Trump Has Disaster Presser as Trip Ends Terribly

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast: "Trump Has Disaster Presser as Trip Ends Terribly"

Episode Release Date: May 15, 2025
Podcast Host: MeidasTouch Network (Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas)

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Introduction

In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, the Meiselas brothers delve into former President Donald Trump's recent press conference in Qatar, labeling it a "disastrous" event. The trio dissects Trump's remarks, highlighting inconsistencies, misstatements, and the broader implications of his rhetoric on American politics and international relations. Combining sharp political analysis with their characteristic humor, Ben, Brett, and Jordy offer a comprehensive breakdown of the press conference and its aftermath.

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Trump's Press Conference in Qatar: A Breakdown

1. Critique of Political Figures and Infrastructure Projects

Trump opened his press conference by criticizing various political figures such as Pete Buttigieg and Sean Duffy, intertwining personal attacks with policy critiques.

• Pete Buttigieg on Bicycling:
  At [01:19], Trump berates Buttigieg for choosing to bike to work, insinuating incompetence:
  "And he goes bicycling to work. Can you believe it? He's running the biggest air system in the world and he takes a bicycle to work."

• Sean Duffy and Infrastructure Failures:
  Trump shifts focus to criticize Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, accusing him of inadequately managing infrastructure projects:
  "30,000 different contractors doing 30,000 jobs. And when they put it all together, they spent billions of dollars. It didn't even come close to working." [05:42]

Analysis by the Hosts:
Ben sarcastically points out the absurdity of focusing on tree climbing habits while overlooking the substance of policy failures. Jordy emphasizes the incoherence in Trump's arguments, questioning the relevance of personal hobbies to professional competence.

2. Syria and International Relations

Trump praised Syria's new leadership and hinted at lifting sanctions, claiming it would foster better relations.

• Praise for Syrian Leader:
  At [06:33], Trump lauds Syria's new leader, stating:
  "He's a strong guy and I thought he was good and let's see what happens. But we're going to give him a fighting chance by taking off the sanctions."

Host's Commentary:
Brett mocks the lack of strategic vision in Trump's statements, noting that praising leaders without actionable plans undermines diplomatic efforts. The brothers highlight the potential dangers of abruptly lifting sanctions without consideration of geopolitical stability.

3. Military Endeavors and Misstatements

Trump ventured into military topics, discussing submarines and fighter jets, often displaying a lack of technical understanding.

• Submarine Advancements:
  At [09:39], Trump makes unrealistic claims about submarine capabilities:
  "Our submarine... can stay underwater for 30 years. Think of it. The only reason it has to come up is for food."

• F35 Fighter Jets Critique:
  At [13:35], Trump expressed disdain for the F35s, proposing an upgraded F55 model:
  "We’re doing a Super F22 and... with two engines because the F35 has a single engine. I don't like single engines."

Hosts' Analysis:
Ben and Jordy ridicule Trump's technical inaccuracies, pointing out the implausibility of submarines operating for decades without resurfacing. They also critique his misunderstanding of military technology, emphasizing the potential risks of promoting unfeasible defense projects.

4. Trade and Economic Claims

Trump addressed trade relations with China, claiming significant improvements after imposing and then removing tariffs.

• Trade with China:
  At [17:10], Trump asserts:
  "We were losing a trillion dollars to China. So we essentially went cold turkey with China for a period of a month. Therefore, we weren't losing a trillion dollars."

Host's Perspective:
Brett questions the validity of Trump's economic data, suggesting that sudden tariff changes are unlikely to reverse long-standing trade deficits. The brothers argue that sustainable economic policies require more nuanced approaches than swift, unilateral decisions.

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Notable Quotes from the Episode

• Donald Trump on Infrastructure Failures:
  "30,000 different contractors doing 30,000 jobs. And when they put it all together, they spent billions of dollars. It didn't even come close to working." [05:42]

• Trump's Take on Submarine Technology:
  "Our submarine... can stay underwater for 30 years. Think of it." [09:39]

• Commentary on Trade with China:
  "We were losing a trillion dollars to China... Therefore, we weren't losing a trillion dollars." [17:10]

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Hosts' Insights and Conclusions

The Meiselas brothers express skepticism regarding Trump's statements, highlighting a pattern of misinformation and lack of coherence in his messaging. They emphasize the importance of factual accuracy and strategic vision in political discourse, contrasting it with Trump's often erratic and unfocused remarks.

• Ben's Take:
  Ben critiques the superficial nature of Trump's comments, emphasizing the need for substance over sensationalism in leadership.

