Trump Has Disaster Saturday as Catastrophic News Hits

20 Sep 2025 · 21 min · 8 chapters

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In short

The host argues Trump is signaling escalation abroad and weakness at home, while the U.S. restricts military aid and press access; he also discusses approval polling, health-care premium tax-credit expiration, and rising grocery prices. He adds commentary on Trump fundraising-style emails and on the Charlie Kirk shooting investigation, plus media coverage gaps.

Guests

No named podcast guests appear in the transcript.

Guest backgrounds

Not applicable.

Key claims

Putin sees escalation as the best negotiating strategy and Trump will not stop it; the Pentagon will partially halt Baltic/NATO-bordering assistance; Defense Department rules would require journalist stories to be approved/cleared by DoD; Trump’s approval is historically low; health-care premium tax credits may expire, risking $1,500–$2,000 monthly increases; no evidence links Charlie Kirk’s shooter to left-wing groups.

Notable examples

Over 40 missiles and 580 drones launched across Ukraine; ICE moving to deport crime victims; Ground News used to compare left/right coverage; Trump emails offering “Platinum,” “Diamond,” and “inner circle” memberships; Santa Clarita grocery shoppers citing $16.99 pecans and $211 hauls; BLS steak up 16% and ground beef up nearly 13%.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Escalation in Ukraine and Trump's Role

2:52 to 5:44

Discussing the implications of Trump's actions on escalating tensions in Ukraine.

“Bloomberg reported this morning that Putin believes that the way to negotiate the best deal right now is to escalate attacks against Ukraine and escalate attacks against NATO allies and that Trump will do nothing.”

Trump's Low Approval Ratings and Health Care

5:44 to 7:50

Analyzing Trump's disapproval ratings and the healthcare funding crisis.

“The person with the second lowest approval in modern presidential history is Donald Trump during his first term.”

Media Dynamics and Research Tools

7:50 to 11:40

Exploring how to research effectively using Ground News and the media's coverage bias.

“because Republicans want your health care costs to spike and Democrats are trying to keep it down.”

Trump's Messaging to Supporters

11:40 to 14:03

Examining the tactics Trump uses to engage and manipulate his supporters.

“Now, folks, with all of this chaos in the world right now, what is Donald Trump messaging to his supporters?”

Analyzing MAGA's Reaction to Recent Events

14:03 to 16:42

Learn about the MAGA base's response to social media posts and the narrative pushed by right-wing media.

“It's very, very strange stuff right there.”

Trump's Public Persona and Polling Insights

16:42 to 17:42

Discuss Trump's thin-skinned nature and analyze recent polling data on voter sentiments.

“But what they want to do is they want to create this common enemy so that they can take away your First Amendment rights because Donald Trump can't take a joke.”

The Current Grocery Price Crisis

17:42 to 19:15

Explore the alarming rise in grocery prices and its impact on American families.

“At this Santa Clarita grocery store, the sticker shock is real.”

The Current Grocery Price Crisis

19:19 to 19:32

Explore the alarming rise in grocery prices and its impact on American families.

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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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2:51Ben Meiselas:striking in Ukraine. And all of the intelligence now suggests that Vladimir Putin viewed that meeting in Alaska with Donald Trump, where Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin and had the United States military literally go down on its knees to do that as a green light for Putin to increase and escalate attacks on Ukraine. Bloomberg reported this morning that Putin believes that the way to negotiate the best deal right now is to escalate attacks against Ukraine and escalate attacks against NATO allies and that Trump will do nothing. Just take a look at these images that we're seeing out of Kiev this morning.

3:34Ben Meiselas:Over 40 missiles, crews and ballistic, 580 drones Various types were launched last night by Russia from Kiev to Odessa to Sumy to Kharkiv. Frankly, all around Ukraine, we've been seeing this. This is at the same time where we learned this morning that the Pentagon has informed European diplomats that the United States will partially halt military assistance to Baltic nations and NATO states bordering Russia. You may recall there was some reporting about this last week. Well, now an official decree was made to our European allies, letting them know the United States will not be supporting you. This as Russia has escalated its actions amongst NATO countries, right?

