Trump's Plans Backfire as He Heads to G7

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2:27Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump just had a disastrous flight aboard Air Force One to France. He's going to be there for a G7 meeting right now. You can see Donald Trump getting off the stairs of Air Force One, very slow, sluggish, sickly. We saw Donald Trump falling asleep yet again at that bizarre UFC event at the White House. But then Donald Trump, when he was aboard Air Force One, started making post after post after post as the deal terms or purported deal terms for a framework to have later negotiations with Iran are now fully being understood. And it seems that Donald Trump did a far weaker deal than former President Obama's deal.

3:14Ben Meiselas:And now, as I mentioned earlier in the day, the Trump regime is pushing J.D. Vance out there to try to sell this and be like, yeah, of course we're going to give Iran$300 billion. It's performance-based, but sure we are. And yeah, we may not control the Strait of Hormuz and Iran may control the Strait of Hormuz fully, but that's just all part of it. We'll get through all of this. We're close to Iran. We're friends now. That's one of the things that J.D. Vance is trying to say. The point of all of this, Vance says, as Donald Trump was aboard Air Force One heading to France, was so that we can improve our relationship with Iran and mission accomplished.

3:53Ben Meiselas:We're friends now. I'm not joking. That's what J.D. Vance was saying this morning. So Donald Trump aboard Air Force One, having a meltdown, post after post, he's saying things like this. Sadly, if you import people from third world countries, you quickly become a third world country and there's not a thing you can do about it. Make America great again. So more of the racism right here because that's what he's got to go back to. Midterms are approaching, so he's got to divide the country with racism. Then he goes and posts the following. Thank you, President Trump. He's thanking himself, what are you thanking yourself for?

4:33Ben Meiselas:Thank you, President Trump. Reflecting pool in D.C. wows after Trump renovations. Well, it certainly does wow. You managed to turn it ninja turtle green. The algae has never been worse and more proliferate than it does right now in the reflecting pool. It looks like the swampiest, sludgiest thing right now. And anybody who knew the most basic stuff about science would tell you painting the bottom blue was not going to impact the fact that there was an issue. Because the water source is the Potomac Basin where there's algae. The filtration systems aren't able to eliminate all algae. And when you paint it blue, it's just going to accentuate the problem.

5:22Ben Meiselas:That's what we said was going to happen. Low water, very humid. It's the perfect conditions for algae to spread. More posts from Donald Trump. Trump makes a splash with Oval Office chart comparing reflecting pool to skyscrapers. Well, if by splash, you mean further demonstrating your cognitive and physical decline. Yeah, what kind of splash? Yes, a horizontal pool that now is a Ninja Turtle green, if you turned it into a building, could be taller than skyscrapers. What is the point of that comparison? Again, as the American people are like, we can't afford rent. You've taken away our health care.

6:03Ben Meiselas:You've taken away government programs that we need and we rely on and that we deserve. You're talking about a reflecting pool being taller than skyscrapers? Like, what in the world are you saying? Then Donald Trump goes, ships are starting to move. Many loaded up with oil out of the Strait of Hormuz. They are going along the southern highway, which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. There are other areas of travel also! Exclamation point. Well, your post yesterday said the Strait of Hormuz does not open until Friday at the purported signing of a framework to later negotiate in Geneva. But the fact that you consider the reflecting pool pristine right now tells us all we need to know about what you mean by the word pristine.

6:55Ben Meiselas:Do you mean algae-infested sludge that you just say you've solved the problem, that you just, quote, paint it blue, end quote, and then everything goes away like a miracle? Or did you solve the problems? Because it doesn't seem like you did that at all. And then Donald Trump continues to post these articles from his propagandists like this. Trump scores once elusive peace deal with Iran, easing oil prices ahead of elections. okay so this just tells you everything you need to know this is all about the midterms not actually about the safety of the american people um and when you say elusive elusive it was not elusive obama had a deal it was called the jcpoa and you just did a weaker version of the jcpoa donald trump then posted again this is all during his flight he's sleeping at the ufc match.

7:51Ben Meiselas:This is on his flight to France for the G7. On July 4th, he writes, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, in a beautiful, safe Washington, D.C., we're going to host the most spectacular Trump rally of them all. Tribute to America starting at 7 p.m. This huge celebration will honor our country's people, spirit, strength, resolve, and triumphs. With the backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial and surrounding the beautifully new reflecting pool, more than 300 members of our strong and talented military bands, orchestras, and ceremonial units will perform patriotic melodies and American classics. So now you've called the July 4th celebration the Trump rally.

