WTH?! Trump and Fox USING LUIGI to Repeal ACA?!!

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast: "WTH?! Trump and Fox USING LUIGI to Repeal ACA?!!" – Detailed Summary

Release Date: December 13, 2024
Host: MeidasTouch Network (Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas)

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Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast, the Meiselas brothers delve into the intricate relationship between former President Donald Trump, Fox News, and their joint efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. The discussion centers around the strategic use of the high-profile case of Luigi Mangione to propagate anti-Obamacare sentiments and push for its repeal.

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Unraveling Fox News' Propaganda Strategy

Timestamp: [02:25]

Midas kicks off the conversation by dissecting how Fox News is leveraging the Luigi Mangione case to undermine Obamacare. He elaborates on how Fox integrates current events into their narrative to influence public opinion against the ACA.

Midas: "Let me share with you the anatomy of Fox propaganda and how they are leveraging all of their resources to prop up Donald Trump's effort to try to repeal Obamacare... they're trying to link Obamacare to the shooting."

He highlights Fox's tactic of associating Obamacare with negative outcomes, thereby sowing distrust among viewers.

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Donald Trump's Inconsistent Healthcare Plans

Timestamp: [02:25 - 06:21]

The discussion shifts to Donald Trump's inconsistent stance on healthcare. Midas references Trump's appearance on Meet the Press, where he admits the absence of a fully developed healthcare plan.

Midas: "Do you have a fully developed plan? And Trump said, no, we don't need one at this point."

He contrasts this with Trump's first-term efforts to repeal Obamacare, emphasizing the potential consequences such as millions losing healthcare and discrimination based on preexisting conditions.

Mark Siegel, Fox's senior medical analyst, is critiqued for attributing healthcare system failures to Democrats, specifically blaming Hillary Clinton and the Affordable Care Act.

Mark: "The most important point I want to make is how dare the Democrats talk about this being anger towards the healthcare system that they broke."

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MAGA Republicans and Fiscal Responsibilities

Timestamp: [07:16 - 11:56]

The conversation transitions to the stance of MAGA Republicans in Congress regarding healthcare and federal spending. Midas criticizes Congressman Richard McCormick for proposing cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid as solutions to the national debt.

McCormick: "...we have to have some hard discussions. But we can't just talk about our discretionary budget."

Mark Alford, a MAGA Republican, further supports these cuts by acknowledging the need to "right the ship" and reduce expenditures on programs like Social Security and Medicare.

Alford: "...we can take those numbers back and add to our general coffers and our treasury."

Midas underscores the real-world implications of these proposed cuts, citing that over 21 million people rely on Medicaid through the ACA expansion. He warns of catastrophic consequences if federal financing for these programs is repealed.

Midas: "Families can't afford these devastating cuts. It's time to stand up for affordable health care."

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Fox News' Manipulation of Current Events

Timestamp: [05:03 - 13:21]

Midas provides a critical analysis of how Fox News uses high-profile cases like Luigi Mangione's to manipulate public perception. By linking Mangione's actions to the failures of Obamacare, Fox aims to delegitimize the ACA and garner support for its repeal. He accuses Fox of "brainwashing" viewers by consistently promoting this narrative throughout the day.

Midas: "That's how they operate and they try to program people with whatever the kind of current news is to undermine programs that help people."

He calls out Fox for their persistent efforts to associate negative incidents with Obamacare, reinforcing the narrative that the ACA is detrimental to American healthcare.

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Consequences of Repealing the ACA

Timestamp: [07:33 - 10:48]

The potential fallout from repealing Obamacare is a central theme. Midas points out that repealing the ACA would not only strip millions of Americans of their healthcare but also allow insurance companies to discriminate based on preexisting conditions.

Midas: "Had Obamacare been repealed, tens of millions of Americans would have no healthcare... just allow people to die who have preexisting conditions."

He emphasizes the human cost of such legislative actions and the ethical implications of dismantling the ACA.

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Call to Action and Subscriber Engagement

Timestamp: [13:21 - 13:35]

In the closing segments, Mark Alford and Ryan encourage listeners to stay informed by signing up for newsletters and exploring event tickets, respectively. However, these segments are brief and transcend the main content focus of the episode.

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Key Takeaways

• Fox News' Role: The network actively collaborates with political figures like Donald Trump to propagate anti-Obamacare sentiments, using high-profile cases to influence public opinion.

