Trump Holds Disaster Presser on Deadly Floods

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2:50Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump just gave a disastrous press conference on the tarmac in New Jersey as he was flying back to Washington, D.C. He spent the weekend golfing at Bedminster. A reporter asked Donald Trump if he was still planning to phase out FEMA in light of the catastrophe that has taken place in Kerr County, Texas. this, Donald Trump refuses to rule out eliminating FEMA. Here, watch this. Are you still planning to phase out FEMA? Well, FEMA is something we can talk about later, but right now they're busy working, so we'll leave it at that. Go ahead. So even after all we know, with at least 78 dead and many people still missing, he's talking about eliminating FEMA.

3:37Ben Meiselas:Here, Donald Trump also says that he does not think that the federal government needs to hire back the meteorologists in Texas and elsewhere who work at the National Weather Service who do the forecasting. Here, play this clip. In light of the floods, do you think that the federal government needs to hire back any of the meteorologists who are hired in the last month? I wouldn't know that. I really wouldn't. I would think not. This was the thing that happened in seconds. Nobody expected it. Nobody saw it. Very talented people in there and they didn't see it. It's, I guess they said, once in a hundred years, they've never seen anything like this.

4:17So I wouldn't, I mean, people are trying to blame the school. They're trying to blame the camp. They're trying to blame. It's just a horrible thing. But no, I wouldn't say that.

4:27Ben Meiselas:As Aaron Rupert says, this is the exact same talking points that Trump used after he cut disaster preparedness his first term and then COVID hit. Then Donald Trump is asked, so are you investigating whether the cuts that you and Doge made to the federal government left key vacancies at the National Weather Service open and degraded the forecasting? And Trump's like, no, I'm really not. and then he says or tries to blame it on Biden, but then he says don't blame it on Biden. Watch this word salad that he gives as an answer. Play this clip. Are you investigating whether some of the cuts to the federal government left vacancies at the National Weather Service or in the emergency coordination?

5:11They did not. They did. I'll tell you, if you look at that, what a situation that all is. And that was really the Biden setup. That was not our setup, but I wouldn't blame Biden for it either. I would just say this is a hundred year catastrophe and it's just so horrible to watch.

5:32Ben Meiselas:As our friend Molly Jungfast says, Donald Trump has been president for 168 days and he can't take accountability for anything. Just like COVID, like a miracle, it's all going to go away. Next day, a reporter asked Donald Trump, so what do you say to people like Democrats who are blaming you for the federal cuts that you made in Texas? Trump refuses to even answer and engage with the question. Here, play this clip.

6:05Ben Meiselas:I think that's a question that you should have to answer. Just he's not going to answer the question. So then shifting gears, reporters start asking Donald Trump about the tariff rates, The Trump regime promised 90 deals in 90 days. That deadline is July 9th. There's really been no deals made. So when Donald Trump's asked this question, he has no clue what's even going on. He's like, huh? Tariffs? What are you talking about? Tariffs? And then the reporter says, the tariff rates, the deadlines, what are you doing? Watch Donald Trump's response. Let's play it. Mr. President, do the tariff rates change at all on July 9th or do they change on August 1st?

6:48What are you talking about? Tariff rates, do they change on July 9th or August 1st? They're going to be tariffs. The tariffs are going to be the tariffs. I think we'll have most countries done by July 9th. Either a letter or a deal. But they go into effect on August 1st. Tariffs go into effect August 1st. But the president is setting the rates and the deals right now.

7:11Ben Meiselas:And you notice how Howard Lutnik, who I call Nutlik, has to like even like kind of help him out and help answer some of these questions. Donald Trump is next asked about his phone call with Putin. And we all know because Putin's announced in Russia what he said in Russian TV, their state regime media has published it. Russia says it's continuing its, quote, special operation against Ukraine and will not stop until Ukraine is obliterated or destroyed. And Putin said that he talked to Donald Trump about making movies and musicals together as part of bringing the US and Russia closer together culturally.

