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Ron Filkowski
I started Ornod in 2013 and we make bike apparel. The best part of Shopify for me is our ability to run the business as essentially non technical people. We're able to admin everything on the back end, front end and sell things online easily. If Shopify were a bike accessory I think it would actually be the bicycle. It's the thing that you do the thing on. We run the business on Shopify so start your free trial on shopify.com this
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Ron Filkowski
parent, I immediately felt a lot of anxiety and worry. So I went on to BetterHelp to try to look for a therapist to help me with that. My relationship with my family and with my boyfriend and with myself were suffering. I really needed help.
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I was ruminating a lot. Really getting those thoughts out to a therapist and getting feedback was just life changing.
Ron Filkowski
Discover what BetterHelp online therapy can do for you. Visit betterhelp.com today
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Ron Filkowski
We have the tech to get food delivered in 15 minutes, but we all have horror stories about buying tickets. The GameTime app gives fans the advantage. Get amazing tickets in just a few taps. Fees are included so what you see is what you pay. And the gametime guarantee means authentic tickets at the best price every time. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets to concerts, sports, comedy and more with GameTime. Download the GameTime app and create an account for $20 off your first purchase terms apply. Donald Trump's FIFA World cup plan backfired in his face. His attempt to infect hate and division has backfired as the people from countries across the world have united and pushed back against his despicable behavior. As Donald Trump has attacked the cities of Seattle and Los Angeles. What happened? The cities of Seattle and Los Angeles stood strong, stood firm, and showed what America is really all about. I find it so fascinating that when we have people from all over the world visiting the United States, the places that they love are the exact cities and states that Donald Trump hates the most. Donald Trump tried to infect the games with hate as he did everything possible to beat down on the Iranian football team or here in the United States soccer team. He wouldn't let the Iranian team stay at United States hotels after their games and made them go right back to Tijuana. He wouldn't allow their staff and a lot of their coaches and their local media and families to join them. The Trump regime called the Iranian players agents of the IRGC and said that in essence, they should be treated like enemy combatants, if you will. But the Iranian players and their fans and their fans at home and those who are watching the games across the Middle East, I think showed the world also a very different side, the accurate side, a cultural side that the Trump regime tries to not show. You know, the Trump regime talks about, you know, the Iranian people and the Iranian civilization in some of the cruelest of terms. But what we saw was a world united against Donald Trump's hate. And Donald Trump, while he festers in Washington, D.C. and has the worst American 250 fair I've ever seen. I've been doing videos on that. And humiliates itself when you put the power to the people. When we talk about people to people, what we want to do is we want to love, we want peace, we want happiness, and we don't want this hate being spewed by people like Donald Trump out there. Let me just go through some of the receipts that we've got right here. Although Iran didn't make it into the round of 32, I thought it was a very bad call as well where they called it offsides after Iran scored the game winning goal. Um, the Iran team handled the loss with dignity and grace. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Network writes none of the conditions were met and Iran's football team bid farewell to the 2026 World Cup. Despite the obstacles created by the US government, the players played with great spirit. We thank those who supported Iran and stadiums and in their hearts. Here you have the video as well of Donald Trump and the Trump regime forcing the Iranian players after their last game to leave the United States right away and arrive in Tijuana at 4:00am I mean, as the Iranian embassy in Kenya says, this is the most unfair and shameful behavior in a World cup in history. We're talking about sports here. Even when there's war, even when there's conflict, Conflict. This is not how a host country is supposed to behave. And it is so utterly shameful. And if this was any other country being treated this way by a host country, it would not be tolerated at all. The double standards are so obvious. Let me just share with you what the Iranian fans looked like as they were cheering in the game. We posted this on the Midas Touch network because again, you get a perspective of Iranian fans that you just don't see if you just listen to corporate news here in the United States. Iran soccer, soccer fans react as they watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Belgium and Iran at a cinema in Tehran last week. I mean, look at that. Look at the fans and the joy and the happiness right there. I'll show you a video right here as well. Iranians uniting behind their national team in Tehran. Let's play this clip right here. You had Palestinians gathering in Central Gaza Strip to watch a live broadcast of the game between Egypt and Iran as football offered a moment of respite amid the ongoing genocide there. The screening drew families and football fans to a public space where supporters followed one of the tournament's most anticipated group stage matches. I mean, look at the fans right there. Look how incredible it was right there. Really great to see. Iranian fans at the Seattle Statement in Washington also brought with them photographs of Iranian women and children who were killed and girls who were killed in Manob by the United States in the act of unmitigated war crimes committed by the Trump regime, which is so utterly disgraceful. Let me show you this video right here. An Iranian father uses a handmade cardboard football pitch to help his visually impaired son experience the Iran Egypt match through touch. Here, play this clip right here. Then the Iranian team leaving some incredible messages in the locker rooms when they left, when they left Seattle, for example, here was the handwritten note that they left. Despite all of the, the horrible ways the United States was treating this team, you know, these athletes left the following message. We come from Iran from a land that for thousands of years has a place in honor above victory. And it hashtag Manob. For us, football is not only a competition for results, it is a test of character. Perhaps points can be won in many ways, but respect cannot. Perhaps a team can advance from a group, but only through fairness and honor can one stand tall before history. Fair play is not just a line in football rules it is the soul of the game. Thank you, Seattle, for your hospitality and thank you to all Iranians who gave their hearts, their voices and their whole being for Iran. Iran always standing tall, hero. When they left the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles after one of its games, this was the statement that Iran left in the locker room there. From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast. 168 Manob we came to Los Angeles with pride, competed with honor, and leave with dignity. Thank you, Los Angeles for your hospitality and thank you to every Iranian who gave their heart and voice and soul for Iran throughout these 180 minutes. May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations. May peace, respect and friendship among all nations prevail. I'll share this with you as well. You know, the White House was stealing the video footage of Aaron Levine. Aaron Levine, a reporter over there. As Matthew Fob says, the Seattle hating White House stole a Seattle journalist video to promote America. Maybe they should steal some paint for their pool instead. And what the White House did to try to spread their White House propaganda is stole the video footage of a Seattle reporter who loves Seattle, who shows what a beautiful city it is, what a beautiful state Washington is, the state of Washington that is. And how the fans united and rejoiced. Now remember, this was the city that the Trump regime all of last year and whenever Donald Trump speaks, calls a shithole city and says they're horrible and that it's war torn, oh, it's a beautiful city. Los Angeles is a beautiful city. America can be such a beautiful place. But the Trump regime is a poison. Donald Trump is a vile virus with this MAGA movement that is here to cause harm and to divide us. But I want to show you how beautiful it looked when you saw what Seattle really looked like. And then we heard from the Iranian players and you know, the Iranian players were being asked all of these questions like, what's your view about gay people? What's your view about lgbtq? You know, and the Iranian, the Iranian captain Taremi was like, I respect him. I respect all people. I respect gay people, straight people, trans people. I respect, respect human beings. And it's just so fascinating that, that, that, that's what he's like. That's what you're asking me. And watch his response here. Play this clip.
Iranian Football Player (possibly Taremi)
But we respect all of the LGBT people. That's their own idea. It's not about us. We are here to play football. We respect all of Those guys. Yeah. If you have questions about the game, I will ask you.
Ron Filkowski
And then Iran's Termi called out FIFA and the US and he did it though in such a humble way. Here, play this clip.
Iranian Football Player (possibly Taremi)
Who have to solve this problem with for us? Who? FIFA? I don't know, usa, I don't know who. Just mention one name for me. I think I'm ready. I. As I said, the Infantino first game came and said we will solve every problem here. But actually people, nothing our logistic doesn't hear. Yeah, you see, we don't have media. Our media. Where is our media? You can check. No media here. No media. No, I don't know. Kidmans no 1. Vice President. President.
