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- [00:00]
Ben
It's been so long. How have you been? Hello? I'm doing well, Dave. Why? Why are you talking that way? Please say one for a compliment or two for a question. Yeah, this is weird. I think I'm gonna go Talking with.
- [00:13]
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- [00:32]
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- [01:29]
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Ben
Cancel contact T Mobile phone People in.
- [02:27]
Political Commentator
Iowa are utterly pissed at Donald Trump, as he continues to say, we're living in a golden age. And he keeps posting golden age. Inflation has been eliminated. Everybody is thriving. I mean, Donald, just because you and your family have made another $5 billion selling crypto doesn't mean that the American people are doing well. Inflation is surging. Farmers are getting crushed right now. Prices are higher. There's more wars across the world. People are really struggling. And then the latest. They destroyed the Rose Garden, which belongs to we the people in the White House. They put a bunch of concrete, and now they made it into a club for elites so they could just keep on mocking us all. They're calling it Club Rose Garden, where it's going to be really expensive food that taxpayers pay for and lavish entertainment. And as this account said, they canceled Meals on Wheels to fund Club Rose Garden. While Americans are suffering, it's no wonder you see results like we saw a few weeks back, where the Democratic state Senate candidate in Iowa, Caitlin Dray, flipped Iowa's Senate District 1, a district that Trump won by 11.5 points in 2024, defeating the MAGA Republican candidate there. People are pissed. And over the past few weeks in Iowa, their MAGA Republican Senator Joni Ernst announced that she would not be seeking reelection. She had previously said that who cares if we have healthcare if we're all going to die anyway? And then she did a video in a cemetery, basically saying, here's where we're gonna be. So who needs anything in this life? Cause we're all about to be dead regardless. Morbid. Gross. But perhaps even worse is that the person who's seeking to replace her is even more of a Trump sycophant than she is. I want to introduce you to Ashley Hinson, who you may have seen get booed at town halls before on the Midas Touch Network. We've showed those. But she went on Fox and she says, look, I am running for the United States Senate to. To be Donald Trump's sycophant, to do whatever he wants. This is a golden age. He is the greatest to ever live, the greatest species to ever live. I do what he says. That's why I'm running. Here's what you said this weekend. Play it.
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Ben
What are Iowans telling you? What's going to be the key for.
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Political Commentator
You to try to win.
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Ben
Win that seat next year?
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Pacific Source Health Plans Announcer
Yeah.
- [05:09]
Ashley Hinson
Well, first of all, we're doubling down on common sense here in Iowa. The Democrats keep doubling down on crazy. And I'm so proud to have President Trump's full and total endorsement to get this job done. I look at what he's been able to do. I think he's going to go down as the best president in our history. In his first eight months, we've been able to secure that border and deport dangerous illegals and cut taxes and make trade deals and peace deals. And so the list goes on and on. And so I know our work there is not done. And so that's why I'm stepping up to run for the United States Senate, because I think that we have much more to do. And I look forward to being a strong ally for the president. President. What I.
- [05:43]
Political Commentator
She looks forward to being a strong ally for the president. That's why she wants to run. And she says the past eight months have been the best. I mean, ask yourself, have they been the best for you? Have these eight months been the best eight months for you? These people are living in a delusional cult. As a reminder, I think the last town hall she really held when she allowed actual people to question her and. And be in the room May 28, 2025, when she was showered with booze by constituents when she said, I was proud to vote for the budget bill. Here, play this clip.
- [06:18]
Ashley Hinson
I was also proud to vote for President Trump's one big, beautiful bill last week. This is a generational investment. This is a general investment. This is your time.
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Political Commentator
And then she said, I believe Trump is fighting for you. Let's play it.
- [06:37]
Ashley Hinson
The election. I think Americans overwhelmingly rejected the status quo for the country. We were seeing an open border, high inflation. We were seeing hardworking men and women in Iowa and our country feel like their voices were not heard. Families in Iowa have told me for the last four years that we want to make sure we have safe streets, we have affordable groceries and gas, and that kids have opportunity to be able to live out the American dream. And that is what President Trump is delivering for us. And the president is, I believe, fighting for you and fighting for me and fighting alongside of him. And I think God saved President Trump's life in Butler.
