Loading summary
Podcast Host (MIDI Health Sponsor)
This podcast is supported by MIDI Health. Are you in midlife feeling dismissed, unheard or just plain tired of the old health care system? You're not alone. For too long, women's serious midlife health issues have been trivialized, ignored and met with a just deal with it attitude. Many of us have been made to feel ashamed or forgotten. In fact, even today, 75% of women seeking care for menopause and perimenopause issues are left entirely untreated. But here's the powerful truth. It's time for a change. It's time for miti. MITI is not just a healthcare provider. It's a women's telehealth clinic founded and supported by world class leaders in women's health. What sets MIDI apart? We are the only women's telehealth brand covered by major insurance companies, making high quality, expert care accessible and affordable for all women everywhere. Our clinicians provide one on one face to face consultations where they truly listen to your unique needs. We offer a full range of holistic, data driven solutions from hormonal therapies and weight loss protocols to lifestyle coaching and preventive health guidance. This isn't a one size fits all care. This is care uniquely tailored for you. At miti, you will join our patients who feel seen, heard and prioritized. You will find that our mission is to help all women thrive in midlife, giving them access to the health care they deserve. Because we believe midlife isn't the middle at all. It's just the beginning of your second act. Ready to feel your best and write your second act script? Visit joinmitty.com today to book your personalized insurance covered virtual visit. That's joinmitty.com MIDI the Care Women Deserve.
Political Commentator
His behavior is getting more odd and deranged. I mean, just look at this guy right here. He's hiding during the middle of a government shutdown. He has ordered MAGA Mike Johnson to have all the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives leave for yet another week and go on a paid vacation. That's right. No House Republicans are showing up to work next week because Donald Trump and MAGA Mike Johnson told the House Republicans, don't come to work, we're giving you a paid vacation. Go back to your district. All the while, Donald Trump is focused on making a $1 coin of himself to commemorate America's 250th anniversary. Which by the way is not legal. Goes against 31 USC 5114B. Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities. But this isn't stopping the Trump regime propagandists like Steve guests to say, attention all patriots, America's back and so is the $1 coin. Donald Trump will forever be commemorated on American currency. He's putting his face on American currency. He's building 90,000 square feet golden ballrooms where no one even knows how the hell it's being funded. He's ripped apart the Rose Garden and turned it into a club called Club Rose Garden for his rich Republican friends. He's talking about UFC fights in the White House. He's bailing out Argentina with $20 billion of our taxpayer dollars. And he's bragging about removing funding, rescinding funding that by law supposed to go to all of these states because he says they're Democrat states and they're scams. He says that this shutdown is a great opportunity for him to inflict pain on the American people. He's like, giddy. He's enjoying it. I mean, look at him. But he's in hiding. He doesn't want to show his face. At the same time, I mean, he's posting photos and videos like this of the Author of Project 2025 and the current Office of Management and Budget Director, Russ Vogt. You see him here. Trump's posting AI videos of Russ Vogt as the Grim Reaper, stealing the taxpayer money, taking away services. I mean, I don't see the humor in that. He's posting photos of himself as the Grim reaper. Donald Trump is posting on social media more ISIS style death videos of the American military shooting boats off the coast of Venezuela. Donald Trump post a boat loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 to 50,000 people was stopped early this morning off the coast of Venezuela from entering American territory. We never get information about where the boat is. This boat looked very, very small. This one actually looked like a 16 footer. It looks like the boats are getting smaller with each of these death videos that he's posting. And we previously told you about what New York Times reported, how one of the family members of someone on another boat just said that their husband was a fisherman, not a drug dealer at all. We have no transparency about what the hell is happening here. And we know that Donald Trump lies about everything. And the most likely scenario is every week he kills another innocent group of people on a fishing boat. Or even if they are drug dealers. Donald Trump's playing judge, jury, and executioner. How do you know they're not trafficking innocent individuals who you may be killing as well? I just want Transparency, Okay? We don't have the death penalty in the United States for people who deal drugs. I want people who deal drugs to be held accountable. The fullest extent of the law. I just don't think Donald Trump should be judged during Executioner. Anyway, take a look at these polls right here. A pretty clear story emerges. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8 or 9. Polls right now all show that Americans blame Trump and Republicans overwhelmingly for the Trump government shutdown. As Governor Newsom. Yeah, that's because they shut it down. Americans are blaming the people who shut it down. Republicans control all branches of government. White House, Congress, both branches of Congress, the House and the Senate. By anywhere from margins of 25 to 17 to 12. Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats. Even inside the White House right now, the Wall Street Journal is reporting they're getting very nervous. The White House senses a real political risk on health care, despite the bravado that they're showing. Why? It's simple. Because Americans are either on Medicare, Medicaid, or likely on an Affordable Care act plan. And if you're on an Affordable Care act plan, the ACA Affordable Care act subsidies are, are keeping your monthly premiums to a level that's reasonable. Still more than it should be, in my own personal opinion. Healthcare is a universal right. It should be free. But these Affordable Care act subsidies have kept the price at least tolerable. Without the subsidies, the price of your monthly premiums goes up from three to $400 a month to 900 to $2,000 a month. I mean, you're talking 24 to 25 to 30,000, doll, for your health care. Because the subsidies, the government funding, that's what a subsidy is. That helps pay for the insurance fee, is what keeps your premiums down. So without the government payment, the subsidy, you pay more. Do you get it? So What American making $85,000 a year or $65,000 a year can afford to pay $20,000 a year in healthcare? You can. You go bankrupt. So no, Trump and maga, they're trying to blame, oh, it's the undocumented, it's transgender people. But Americans, no, we're not buying that. In fact, if you actually look at the cross tabs of some of these polls, you can really see that Americans are not buying it. Even, like amongst Republicans, only, like 22% of Republicans actually believe that. The reason that, that, that the Democrats negotiating position is to help unlawful migrants. That's Trump's base. And only 22% of Republicans are buying the fake story because they're unaffordable Care act plans. Also, what they see is stats like this. If you look at roanoke, someone making $84,000 a year who currently pays $947 per month for their health care plan will soon pay $2,023 per month. Someone who makes $65,000 a year in Georgia who's paying $307 a month, will soon be paying $964 a month. Those are just the facts, Jack. You don't have to like him, but those are the facts. So while Donald Trump is screwing America here domestically, he's also being outmaneuvered internationally. Xi Jinping of China has made some moves in order to actually secure significant leverage over the United States. And he's done it rather easily because Donald Trump is not that bright, okay? And not that good with money. He's bankrupt in most of his companies in the past. So what Xi Jinping did. I've told you this before. China stopped buying soybeans and other produce from the United States. American farmers are now experiencing what they're calling Pharmageddon. They're all going bankrupt. They need a government bailout. The size of it is likely gonna need to be $50 billion. So to we're bailing out Argentina for $20 billion. We're bailing out farmers probably $50 billion down the road. I know, the golden age, right? The golden age. But Donald Trump claims we brought in $17 trillion. Although nobody knows where the $17 trillion is because we didn't bring in anything like that. Oh, by the way, in response to our exclusive reporting that the House Oversight Committee would be investigating where the $17 trillion go. Cause we know it doesn't exist. Trump's White House issued a response. No, we're commitments, you know what we're talking about. In any event, what China's now doing that it has leverage over the Trump regime. And they know that Donald Trump really just cares about TikTok and securing the TikTok algorithm to have his right wing oligarchs in the United States acquire TikTok to push Maga content on TikTok. China is now pushing Donald Trump to drop curbs as it dangles investment pledge. Allowing a surge of Chinese investment into the United States economy would be a major concession to Beijing, tantamount to the US Becoming part of the Belt and Road initiative. So China wants to dominate the US Right now. The US has trade barriers with China beyond Donald Trump. Historically, because America's tried to check the growth of China, America's prevented China from doing certain types of business in the US While Donald Trump is now cornered. Xi Jinping knows how to play Donald Trump. And it just so interesting, right, all these Republicans who were like, we need to decouple from China and we're China hawks and we support Taiwan. They folded so damn quickly to Xi Jinping. It's absolutely unbelievable. No, it actually is very, very believable. Some other news to report. You know that statue of Trump and Epstein holding hands that was at the mall a few weeks ago? The National Mall in Washington, D.C. well, well, it's back. The statue titled Best Friends Forever was reinstalled after it was removed last week. An anonymous group of artists has taken credit for continuing to return it. Quote, like a toppled Confederate general forced back onto a public square, the Donald Trump Jeffrey Epstein statue has risen from the rubble to stand gloriously on the National Mall once again, the group's statement said. This is really important to listen to Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. I think he says it perfectly here. You want to know whose shutdown it is? Pay attention to who's enjoying it here. Play this clip.
Here we are in Washington with more than 20 million Americans about to see their health premiums double or worse on top of all the other Trump cost increases and groceries and electric bills and home insurance and all the rest of it. And the House isn't even here. They've gone into hiding someplace. The Senate is leaving after these votes so that the Republicans can go to a fancy resort for a big fundraiser. The vice president is saying, we're having a good time. The president is putting out weirdo tweets. And Russell Vogt, the OMB chief, is sharpening his knives to do something that one senator said has been his dream since puberty, to hurt people and break government programs. We need to do a lot better than this. But if you want to know whose shutdown it is, look who are the ones who are enjoying it.
