Trump Wrecks Everything as Troops Move In

8 Oct 2025 · 24 min

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The MeidasTouch Podcast: Episode Summary

Episode Title Trump Wrecks Everything as Troops Move In

Host Ben Meiselas

Episode Overview In this episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast, Ben Meiselas discusses the ramifications of Donald Trump's controversial actions in Chicago, including the deployment of Texas National Guard troops and the presence of ICE agents amidst protests. The episode dives deep into the ongoing threats to democracy posed by Trump and his administration, highlighting various incidents of violence against peaceful protesters and a series of conspiracy theories propagated by Trump.

Key Themes and Discussions

  1. Trump's Invasion of Chicago
  2. ICE Agents and Troops: The episode highlights the use of ICE agents positioned with sniper rifles in Chicago, targeting peaceful protesters.
  3. Incident Description: A peaceful protest led by Reverend David Black turned violent when agents fired pepper balls at him, demonstrating the aggressive tactics employed by Trump's regime.
  1. Trump's Distraction Tactics
  2. Social Media Distractions: Trump is criticized for making bizarre social media posts, such as attacking pregnant women for using Tylenol, while serious issues unfold.
  3. Conspiracy Theories: The discussion includes Trump's recent attacks on former special counsel Jack Smith and allegations of spying on Republican senators.
  1. Epstein Files and Government Shutdown
  2. Cover-Up Allegations: The episode raises concerns about Trump's efforts to block the release of Epstein files, framing it as part of a broader agenda to undermine healthcare and democracy.
  3. Government Shutdown: It is suggested that the shutdown is a strategy to conceal economic data and avoid accountability for the impacts of Trump’s policies on various sectors, including healthcare and agriculture.
  1. Interrogation of Pam Bondi
  2. Senate Hearing Highlights: The episode includes excerpts from a Senate hearing where Pam Bondi, former attorney general, dodges questions regarding Trump’s involvement with Epstein and financial transactions related to former officials.
  3. Performative Politics: Criticism is directed at Bondi’s evasiveness and the scripted nature of her responses during the hearing.
  1. Impact on Farmers
  2. Economic Strain: A farmer discusses the dire economic situation stemming from Trump's tariffs, highlighting the challenges faced in selling agricultural products and the losses incurred due to trade wars.

Key Takeaways

  • Trump's Governance Style: The episode paints a dire picture of Trump's governance, suggesting it is characterized by chaos, aggressive tactics against dissent, and a disregard for democratic institutions.
  • Call to Action: The discussion emphasizes the importance of resisting authoritarianism and supporting democratic values, urging listeners to remain vigilant and active in defense of democracy.
  • Economic Consequences: The economic ramifications of Trump’s policies on farmers and other sectors are presented as a critical issue, linking national governance to individual livelihoods.

Closing Remarks Ben Meiselas ends the episode with a strong call for listeners to engage with the political process and hold those in power accountable, particularly in light of Trump's actions and the broader implications for democracy in America.

Additional Resources

  • For more episodes and content, visit [MeidasTouch](https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast).
  • Join the MeidasMighty community for updates and discussions on democratic engagement and political action.

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Transcript

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0:28okay thank you B. Pritzker, who's doing everything he can within his lawful power to resist. At the same time, that is taking place. Donald Trump has his ICE agents throughout Chicago positioned on rooftops, sniper rifles trained on peaceful protesters, and they are shooting pepper balls at people on the ground. They shot an unarmed priest with a pepper ball, and everyone around him was impacted as well. No one was posing a threat. These were peaceful protesters, a peaceful unarmed priest. You have the Trump regime sending their Gestapo to provoke communities and cities and towns throughout the country in order to create a pretext for military invasions.

1:18Here, I want you to just watch what took place here. Let's play it.

1:29Now, here's how it was described right here, what you just saw. Last month, the Reverend David Black stood in front of a Chicago area U.S. immigration and customs enforcement facility and spread his arms wide, adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar. The pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray. I invited them to repentance. Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church, said in an interview, I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation and be part of the kingdom that is coming. But when Black began to lower his arms for a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress.