• Brett's Analysis:
  Brett points out the potential long-term repercussions of Trump's policies, especially in foreign relations and defense.

• Jordy's Perspective:
  Jordy underscores the risks of endorsing unverified claims, advocating for accountability and transparency in political rhetoric.

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Conclusion

In this episode, The MeidasTouch Podcast offers a thorough examination of Donald Trump's press conference in Qatar, dissecting his statements with sharp wit and critical analysis. The Meidas brothers effectively highlight the inconsistencies and potential pitfalls of Trump's rhetoric, urging listeners to remain informed and discerning in their political engagements. By blending humor with insightful commentary, the podcast reinforces its commitment to supporting democracy and providing its audience with reliable political discourse.

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Stay Connected:
Subscribe to The MeidasTouch Podcast for more in-depth analyses, lively discussions, and unwavering support of democratic values. Join the MeidasMighty community and never miss an episode every Tuesday and Friday morning!

Transcript

[Host]

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[Donald Trump]

Tree comes down also, by the way, it's so intense. I mean you see these trees being knocked down like, like they're being sawed down by a top of the line timberman like, you know who. Sean Duffy. Do you know that? Sean Duffy, the head of the transportation department who's working right now in the airports and getting a system because Biden didn't do a thing for four years and Pete Buttigieg was the head and he goes bicycling to work. He takes a bicycle to work. Can you believe it? He's running the biggest air system in the world and he takes a bicycle to work. What a. And. And they say he's going to run for president. I don't see it. Who knows, right? But I don't see it. But when I look at what they've done is so horrible. What they have done and the work they did do. They wasted billions of dollars in trying to hook up air systems to copper and they tried to hook up copper to glass and the glass doesn't work with the copper. And they had 30,000 different contractors doing 30,000 jobs and when they put it all together, they spent billions of dollars. It didn't even come close to working. And we're going to be giving out a brand new system. It's very important that we'll have the best system. And we think we know who that system is. But we have a lot of.

[Host]

Really, Donald, that's what you're thinking about while you're at Lusail palace in Qatar begging them for $400 million gold plated jets. You've got Pete Buttigieg on your mind. You know what he else, what else he has on his mind? So he's talking about how drones are being used in the war when Russia unlawfully invaded Ukraine and how it shoots down trees. And then he says Sean Duffy climbs trees. His transportation secretary loves climbing trees. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

When you look at what's happening with Russia and Ukraine, the drone is killing tremendous numbers of people. You hide behind a tree and the drone comes down and it circles you with fire. You don't have a chance. The tree comes down also, by the way, it's so intense. I mean, you see these trees being knocked down like they're being sawed down by a top of the line timberman like, you know who. Sean Duffy. Do you know that? Sean Duffy, the head of the Transportation Department who's working right now in the airports and getting a system because Biden didn't do a thing for four years.

[Host]

So then he continues to talk about Sean Duffy climbing trees. And he goes, did you know Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is a tree climber? Did you know he climbs the trees? Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

I'm going to be giving that out pretty soon. But what people don't know about Shawn, because I mentioned lumberjacks, that Shawn, you probably didn't know this, that. I'm not talking about this Sean. This Sean. No, this is not. This is a different Sean. Sean Duffy, the head of transportation. He's a great Sean, though, I have to tell you. But Sean Duffy was the world champion for five years climbing trees. And down, up and down world champion. So that's what you call a serious lumberjack. And he's doing a fantastic job, too. Really respected guy and terrific guy. And I mentioned the champion because when somebody's a champion, he's the world champion for a long time. He came down, when you come down those trees, coming down at a rapid, he said that started getting you back. You will often break your back. You miss a shot and you're coming down a lot faster than the human body was meant to come down. But he's doing a fantastic job at transportation. But this has been a very historic trip.

[Host]

I watched this is what you're saying in Qatar, you're talking about Sean Duffy climbing Trees. Then Donald Trump again blames former President Biden for all of the issues we're having with our air traffic safety system. I don't know, maybe it's the fact that y' all fired people at the FAA that Elon Musk and you ripped apart our government agencies. Like Donald, you do realize that unfortunately, you were in office from 2016 to 2020 and you would also be responsible for this. Also, you know, there were no issues under former President Biden like this. They're all happening now with your incompetent tree climbers. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

30,000 different contractors doing 30,000 jobs. And when they put it all together, they spent billions of dollars. It didn't even come close to working. And we're going to be giving out a brand new system. It's very important that we'll have the best system. And we think we know who that system is. But we have a lot of, a lot of bidding. But we want one check. We want a unified system. We don't have 5,000 contractors in all different places, some digging ditches and some not doing ditches because they want to go by satellite. Satellite seems to be the way to go.