• Inconsistent Healthcare Plans: Trump's lack of a concrete healthcare plan raises concerns about the feasibility and consequences of repealing the ACA.

• MAGA Republicans' Fiscal Proposals: Proposals to cut essential programs like Social Security and Medicare could have devastating effects on millions of Americans reliant on these services.

• Long-Term Implications: Repealing the ACA threatens to strip millions of Americans of their healthcare, leading to increased inequality and discrimination in the healthcare system.

• Public Awareness: The episode underscores the importance of staying informed about legislative changes and their impacts on individual lives.

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Notable Quotes

• Midas at [02:25]: "They're trying to link Obamacare to the shooting... how they're brainwashing their viewers."

• Mark Siegel at [05:57]: "Remember Hillary Clinton in the 90s with HMOs where no doctors get paid anymore... That's the Democrats' fault."

• Richard McCormick at [10:01]: "We got to bring the Democrats in and talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. There's hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved."

• Mark Alford at [11:20]: "We've got to right the ship. And it's going to mean cuts... looking long term at the front end of some programs like Social Security and Medicare."

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Conclusion

This episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast presents a critical examination of the political maneuvers aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act. Through detailed analysis and pointed critiques, the Meiselas brothers illuminate the potential ramifications of such legislative changes and the media's role in shaping public perception. Listeners are encouraged to critically assess the information presented and consider the broader implications for American healthcare and democracy.

Transcript

[Ryan]

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[Midas]

Let me share with you the anatomy of Fox propaganda and how they are leveraging all of their resources to prop up Donald Trump's effort to try to repeal Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act. Let me explain how they're tying this to the murder charges against Luigi Mangione and somehow blaming Obamacare for those murder charges. I'm going to link it all together right now. So here's what Fox is doing. So first, though, over the weekend, you probably know by now, based on our reporting and others, Donald Trump went on Meet the Press. Kristen Welker asked him the following. Do you have an actual plan at this point for health care? Donald Trump's response over the weekend, yes, we have concepts of a plan that will be better. Kristen Welker's response still just concepts. Do you have a fully developed plan? And Trump said, no, we don't need one at this point. Remember, Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare during his first term. The late, Great Senator John McCain blocked Donald Trump from repealing Obamacare had Obamacare been repealed. Obamacare is the Affordable Care Act. To be very clear, had that been repealed, tens of millions of Americans would have no healthcare. And also insurance companies could freely discriminate once again on the basis of preexisting conditions and just allow people to die who have preexisting conditions. So in Project 2025, it calls for repealing Obamacare, getting rid of the Affordable Care act and throwing people on the streets and letting people die. That's in the Project 2025 health care section. Donald Trump's going to try to repeal it. He probably will. But let me show you how Fox is using the Luigi Mangione situation to try to do that. Take a look at Hannity. This was a message that was pumped out. And if you watch Fox and I don't encourage you to do so, I'll do it for you. And I'm not going to play you many clips. I just want to show you what's going down and how they are brainwashing their viewers. Hannity here during his program in the evening basically says all of these problems, right, that Luigi Mangione was upset about it actually comes from Obamacare's failure. And so that is how they start programming the message into their followers that they've already got brainwashed. Okay, I guess we need to get rid of Obamacare. They recognize that health care is a major issue for people. And so now they're trying to say on Fox by linking Obamacare to the shooting. How nefarious. But watch what they do here. Watch Hannity play the clip only so.

[Mark]

Much people can take. Now we could talk about the problems with the healthcare industry, which are very real for people. And I would argue in part because of Obamacare's failure. The Lack of innovative ideas like health savings accounts, health care cooperatives. There's one in Wichita, Kansas. It's been duplicated all over the country. Concierge care, 50 bucks a month, you get catastrophic coverage. And guess what? That'll cover just about everything. We don't talk about innovative healthcare ideas.

[Midas]

And by the way, that was a consistent message. So here was earlier in the day they had a Fox senior medical analyst, that's what they call him, Dr. Mark Siegel. Go on and watch what he says here. Kind of blaming it on like Hillary Clinton and saying, you know, remember Hillary Clinton in the 90s with HMOs where no doctors get paid anymore? Play this clip.

