformation

• Trump continues to spread falsehoods about mail-in voting and personal anecdotes.
  • [17:51] Trump:

    “Even me, I went in Florida and went to vote and they said, sir, I hate to do it. …Could I see your identification? I said, really? Do you really want to do that?”

  • Host debunks—Trump votes by mail in Florida; the ID anecdote is fabricated.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Trump’s “Dealmaking”

• Political Commentator ([06:52]):

  “You claim there’s a deal and you never do deals. You just talk about making deals…do you really think the American people are that stupid?”

On Trump’s Military Boasts

• Iran’s President (paraphrased, [08:00]):

  “Dialogue does not mean surrender. The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity…will not retreat from the legal rights of the people…”

On Awkward PR

• Political Commentator ([12:10]):

  “I just find it honestly so pathetic that these executives…just beclown themselves with this guy…”

On Slush Funds and History

• Political Commentator ([16:00]):

  “June 1, 1993 Fund of German trade and industry is created…administered…in the Fuhrer’s name. The regime used funds to compensate stormtroopers…Does seem like history is repeating itself.”

On Trump’s Lies

• Political Commentator ([17:12]):

  “Everything this guy says is a liar. I mean, I know it’s hard to fathom someone who lies this much…He’s a wreaking fraudster.”

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Important Segments & Timestamps

• [01:45] – Drone incident summary & Trump’s immediate response
• [04:49] – Start of Trump’s press conference
• [07:03] – Trump claims complete destruction of Iranian military
• [10:05] – Pharmaceutical infomercial section, Trump dozing off
• [11:18] – Polling, Fox News/CNN question Trump’s Iran policy
• [12:44] – Amazon executive moment & further Trump RX promo
• [14:09] – Ebola/Covid deja vu question
• [15:18] – Questions on DOJ slush fund for Capitol rioters
• [16:46] – Propaganda oath and “real 1%” comments
• [17:51] – Trump’s mail-in voting anecdote debunked

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Overall Tone & Takeaway

The Meiselas brothers deliver a passionate, incredulous, and often mocking breakdown of Trump’s management of a volatile international crisis, painting his retreat as weak and dangerous. Their analysis is laced with humor and historical allusions, but their central warning is grave: Trump's fumbles on the world stage, shameless self-promotion, and willingness to reward political violence threaten American democracy and global stability.

Final note:

“There you have it folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let’s get to 7 million. Thanks for watching everybody.” ([18:32])

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For listeners seeking a vivid and critical account of recent U.S.-Iran tensions, Trump’s fraught leadership, and its repercussions, this episode delivers insight, outrage, and biting humor in equal measure.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

folded to Iran Once again, this was utterly humiliating following Iran striking down an MQ9 Reaper drone over Yemen through its proxy group, likely the Houthis, yesterday, and with Iran activating its air defense after seeing another Reaper drone over Kesham island and firing it, I know our corporate news isn't reporting on it. Donald Trump instantly backed down as Iran once again demonstrated that it has the capabilities to resist if the United States launches another invasion, and that Iran is prepared to make it very bloody. So Donald Trump said the following on a social media post. I've been asked by the Amir of Qatar, I've been asked by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and I've been asked by the President of the United Arab Emirates. Hold off on our planned military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, and that serious negotiations are now taking place and that in their opinion, as great leaders and allies, a deal will be made which will be very acceptable to the United States of America as well as all countries in the Middle east and beyond. Again, we know this MQ9 Reaper was shot down. Another MQ9 Reaper was about to be shot down. Then there was the UAE nuclear plant that was apparently hit by drones. Then there was the Saudi Arabia strike that took place. Then there was the Israeli nuclear facility that spontaneously exploded, to which the Israel said, no, that was a preplanned detonation. And now we get this from Donald Trump. And Iran is responding right away. The Iranian embassies are posting the following message. Enough with these theatrics and the endless loop of calling off your own artificial deadlines. No one's buying it anymore. Just swallow the pill already. You then have the Iranian embassy in South Africa posting. Trump lives in his own parallel universe. Other Iranian social media accounts writing, please don't worry. The names of Kuwait and Bahrain and many others have been planned for the next stages. Didn't they warn you before you launched the war in Iran? Or perhaps you simply didn't want to listen. You thought you were strong enough to finish the job in a few days. So then Donald Trump just did this press conference where he folded again. It was utterly pathetic. And, and he used this press conference about Trump rx, which Trump's like, okay, short of curing cancer, this is the most important thing that we, that we've ever done. And you'll see Donald Trump kind of comes out for this press conference and you'll hear, like, the crowd there, it's like four, it's like eight people. Watch what happens here.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Play this clip.

[Political Commentator]

DONALD J. Trump.

[Donald Trump]

Well, thank you very much. It's great to be here on this very beautiful day. Lot of very positive things happening.

