MeidasTouch Full Podcast - 9/8/26

The MeidasTouch Podcast

On this Labor Day edition of the MeidasTouch Podcast, hosts Ben, Brett, and Jordy dissect a chaotic political landscape marked by Donald Trump's erratic behavior, escalating global

Key takeaways

• Trump's surge of hundreds of erratic social media posts reflects desperation as midterms approach.
• The failed diplomatic trip by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Russia and Ukraine underscores the administration's ineptitude.

Main topics

• Trump's erratic social media behavior
• U.S.-Russia-Ukraine diplomatic failure

Notable quotes

"Every Labor Day with the Trump regime, we're used to Donald Trump making a deranged post in the morning."

"It's probably close, of course, to what Donald Trump does every damn day. But how damn shameful was that?"

Conclusion

The podcast concludes with a call to action, urging listeners to unite against authoritarianism, support

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) This is the Midas Touch podcast, Labor Day edition. We'll celebrate Labor Day with you. We'll focus our attention to the labor movement as we should on Labor Day and that this country was built on labor, labor supporting the middle class, labor supporting the American dream. Of course, that's under attack by the Trump regime now. Every Labor Day with the Trump regime, we're used to Donald Trump making a deranged post in the morning. He did that again. In fact, over the past 24 hours, he has made hundreds of deranged posts. Now, I'm not exaggerating the number. Quite literally, hundreds of posts from attacks on Canada to changing the name of New Mexico to New America. weird images of himself appearing to be on like the throne in Game of Thrones or being in like some sort of dystopian Terminator movie. And that's how he feels tough attacking Iran via memes as he's lost this catastrophic war against Iran that the United States should never have been involved in to begin with. We'll cover all of that, but we don't just cover Donald Trump made psychotic posts. just to call it out that he's a lunatic. We all know he's a lunatic, but we need to look at what he's doing in contrast to what's happening throughout the world and here in the United States and the pain and suffering and destruction that the Trump regime is causing. I mean, you take a look at the unappointed, unelected, illegitimate, so-called special envoy, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's. trip to Moscow, and then they went to Ukraine. We'll cover that. But probably the most humiliating, shameful trip that we've ever seen someone represent the United States on in history. And that's saying a lot. I mean, it's probably close, of course, to what Donald Trump does every damn day. But how damn shameful was that? We'll cover that. Donald Trump wants to distract from the Netanyahu regime further escalating their slaughter of people in southern Lebanon and in Gaza. We've seen the Netanyahu regime further escalate in the past 48 hours, blowing up hospitals, targeting schoolchildren. It has been a horrific sight indeed. We'll cover that. You have Kim Jong-un in North Korea. taunting Donald Trump, taunting the United States, talking about the delivery of new weapon systems that they have here with massive nuclear capabilities, while Donald Trump in corporate news here in the United States remains silent. As Donald Trump tried to escalate the catastrophic war against Iran last week, pretty much just focusing on striking a wedding. with people who were attending in a residential area in Sirach County, killing at least four, injuring about 90. And amongst the people who were killed, women and children. Well, Iran responded, striking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Then the U.S. destroyed three Iranian tankers. Iran then hit six ships, including tankers and other vessels that they say are associated with the U.S. and Iran is rolling out new anti-ship ballistic missile capabilities and other new ballistic missiles referred to as the Castle Breaker that has only enhanced their capabilities, both in terms of the quantity of their Shahi drones and ballistic missiles. and the quality, the speed of the drones, and the maneuverability of the ballistic missiles. Iran has enhanced its capabilities while the United States has run out of weapons, and as the Trump regime has frankly pummeled our own service members who suffer from some of the lowest morale ever, and families. of our service members who were killed in action aren't even getting the benefits that they're entitled to during wartime because Donald Trump claims this is, quote, small potatoes and is not even a war. And with all of this going on, midterms are right around the corner. You have the Trump regime and MAGA Republicans in full panic mode right now. They're about to head to their so-called Trumpapalooza midterm Republican convention in Dallas. 