[Mark]

The most important point I want to make is how dare the Democrats talk about this being anger towards the healthcare system that they broke. I mean, United Healthcare HMOs. Remember Hillary Clinton in the 1990 with HMOs where no doctors get paid anymore, where insurance runs the world. That's the Democrats fault that did that. And now they're saying, oh, this anger is justified. Murderous anger is never justified.

[Midas]

Well said. If only you could impart that wisdom.

[Ryan]

To some in the media.

[Midas]

Okay, remember, they're trying to flip the whole script here. You know, Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, President Biden, they have been all about trying to lower prescription drug prices, make medical services as cheap as possible, allow access to medical care to be as cheap, if not free. That's been Biden's initiative. I mean, one of Biden's initiative is to allow the government to negotiate on behalf of Medicare to reduce prescription drug prices. Now what's going on right now though, on Capitol Hill over the past few weeks, Elon Musk, an unelected co president, right now, that's what exists. The wealthiest man in the world, he goes on Congress and just listen to what they say here. Play this clip.

[Richard]

Nothing is psychosocial.

[Midas]

Nothing. They're gonna put everything on the table.

[Mark]

That's what they told lawmakers. Everything is on the table. And that includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

[Midas]

Did you hear that? He says Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, it's all on the table.

[Alford]

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[Midas]

Way, the MAGA Republicans, While Fox pushes and tries to link this message with Luigi Mangione, think about. Think about how nefarious it is, what they're doing while they're doing that. You then have the MAGA Republican Congress members on as well and they're basically saying, look, we got to get rid of Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security. We got to have a hard look at this is MAGA Republican Congress member Richard McCormick. Play this clip the problem with the.

[McCormick]

Democrats is they've never run out of things that they can give away for free, quote unquote. When you talk about $1 trillion in debt payment just on interest alone every year, we can't just talk about the military, though. The military can do some things better. We can save some money just in the way of contract. We can be careful that we don't decrease our abilities because China is right on our heels. However, if you talk about 75% of the budget, 75% is non discretionary. We're going to have to have some hard decisions. We got to bring the Democrats in and talk about Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare. There's hundreds of billions of dollars to be saved and we know how to do it. We just have to have the stomach to actually take those challenges on. But we can't just talk about our discretionary budget. That's less than 25% of our budget. We have to have some real hard discussions.

[Mark]

Well, we talk about this all the time.

[Midas]

You know, it's so interesting, or interesting is probably not the word. You know, Congress member McCormick, he did that cross examination of Dejoy, actually did a good job. So you're like, okay, McCormick, you know, did a good cross examination of Dejoy, the Postmaster. But then McCormick says that. And McCormick's a former physician. Like, how out of touch can you be? Here's MAGA Republican Mark Alford saying that Social Security and Medicare is on the table to get cut. Play this clip.

[Richard]

And so we've got to right the ship. And it's going to mean cuts. It's going to mean cuts to the 24% of the discretionary spending that we have. And it's also going to mean looking long term at the front end of some programs like Social Security and Medicare, not taking anyone off of what they paid into so far. But there is some waste, abuse and fraud in Medicare that we can, we can take those numbers back and add to our general coffers and our treasury. And on the front end on Social Security, I think there's a way when people are living longer, they're retiring later, that on the front end, we can move that retirement age back a little bit.

[Midas]

Here's a post from just the other day. You know, over 21 million people are enrolled in Medicaid via the ACA Medicaid expansion in 41 states, including D.C. nearly a quarter of all people on Medicaid. Any potential effort to cut repeal federal financing for the expansion would affect red and blue states alike. Just to zoom in on any State here, Floridians, 453,000 Floridians, including 32,000 children, could lose health insurance if Republicans in Congress let the ACA subsidies expire. Families can't afford these devastating cuts. It's time to stand up for affordable health care. Trump's got no plan. He's trying to gut it. And now Fox is trying to link Luigi Mangione to Obamacare and they're doing that to try to get rid of Obamacare. That's how they operate and they try to program people with whatever the kind of current news is to undermine, you know. You know, and use whatever it is to undermine programs that help people. I mean, it's really disgusting stuff right there, but I wanted to show you how it's done and why, what they're doing and how they pump that. I could show you close to a dozen more clips of them doing that throughout the day, but I think you get the point. Hit subscribe let's get to 4 million subscribers together. Thanks for watching.

[Alford]

Love this video. Make sure you stay up to date on the latest breaking news and all things Midas by signing up to the Midas Touch newsletter@midas touch.com Newsletter.

[Ryan]

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