4:29Ben Meiselas:They sent drones into Poland and Estonia, and we've seen them in Romania, and we've seen them in other locations as well. The Pentagon within the United States, led by former Fox Weekend host Pete Hegseth, also put out a decree, chilling First Amendment speech, that any report from reporters who work and cover the Defense Department must be read, approved, and cleared by the Department of Defense before it may be published. No reporter may publish any story about the Defense Department if you work within the Defense Department until it gets approval by Pete Hegseth. Here's the article from The Washington Post.

5:14Ben Meiselas:Pentagon demands journalists pledge to not obtain unauthorized material. A new document spells out the latest in a series of escalating restrictions placed on the press. And those who refuse to sign the new policy will be stripped of or denied permanent credentials to cover the Pentagon. So it is not surprising to me and should not be surprising to you that Donald Trump's approval is the lowest in modern presidential history. The person with the second lowest approval in modern presidential history is Donald Trump during his first term. We're nine months in and Donald Trump is way below anybody else, including himself during his first term.

6:00Ben Meiselas:The AP NORC poll shows Donald Trump's approval at 39 percent, only 60 or 39 percent approval while 60 percent disapprove. in the new AP poll that came out earlier as well. Donald Trump's net negative 29 when it comes to health care. Only 35 percent of Americans support how he is dealing with health care. Frankly, I have no clue who those 35 percent of people are. They must be very privileged because Donald Trump has gutted Medicaid. He's significantly harming Medicare. And if you are on an Affordable Care Act plan, which I know many of you are. You may not be on Medicaid, but you may be on an Affordable Care Act plan.

6:47Ben Meiselas:Well, a lot of those premiums are reduced because of Affordable Care Act tax credits for your premiums. Well, those tax credits are now expiring. Democrats don't want them to expire. So Democrats have said to Republicans, look, please, in your continuing resolution to fund the government include an extension of the premium tax credits so Americans aren't going to get hit with$1 ,500 to$2 ,000 a month premiums for their health care. Republicans have refused to speak to Democrats. And so in the United States Senate, Democrats have not agreed to vote for cloture on the funding bill. Cloture requires 60 votes.

7:36Ben Meiselas:It's basically a vote to then vote. That's called cloture. So Democrats have stopped that. Republicans aren't even talking to Democrats. And so we're heading to a shutdown right now on October 1st because Republicans want your health care costs to spike and Democrats are trying to keep it down. It's just as simple as that. Also, MAGA Mike Johnson has told his members not to show up September 29th and September 30th. Those are the key days to avoid a shutdown. And MAGA Mike told Republicans, do not come to Capitol Hill. And he shut down voting on those days. So essentially, because next week there's Jewish holidays, so Congress really isn't coming in then.

8:20Ben Meiselas:And then you have the next week. So we're heading to a shutdown. I know not a lot of people are talking about it in such clear terms, but they should be because we're absolutely heading towards a shutdown. You know, and just the atrocities taking place across the country need to be highlighted. And it's important to highlight as well what the media is suppressing and the media dynamic that exists. So, you know, when I do these videos, I use a tool called Ground News. Lots of people ask me, Ben, how do you do your research to make these videos? Well, I use Ground News. Let me show you how I use it and feel free to kind of copy me because I think it's a helpful strategy for doing good research and having a high level of media literacy.

9:08Ben Meiselas:So here's an example. So after rescinding protections, ICE is moving to deport more immigrants who were victims of crime. ICE has ended protections that once shielded crime victims from detention, leading to more arrests of immigrants, even while they cooperate with the police. So victims of serious crimes, ICE wouldn't really want to target a victim of sexual assault, a victim of harassment, a victim of gang violence. And oftentimes these people could be helpful to law enforcement as well. And also, you know, victims are suffering. So why would you go after someone who's suffering and can cause more pain.