2:20Video footage shows one struck Black in the head exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid. And as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire. We could hear them laughing, Black said. And we see incidents like that taking place now on a daily basis. These sniper rifles train shooting down with these pepper bullets at people. While all of this is going on, Donald Trump is reposting his demand that pregnant women stop using Tylenol. That's how deranged this maniac is. He's also making posts late last night attacking the former special counsel, Jack Smith, and saying Jack Smith and the Biden DOJ spied on Republican senators and at least one Republican congressman.

3:13This is really bad stuff. They tried to take down the Republican Party and got caught. More deranged conspiracies by Donald Trump, who was involved in the insurrection. And that's what Special Counsel Jack Smith was investigating, because we all saw it before our eyes, which Donald Trump now tries to pretend never took place. And he tries to blame the FBI for causing the insurrection. But that's where Donald Trump now wants to distract, as he is clearly continuing to cover up the Epstein files. A full-fledged cover-up of a pedo-sex trafficking ring is ongoing by Donald Trump, MAGA Mike Johnson, and Trump's entire FBI and DOJ apparatus right now, who forced out most of the actual professionals and kind of top people there.

4:00We know that MAGA Mike Johnson, at the instruction of Donald Trump, refusing to swear in Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva from Arizona's 7th Congressional District, had an exclusive interview that I did with her yesterday, where she just wants to be able to represent her 800 ,000 constituents during these critical moments right now. But she would become the 218th signature on the Epstein discharge petition, which would lead to a vote to release the Epstein files. And one of the main reasons that Donald Trump is shutting down the government right now, in addition to wanting to rip away Americans' healthcare and implement his Project 2025 agenda, is also it's a convenient excuse for him also to block the release of the Epstein files.

4:42We showed you lots of clips yesterday of Democratic senators grilling, cross-examining Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, who refused to answer questions about whether she saw photographs of Donald Trump with little girls that some witnesses had talked about, potentially seeing that Epstein had showed, for example, Michael Wolfe, the author of multiple Trump biographies and was potentially going to be the biographer for Epstein, claimed that Epstein showed him photos of girls of an indeterminate age that was being kept in a safe at Epstein's house. So Democratic senators asked Pam Bondi, were those photos?

5:22Remember what I've always been saying? You go back years, you'll see me reporting and saying, I wonder if those photos are in the Epstein files. Go back like four years, you'll see my reporting here on this network talking about her three years. You'll see my net, my reporting network talking about it. She refused to answer that question. She refused to say whether there was a video of Tom Homan accepting the$50 ,000. She claimed that she just doesn't know any of these things. So that was her answer for a lot. I don't know. Ask cash Patel. I'm not going to answer that question. I'm not answering that.

5:56So when did you find out Trump's name was on the Epstein files? I'm not going to answer that. What did you tell Donald Trump about him being in the Epstein? I'm not going to answer that. It's a House Oversight Committee. In any event, Donald Trump's attacking Senator Blumenthal, who he calls sanctimonious Richard the Nang Dick Blumenthal, perhaps the biggest joke. But when you go on and you read this, what Donald Trump is implying is that he wants to pardon George Santos, is what he says over here. And he's like, Blumenthal was worse than George Santos. So maybe we should pardon George Santos.

6:33So that's what they're doing there. Great. That's exactly what the American people are thinking of right now. These people are despicable. Fox then kind of ran with Donald Trump's new conspiracy. All right, let's focus on Biden and Jack Smith and not the government shutdown and Donald Trump hiding the Epstein files and America's economy crashing. Let's not an American farmers going bankrupt. Meanwhile, you had Kristi Noem, Department of Homeland Security Secretary. Yesterday, she went to Portland. She took her cosplay fascist roadshow to Portland where she was shooting these like films that she makes of herself.

7:11She has like I think she has Bukele from El Salvador's film crew to make these like Nazi style, but like in a modern form, concentration camp, like despicable like videos, these propaganda videos where they like go in and they like bust down the roof. The door's like, look, we're coming for you, migrants. We're coming for you. So she was making a video yesterday. She was shooting these films of herself in Portland. So just watch her in this clip. She confronts an arrested person in the back of a police vehicle. I mean, what are you doing? You're the director of Homeland Security. This stuff is so embarrassing.

