Trump Panics as War Gets Out Of Control!!

Summary

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MeidasTouch Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Trump Panics as War Gets Out Of Control!!
Date: March 4, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas (MeidasTouch Network)

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Episode Overview

The Meiselas brothers respond to the rapidly escalating crises involving the Trump administration’s unlawful war in Iran and mounting global instability. The episode dissects Donald Trump’s military decisions, their chaotic fallout in the Middle East and beyond, and the political, economic, and human costs. The brothers use their signature mix of urgent news coverage, critical commentary, and pointed humor to underscore the risks to democracy and global order under Trump.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catastrophe in the Middle East: Unchecked Escalation

(Starts at 00:34)

• Massive Iranian Drone Strikes:

  • US facilities hit across the Middle East: the US Consulate in Dubai, CIA headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar suffer significant damage from Iranian drones, especially targeting communications and missile-tracking infrastructure.
  • Multiple reports confirm at least 11 US military facilities hit, with critical systems destroyed in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

• Running Low on Munitions:

  • US struggling to replenish advanced weapon and drone supplies; Trump calls an emergency meeting with top defense contractors (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Raytheon) to address the shortfall.
  • “Remember Donald Trump saying we don’t have an issue with munitions, but he’s calling this emergency meeting.” (Political News Commentator, 01:50)

• Strategic Strait of Hormuz Effectively Closed:

  • Iranian threats and attacks lead to the de facto closure of pivotal shipping lanes.
  • “Since Monday, just three oil and gas tankers have crossed the Strait of Hormuz… It is a de facto closure.” (Political News Commentator, quoting Christian Tribert, 04:40)
  • This triggers a global market crash, notably in South Korea (10% drop), Japan, and sharply increases gas prices in the US.

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2. Human Cost & Military Failures

(Starts at 06:00)

• First Confirmed US Service Member Fatalities:

  • Photos released of US servicemen in Kuwait who were left unprotected by the Trump regime, despite repeated requests for anti-drone defense.
  • Military leadership warns Congress of “many, many more deaths and injuries” likely.

• Coercing Kurdish Militias into a Proxy War:

  • The US is arming Kurdish militias to invade Iran, allegedly to foment civil unrest and destabilize the regime.
  • “They’re going to try to coerce or pressure Kurdish militias to invade Iran in order to provoke a civil war in Iran.” (Political News Commentator, 07:45)

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3. Trump’s Indifference and Media Manipulation

(Starts at 09:00)

• While the crisis unfolds, Trump posts memes and bizarre social media content instead of delivering clear leadership.
  • “He’s posting memes like, ‘I stand with Trump, the most badass president of all time’... This is what they’re posting while the United States is at war.” (Political News Commentator, 10:00)
  • Trump also posts confusing references to New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani, prompting hosts’ bemusement.

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4. International Response and Diplomatic Isolation

(Starts at 14:53)

• Condemnation from Allies:

  • UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron openly criticize the US for waging an unlawful war:
    • “Prime Minister Keir Starmer referred to the war as unlawful.” (Political News Commentator, 14:53)
    • “France cannot approve or accept them.” (Quoting Emmanuel Macron)

• Chilling On-the-Ground Reporting:

  • CNN reporters forced to take cover during Iranian missile attacks on Tel Aviv—captured audio conveys the war’s immediacy and chaos.
    • “So you hear the sirens now. This is all around the area that we’re in, in Tel Aviv… that initial warning, about five or six minutes.” (CNN Reporter, 14:39)

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5. Political Fallout & Public Opinion

(Starts at 12:57)

• Trump’s Plummeting Approval:

  • New YouGov poll: only 38% approve of Trump, a second-term low, with a majority now disapproving.
  • The episode notes ongoing links between the war and the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, referencing withheld evidence implicating Trump.