90 % of Republican Congress members and senators will not be speaking or attending at this convention. I think it's like 17 House members will be speaking. Four or five Republican senators will be speaking. You have the MAGA Republicans. scrubbing their websites of references to Trump as though them being Trump sycophantic bootlickers is somehow what the American people are going to have the men in black wand and just like forget about it and go, oh, I guess you didn't just support him destroying our country. So in other words, we've got a lot to cover on this episode on Labor Day. Brett and Jordy, great to see you both. And Jordy, big news on your part as well. Absolutely. Speaker 2 (5:25) absolutely i'll start with brett i'll start with brett we'll keep the cadence we normally do the cadence well Speaker 3 (5:30) i gotta say i'm really excited to have jordy back and i'll just say you know for those who are watching us live thursday or listen to the podcast when it hit the audio feeds friday morning you know that the show was just me and ben and that was because jordy had a power outage and we weren't lying we weren't making it up jordy had a power outage and that's why he wasn't here a lot of people were asking is this it is he having the baby and we said no it's it's legitimately a power outage jordy froze And literally, he couldn't go live with us. So here we are. Now, that just so coincidentally happened to be the same night that Jordy ended up going to the hospital to welcome his baby to the world. And man, you know, I woke up actually, you know, in the middle of the night knowing that Jordy was there at that point to an incredible text from Jordy with a picture of mom and baby, everybody happy and healthy. And it really just warmed my heart. And with all the chaos of all the stories that ben was reading like i i can't you know those of you who have family members who have kids and have kids you know i'm sure you all you know feel the same way but there's something just so incredibly special about you know seeing your brothers be dads and and seeing those pictures it really warms my heart and at a time when there is so much you know chaos and negativity uh you know it really reminds you of kind of the important things uh in life and jordy i'll let you share you know any additional things uh you want to share before we get in but congrats man i'm so So I'm so proud of you and Lex and the whole fam. Speaker 2 (6:56) Thanks, brothers. Midas, Midas, you're going to make me cry. Everyone knows I'm the emotional brother here. I'm very, very emotional. Thank you, guys. Thank you to everyone in the chat, everyone online, the entire Midas, Midas, entire pro-democracy community. I've seen all of the messages. Thank you all so much. It means the world. Mom and baby are doing fantastic. My mom's in town. uh my mom she's in town so i felt that i could go off and do the show and let everyone know all things are good we are so happy fortunate and just you know ready to march forward as a two-child family now y'all just absolutely wild the last thing i'll say it is crazy how the world works because to brett and ben's point i was on the show thursday night up until we were getting ready to go live crazy storm knocked out the power at my in-laws where y'all know i've been recording so i couldn't even go home right away because the storm was so bad but i did end up going home probably about 10 minutes earlier than i than i would have if we have done the show and right when i get home my wife's like hey we gotta go i think it's i think it's happening like all right let's get it it is just so crazy she is the absolute best my daughter is so beautiful and the absolute best and my son has just been so uh happy and excited to finally meet baby sister and so it's been it's been amazing and again thank you guys so much for asking and sending all your well wishes we are super excited with that benji where do we even get started so i up front i've been a little bit disconnected from the news cycle as you could imagine. And just when you rattle off that list, man, and you are even just a little bit out of sync with the day to day, it is the craziest thing ever. Like when you were posting the Trump memes that you were flashing from his own post that he's putting up here. I mean, like I know we say and I know we know this guy's a maniac, but this guy's a maniac. He wanted to rename New Mexico, New America. I know we're going to get into it all. Benji, where are we getting started today, big bro? Speaker 5 (8:53) Well, I think we get started where we are right now. At this exact time, we are 57 days away from the midterm elections on November 3rd, 2026. But get this as well. We're 792 days away from the 2028 presidential election on Tuesday, November 7th, 2028. When you hear it like that, it makes it feel... Pretty damn tangible. But Jordy, as you see those posts right there that Donald Trump made, his Labor Speaker 1 (9:25) Day post kind of reveals the strategy, if you pay close attention or just even a little bit of attention to what he's saying. Donald Trump posted the following Speaker 5 (9:34) this morning, and we're going to contrast it to what former President Biden also posted. But Trump posted Speaker 1 (9:40) the following. Happy Labor Day to all, including the radical left lunatics, communists, and Democrats. who will do anything possible to destroy our country. These deranged people, after fighting for 10 years, Speaker 5 (9:54) should finally acknowledge that your favorite president, me, he puts in parentheses, exclamation point, knows how to win. That's in caps and exclamation point. They should be exhausted by now, but sadly Speaker 1 (10:09) they're not. They're going to give it one last shot at ruining America. But we're not going to let that happen. We're going to win the midterms big and save America, Donald J. Trump. And it's right there where you can see what the strategy is. It is to exhaust all of us, to throw so much at us that it is overwhelming and we'll just tap out and give up or say, you know what? all the politics is so horrible or why even fight this lunatic he's