Tuesday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 3/24/26

28:51But the interesting thing is this. It is not leading them to capitulation. In fact, we've seen decidedly Iran saying we're not playing ball because this is not a version of negotiation when you're saying that you have the throttle on full thrusters to be able to just bomb Tehran all day long. For what? I am sitting here, Ben, with you, and I still have not heard the reason why the United States has deployed in any fashion in Iran. I haven't heard why the Pentagon needs another$200 billion to achieve what mission? And because we don't have a clear answer, this is just a distraction that actually benefits only the Epstein elite.

29:36Ben Meiselas:Right. And I think the honest answer was what they had to walk back right away when Rubio said Netanyahu on that Friday night. All of the Epstein files are coming out. Donald Trump's name all over him. Trump in a very vulnerable position. Everybody talking about Epstein, Epstein, Epstein. Netanyahu, I think, knew the moment to make the phone call, said, we're going in right now. That same day, there were productive, mediated discussions by the Oman foreign minister between the United States and Iran. Remember, the Oman foreign minister went on CBS and said, we have a deal in principle. What a breakthrough.

30:21Ben Meiselas:This deal is better than Obama's deal, which even though you and I are probably fans of Obama's leadership, although we may disagree with some things that he did. But overall, I thought Obama's leadership is something to be admired and a great example. But and I thought the Obama deal was a good deal. But if Trump did a better deal objectively, even though I am very critical of Trump's policy, I'd have to still applaud it. Yeah, we'll say you did a pretty good deal. And, you know, and OK, let's see if it's real. Let's see if it holds. But with the confluence of those factors, I think Israel as Israel sees right now, no, we can't have them do a deal.

30:59Ben Meiselas:That puts us in a position that we don't want to be in, right? That's what Israel is saying even right now. You can't do the deal. And by the way, MBS, Trump's bud who invests in Kushner and Trump. And this is why we have an emoluments clause provision because now you're intertwined personally and financially with this guy, MBS in Saudi Arabia. MBS is saying, you can't do a deal right now. What are you talking about? You know, you either need to obliterate Iran, like actually, or we're not going to say goodbye to all of, you know, Saudi Arabia's help for you now. So that's going on right now. But anyway, that's why the U.S.

31:35Ben Meiselas:got involved, you know, in this thing, because Netanyahu said we're going to get involved in it and then you're going to get attacked. So you better join us. And Netanyahu has been doing that with past administrations. The past administration just said, OK, no, we're not going to do that. Good luck. We have some autonomy. See you later. And then to your point, and I'll toss it back to you, Iran also says to their people, look at Gaza. Look at what's happening right now in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, with hospitals being destroyed, suburban areas there, not just Hezbollah, but innocent people being killed en masse, just like in Gaza.

32:13Ben Meiselas:And Iran saying, you see that, you see the Epstein cover up, you see all of that. And it morally compromises us, which means we're weaker and our troops are imperiled by this. That's what this outcome ultimately is. And let's just not forget the basic humanity of individuals and innocent lives lost and human beings who have a heart, who have a pulse, who are dying in mass in Gaza and in Lebanon. We need to reflect basic humanity and recognize what's taking place, Katie. Yeah, this has become a regional, quote, conflict, although I only use the word conflict because that's the phrase that is used.

32:55This has led to thousands of people losing their lives, property damage in the billions. And what you just put up, Ben, that OSINT post on X, you'll see that there's a phrase there that shows that the deal would fall well short of, quote, Israel's objectives, end quote. Why in the actual you-know-what are we prioritizing Israel's objectives? It just goes back to square one. There has been zero clarity provided, no transparency. There is a reason why we have members of Congress leaving classified briefings saying, I have now gotten the 20th excuse that matches excuse number four that was provided to me three days ago that doesn't actually track with the realities of what is happening in the Middle East.

33:45There's a reason why they don't want to go to Congress. This administration doesn't want to have to explain what it's doing to Congress because they'd actually have to provide real reasons, rational, logical explanations as to what is happening. Meanwhile, meanwhile, people in the United States on the most superficial level are being forced to deal with skyrocketing prices, which do pose a real existential threat to some American families. They're dealing with, again, maybe it's a superficial example, but they're waiting in lines of four hours because this administration won't approve deals that will fund critical federal agencies.

34:30I mean, it just shows that there is a lack of priorities from this regime and that at the end of the day, this has always been about convicted felon Donald Trump, his family, his cronies, his billionaire buddies, and also him always kowtowing to Netanyahu. And that is an established fact that we have seen. And look, I don't have a problem helping an ally, but I will go back to something I've been stressing for a long time now. I don't see this energy for Ukraine. I don't see this energy bend for Ukraine at all. And I think that's a big freak and tell is what I think it is.