• Congressional Alarm:

  • Bipartisan briefing leaves lawmakers “horrified”; regime lacks a coherent plan or justification.
  • Senator Richard Blumenthal reacts:
    • “I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting boots on the ground… I also am no more clear on what the priorities are… The administration owes it to the American people to have briefings not just for members of Congress, but for the American public.” (Sen. Blumenthal, 12:01)

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6. Global Instability: More Wars Sparked

(Starts at 16:30)

• US Military Operations in Ecuador & Venezuela:
  • US launches joint operations in Ecuador, justifying action as targeting narco-terrorism.
  • Hosts highlight the cozy Trump relationship with Ecuador’s leadership, raising conflict of interest concerns with allegations of smuggling and personal enrichment schemes.
  • The US continues to manipulate leadership in Venezuela, leveraging draft indictments to pressure aligned regimes.
  • The spread of hostilities—new wars, US involvement in the Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict—paints a picture of world order unraveling.
  • “The world is at war. I’ve just showed you the data points right now.” (Political News Commentator, 18:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump’s Family Oddities:

  • Trump makes strange public remarks about his father’s birthplace:
    • “My father was born there [Germany]… But the UK, what they’re doing with energy and immigration is horrible.” (Donald Trump, 11:04)

• On Congress’ Horror:

  • “Lawmakers came out of this meeting and they looked absolutely horrified at what they heard.” (Political News Commentator, 08:47)

• Breaking News, Live Under Fire:

  • “You need to move pretty quickly. Okay, and there we go. We’re just going to get onto this camera… And we’re going to move. So you hear the sirens now.” (CNN Reporter/Cameraman, 14:26–14:39)

• Sen. Blumenthal on Administration Secrecy:

  • “Nothing here should have been classified. It should be available to the American people.” (Sen. Blumenthal, 12:36)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:34 – Escalation in the Middle East: Drone strikes, munitions shortages, and Trump’s emergency defense meeting
• 04:40 – Strait of Hormuz closure and global market shock
• 06:00 – US service member fatalities and lack of support
• 07:45 – Kurdish militias and plans to incite civil war
• 09:00–10:00 – Trump’s media responses: memes and social platform oddities
• 11:04 – Trump’s awkward family history comments
• 12:01–12:56 – Sen. Blumenthal’s dire Senate reaction
• 12:57 – Trump’s plummeting poll numbers, Epstein investigation tie-ins
• 14:12–14:39 – Live CNN coverage as missiles hit Tel Aviv
• 14:53 – International condemnation from the UK and France
• 16:30 – US military operations in Ecuador, Venezuela, and elsewhere
• 18:47 – Summary: “The world is at war.”

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Conclusion

This episode offers a blistering critique of Trump's foreign and domestic policy failures during a period of global crisis. The Meiselas brothers expose the scope of the chaos through in-depth breakdowns, pointed quotes, congressional dismay, and unforgettable moments of media and leadership failure. Their distinctive brotherly banter and commitment to pro-democracy commentary provide listeners with both an urgent warning and a call to engagement amid mounting global instability.

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Transcript

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[Political News Commentator]