8:33Ben Meiselas:And again, why do you have to make everything so divisive? I mean, we know that's your character. But again, if you're watching this, whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Independent, whether you just don't like politics at all, you probably are saying to yourself, why are you ruining July 4th? Why are you ruining sporting events? Why are you ruining basic things that are supposed to bring us together? Well, that's because that's what MAGA is about. When Americans unite and Americans join together, we recognize that it's people like Trump and his right-wing oligarchs who are out there looting and stealing and pillaging, and they're the root cause of our problems.

9:14Ben Meiselas:But if they keep us divided and turn everything into a political fight, then people stay divided and they could divide and conquer the right-wing oligarchs can. That's what this is all about. So as I note, Donald Trump's aboard Air Force One. He's flying into France. They trot out J.D. Vance to try to defend this Iran. I don't want to call it a deal. It is a memorandum of understanding to potentially enter into a framework on Friday to then maybe have a deal sometime in the future. That's what this is. That's not a deal. J.D. Vance goes, yeah,$300 billion. That's something we could give Iran. You're going to give them$300 billion.

10:00Ben Meiselas:That's a lot of money. That's a lot of money. And I know you want to frame it as, oh, well, That's the Gulf Coast countries. No, that's American money. Let's play this clip. They say they're going to get$24 billion in frozen funds if they hit certain benchmarks. Is that true? Well, again, Ed, we're open to a lot of things that are on the table. That$24 billion just doesn't appear anywhere in any of the texts that we've talked about with the Iranians. What we have said is that we're willing to talk about unfreezing assets, but a much, much bigger deal is unsanctioning their economy so long as they make the long-term commitments on the nuclear program.

10:40Ben Meiselas:So, you know, again, one of the things these hardliner elements in their country are going to do. Then J.D. Vance, as I noted earlier in the video, he says, look, the big change that we did right here, the big change is our relationship with Iran has fundamentally changed. We did all of this, this whole war, because now we're friends with Iran. That's why we wanted to do it. Let's play it. Economy to lift some sanctions and to turn over a new leaf in that relationship. What the president really wanted to do, not just with the last six weeks, but really the last year and a half of Iran policy is to get us to a place where we could change our relationship fundamentally with the Iranians and ensure that they never have a nuclear weapon.

11:24Ben Meiselas:We feel that we're at that place now. We're of course going to continue to verify that. Let me tell you, if there's a surefire way to wake up feeling fresh after drinks with friends. It's with pre-alcohol. Look, I'm not 21 anymore. If I have a night out, I still want to be productive the next morning. And that's why I started using this. Z-Biotics pre-alcohol probiotic drink is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. And here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic by-product in the gut.

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13:08Ben Meiselas:You and Donald Trump at the outset of this said the only deal you'd accept is total and unconditional surrender. That's not what happened. And J.D. Vance is like, yeah, that is what happened. This is a version of surrender. I suppose if by that you mean by you and by Trump and the United States. And again, I want to be very clear about my view. I'm glad we're doing this deal. We should never have been involved in this unlawful and catastrophic war in the first place. I simply want to highlight, I think what Stephanopoulos was as well, that they said one thing, and this is the exact opposite of it.

13:43Ben Meiselas:And we should never have been in this war in the first place. Here's what he says. Let's play it. Thank you for joining us this morning. You know, back on March 6th, about a week into the war, President Trump put out a post on Truth Social saying there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. So why did he reverse course and agree to this deal now? Well, George, I don't think you reverse course. I think fundamentally the president's argument was we are going to use the military to exert pressure on Iran and we're going to get something that is good for the American people. And again, J.D.

14:14Ben Meiselas:Vance continues with this new talking point about how we're friends with Iran now. And what this really has allowed us to do is get to meet the Iran negotiators. But notice what he says also. He doesn't describe Friday as the signing of a deal. He describes what may be taking place in Friday as negotiations about a deal. So what is it? What is any of this? Let's see what J.D. Vance says. We expect to have a full spectrum of representatives at the negotiation on Friday. Again, we've been talking to these people, sometimes indirectly, but sometimes directly. And that's what's fundamentally changed under the president's leadership.

14:56Ben Meiselas:We are now speaking directly to the Iranian system. We have some good relationships there. So this is going to be a successful negotiation because, you know, we're not passing messages through various back channels anymore. We're actually talking to them. And when you talk to them, you figure out what's real, what's fake, what are they serious about, what are they not serious about. And the thing I'd add to that is we fundamentally have all the cards here. We don't have to give the Iranians anything if they don't make the commitments that we want long term on the nuclear program. And even if we just stopped here, what would be true?

