Trump Stunned as Dems Finally Go on Offense in DC

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3:30Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump is panicking as Democrats strike back after the MAGA Republican recess, sending the House and Senate on a vacation for two weeks. Democrats have returned with a vengeance, and the Midas Touch Network was there on the steps of the Capitol Hill to document it all. Scott McFarlane, who leads the Midas Touch Network's Washington, D.C. Bureau, along with Pablo Monriquez, they were there documenting everything that was going down. Democratic Congresswoman Ansari talked about how it's important to note that a lot of former Trump supporters now are out there recognizing Donald Trump's cognitive decline.

4:17Ben Meiselas:And thus, it is critical that the Democrats and Republicans join them to establish a commission on the ability and fitness cognitively and physically for Donald Trump to serve. Here's Congresswoman Ansari. Let's Let's play it. What do you think that would be impressive on social media? Are you getting any feedback at all, negative or positive, from Republicans or purple districts at all? I think we're getting a lot of positive feedback. I have been in, you know, very impressed actually to see non-elected, but Republicans, people like Tucker Carlson and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, people like Nick Quintas, Alex Jones, people I never thought I would ever agree with on anything recognize that Donald Trump is so mentally unstable and he clearly is in a state of cognitive decline.

5:06And I'm grateful that Representative Raskin is leading the charge on this 25th Amendment bill and has started an investigation into his cognitive decline because he is unfit and he is a national security threat to the United States of America. Trying to make a statement with this. I suspect no members of the committee think it's going to be acted upon. Is it a messaging tool in your mind? It is important that right now we do not act like anything that is happening is normal. And to that end, we cannot use the excuse of, oh, this isn't going to pass or this isn't going to go anymore. or it's not politically, you know, viable as a reason to not put forward a response that is equivalent to what the crime is or what the actions of the president are.

5:56So I feel very strongly about that. I think if we were to operate like everything's normal and we have a functioning Congress and, you know, people will just do the right thing, then we should all just go home because that's not the case at all. And so I believe in doing things differently and speaking and acting just in line with what we believe with morally.

6:19Ben Meiselas:And then we got in touch with Democratic Congress member Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, who's leading the initiative to hold that committee to determine Donald Trump's mental and physical fitness to serve. Here's what Congress member Raskin told us. Let's play this clip. Oh, yes. Cases, what do you make of that? I think that that is outrageous. The Department of Justice is acting like in-house counsel to the Proud Boys and other actors. So I think that is a scandalous turn of events. It's in some sense worse even than a pardon. You know, Trump didn't pardon these people for seditious conspiracy because the charges against them were so sweeping and extreme.

7:02I mean, these were the people who were acting as the ringleaders of the entire violent attack on the Capitol and the peaceful transfer of power. And Trump, even though he was pardoning 1 ,600 other rioters and insurrectionists, wisely decided not to do that and did not include them in the pardon. He commuted their sentences. But now this goes even further than a pardon because it vacates the convictions entirely. What statement is that making? it nullifies the prosecutions. It's an attempt to completely whitewash history. It's really giving a whole new meaning to the word whitewash.

7:39Ben Meiselas:Back to Congresswoman Ansari for a moment here, talking about the articles of impeachment that she immediately and instantly filed on the House floor as soon as the House opened back up and MAGA allowed the vacation to finally come to an end. MAGA Mike letting the vacation come to an end. Play this clip. Thank you so much, Congressman. Thank you. Do you see any updates on what's going on over in Iran? Like, are any sort of, obviously, this war has become very confusing very quickly with a lot of people saying a lot of different things. What's your take on how long this is gonna last? Like, how long are we gonna be stuck in this horrible foreign policy situation?

8:15I think every single week, Democrats should be forcing war powers resolution so that we take the power back into our hands. We need to put Republicans on the record as often as possible about whether or not they support a war that was costing Americans$2 billion a day, a war where the United States committed war crimes. I actually filed articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth today. And I think that's extremely important because Pete Hegseth did not follow his oath to the U.S. Constitution. He violated his duty. He committed a war crime in Iran with the attack on a school that killed over 160 children.

