Trump Has Thursday Meltdown as His Shutdown Is Backfiring

0:00Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump is panicking this morning as the Donald Trump government shutdown continues to blow up in his face as we're getting more data out about who the American people are blaming by overwhelming amounts. They're blaming Donald Trump and the Republicans, a Washington Post flash poll just taken of one thousand and ten people find that 47 percent blame Trump and Republicans in Congress for the shutdown. 30 % say Democrats in Congress. And when you go through the cross tabs, 71 % of Americans say federal health insurance subsidies should be extended. And yes, by a 17 % point margin, the poll found more people saying Trump and Republicans are to blame.

0:41Ben Meiselas:And that number right there, 71 % of Americans say federal health insurance subsidies should be extended. That is basically what Democrats are entirely fighting for here. And so the more Democrats can emphasize that, I think further support will be garnered by Democrats for trying to ensure that Americans health insurance is protected. Now, Donald Trump just posted this moments ago because Donald Trump's talking about inflicting pain on Americans and specifically targeting Democrats. Donald Trump goes, I have a meeting today. This is what he posted. I have a meeting today with Russ Vogt, he of Project 2025 fame, to determine which of the many Democrat agencies, most of which are a political scam, he recommends to be cut and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.

1:31Ben Meiselas:I cannot believe the radical left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people. So maybe this is their way of wanting to quietly and quickly make America great again. President D.J.T. He's like a cartoonish supervillain. I remember like growing up those cartoons that I would watch. Maybe they wanted to give me all of this power to inflict pain upon them. It's almost a parody, except this is real life, folks. And so as you look at Donald Trump's post there as well, as he goes, Project 2025 fame, Russ vote. Remember when Donald Trump back during the election would say, I know nothing about Project 2025.

2:13Ben Meiselas:And all those media fact checkers would be like, Donald Trump denies knowing about Project 2025. I remember like Midas Touch was fact checked once. Former Vice President Kamala Harris was fact checked. And we would say, nope, Donald Trump is implementing the Project 2025 agenda. And if he wins, that's what he's going to do. And they would be like, but Donald Trump denies that he's ever even read Project 2025. Remember Donald Trump's post July 5th, 2024. I could show you dozens more like this, but I'll just show you this one. I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who's behind it. I disagree with some of the things they're saying.

2:46Ben Meiselas:And some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck. But I have nothing to do with them. Can we all say it together? Donald Trump is a fraud. Donald Trump is a fraud. Now you go. Donald Trump is a fraud. Donald Trump is a felon. Now you go. Donald Trump is a felon. I feel like this is my version of Miss Rachel at this point as I teach my little daughter the alphabet. It's like Donald Trump is a horrible human being. He's bankrupted all of his companies. He's a terrible businessman or most of his companies. Donald Trump then posts this in all caps.

3:26Ben Meiselas:The Democrats want to give your health care money to illegal aliens and open our borders to the criminals of the world. A deadly combination because everybody will come. Let's randomly blame illegal immigrants and transgender people and Peruvian transgender surgeries. Why? Because we don't like to actually talk about the truth. And we don't believe that government actually means that you're supposed to reach compromises and consensus. We'll just blame immigrants. Remember when last week Donald Trump told MAGA Republicans don't even talk to Democrats, yet alone negotiate? Remember when Donald Trump told Democrats, go F yourselves when Democrats, again, were fighting for something that 71 % of Americans say federal health insurance subsidies should be extended?

4:10Ben Meiselas:I have to imagine the other 29 % don't realize where their healthcare comes from because you're either getting your healthcare from Medicare, Medicaid, or likely an Affordable Care Act plan. So you want to be kicked off your health care? Is that what you're saying? You want it to be made more expensive? Like I saw a stat, a family that's making$85 ,000. If these Affordable Care Act subsidies are removed, we'll now be paying$24 ,000 a year for their Affordable Care Act plans. How is a couple 55 years old making$85 ,000 supposed to pay$24 ,000 in health insurance. They don't. They go bankrupt or they can't send their kids to college or they can't do anything else other than just barely get by.

5:00Ben Meiselas:I don't know. But this is the state of America right now. Maga Mike Johnson held a press conference moments ago and he was like, many of you keep asking me this morning about sombreros and memes and why Hakeem Jeffries is alarmed by that. Look, these are just the games that we play when we negotiate. This is how we roll. No, MAGA Mike, this is not how it's supposed to be done. The MAGA Mike's like, and look, you have Governor Newsom. He mocks me. Governor Newsom is mocking the behavior of Donald Trump. Governor Newsom is mocking Trump's childish behavior. We expect the president of the United States at a baseline, at a floor to behave like a grownup.