7:48Ben Meiselas:That's what they put out on Russian TV. And here Donald Trump's like, oh, I was just very disappointed in my call. All right, you're disappointed. Do something about it. What are you going to do about it? Here, play this clip. You said you had a strategic call with Zelensky the other day. What strategy did you describe? I thought it was a good call. He's being hit very hard, as I said he would. He's being hit very hard. And I was very disappointed with my call with President Putin. I was very disappointed. And next, Donald Trump's asked, so are you going to visit Texas? I mean, he was spending the weekend golfing while this was taking place.

8:26Ben Meiselas:Trump was golfing at Bedminster. So are you planning to visit Texas? And Trump's like, Maybe next Friday, maybe next Friday, I'll go. Here, play this clip. On Friday to visit Texas, Mr. President. Probably on Friday. We wanted to leave a little time. I would have done it today, but we'd just be in their way. Probably Friday. Next, Donald Trump is asked if he was briefed about the ship that was hit by the Houthis in the Red Sea earlier in the day. Remember Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth said, oh, they negotiated this powerful ceasefire with the Houthis. And Houthis are in an Iranian-backed group.

9:05Ben Meiselas:And so the Houthis struck a cargo ship in the Red Sea. And Donald Trump pretty much has no clue what the question's even about. He's like, we'll give you a report tonight or tomorrow. I bet you Trump had no clue that that even took place. Here, watch this. Have you been briefed on the ship that was hit in the Red Sea? Do you know if the Houthis attacked that ship today? We'll give you a report sometime tonight or tomorrow. Next, you have Howard Nutlik, let Nick say, look, the president's right about everything in the midst of discussing all sorts of deals with all sorts of countries. He's doing the greatest.

9:40Ben Meiselas:All sorts of deals with all sorts of countries. The propaganda here is just ridiculous. This is just embarrassing to watch, isn't it? Here, let's play it. Secretary Nutlik, are you expecting any deals to be signed this week and what countries are closer to that. Well, the president is right in the midst of discussing all sorts of deals with all sorts of countries and the gentleman to my right is going to decide and I'm going to be with him when he makes that decision. Next, a reporter asked Donald Trump about Elon Musk starting a new political party called the American Party. And then Donald Trump's like, oh, it's ridiculous.

10:16Ben Meiselas:And I think it's such a bad idea. Watch this. I think it's ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system. And I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked. So he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous. Donald Trump is asked about the stadium for the Washington football team, the Washington Commanders. And then Donald Trump is upset that they changed their name from a slur involving Native Americans to their current name.

10:58Ben Meiselas:And that's what he wanted to talk about. Not even really answer the question. Let's play it. The D.C. City Council has not approved a new stadium for the Commanders. If they don't approve it, will you step in? Well, we see what happens. I've been looking at the deal and I don't blame them. They have to. It's a very important piece of property. It's a great piece of property. So we'll see. But if I can help them out, I will. You know, ultimately, we control that. The federal government ultimately controls it. So we'll see what happens. I saw the plans. I saw the stadium. The owner is very, very successful and a very good man.

11:35I know a little bit. And it would be a great place for the NFL to be there. I can tell you that. So if they want to negotiate a little tough, that's OK with me. The commanders changed the name back to Redskins. Well, you want me to make a controversial statement? I would. I wouldn't have changed the name. But that's there. It just doesn't have the same. It doesn't have the same ring to me. But, you know, winning can make everything sound good. So if they win, all of a sudden the commander sounds good. But I wouldn't have changed it.

12:08Ben Meiselas:And next day, reporter asked Donald Trump, why not help Ukraine the same way you're helping Israel? Why don't you do that? And then Donald Trump starts lying and saying, we are helping Ukraine. You're actually not. You've pulled out a lot of weapons that were, you stopped giving them the weapons that were approved by Congress and you didn't even give them or our European allies or anybody in the G7 or NATO a heads up that this was actually going to happen. But notice that Donald Trump doesn't really answer the questions. Like I do, but the elections are rigged and the war wouldn't even have happened if it wasn't for me.