15:29Ben Meiselas:Their military is destroyed. The Straits of Hormuz are open. Their nuclear program has been destroyed. and we have incredible economic leverage over them that we didn't have a year and a half ago. So we've got a lot of leverage here, but we also have the president saying to them, we're extending an open hand. If you guys want to meet us, if you guys want to change your relationship with the United States, we will change our relationship with Iran. That's the offer. And we're going to have to see whether they they meet us there. In contrast, let's take a look at what the Iranian foreign minister spokesperson is saying under this MOU, the American side is obligated to lift all sanctions, secondary, primary, UN Security Council sanctions, and relevant IAEA board resolutions.

16:13Ben Meiselas:From the moment the MOU is signed on Friday, Iran must be able to sell oil, petrochemical products, and petroleum derivatives without any obstacles. We have never said we seek to impose tolls, but for navigation services, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson says, environmental protection, possibly ship insurance and other services provided by Iran and Oman, fees will be designed and collected. Trump wants to go in and get it, I guess referring to nuclear dust, but I'd remind them they tried entering once. They saw the results. If they are wise, they will not repeat it. And we have no trust in the Zionist regime, is what the Iran foreign spokesperson says, just as we have no trust in America either.

16:56Ben Meiselas:It is a proven fact that America and the Zionist regime, I think he's referring to Israel, have never been honest in fulfilling their commitments. I think it is the American side that should be worried because it has repeatedly been shown that the decision-making system in America is heavily influenced by extremist and warmongering factions, the Zionist regime's lobby, and think tanks that for decades have been accustomed solely to warmongering and using tools of intimidation and force. Lebanon and the ending of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of the ceasefire agreement. Lebanon appears in the MOU three times.

17:31Ben Meiselas:Now, what are they saying in Israel? Israel's national security minister, Ben Gavir, demands the following. Quote, this is what he just said. We must continue destroying the houses in southern Lebanon. We must continue pushing residents away from southern Lebanon. We must continue eliminating Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. Israel's finance minister, Smutrich. Israel will continue to act with every tool at its disposal to bring down this murderous regime in Iran, as Aaron Blake says. With the ceasefire announced, Iran and Pakistan says it includes Lebanon. But the fighting there seems like it's going to continue.

18:09Ben Meiselas:Today, Pakistan's prime minister again cites the termination of military operations on all fronts. But Israel, through Netanyahu and its cabinet members, say, no, we are not leaving Lebanon. Believe Israel's defense minister said, quote, Lebanon is ours. Now, you have the following coming out of Iran's Taznim news agency. They're closely affiliated with the IRGC side of Iran's leadership structure. Iran's IRGC headquarters said Iranians nation was able to impose their will on coward enemies as Tehran confirmed finalization of the MOU with the US to end the war. Now, with all of this taking place, I just want to remind us what we can be doing at home and how there are people out there fighting on the home front.

19:04Ben Meiselas:So I want to give a hat tip to Liz Shuler, who heads the AFL-CIO. They just had a very successful convention out in Minnesota. And as she explains, America's unions have never been more united and ready to fight for a future that works for all people. Let's get it done. And I think you need to see this because we can continue to fight together. Unions can continue to get stronger and stronger. We can support them. Here's what Liz Shuler says. Let's play it. Do you feel a sense of urgency? I feel urgency and I feel excitement to, as we say, get this shit done. Because we got a lot of work ahead of us.

19:50And, you know, we started talking Sunday about building an economy that works for people who actually work for a living, the people who make this country run. And that's what we laid out this week is a new vision for the economy. And for the rest of this convention, it was a vision for how we get there. How do we do that? We do it together. We organize. We win elections. We get our own into office. We pass laws to build our power. We stand together when they try to divide us and we mobilize in our communities and on the streets and we get it all done with you. With you by bringing everyone in, taking risks, getting out of our comfort zone and doing things we've never done before.

20:48So folks, this is the moment. This is the moment right now that will define our future, our kids' future, and the future of workers for generations to come. Are you ready to organize every worker in this country? Are you ready to take on the billionaires? Are you ready to fight for that better future together? Let's go get it done!

21:15Ben Meiselas:And then you have the president Everett Kelly, who's the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, also gave some very inspiring words. Here's what he had to say. Let's play it. The power is in this membership. And you have to continue to show your members, if they stand together, there is nothing that they cannot achieve. Look at the power that we have when we stand together. That's all I want to say. That's right. And that's how we did it. And then we will continue to do that. We'll continue to stand together in AFGE. And so I leave you with that also because we can get involved and we can get engaged on the home front also.

21:54Ben Meiselas:So with all of this chaos, we can take agency, we can reclaim power. And it's great to have leaders like Liz and Everett out there doing just that. Thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. We appreciate you so much. 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.