8:56So not only do we need to end this war, but we need to hold accountable and prosecute anyone in the U.S. administration who may have committed war crimes during this process. And what reception has your impeachment resolutions against Pete Hegseth gotten so far from your colleagues here in the House? We very quickly have gotten over 10 Democratic co-sponsors. You know, the thing with Pete Hegseth is that this is not the first time he has done something impeachable. This goes back to the Signalgate scandal. This goes back to the double tap strikes on the boats in the Caribbean. Keith Hegseth has been committing crimes and violating his oath.

9:30And so I have no doubt if this absolute clown, this former Fox News, not even a real anchor, continues in this position, there will be more and we will get more support. And I urge my colleagues to join me. He is a national security risk to the United States of America and to the world. Thank you so much.

9:48Ben Meiselas:You got Democratic Congress member Pocan talking about the trillions and trillions of dollars that Donald Trump is now asking in terms of the military defense industrial complex, how we're now up another 500 million. He wants one point five trillion dollars and what that's doing to our debt and how it is increasing our deficit significantly. Play this clip. What do you make of the prospect of the company of Iran money in hundreds of billions of dollars? Well, it's preposterous on a few levels. I mean, one, when I formed the Pentagon Spending Reduction Caucus, we were trying to protect it at about$685 billion a year.

10:31And we're now up to a trillion a year in just a matter of a half a dozen years. And now they're proposing to add another$500 billion to that. But in they failed eight audits in a row. This is a war of choice. This is costing us between a billion and two billion dollars a day that could be going to childcare and healthcare. And I just don't think there's an appetite to just fund a war that there was no imminent threat to the United States. And this was Donald Trump's war of choice. What kind of feedback do you get from constituents about this? Do they ask you about this? Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, in fact, the biggest thing is they tell me how much they're paying to fill their tank on a regular basis because that's something they know and they're driving by those signs every day when they see gas prices go up so you know that may be the most direct corollary they have to it but um also the concern you know that was kind of unhinged uh social media posts you know saying you're gonna end the civilization and all the rest of the stuff he said um yeah a lot of people are just you know nervous that donald trump may not be the most stable president is the war powers vote gonna pass eventually.

11:35What I keep hearing Republicans say is they're giving them 90 days and that's another 30 days about from now. I don't think you just give extra time if they're not doing it right. And they're clearly not doing it right.

11:46Ben Meiselas:We then caught up with Democratic Congresswoman Del Bene. Here's what she had to say. Let's play it. Do you think the messaging on tax pay isn't gonna resonate with the players? Tell me why. Folks across the country are struggling. They've seen prices rise all across the country because of actions Republicans have taken. And their big ugly bill wasn't focused on working families. Families are struggling. So the fact that they have to do press conferences and try to tell people that this is helping them when they know that's when families know that's not true kind of says it all. Would you encourage the candidates to run against the tax policies to mention them at all?

12:28Well, I think what Canada is talking about are all the policies Republicans have put in place that have been raising costs. Any benefits that they saw, even the benefits they might have seen from a tax bill, were wiped out by tariffs and slashing health care. So people's costs are skyrocketing, and that's what they're feeling across the country. Food, housing, health care, child care, energy costs, all going up directly because of actions taken by this administration. Let's talk to a possible potential candidate from Virginia. here. We'll see how many people want to say about Virginia again. Are you going to wait till Tuesday?

13:01How important is Tuesday for your organization? I think it's important across the board that we are standing up to Republicans who are trying to break the system. Let's be careful. They thought they were winning. They wouldn't be out trying to change seats in Texas, which is where they started when Donald Trump said, give me five seats. This wasn't about the people of Texas asking for change. In fact, they hate this. It was Donald Trump trying to find seats because you know, People are tired of the broken promises. They're tired of the struggles. They're tired of Trump and Republicans in Congress.

13:32They want leaders who are going to stand up for them. And we're going to stand up across the country to make sure that they can't break the system. Yes, absolutely. Good luck. And you know what?

13:44Ben Meiselas:We were talking to Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill. We caught up with MAGA Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. Here's what she had to say. Let's play this clip. How important is it for people who want to come forward with credible sexual misconduct allegations here in Congress to have sort of jobs lined up and stuff like that? It seems like some of these people who got, who accused Eric Swalwell, they were able to find jobs quickly. That's been a change as opposed to previous Congresses where people really had their careers destroyed for doing the right thing. I would say come out.