So the Republicans then start posting images of sombreros on the a donkey on the DNC pick, to which the DNC immediately responds by slightly altering the Republican elephant logo to say pedophile protectors, because they are. One of the things that we've been doing is calling this shutdown the Jeffrey Epstein shutdown, the Trump Epstein shutdown. Because as we've talked about on many a video, Adelita Grijalva, the congresswoman elect from Arizona 7th congressional district, who won by over 40 points two weeks ago, she's supposed to be sworn in. If she gets sworn in, she'll be the 218 signature to Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna and Republican Congressmember Thomas Massie's discharge petition, meaning there would be an immediate vote on the release of the Epstein files. But if they don't ever open up Congress again, then she's not sworn in as Maga Mike's philosophy, even though they've sworn in Republicans right away within 24 hours in pro forma sessions. But this is MAGA Mike's new rule. We're shut down. Congress isn't in session. I'm not gonna swear you in because they don't want the release of the Epstein files. Trump is deathly scared about the release of the Epstein files. Let me show you this clip right here of Trump's EPA director, Lee Zeldin. Here's what he had to say. Let's play it.
Political Analyst
And you know, well, when making these decisions, you analyze authorities, legal risk. Yes. And then you make decisions. And it is a door that is open by Democrats continuing this shutdown. Yes. Not only are these sombreros going to grow 10ft higher on President Trump's social media accounts, but the powers of these agency heads administering the president's agenda and directives, it only gets easier. You're doing a bang off job.
Political Commentator
And finally, let me share with you some hope to hear some strong, competent leaders, Democratic leaders, talk about what's going on. Democratic Governor J.B. pritzker. Let's play. And here's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom from California. Let's play it.
Democratic Leaders (J.B. Pritzker / Gavin Newsom)
I don't think a shutdown advantages anybody. So I hope we can find compromise. It's difficult to do that with a guy who was more interested in playing golf over the weekend.
Political Commentator
Do you think I'll continue.
Democratic Leaders (J.B. Pritzker / Gavin Newsom)
Not only he played golf all the weekend, after canceling a meeting with Senate Democrats, the President of the United States canceled a meeting with the leaders in the Senate and in the House of Representatives and then felt it was more important hours before a shutdown to play golf. And then, rather than having a serious meeting, decided to troll those leaders with a Trump 2028 hat that he put on the Resolute desk and sent out a tweet after he sent out an AI video doctored with a racist video of Speaker Jeffries in a sombrero. These are not serious people.
Political Commentator
Well, there you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers and thank you so much for watching. Love this video. Support independent media and unlock exclusive content ad free videos and custom emojis by becoming a paid member of our YouTube channel today. You can also gift memberships to others. Let's keep growing together. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I don't know if you've heard, but Mint's Premium Wireless is $15 a month. But I'd like to offer one other perk. We have no stores. That means no small talk. Crazy weather we're having.
Political Analyst
No, it's not.
Political Commentator
It's just weather. It is an introvert's dream. Give it a try@minmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
Podcast Host (MIDI Health Sponsor)
Of $45 for 3 month plan. $15 per month equivalent required. New customer offer first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra.
Commercial Narrator
Cementmobile.com did you see the game last night? Of course you did. Because you used Instacart to do your grocery restock. Plus you got snacks for the game. All without missing a single play. And that's on multitasking. So we're not saying that Instacart is a hack for game day, but it might be the ultimate play this football season. Enjoy. $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees apply for three orders in 14 days. Excludes restaurants.
Date: October 4, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
In this episode, the Meiselas brothers dissect the ongoing government shutdown, emphasizing how former President Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans have lost control of the narrative as Americans increasingly blame them. The episode blends sharp political analysis, current events, viral social media moments, and signature brotherly banter, making sense of the chaos enveloping Washington, DC. The hosts draw attention to the human toll of the shutdown—particularly its impact on healthcare and the economy—while highlighting Trump’s increasingly outlandish, self-serving antics and the broader consequences for democracy.
[01:46] - [06:00]
[06:01] - [09:30]
[09:31] - [12:00]
[09:32] - [11:35]
[11:36] - [12:34]
[12:34] - [13:40]
[13:41] - [15:24]
[15:25] - [17:28]
On Trump’s actions during the shutdown:
"He's focused on making a $1 coin of himself... goes against 31 USC 5114B. Only the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency." — [01:46]
On public blame for the shutdown:
"Americans blame Republicans more than Democrats by margins of 25, 17, and 12 points." — [09:31]
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse's clarity:
"If you want to know whose shutdown it is, look who are the ones who are enjoying it." — [12:34]
Lee Zeldin embracing authoritarian perks:
"The powers of these agency heads... only gets easier. You're doing a bang off job." — [14:58]
Governor Newsom on Trump's priorities:
"He canceled a meeting with Senate Democrats... and then trolled those leaders with a Trump 2028 hat..." — [16:43]
The episode maintains the “MeidasTouch” blend of biting satire, outrage at anti-democratic actions, and energetic, intelligent analysis. The tone is urgent yet often humorous, unafraid to call out hypocrisy or absurd behavior while keeping the focus on real impacts for Americans.
This episode offers a comprehensive, irreverent yet clear-eyed guide to the chaos surrounding the government shutdown. It pulls no punches in naming names, spotlights the impact on ordinary Americans, and brings forward voices fighting for transparency and accountability. For advocates of democracy, the Meiselas brothers urge vigilance and hope, all while reminding listeners to laugh in the face of absurdity.