Trump Panics and Retreats in 24 Hours!!!

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2:19Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump was panicking all last night in the White House, making social media posts after social media posts like a deranged maniac. He was in full retreat mode, and Iranian leaders were calling him out for being in full retreat mode. A well-informed Iranian source told Al Jazeera that negative vibes are already surfacing about the potential for a peace deal between the United States and Iran for the U.S. and Israel's catastrophic war in Iran. These sources are saying that there are signs of a U.S. Donald Trump retreat on two central issues, the mechanism for unfreezing Iranian assets and the scope of ceasefire in Lebanon.

3:01Ben Meiselas:And this retreat followed the MAGA Republican war hawks pushing Donald Trump to go back to war with Iran and also a phone call that Donald Trump received from Netanyahu. We believed 48 hours ago that there was going to be a deal between the United States and Iran. Donald Trump made a social media post suggesting as such, and now he's going back on that. Instead, he's posting AI memes like this, an AI meme of a missile attached to an airplane that says, Thank you for your attention to this matter, to which Iranian leaders immediately responded with a photograph of American airplanes that were destroyed by Iranian drones and mocking Donald Trump for making such a post.

3:49Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump then posted the following as well yesterday. If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of cash and a clear and open path to a nuclear weapon. Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it or knows what it is. It isn't even fully negotiated yet. So don't listen to the losers who are critical about something they know nothing about. Unlike those before me who should have solved this problem many years ago, I don't make bad deals. DJTA, you make the worst deals. You've been bankrupt over and over again.

4:26Ben Meiselas:The JCPOA was actually a good deal, multilateral in scope, with lots of nations ensuring that Iran wouldn't get weapons-grade nuclear material. And basically, you're doing a weaker version of the JCPOA and Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump then continued to make posts about former President Biden, and he posts this image of Biden. Then he posts a photo that says Trump, and it appears to be a stream of water. I mean, that's how Donald Trump is behaving right now. Look, I think the American people see what's going on right now. You look at the latest generic polling data, the RCP generic ballot.

5:07Ben Meiselas:Right now, Democrats in the generic ballot are up plus 7.4. If you look at what it was like in 2018 at this time, it was Democrats plus 4.0 in a big wave then. Democrats in 2014 plus 0.6. In 2022, Republicans were up plus 2.2. Interesting as well, when you look at young voters, Donald Trump has completely lost young voters. Right now, in May of 2026, Donald Trump's net approval amongst voters 18 to 29 years old is negative 57. In January of 2026, it was negative 27. And you go and you look at the generic ballot poll right now as in May of 2026, Democrats plus 33 among young voters right now, Donald Trump completely losing support.

6:04Ben Meiselas:Here's what the Iranian spokesperson for the IRGC had to say about the current status of the deal. We reaffirm that the Strait of Hormuz will remain under full Iranian administration and sovereignty, even in the event of reaching any future agreement. The Islamic Republic emphasized that the authorities to determine transit routes, timing and issuance of maritime licenses are an absolute sovereign right exclusively in the hands of Tehran. And then he goes on to say the spokesperson for the IRGC, if the enemy attacks the Strait of Hormuz, we will break the naval blockade and may withdraw from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

6:45Ben Meiselas:So, I mean, that's how Iran feels what's going on right now. Meanwhile, back on the home front, you have MAGA Mike Johnson going on state regime media, which calls itself Fox. Here's what MAGA Mike is saying. So you can hear what like the Republican talking point is. they think that they've been good on kitchen table issues. Play this clip. Let's just talk politics here. What does this mean for you and the midterms? Because I know this consumes your thoughts a lot. Yeah, it's a big thing. Obviously, we've done a lot of work. The big, beautiful bill, the working families tax cut, all of our legislation has been geared towards the cost of living, affordability, bringing the cost of living down.

7:23We put in all those conditions in the economy to let it take off like a rocket. And we were doing that at the beginning of the first quarter, and then the Iran skirmish began. So when this settles out, gas prices come back down to earth. That means your grocery prices come down again because of transport costs and all the rest. It's going to be a big factor. The kitchen table issues are going to decide the midterm. Can those things come down in time to help you out in the midterm? Yes. We got plenty of runway. We have better candidates. We have a fundraising advantage. We're super excited about the midterms.

