Trump Gets Terrible News as It Won’t Go Away

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast: "Trump Gets Terrible News as It Won’t Go Away" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: July 21, 2025

In this compelling episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Brett Meisellis, Ben Meisellis, and Jordy Meiselis delve deep into the persistent controversies surrounding former President Donald Trump, focusing particularly on the enduring Epstein saga and its ramifications on Trump's political standing and the broader American landscape. The episode intertwines sharp political analysis with the brothers' characteristic humor and brotherly banter, providing listeners with a thorough examination of current events impacting democracy in the United States.

1. Trump's Escalating Troubles with the Epstein Case

The episode opens with Brett Meisellis highlighting the resurgence of the Epstein story, which continues to haunt Donald Trump. He states:

"Donald Trump is getting absolutely pummeled by terrible news today as the Epstein story just won't go away." ([00:57])

Brett emphasizes that Trump's attempts to deflect blame onto the FBI are failing, as the Epstein issue resurfaces as the most significant scandal from Trump's past. The narrative outlines how this persistent controversy is eroding Trump's public image and support.

2. Public Opinion and Polling Data

Brett presents recent polling data illustrating a stark decline in Trump's approval ratings. According to a CBS YouGov poll, Trump's approval has fallen from 53% in February to 42%, with the American Research Group reporting an approval rating plummeting to 38% and 59% disapproving. Specifically regarding the Epstein case:

"Just 17% of American Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the Epstein case." ([03:00])

These statistics underscore a significant shift in public sentiment, portraying Trump as a beleaguered figure under the weight of continuous scandals.

3. Republican Response and Attempts to Shield Trump

The podcast scrutinizes the Republican Party's response to the Epstein revelations. Brett critiques Republican leaders for their attempts to protect Trump, even as bipartisan agreement exists on releasing Epstein's files:

"We had this, by the way. There's even agreement among a bunch of Republicans to release the files. Yet their leadership is protecting Trump and Epstein at all costs." ([04:35])

Press Secretary Caroline Levitt and Speaker Mike Johnson are specifically called out for their reluctance to push forward with a congressional vote on releasing Epstein-related documents. Mike Johnson is quoted:

"My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing." ([04:03])

This section highlights an internal conflict within the GOP, where leadership prioritizes loyalty over transparency, exacerbating public distrust.

4. Calls for Transparency and Accountability

The discussion shifts to the broader demand for transparency. Caroline Levitt references a CBS poll showing 89% of Americans want the Department of Justice to release all information on Epstein:

"89% of Americans said the DOJ should release all the information on Epstein." ([02:18])

Several Republican lawmakers, including Anna Paulina Luna and JJ Harris, are portrayed as advocating for transparency despite party leadership's resistance. JJ Harris asserts:

"I'm going to answer to my maker. I'm a big believer in transparency." ([05:07])

Democratic leaders, like Hakeem Jeffries, are also featured, pushing back against Trump's attempts to distract from the Epstein scandal:

"Release the files so that the American people can make a decision on their own." ([05:34])

5. Expanding Scandals and Historical Cover-ups

Brett broadens the conversation by linking Trump's current situation to historical patterns of scandal cover-ups within the Republican Party. He references an interview with OSU whistleblower Mike DiSabato, who accuses Jim Jordan of being aware of Dr. Richard Strauss's abusive actions:

"Jim Jordan knew that Dr. Strauss was performing unnecessary rectal exams... a form of sex abuse." ([07:06])

This segment underscores a recurring theme of obstruction and concealment within the party, reinforcing the narrative of systemic corruption.

6. Economic Downturn and Trade Deal Failures

Transitioning from political scandals to economic issues, Brett discusses the deteriorating U.S. economy under Trump's administration. He cites a poll indicating 64% of Americans believe the economy is worsening and 52% think the U.S. is in a recession, a significant increase since January. The job market is portrayed as a bellwether for this downturn, with LinkedIn processing 11,000 job applications per minute, marking a 45% surge since the previous year.

Brett also critiques Trump's faltering trade deal negotiations, noting Treasury Secretary Scott Besant's remarks:

"We are more concerned with high quality, quality deals than getting these deals done by August 1st." ([12:25])

The lack of progress on trade agreements is exacerbating tensions between the U.S. and the European Union, with the EU contemplating retaliatory measures against American exports.

7. EU Retaliation and Trade Tensions

The podcast details the EU's response to the stalled trade negotiations, as reported by Reuters:

"The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade." ([13:14])

Possible measures include tariffs, restricting U.S. investments, and limiting access to public tenders, which could severely impact the U.S. economy. Brett underscores the severity of these potential actions, linking them to the broader economic instability under Trump's leadership.

