GOP Panics over Trump Deal on Capitol Hill

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2:29Ben Meiselas:GOP leaders were losing it and scrambling around Capitol Hill as they fear that Donald Trump has made the worst deal imaginable in their minds with Iran. Everything that they've been telling their constituents and that they've been saying, it seems like Trump did the exact opposite for these MAGA Republicans who bought into Donald Trump saying, it's going to be a total surrender. It's going to be a total surrender. I want to show you just what went down on Capitol Hill and the Midas Touch Network was there to capture it all. So here's what we were hearing out of Capitol Hill reporting. So when the Republican senators and Congress members and leadership was asking the Trump regime, what should we tell our constituents about these deal terms with Iran?

3:18Ben Meiselas:$300 billion to Iran in investment funds. Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. What do we tell them, Donald? Well, this is what the Trump regime said. people shouldn't read too much into the language of the Memorandum of Understanding. It's just a political document. What's more important than the actual document and the text is just the understanding that we have with Iran. We came up with this language that allows Iran to say what they need to say for their domestic politics. So just ignore the language, ignore the language when we release it. Just don't worry. That's not what we're focused on.

3:59Ben Meiselas:It's just our understanding with Iran. All right. So the Midas Touch Network, we were on Capitol Hill. Hat tip to all of you for helping us build our Washington DC bureau. So we went up to Senator Wicker, MAGA Republican Senator, one of the top leaders for Republicans in the Senate. What do you make of this? He goes, I'm withholding comment. Then Pablo Manriquez from the Midas Touch network goes, you're always the guy who speaks on these. You've always been saying you know what's going on. Now you don't want to tell us what's happening? That's suspicious. Watch for yourself. Let's play it. And what would you say to critics of the Trump's Iran deal that say that the Straits of Hormuz were already opened?

4:41Well, I am withholding comments. Okay. How come? You seem to always know what's going on. Well, I'm withholding comments. Okay.

4:50Ben Meiselas:Now this clip's gone mega viral. We caught up with Lindsey Graham. That's right. Thanks to you, our robust Midas Touch Network DC correspondence group. They got right there. They were asking Lindsey Graham questions and we're like, hey, Lindsey, what did you achieve? What's going on? There's a bunch of other reporters asking him questions as well. And Lindsey Graham goes, here's what we achieved. We opened up the Strait of Hormuz. And yeah, maybe we'll see if we can do a nuclear deal. But we opened up the Strait. Here, play this clip. I mean, well, under the law, any nuclear deal with Iran has to come to Congress for this will go.

5:33That's what we did under Obama. President Trump said today he will send it to Congress, he welcomes a vote. Here's what we achieved. If this thing goes through Friday, we've opened up the streets, which will help the economy in the world. The war will be in a permanent ceasefire, hopefully. and we'll try to get a nuclear deal with Iran. And hopefully that will work out. If it doesn't, then we still achieve doping up the straits and, you know, stopping the fight.

6:02Ben Meiselas:And then Lindsey kind of revealed his hands. Oh, Lindsey. And Lindsey goes, OK, OK, OK. Now, Saudi Arabia and Israel, I think they owe Donald Trump a lot at this point. Why don't you become allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel? You want to join the Abraham Accords? Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's like, we ain't joining the Abraham Accords. What are you talking about? Here, watch for yourself. Let's play it.

6:51for these two countries to make peace and do business together in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Iran is in a box. No matter whether we're successful in the nuclear deal or not, their ability to generate another October 7th is nonexistent. Their nuclear program has been set back just through military action. So now is the moment. This is the year to have a pathway to peace. And I will say this. If as a result of the Iranian conflict, the war with Iran, we're able to open up a pathway to expand the Abraham Accords that will be one of the most successful military operations in American history.

7:31Ben Meiselas:And then a reporter goes and asks, so, Lindsay, the$300 billion investment fund that's being discussed, you like it, Lindsay? Watch his response. Let's play it. Now, in terms of the$300 billion investment fund that's being discussed, what are your thoughts on that? And then sort of separately... My thoughts are that rebuilding Iran with the people in charge today has been problematic for me. You know, the Marshall Plan, we've been able to go to Germany, but the Nazis are no longer in charge. So we'll see where this goes. I'm open-minded to the deal. I haven't seen the details, but at the end of the day, pursuing an end to Iran's nuclear ambitions through diplomacy makes sense to me.

8:22Trying to end their desire to be the largest state sponsor of terrorism through diplomacy makes sense to me. But the deal assumes they'll change their behavior. Maybe they will. If they do, fine. If they don't, I don't think we've lost a lot as long as we don't overly reward them. So to get this investment fund, I think they have to fundamentally change who they are and how they behave. Maybe they'll do that, maybe they won't. Count me in the skeptical column. The idea that streets will be open will stop is a good thing. If nothing else happens, that's a good thing. We have an important message to share from our friends at Americans United for separation of church and state.

9:01The Trump administration's excessive Christian nationalist rhetoric is only building as we move toward the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. AU is highlighting a case involving federal workers caught in the crossfire. A multi-faith group of federal employees filed a new lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violating the separation of church and state and the religious freedoms promised in our Constitution. Americans United received emails from multiple USDA employees saying that the proselytizing Easter email sent by the Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke L.

9:33Rollins, to more than 100 ,000 USDA employees is an abuse of power that violates the separation of church and state promised in the First Amendment. They are absolutely right. The hits keep on coming from this administration, and Americans United is doing their best to keep up the fight against Christian nationalism. If you want to help, head to au.org slash Midas to learn more about their work and how you can get involved. Americans United, supporting everyone's right to live as they choose, so long as they don't harm others. That's au.org slash Midas.