just gonna come back with more let's just give up or it's just gonna be too difficult for us and too painful to fight and too annoying Speaker 8 (10:55) to fight so let's just give in that's Speaker 5 (10:57) the plan that's always been the plan that's what Project 2025 was all about bulldozing over institutions with overwhelming shock and awe, rapid force in order to impose a fascist vision of this country. And guess what? Sadly, a lot of institutions bent the knee. A lot of people that we once respected or Speaker 8 (11:25) looked to for guidance or trusted. bent the knee but you know who didn't we the people you watching this did not bend the knee and that has him worried that has the mega republicans worried that you that we that this community are not exhausted and have not given up and i want you to know that Speaker 5 (11:50) in the next 57 days donald trump and these desperate maga bootlickers are gonna try to throw everything your way, everything our way. They're not going to stop and we have to stand strong. We've done it for nearly 18, 19 months at this point and we're gonna keep on doing it together over the next 57 days. But take a look at Trump's post, now contrast it to a normal post from former President Biden standing with union workers and labor leaders. Biden posts, I've said it my entire career, the middle class built America and unions built the middle class. To every worker who's ever punched a clock, worked a double, or walked a line for fair wages, and to everyone who stands up for them at the bargaining table, in the statehouse, or on the shop floor, thank you. This country runs in large part because of you. And that is so true. Now, on this Labor Day, September 7th, 2026, 57 days out from the midterm, what do working class people feel about Donald Trump? How do workers feel about him right now? For reasons that were deeply frustrating and disconcerting to me back in 2024. Donald Trump led amongst that cohort, amongst working class people as compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris. But there's been over Speaker 8 (13:30) a 60 point seismic shift right now as the consequences Speaker 5 (13:37) of Donald Trump's fraud and lies and deceit have now become fully realized. Sadly, that is. Take a listen to what Harry Hinton said earlier this morning about the latest polling data about how working class Americans feel about Donald Trump. Let's play it. Speaker 7 (13:55) Let's take a look at how the president is doing on the economy when it comes to those who are employed full time. And it's just a complete 180. Look, this was a major strength for him back in 2024 when it came to the economy. Look at this, employed voters, Trump in the economy versus Harris. He was trusted more than Harris by 20 points on the economy. But look at his net approval rating now amongst those who are employed full time. It is 41 points underwater. Way down there we go, down into the Hudson River. We're talking about a switcheroo in the wrong direction of 61 points on this Labor Day. We're talking about those fully employed and how they view Trump and the economy. It is not a happy Labor Day indeed for President Trump when it comes to how those Speaker 5 (14:40) who Speaker 7 (14:41) are employed Speaker 5 (14:41) view him. So a big switch there. So Donald Trump went from promising it. everybody. I'm going to lower your electricity prices in half. Gas prices, I promise you, I promise. Two dollars a gallon, I promise you. Two, remember what Donald Trump said in the past few weeks? So, for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country really it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world we don't want them to have a nuclear weapon so remember everyone that when you have to pay a little bit more you're at four dollars a gallon right now it's okay i'll never apologize i did the right thing and if you're like ben did he really actually say that i remember him saying something like that Do we have the clip of him saying that recently when he was speaking in Nassau County, Long Island? If so, let's play it. Speaker 3 (15:41) Let me see if I could find that one. Go to the other one. Speaker 5 (15:44) Let me toss it over to you, Brent and Jordy. Speaker 3 (15:48) Yeah, no, I mean, it's a complete slap in the face to everybody. And you could see why the Republicans are running away right now in the midterm elections, and they don't want to be anywhere near Donald Trump. Honestly, I don't really understand the strategy. Like, you've been tying your, you know, you've been anchored to him all this time. You think you could really fool people by not standing next to him on a stage or being in the same room as him? Like, I don't even understand the calculus. I get that they want to say, like, look, I'm independent. Like, they're taking their Trump's name and picture and all this stuff off their website. but like people, people know, people know. And so I honestly don't even understand the point of them skipping the event ultimately. Because to me, just from like a cynical, like kind of political calculus, I feel like all that's going to do is piss off the few, you know, Trump people who are going to be there and no one else is going to buy your crap. And I think the headlines that are coming out of this event are really, really, really telling. Like this one that just dropped earlier today that says the following, Republicans blast free tickets offer to save. Dave Trump from Dallas convention embarrassment. The Texas spectacle later this week