[Host]

Next, Donald Trump praises the leader of Syria who offered Trump to build a Trump tower in Damascus. And then he goes on to talk about he's a strong person, not a weak person. It's just a bunch of blabbering rubbish. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

And I met the new leader of the country and he's got a strong past. I'll be very nice. He got a strong past, but I liked him a lot. I think he'd be a great representative and we'll see. You have to have a strong past to put that one around. You cannot be a weak person. If you're a weak person, we would just be wasting time. So he's a strong guy and I thought he was good and let's see what happens. But we're going to give him a fighting chance by taking off the sanctions.

[Host]

So more of Trump talking about Syria. Let's play it in a big fight.

[Donald Trump]

And the other, of course, is Syria. We took out the sanctions and that's been, I didn't even realize it's been many, many years that they've had sanctions. And as you know, there was a very big change at the top. And I thought that we have to give them a chance. They really have no chance with the sanctions. They were very biting. They were top of the line. Nobody could even deal with them. You couldn't even, you couldn't make a phone call to Syria. So we, we did that.

[Host]

And, you know, and one of the things that makes Trump such a vile piece of trash and just an overall horrible, like, just person and leader, but just a horrible person. You know, he's there in the Middle east, and he spends all of his time not setting forth a vision of what to do. Right? That's what leaders do. Here's the. Here's what's going to happen. Here's. Here's how I want to strengthen our relationship. He just goes there and whines about Biden. Oh, Biden was bad. Biden was bad. Oh, I'm sorry. He was so bad. First off, he wasn't. He didn't need to beg cutter for $400 million jets. He didn't have to go around to the Middle east and beg. He understood who America's true allies were in NATO, unlike you, who's now trying to cancel the United States from going to the G20. But here he is right here. Just, let's do what Trump says. Let's play.

[Donald Trump]

And we're doing something very special. But it's a special country. You know, we were losing the Middle east because the past administration didn't handle the relationship properly, didn't show the kind of respect that they deserve. And me, I have a lot of respect and I have a lot of liking. I like the crown prince a lot. I've known him a long time in Saudi Arabia, and the emir is fantastic. And we're going to another country in a little while, the uae, a fantastic man, fantastic leader, and they have great leadership talents in this part of the world, and that's why they're doing so well.

[Host]

And Donald Trump starts talking about, like, military equipment, and it gets really bad really quickly here he starts, and because he pretends he knows what he's talking about. And so you'll see me showing you clips where he talks about submarines and F35s and, and how many engines he thinks should be in there. And he doesn't like stealth. He goes, I'm not a stealth fan. But anyway, here he is talking about submarines and he tries to, like, explain it. He has no clue what he's talking about. Play the clip.

[Donald Trump]

Full weapon, as you say. We're also doing very heavy on submarines. We have a lead on submarines that I don't think, unless you have a really, really stupid group of people, including the president, I don't think anybody can catch us on submarines. We have our submarine, in particular, the lake model. We're 15 years advanced on the submarine, nobody can even come close. It can stay underwater for 30 years. Think of it. The only reason it has to come up is for food. It doesn't need water because they have, you know, they have their system of water, which is they can stay forever. The only reason it has to come up is for food. Can you imagine? It could stay underground for underwater for years, going at fast speeds to very fast speeds, but it has to come up once every couple of months for food. There's something about that. I don't know we're going to be able to solve that problem, but hopefully it's not going to be a problem we have to worry about. But the submarine, we are so far advanced in the submarine, so we're very.

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[Host]

Thanks to Irestore here, an adult cognitively declining. Donald Trump says America previously had no spirit. Let's play it.

[Donald Trump]

But the police force and the firefighters, we're having a very hard time getting people to become policemen like we had never had before. That was six months ago, Biden, because the country had no spirit. It was like just had no heart. It was a dead heart. Now we have the liveliest heart you've ever seen. So I just think it's such a great Contrast to think 6 months ago you couldn't get. And now we're setting records. Who would think?