14:15I mean, we will be here for you to protect you. Come to my office. If you have something, if your boss is mistreating you, someone else in the office, tell somebody. If you want to remain anonymous, remain anonymous. Let one of us loudmouths get it out there for you. Happy to issue receipts on behalf of anyone. I don't know what's going to come out. Everybody's like, oh my gosh, TMZ's here. What are we going to do? And I'm like, I don't know. What are you hiding from? So they don't even have their credentials yet. They're not down here. But anyhow, it's I don't know if you have something to hide.

14:52Sorry, I want it out. And I hope that people come forward. I'm glad that Eric Swalwell's staff were able to find work. But also, I mean, turnover is crazy on the Hill anyway. It seems like, you know, one meeting in the Dunkin' Donuts and somebody is ready to switch offices and have a better job. So Democrat or Republican, they can count on your office to have their back. Democrat or Republican. You know, if it's even if it's another staffer, a chief of staff, someone, a senior staffer, if you have something, if you've been wronged, absolutely. My door is open and I will listen. And if an enmity is is requested, that's what you'll get.

15:28Thank you so much.

15:29Ben Meiselas:Then you had MAGA Republican Congress member Nels. Here's what he told us about Donald Trump mocking the pope and pretending to be Jesus. Let's play it. Any reaction to Donald Trump's comments on the Pope over the weekend? I'd probably say the Pope needs to keep his business into leading his flock, so to speak, leading the church and probably stay out of the political arena. He doesn't need to be getting involved in the political arena. Go lead your church, but stay out of the politics. We didn't elect the Pope to be the president or be the anything else. So just keep his nose in the church's business and stay out of the political arena.

16:05What if he sees his role as sort of leading his flock away? No, lead his flock. Well, let's focus on just behavior, doing everything else. Just focus on your flock. Donald Trump is our president. It's not the Pope. I didn't elect the Pope to be president. Thank you, sir.

16:19Ben Meiselas:We also caught up with MAGA Republican Congressman Jimenez. Here's what he said about Donald Trump pretending to be Jesus and attacking the Pope relentlessly every single day. Let's play it. What do you make of Trump's attacks on the Pope over the weekend? I have a difference in opinion. Difference of opinion? Yeah. Okay. You for the Pope or you for Trump? I'm for the Pope for spiritual things and I'm for the president for political things. Thank you, Congressman. Back to Congresswoman Ansari here. Here's what she had to say. Let's play it. Congresswoman, how important is it for there to be opportunities for staffers who come together or who come forward with credible allegations so that they don't get run out of town so that they can, you know, do their jobs available to them for doing the right thing?

17:01Oh my gosh, it is so important that staffers here on Capitol Hill, but really in any workplace dynamic across the United States, have the ability to come together to report any allegations of assault or abuse or harassment and be able to feel safe and protected. I think there's long been a culture, especially in politics, of, you know, feeling worried about political retaliation. I think when you look at lawmakers, especially as a staffer or a very young staffer, as an intern, for example, there is a massive power imbalance and there could be a lot of fear. And so I think this has been an important reckoning moment in our country.

17:44I am so relieved to see former Congressman Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzalez gone. And I think what they did was egregious, but I also think it was an important moment for accountability. And I'm so in awe of the bravery of the women who spoke up. I can only imagine how much bravery that took.

18:02Ben Meiselas:And then Scott McFarland from the Midas Touch Network was able to catch up with MAGA Republican Senator Cynthia Loomis from Wyoming. And even she acknowledged that, you know what, with this difficult, difficult economic climate we're in right now, Lots of people in her state, they're a-sufferin'. They're a-sufferin'. Here play this clip. In my state and others, we had record distributions in my county in Wyoming of Meals on Wheels. Records, which is an indication that more and more people are turning for food to subsidized food opportunities. So I'm worried and I admit that, but for now I have patience.

18:53Ben Meiselas:There you have it, folks. Shout out to our great team on Capitol Hill for all the great footage that they've been getting. Thanks everybody for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. 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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