[Political Commentator]

All right. Then Donald Trump talks about Iran and he's like, yep, you know, we've been talking very powerfully to Iran, very strongly, very strong and powerful discussions with Iran are underway. And we just decided we're going to hold off on the attacks. They were scheduled tomorrow. There were going to be very powerful attacks here.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Playing this clip.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

A little bit about your post on

[Political Commentator]

True Social on Iran. And what was the decision that. Why you didn't.

[Donald Trump]

Well, other countries have come to me and they've said we were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I put it off for a little while. Hopefully Maybe forever, but possibly for a little while because we've had very big discussions with Iran and we'll see what they amount to. I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. And if we can do that where there's no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think. And if they're satisfied, we will be probably satisfied. Also. We've informed Israel, we've informed other people in the Middle east that have been involved with us. And, you know, it's a very positive development, but we'll see whether or not it amounts to anything. We've had periods of time where we had, we thought pretty much getting close to making a deal and didn't work out. But this is a little bit different now. We're ready, going tomorrow, very big, and not something I wanted to do, but we have no choice because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. Yeah.

[Political Commentator]

I mean, so utterly pathetic. Then you have a reporter from CNN saying, like, you, like Iran's done this to you before. Other countries have done this. And then you claim there's a deal and you never do deals. You just talk about making deals and you say, oh, there's a framework and a deal, this deal, and you're not doing anything. Like, do you really think the American people are that stupid?

[Audio Clip Cue]

Here, play this clip of what he says.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

In order to dangle. They dangled a peace deal in front of you, saying one was coming. Nothing has come into fruition. You mentioned this.

[Donald Trump]

Well, a lot's come into fruition. We've taken a country that was going to have a nuclear weapon, and we've virtually destroyed its military. They have no navy, they have no air force. They've been every. They've been virtually destroyed militarily. That's a lot. That's a big. We could leave right now. Would take them 25 years to rebuild. The last thing they're thinking about, I think, is nuclear. Now they have to put it down in writing. But when you say nothing, we've, we've totally destroyed. Excuse me, from cnn. We've totally destroyed their military. We've destroyed their leadership. As you know, their leaders are gone. Their leaders are gone. At the first level, the second level, we're dealing with half of the third level. And I think we've made a lot of progress.

[Political Commentator]

And meanwhile, the Iranian social media accounts, while Trump is doing that, mocking him mercilessly, they have this photo of Donald Trump drowning in a wheelchair at the bottom of the Persian Gulf, screaming, attack Iran again. They go Trump when he says they're totally ready to strike Iran again, but he'd rather not. We also heard from Iran's president, possession, who goes dialogue does not mean surrender. The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into a dialogue with dignity, authority and the preservation of the nation's rights and under no circumstance will it retreat from the legal rights of the people in the country. We will serve the people with logic and with all our might to the end and safeguard the interests and honor of Iran.

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[Political Commentator]

and more from Donald Trump here where he appears to be falling asleep when Oz is speaking. When Dr. Oz is speaking, watch Donald Trump as he just completely falls asleep.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Let's play this clip.

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[Political Commentator]

And then he praises Xi Jinping Again and says, Xi Jinping, very complimentary of our military. He was amazed by our military. Excuse me, you were the person posting propaganda videos for Xi Jinping's military, but Trump just making up conversations that never took place here.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Let's play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Our military is the greatest military anywhere in the world. I just left China and I will say President Xi was very, very complimentary of our military. He was amazed actually, at our military. We have the greatest military in the world. We, we're not going to let Iran have a nuclear weapon.

[Political Commentator]

So, and then, so even state regime media, which calls itself Fox, while this press conference was taking place, was interviewing the White House spokesperson and says, you realize that in new polling, 65% of Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling this war in Iran.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Here, watch this clip.

[CNN Reporter]

New New York Times polling says that 65% disapprove or strongly or somewhat disapprove of of the way the President has handled the war in Iran. What's his reaction to that? What's been the discussion at the White House about this new polling, Anna? Well, President Trump is always acting in the best interest of our US national security. Again, Iran is a country that for 47 years has chanted death to America, has killed Americans overseas, has threatened our troops, and as I said earlier, has now lashed out these rogue threats against our allies in the region. So this is not a situation that is sustainable. Iran knows that better than anybody. And so the President isn't making decisions based on fluid opinion polls. He's making decisions on what is best for the national security of our country. And there is nothing more paramount than ensuring this rogue regime cannot threaten our country with a nuclear weapon.

[Political Commentator]

And then the polling data is absolutely dreadful for Donald Trump. The latest New York Times Sienna poll shows that Donald Trump double digits negative on quite literally every single issue. Then in this press conference, Donald Trump calls up a female executive from Amazon and he's like, look, you look beautiful and nice. Come up here, you. You look beautiful. And just watch this. And again, I just find it honestly so pathetic that these executives, whether it's Mark Cuban in the background or this female executive from Amazon, just be clown themselves with this guy here.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Would you like to say something? You're over there. You look so beautiful and nice. You two, come on over here. Just say a couple of words about.