12:47Ben Meiselas:Going back to Molly Jungfass post, we're in day 168. You promised you would bring peace to Ukraine in less than 24 hours. And now you're out there saying you were just being sarcastic when you said that, and you were joking and that you didn't really mean you can bring peace. It's day 168 and things are getting worse. And Putin just called you and said he ain't ever agreeing to a ceasefire. He said he's going to continue that special operation, as he calls it, until Ukraine is destroyed. And what are you doing? What are you doing? Here, play this clip.

13:49You wouldn't have had the horrible Afghanistan, the way they left. Not that they left. We would have been out before them. But the way they left, I think the most embarrassing day in the history of our country. You wouldn't have had the October horror show with Israel and Hamas. You wouldn't have had any of it. You wouldn't have had the recent showdown with Iran. You wouldn't have had any of it. And you wouldn't have had inflation.

14:14Ben Meiselas:Now, while Donald Trump was giving that press conference slightly earlier in the day, you had the Texas state officials giving a press conference. And I think there are some very important points to make here as well. One of the things that Governor Abbott, and he's there with some of the local police officials as well, that they're saying is that while they were aware that there could be flash floods potentially taking place, they were not aware that the storm would have ever been this bad. That caught them by surprise. My question is, is one of the reasons that caught you by surprise was because the main meteorologist coordinator for the National Weather Service who worked in this area that covered Kerrville and Kerr County was forced out by DOGE.

15:05Ben Meiselas:Here, listen to what Governor Abbott says of Texas play this clip. You talked, which you just said, kind of about expertise and about just knowing the area and that extends also to the National Weather Service folks who are in those offices and have years and years of experience. There are currently six vacancies in the local and other National Weather Service office that covered for county. What is your perspective on how that could have impacted the warnings that you all were able to get and how accurate the information you all were able to get? So I know nothing about the staffing. what I do know is what they put out.

15:39And it's my understanding that what they put out was kind of the information that the state was operating off of, and that is that there were alerts or warnings about heavy rain, potential for flash flooding in certain areas. A problem with that is that to most people in the area, flash flooding would mean one thing, not what it turned out to be because they deal with flash floods all the time. Just like I put people on notice in these regions of Texas right now, there's the potential for flash flooding, but there's no expectation of a water wall of almost 30 feet high.

16:17Ben Meiselas:Next, Governor Abbott has asked, so are you talking to Kristi Noem and the Trump regime? Because they apparently want to eliminate FEMA. They want to eliminate resources for meteorologists and weather forecasting. Are you talking to them about this? Because this seems to be hurting your state and the rest of the country. And here Governor Abbott says that's one of the things we're talking about. OK, here, play this clip. Governor Abbott, on that topic, we know that these alerts can be life-saving at times. And a lot of times, these forecasters get their information from the National Weather Service.

16:51Are you communicating with your federal partners on how free their funding is from the National weather service in order to issue alerts like this is disaster. It's one of the things that we spoke about when Secretary Noem was in, and this is part of ongoing conversations. And I'll add this, as you all probably know, we have a special session coming up and the way to respond to what happened in Kerrville is going to be a topic for the special session to address.

17:20Ben Meiselas:And next, a reporter asks, Governor Abbott, did anybody get a warning to the people in the camps outside of just the automated system? Like, was there anything other than just an alert that there could be flash floods to actually get in touch with people? And you'll see that the official just kind of punts the question and says, you probably want to just ask the county emergency management people here. Watch this. to people at the camps outside of the automated? I missed the first part of the question. Did anyone try to get a warning to the people at the camps outside of the automated system? So I'm not sure that I understand the question.

18:03I mean, does somebody go door to door and knock on the doors? Yeah, we're just wondering if there are any official outreach in the area. You know, we talked to the county emergency manager when we were there the first day, and the county does have a plan for that county and the 18 or so camps that are in that county. probably be really good to ask them that question and let them give you that answer. It's a good question. Thank you.