35:06Ben Meiselas:Can you think of anyone who is trying to help us more than Ukraine? On their own, they develop the drone interceptor technologies. You know, the way to stop the Shahi drones are interceptor drones, not the Patriots or the Thads. When Ukraine saw what the U.S. and these Arab nations who were using U.S. training were doing, Ukraine's like, you're using nine Patriot missiles to shoot down one Shahid drone? It's like $60 million to go after a$20 ,000 drone? How many dummy drones do you think Iran has been sending purely to draw out$60 million? Why would Iran even need to strike a$60 million or$100 million dollar building if they can just get$100 million chasing a$20 ,000 drone.

36:00Ben Meiselas:It's the most obvious thing that's going on that America's like, well, we need billion dollar weapons rather than funding our healthcare. Zelensky wants to help. And all Trump has done, endorse Orban, who's working with Putin, remove the sanctions against Russian oil, giving Russia a critical lifeline right now, which they'll just use to fund the war, removing the sanctions from Iran's oil, and then saying that that was jujitsu-ing Iran. How's it jujitsu-ing Iran? The stupidest thing I ever hear. So talk about that, Katie. I just want to remind everyone, we've got a big audience. So when this episode ends, you will be brought to Katie Fang's channel.

36:44Ben Meiselas:You should all make sure you subscribe to Katie Fang's channel. It's called Sidebar. with Katie Fang is the name of her live show. It's on Tuesdays at 5.30 p.m. Eastern time, meaning as soon as this show ends, you'll get to that show right there. And Katie, before we go, why don't you plug the show one more time, tell people what they'll see on your channel. And I'll just say this, as the Midas Touch Network is growing, I mean, it's just the biggest honor for me ever. And I'm so humbled to have the trust of people like you. We just brought on Scott McFarland and his YouTube channel, the Scott McFarlane News.

37:21Ben Meiselas:That's been growing. And to have legends just crushing it is such an honor. But let's talk about your channel before we go and what people can expect to see if they subscribe to your channel and Sidebar. Yes. So the channel right now, until we have launched Sidebar Live with Katie Fang, has been episodes that have been taped. And they are either just me speaking or interviews with policymakers, lawmakers, newsmakers. and the reason why I wanted the live was to be able to interact with all of you, all of you subscribers that have put your trust in me to be able to give you the info straight, no chaser.

37:55And so what you can expect is just like the name, sidebar. When you are, even though it's a legal concept, it can go anywhere. But in the law, when you do a sidebar, you're going somewhere and you're going deeper. And that's exactly what I want to do with all of these topics. I want to actually look at the headlines and I want to go deeper on those headlines because I think it's important. I think right now we are living in an attention economy and it is a commodity to be able to have time to know what is really going on. And so we're going to cut through all of that noise like we do at Midas, like we do at Katie Fang News, like Scott's going to do at his channel.

38:31And we are going to make sure that you know what's critically important about these headlines so that you can be what I like to call a high information American. We are creating a media ecosystem here in independent media where our Americans that are focusing and even our international friends that are focusing on all of these issues that y 'all actually have the facts, only the facts and the truth. And then you can disseminate that information. So we're going to go on a sidebar deeper on all of these issues. And we're going to do that right after they hang out with you, Ben, here.

39:07Ben Meiselas:Well, Katie Fang, the show's called Sidebar, 5.30 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday. So we're going to take our first and only quick break of the show. Katie is going to get ready to prepare for her show. We should definitely do this more often, Katie. I'd love to have you on the show that we do, especially in the lead-in to your show would be great. Katie Fang, everybody, right here on the Midas Touch Network. And make sure you subscribe to Katie Fang's YouTube channel and watch Sidebar. Thanks, Katie. Thanks, guys. And we'll take our first quick break of the show. When we come back, we still have a lot to discuss.

39:41Ben Meiselas:The latest Reuters Ipsos poll showing that Donald Trump's approval, the lowest in presidential history, the lowest of any of his terms. We'll talk about that. Talk about much more. First and only quick break of the show. We appreciate you. Let's keep growing this network. Whether you're planting now or later, Fast Growing Trees has everything you need to make your dream yard a reality, starting with the best quality and selection of plants delivered to your door. Fast Growing Trees is America's largest online nursery with over 1 ,600 unique trees and plants. They've been delivering trees and plants since 2005, so they know how to do it right.