[Amazon Executive]

Thank you, thank you, Mr. President, for having Amazon here today. It's really great to work with the administration and the NDS on building Trump RX at Amazon Pharmacy. It's been our mission to build a pharmacy with price transparency.

[Political Commentator]

Then there's more weird infomercials that are. It's like a weird infomercial they're shooting, as Aaron Rupar says here, Play this clip. Don't just fill your prescription, Trump, or exit. Because the strongest nation on earth, America, starts with the healthiest people on earth. Mr. President, back to you.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you, Joe. Great job. Beautiful. Well, thank you very much. Really amazing, the job you've done.

[Political Commentator]

And then a reporter says, okay, we're not really sure what this press conference is like. Are you talking about the war? Are you talking about Trump rx? What? What is Trump Rx? Is Trump Rx literally just taking the existing generic prices and the exist prices of health care companies and then taking credit for it. Okay, but, you know, there may be another Ebola outbreak. Should we be worried about that? And then Donald Trump's like, I'm concerned about everything, but I think it's just in Africa, so why don't. We don't have to worry about it.

[Audio Clip Cue]

You're playing this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Go ahead. Ebola. Ebola, yes.

[Political Commentator]

Should Americans be concerned about Ebola?

[Donald Trump]

I'm concerned about everything, but certainly am. I think that, you know, it's been confined right now to Africa, but it's something that has had a breakout. I could ask Bobby or Oz to say a couple of words about if you'd like to do that again.

[Political Commentator]

Doesn't this give you Covid deja vu all over again? Then Trump's like, this is a big, beautiful day. Everything's positive's going on in this day.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Let's play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Well, thank you very much. It's great to be here on this very beautiful day. Lot of very positive things happening.

[Political Commentator]

And then finally, reporter does ask him about the $1.776 billion slush fund he's giving to insurrectionists. So just to set the scene, you've got Amazon executives there, you've got Mark Cuban there in the background and their props, while Donald Trump's hand looks like it's rotting. And then he's talking about, well, I don't really know much about this settlement in the $10 billion case that I filed. I'm not really sure, but we're going to have a committee. The committee's going to deal with it. So nothing we could really do here.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Let's play this clip.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

A question on weaponization. Do you believe that people who committed violence against Capitol Hill Police officers on January6 should be eligible for compensation from this DOJ fund? And are you or your family members going to be seeking compensation from that fund?

[Donald Trump]

It'll all be dependent on a committee. Committee's being set up. A very talented people, very highly respected people. I think it's a committee of five. And again, I didn't do this deal. It was told to me yesterday. They said they're doing something. I do believe there has to be compensation for people that were destroyed. You have families absolutely destroyed. And it's all going to be determined by a committee of four or five people that are respected and very brilliant at what they do. Yeah, please.

[Political Commentator]

And just to remind you, June 1, 1993 Fund of German trade and industry is created. A huge slush fund administered by Martin Berman in the Fuhrer's name. The regime used funds to compensate stormtroopers who committed street violence to subsidize the SS and enrich Nazi officials. And it does seem like history is repeating itself. Then you have Hegseth making weird propaganda videos and he's like, people value people act like they care about Hollywood and people talk about the 1%, but you are the real 1% are war fighters. This is what he's doing as Donald Trump is sending them out on an unlawful war.

[Audio Clip Cue]

Here, let's play this clip.

[Hegseth]

Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your full name. Do solemnly swear. The so called elite world. Talk about high class, high society, the elites, celebrities, Hollywood, you name it. That's not the real 1%. The real 1% of our nation are right in front of me.

[Political Commentator]

And then Donald Trump get everything this guy says is a lie. He then claims that he's like, when I voted in Florida recently, they asked me for my id, I'm like, don't you know who I am? You voted by mail. Like quite literally every sound, syllable, word out of this guy's mouth is a lie. You vote by mail. You voted by mail in Florida. This thing that you're talking about where they asked for your id, that didn't happen. Everything this guy says is a liar. I mean, I know it's hard to fathom someone who lies this much. Every word, every sleep wreak. The guy lies. He's a wreaking fraudster. Here, play it.

[Donald Trump]

I'm very concerned about it. I'm very concerned about mail in ballots. We're the only country in the world that's doing mail in ballots. And mail in ballot is by just the nature of it, it's going to be corrupt. So many people handle it. You go into a well run voting booth in a certain state, you know, we'll pick a state but you go into and I mean they look even me, I went in Florida and went to vote and they said, sir, I hate to do it. I'm so embarrassed. Could I see your identification? I said, really? Do you really want to do that? Please sir, I'll lose my job if I don't do it. I very, I was very proud to enter identification and everything else. I mean you want to have proof of citizenship, you want to have a voter id, you want to have all these things.

[Political Commentator]

But there you have it folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million. Thanks for watching everybody.

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