- [07:15]
Political Commentator
It just. It's like the most pathetic thing. I don't know how these are real human beings. I truly don't. Every time I watch this, even though I prepare these segments, I don't get it. All right, Zach Walls, let's bring him in. Iowa state senator running for United States Senate. Zach, you've been a longtime leader in the legislature in Iowa. You know Iowa politics just as well as anybody there. Can you tell us what's going on right now? And when I show you those clips. Do the people of Iowa feel that they're living in a golden age right now and this has been the best eight months for them in their lives?
- [07:51]
Ben
Well, Ben, it's great to be back and I'm excited to have the chance to talk a little bit about everything that's happening here because it's been an exciting few weeks. You mentioned that special election up in northwest Iowa at Sioux City where we successfully flipped a state Senate district that Donald Trump had carried by double digits in 2024. I had the opportunity to go knock some doors with Gail Andre as a part of our campaign for U.S. senate. And the response that we saw there was incredible. I mean, our Democratic base voters are incredibly fired up and coming out in record numbers. And that gives me a lot of optimism about our opportunity to flip this seat. With Senator Ernst's announcement that she's retiring, this is only the third time in the last 50 years that we have had an open U.S. senate race here in the state. The last time it was an open seat was in 2014 when Republicans flipped the seat after Senator Tom Harkin's retirement. And what I'll tell you, Ben, is that if you look at the four special elections that we've had in Iowa, you look at the fact that Joni Errants decided to run for the hills when she saw the strength of our campaign. People here are not happy with what's going on. You talk about farmers. I mean, soybean prices in this state, which is a huge part of our economy, have been below break even prices for well over a year at this point. Corn just barely crossed back over $4 in the last few weeks. Input prices have been climbing, whether that's for the actual products that farmers use to help grow the food or for the materials that are used to build the machines that farmers use every day. We've seen layoffs from manufacturers like John Deere here in our state. And they have specifically said that that is happening because of the tariffs. And so this idea that this is the golden age is absolutely preposterous. And Ashley Hinton, frankly, I think is in some respects even worse than Joni Ernst. I thought those clips did a good job of demonstrating her approach to politics. She's just going to be another part of this broken establishment that's failing Iowans and leaving people behind.
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Political Commentator
You know, it seems to me as I've watched these races in Iowa now from when one back in January where there was like a plus 20 Trump seat that flipped to the most recent election and then I look in other areas too, whether it's Omaha or across the country. You have the MAGA Republicans running the exact same playbook, culture war, divide, let's talk about bathrooms, let's talk about all of these things. And the people are like, I'm struggling, like I'm not gonna be able to pay my bills. So there may have been a time where we could have talked about that stuff. But stop. Like, like, let's like explain to me, I'm a farmer, how am I not going to go bankrupt right now in the next few months because that's where this is headed. Or I'm not going to be able to pay my rent or I'm off health care right now. And then it seems that though they're still using that playbook. And when I see your campaign, I see you just talking about issues that actually matter to the human beings, like in their lives.
- [10:54]
Ben
Absolutely. Yeah. Look, I mean, Ben, as we travel across the state and we're not just going to big Democratic cities, we're going to small towns, we're going to rural areas, the things that we keep hearing about over and over and over are the fact that we have a broken economy and the reality that Ashley Hinson and Joni Ernst both voted to make that economy worse, not better. They have not done a good job of bringing costs down like President Trump said he would when he was reelected in 2024. And they also, folks are really upset with all the corruption. You alluded to some of it there in the introduction. When we talk about the fact that you have politicians like Joni Ernst and Ashley Hinson are totally bought and paid for. They don't work for Iowans. They work for the corporate donors and billionaires who fund their campaigns. That is exactly why Ashley Hinson voted twice against capping the cost of insulin, which is a life saving medication that big pharmaceutical companies get rich selling at marked up prices. That's why she voted when she was a state representative against basic bipartisan protections that I actually led on as a state senator that would have protected Iowans who live in mobile homes and trailer parks that are being preyed upon by corporate out of state landlords who are trying to raise the rent 50, 60, 70%. It's why Ashley Hinson has said that she would like to see the retirement age raised so that, you know, the wealthy don't have to pay their fair share. And instead those costs get passed on to hardworking Iowans. And that is not what Iowans are looking for. Iowans want a fighter, not just Someone who's going to blindly follow a political leader. That is why a recent poll showed me as the strongest Democratic candidate running for the U.S. senate race. We were the only Democratic candidate in that poll actually leading Senator Ernst. This was obviously done before her big announcement. We were also winning independents, 51, 33, and we were even winning 7% of Donald Trump's 2024 voters. Because our message about the broken economy and the political corruption is resonating with people. People, folks can learn more about the campaign@zackwalls.com they can see the issues that we're running on. We've got a whole section that lays out very clearly what our agenda is to bring economic vitalization back to states like Iowa, to actually lower costs and to finally clean up this political corruption that has been endemic in our politics for way too long.
