Fox News Throws Trump Under Bus by Accident

0:00This podcast is supported by Anthropic, the public benefit corporation behind Claude. Everyone's got a hard question about AI. Your job, your kids, where it's going. Anthropic was built to surface those questions and share what it finds along the way. Because there's hope in hard questions. Ask yours at claude.ai slash Spotify and keep thinking. That's claude.ai slash Spotify. With summer coming to an end, you're going to be spending more time indoors. Get your home ready and save up to 50 % off custom window treatments during the Labor Day Mega Sale at Blinds.com. From room darkening to light filtering shades, finding the perfect fit is easy.

0:44Get free samples, expert design help, and professional measure and install services. Or DIY with confidence and support every step of the way. Shop up to 50 % off site-wide plus huge savings on doorbusters. Right now during the Labor Day Mega Sale at Blinds.com. Dave Portnoy here. The wait is over. Football is here and so is DraftKings. DraftKings is now live in all 50 states. One app, every sport nationwide. New DraftKings customers. Sign up with code SPOTIFY. Spend five bucks to get$200 in rewards within 21 days. Includes all markets. That's code SPOTIFY in partnership with DraftKings. The crown is yours.

1:24Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. 1-800-MY-RESET. Connecticut, call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org. On behalf of Boothill Casino in Kansas, FedTax pass-through may apply in Illinois. 21 and over, void in Canada. Bet with DraftKings Sportsbook to get bonus bets that expire in seven days or trade with DraftKings Predictions to get predictions dollars that expire in one year. Event contract trading involves risk of loss. Predictions offer void in New York. Non-withdrawable rewards issued as$50. Click to claim every seven days for 21 days. Terms at dkng.co slash offer. Limited time offer. nationwide based on sportsbook predictions and free-to-play sports contest availability varies by state.

2:00Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for$15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made$15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. What if you can see what's happening inside your body?

2:33PreNuvo's whole body scan screens for hundreds of conditions, including many solid tumors as early as stage one, all in under an hour. And now you can go beyond imaging with 80 plus blood biomarkers that help complete the picture. This Labor Day, save$300 off your scan when you book at prenuvo.com. That's P-R-E-N-U-V-O.com. Save$300 now through September 8th at prenuvo.com. Terms and conditions apply.

3:00Ben Meiselas:All right, so Donald Trump's approval is plummeting. State regime media known as Fox needs a distraction. They were attacking former President Biden's doctor who invoked the Fifth Amendment when he was called to testify before a MAGA Republican committee on Wednesday. And all of the state regime media hosts on Fox wanted to let everybody know, if you invoke the Fifth Amendment, you are most likely guilty. So here you have MAGA Republican James Comer. First, he goes on Fox and he says that. Let's play the clip. The witness, Dr. O 'Connor, clearly wasn't going to answer any questions. You plead the fifth, usually when you have criminal liability.

3:41Ben Meiselas:And then you've got Fox propagandist Jesse water saying it here. Play this clip. What's O 'Connor hiding when the truth's harmless? No one hides behind the fifth. Where did I see somebody invoking the fifth over and over and over again? Who's currently in charge right now? No, it's not former President Biden. He didn't do it. Oh, was it Donald Trump at his deposition? Oh, that's right. I have the tape. Let's play it. Mr. Trump, I take it you are not going to answer any questions about your preparation today with your counsel. Is that correct?

4:17Should I say this or should I respond to that? For all of the reasons provided in my answer, which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, I decline to answer the question. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Same answer. Anyone in my position not taking the Fifth Amendment would be a fool, an absolute fool. One statement or answer that is ever so slightly off, just ever so slightly, by accident, by mistake, such as it was a sunny and beautiful day when actually it was slightly overcast would be met by law enforcement at a level seldom seen in this country because I've experienced it.

5:10The United States Constitution exists for this very purpose.

5:17Ben Meiselas:Hello. Okay. You know, didn't Donald Trump said only the mob pleads the fifth. And I'm kind of focused on what's happening right now rather than what former President Biden's doctor. I'm not going to get lost in that trap. But MAGA Republicans want to also let you know with state regime media known as Fox that it was perfectly acceptable for Ted Cruz to be going on vacation while the flood was taking place while the flash floods. Here's what they said. Let's play it. I don't understand the lack of compassion, the heartlessness, the lack of any kind of dignity, love, thoughts, prayers, a dollar, lend a hand, donate something, contribute, show up and help.