8. Attacks on Federal Reserve and Jerome Powell

Brett highlights Trump's administration's attempts to undermine Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is recognized as a key figure stabilizing the economy. Instead of direct criticism, the administration threatens Powell with criminal prosecution:

"They're threatening him with criminal poison prosecution. It's just straight-up banana republic stuff." ([13:14])

Treasury Secretary Besant's call for a review of the Federal Reserve is presented as an unjustifiable attack on a central institution essential for economic stability.

9. Commitment to Transparency and Reporting

Concluding the episode, Brett reaffirms The MeidasTouch Podcast's dedication to uncovering and reporting the truth about Trump's administration:

"We're going to keep on reporting on the Epstein story. No matter how much Trump wants to threaten us, we're going to keep telling the truth about his disastrous regime." ([14:00])

This steadfast commitment underscores the podcast's role in promoting transparency and accountability within the political sphere.

Conclusion

In this episode, The MeidasTouch Podcast delivers a robust analysis of Donald Trump's ongoing struggles with the Epstein case, declining public support, economic mismanagement, and the GOP's complicity in shielding him from accountability. Through a blend of incisive commentary, factual polling data, and poignant quotes from key figures, the Meiselas brothers provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the current political and economic climate. Their unwavering stance on transparency and democracy resonates throughout, reinforcing their position as influential voices in American political discourse.

For those interested in further insights, the podcast encourages listeners to subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and to explore additional content on their Midas Plus Substack.

Transcript

[Brett Meisellis]

This is one of the most spectacular.

[JJ Harris]

Venues with all kinds of character and hospitality scenery.

[Mike Johnson]

These people in this Kitty Task valley, they love when you come to see.

[JJ Harris]

What they have to offer. I'm JJ Harris, Ellensburg Rodeo Clown and I want to invite you to the rodeo. Come hang out with us in Ellensburg. Great rodeo, great time. Two performances on Saturday. One is the Extreme Bulls of the Year event. Do not miss the Ellensburg Rodeo August 29th through September 1st. We'll see you there. Whether you're into comedians roasting each other's life choices or turning yesterday's bad decisions into today's funny stories, Amazon Music's got the most ad free top podcasts included with Prime. Download the Amazon Music app and get in on the joke or go to Amazon.com adfreecomedy that's Amazon.com ad freecomedy to catch up on the latest episodes without the ads.

[Brett Meisellis]

Donald Trump is getting absolutely pummeled by terrible news today as the Epstein story just won't go away. And now the Trump regime is trying to blame its own FBI yet again. The biggest story from Trump's past that he's been trying to hide for decades is now the top story in the world and there is no escaping it. Trump's worst nightmare is now his reality. I'm Brett Meisellis with the Midas Touch Network. Remember to hit subscribe and help us get to 6 million subscribers. From the Epstein issue to the economy, New polling shows the American people have completely turned against Trump as he implodes under the weight of his latest scandals. By now you may have seen the CBS YouGov polling trend showing Trump's gradual decline over the past few months from 53% approval in February to 42% now. But it gets worse for him. The new American Research Group poll has Trump's approval at just 38%, while 59% disapprove. And Trump may think he's taken care of the Epstein story and put it behind him, but the American people feel differently. Just 17% of American Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the Epstein case. That includes just 4% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans. In that CBS poll, by the way, 89% of Americans said the DOJ should release all the information on Epstein. When have we ever seen that sort of agreement in our politics? Recently. Here's CNN discussing it.

[Caroline Levitt]

And it's interesting looking at the polls, there have been multiple polls now showing that how the American public views this issue. This is from CBS. Just yesterday, should DOJ release all the information on Epstein, 89% say yes. I mean, that you rarely see that imposed in this era of polarized politics. And you ask about how Republicans feel about this, of whether they're satisfied with how Trump has held done this. Well, they've handled it well. Just 50% of Republicans, 49% say they're dissatisfied. I mean, typically, Trump is at 90% or so among Republicans, no matter what the issue is here, 50%.