7:48I'm absolutely convinced that we're going to grow the majority and we'll get this done and make history.

7:53Ben Meiselas:But nobody's buying it. You have a new type of Democrat, you know, I think emerging in people like Graham Plattner. You saw Graham Plattner's fight the oligarchy speech that he gave yesterday. We covered it here live on the Midas Touch Network with Bernie Sanders. This right here is where the American people are focused on. Well, Donald Trump's talking about golden ballrooms and arches. And while Trump is stock trading and enriching himself and making people pay crypto tribute to him for quid pro Quotes selling out the United States of America, weakening the United States of America for his Epstein class.

8:31Ben Meiselas:Let me share with you what Graham Plattner saying. And we've always had Graham Plattner on from the very, very beginning. And let me just show you what Graham saying here. Play this clip. I believe that in our country, the voices of working people are far more important than the voices of those who simply have money. I believe that we should not be settling for scraps that they throw to us from the table where they dine with the Epstein class.

9:07I don't think that a CEO should have more power than a union member. I don't think that private equity deserves more time with a senator than someone who works two jobs just to get by.

9:28We are in the straits we are today because that is exactly what has happened. But the world that we live in is not how it has to be. We can have a health care system that is not just another mechanism of extracting wealth out of working Americans, but a guarantee of safety and health for all.

9:57Ben Meiselas:Also, when we talk about this new generation of Democrats, Democratic Senator John Ossoff running for re-election in Georgia. Here's what he has to say. Play this clip. You also probably saw that as he continues his project of turning the White House into his royal palace, he's demanding vast sums of money your money the people's money for his ballroom and this is just the tip of the iceberg in a pattern of corruption and abuse unprecedented in the history of the presidency But you can rest assured that both of my opponents would be voting for this insurrectionist slush fund and would be voting for this crooked ballroom.

10:53And they're going to come down here to Georgia and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to try to elect one of these two Trump puppets to the United States Senate.

11:09Ben Meiselas:And folks, even Republicans are not buying what Donald Trump's selling right now. I'll show you what Republican Senator Tom Tillis had to say about Hegseth. And he said, he said, Hegseth is so bad that he makes Kristi Noem look like a five star recruit. Here's what Tillis had to say. Let's play this clip. It is unclear as of now that the Trump administration is going to be able to get a better deal than Obama got without even having to fire a shot. You just mentioned Secretary Hegseth. Do you think the president has been advised well by Secretary Hegseth on this? No. I actually, if you take a look at the assessment that Hegseth gave, at the end of the day, regardless of who collected the information, Hegseth owns it by being Secretary of Defense.

11:58When you tell the president that you have obliterated Iran and you're in a position to pretty much dictate terms, and now you see what we have, when you see Hegseth pull back on operations in Poland when Ukraine, when Russia is raping, killing, murdering, torturing countless people in Ukraine. When you see these mistakes made by Hegseth, actually, I think with all these mistakes in total, it's beginning to make Christine Ohm look like a five-star recruit.

12:28Ben Meiselas:And then Megyn Kelly, of all people, had the following to say about Donald Trump. Here's what Megyn Kelly said. Let's play. You know what, Megan? I got to push back a little bit because, you know, you know, Trump didn't take a salary while he's vice president. So I don't know what you're talking about. Right. I mean, you look at like across the board of the Trump family. I've never seen a family get so rich off of a presidency. Right. And it happened at the same time as we now have a Supreme Court ruling that basically says any official act he takes while in the White House is protected. Right.

12:58And those two things are, you know, seem to be giving him some sort of a hall pass that could very much get abused. I don't want to, you know, say he's crossed the line legally, because I actually haven't taken a close look at that. But, you know, he's done a lot that pushes it right up to the line. And I just don't think we want our presidents or their families getting rich off of the presidency. And I really want to know more about all these trades that are happening on Iran right before he makes the announcements. This is not the way it's supposed to be. Even one of those would have caused a massive scandal 12, 13 years ago.

13:35We shouldn't be so far afield that these obvious ethical questions get skirted past with just a shoulder shrug, because it does matter.