6:00from your colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Yes, you're on vacation with your family. Good for you because you work tirelessly for weeks, if not months on that big, beautiful bill. And not a single one of the same Democrats now attacking you and President Trump dared vote for that bill that would help. And so the lies have to stop. But the sheer lack of compassion and heartlessness is something I just cannot abide, acknowledge and accept.

6:24Ben Meiselas:Oh, you should be commended, Ted Cruz. That's what Kellyanne Conway on State Regime Media says. great work. You deserve that vacation after the disastrous budget bill while there was a catastrophic flash flood in your state. And it seems that you're always on vacation when these things happen. And yes, you've ripped away Medicaid from 17 million people and you've defunded even more agencies and made the United States that much more dangerous. Kudos, go on vacation, Cancun Cruz. He was in Europe. He was in Greece during when the flash floods hit his state. So then you go to this other Fox show, Will Cain's show.

6:58Ben Meiselas:They bring on this guest. And I think they're trying to spread. You tell me what they're trying to do. They're trying to talk about cloud seeding. Because a lot of these MAGA Republicans were trying to imply that in Texas, that's why you have these weather events, not because of climate change and not because also of the unpreparedness, but because of they're going to this cloud seeding is doing it. So here's what they were talking about on Fox. Here, play this clip. So people can listen to longer form interviews that you have done about some of the safety and research you've done on what you use to cloud seed.

7:28Now, I want you to please address a larger question, which is one that is somewhat broad and perhaps even religious. But are you playing God? Are you messing with things that you shouldn't be messing with when it comes to the weather? I get this question all the time, and I totally think it makes sense to ask it. My intention is to serve God. I think that in Genesis 1, 26 or 28, and then throughout the Psalms and the rest of the Bible, God tells us to take dominion over and steward creation, both for our sake, creations itself, and then to honor him. And so if there are droughts and we have the tools to mitigate the damage done by them for our sake and for nature itself, then we should deploy those for the sake of tending to and stewarding the world.

8:09And if we weren't to do that, if we were to ban cloud seeding wholesale, despite knowing that it's safe, despite knowing it could help alleviate these problems, we'd be abdicating our guy given responsibility to be stewards of the world.

8:19Ben Meiselas:You know, one of the things you could have talked about as well, as we covered here on the Midas Touch Network, hat tip for CNN for being the first to report it, is that in the first 72 hours, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not approve some of the critical equipment to get into Texas. this. The Department of Homeland Security changed the approval process on equipment that anything that costs more than$100 ,000, Kristi Noem has to personally approve and sign off on for FEMA, and they couldn't get her approvals. Donald Trump was at Mar-a-Lago licking ice cream cones and playing golf.

8:55Ben Meiselas:No, he's at Ben Minster. He was licking ice cream cones and playing golf. He was golfing wherever he was. And Kristi Noem was posting Instagram photos of herself and asking which photo is the best one should be our governor's portrait. Anyway, going to the Larry Kudlow show, here he is having a chat about golf. Let's play the clip. What's your golf handicap center, Paul? I'm a 10 and very competitive with the president. President's a good golfer, but I enjoy it. And it's a great form of exercise. If you walk, you can't get in a buggy. You can't ride a cart. You got to walk. I got to get out, Senator Antoine.

9:36You're terrific.

9:37Ben Meiselas:Then they bring on Ashley Moody, a MAGA Republican senator from Florida. And he or she cheerleads the political persecution, as Aaron Rupert puts it, former FBI director James Comey and former CIA director John Brennan. This is a distraction from the fact that the Trump regime is now claiming the Epstein files do not exist. And the way this MAGA Republican senator refers to Comey and Brennan, you have radicals roaming institutions like termites. Yeah, that's the language right there of genocide. Here play this clip. James Comey and John Brennan, obviously no strangers to controversy here. What do you make of this investigation?

10:16You know, look, this could be unprecedented that you have a current CIA director forwarding information to the FBI for investigation about a prior CIA director. And, you know, again, I'm going to go back to the hypocrisy of the Democrats, they keep talking about that Trump is bringing retribution and that he's using these institutions for political reasons. This is not retribution. This is fumigation. You've had radicals roaming in these institutions like termites, destabilizing them, weakening them. The Dems talk about these institutions being weakened by Trump. He is fumigating these. He is bringing back integrity and accountability.

