In short
Allegations of a hunger strike at “Alligator Alcatraz” (Florida ICE detention) and broader claims that Trump’s administration is worsening immigration conditions while manipulating economic and political messaging.
Guests
No specific guests are interviewed in the transcript. The episode features quoted individuals, including detainee Pedro Hernandez and his wife Demariz Hernandez, plus references to Caroline Levitt (described as Trump’s chief propagandist).
Key claims
Day 11 hunger strike; detainees report extreme conditions (mosquitoes, flies/maggots, lack of food, no medication, hygiene/shower access issues). The host claims right-wing media ignores the story. Claims of economic data being falsified and Trump firing a Labor Statistics commissioner. Claims about Nobel Peace Prize nominations and geopolitical favoritism.
Notable examples
Pedro’s call from detention; town hall by Democrats in Coconut Grove; headlines about tariffs, jobs slowdown, and stock market weakness; Caroline Levitt “crash out” at a press conference.
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 Panic and Social Media Posts
0:45 to 2:53
Discussion on Trump's frantic communication with supporters and his claims.
“Let me just show you what he's doing this morning.”
Economic Conditions Under Trump
2:53 to 4:40
Analysis of reports regarding economic fears and Trump's misleading statements.
“He spent since the EU will internate and simultaneously to flourish inflation target target June budgets, other pro growth provisions problem of exorbitant.”
Detainees' Conditions and Political Response
6:35 to 8:57
Details on the plight of detainees and the political implications of their hunger strike.
“Because when I'm looking at the ground news tool and I'm seeing alligator Alcatraz detainees on hunger strike for the 10th day, now the 11th day, no one is talking about this in right-wing media.”
Trump's Fundraising and Polling
8:57 to 12:13
Examination of Trump's fundraising tactics and current approval ratings.
“We make mistakes, but we learn from them and fix things, Demariz Hernandez says.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Ben Meiselas:A hunger strike is underway right now, day 11, in a concentration camp called Alligator Alcatraz in the United States of America, as detainees are starving themselves, potentially to death, in protest of the horrific conditions. They say mosquitoes the size of elephants. They say that there are flies and maggots in their food if they are able to eat at all. I can't believe I'm reporting about this in the United States of America with all hell breaking loose as the Trump regime disappears. Human beings, migrants and citizens alike, if they look like migrants. All the while, Donald Trump has been making posts after panic posts this morning, email after email to his supporters.
0:53Ben Meiselas:Let me just show you what he's doing this morning. I subscribe to his emails so you don't have to. And here's what he wrote. This is when he was landing the other day, but he sent this yesterday or last night. I'm 35 ,000 feet up in the air. I'm on Air Force One. I'm working nonstop on the plane. So I need you to answer a few questions for me. Do you still believe that I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for securing the Iran-Israel ceasefire? Have you ever seen someone so thirsty and begging for a ceasefire? I mean, begging for a Nobel Peace Prize and taking credit for things that he's really had nothing to do with at all.
1:38Ben Meiselas:I mean, the fact that you're shoulder to shoulder with Netanyahu and basically against the rest of the world tells me everything. I mean, the fact that Netanyahu is one of the people who nominated you for a Nobel Peace Prize. You've made things worse, Donald. You promised there would be peace in Ukraine in 24 hours. That didn't happen. You promised that there would be peace in Gaza in 24 hours. You've made the situation worse in both areas. I want to show you all this, though, because this account on TikTok, I think, really highlighted well just how Caroline Levitt is even struggling at this point to even just read words and to say the regime propaganda.
2:25Ben Meiselas:I mean, she does it in such a dystopian Orwellian way. But even as She's reading the script. She's tripping over her words. Watch this. This is what went down at the latest Caroline Levitt press conference. She's Donald Trump's chief propagandist. Let's play it. Rigor, rigor, rigor, rigor. Did anyone else see Caroline Levitt crash out today? I don't know how much longer she's going to be up there. Hold on to your pants. He spent since the EU will internate and simultaneously to flourish inflation target target June budgets, other pro growth provisions problem of exorbitant. Other similar similarly global fleet free load all billion billion in pharmaceutical can in fact reach a deal committing committed to the criteria of treasuries to rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor rigor to be completed can be.
3:23Ben Meiselas:Now, here are the headlines across the United States right now. The page one of the Indianapolis Star, Trump tariffs spark price fear. You think? When we all go into the grocery store or convenience stores, we see how much more expensive things are. This isn't a shocker right now. And Donald Trump just fired the commissioner for BLS, the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You know who else fires statisticians? Dictators. Erdogan in Turkey fired the BLS person. And in places like North Korea and Russia, they don't have a commissioner who's appointed. That's by and confirmed by the Senate. That's just not what they have.
4:12The Wall Street Journal's front page, hiring slows sharply
4:17Ben Meiselas:in the summer. It was one of the worst jobs reports in recent history, really the worst jobs report since the Great Recession. And if you look at some of the fundamentals of the economy, they're now looking as weak as the Great Recession. The New York Times headline, Stock market posts worst week in months in renewed economic fears. But as this account says, the guy who was convicted of 34 counts of first degree falsification of business records says that all of the numbers showing that the economy is doing horrible, that all the numbers are wrong. And Donald Trump's the one who has all the secret numbers in his head.