is Panicking as catastrophic news is coming out of the Middle east from Donald Trump's unlawful invasion of Iran the United States consulate in Dubai hit by Iranian drones the United States CIA building in Saudi Arabia Riyadh hit by Iranian drones the US Air base in Qatar the Al Udid base hit by Iranian drones, including a ballistic radar detection system hit by Iranian drones the United States is running out of its munitions. Donald Trump is lying and claims we have unlimited munitions. But Donald Trump has now called a meeting of some of the biggest US Defense contractors to show up on Friday and to talk about how they can produce more weapons as the US Is running low and we know that Iran is able to make the Shahi drones and ballistic missiles very cheaply while the US Is unable to keep pace with its own billion dollar weapon systems. Here's what Reuters is reporting. The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest US Defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts, five people familiar with the plans told Reuters. Companies include Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and others. Remember Donald Trump saying we don't have an issue with munitions, but he's calling this emergency meeting. By the way, doesn't this remind you of when Donald Trump invaded Venezuela, Venezuela and then brought in oil, all of the oil companies to show up and talk about how they were going to divvy up Venezuela. Just take a look at some of this disastrous news that we're learning out of Iran as well. Iranian strikes damaged structures on or near US Military communications and radar systems at seven bases across the Middle east, the New York Times reports, noting at least 11 facilities hit in total. Also noted by drop site damage was identified at facilities in Bahrain, Qatar, which I just mentioned, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia Arabia and the uae. Targets appear to include missile tracking, radar systems, satellite dishes and radoms used for long distance military communications. Also, the Strait of Her Muse is essentially shut down at this point. As Christian Tribert writes since Monday, just three oil and gas tankers. Let me repeat that, just three oil and Gas tankers have crossed the Strait of Her Muse, according to the latest Kepler data. It is a de facto closure, says Pickering. You've got a significant number of vessels on either side of the strait, but no one is willing to go through. As Iran has said, if you go through, we will blow you up. And as a result of this, we're seeing stock markets across the world are crashing. We saw South Korea stock market halted after an 8% crash, which even went down to more of a 10% crash, triggering a circuit breaker. The Japanese markets were crashing as well. Massive, massive problems affecting economic markets abroad. And we now have the images, folks, of the first confirmed fatalities in Trump's illegal war on Iran. We have the photos of the service members who were in Kuwait whose leadership was reaching out to the Trump regime in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere and saying we are being left unprotected. These facilities that you have us in don't have any anti drone systems. We need help here. Their requests were ignored. And this is the cost of war. And Donald Trump and his regime have now briefed Congress and stated that there will likely be many, many more deaths and many, many more service members seriously injured. Also, the United States is now planning on they've already armed, actually Kurdish militias. And I guess part of the United States thinking right now is they're going to try to coerce or pressure cur Kurdish militias to invade Iran in order to provoke a civil war in Iran. And that's supposed to encourage people in Iran to take over the country. And I'm trying to understand the plan here. There was a bipartisan briefing on the Hill today where Donald Trump's Department of Defense and Donald Trump's State Department briefed lawmakers and, and lawmakers came out of this meeting and they looked absolutely horrified at what they heard, that the Trump regime was not able to articulate any coherent justification for the war of Iran and that this war in Iran is going to be lasting many, many more weeks, if not months, if not longer. And that the Trump regime has not ruled out boots on the ground. Lawmakers are absolutely horrified. I will show you in a minute what some of those lawmakers were saying in the meant as well, though in Iran, the Islamic Republic is said to have announced who their new ayatollah is. It's actually Ayatollah Khomeini's son, Mat Jabba Khomeini has been chosen by Iran's senior clerics to be the new ayatollah. He's as hard liner as you get. He's even more extreme than the Ayatollah who was just killed by the United States and Israel in the war. This guy, Mount Jabba, was the one responsible for massacring the 30 to 40,000 protesters that Donald Trump said he was going to help back in January. No doubt that was part of the thinking of having Mount Jabba become the new Ayatollah. But in any event, this was really part of the succession plan. As I've stated before, the old Ayatollah was 85 years old. He wasn't expected to live that much longer. He was becoming pretty unpopular based on the economic troubles being felt by the people of Iran. Even Shiites who previously liked him were turning against him because of the economic conditions. And now the Trump regime, based on their ill fated, ill conceived, ill planned, disastrous war, have now like created a situation where they've like turned the Ayatollah into a martyr and has rallied the Shiite community against Donald Trump and his regime. Very serious things going on objectively, right? We started off this video talking about the US Consulate in Dubai, at CIA headquart in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia being hit, all of these military bases of the United States being hit. I'll also be very clear, the United States and Israel are striking Iran hard. And I mean making the shock and awe campaign by the United States in Iraq look small in comparison. I mean, I've heard reports that the bombing campaign that's taken place already in Iran, specifically targeted at Tehran and other large cities, is like 2x3x even more in terms terms of the size of shock and awe in Iraq. And so there's been massive, massive attacks there. But one of the things that the Trump regime doesn't understand is how after all of these attacks, is the Iranian government, the Islamic Republic, still running things and still able to effectively shoot these ballistic missiles and shahed drones into the neighboring Middle east countries where the US Has a presence and the US Has a base. But here's how Donald Trump is handling it. Right now he's posting memes like this. I stand with Trump, the most badass president of all time, with this AI image of him. This is, it's an account called Fruit Snacks that posted this meme. Fruit Snacks is a Q A non espousing social media account on Donald Trump's social media platform. And this is what they're posting. The most badass president of all time. Weirdly, Donald Trump is also posting photos of, of New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani. And I'm not really sure this Donald Trump have Like a crush on the guy, I think so. Donald Trump post Zoron has come a long way embracing, of course, the Declaration of Independence while at the Oval Office. Big progress. President djt that's what he's posting. While the United States is at war with Iran right now. I just want he also posted the genius act is being threatened and undermined by the bank and that is unacceptable. I mean, what type of deranged things is he posting? We're also now learning that in addition to the Trump regime saying that they will be supporting Kurdish militias to do a ground invasion of Iran, the Trump regime is also considering providing military protection, including possible maritime escorts by the U.S. navy to oil and natural gas tankers traversing the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to cool energy prices that have surged since the conflict with Iran began. And it should be noted that in the history of the United States, this is like the fourth or fifth highest increase in the price at the pump, 12 to 18 cents a gallon higher right now in like a 24 hour period right now as a result of this disastrous war in, in Iran. Horrific, horrific stuff coming out. Also, Donald Trump, Trump was with the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz yesterday in the Oval Office. And again, we, he was wearing heavy makeup this time on his neck to hide that neck rash of his. He's wearing makeup. Trump is on both of his hands to hide the discoloration on his hand to hide this horrific rash he has on his neck. And then, I mean, this is some like, really, really scary stuff. Donald Trump tells Friedrich Merz that his father. Trump says that Trump's father, who was born in New York City in 1905. Fred Trump was born in New York City. Trump said, my father was born in Germany. My father was born there. I think he seems to suggest here, play this clip so you can hear it for yourself.