10:57And I believe that these things should be looked at. so that the American people can be restored in their belief in these institutions and know that they are, in fact, a government of the people, not a government of a political party seeking to deliver a political agenda. That is not how these institutions should operate. And so I commend the FBI, Director Patel, and the administration for taking a fresh look and considering whether accountability and some of these people need to be brought to justice. Yeah. And John Brennan, we all remember, was one of those more than 50 Intel officials who signed onto that letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation.

11:36That obviously turned out not to be true.

11:39Ben Meiselas:Yeah. They're very sick, sick people, these MAGAs, really disgusting people. And just call it out. These are bad, evil human beings. Who the hell talks like that? Then you have Kevin Hassett, who's Donald Trump's national economic advisor. This guy has been wrong about everything his whole life. He's the guy who said the dot-com boom was going to make the markets hit 50 ,000 back in 2000. And then there was the dot-com bubble. It crashed. Kevin Hassett's literally the guy always wrong about the economy. So it's fitting that he's now leading the economic policies of Donald Trump. And he's expected to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve.

12:20Ben Meiselas:Here he lies and claims that all the prices of goods are going down, that everything is very cheap right now, and that we've stopped inflation. Here, play this clip. And they'll just eat the cost. And that's what we're seeing. But the second thing that we're seeing is, so why is it that prices are even going down for imported goods? It's because President Trump has highlighted how important it is for all of us to believe in an America first agenda. And America first means that if you buy American, if you buy American products, then you're helping yourself by getting a better product, but you're also helping American communities for the people who make those products.

12:52And so I think that the demand for imported goods has gone down because the president has convinced people of the benefits of buying American. Just ridiculous stuff right there. This episode is brought to you by IQ Bar, our exclusive snack sponsor. IQ Bar is the better for you plant protein based snacks made with brain boosting nutrients to refuel, nourish and satisfy hunger without the sugar crash. IQ Bar's plant protein bars are packed with high quality ingredients to keep you physically and mentally fit. IQ Bar is totally free from gluten, dairy, soy, GMOs, and artificial sweeteners for a natural anytime snack.

13:28Try any of their nine delicious flavors, including mint chocolate chip, chocolate sea salt, banana nut, toasted coconut chip, lemon blueberry, and peanut butter chip. with over 20 ,000 five-star reviews and counting more people than ever are starting their days on the right foot with IQ bars, brain and body boosting bars, hydration mixes, and mushroom coffees. I love IQ bar. It really keeps me at the top of my game. I know you're going to love it. Check it out. When IQ bar sent me their ultimate sampler pack, one flavor stood out to me immediately. That was their chocolate sea salt. Obviously these bars taste great, but the real benefit is how they make you feel.

14:06When I got my IQ bars, I feel great. And right now IQ bar is offering our special podcast listeners 20 % off all IQ bar products, plus get free shipping. Now to get your 20 % off text truth to 64 ,000 text truth to 64 ,000. That's truth to 64 ,000 message and data rates may apply. See terms for details.

14:32Ben Meiselas:Jesse Waters, though, is very excited about the new thing that they're dangling in front of the MAGA base with James Comey and John Brennan and prosecuting them. But he goes, I'm a little worried because we were promised the Epstein file. So what's going to happen? Here's what Waters says. Let's play it. Well, that might be the predicate for these charges because it turns out these guys both knew that the Russia hoax was cooked up by crooked and they pushed it anyway. They sabotaged and spied on his campaign and tried to take down his presidency. And then they got caught red handed. And we'll find out if there was a conspiracy or whether they lied to Congress.

15:13And I hope they pay the price, but they might not because a lot of these guys skate all the time. So I'm not going to get my hopes up. You saw what happened with epstein you know you get your hopes up and then all of a sudden poof everything disappears so the justice department and the fbi have a lot riding on these prosecutions i'd like to see justice but it's like you get guys out there that say that there's this pipe bomb at the dnc and then like whatever happened to that what about the vegas shooter remember how suspicious that whole thing was poof that disappears you know all these things always come across and then they just disappear and it's very frustrating for the american people okay yeah i mean i just said Epstein.