Ron Filkowski
And he talks about the people in Mexico and how humble they were and how the people in Mexico treated the Iran team. Right? Here, play this clip.
Iranian Football Player (possibly Taremi)
Always have to travel to Tijuana. We love people of the Mexico. We love Tijuana. It's so good. They are so humble people. We love them. But as a professional players, professional competition, it's not right. Yeah, it's. It's our opinion because now we have traveled again to going to Tijuana.
Ron Filkowski
And he describes how the World cup has just been a disaster and how he's been treated playing this clip.
Iranian Football Player (possibly Taremi)
The disaster. World cup disaster. I mean FIFA, they have to solve every problem here. But unfortunately they couldn't solve since the beginning. Let's say Infantino came to our changing room first game and he said it's just the beginning. It's group stage finish tomorrow and we don't have our logistic people here, they don't have a visa. How possible we always have to.
Ron Filkowski
And he talks about how really the situation has really not been fair at all here playing this clip.
Iranian Football Player (possibly Taremi)
So what our opinion because now we have traveled again to going to Tijuana again. So without recovery, without nothing is not fair. But by our opinion is not fair. If is it fair for the FIFA. Okay, good to them, but it's not fair. Who wants help us? Who we don't have recovery. We don't have any logistic people here to help us. We always complain about these things, but no one helps. No, you complained about. Sorry about the travel, but the review two straight games with the VAR by a centimeter. When you. When you watch the replay, your thoughts on the VAR taking away two goals in two games. That's about the football. Sure, but we. We complain about the outside the football because. Which is the details important in the football. As you know, recovery is important things and small Details affect the football.
Ron Filkowski
And then you have Rahman Rezian, who, you know, here's what he says. Impossible to overstate the contrast between the class and dignity exhibited by the Iranian team and the cruel and disgusting behavior of other people. Like, let me just show with you what he was saying over here. Here, here he is talking about, they didn't make it, they didn't get through the round. But just watch how he talks about the game of football and his love of the sport. Play this cl. Now, now, let me be very clear why I think it's important to make this video is not say, oh, do you support them overall. So what I want to show and showcase more than anything is that
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we,
Ron Filkowski
the people, care about people. As I said, it's so important that we are empathetic with our fellow Americans. But people throughout the world. And what I find when I travel, although I haven't traveled much since launching the Midas Touch network, because I spend a lot of time doing videos and running this network. But when I did travel, when I would go around the world, I would see people of all different races, ethnicities, religions. And when you would break bread with people and would you spend time with people, you know, whether you're spending people in Asia or Africa or Europe or Central America or Mexico or South America, the Caribbean, wherever, people want to find connections and bonds with people. And all too frequently, it's the governments and it's these malignant, narcissistic, almost always men, let's be real, these authoritarian men who are miserable, disgusting people who want to use their time on Earth to accumulate all this power for themselves and as well, and to divide us as people. But left to people, we want to hang out with each other. We want to break bread with each other. We want to care for each other and care about a better planet and a better Earth. That, to me, is the message of this video as well. And so while you have people like Donald Trump who want to be divisive, who want to hate, what's actually been incredible was to see how people treated people despite Trump trying to infect it with all of his crap. That gives me hope. That gives me hope. And to not buy into these simple propagandistic narratives by these authoritarian regimes, including the United States authoritarian regime. Right now. Let's be real. Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million. Thank you, everybody. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack@midasplus.com you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filkowski ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content only available@midasplus.com.
Episode: Trump FIFA Plan Completely Backfires
Date: June 28, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (Primary speaker in this episode: Ron Filkowski for the main segment)
This episode takes a deep dive into how former President Donald Trump’s handling of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, particularly with respect to the Iranian national team, not only backfired domestically and internationally but also sparked intense global unity and empathy in the face of deliberate division. The MeidasTouch team examines how Trump’s divisive rhetoric and discriminatory policies were rejected by both local American communities and visiting international fans, turning the World Cup into an unlikely showcase of resistance to hate and an embrace of global solidarity.