18:24Ben Meiselas:Now, one of the things that you should all know about disaster responses and situations like this, it's not just the state pre-positioning their resources. What would normally happen in a situation like this is the National Weather Service would make their forecast and then immediately FEMA and the feds would work side by side in a joint task force with the state. And the feds would really assume leadership and responsibility. You don't just throw it on the state because the states are not equipped. Even a state as big as Texas or California, they're not equipped to handle these things. It's really the feds that lead the way and bring their resources to bear and help with evacuations and doing all of that.

19:07Ben Meiselas:And it doesn't seem to be anything that happened here because the whole view of the Trump regime FEMA's. This should be what the states do, and FEMA should be eliminated, and let's gut the NOAA, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and the National Weather Service, which is under it. That's what Project 2025 called for, and we were warning about, to eliminate the NOAA, NOAA, and the NWS, the National Weather Service. Just so you see more about what's happening in the Red Sea. A Red Sea ship was hit by waves of attacks as the Houthis are escalating. Here's how the telegraph reports it.

19:44Ben Meiselas:Houthis set ship on fire with drone boat attack in the Red Sea. Iran-backed militia continues wave of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz despite Washington's ceasefire. You can see the ship right here that is on fire. And I just want to remind you, because I got to get receipts for all of these things. So we make the connections here together, right? Back in early May, remember Donald Trump held a press conference where he announced a ceasefire with the Houthis and applauded their bravery and how great they are. And he's so impressed by the Houthis and that nothing's ever going to happen again. And we'll be able to get our ships inside and outside of the Red Sea.

20:25Ben Meiselas:And remember Donald Trump declared mission accomplished in May. Here, just so you can remember, this is what Trump said in May. It's important we make these connections together. Here, play this clip. We had a very good outcome with the Houthis and we honor their word. I mean, they made a commitment and we dealt with other countries that were close to them and their surrogates. And we honor all of their words. We'll see what happens. But I think, you know, I believe that hopefully that's over with. And they'll leave the ships alone, you know, just leave those ships alone. But so we do, we take their word for it.

21:02It was, you know, we hit them very hard. They had a great capacity to withstand punishment. They took tremendous punishment. And, you know, you could say there's a lot of bravery there that it was amazing what they took. But we honor their commitment and their word. They gave us their word that they wouldn't be shooting ships anymore. And we honor that.

21:25Ben Meiselas:Okay. And then do you remember in the last 30 days or so, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, former Weekend Fox host, was testifying and Democratic Congress member Moulton was cross-examining Hegseth about what we did to the Houthis and the strike that the United States made on the Houthis, followed by the ceasefire. Because even about 30 days ago, We knew that ships were not going in and out of the Red Sea, which was the whole point of the operation. So why would we claim that there was a successful operation if the objectives were not achieved, right? The same thing in Iran, where it does not seem to have eliminated the nuclear facilities in any meaningful sense.

22:13Ben Meiselas:But here's what Congress member Molten cross-examined Hegsathon. Here, play this, Clem. You talked about the success of the Houthi operation. About how much money did it cost? How much money did you spend on missiles shooting at the Houthis? Well, you'd have to compare that with what it cost. I'm just asking how much did it cost. It hurt our shipping lanes around the sea. I'm told it's several hundred million dollars, maybe close to a billion dollars. How many U.S.-flagged commercial ships have transited the Red Sea since your so-called successful operation? Well, thankfully, unlike the previous administration, the answer is zero.

22:45Military vessels transit. No, no, no. I didn't ask about military vessels. I asked about commercial vessels. How many commercial vessels? It's been several weeks. How many commercial vessels U.S. flagged have transit? Well, would you, Mr. Congressman, put civilian ships? The questions are not to me, Mr. Secretary, they're to you. We have responsibly put military ships first. The answer is zero. I reclaim my time.

23:04Ben Meiselas:And that was about like 30 days or so. I want you to make those connections to see where the lies are. So again, you can judge for yourself. I always think it's important when I talk about these things just to bring out the receipts, to make the connections here. Oh, they lied here. They lied here. And you could judge for yourself and form your own opinions. But I think it's pretty clear what's going on here. Anyway, hit subscribe, help us get to 6 million. And thanks so much for watching. 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.