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46:06Ben Meiselas:So as I'm sure you know by now, as the Midas Touch Network continues to expand, I think the White House was a bit unhappy with our latest hire as well. The Midas Touch Network brought on Scott McFarlane. Make sure, by the way, you are all subscribed to Scott McFarlane's YouTube channel. You search at Scott McFarlane News. What, in 24 hours, that channel's got basically 75 ,000 subscribers. I think we'll hit 100 ,000 subscribers by tomorrow. Help us do that if you can. But Caroline Levitt, the chief propagandist at the White House, She posted the following message to us today. Veteran CBS reporter joins far left media company, Midas Touch as anchor, says they share the same North Star.

46:59Ben Meiselas:I like when they go like far left, because I'm sure that everybody who watched this episode today would say, wow, Ben, you are a super far lefty with wanting to support humanity and empathy and make sure things are more affordable for people. and saying that if we go to war, it requires congressional authorization and condemning wars that don't have clear or any objectives at all and standing up for our troops and wanting to make sure that Americans have access to health care and better educations and aren't psychologically tortured living paycheck to paycheck. What a radical lefty, all of these, the radical left.

47:47Ben Meiselas:I mean, it's just so fascinating to me when people hoist these labels upon you. I mean, look, I'll say this, you know, my entire life, I've never been a Republican. There are some people who I guess don't know the origin of the Midas Dutch Network. And they'll be like, were these the former Republicans and the former right wing? I was never that. If you looked at all of my views going back and what I did as a civil litigator, I was a civil rights lawyer, right? And I practiced a lot in Bakersfield and in Fresno, representing families who lost loved ones to excessive force and police brutality cases.

48:33Ben Meiselas:we were leading some of the biggest cases there when Bakersfield and Kern County was referred to as Killing County had the highest police shooting deaths per capita in the nation and one of the things that we exposed when I was doing these civil rights cases with the courageous families of Bakersfield that they had police officers in the Bakersfield Police Department who were taking the drugs that they confiscated and working with the drug dealers to sell the drugs on the streets. And they would keep confidential informants off the books in order to help them basically deal drugs and to build a basically drug cartel.

49:14Ben Meiselas:And there were a number of officers who we found through the cases that I was litigating who were involved as drug dealers. They were put in jail. They were put behind prison. So I was handling cases like that. Then I met Colin Kaepernick and I was Colin Kaepernick's lead lawyer in his various cases. Then I was Colin Kaepernick's transactional lawyer and I built Colin Kaepernick's media businesses with him. And then I created the Midas Touch Network. So my entire life, if you wanted to throw labels on it, my views and values would be viewed as like progressive if you were going to give it like a label.

49:50Ben Meiselas:But for me, it was always defending people who were being bullied and standing up for humanity and fighting for people and using my law background from Georgetown Law and as a civil trial litigator to help people. That's what I've tried to do my entire life. And I was blessed to have a successful legal career doing that, which I turned into a professorship over at USC, where to this day I still teach law at USC. and then building this network with my brothers and with this great community here at the Midas Touch Network. And so it's just it's fascinating. I never when I was a lawyer, I never asked my clients, you know, especially in Bakersfield, where there's a lot of people who are Republicans.

50:33Ben Meiselas:And I know you a Democrat or you a Republican. I never I never viewed things in those terms. And, you know, I don't. when you watch my reporting on a day-to-day basis, it just to me is in line with what my career was before this, just standing up for human beings and standing up for common sense and empathy and leadership. And I'm not like randomly against Donald Trump because he's Trump. I'm like, oh, I hate this guy named Trump. There are a lot of billionaires out there who do bad things. And there's a lot of people who do bad things. And a lot of people, right? So why Trump? Because he has, I think, destroyed the stability of our nation, where while certainly imperfect, I found that the arc was heading in the right direction, directionally, although a lot of work needed to be put into making a more perfect union here in the United States.

51:32Ben Meiselas:But I just think that he's ripped to shreds our constitution. And I even think more significantly than that, a value system and this idea of order and leadership and ripped it apart for kind of anarchy and destruction and hate. That to me is what I call out more than being like, oh, I like this Democrat versus that Democrat. And this is my favorite Democrat. That is the least interesting thing for me. I think you all know that watching this network. The most interesting thing for me is connecting with human beings at a values and principle level and fighting for that. Fighting for healthcare, not because it's a Democrat issue, but I believe it's a human rights issue.

52:18Ben Meiselas:Fighting for your healthcare, fighting for your education. I believe these are universal rights. Fighting for you to have a job where you can get paid with dignity, where marginalized communities are supported. That's the value system of this network. So I just find it fascinating to see the attacks of far left this, far left that. You had Brendan Carr, who is the commissioner of the FCC. He responds to Caroline Levitt and says, same job, new duty station. You know, and it's funny because Scott McFarlane responded and he's like, I guess by same job, you mean reporter. Yes, I'm a reporter. So that's what I do.