7:47Here, play this clip.

7:54Hello. Hello. I'm Christy. I wanted to ask you a few questions. How long have you been in the United States? You don't know? No English?

8:08How many times have you come in and gone out of the country illegally?

8:17Five times. And so this corner over here is what they claim to be the invasion. These are all the people, this is it, who are by the ICE facility in Portland. So this is what, when they say that they're being invaded, there's this guy in a chicken suit. You see him right here with Pam Hemphill right there in the chicken suit. So this was part of the film that Kristi Noem was making. And so right wing MAGA influencer, Benny Johnson, he's not saying this sarcastically, like he's saying this for real. Like this is what they think that she looks tough in this video. So this is what they were pushing.

8:53The MAGA influencers were pushing. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stares down an army of Antifa and a guy in a chicken suit. They're not joking. This is them being serious. From the rooftop of the ICE facility here in Portland, Noem says, hey, guy in the chicken suit, you can do better. Too bad they are uneducated and ill-informed. Noem isn't a chicken. Here, watch this.

9:34Music

9:39So, these are so trained They will stay She's got Compton

10:02Come on down, I got some white family for ya. So is it difficult that you have this one? Yes, that car would be here right about this one. Yeah, that would be right. Yeah, that's right. It's just like that. No dogs here.

10:35Secretary, do you have a message to the protesters, especially the man in the chicken outfit? The man in the chicken outfit? I just see him now, goodness sakes. He could do better. Our goal is that people would peacefully protest, but that we would still be allowed to enforce the law. in this country, so. It's too bad they're uneducated and ill-informed.

10:59Good, it's good to see. We'll see what we can do to get into the world. This is absolutely nothing as to what it is at night, though. No. It's really bad. The hell was that? Did you see her face? She's looking down at eight people and one guy in a chicken suit, and she's like, yeah, do you see them right there? Do you see these people? I mean, again, these Trump cabinet people like deranged human beings. I'm sorry if you don't like being deranged. These are like weird, strange, like sick people. I don't know how else to describe it. Meanwhile, Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst noticed during Pam Bondi's hearing yesterday before the Senate Oversight Committee that Bondi flipped open a file during the Senate hearing and he zoomed in.

11:44Inside were her crib notes for attacking the senators. The GOP now practicing cliff note fascisms. In other words, under oath, Bondi was purely a performance. Denise Wheeler, apt description of what went down. So she had like her canned lines. By the way, Cohen said that that's what he thought that she was going to do because he did. Cohen wrote that script for Trump. So he goes, no, she's got literally the script probably on the folder. Like Cohen was so spot on. So this is the folder where the script was written. And so when she was asked questions by the Democratic senators, she would just read the script rather than answer their questions like, so what's up with the Epstein files and what's up with Tom Homan taking$50 ,000 in cash?

12:28Like what's going on with that? So this is Donald Trump's schedule tomorrow, just so you can see. This is literally on a schedule. It says, president participates in a roundtable on Antifa. President participates. Oh, let me see These people are that's the roundtable. You're going to do the Antifa roundtable. We're going to go after this. Ridiculous. It's like make up a boogeyman. But let me show you again just three critical moments from that hearing yesterday. This was Democratic Senator Welch cross-examining Pam Bondi. Let's play it. I do want to go back to Homan. You know, there's a tape, right, with Mr.

13:07Homan. I mean, first of all, is there a tape that has audio and video of the transfer of the 50 ,000? You would have to talk to Director Patel about that. No, I'm talking to you. I don't know the answer, Senator. Yet you do know the answer to that. Don't call me a liar. I didn't call you a liar. You just said I know the answer. I said I don't know the answer. You have to talk to Director Patel. What I said is that investigation was closed. If you don't know, why don't you know whether there was a tape and video? Senator, I believe that was resolved prior to my confirmation as attorney general.

13:46Do you think that it is of public interest for the people to know what happened to the 50 grand that the FBI turned over to Homan? Did you hear what I just said? That was resolved prior to my confirmation as attorney general. That's why I said I would not know. It is. It's not resolved. There's fifty thousand dollars. Homan has it or somebody has it. Do you have no interest in knowing where it is? You're not going to sit here and slander Tom Homan. The FBI and Deputy Director Blanche said there was nothing. I'm not slamming Tom Homan. He got the 50 grand. How do you know that? Tom Homan is doing a great job, as our borders are, keeping your border state safe.

