In short
The episode criticizes Trump’s public behavior and administration policies, focusing on (1) tariff letters and August 1, 2025 tariff payment deadlines, (2) alleged failures in disaster response tied to NOAA/NWS staffing cuts, (3) a budget talking point about deporting farm laborers and requiring Medicaid recipients to work, and (4) claims about Trump advisor Sergio Gore’s concealed Soviet-era birthplace.
Guest backgrounds
No guests are named in the transcript.
Key claims
Tariffs are due Aug 1, 2025 with no extensions; NOAA/NWS staffing vacancies contributed to emergency managers’ inability to respond; federal disaster leadership is being denied; Medicaid/work and mass deportation plans would protect food supply via automation; Sergio Gore was born in Tashkent (then USSR) and avoided background checks.
Notable examples
Richard Spinrad quote; Kristi Noem quote; Brooke Rollins quote; Jim Jordan and Greg Stube quotes; OCCRP/Malta property record about Sergio Gore.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOTrump's Troubling Morning
0:30 to 0:55
Discussing Trump's poor start to the day and a secret about an advisor.
“In business, the best days are when priorities stay on track.”
Trump's Troubling Morning
1:35 to 2:54
Discussing Trump's poor start to the day and a secret about an advisor.
“You can count on Credit Karma to keep up with your financial needs as they evolve, helping you monitor your progress and giving you personalized recommendations so you can make strides towards your goals.”
Trump's Cabinet Briefing Breakdown
2:54 to 3:32
Analysis of Trump's cabinet meeting and his controversial remarks.
Emergency Management Critique
3:32 to 4:49
Criticism of staffing cuts affecting emergency management.
“Well, congratulations on a great job and appreciate I know you're going down.”
Federal vs. State Disaster Management
4:49 to 6:43
Debate on the roles of federal and state governments in disaster response.
“But when you send a message, there's no guarantee it's being received.”
Immigration and Workforce Policies
6:43 to 8:35
Discussion on controversial immigration and workforce strategies proposed by Trump.
“We as a federal government don't manage these disasters.”
Cuts to Government Programs
8:35 to 11:02
Examination of proposed cuts to government programs and their implications.
“Mass deportations continue, but in a strategic and intentional way as we move our workforce toward more automation and toward a 100 % American workforce.”
Trump Advisor's Secret Revealed
11:02 to 14:00
Uncovering the background of Trump's advisor and his concealed origins.
“And the Fox host and Stube cannot be more cruel.”
Gore's Background Revealed
14:00 to 14:51
Learn about Gore's true origins and the implications of his birth identity.
“Gore's public profile has increased more recently as he continued to work on overseeing appointments of thousands of officials for the Trump administration.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.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. In business, the best days are when priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, that means managing multiple exposures, from property and liability to cyber and more. The Hartford helps companies plan for risk with insurance and proactive risk solutions.
0:47So focus can stay where it belongs. Prepare for risk. Protect success. Smart risk management from the Hartford. Contact your agent or visit thehartford.com slash risk mitigation. 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. Get 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.
1:26Right now during the Labor Day Mega Sale at Blinds.com. This episode is brought to you by Credit Karma. When it comes to your money, Credit Karma keeps you ahead of the game. You can count on Credit Karma to keep up with your financial needs as they evolve, helping you monitor your progress and giving you personalized recommendations so you can make strides towards your goals. Make sure you're on the right track, no matter where you are on your financial journey. Intuit Credit Karma. Karma you can count on. Download today.
1:58Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump is off to a terrible morning on Tuesday, and we've also learned that one of Donald Trump's top advisors was actually born in the Soviet Union and has been keeping that a secret. More on that in just a moment. Donald Trump ranting and raving like a lunatic on his social media platform. He's talking about those letters that he sent to countries that he couldn't do deals with in his failed trade war. Here's what he writes. As per letter sent to various countries yesterday in addition to letters that will be sent today, tomorrow, and for the next short period of time. Then he puts this all in caps.