9:49Well, here's the thing. On the right wing, they're not covering this at all. Only 7 % of sources on this article are right wing sources. So that's how I stay up to date on the news. And also, I'm curious, how does the right wing find itself in this extremist MAGA bubble? Because they're not getting the news the right way. So I use Ground News. You guys, it's subscriber funded. It's a news site that pulls thousands of articles from around the world. and it organizes them by story. And then it shows you what's the right reporting, what's the left reporting, what's the center reporting, what independent media is reporting, what corporate news is reporting.

10:28It's a game changer because as active responsible citizens, we must get our news from reliable sources. And it helps me find what are those reliable sources. And that's why I love ground news because for every article, they also tell you, did a media conglomerate news outlet put this out or was it independent media? And they also list the degree of factuality, which is interesting as there are a lot of news sources for media conglomerates that have mixed or low factuality. Independent media seems to have a higher factuality, but you get all of that with your ground news vantage plan. That's the tool that I use.

11:03It's called the Vantage subscription. I like their blind spot feature, which highlights stories that are disproportionately covered by one side of the political spectrum, like the story I just shared with you. So join us by going to ground.news.mtn. Get 40 % off the Ground News Vantage plan that I use every morning. They're subscriber funded. By subscribing, you're not only getting a tool we all need today, you're also supporting our work here on this YouTube channel. That's g-r-o-u-n-d.news.mtn. And we've pinned the link to purchase your subscription below. That's ground.news.mtn. Now, folks, with all of this chaos in the world right now, what is Donald Trump messaging to his supporters?

11:50What is he saying to the MAGA base? I subscribe to his email list so you don't have to. And in a matter of 24 hours, he basically told his supporters they won three different awards. That's the scam that he pulls every day. You've won this award. Give me money. You've won that award. Give me money. You've won this award. Give me money. Let me show you what I mean. So he goes, I've reviewed your records. That's the subject. That's kind of ominous. I've reviewed your records. So you open it up and then it goes, this is huge message from Trump. I've reviewed your records and you're just one step away from joining elite MAGA Platinum Membership Club, the absolute best honor for true patriots who live and breathe the America first movement.

12:37Nobody does it better than you. Okay. Then right before that, the day before He goes, I'm upgrading you to diamond status. That's the subject. So you open it up and it goes, you didn't accept my offer the first time. So I'm personally delivering it the second time. I won't do this again, Ben, not even for you. Last chance, accept my special offer and join the impressive roster of Trump Diamond Club members. Accept Trump's offer. Invitation from Donald Trump. I'm upgrading you to diamond Trump status. And then right before that, he sent this email. I pick Ben for my inner circle. Your unwavering support has not gone unnoticed.

13:16This is your direct line to me, Donald J. Trump. After reviewing America's most loyal defenders, I personally handpicked you for the official Trump inner circle. This is my 2025 Patriot Advisory Board. This elite group is reserved for my top 1 % Patriots. Congratulations. That's you. I've been in nonstop meetings with world leaders to secure peace. But your opinion is the one I really care about. The voice of real Americans. Now, I'm just thinking about the MAGA supporter who reads this and is like, wow, I am elite MAGA platinum. I'm diamond status. I am in the inner circle. I mean, this stuff works on people.

13:59It's kind of scary that this stuff is actually working on people. And the MAGA base sees these emails and it makes them happy. It's very, very strange stuff right there. And meanwhile, you have Donald Trump making social media posts of ISIS style death videos where he is posting the American military, again, executing fishing boats more and bragging about it. A few other points I want to mention, though, because I think it's important for the weekend that we have all the facts. Based on the latest information before the Justice Department, there's been no evidence at all found yet of any ties between Charlie Kirk's shooting and any left-wing groups, officials say.