[Brett Meisellis]

And Trump is now lashing out at the Wall Street Journal even more. In the wake of their story revealing Trump's alleged letter about his secrets with Jeffrey Epstein. The Trump regime has removed the Wall Street Journal from the pool of reporters covering Trump's weekend trip to Scotland. In retaliation, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt was asked why Trump doesn't just order the FBI to release the full Epstein files. And she passed the buck to the FBI and blamed them. Watch this. Ordered the FBI to release the full Epstein files. Just get it all out. The President has said if the Department of Justice and the FBI want to move forward with releasing any further credible evidence, they should do so as to why they have or have not or will. You should ask the FBI about that. Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson is desperately trying to protect Trump and cover up the Epstein files. He was just asked by CNN's Manu Raju if he'd allow a vote to release the files before the August recess. And Johnson shut that idea down, saying he want to give the Trump regime space to deal with the issue. Watch this for the office recess.

[Mike Johnson]

So here's. Here's what I would say about the Epstein files. There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House and the President on maximum transparency. He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released. He's asked the Attorney General to request the grand jury files of the court. All of that is in process right now. My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing. And if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that. But I don't think we're at that point right now because we agree with the President.

[Caroline Levitt]

So no vote, no vote on this resolution.

[Brett Meisellis]

We had this, by the way. There's even agreement among a bunch of Republicans to release the files. Yet their leadership is protecting Trump and Epstein at all costs. Listen to these Republican lawmakers.

[Caroline Levitt]

President says that this Jeffrey Epstein matters a hoax, Democratic hoax. Do you agree with him?

[Scott Besant]

I think we want to have as much transparency as possible.

[Brett Meisellis]

Why don't we just release it and deal with it.

[JJ Harris]

Ultimately, I don't answer to the president or the voters. I'm going to answer to my maker. I'm a big believer in transparency. And I think also just for us as a country, it's an important way to get closure. This is a bad guy and what he did was bad. And it was also pretty extensive. It involved a lot of people.

[Caroline Levitt]

What are you hearing from Republicans?

[Anna Paulina Luna]

The same thing.

[JJ Harris]

I mean, this.

[Brett Meisellis]

And Trump is, of course, desperate to change the subject. Last night, as you know, he was posting images of Barack Obama and other Democrats, Democrats in jumpsuits threatening their arrests. This morning, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries called out Trump's attempt to distract and demanded the release of the files. Watch this.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Let's be clear about the situation here. Jeffrey Epstein was a friend of Donald Trump. Jeffrey Epstein was arrested during the Trump administration. Jeffrey Epstein was detained during the Trump administration. Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide during the Trump administration. Trump administration officials have said prior to arriving in Washington in positions of prominence, including at the FBI and the Department of Justice, that they were going to release the Epstein files. Trump administration officials are now in a position to release the Epstein files. Does any of that, in your view, have anything to do with President Joe Biden? Why do we think President Joe Biden or President Barack Obama's names are being invoked? Because Donald Trump is running scared and the Trump administration is running scared. What are they hiding from the American people? Release the files so that the American people can make a decision on their own. This has nothing to do with a Democratic led conspiracy theory and the facts and the chronology make that clear.

[Brett Meisellis]

As we wrote on the Midas touch social media accounts, the crazy thing about Donald Trump posting an AI video of Obama getting arrested is that Trump once had someone organize a party for him and invite a bunch of of quote, unquote young women. And it turned out that Jeffrey Epstein was his only other guest. Yes, that was yet another story that broke this weekend in the New York Times. Yet Republican leaders are still trying to cover it all up. And you'll notice that Republicans have long been engaged in covering up scandals related to sexual abuse. I want to show you a clip from this interview my brother Ben did with OSU whistleblower Mike DiSabato, a former wrestler at the Ohio State University, who said that Jim Jordan absolutely knew what Dr. Richard Strauss was doing at the time. Take a look at this.

[Jim Jordan]

Let me just be clear. Jim Jordan knew that Dr. Strauss was performing unnecessary genital exams. He knew that Dr. Strauss was performing unnecessary rectal exams. And he absolutely knew that Dr. Strauss was taking showers with us on a daily basis and also going into the sauna with us on a daily basis. He knows that because he was there with us. He trained. Jim trained with us, he took a shower with us. He did saunas with us. There's no disputing that, that Strauss was taking showers with us on a daily basis. Taking saunas on a daily basis, which is a form of sex abuse. Your doctor should not be showering with with his, with his patients. And yet it went on for over 20 years, not just in wrestling, but in several sports. Strauss would take showers with not only the wrestlers, but the gymnasts, swimmers, number of teams. He would take six to seven showers a day across multiple sports. I know Jim Jordan also knew about genital exams because we had open conversations about Strauss performing general exams and we did so in a locker room, let's call it a locker room situation where guys are. We handled it with humor to some extent. Where, you know, Strauss gave me a general exam today, by the way.