2:36Ben Meiselas:Tariffs will start being paid on August 1st, 2025. There has been no change to this date and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting August 1, 2025. No extensions will be granted. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Again, a tariff is a tax on the American company. the foreign countries are not paying the tariff the importer is is paying the tariff this is a tax on american company so then donald trump held a disastrous cabinet briefing in about 90 minutes i'll do a longer video because this thing was off the rails but donald trump said that everybody did a great job in texas he said congratulations on a job well done and then he takes credit for saving so many lives and he says this is the way it's supposed to happen this was great we crushed it we did amazing this is what he says at the cabinet meeting this morning play this clip response has been incredible and the fact that we got along so well i don't know that's not i don't even think that's a political thing but uh we got along so well and it was so unified i think a lot of lives have been said that could have been as bad as it was and you could have lost double or triple.
3:50This thing was just really horrible. Well, congratulations on a great job and appreciate I know you're going down.
3:58Ben Meiselas:I'll be going down on Friday with you. Now I'd like to show you what former National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration head Richard Spinrad had to say. And we've shown you videos of him before, about two months ago, where he was warning about what would happen with the cuts to NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and the NWS, the National Weather Service, which is under NOAA. This is from this morning, where Richard Spinrad says that he is convinced, he uses that language, that the staff cuts were a contributing factor to the inability of the emergency managers to respond. Here, play this clip.
4:39I am convinced that the staff cuts that we saw were a contributing factor to the inability of the emergency managers to respond. The staffing was just fine, and the White House has concurred with this, to get the forecast out, to get the watches and warnings issued. But when you send a message, there's no guarantee it's being received. So someone needs to follow up, and that's the warning coordination meteorologist, a position that was vacant.
5:05Ben Meiselas:Now, as he mentions in that clip, the vacancies were there in Texas. There were key vacancies within the National Weather Service and specifically the position of the meteorologist coordinator and the emergency coordinator was missing at the National Weather Service. So there's more than just pushing a button and then an alert goes out because you get alerts all the time, right? That doesn't necessarily mean that when you see an alert, you immediately respond to it. It would be great if everybody did. But the whole reason why you have the federal government create these positions is precisely for this reason, that people could be sleeping or not paying attention, or they could be inundated with so many alerts that one alert on their cell phone doesn't trigger the emergency as it should.
5:58Ben Meiselas:So the feds were supposed to be in there immediately, and the feds were supposed to be leading or at least running a joint task force or co-leading with the state. Now, I'll show you again more of this in another video I'm going to do, but this is Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, which controls FEMA. And here, Kristi Noem says that the federal government does not manage disasters. The state does. This is not true. What she's saying is incorrect. Sure, the state has a role at a local level in doing a lot of work and the state has local functions, but the feds are supposed to go in there and take the lead and help run the show.
6:43Ben Meiselas:Here, play this clip. We as a federal government don't manage these disasters. The state does. So as you go from Kristi Noem, then you take a look at some of Trump's other cabinet members, you have people like Brooke Rollins, Donald Trump's Secretary of Agriculture this morning. And this is the new talking point from the Trump regime and Brooke Rollins. I think Aaron Melnick says it the best. So the Trump administration's new talking point on the budget bill is that we're going to deport all of the farm laborers and we're going to make people on Medicaid work in the fields to earn their health insurance.
7:22Ben Meiselas:Now, you may be saying, Ben, what in the world are you talking about? Well, the Secretary of Agriculture from the Department of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, she gave a press conference this morning where she said they're going to go after the migrants, not criminals, the migrants who did not commit crimes, who are working on the fields. But she goes, we'll be able to replace them because there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid system. Here, play this clip. single day. The second thing to your question about mass deportations, the president and I have spoken about that once or twice, and he has always been of the mindset that at the end of the day, the promise to America to ensure that we have a 100 percent American workforce stands, but we must be strategic in how we are implementing the mass deportation.
8:12So is not to compromise our food supply. Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure. And then also, when you think about there are 34 million able-bodied adults in our Medicaid program, there are plenty of workers in America, but we just have to make sure we're not compromising today, especially in the context of everything we're thinking about right now. So no amnesty under any circumstances. Mass deportations continue, but in a strategic and intentional way as we move our workforce toward more automation and toward a 100 % American workforce.