14:29Here was Senator Schiff cross-examining Bondi. Let's play it. But in case I just didn't hear you, what is the answer? Did he take the money? Senator Schiff, that happened prior to my confirmation as attorney general. I said that. Do you know sitting here whether he took the money? All I know is that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Patel said there was no case. And Caroline Leavitt is one of the most trustworthy human beings I know. So was she right? If you work for me, you would have been fired because you were censured by Congress for lying. We can stipulate to you can stipulate to all your personal attacks on the Democratic members of the committee.

15:13Personal attacks? You've been attacking my FBI director. You've been attacking my office. You've been attacking my office. But what we're interested in is the answer to these oversight questions. You want your five minutes of pain attacking good people. A regular word of Madam Chair so I can ask a question. And here was Senator Whitehouse cross-examining Pan Bondi. Let's play it. Let me ask you something else. There's been public reporting that Jeffrey Epstein showed people photos of President Trump with half-naked young women. Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein's safe or premises or otherwise?

15:54Have you seen any such thing? You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks once again trying to slander President Trump left and right. when you're the one who was taking money from one of Epstein's closest confidants, I believe. I could be wrong, correct me, Reid Hoffman, who was with Jeffrey Epstein on multiple occasions, and the senator sitting right next to you tried to block the flight logs from being released. Yet you're grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein? Come on. The question is, did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them to him?

16:45You don't know anything about that. OK. And finally, you know, the government is in a shutdown right now. But even before that, we were basically in a shutdown. I mean, Trump destroyed the government. His tariffs against the world were crushing Americans in all different industries from farming to construction to manufacturing. Our housing industry is as bad as it's ever been since 1995. Jobless claims are super high. The government's no longer even reporting economic data. They're using the shutdown as a pretext not to report any Bureau of Labor Statistics data. So they're not even reporting inflation anymore.

17:25They're not reporting job losses anymore. They're not reporting any of that. Why? Because that was always Trump's view. If you don't test, if you don't talk about it, just pretend things are great, even as people are suffering. And we see we're heading down a very, very, very dangerous path here. And very soon, as we know right now, Americans are losing their health care and the Trump regime refuses to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies. And I've been showing you, the Midas Touch Network's been making these graphics that show what it's like without the subsidies. $400 a month becomes$2 ,000 a month.

18:02Who can pay$2 ,000? Seriously, who can afford right now or anytime$2 ,000 a month for healthcare? People are going to drop off healthcare. They're not going to be able to be treated and they're going to die. But that's what MAGA Republicans want. Kick everybody off, help the billionaires and let people die. That's what Trump and the MAGA Republicans want. They want people to die. How else can you interpret their actions? And meanwhile, you've got farmers suffering. Listen to this farmer right here. Here's what he's got to say. Let's play it. Well, the stopgap needs to come because they've kind of painted the farmer in a corner.

18:36I mean, I want trade, not aid. I need a market. I need a place to sell this stuff. I can work hard enough and make a product. If you give me some place to sell it, I'll take care of myself. but they've painted us in a corner with this China deal and China buying no soybeans. I mean, they've tore our market in half. I mean, if you take the four years prior to Trump's first tariff war, the average price of a bushel of soybeans is$12.54. The average price for the four years during Trump's first tariff war is$9.39. That's$163 an acre swing to the minus. The next four years after the tariff war, the average price is$13.59.

19:20That's a$218 upswing. Now we're back to$10.21. I think the board is today. My local elevator is$9.79, so I'm at$172 an acre loss. I mean, the farmer can't continue to produce a crop below the cost of production, and that's where we're at, and we don't have anywhere to sell it. We're in a tariff world with China. We're in a tariff world with everybody else. I mean, where do they want me to market this stuff?

20:29SEX 24.9

From the publisher

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s invasion of Chicago with Texas National Guard Troops which is destroying the entire American experiment as Trump continues to cause serious harm to the country in every respect.

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