5:43Ben Meiselas:Here's what MAGA Mike has to say, they'll play this clip. Many of you asked me this morning about sombreros and memes and why why Hakeem Jeffries is all alarmed by that. Look, these are games. These are sideshows. People are getting caught up in battles over social media memes. We've got to keep that. This is not a game. We've got to keep the government open for the people. I don't know why this is so complicated. And to my friend Hakeem, who I was asked about, man, just ignore it. I mean, Gavin Newsom was trolling me last night. He painted me like a minion. He painted me yellow with big glasses and overalls.

6:15And I thought it was hilarious. You don't respond to it. For all my friends, for all my friends, R's and D's, don't respond to it. Get to work, do the people's business, and let's get on with it. Thank you all so much.

6:44Ben Meiselas:like Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy or like Saddam Hussein. Like this is ridiculously offensive stuff that's going on government websites. And it's pissing off, I think, all Americans. But here you'll see Mike, Mag and Mike Johnson's like, it's objectively true. The radical left Democrats do want to give trillions of dollars of health care to illegal migrants. No, they don't. It's not true. Federal law prohibits it. It's literally against federal law to do that. But I do want to say this, and this is what you all have to answer for as you pretend to be Christians or whatever the hell you're pretending to be.

7:21Ben Meiselas:If an individual is dying, do you give them emergency health care? Should a doctor not help somebody live? You want to see human beings die? Heck, if I'm driving and I see a dog on the side of the road who looks injured, I'm going to try to help. So all you Christians want to see people bleed out and die who are contributing to our country? I mean, honestly, how dare you? But here, let's play this from MAGA Mike Johnson. Let's play it. HUD had on its agency webpage blaming radical Democrats for this. Is that an appropriate use of taxpayer money being overtly political? It's something we haven't seen before.

7:54I think what the HUD website says is the objective truth that we're telling you right now. There are 44 Democrats in the Senate. And by the way, every Democrat in the House except one who voted to shut the government down, they are the ones that made that decision. The White House and the executive branch take no pleasure in this. But when they are tasked with determining what their priorities are, obviously, they're going to follow their principles and priorities and not the other team. That's the results of an election that everybody voted in, a popular election in Electoral College. This episode of the Midas Touch podcast is brought to you by bookshop.org.

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9:45Ben Meiselas:And then like a typical like abuser, these people have abuser mentalities. Maga Mike's like, look, Russ Vogt, author of Project 2025, he doesn't want to do this to you. You're going to make us hurt you. We don't want to hurt you, but you're going to force us to inflict pain. He's doing it reluctantly. Didn't the MAGA Republican senators the other day say that he's been waiting for this moment since puberty? Isn't that what they said? That Russ Boat waited for this moment to cut funds from Democratic cities, billions of dollars from New York City tunnels or this state's project. He's been waiting for it since puberty.

10:25Ben Meiselas:What a bunch of weirdos to even make that comment also. Here play this clip of MAGA Mike. They have now effectively turned off the legislative branch, the Article 2 branch of, or the Article 1, sorry, the Article 1 branch of our government, and they've turned it over to the executive. Okay, so in that situation, when Congress turns off the funding and the funding runs out, it is up to the commander in chief, the president of the United States, to determine how those resources will be spent. He has that responsibility given to him by the Democrats in the Senate. They can't complain about it, and he doesn't want to do it.

10:57But in this scenario, what they have to do is make very difficult decisions. Most of the responsibility falls to Russ Vogt. He's the director of the Office of Management and Budget, as you go, as you know. Whomever is seated in the chair at OMB during a shutdown has to do the same thing. Russ does this reluctantly. We had a 45-minute telephone conference with him yesterday. He talked to all the House Republicans. He takes no pleasure in this because Russ has to sit down and decide because he's in charge of that office. which policies, personnel, and which programs are essential and which are not.

11:29That is not a fun task. And he is not enjoying that responsibility. And it could end today if the Senate Democrats would come to their senses and do the right thing for the American people. But if they don't, and if they keep the government closed, it's going to get more and more painful because the resources run out and more and more things have to be reduced and eliminated. Now, when he sits down as the director of OMB, he will obviously have a subjective determination on the priorities. And what do you think he would do? Because what would any OMB director do under any president? They're going to look to see for the administration's priorities first and ensure that those are funded.

