GOP Leaders Panic and Lose it on Air as Plan Blows Up

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1:42Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump's cabinet and MAGA Republican leaders were cracking under pressure during the weekend shows when they had to explain why it was that electricity prices and groceries and other products people are buying, why the prices are surging right now. You know, like Donald Trump on the campaign, he promised that he was going to bring down electricity prices 50 to 70 percent in the first year. He said it's a promise. He says everything he promises is true. By the way, I have the receipts of that. So why don't I show you that before going through the video of all of these MAGA Republicans spiraling and lying?

2:20Ben Meiselas:Let me just start off with the receipts as we bring here on the Midas Touch Network. So this was Donald Trump back in Asheville, North Carolina. He's given a speech right here, and he says that he's going to reduce electricity prices 50 to 70 percent. He guarantees it. This was during the campaign, August 2024. All of the MAGA accounts posted it. This was one of his big promises. So you'll hear him say it in his own words. Here play this clip. By contrast, I'm announcing today that under my leadership, the United States will commit to the ambitious goal of slashing energy and electricity prices by half at least, half.

3:07We intend to slash prices by half within 12 months at a maximum 18 months. And if it doesn't work out, you'll say, oh, well, I voted for him. I still got him down a lot, but we're looking to do it. We're looking to cut them in half, and we think we'll be able to do better. And every single thing that I promised, I produced. Every single thing.

3:37You will never have had energy so low as you will under a certain gentleman known as Donald J. Trump. Have you heard of him? so we think your energy bills will be down by 50 to 70 percent how good would that be for a thing

3:54Ben Meiselas:called inflation okay well now that i showed you that clip here is what donald trump's treasury secretary scott besson said when he was on abc's this week and george stefanopoulos said well you know electricity prices are going up i mean your electricity bills are far higher right now under Donald Trump than they were a year ago, right? I mean, that's an undisputed fact. But now, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and the Trump regime says Trump never promised it. This is a state issue only. States handle the electricity prices and their grids. We have nothing to do with it. So you can't blame us for it.

4:32Ben Meiselas:Here, play this clip. The president says, he just had posted this morning, that there's almost no inflation. The consumer price index is higher than it was in the beginning of the year. Electricity rates are rising. So are prices for coffee, beef, vegetables, televisions. And it's not just me. It's not just economists are saying that. Your own Republican members of Congress are saying that, including Marjorie Taylor Greene. Let's look. I go to the grocery store myself. Grocery prices remain high. Energy prices are high. My electricity bills are higher here in Washington, D.C. at my apartment. And they're also higher at my house in Rome, Georgia, higher than they were a year ago.

5:10So affordability is a problem. How do you respond to Congressman Green? Well, George, what I would respond to is electricity prices are a state problem. And I was very interested to see in the earlier clip where the governor-elect of New Jersey said, well, I'm going to bring down energy prices. Well, it was her predecessor, Phil Murphy, who took them up. So, you know, look, there are things that the federal government can control. Local electricity prices are not one of them, but energy prices, gasoline prices are way down. And, you know, we are doing what we can every day. I think we are on a very good path to bringing prices down.

5:55Ben Meiselas:You know, it kind of reminds me of when Donald Trump promised he would end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Remember when he promised that he would stop Russia's invasion in 24 hours? I'll just show you a clip of that. Here play this clip. End the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Yes. How would you do that? I know Zelensky very well. I'll end that war between those two countries in 24 hours. It won't even take that long. I will get the war ended. I'll stop all of those lives from being wasted and lost. And there'll be no more bombing of Ukraine. And of course, now Donald Trump says he was just being sarcastic, that it was all one big LOL, like it's a joke.

6:37Ben Meiselas:Like he didn't really mean it. I'm going, why would he mean that? He's a jokester. He jokes about war while people die. What a sick human being. But here he is saying that he was being sarcastic. Here play this clip. I'm not understating the complexity of all this, but as a candidate, you said you would have this war settled in 24 hours. Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that. What I really mean is I'd like to get it settled. And I think I'll be successful. What's the plan if Putin doesn't agree to a ceasefire?

7:15Bad news for this world because so many people are dying. But I think he's going to agree. I really do. I think I know him pretty well. And I think he's going to agree.