15:50Like, where did this guy go? Where did that whole case go? Where did all the files go? They just went nowhere. No one even believes that. So you got to go after these guys and you have to go after them hard because the American people aren't going to tolerate the corruption. You got someone like Nancy Pelosi. Her stock portfolio went up 40 million dollars last year. That's more than any hedge fund in the United States. And her husband is not even a professional investor. He owns a vineyard and then joe biden's taking millions from the chinese all under the table he's got nothing to show for it and at the at the end of the day pardons his whole family and walks out the door and then his stupid doctor pleads the fifth under oath no one is going to get punished for any of this stuff it just seems like trump's people always go to jail and these democrats and these deep state darlings always skate well um you have a point there jesse and

16:44Ben Meiselas:And here's Donald Trump's top legal advisor who's not a lawyer, Tom Fitton. And he's pissed that there was no Epstein list. Let's watch this. So what changed? I think they decided for political purposes, they didn't want to include the individuals who are on these lists and put them in the public domain. And they were concerned that some of them maybe it may not have done something warranting the disclosure. I mean, that's that's the most charitable interpretation, you know, but there is a list. There's no doubt. I mean, they talk about in the memo they wrote, well, there's no incriminating client list.

17:19Well, what does that mean? I want the non-incriminating client list. And, of course, a client list is a term of art, right? Where are his associates? Where is the list of contacts? You know, we asked under our FOIA lawsuit, Pam Bondi, give us the documents that you say you were looking at. Give us documents about the release of these documents. You said the FBI was obstructing the release.

17:41Ben Meiselas:they came back to us and said we have nothing then jesse water starts talking about how um rules for men a man a man should never photoshop his picture here play this clip has this ever happened to you jesse me yeah emma uh but not me she doesn't photoshop but she does things i think i don't know actually she doesn't she doesn't you know how women do they do stuff rules for men paris a man should never photoshop his picture ever ever a man who photoshops his picture is a woman and you never shrink your hips why is he shrinking his hips does he have childbearing hips what is it about his hips that he's uncomfortable with that's the question okay literally all of donald trump's images that he uses maybe mostly all of them are photoshopped AI images that aren't actually him.

18:37Ben Meiselas:Going to the other economic visor of Donald Trump, Peter Navarro. Again, this idiot's been wrong about basically everything as well. He also was in prison for contempt of Congress. And he was very intimately involved in the insurrection. Remember, the Green Bay sweep, how to steal the 2020 election was his plan. And here he says, look, we're giving the business community certainty. Everybody knows Trump's sending letters. The business community totally understands what's going on with tariffs right now. And here's the thing. These people lie about everything. Again, I don't know what your political views are watching this or listening to this.

19:17Ben Meiselas:I don't know if you're a Democrat or Republican and independent. I don't know if you don't like politics. I used to not like politics. I still really don't. I just like people and trying to sift through all of this crap and bring you the truth. But what are we talking about here? There's clearly not certainty. Like Donald Trump's writing letters like, again, whatever political party you're from, put it aside. We should look at this as crazy. Donald Trump's writing these weirdo letters that looks like a third grader wrote them to these countries. I am here. Someone put it, this looks like an invitation to join a multi-level marketing scheme.

19:53Ben Meiselas:That's the perfect way of putting it, a multi-level marketing. We hereby invite you to join the wealthiest country, but we're going to have to tariff you this to the Sultan of Brunei to the. It's ridiculous. Here's what Navarro says. Let's play. So do you think we are going to get clarity, say, by the end of the summer in terms of what countries are paying what price, what the tariffs look like? Because the uncertainty of it, he believes and others do as well, is what's keeping some businesses from investing today. Well, if I were a market analyst instead of working at the White House, it would be very simple for me to have clarity on all this.

20:32I would simply look at all the different countries. I'd look at the size of the trade deficit that the U.S. runs with those countries. And I would be able to very easily calibrate where the optimal tariff would likely land, given President Trump's insistence that we have a level playing field and that we reduce or eliminate our trade deficit for national security reasons. So I think that there's tremendous clarity right now. The president has been very clear about what the goal is and how he's going to get there. We had the initial reciprocal tariffs. We rolled back to give folks time. And now letters have gone out, which calibrate more.

21:16So I think there's plenty of clarity.

21:19Ben Meiselas:And then, of course, you have Netanyahu. He's got to go on Bartiroma. And he goes, oh, I like Donald Trump way better than Biden. Of course, it's not even close. That's my impression here. Play this clip. Did it feel very different dealing with President Trump as opposed to President Biden as well as the Democrats? Is this a serious question? Yeah, it has been different. I have to be honest. And it's been look, I think everybody said that they wanted to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, but but it's not what you say. What do you do? It's what you do. And ultimately, leaders are tested by what they do.

22:05Right. What they do in the face of extreme danger.