8:47Ben Meiselas:As Jordan Weissman says, LOL. So we've gone from the USAID program analysts will make shoes to people will pick strawberries in order to keep their health care. You then had MAGA Republican Congress member Jim Jordan. And Jim Jordan goes on Fox and he says, you know how we know this budget bill is great? The left hates it. And if they hate it, it must be amazing. Owning the libs by taking the health care away from your own constituent. Great job, Jim Jordan. Play this clip. If there's an able-bodied adult out there now who is in our welfare system, guess what? That person is going to have to work.
9:30That is fair to taxpayers. That's good for our economy. Maybe most importantly, that's actually good for that recipient, for that individual. Gets them on a better path to attaining work and skills and everything else to get to a better position in life. That is far from immoral. But I always say, David, we know this is a good bill because the left hates it. And the left hates it because it does not empower government. I love going out with friends, but I don't always feel like drinking. That's why I've been reaching for Soul's out-of-office gummies instead. They are the perfect little lift to keep the good vibes going and give me that light social buzz without the hangover.
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11:01Ben Meiselas:And here you have a Fox host with a MAGA Republican Congress member, Greg Stube. And the Fox host and Stube cannot be more cruel. They're like most people, lots of people work 80 hours a week. And then Stube's like, I would cut even more from the government. But we have some more moderate members who don't let us cut. I would have cut everything from the government. Here, play this clip. But within Medicaid, and I think this is where the messaging has been interesting, It's 80 hours a month that you have to show that you worked. 80 hours a month. A lot of people, congressmen, work 80 hours a week.
11:37Things like that, that were in those Medicaid decisions, those cuts. At the same time, you've got reconciliation coming. You've got rescissions coming. So aren't there more places that we can cut? And where would you be willing to make cuts in spending so that we don't completely blow out the debt in this country, which is already sitting at 37 trillion. Yeah, I support massive cuts to a whole entirety of government programs that we have. But unfortunately, we have, well, not unfortunately, but we have moderates in our party that obviously can't support the type of cuts that somebody like me
12:12Ben Meiselas:would support. Like, folks, we need a functioning government. What is wrong with these people? with that's why i call this a death cult then you had sean duffy the secretary of transportation right it was each cabinet member be clowning themselves worse than the next no offense to clowns these are fascist clowns um sean duffy then says you know what he goes you know all of these these stupid liberal stupid policies in new york are so stupid that that's how they talk now that's how they communicate. Here, play this clip. They're taking roads for buses and for cars, and they're making them bike lanes.
12:52So when you take away lanes, you get more congestion. And then they complain about congestion. It's just stupid liberals with stupid policies that impact the lives of New Yorkers. And again, if MTA or the governor don't care, DOT, President Trump, and I care about their safety as they ride the subways.
13:10Ben Meiselas:Now, as I mentioned, one of the things that has been uncovered this morning, OCCRP, hat tip to them, Organization for Crime and Corruption posted this. So Donald Trump's top advisor, Sergio Gore, who has refused to submit to the most basic background check on himself. And he's the guy in charge of hiring the top people in the executive office. That's his role. the director of personnel. He was secretly born in the Soviet Union, and he was concealing that, according to this article. The birthplace of U.S. President Donald Trump's director of personnel has been the subject of media speculation. Then it goes, when he was named the director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel under U.S.
13:53Ben Meiselas:President Donald Trump, a media report called Sergio Gore may be the most powerful person you've never heard of. Gore's public profile has increased more recently as he continued to work on overseeing appointments of thousands of officials for the Trump administration. Media coverage has since filled in much of his biography, with one glaring exception, his birthplace. Now the Times of Malta and OCCRP have obtained a notarized Maltese property record that shows Gore's origin. He was actually born Sergio Gorkovsky on November 30th, 1986, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time.
14:33Ben Meiselas:Gore's lawyer, Robert Garson, confirmed by email that his client was born in Tashkent. Gore had previously declined to say where he was born. There you have it right there, folks. We'll keep you posted every step of the way here on the Midas Touch Network. As always, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Can't get enough Midas? Check out the Midas Plus sub stack for ad-free articles, reports, podcasts, daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, and more. Sign up for free now at MidasPlus.com.
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From the publisher
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s disastrous Tuesday morning as he gets hit with bad news from all directions.
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