10:07Ben Meiselas:And then we caught up with MAGA Republican Senator Moreno from Ohio. Senator Moreno, there's$300 billion that's being given to Iran. You like that? Yeah, it doesn't matter. He goes,$300 billion,$500 billion. It doesn't matter what money we give them. As long as it's not being directly paid by the United States taxpayer, he goes, I just don't care. That's where they went from regime change, total surrender, only capitulation to, yeah, if we could route that U.S. taxpayer money through Qatar, we good with this. We good. Watch for yourself. Let's play it. There's a$300 billion investment fund that's being reported.

10:58What are your thoughts on that? Who is involved? Should that exist? And how is that not effectively giving Iran a lot of money or even on freezing assets? Yeah, look, at the end of the day, what's crystal clear is that the United States taxpayer, the United States government, will participate in exactly zero money to Iran. It will be not one cent of taxpayer dollar given to the Iranian government. So however else they get money, I just generally don't care as long as it's not coming from the U.S. taxpayer. Again, these are reports that are out there. We'll all be a lot smarter on Friday in terms of what the memorandum is exactly what's laid out.

11:32I've been talking to the White House, I have a pretty good idea. But ultimately, what matters more than the MOU is going to be the final deal. And I think probably the final deal will be easier because most of the stuff has already been kind of pre-cleared.

11:47Ben Meiselas:Oh, and Lindsey Graham continues more of his humiliation ritual. I think we've showed you enough of Lindsey Graham. Let me show you Democrat, Democratic Senator Alson Brooks. Here's what she has to say. Let's play it. Have we seen the language in the MOU yet? I mean, the fact of the matter is we have not seen any of the details of this so that we can assess for ourselves how much of a was it worth the sacrifice? We have escalating costs that continue. Americans continue to really suffer with increased gas prices, utility costs. They're opening the Strait of Hormuz, which was, by the way, open before this conflict started.

12:25So after billions of dollars that we have spent, I don't know that we are any safer. As a matter of fact, we're not. I think we have almost inadvertently strengthened Iran through all of these maneuvers in this war that was illegal from the start. So is this a win for Americans? I think they can tell. Ask them at their kitchen tables whether their lives are easier today than when we went to war. And I think the answer will be absolutely not. We are worse off. So this whole effort harmed Americans here at home and harmed us and our reputation across the world. and nothing that the president does at this point can erase the damage that he has done with this poorly thought out.

13:05There was no strategy going in and apparently no strategy coming out. But the thing is, it's a lie from the pit of hell if he says that we won anything in this war because we did not.

13:15Ben Meiselas:Yeah, that's a normal response, how people feel. Now contrast that to MAGA Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville. We asked him, so what do you say to critics of the Iran deal and Tommy Tuberville, this guy is as shameless as you get. And Tuberville's like, he's running for governor of Alabama. And he goes, I don't listen to that nonsense. We won the war and they did a deal. We won the war and they did a deal. Okay. That's not really what happened here. Play this clip. What do you make of critics who are saying that the Strait of Hormuz was opened before we attacked Iran and now it's open again. So it's not really a victory.

13:53A lot of people are saying that. I don't listen to that nonsense. I mean, it was a conflict. We won. They agreed to no nuclear weapons. And that's the number one thing we needed. The Iranians are saying they won. Well, sure they're going to say that. Yeah. But, hey, we all know the truth. Coach watches the scoreboard. Yeah, that's right. Thank you, Coach. Thanks, Coach.

14:16Ben Meiselas:And then they threw J.D. Vance on State Regime Media Fox, the show The Five. And Jessica Tarlov was asking him a lot of good questions. And J.D. Vance is like, just look, look, look, look, look. If Donald Trump were elected as the Ayatollah of Iran, the Democrats would still say the United States lost this. Here, play this clip. ...from the Republican side of this as well. It is a bipartisan concern. Well, I think, look, some of the criticism comes from the fact that if Donald Trump were elected the supreme leader of Iran, the Democrats would still say that the United States had lost this. There is a fundamental refusal to acknowledge how much has changed in the Middle East over the last few months.

14:58And again, that assumes that nothing else happens. But if this deal actually comes to fruition, meaning if the Iranians actually comply with it, we have transformed the Middle East in a way that is amazingly beneficial for both the American people, but also the people of the Gulf.

15:13Ben Meiselas:So you want him to become the Ayatollah of Iran? Yeah, if any American president became the Ayatollah, we would probably say you lost the plot. You lost the plot when you think that that is a win. But OK, then Senator Kennedy ran away from us. MAGA Republican senator from Louisiana. You can watch for yourself. What did you make of the fight night at the White House? Who are you? Pablo Enriquez. We've talked before. What did you make of the fight night? I don't know. I didn't go. Oh, OK. I guess the big question everybody's asking is, what about this guy? That's all I've got for you, mate. OK. And then we asked Senator Thune about the ballroom, 600 million dollars, half being paid by the taxpayers.

16:07Ben Meiselas:Watch what Senator Thune had to say. Let's play it. There are important security requirements that go with any building project. in the White House. We want to make sure that any additions made down there are completed in a way that ensures that the President and others in his administration are safe and secure. And I think that is something that I feel like we have a responsibility to do. And so the Secret Service and other agencies that protect the President are obviously going to be paying a lot of attention to how this thing is structured, how it's built. And I do believe that there is certainly some expectation that there would be dollars allocated for that purpose that would go above and beyond the private money that's been raised.

16:52But I haven't seen any of the details on that reporting and haven't seen a White House response to it. So, you know, that's my general view overall about this. But we'll get you more when we have the specifics. There you have it, folks.

17:07Ben Meiselas:Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. and thanks everybody for watching.