14:41This despite the fact that right-wing bad-faith extremist fascist media wants to push that. Three people familiar with the federal probe into Kirk's assassination told NBC News that investigators have yet to find a link between the alleged shooter and left-wing groups. This is not surprising. This wasn't a left-wing guy. This was a MAGA white family. This kid was 22 years old, not a kid. He went down the internet rabbit hole. He's from a gun-toting family. He fits the profile of what a lot of these shooters look. It's not like a political thing. It's this weird kind of 4chan, 8chan culture of internet perversion.

15:23And it warps these minds. And these people are these internet trolls who believe that they're these revolutionary agitators. It's very dangerous. But it's important that we come together as a nation and try to heal and try to come together. Not do what MAGA did here. Civil war, the leftist, the left furry, leftist furry trans. Come on, that's just such stupid crap. And it's dangerous. And that's what Kimmel was trying to point out, by the way, which was true. Kimmel wasn't attacking Charlie Kirk. And by the way, Kimmel had a First Amendment right if he wants to talk about Charlie Kirk's horrific background.

16:01And that Charlie Kirk would say, in my opinion, really horrible things about black people and gay people and trans people and women. Kimmel didn't even do that. Kimmel just said that MAGA has been trying to tie this to leftists and show that this guy's not one of them. And then he showed Donald Trump being asked a question about mourning for Charlie Kirk. And Donald Trump was like, you like my ballroom? You like my ballroom? And look, this is what's going on on right wing media, like on Newsmax, where they're showing photos of Antifa. These folks are the real problem. They're the menace. Antifa is real, despite left's ignorance.

16:38And Donald Trump's like, Antifa is a terrorist group that we're going after. I don't even know what the hell you're talking. Anti-fascist? What group is Antifa? What are you even talking about? But what they want to do is they want to create this common enemy so that they can take away your First Amendment rights because Donald Trump can't take a joke. Donald Trump is thin-skinned. Donald Trump's a fascist. He's an authoritarian wannabe and he's a weak one too. He's a weak and pathetic one. And you look at the 2026 generic ballot by Atlas Intel, which was the most reliable polling that was done in last election cycle.

17:14They have Democrats up by 8.3 % amongst independents, up 63 to 28 % amongst non-voters, 62, I think it's the 27%, but up significantly amongst 2024 non-voters and against young people, 18 to 29, Dems 63 to 28 % against Republicans right there. I'll finally leave you with this, how Americans are feeling about groceries right now, let's play this video. Basically two bags, a hundred bucks. At this Santa Clarita grocery store, the sticker shock is real. $16.99 for one pack of pecans. It's insane. You would think like 10 bucks or something like that, but it's crazy. Other shoppers told us they are buying less and stretching meals just to keep food on the table.

17:58You know, it seems like it's go up and up, so I guess it's crazy. Lately, I mean, it's insane. I mean, everything is go up. So sometimes you just pick up three things and$20, like just small things. I try to go to different stores and pretty much are the same. This mom says it's painful to hit the market. A little disappointing. Yeah. Yeah. I spent quite a bit, but I needed all these things and I have a son that eats a lot. What was your haul today? $211. Yeah. Okay. So I've spent more than that before, you know, because it doesn't last long with my family. When I'm walking around and I see the prices, it does freak me out a little bit.

18:40Yeah, it's bad. I can't believe how much some of this stuff costs, actually. And it seems like steak is the new eggs, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics saying that the price of steak has gone up more than 16 percent over last year. An Associated Press poll shows more than half of Americans say grocery costs are a major source of stress. Economists point to drought, tariffs, and supply chain shortages as drivers. and with beef prices leading the surge right now, ground beef up nearly 13%, families are forced to stretch every dollar. Thank you for watching. We really appreciate you. Hit subscribe.

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From the publisher

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s disastrous Saturday as he is hit with more catastrophic news of his own making.

Go to https://Ground.News/MTN to cut through misinformation, critically analyze the news shaping our lives and hold the media accountable. Save 40% off unlimited access to Ground News with my link or scan the QR code on screen.

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