12:07And so those are some very serious determinations that have to be made.

12:12Ben Meiselas:Then you have a different tact here by MAGA Republican Congresswoman Lisa McClain of Michigan. and she's like, just sign the CR. Just sign our resolution. That's not negotiating. Here, play this clip. Pass the clean Republican CR bill that we already passed. I mean, it's really, really simple. That's it. Just pass it. I mean, is that what they think negotiating is? Just sign the document. You know what government's supposed to look like? When you need the other side's votes, you don't tell them, go F yourself. when the other side is representing 71, 72 % of the country who wants these subsidies to be extended.

12:57Ben Meiselas:Maybe you talk because these people whose subsidies are expiring, they're not just in blue states and blue cities. They're actually a lot of them in red states and red cities, probably more of them as well, and probably more of them on Medicaid in red states and red cities. So rather than say, just sign it, just sign it, sign the doc, Why don't you speak like adults, get into a room, reach a compromise like that took place under former President Biden and come up with something? But no, no, it's all gaslighting. This is why Trump's bankrupted so many of his companies before. This is not how adult leaders behave.

13:29Ben Meiselas:Then you have Kara Lyon-Levitt right here. She held a mini press conference outside the White House and a reporter asked her the right question. should ER doctors check immigration status before treating dying patients and she's like oh that's not a question for me to answer that's not I don't know what I can do I mean she would like to see these people die like that's what they need to say she and JD Vance want to see them dead here play this clip. Caroline should ERs check immigration status before treating a dying patient? I'm sorry? Should ERs check for immigration status before treating a dying patient?

14:07Um, that's probably not a question for me to answer. I think that's a question for healthcare professionals and legal experts to answer. Let me ask you, do you think that illegal aliens should receive Medicaid benefits, Medicaid benefits that go to the most vulnerable people in our country, that Medicaid benefits that were designed to help low income families and Americans in our country and what the Biden administration, but what the Biden administration.

14:44Ben Meiselas:And here she is again, as I said, the mentality of an abuser right here where she's like, you put us in this position. Democrats should know that they put the White House in this position to abuse them. Now we're going to abuse you. That's what they're saying. Again, these are sick, twisted, demented human beings in the White House at the top by Trump. But these are sick, twisted, demented human beings. Who says that, that you want to inflict pain and harm and abuse Americans? This is the United States of America. You represent all Americans. What vile people these are. Here, play this clip. Because he mentioned Russ Vogt in that.

15:26I think that came out about eight o 'clock this morning about cutting certain programs that they deem are not necessary. Is that real or is that a negotiating tactic? Oh, it's very real. And the Democrats should know that they put the White House and the president in this position. And if they don't want further harm on their constituents back home, then they need to reopen the government. It's very simple. Pass the clean continuing resolution. And all of this goes away. We would not be having these discussions here at the White House today if not for the Democrats voting to shut the government down.

16:02This is an unfortunate consequence. And the president and Russ Vogt will be meeting on that later today.

16:07Ben Meiselas:And just look what Senator Raphael Warnock from Georgia posted. He goes, I was sent this by a Georgian this morning. 2025 premiums versus 2026 premiums for someone making$65 ,000 a year. Republicans in Washington did this. And this is what I'm fighting to stop. This is what's at stake in this shutdown fight. So for this person,$307 a month was their monthly premiums in 2025 for their anthem plan. Now in 2026, without the subsidies, guess what it's going to be? $964 a month. Now$964 a month times 12. Now it's a delta of about$600 more per month. I mean, you can do the math. This person's going to have to pay what?

16:53Ben Meiselas:Closer to$7 ,000,$8 ,000 more a year. They're already living paycheck to paycheck. What are they supposed to do? Oh, wait a minute. Melania wants to chime in. Melania Trump just made a post, everybody. Here's what Melania is saying. Here, play this. She's saying into the future at true Melania meme. Here, play this clip.

17:21Ben Meiselas:The whole world is laughing at us. Literally, the whole world is laughing. I mean, I'm just actually laughing at us. Here's the prime minister of Albania having a good laugh with the president of Azerbaijan and French President Emmanuel Macron about Trump repeatedly claiming that he ended the war between their countries, which were not at war with each other. Here, play this clip. You should make an apology.

17:47Because you didn't congratulate us for the peace deal that President Trump made between Albania and Azerbaijan. I am sorry for that. Yeah. And you work very hard.

17:58Ben Meiselas:And there you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Thanks for watching. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad-free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

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