[Donald Trump]

It's a shame. It's. And that country, UK and I love that country. I love it. My mother was born there. I love it. My mother was born there. My father was born, he knows all about my father. My father was born there. So you know, very places that you sort of automatically very, very feel warmly about. But the uk, what, what they're doing with energy and what they're doing with immigration is horrible.

[Political News Commentator]

You have the north, as I mentioned, Democrats came out of that, that bipartisan briefing on the Hill where the State Department and Defense Department briefed Congress about or were supposed to brief Congress on the status of the war. Here's how Democratic Senator Blumenthal described what went down here. Play this clip.

[Senator Richard Blumenthal]

I just want to say I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting boots on the ground and that troops from the United States may be necessary to accomplish objectives that the administration seems to have. But I also am no more clear on what the priorities are going to be of the administration going forward, whether it is destroying the nuclear capacity of Iran or simply the missiles or regime change or stopping terrorist activities. And I think the administration owes it to the American people to have briefings not just for members of Congress, but for the American public. Nothing here should have been classified. It should be available to the American people.

[Donald Trump]

Do they describe.

[Political News Commentator]

And with Donald Trump covering up the Epstein files, remember, I referred to this war as well as the Jeffrey Epstein war, Operation Epstein Fury. A new YouGov poll that just came out yesterday finds that for the the first time, a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump strongly. His overall approval is down to 38%, a new second term low right here. And look, I'm giving you all the data points why we have the Wall Street Journal reporting there are 47,635 Epstein files offline for review. Among the unreleased documents are a woman's unverified allegations against Donald Trump. The withheld files included Federal Bureau of Investigative notes documenting a series of interviews the woman gave to agents in 2019 in which she alleged sexual misconduct by Trump and Jeffrey Epstein when she was a minor in the 1980s. And I'll just share with you this image as well. CNN reporters had to take cover mid interview. You as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv. Look at what happened here. I'll play this clip for you right now.

