Trump’s Secret Flight Ruse Exposed as Corruption Fears Spread

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0:56Gary Shteyngart:Welcome to The Beat. I'm Ari Melber, and we are going to cue the music. It's another election night in America. We're three months out of the midterms, and that means we are going to keep having these primaries. Voters heading to polls in six states, Alabama, Connecticut, Minnesota, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin. We're going to start getting results in an hour. And the Democratic hopes here are growing based on evidence because we don't just have polls anymore. We have the early turnout. We have prominent elections forecaster Nate Silver, who now sees an 87 percent chance of Dems taking the House, 57 percent for the Senate, meaning more likely than not.

1:34Gary Shteyngart:That is quite a shift from the last election when it seemed that Trump had the wind at his back. Cook Political Report looks at Ohio as going from likely to Republican to toss up because of those serious domestic abuse allegations facing Republican Max Miller. He has denied all of the allegations. In Texas, there's polling that shows the Democrat, James Tillerico, is now leading the MAGA candidate, Ken Paxton, there. It is within the margin of error. And then you have Tommy Lahren over at Fox saying something that either she believes or that she thinks her audience might believe, that Republicans have fumbled the economy, they've failed dismally.

2:16Gary Shteyngart:The party, the grand old party, she says, has become a, quote, utter embarrassment. Now, Trump is facing a real lesson on the problems at the war front. Remember back in the George Bush era, Ari Fleischer, who was the spokesperson during the other very controversial Iraq war that, of course, set the predicate, the reason why Trump had run against exactly this type of Middle East engagement, Ari Fleischer criticizing Trump on Iran.

2:47That's why this has become so dizzying. And the bigger problem is it leaves it up to Iran to determine America's next move. If Iran attacks our ships, then we'll go back in. If Iran doesn't, we won't. It's getting hard to keep up with what our motives are here and what our end game is here.

3:04Gary Shteyngart:As for the current end game, politically, when you look at the midterms, well, there are clear signs about what voters do when they're unhappy with this kind of war. In the 2006 midterms, Democrats took back the House and Senate. It was memorably described as a thumping by then President Bush. That was his way of acknowledging a big loss. The current president does not acknowledge loss. He lies about it. He sows misinformation and distrust. And as we've seen recently, he tries to fund, support, pardon, even violent attacks on the election outcome. So if there is a thumping, don't expect this president to acknowledge it.

3:48Gary Shteyngart:Now, as for what we're watching tonight, Democratic primaries in Wisconsin and Minnesota have progressives against what are considered the more typical or establishment Democrats. That is a kind of contrast we're seeing in increasing places that really matters because some of these liberal candidates who might have been seen as perhaps unelectable or beyond the fray a decade ago are now not only electable, they're winning their primaries. How they do in the general is the big question. But on the Republican side, there's Mike Lindell, the controversial MyPillow CEO who lies about elections and has cozied up to that sort of conspiracy wing of the MAGA party.

4:21Gary Shteyngart:He wants to get the nomination for governor in Minnesota. The broader story is Republicans are facing an economic reckoning and a very energized Democratic set of candidates. With that in mind, we want to start off our election night coverage tonight with Jay Comandori, who's an Obama campaign veteran, and Elisa Elman, who's a U.S. Army veteran, worked at the VA and found herself sort of more in the fray than she might have counted on or planned for because of Elon Musk's brief but controversial tenure at the so-called Doge program, which led to those layoffs. She is now the Democratic candidate taking on a Republican incumbent in the Buffalo area.

5:00Gary Shteyngart:Welcome to both of you. Che, your view on what more and more evidence and forecasters see as not only an uphill battle for Republicans in these midterms, but facing a potential route. Yeah, and I think that the 2006 example is very, very important here. What happened in 2006 is Democrats won the House, they won the Senate, and the Bush era was effectively over. And then in 08, the Obama era began. I think we're setting ourselves up for the same thing. And keep in mind, you know, I'm not being overly optimistic or a Pollyanna like SpongeBob SquarePants or, you know, spouting off like really super hopeful things that are pie in the sky.

5:44This is very real. If Democrats win the Senate, that means that they will win states that Trump has won by over 10 points. That will mean that they have won rural voters. They will have won all kinds of moderate voters, center-right voters that they had not won before. It will be the beginnings of a major realignment in American politics. And I think the odds of that happening have greatly increased.