53:01Ben Meiselas:By the way, Scott has full editorial independence. We'll never tell him or anybody, write this or write that ever. In fact, if you've learned about the model we've been building at the Midas Touch Network, when we bring people on at the Midas Touch Network, they then have their own channels, their own media companies, and they control and own 100 % of their intellectual property. And so we just facilitate and help them grow their channels. But in terms of like their IP, that's theirs. Their editorial control, that's theirs. And if we can lend our support, That's great. And so I've seen some of Scott's reports today.

53:48Ben Meiselas:Have you seen some of his reports? I mean, the one that he did from Capitol Hill today with Pablo Manriquez as we've grown our Washington DC Bureau. Go and watch it on Scott McFarlane's channel as well. After you watch Katie Fang's show first, we're four minutes away from Katie Fang's show. So I want to make sure you all have the opportunity to watch Katie Fang's show, but it's just fascinating. Stephen Chung, the communications director over at the White House, says every reporter who leaves, more like fired from their outlet, always comes out as a deranged liberal every single damn time. Just goes to show how biased media has become.

54:26Ben Meiselas:I mean, again, go back and watch this video. Watch any of the videos that I do, frankly. Where is the deranged liberal aspect of this? I mean, I think that you could be a conservative farmer right now in Iowa and you're probably suffering as a result of Donald Trump's trade war against the world. And now the fact that fertilizers are either inaccessible or so incredibly expensive. I don't know if you're a right wing person in Oklahoma and you got to fill up the gas tank right now. It got a whole lot more expensive. Not sure it's a deranged liberal saying that that's outrageous right now. If you got your health care ripped away and you're a right wing person in Orlando, you know, say goodbye to your health care.

55:10Ben Meiselas:I'm trying to make sure you have access to your health care. If you can't afford things and you're in Nebraska, I don't think that that's a liberal position. I just want to make your life easier and fight for ways for you to afford things. I want to talk about things that matter to your life and how we can help you. That's what my focus is here on the Midas Touch Network and amplifying voices that provide solutions to you. So I don't see any of that. Oh, by the way, you want to get an MRI? Good luck if the helium supply runs out because a lot of our helium used in MRIs comes from the Middle East.

55:42Ben Meiselas:There are third and fourth and fifth layer consequences that even if this war ended today, even if it ended today, then there would be massive problems. Wait until we get the new inflation numbers out, right? Inflation was already surging. Could you imagine what the next inflation report is going to be? I probably can't imagine. It'll be on a trajectory for 5%. That's where I think it heads. I think we'll see a very hot reading near the fours. And I think in no time, it'll be five, six, or even how could it not be? We know what the price of gas is. And that's going to pull everything up with it.

56:20Ben Meiselas:And it's not just gas. It's food supply. it's it's it's all it's all of these other it's all of these other things as well and that's one of the things that we're focused on joe concha over at state regime media which calls itself fox says in which scott will also reveal himself to be much a partisan as lemon acosta chuck todd terry moran katie couric to name a few he's joining the midas touch the most the most far left news organization in the country that literally ran a protest during the Trump State of the Union. It wasn't a protest. It was a people state of the union. It was a counter to it where we talked about the issues that matter to the people.

57:00Ben Meiselas:All of those issues I just mattered. That's what we were talking about. Rather than having to listen to somebody blabber about transgender sports or whatever the hell in order to bully people. We were talking about affordability. We were talking about helping people find better jobs. And we were talking about manufacturing. That's what the speeches that we were talking about were all about. I guess that makes me a far left, the most far left, the most far left there is. I learned something new about them. I'm the most far left there is. But heck, if being the most far left means that we stand up for human rights, human dignity, civil rights, affordability, health care, women's rights, the rights of marginalized communities, that we focus on diversifying our energy sources in case there are oil shocks, that we focus on helping people get jobs with dignity, that we take care of people here in the United States, that we support unions.

58:05If all of that makes me a radical left, call me radical, I guess.

58:10Ben Meiselas:call me the radical might is mighty I guess all right Katie Fang show is about to start we're going to bring you to Katie Fang show right now you don't have to do anything stay here you'll automatically get transferred to sidebar with Katie Fang when you get there say hello to Katie from Ben say Ben says hi Katie you'll all be joining sidebar with Katie Fang now and if for whatever reason it doesn't transfer you there, just search on YouTube Katie Fang and join the live right now. I can't wait to watch Katie Fang's first live show. Sidebar with Katie Fang begins right now. Link is in the description also.

58:48Ben Meiselas:Link is in the description. Katie Fang sidebar begin now. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, add free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

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