[CNN Reporter]

But we have things coming in, so we are going to just unmic.

[Political News Commentator]

Dan, you can unmic and then go downstairs.

[CNN Reporter]

Yeah, I'm going to show you exactly where we go. All right.

[Political News Commentator]

That's pretty dramatic.

[CNN Reporter]

You need to move pretty quickly. Okay, and there we go. We're just going to get onto this camera.

[CNN Cameraman/Assistant]

All right.

[CNN Reporter]

And come with me. Dan, you can. You can just leave that there.

[CNN Cameraman/Assistant]

Okay.

[CNN Reporter]

All right. All right. I'm going to just move slowly here while Dan's coming with me.

[CNN Cameraman/Assistant]

Okay.

[CNN Reporter]

And we're going to move. So you hear the sirens now. And this is all around the area that we're in, in Tel Aviv. So that initial warning, it was about, I think, five or six minutes. Dan.

[Political News Commentator]

Meanwhile, you have Prime Minister Kier Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron both condemning and frankly criticizing the United States for engaging in a war, quote, outside international law. French President Emmanuel Macron says France cannot approve or accept them. Prime Minister Keir Starmer referred to the law, the war, as unlawful. You know, also while all of this is is going on too, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the United States also launched a war. Did you know this? The United States launched a war yesterday in Ecuador. That's right. The United States, it's being reported, did a narco. They did a military operation where it said it was rooting out narco terrorism in Ecuador. US Military. On Tuesday, Ecuadorian and US Military forces launched an operation against designated terrorist organizations in, in Ecuador, according to the Pentagon. And it should be noted that the president of Ecuador, Naboa is big Trumpy guy, visited Mar A Lago all the time. And Naboa's family owns like a produce corporation, a banana corporation. And there's been lots of allegations and again, just allegations that have been made that the banana company was used to help smuggle cocaine. And again, the family denies it. I want to be very clear about that. But Trump and Naboa launching joint military. We have military involved in on the ground operations in Ecuador right now as Trump and Naboa, who are both like these MAGA people and they're both worried about enriching their families, are involved in that in Ecuador. So I don't want to take our eyes off of that. There's a war in Afghanistan between Pakistan and Afghanistan war in Ecuador. Obviously you know that the United States just invaded Venezuela and according to Reuters, the U.S. has drafted an indictment that they are holding over the head of Delsey Rodriguez, the Maduro regime, current leader of Ecuador, who Donald Trump says we get along with. Del. Sorry of Venezuelan Ecuador, Venezuela that Donald Trump put in there to be his puppet. But now they've done a draft indictment against Delsey in order to try to get her to do everything that the Trump regime wants her to do in Venezuela. Now, the Trump DOJ denies that they have this indictment hanging over Delsey's head, but I think it's pretty good reporting that this indictment has been drafted. And by the way, Delsey should be removed. I mean, wasn't the whole point of installing a pro democracy leader in Venezuela, but when you look at what Donald Trump's been saying in Venezuela or what Donald Trump is saying in Iran, that Donald Trump just wants to keep the regimes in power and find people who will help enrich him him, help give him the oil. That's his issue with Delsey. He wants more help getting his money. Over to the Qatari bank account for himself. And when it comes to the Islamic Republic, Donald Trump's not looking to put a pro democracy person in charge. Donald Trump's willing to have someone in the Islamic Republic who just likes him, and he's not able to find that right now. And, and the leadership in the Islamic Republic don't want to do that. So anyway, that's where we're at war in Ecuador, in addition to all these other wars, the world is at war. Whatever you want to call that, you could call that. But I've just showed you the data points right now. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe let's get to 7 million and thanks for watching. Thanks for watching. Be sure to add the Midas Touch podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your your podcast for new updates every single day.

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