- [13:05]
Political Commentator
You know, and I hear lots of people in Iowa, across the country, are just terrified if they're going to be able to have healthcare, like, if they're gonna be able to show up to the clinic and they're gonna be able to have their coverage. And I think people know the disaster budget bill hustle like they were trying to, like, phase in the cuts to the Medicaid until after the midterms and then do a gotcha. But it does seem that the message has resonated to people who go, no, no, I, I, I know you're doing that. Like, the moment this election's over, that's when all the cuts kick in and, and then you throw, and then you throw me off. As you're traveling, do you feel the message is getting through there? Because that was one of their big tricks, is to not fully throw the people off of their Medicaid until right when the midterm ends. Then, boom, then everybody gets kicked out.
- [13:55]
Ben
Well, so, Ben, I would say, obviously, the Medicaid cuts have definitely gotten a lot of coverage, and that's really important because they're going to be devastating for not just, frankly, Iowans who depend on Medicaid, but also for a lot of the rural hospitals for which Medicaid is a big part of their operating budget. The big, beautiful bill also had devastating impacts for Americans, including Iowans like my sister, who are currently enrolled on an Obamacare plan as a result of the changes that they passed. My sister is expecting her premiums to double or triple because they're ending investments that were helping lower those costs for healthcare plans for people who are on those exchange programs under the aca. And so there's going to be an immediate Impact for, you know, I think it's tens of millions of Americans who are currently on those plans. So they're going to see their health care costs go up basically immediately going to mean lower coverage for people. Another big thing that was in the bill is cuts to food assistance. This is snap. So not only is that going to hurt working families who are struggling to make ends meet, it's also going to have a negative impact for farmers, because 20 cents of every dollar spent on food at a grocery store ultimately goes to a farmer. It also means that you're going to have fewer opportunities in those grocery stores for young Iowans who are having their first job either stocking shelves or working behind a cash register means few opportunities for Iowans who are truckers actually delivering that food to the market. And so, again, these custard is going to have huge impacts across the economy. And I think that's why people are so angry.
- [15:20]
Political Commentator
Right?
- [15:20]
Ben
They voted for Donald Trump because they wanted him to actually lower costs. And that is not what is happening. If anything, whether it's the tariffs, these cuts, it's making all of this stuff a lot more expensive, not less, which is the exact opposite of what you said you do. And so there's very much, I think, an element here. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And that's why it's important for us to be extending an open hand to some of those independents and even some of those Republicans who may have voted for Donald Trump in 2024, but they don't like what they're seeing now. We have to build a new coalition, especially in a state like Iowa that has voted for Donald Trump in multiple presidential elections, so we can win those voters back, bring them back into our coalition again. That's why that poll showed that we are the strongest Democratic candidate running against Senator Ernst, because we have a message that's resonating across the political spectrum. Whether we're in big cities, small towns, rural communities, that's exactly the kind of coalition that we need to win. And whether it's Ashley Hinson or any other swamp creature that they nominate, we're going to win the seat in 2026.
- [16:21]
Political Commentator
Zach, where can people find out more about the campaign?
- [16:24]
Ben
Absolutely. They can go to our website, ZachWall.com got a lot more information about my background about the issues that we're running on. You can make a contribution, sign up to volunteer, or endorse the campaign on our website. And we're on all the social channels. Really easy to find. Zach Walls. Zach W A H L S Zach.
- [16:43]
Political Commentator
Walls State Senator in Iowa and candidate for United States Senate in Iowa. Thanks for joining us. Thanks Ben everybody. Hit subscribe let's get to 6 million subscribers. Thanks for watching.
- [16:55]
Ben
Be sure to add the Midas Touch.
- [16:56]
Political Commentator
Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts for new updates every single day.
- [17:07]
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- [17:35]
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