13:43Ben Meiselas:Going back for a moment for what they're saying in Iran, a source very close to MB Galibov, Iran's parliament leader, posted the following, The United States, in the existing draft text of the agreement with Iran, has for the first time accepted a commitment on behalf of the Israeli regime to cease all military operations and any form of threats against all fronts of resistance, including Lebanon. This amounts to neutralizing the United States' overarching strategy in the region based on keeping the regime separate from any agreement and preserving the regime's freedom of action against Iran and the resistance.

14:19Ben Meiselas:If this text is finalized, it will represent an unprecedented concession and signify strategic defeat for the United States and the regime in the war against Iran. Then it goes on to say intelligence assessment during this week and next week holidays in the United States, an opportunity for a surprise attack on Iran and the resistance is considered sufficient vigilance exists and immediate confrontation scenarios have been prepared. So that's what they're saying in Iran right now. Also, one of the things that Donald Trump has demanded, although it has not really been all that effective, the White House and Andrew DeSidario reported it from Punchbowl.

15:00Ben Meiselas:The White House is demanding GOP lawmakers to tweet support for the emerging deal with Iran this weekend. Some did. Others dreading returning from recess have to defend it per senior GOP aide. So that's what they're saying there. And then you got people like Scott Jennings, these MAGA sycophants who are out there basically saying, insiders reporting from an unnamed White House official that the Iran deal is 95 % done. The remaining 5%, however, of negotiations are focused on Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz and turning over all nuclear material. As our editor-in-chief, Ron Filipkowski writes, good thing Iran giving up uranium and opening up the strait is only 5%, or I might be pessimistic about this situation.

15:50Ben Meiselas:Now, Donald Trump has been, of course, manipulating the markets. Oil, the price of crude futures, decreased about 5 % based on all of the manipulation taking place. Stock futures, at least as of now, for the NASDAQ, the S &P, and the Dow are very, very high. But if we actually focus again on what's happening right now, I try to root us in reality by giving us the best sourcing. So here's some of the best sourcing. Ali Hashem. Less than 24 hours after optimism emerged around possible Iran-U.S. memorandum, negative vibes are surfacing. A well-informed Iranian source tells me there are signs of U.S.

16:31Ben Meiselas:retreat on the two central issues, the mechanism for unfreezing Iranian assets and the scope of ceasefire in Lebanon. According to the source, the memorandum includes a Lebanon ceasefire framework, but Israel is reportedly uncomfortable with the arrangement and is pushing Washington to include language, allowing Israel to carry out military operations in Lebanon under the justification of responding to, quote, any threat. Iran is rejecting that formulation and insisting on a sustainable and lasting ceasefire. Tehran has informed all mediators, including Pakistan, that it will not sign the memorandum unless all clauses are fully agreed and guaranteed.

17:08Ben Meiselas:Pakistan reportedly suggested moving forward with the agreed sections while postponing contentious points, but Iran rejected that approach, insisting the disputed clauses are fundamental and non-negotiable. The overall picture suggests Tehran increasingly views Washington as backing away from the earlier understanding reached through mediators after Netanyahu called Donald Trump and the MAGA warmongers called up Donald Trump. Ali Golaki says Netanyahu's contact with Trump was enough to bring U.S. policy back to, quote, no dust, no export of 400 kilograms of uranium, no dollars, cancellation of the release of Iran's frozen assets.

17:51Ben Meiselas:No dust, no dollars. The United States has decided not to release a single dollar from the country's frozen assets until we yield to America's nuclear demands. On the other hand, Iran has recently raised its red line for enrichment from 3.67 % to 20 % and 400 kilograms of uranium won't be leaving Iran either. Iran will probably not sign the Islamabad understanding amid the uncertain situation of lifting the strait blockade by America, failure to release frozen assets, and America's maximalist nuclear demands. And what Iran realizes, we're not going to open up the strait of Hormuz, lose our leverage, and not have you unfreeze the assets and not have you do the things that you said you were going to do.

18:36Ben Meiselas:You, America, unfreeze the assets, give us billions of dollars that we want, as much as 25 to$100 billion in sanctions relief. Then we'll respond and open up the Strait of Hormuz. And then maybe later we can deal with the nuclear issue, but we're not giving you the nuclear, as they've been made clear, they said, look, we're not making weapons-grade nuclear, nuclear, weapons-grade nuclear bombs, but we're not going to give up our civilian nuclear program at all. So that's where things stand right now. We'll keep you posted every step of the way. I want to give you that comprehensive update. Let me know what you think.

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