7:25Ben Meiselas:And then you have all of Donald Trump's economic leaders and other cabinet members going on the morning shows and just saying that because of the shutdown, that's why the economy is now going to do bad. And so you have, for example, Kevin Hassett, Donald Trump's top economic advisor, saying, yep, the economy is going down now. Here, play this clip. Which is why we have to get this government open. I mean, the fact is Goldman Sachs, they have a top economic team, and they're estimating that we've already knocked about 1.5 % off of GDP. I think that number is probably low if we keep going even a couple more weeks because there's going to be a massive amount of air disruption, especially around the holidays.

8:08And, you know, one of these things every now and then when we're talking economics, you and I, we talk about seasonal adjustments and things like that. But the fact is that Thanksgiving time is one of the hottest times of the year for the economy. It's Black Friday and all that kind of stuff. And if people aren't traveling at that moment, then we really could be looking at a negative quarter for the fourth quarter.

8:26Ben Meiselas:And going back to Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, when he was asked by Stephanopoulos, are we starting to see a permanent impact on the economy? And then Besant's like, we had a roaring last two quarters. Everything was great. People were living in the golden age. And you see now they're suffering. And it's because the shutdown. No, people have been suffering the entire year. Inflation has been rising the entire year. Unemployment and jobless claims have been at the highest level since very, very, almost in history. Consumer confidence, the lowest readings basically in history. Here's what Besson says here at Playlist Clinton.

9:06Heard about all these impacts from the government shutdown right now. Are we starting to see a permanent impact on the economy? Sure, George, and good to be with you. And we've seen an impact on the economy from day one, but it's getting worse and worse. We had a fantastic economy under President Trump the past two quarters, and now there are estimates that the economic growth for this quarter could be cut by as much as half if the shutdown continues. And what your correspondent didn't talk about there, George, was there's, of course, the human cost, and we're going to have the busiest travel day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving.

9:47And Americans should look to five Democratic senators to come across the aisle to open that. But on the other side, there's also cargo is being slowed down. So, you know, we could end up with shortages, whether it's in our supply chain, whether it's for the holiday. Ever have one of those moments where your body reminds you it's not 25 anymore? Maybe it's the slower recovery after a workout or the way your joints creak like an old floorboard. And don't get me started on how much worse it is in the winter. It's like my energy goes into hibernation. Aging is a reality for all of us, but our actions determine how we age.

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11:35Ben Meiselas:You know, and then they brought on MAGA Republican senators. Like here you have MAGA Republican Senator James Lankford from Oklahoma. Like, OK, Lankford, you know, 300 ,000 Oklahomans, they're going to they're going to lose their health care and they're on they're on Affordable Care Act plans. Their subsidies are going to skyrocket. Like, what are you going to do for them here? Play this clip. Senator, it's worth noting that 80 percent of these subsidies are actually going to help people who live in states that President Trump did win back in 2024, including 300 ,000 who live in Oklahoma. In my state.

12:13Yes. Should those 300 ,000 Oklahomans be prepared for their subsidies to skyrocket or to potentially lose coverage? Yeah, we're trying to find a way to be able to help. But again, remember, this is not the Obamacare subsidies. this is on top of the Obamacare subsidy. This is the bonus COVID plan that Democrats put in place in 2021 that they had expiring this year because they literally said this is a COVID plus up during the health care emergency. What we're saying is if we're going to get back into health care again, why are we talking about$40 billion just for that group? I've got 300 ,000 Oklahomans that are receiving those subsidies, but I've got 4 million Oklahomans total that are struggling under the high cost of health insurance.

12:54What are we doing for that?

12:56Ben Meiselas:And then you have Lee Zeldin, Donald Trump's EPA director, like, you know, this EPA wants to also roll back the regulations on asbestos. Like, they don't believe climate change is real. But what he wants to talk about is penises and vaginas. And he goes, you know, the Democrats believe in 100 genders. What are we talking about here? Play this clip. Now, conservatives say there are two genders. Democrats are saying that there's 100 genders and counting and growing. But what's happened right now is that the Democratic Party chose to nominate a guy who is a socialist, who is a communist, who has talked about defunding the police and will absolutely set New York City back.

13:41Ben Meiselas:A notable point in the interview with Stephanopoulos and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, where Stephanopoulos said, is it true that Trump brought in trillions of dollars? And we know he didn't. I think the tariffs have generated revenue of about$200 billion, no trillion with a T, and watch Besant go, oh, we will do that in a number of years. We'll bring in trillions. Donald Trump said$22 trillion. him. And Stephanopoulos should have pressed him on it. But of course, he just moved on. But what are we talking about here? We haven't brought in trillions of dollars at all. And just watch Besson squirm here play this clue.