6:11Gary Shteyngart:Yeah, it's interesting to hear you say that, Jay. I mean, it's we're a long way out and now you're projecting sort of more than one election in a row. But there is a momentum to these things. And the Trump economy is clear. It's almost impossible to argue people out of how bad it's gone for him this summer. I want to show you even the mixed messaging from from the administration on that. Take a take a look at who they say the economy is owned by. Biden's economic disastrous, you know, rain. Biden's prices that we're still dealing with. It's Biden's disastrous economic record. There are prices that we're still dealing with in the Biden administration.

6:52Congressman, do you think that's a winning message to just say it's not our fault? And 18 months in, is it not Trump's economy yet? You know, President Trump was certainly left with a mess to clean up. You said you inherited a mess from President Biden when it comes to the economy. But at what point is it on you? At what point are we in the Trump economy? Oh, I'd say we're there now. Chad? Yeah, I mean, I think very much the bill has come due here on Donald Trump. Donald Trump has gotten everything he has wanted. He has twice gotten full control of the U.S. government. What problem has he solved?

7:27Everything is worse. The economy is worse. Your ability to afford health care, housing, college, that's all worse now. Climate change, worse. The deficit, worse. Our standing in the world, worse. The position of our military, which we are now losing lives in the Middle East because of something Donald Trump has done. It's all become much worse. The only thing that has improved is Donald Trump's bank account. That has really improved. He is now a multibillionaire a few times over because of being president of the United States.

8:03Gary Shteyngart:Elisa, what do you see both in not only your own race, but in what Democrats are arguing in these midterms? Well, there's definitely been a massive shift in how people are. I mean, last year we were doing parades during the summer and people were flipping us off and threatening to punch us in the face. And this year we're getting cheers. People are screaming for the Democratic Party as as we're going out into rural New York, which may surprise you is very, very rural and very reflective of the nation and and our rural areas. People understand what's in their wallet. You know, when it comes down to it, you can only lie for so long.

8:47Yeah.

8:48Gary Shteyngart:You know, you look at the generic stuff and you mentioned sort of being in it outside of an urban area in any state in America. A lot of times it's voters who are thinking about daily life, you know, jobs, economy, schools, and not necessarily political junkies, unlike, say, Jay or myself or all the great, you know, addicted news consumers who might watch the program. And so people tune in more as you get closer I want to show you a list of the generic ballots we see Where you got plus 5, plus 8, plus 11 Economist, YouGov, a little closer What are the issues that you hear voters caring about? Meaning what they bring up with you Or what might account for what looks like a widening gap here?

9:42The cost of things It's affecting everyone Even people who are on the higher end of the middle class, you know, I live in a pretty poor region. The median income here is$41 ,000 a year. And people are really hurting. When your electric bill is$750 a month and that's more than your mortgage, there's no spinning that. There's no spinning that. Yeah. People want a solution. You know, they want to see. No, go ahead.

10:13Gary Shteyngart:I didn't mean to jump in. are and not every, you know, I mean, it's it's really easy to sit in an ivory tower and call every solution proposed socialism. But ultimately, people don't care what you call it as long as the money stays in their wallet. Right. Yeah, I hear that. Che, tonight, there's a bunch of races and we'll be following that, you know, through the night with all of our colleagues. And tomorrow, there's a theme that, of course, is getting more attraction in in sort of Washington or political circles, which is, well, are Democrats continuing to go for whoever the more progressive, bold, loud candidate is?

10:51Gary Shteyngart:Of course, it's a chicken and egg thing in coverage. We can point to a lot of places where the traditional incumbent, whatever word you want to use, sometimes establishment person is also just becoming the nominee again. But at least in some of these high profile cases, Che, what do you see there? And do you think the lesson is only ideological, which is somehow how D.C. boils it down? Or does it also have to do with, as you pointed out before, a generational change, energy, just new faces and ideas. Yeah, I mean, it's not ideological at all. I mean, look at like Roy Cooper. Look at John Ossoff.

11:27Look at Mary Paltola in Alaska. You know, these are fairly moderate candidates who are doing extremely well. What they have is they have the energy and the ability to communicate and the willingness to fight Donald Trump. When, you know, when people when the establishment runs candidates who are not particularly good, who cannot communicate effectively, who do not offer the kind of change the voters are looking for. And it's not an ideological change. It's not that, you know, our voters have read, you know, the Communist Manifesto and then gone to the polls. What they're looking for is somebody with the energy and the enthusiasm to fight Donald Trump and make a change, a positive change in their lives.