“Donald Trump’s FIFA World Cup plan backfired in his face. His attempt to infect hate and division has backfired as the people from countries across the world have united and pushed back against his despicable behavior.”
“We come from Iran from a land that for thousands of years has a place in honor above victory… For us, football is not only a competition for results, it is a test of character. Perhaps points can be won in many ways, but respect cannot. Perhaps a team can advance from a group, but only through fairness and honor can one stand tall before history. Fair play is not just a line in football rules, it is the soul of the game. Thank you, Seattle, for your hospitality and thank you to all Iranians who gave their hearts, their voices and their whole being for Iran.”
“From the ancient Persia of thousands of years ago to the civilized Iran of today, the spirit of Iran remains alive and steadfast... May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations…”
“I mean, look at that. Look at the fans and the joy and the happiness right there... Football offered a moment of respite amid the ongoing genocide there.”
“Maybe they should steal some paint for their pool instead... The Trump regime is a poison. Donald Trump is a vile virus with this MAGA movement that is here to cause harm and to divide us.” (Ron Filkowski, ~10:00)
“We respect all of the LGBT people. That’s their own idea. It’s not about us. We are here to play football. We respect all of those guys.”
“FIFA, they have to solve every problem here. But unfortunately they couldn’t solve since the beginning… We don’t have our logistic people here, they don’t have a visa. How possible?” “So without recovery, without nothing, is not fair… Who wants help us? Who? We don’t have recovery. We don’t have any logistics people here to help us. We always complain about these things, but no one helps.”
“We love people of Mexico. We love Tijuana. It’s so good. They are so humble people. We love them. But as professional players… it’s not right.”
“When I would travel… I would see people of all different races, ethnicities, religions… break bread with people… People want to find connections and bonds with people. All too frequently, it’s the governments—these malignant, narcissistic, almost always men, let’s be real—these authoritarian men who are miserable, disgusting people who want to… divide us as people. But left to people, we want to hang out with each other.”
[02:01] Ron Filkowski:
“Donald Trump’s FIFA World Cup plan backfired in his face. His attempt to infect hate and division has backfired as the people from countries across the world have united and pushed back against his despicable behavior.”
[12:20] Iranian Captain (Taremi):
“We respect all of the LGBT people. That’s their own idea. It’s not about us. We are here to play football. We respect all of those guys.”
[14:44] Iranian Captain (Taremi):
“So without recovery, without nothing is not fair. But by our opinion is not fair. If is it fair for the FIFA. Okay, good to them, but it’s not fair. Who wants help us? Who we don’t have recovery. We don’t have any logistic people here to help us.”
[17:05] Ron Filkowski:
“When I would travel… I would see people of all different races, ethnicities, religions… All too frequently, it’s the governments… these authoritarian men… who want to use their time on Earth to accumulate all this power for themselves and as well, and to divide us as people. But left to people, we want to hang out with each other.”
| Timestamp | Topic/Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 02:01 | Trump’s World Cup actions and community backlash | | 07:10 | Iranian team’s dignified response and statements | | 08:20 | Global reactions and unity among fans in Iran/Gaza | | 10:00 | Media manipulation by the Trump White House | | 12:20 | Iranian captain’s comments on LGBTQ respect | | 12:40–14:44| Interviews with Iranian players on logistics, fairness | | 17:05 | Reflection on people-to-people connection vs division |
The episode maintains the MeidasTouch’s trademark blend of impassioned political advocacy, brotherly banter, and candid, accessible commentary. The tone is unapologetically supportive of democracy, deeply critical of Trump’s tactics, and emotionally resonant in its focus on dignity, solidarity, and hope amidst political adversity.
Despite attempts by Trump and his administration to utilize the 2026 World Cup as a vehicle for division and hate, the episode demonstrates how ordinary citizens—both American and international—embraced unity and mutual respect, rendering the intended divisiveness ineffective and, ultimately, embarrassing for its architects. The podcast closes with a call to reject authoritarian narratives, embrace empathy, and continue fighting for a more united and just world.