4:59Ben Meiselas:He's the one who has said that gas prices are actually$1.98, everybody. Don't actually look at what the gas prices say and what you actually are paying. Trump says it's$1.98. Or Donald Trump says he's solved inflation. So don't look at the June figures from the Labor Department, for example, for the cost of ground beef if you're doing a barbecue, which shows how the costs are up 11%, 7.2%, 12.8%, 12.7%, 10.7%, depending on the type of cut that you get. I think it's important that we just take a look at objective data. And I often get asked what research tools I use to get at that objective data and to see what's being reported on the left and the right and the center.
5:50Ben Meiselas:As you all know, the research tool I use is called Ground News. I think it's essential nowadays to see through double standards. I'm giving my viewers a great deal. All of you, if you wanted to check out the research tool I use, go to ground.news slash MTN or scan the QR code right here and get 40 % off of Ground News' top tier vantage plan, which will give you unlimited access to everything that I've got. The 40 % discount is great. I worked that out with Ground News. Ground News is subscriber funded. They don't rely on ads that could also introduce bias. And subscribing also supports our channel.
6:27Ben Meiselas:So go to ground.news slash MTN and or scan the QR code and get that 40 % off that vantage plan. You know, just interesting too, right? Because when I'm looking at the ground news tool and I'm seeing alligator Alcatraz detainees on hunger strike for the 10th day, now the 11th day, no one is talking about this in right-wing media. They don't talk about the conditions because they're trying to hide it from their audiences. But what they do talk about is, so Cambodia, trying to get in Donald Trump's good graces, they've nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. They're like, Donald Trump, you helped the peace process.
7:09Ben Meiselas:It's interesting if you think about it, right? Because Pakistan nominated Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. But India, for example, our traditional ally, did not. Pakistan gave Donald Trump meme coins or bitcoins and bought into his Bitcoin business. And, you know, some would argue that's a quid pro quo bribe to Donald Trump. And India didn't do that. India is like, OK, well, we have other things that we can offer, like a broader relationship. And it's just interesting as Donald Trump continues to kind of attack India and embrace Pakistan. And the strategy of countries is just build Donald Trump a building or give him money or invest in his meme coins.
7:54Ben Meiselas:And then he'll be favorable to you. It's a really pathetic thing as the United States of America, which was once viewed as like the most powerful country in the world and the leader of the free world. It just isn't. It just isn't anymore. The guy weakened this country so much in such a short period of time. Here are the detainees at Florida's Alligator Alcatraz on hunger strike for what they call inhumane and horrifically dangerous conditions. Here, take a listen to this.
8:26That's the voice of Pedro Hernandez. He's on the phone with his wife calling from so-called Alligator Alcatraz. He said he was talking to anybody that was listening. Whoever can help us with what's going on here, we've all been hungry since Tuesday, Pedro says. He arrived from Cuba in the United States in 2006. He was arrested four years later and got a deportation order. In July, during a routine visit to ICE in Miramar, the feds scooped him up. It was the last time his wife saw him. My husband was in prison. We make mistakes, but we learn from them and fix things, Demariz Hernandez says. Thursday, she shared Pedro's plea for help from what he describes as deplorable conditions.
9:07It's also day nine with no food. He's on a hunger strike with other detainees.
9:14I'm not going to eat another plate of food until they show us respect, Pedro said. Meanwhile, Florida is struck an unholy bargain with the Trump administration. Democrats in Coconut Grove held an emergency town hall, denouncing the conditions at the detention center. And so when people are forced into these tense cities with substandard conditions, we're going to see people irreparably harmed, not only for due process, but people are not getting their medication. They're not getting food. They're not getting hygiene. They're not being able to use the showers.
9:48Ben Meiselas:And meanwhile, you have Donald Trump continuing to send messages like this. Flash MAGA poll, flash MAGA poll, or tonight is our last night to hit our critical end of the month fundraising goal. I'm counting on you. If you support what I've done in my first 100 days back in office, I need to act right now. They're like recycling old emails, but we're well past 100 days. And what are you fundraising for right now? Oh, are you fundraising to use that money to try to rig the midterms and gerrymander states like Texas? Have you seen that new Texas map where they want to gerrymander it remove the Democratic districts unlawfully.
10:32Ben Meiselas:And then their goal is to just say, well, by the time the Supreme Court even looks at this, it'll be 2028 or 2029. So let's just push unlawful maps because the American people absolutely hate Donald Trump right now. Donald Trump's approval in the latest Gallup poll and the latest YouGov polls, I mean, And it's anywhere from 37 % to about 40 % Reuters Ipsos, right around there. I mean, he is detested and despised. On issues like inflation, he's like negative 30 approval. On issues of immigration, he's like negative 30. On all of these issues, he's very much underwater. And I just think it's important that we highlight, again, we're better than this as the United States of America.
11:24Ben Meiselas:you know, Donald Trump covering up the Epstein files. I'm going to do a lot more videos on Trump's Epstein connections. But, you know, the Congress recently, the House of Representatives controlled by MAGA. I'll do a video on this either today or tomorrow. They've negotiated with Ghislaine Maxwell to delay her deposition sometime after September, maybe October after After the Supreme Court hears her petition, this is after Donald Trump gave her immunity. I mean, the GOP is the guardians of the pedos and it's sick to see. Anyway, tell me what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.
12:02Ben Meiselas:Thanks, Ground News. Check them out. There's also a link in the description below. You might as merch drop. Check out the latest pro-democracy sticker packs, t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts, and more. All at store.midastouch.com.
From the publisher
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump having an awful Saturday as hunger strikes against his cruel and unusual behavior break out at Alligator Alcatraz and Trump term spirals.
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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