[Host]

Here he is saying that he basically threatened Tim Cook for moving Apple business to India to avoid the China tariffs. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

And we have Apple. As you know, it's coming in. And I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, tim, you're my friend. I treated you very good. You're coming in with $500 billion. But now I hear you building all over India. I don't want you building in India. You can build in India if you want to take care of India, because India is the highest, one of the highest tariffs nations in the world. It's very hard to sell into India. And they've offered us a deal where basically they're willing to literally charge us no tariff. So we go from the highest tariff. You couldn't do business in India. We're not even a top 30 in India because the tariff is so high to a point where they have actually told us, I assume you too, Scott, you were working on that also, that there will be no tariff. Right? Would you say that's a difference? They're the highest and now they're saying no tariff. I said to Tim, I said, tim, look, we've treated you really good. We put up with all the plants that you built in China for years. Now you got to build us. We're not interested in you building in India. India can take care of themselves. They're doing very well. We want you to build here. And they're going to.

[Host]

Okay, so now here's where he talks about the F35s. Let me show you this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Great, great display. So we're going to see that. But one of the things for the people that are interested in the military that I asked to look into, the F35, we're doing an upgrade, a simple upgrade, but we're also doing an F55. I'm going to call it an F55, and that's going to be a substantial upgrade. But it's going to be also with two engines because the F35 has a single engine. I don't like single engines. Even this man, he's the best in the world at engines. But on occasion, I know you won't admit this, if an engine goes out, it's nice to have two, three or four. That's why I like the 747. It's got four. But today they're getting very big and it's a little More cost saving to have two very, very big ones. But no matter how good, you know, they tell me, Larry, the engine will never go out. Well, I think it goes out.

[Host]

Donald Trump admits that Putin will not be going to Turkey to negotiate with Zelensky, even though Zelenskyy was there to negotiate with Putin. And then Trump says it's Putin's not going because Trump's not going. But really it was Putin who said he wasn't going first. But you said there was going to be peace in Ukraine in 24 hours. Donald, here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Jennifer, go ahead. No, I didn't anticipate. I actually said why would he go if I'm not going? Because I wasn't going to go. I wasn't planning to go. I would go, but I wasn't planning to go. And I said I don't think he's going to go if I don't go. And that's turned out to be right. But we have people there. Marco, as you know, is doing a fantastic job. Marco's there, Secretary of State and we have people there. But I don't, I don't, I didn't think it was possible for Putin to go if I'm not there. Jennifer, do you have an update, sir, on this here?

[Host]

Donald Trump says that he's not a big believer in stealth. Let's play it never made.

[Donald Trump]

And so I want to do that. And sometimes, you know, stealth, they do stealth. I'm not a huge believer in stealth because stealth is basically a lot of it's to design into shape and you know, I'm sure you maybe think, but also if, if that's the case, they're going to figure it out pretty fast, I think. So you're going to design an ugly plane for stealth reasons and then six months later they're going to figure out this. Then you're stuck with a plan. Now we, we're doing, we're doing a Super F22 and we're going to be going with it pretty, pretty quickly.

[Host]

And then here Donald Trump talks about how Howard Lutnick wants Trump to start a sovereign wealth fund, but Trump may start a sovereign wealth fund. He's just waiting. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Do you have an update, sir, on the sovereign wealth fund, your proposal for the sovereign wealth fund that we're planning on doing? Yeah, well, look, Howard likes the idea. I'm less, I want to really make a lot of money, pay off debt and just get it and then you do it fund, you know, these people have no debt. It's Nice to have a fund. I say to Howard, we're a little early because we have debt. And really it sounds like a lot, but relative to the kind of income and everything that we have, it's not really that much. But. But it's still a lot. And I'd rather pay the debt off and then do the fund after the debt's paid off. And you know, to me, the fund is just pay off debt we're making.

[Host]

And finally, Donald Trump claims that we're no longer losing a trillion dollars from China because he put tariffs on China for a month and then withdrew them. Play the clip.

[Donald Trump]

Fund is just pay off debt we're making. We're making a lot of money. We had, we had a situation six months ago. We were losing $5 billion a day on trade. Now we're making money on trade. Don't forget we were losing a trillion dollars to China. So we essentially went cold turkey with China for a period of a month. Therefore, we weren't losing a trillion dollars. You know, I think that's pretty simple. Scott. Right. Scott did a great job over there. They made a deal. They have great with China. You might.

[Host]

You could judge that mess for yourself. But that was his speech and cutter. Oh, yeah. And then just to add insult to injury, this was from earlier where it's just so obvious that, yes, Donald, everybody is laughing at you. Total laughingstock. Let's play it.

[Donald Trump]

And the job you've done is second to none. You look at this is so beautiful. As a construction person, I'm seeing perfect marble. This is what they call perfect marriage. Know and just a great job you've done. And what a beautiful place. And we appreciate those camels. I haven't seen camels like that in a long time. And that was some greeting. We appreciate it very much.

[Host]

Anyway, thanks for watching. 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].