[Brett Meisellis]

To hear that full interview, listen to the Midas Touch podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

[Anna Paulina Luna]

This message is brought to you by our sponsor, Americans United for Separation of Church and State. You don't destroy 250 years of secular democracy without gutting the rule of law, shattering norms and dropping a few billion dollars. The same people and groups that backed Project 2025 are part of a larger shadow network that's relentlessly pushing to impose a Christian nationalist agenda on our laws and lives. The wall between church and state is the last safeguard blocking their agenda. We at the Midas Touch podcast support their goal of forming a thriving democracy that functions and advances towards its promises. If you're a regular here, you know we're all about empowering ourselves and our viewers and finding ways to create hope in these wild and terrifying times. One of the places I found hope in our organizations. Just like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, AU is quite the force. It's fighting daily to preserve freedom without favor and equality without exception for every single American. They advocate for for every individual's right to believe and live as you choose, so long as you don't harm others. Now that is what freedom really is all about. Whether you're passionate about gender affirming, healthcare, reproductive rights, LGBTQ + rights, or supporting our public schools, Church state separation touches almost every constitutional freedom. If you're looking for a way to take action and support our fundamental freedoms, join Americans United for Separation of Church and State and their growing movement. Because church, state Separation protects us all. Learn more and join the [e-mail] Midas that's a U.org Midas one more time. That's it's the letter a, the letter u.org midas and you spell midas. M E I D A S. Let's.

[Brett Meisellis]

Shift gears to another Trump disaster, the US Economy. New polling from American Research Group shows that just 35% approve of Trump's handling of the economy, while 62% disapprove. 64% of Americans say the economy is getting worse. 52% of Americans say the US is currently in a recession that's up 10 points since January. The job market is being flooded with job applications, a huge recession indicator. LinkedIn is now processing 11,000 job applications per minute, a few 45% surge since last year, per the New York Times. And Trump's trade deal promises continue to fall apart and his regime is now backtracking fast. Well, Again, remember that August 1st trade deal deadline that Trump's been talking about? Now he always pushes it back. Well, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant now says that the August 1st date just, it's not that important. Watch this. Any progress that you can report on some of our big trading partners?

[Scott Besant]

Look, Joe, talks are, talks are moving along, but the important thing here is the quality of the deal, not the timing of the deals. And President Trump has created maximum leverage as only he can do. And what we are seeing is these imbalances built up over 20, 30, 40 years. And we are more concerned with high quality, quality deals than getting these deals done by August 1st. Our trading partners were told that the rates could boomerang back toward the April 2nd levels. We can continue talking then, but you know, again, we're proceeding apace with the negotiations, but we're not going to rush for the sake of doing deals.

[Brett Meisellis]

And the European Union understands that Trump is not an honest broker. And they are now ramping up their retaliation plans against the United States. Reuters reports the following EU to ramp up retaliation plans as US Tariff deal prospects dim. The European Union is exploring a broader set of possible countermeasures against the United States as prospects for an acceptable trade agreement with Washington fade. According to EU diplomats, an increasing number of EU members, including Germany, are now considering using wide ranging anti coercion measures which would let the block target U.S. services or curb access to public tenders. In the absence of a deal, diplomats say the EU has one package of tariffs on 21 billion euros of U.S. goods that is currently suspended until Aug. 6. The block must still decide on a further set of countermeasures on 72 billion euros of U.S. exports. Possible measures also include restricting U.S. investment, limiting protection of intellectual property rights, and restricting the ability to sell US Chemicals or food products in Europe. Public procurement in the EU is worth around $2 trillion per year. And so, as the economy reaches its breaking point, Trump and his regime are now looking for a fall person. They're trying to pin the blame on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is probably the only person in government right now taking action to keep things from falling off a cliff. And so instead of outright firing Powell, which Trump has discussed, they are threatening him with criminal poison prosecution. It's just straight up banana republic stuff. Treasury Secretary Besant has called for a review of the entire Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who previously demanded transparency on the Epstein files before she realized that they would implicate Trump, I guess is now referring Federal Reserve Chair Powell to the Department of Justice for criminal investigation. Folks, they want this all to go away, but it is all here to stay. We're going to keep on reporting on the Epstein story. No matter how much Trump wants to threaten us, we're going to keep telling the truth about his disastrous regime. We'll be back with more updates soon, so make sure to subscribe. Add the Midas Touch podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and I'll see you soon. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas plus substack for ad free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski and more.

[Anna Paulina Luna]

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