12:14Yeah.

12:15Gary Shteyngart:Really interesting is we're here on primary day. Che and Alyssa, thanks to both of you. Also, I want to tell everyone we've extended an invite to this candidate's opponent, Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, to also join us on the beat. So that's an open invite. And again, thanks for both of your time tonight. Later, by the end of the hour, we'll be fact checking some of the vaccine misinfo as Donald Trump walks away from his many claims that vaccines are good. That's how we ended the first term. We have the receipts. Also, Mom Donnie going on offense. You can fight for the people that the right has left behind, and you can do it by asking yourself, what are the challenges they face?

12:55And then asking your team, how can we deliver on those things?

13:01Gary Shteyngart:But next, we turn to some extraordinary reporting about a high level ruse designed to protect the president, which is a good thing, but that also involved Trump sneaking into this catering car, lying to reporters and further questions and heat on him for his potentially unsafe, gifted jet. This is a story you really have to get into the details to believe. That's coming up along with Gary Steingart and Josh Marshall. I'm back with you in 90 seconds.

13:32You're listening to this podcast, so you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over$900 on average. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. National average 12-month savings of$946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025. Potential savings will vary. You better eat your Wheaties today because there's a lot of news to cover. Money. Time for the business. All eyes on the new Fed chair. The economic fallout from the war is a temporary power.

14:08The president is now a major crypto industry operator. Is this White House for sale? Politics. Is there an energy to respond to this aggressive gerrymandering? It has never been more important to be informed and engaged. Money Power Politics with Stephanie Ruhle. Weekdays at 9 a.m. Eastern on MSNOW.

14:32Gary Shteyngart:When you look at what's happening in our country, when people often say this isn't normal, let's not pretend it's normal, or when does it end, there is a through line in all of this, and it is anti-democracy and autocracy. And that is something we've all discussed. There's various experts. You can get into it piece by piece, detail by detail, or you can broaden out. Right now, we've got some really great guests lined up. in our view, we booked them, but I want to talk to you about some extraordinary reporting and some of what we're dealing with on that through line that relates to autocracy. Let's start with the corruption that is not only not normal, but is exactly the kind of thing that has sent other officials to jail.

15:15Gary Shteyngart:There are legal reasons why the president is a little different, but it is not a criticism of Donald Trump, but rather a legal fact when I tell you that some of what I'm about to list off is exactly what would land him in jail if he were a judge or a member of Congress. There's a crypto dealing that is vast self-enrichment dwarfing any money he's made, not only in the private sector, say in the year before he came into office, but obviously his presidential salary. There is a rank effort at government insider trading where Trump admits This is not an allegation. They admit they want to charge up to$100 ,000 so certain people, not you, but other people, can get early access to what he does with your tax dollars and your name and our public interest government.

16:01Gary Shteyngart:He wants to sell that to the highest bidder so they can do what with it? Well, who knows? Trade on it, enrich themselves, deal with foreign governments. Who knows? But it is a blatant insider trading scheme. Then there's the diamond encrusted bling from a Belgian company that Trump received after exempting gemstones from his tariffs that would look like the kind of illegal quid pro quo bribe that would get most officials in trouble. Indeed, there is a Democratic senator who is in prison right now for taking gold bars and doing other corruption And that's wrong, and we cover that story extensively on this broadcast as well as across the channel But, of course, it's not just about party We're talking about a corruption on a grand scale Much, much grander by Trump than what that individual sits in prison for right now And then you have Trump, of course, buying these shares in public companies And then using his office to promote them

17:02go out and buy a Dell computer. They make a great product. They're not looking for any publicity. He committed to 200 Boeings. I told this to Boeing and General Electric. We're going to go to the General Electric engines, which are great. Apple, a great company. Oracle will be building a$14 billion worth of cloud computing and AI infrastructure in the kingdom. I didn't know that, David. We have to talk to your father about that.