14:20Tariffs in the Supreme Court. The president is also posting about tariffs this morning. He's saying people that are against tariffs are fools. We're taking in trillions of dollars. Is that true? We have taken over the course of the next few years, We could take in trillions of dollars, George. But the real goal of the tariffs is to rebalance trade and make it more fair. You know, over time, and the president's goal is to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. You know, for the past two, three, four decades, we have seen our manufacturing sector gutted. So what would happen over time is we would take in substantial money as factories come back to the U.S.

15:00As we're seeing now, I was just down in South Carolina at a rare earth magnet plant and a Boeing plant on Friday. And, you know, that's the, I believe, 1500 total new jobs. Tariff income will be substantial, but then that will rebalance. The goal here, George, is to rebalance trade. So tariff income will be substantial at the beginning. It will come down and then domestic tax revenues will climb as corporate taxes go up and all these high paying jobs are created.

15:31Ben Meiselas:And then same part of that interview, Besant then says, you know, well, look, we're not really using the tariffs to generate revenue. What are you talking about? That's Trump says that every day. His whole thing is we're making we're making everybody so much rich. Everyone's going to be so rich because of this. Well, here, play this clip. The president's main argument, though, seems to be that it's about taking in the revenue. And he also promised this morning a dividend of at least$2 ,000 a person, not including high income people. How is he going to pay that dividend of$2 ,000 a person? It's not about taking in the revenue.

16:07It's about rebalancing. And the revenue occurs early on. And then as we rebalance and the jobs come home, then it becomes domestic tax revenue. Are you worried that the president's focus on revenue, though, which is what he's been focusing on in his public statements, is going to hurt your argument at the Supreme Court? Not at all. It's completely consistent that the revenues come in at the beginning. Then as we rebalance, which is the goal of this, bring back high paid manufacturing jobs to the U.S., then it will then morph into domestic tax revenues.

16:42Ben Meiselas:just so you see him you heard him in his own words right there right then they bring on sean duffy from the real world road rules challenge who's now the transportation secretary and one of the things that he says is that flying he's going to blame the shutdown for all flying issues in the future regardless of the shutdown ending he goes because of the shutdown now all of my staff is retiring and no one wants to be no one wants to work in air traffic and That's because of the shutdown. What are you talking about? We all know that you fired all of these people on day one. Like you've made their lives, you've psychologically tortured these hard work working airline worker and people who work in airports and the air traffic controllers here at Playlist Gloom.

17:29Problem I have too is, as you know, I'm short air traffic controllers. I'm trying to get more air traffic controllers into the towers and be certified, but I'm about a thousand to 2 ,000 controllers short. And so I paid experienced controllers to stay on the job and not retire. I used to have about four controllers retire a day before the shutdown. I'm now up to 15 to 20 a day are retiring. So it's going to be harder for me to come back after the shutdown and have more controllers controlling the airspace. So this is going to live on in air travel well beyond the time frame that this government opens back up.

18:06Ben Meiselas:And then Jake Tapper says, do you have any numerical idea of how many Americans will not be able to see their families in Thanksgiving? Let's play this clip right here. So you talked about Thanksgiving. Do you have any sort of numerical idea of how many Americans will not be able to be with their families for the holiday because of this? I think the number is going to be substantial. Again, you look at the trend line, Jake, and it's only gotten worse as we've gone through the shutdown. We're day 40 now. And, you know, we saw the largest number of outage of controllers was on Halloween, the 31st.

18:41Those numbers were 61. Yesterday it was 81. And the controllers that I've talked to said a lot of them, we can miss one paycheck. They told me that virtually none of them can miss two paychecks. And so they're going to be confronted with the idea of, as you mentioned, going to get a side job, a second job to make ends meet, to put food on the table, put gas in the car, to pay their rent. And a lot of these controllers who are young, Jake, they don't make a lot of money. They're just getting into the business of being an air traffic controller. So they make less than$100 ,000 and they live in a really expensive place.

19:14They're the single income earner and they have a kid or two at home. It's very challenging.

19:20Ben Meiselas:And I just think that perfectly and unfortunately sums up this regime right here in every single way. And there's a reason that people boo Donald Trump. I mean, at the at the commanders game, at the NFL game. This guy is loathen hated, you know, and we need to see strong Democrats. I'm sick and tired of this weak crap. This guy is so unpopular. You know, I need to see Democrats more like Governor Newsom. I need to see fighters like Bernie Sanders. Fighters. Fighters. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Thanks for watching.

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