could prove to be a misstep for the president if he doesn't get the crowds he wants. This is an article in The Independent. And as our editor-in-chief here at the Midas Touch Network said, they are begging people to go at this point. And I think, you know, even beyond the headlines and the news about this event, the mere fact that out of all the places they could have held this convention. You think they want to hold it in some sort of battleground, right? Try to build some excitement for the candidates in hard to win races. They're holding this event in Texas, which I think shows you that Texas is a battleground in this election. And they should not be fearing Texas right now. They should not be fearing the race between James Tallarico and what's his name? And then Ken Paxton. But the fact is they put Ken Paxton there instead of John Cornyn because of Donald Trump. Now it's a sinking ship over there. And now the Republicans have to worry about Texas. The whole thing is just so revealing as to what's going on. And you just simply in normal times, you don't see poll swings of 60 points in a year or two. I mean, that is absolutely crazy. And anybody who is associated with Trump should be looking at that and be absolutely terrified of what's to come. Speaker 2 (18:07) Trump is political poison. at this point. And he's always been to certain levels, but especially now, like now more than ever, he is absolutely political poison. I didn't get to talk about this last week. His quote unquote endorsement of Paxton, by the way, that was like the most pathetic, odd endorsement I've ever heard. You might not like this guy. You might hate this guy, but you got to vote for him because he's not a Democrat. Like that's their messaging. running into this stuff, not on the economy, not on fixing healthcare, not on making sure people are getting jobs, not on making sure that everyone actually could afford to live in this country. No, no, no, no. Don't vote for them. They're the Democrats. You can't vote for them because of that. So vote for the guy you hate, even though you hate him. So stupid and no real strategy does Donald Trump or the Republican Party or the Trump regime have going into this because it's not about... them as Donald Trump kind of views things. It's never been about the party. It's about how can Donald Trump use the party to benefit him, to make him look good, to line his pockets with money. And everyone and everything around him is totally and completely dispensable. Very easy for him to wash his hands and just move on to the next scam, the next grift. How is he going to make his next billion at the expense of the American person? That's what we're witnessing day in and day out. I get, Brett, to your point, why they're having it in Texas, this convention here, is because they are scared that all of a sudden Texas is a toss-up. Texas is a toss-up. And look, Puerto Rico's been running a great campaign and all of that, but I think it speaks beyond that, that they are fearful that Texas is really going to go blue this time around and that they're trying to do everything that they can to stop it. So they're holding the convention in Texas, not any other battleground state, but Texas. Blows my mind, Benji. Speaker 3 (19:56) Now let me show you the clip that Ben and I wanted to play before I have it right here, just so you could hear it for yourself. Speaker 2 (20:02) So Speaker 6 (20:02) I just say this. Speaker 6 (20:05) So for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country. Really, it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. We don't want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at four dollars. It's OK. I mean, it's I'm not I'm not I'll never apologize. I did the right thing. But you could you know, if you didn't have. Speaker 2 (20:33) You know, every time he speaks, he sounds like a snake oil salesman, but also specifically in that clip, I mean, like I'm viewing the infomercial. So you have to pay a little tiny bit more over here for your gasoline. Again, this is never about the American person or how can Donald Trump use his power to help the American person, but how can Donald Trump push forward his agenda at the expense of the American person? Speaker 1 (20:55) Look, I want to take our first quick break of the show. When we come back, I want to talk about what's going on internationally. I want to touch upon this horrific visit by Witkoff and Kushner, first to Russia, then to Ukraine, and then Witkoff announced, very successful. We discussed the possibility of Speaker 8 (21:15) potentially doing a trilateral discussion in the future to potentially discuss a framework. That's what we're going to be discussing. Speaker 5 (21:25) And it's like, what? What'd you do? All I saw was you show up in the Kremlin and tell Putin that when you retire, that you. Yuri Ushakov, who's one of the top advisors to Putin. Kirill Dmitriev, who's the envoy to the US from the Kremlin and who runs the Sovereign Wealth Fund over there, that you and Speaker 8 (21:44) Jared Kushner and Ushakov and Dmitriev, you will always have these memories. When you retire, it'll be so amazing for all of you. Thank you, Vladimir Putin. We appreciate you. That's what they said Speaker 5 (21:57) to the guy. I mean, we got to talk about what else is going on in the world as the U.S. has never been weaker because, you know, outside of Speaker 1 (22:05) Donald Trump's dwindling base here in the United States and, you know, state regime media, Fox and some of these other right wing