17:29Gary Shteyngart:now what is the trump side of the story here well on some of these issues they have a kind of defense they will say that trump is not personally involved in placing those trades and that the president is always a kind of booster for american companies that trump might be a more voluble style and you know names the company or the executive but then other presidents do this well that's a defense that only goes so far because if that were the only thing we were talking about, then you might want to give him some benefit of the doubt or say, who knows? But we're not in a who knows situation. We are in the autocratic kleptocracy corruption phase of this sort of no holds bar, anything goes second term, where Trump blatantly sells, as I mentioned, the announcements of the government and self-enriches by billions of dollars of crypto and then takes a plane from a foreign company, Qatar, giving this gifted jet to Trump.

18:27Gary Shteyngart:And that's at the center of the new scandal I mentioned that you really got to hear the details on because Trump was flying on that new plane to Turkey last month for the NATO summit. And then when he was scheduled to return to the U.S., he made a switch to what was the former Air Force One amid all of these security concerns about the gifted jet. So one, there's the corruption question. The Constitution bars these kind of foreign gifts. Trump is just breaking that and seeing if he can get away with it in a future government. Maybe they will research and investigate it. Maybe they'll try to claw it back.

18:58Gary Shteyngart:But that's one. But two, there's the security concerns because the Times and other outlets have reported that the jet is not up to par. And then something odd happened on that trip I mentioned. This is from Washington Post reporting that Trump, under Secret Service guidance, had to secretly flee the original Air Force One because Iran was credibly deemed to be a threat, a potential attack or assassination of some sort. Here's how that news broke. A secret flight, a catering truck, and a nation kept in the dark. Trump boarding Air Force One from one side and then secretly exiting on the other into a catering truck.

19:37That truck then transported the president to a smaller plane parked beside the main jet. And Trump flew to the UK on that one, all while the press was unaware they weren't on the same flight with the president. They used this ruse with the cart there in Turkey. This is a president that's actively deceiving the public, number one. And as many critics are pointing out, putting the lives of unwitting Americans, everyone on board Air Force One, in real danger.

20:05Gary Shteyngart:The jet problems are real. The security precaution, which you can see on your camera and the isolated sort of circle there, is right out of a spy movie. They're basically smuggling the president out in a catering truck, as all of the journalists who report on these things and are supposed to have a skeptical eye are nearby. But this went to a whole nother level. The public kept in the dark. The Times was reporting that the journalists on the plane had become something of a decoy. And news outlets were effectively tricked into reporting on Trump's travel that day based on the misleading information from the White House.

20:38Gary Shteyngart:One of the differences between, say, the government lying to you and the press reporting for you is that when we get new information, we update and correct. That's part of what's going on in this story. Now, the Times called this an elaborate deception that purposely misled the reporters. and this wouldn't be the first time. Now, before I go further, I want to tell you one other thing. Anything the Secret Service does to try to protect the life of the president or its other protectees is generally valid under law. It is their job, and that can include deception. In the same way that when you report on the CIA and spies, well, any spy stationed abroad is in an ongoing act of deception.

21:20Gary Shteyngart:Calling a spy a liar is not so much a criticism as an observation. But once they have secured the safety of the protectees, ongoing lies here are a problem. Now, for context, the service, which is, of course, supposed to be nonpartisan, operates to protect the president, whoever it is. And in the past, Clinton, Bush and Obama have all done secret flights and visits, which involve some level of subterfuge during at least the period of danger. And yet the White House isn't really in the clear here, even though I'm being very careful to say that the Secret Service actions to protect the president, the protectees are valid and usually good.

22:03Gary Shteyngart:But then after this whole thing was cleared and they're not in that danger, you had the ongoing not only lies about this and attacks on reporters, but then the potential abuse of power. Remember what I said about all of the corruption running together and all the autocracy? Trump demanding the DOJ go after not only those reporters involved in covering some of the questions about the jet security, but also their family members. The Times is reporting about safety that in any other presidency would not lead to this kind of harassment, potentially illegal that can be tested in court. This hostility to the free press, even when it's reporting on how to keep the government safe.

22:41Gary Shteyngart:This wasn't exactly some random weird story. This was about whether the jet that the president might go on should be safer. This kind of attack is a hallmark of autocrats. Victor Orban, one of the most respected men, they call him a strong man. He's a tough person, smart, prime minister of Hungary. I want to thank China, President Xi. I was with him. And I want to thank Vladimir Putin. Reporters asked me if I thought President Putin was smart. I said, of course he's smart. I got along with Putin. Let me tell you, I got along with him really well.