The MeidasTouch Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Title: Trump Tries to Kill Boebert’s Career Over Epstein Files
Date: December 31, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Network: MeidasTouch Network

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers dive deep into a rapidly-developing political story where Donald Trump is retaliating against Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, allegedly due to her support for the public release of the Epstein files. The episode is anchored around two central threads: Trump’s political retribution—which includes vetoing Boebert’s bipartisan rural water bill—and the intra-GOP tensions flaring up as a result. The brothers combine legal analysis, political commentary, and their signature brotherly banter to break down the broader implications for American democracy and the MAGA movement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Retaliation Against Lauren Boebert

• The Spark: Lauren Boebert signed a discharge petition supporting the release of the Epstein files, joining other Republican women (Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace).
  • Trump and allies tried to pressure her into withdrawing support, threatening political consequences.
  • [01:10] “What did Donald Trump do? He summoned Lauren Boebert to the Oval Office...and they started screaming at her, ‘how dare you sign this. We're going to screw you over if you dare allow this discharge petition to ripen. Take your name off Boebert right now or else.’”
• Trump’s Retaliatory Actions:
  • Vetoed a bipartisan bill (Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act) providing clean water to rural Colorado—sponsored by Boebert.
  • Simultaneously punished Colorado’s governor for not pardoning a January 6th insurrectionist, Tina Peters.
  • [02:06] "Trump used his first veto to block a bill that would bring clean drinking water to rural Colorado, a bill sponsored by Lauren Boebert and passed unanimously by both the House and the Senate. This is retaliation…”

2. Analysis of Boebert’s Stand

• Standing Firm: Despite severe pressure, Boebert refused to back down from her push for transparency regarding the Epstein files.
  • [02:59] “Lauren Boebert actually held her ground. She kept her name on the discharge petition, which was something that we should all applaud, not her overall conduct.”

3. Boebert’s Statement on Trump’s Veto

• Direct Quote: [04:05] (Reading Boebert’s official statement)
  • “Nothing says America first like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado, many of whom enthusiastically voted for him in all three elections…Americans deserve leadership that puts people over politics. This is not the last Southeast Colorado will hear from me on this critical infrastructure project.”
• Hosts’ Interpretation: The hosts highlight the pettiness, vindictiveness, and danger in using a fundamental human need (water) as a political weapon.

4. The White House’s Rationale & Response

• Trump’s Veto Message: [05:12]
  • “My administration is committed to preventing American taxpayers from funding expensive and unreliable policies…Ending the massive cost of taxpayer handouts and restoring fiscal sanity is vital to economic growth and the fiscal health of the nation…Therefore, it is my duty to return HR 131 to the house of Representatives without my approval. So veto.”
• Critique from Hosts: Assert this rationale is a thin veil for personal vengeance.

5. Behind the Scenes: Pressure Campaign Against Boebert

• CNN Report: [07:14] (clip)
  • “One source tells me…this meeting was planning to include some key figures from the Justice Department…if Boebert could be swayed in a different direction…that is all something that is going to be at issue and that the White House is clearly concerned about…”
• White House Spin: [08:51] Caroline Levitt, White House spokesperson, frames the meeting as an act of transparency rather than intimidation:
  • “Doesn’t it show our level of transparency…when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress and address their concerns? That is—that’s a defining factor of transparency.”

6. Bipartisan Commendation for Boebert’s Defiance

• Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie (on the Epstein petition): [10:25]
  • “I gotta give credit to Lauren Boebert to walk into the White House, the center of power… and to sustain that and to come back out and to be solid… Also to Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene… they never did [back down].”
• Colorado Reporter Kyle Clark: [11:36]
  • “It is no exaggeration to say that Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s most impactful accomplishment in five years in Congress is the forcing of the release of the Epstein files…Boebert, not Evans, who stood nearly alone in her party in defying Republican leadership and President Trump to force this vote.”

7. Impact of Trump’s Veto: The Water Crisis in Colorado

• Boebert on the House Floor:
  • [12:49] Details about the water contamination in southeast Colorado—radium, uranium, high salinity—making the bill essential for affordable, safe drinking water in 40 rural communities.
  • [13:43] “Once completed, the Arkansas Valley conduit will provide 7,500 acre feet of water per year to as many as 50,000 Coloradans across 40 different communities…Rural communities in southeastern Colorado need and deserve access to clean, reliable, and affordable water…”

8. Democratic Response

• Sen. Michael Bennett: [15:03]
  • “Trump just vetoed my Arkansas Valley Conduit bill passed unanimously to deliver clean, affordable water to southeast Colorado. This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour. It’s unacceptable…”

9. Broader Implications: The MAGA Civil War

• Trump’s New Targets: He reportedly demeans Marjorie Taylor Greene as "a traitor" and insults her after her support of the Epstein petition, signaling an expanding internal purge against perceived disloyalty—even among staunch allies.
• Hosts’ Take:
  • [16:20] “Any of the Republicans, no matter how MAGA they are, who supported the release of files to expose the child sex trafficking ring, they are now viewed as subversive persons and they are being exiled from MAGA because they do the bare minimum in wanting to release the names of people in the files of a child sex trafficking ring.”
  • The hosts cast Trump’s behavior as “corrupt, criminal, treasonous, traitorous, disgusting, despicable, vile, evil.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ben Meiselas: [01:10]
  “He summoned Lauren Boebert to the Oval Office...screaming at her, ‘how dare you sign this. We're going to screw you over if you dare allow this discharge petition to ripen.’”
• Lauren Boebert (via statement): [04:05]
  “Nothing says America first like denying clean drinking water to 50,000 people in Southeast Colorado…”
• Caroline Levitt (WH spox): [08:51]
  “Doesn’t that show the level of transparency when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress and address their concerns?”
• Rep. Thomas Massie: [10:25]
  “I gotta give credit to Lauren Boebert… and to Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene…they never did [back down]. So it's, it's not a hoax. It's not a moot point.”
• Sen. Michael Bennett: [15:03]
  “This isn’t governing. It’s a revenge tour. It’s unacceptable.”
• Ben Meiselas (summary): [16:20]
  “Donald Trump is trying to kill the people of Colorado because he wants to cover up a child sex trafficking ring…”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:10 | Trump pressures Boebert after Epstein petition | | 02:06 | Trump's veto of Boebert's water bill (beginning of retaliation)| | 04:05 | Boebert’s public statement on Trump & water bill | | 05:12 | Trump's veto message: “restoring fiscal sanity” | | 06:46 | Boebert’s position on releasing the Epstein list | | 07:14 | CNN report on Trump’s pressure campaign | | 08:51 | White House spox Caroline Levitt on “transparency” | | 10:25 | Ro Khanna & Thomas Massie commend Boebert’s defiance | | 11:36 | Reporter Kyle Clark on Boebert’s impact | | 12:49 | Boebert on Colorado water crisis, need for clean water bill | | 13:43 | Boebert on House floor: impact of water project | | 15:03 | Sen. Michael Bennett on Trump's veto | | 16:20 | Summation: Trump’s retribution, cover-up, and MAGA divisions |

Final Thoughts

The episode offers a scathing critique of Trump’s vengeful use of presidential power to punish even loyalists who cross him, juxtaposed with an unusual moment of bipartisan commendation for Lauren Boebert’s stand on transparency regarding the Epstein files. The brothers frame the situation as a cautionary tale of how vindictive politics can endanger ordinary Americans by leveraging essential services—like water—just to settle political scores. Their tone is direct, passionate, and unapologetically pro-democracy, amplifying the urgency of accountability in American politics.