LIVE: MeidasTouch RESPONDS to MAJOR BREAKING NEWS - 7/13/26

Donald Trump is burning down America and. burning down the world. Trump launched a. massive escalation of his unlawful and. catastrophic war in Iran over the. weekend, further escalating it as we're. recording this show. Donald Trump has. been making posts saying that he and the. United States should now be called the. guardians of the Strait of Hormuz and. that the United States has now reimposed. its blockade on the straight of Hormuz. and will charge ships 20% of the value.

of their ships. If they want to leave. the straight of Hermuz that needs to be. paid to Donald Trump. We'll talk about. what's going on during this episode. As. you now know, Lindsey Graham died at the. age of 71 as his office posted. They. said that it was very sudden what took. place. Uh there have been FBI agents at. his residence throughout this evening. and throughout the day. Unclear um why.

they're there. The initial examination. from the DC medical examiner's office. determined that uh Graham died as a. result of aortic dissection due to. arterio sclerotic cardiovascular. disease. Uh already the governor is now. appointing Lindsey Graham's sister to. the seat. I've had lots of people from. our international bureau saying, "What. is going on in the United States? You. just appoint the sister. Like what what. what system do you have?" It's a very.

good it's a very good question and it's. as you all see clearly a very broken. situation where uh where Donald Trump. right now is saying well now that we're. resuming war I'm doing a new war powers. letter and this is a new war that. started the old war ended back in April. this is a new war that we're now doing. and I'm just going to ignore Congress. alto together we'll talk about that. tragically ICE border patrol Gustapo. still out there killing killing people,

hunting people uh in the United States. Earlier today, we learned of a. 26-year-old Colombian man in Bidford, Maine, who was executed by ICE. Uh we're. now learning that ICE didn't even have a. warrant for this individual. This. 26-year-old Colombian man was here, had. a social security number, was going. through the lawful process, uh and just. surrounded and swarmed by ICE agents and. and executed. And again, this follows.

the ICE murder of Lorenzo Arojo in uh. Texas uh over uh at the end of last. week. And you know, let's not forget. that ICE has killed dozens and dozens. and dozens of people in detention. centers and throughout this country. We'll talk about that on this episode. Uh, Donald Trump's also announced that. he will be doing an address to the. nation, holding a press conference at 9. Eastern on Thursday. People are like, "What's he going to talk about?" And.

from what's been leaked thus far, he's. apparently going to talk about how the. 2020 election is rigged and he was going. to he's going to spread lies about the. 2020 election. And we know that Donald. Trump's been working with Maduro's. lawyers to try to cut a deal for Maduro. to basically say that he was trying to. rig the 2020 election and then Trump's. going to want to use that to invalidate. um uh other results from 2020 and maybe. like declare that he won. I we we'll.

talk about what's happening. I sure as. hell hope that corporate news does not. cover that speech live. I mean, if they. want to cover it afterwards and fact. check it, but do not cover that speech. live. Oil prices are now surging. Uh, the economy right now in the United. States is in shambles. And with all of. this going on, the MAGA Republicans have. just announced about an hour or two ago. that they were going to be introducing. what they call reconciliation 3.0.

You know how unpopular that disastrous. bill is that they call the big beautiful. bill. They want to do another one in. order to take an additional $350 billion. of your taxpayer money to give it to the. defense department which ran out of a. trillion dollars from the prior budget. And so they want to cut lots of medical. programs and programs that people rely. on in order to do that. So that's what. they're going to be pushing this week. They're calling it reconciliation 3.0.

know to give $350 billion immediately uh. to the defense department for more war. as Trump escalates. Then we'll talk. about the scathing order out of Florida. where uh a federal judge has now issued. a ruling referring Donald Trump's. lawyers to the state bar of Florida uh. calling out Todd Blanch right before his. confirmation hearing this week in. connection with that collusive. settlement um regarding the $10 billion. lawsuit that Trump in his individual.

capacity filed against the IRS and the. Treasury Department. The judge basically. called it patently frivolous and an. intention to basically rob the treasury, rob us, rob the taxpayers of billions. and billions of dollars. We'll talk. about that and more in this episode of. the Midas Touch podcast. Let's bring in. Brett and Jordy. Good to see you all. And and and indeed, as I started off, um. the country is burning down right now. I. mean, the level of damage that Donald. Trump is causing this country and the.

world is really really, you know, it's. it's disturbing just how much damage is. being caused right now. >> And we certainly have a lot to cover in. that regard. And it's great to see you, Ben. It's great to see you, Jordy. It's. great to see you Midas mighty. Yeah. I. mean, if I could describe, you know, the. Trump regime in a couple words, I'd say. looting and pillaging. That's what. they're doing right now to the United. States of America. And as they do that, they're also, of course, trying to. entrench uh, you know, themselves in. this power and try to ensure that they. have this power forever. And I think we.

need to look through all of Donald. Trump's actions, especially as we. approach the midterms with that in mind, as we hear about this uh, prime time. speech that Donald Trump is set to give. on Thursday and the rumors that are. starting to come out about that speech. about how he intends to spread these. election conspiracies. And as Ben was. saying, what he's been kind of in the. back rooms rumored to be working on with. Maduro. Remember those election. conspiracies where Donald Trump used to. say Hugo Chavez, who's been dead for a. long time, he flipped the election to.

the Democrats trying to spread all of. that crap on an official platform. And I. agree, Ben, do not give this guy live. airtime. You could air the clips after. the fact as you fact check him, as you. actually confront him on it, but do not. air stuff like that live. And Trump's. language right now that we see as he. goes out there, this entire crusade of, you know, we need to rid the country of. communists. We got to get the communists. out. We need to shut them down. that is. all as well that has the goal of trying. to silence disscent and to try to.

manipulate the elections and to. potentially try to declare uh any. elections to be void if they are won by. who he describes as communists who in. Donald Trump's mind is quite literally. anybody who is his political enemy as. you see on his social media feed. I. mean, he even put out a a video today on. a social media feed saying that the. country needed to be purged of. democratic socialists, that they were. evil communists, that needed to be uh. taken out forcefully from this country. This is incredibly dangerous rhetoric.

and similar rhetoric that we've seen uh. from dictators and authoritarians. throughout history. Then, of course, there's ICE, all the other stuff. I I. know we just have a lot to get into, so. I'm going to toss it over to Jordy. By. the way, I've been visiting Jordy. That's where I am right now. And it's. been an absolute blast. And Jordy, how. you doing across town? >> Bradster, what's up, man? Thanks for. making the trip to the Berg. I told you. the Berg is a special special place, man. So, it's always great to have you. here. The Berg welcomes you. That's. Pittsburgh for those that don't know, with open arms. Excited to get into.

tonight's show, brothers. We have a lot. to talk about, a lot of serious topics. to talk about. Before we get going, just. wanted to remind people, especially the. live viewers right now, if you scan that. little QR code up top, you see, brothers, I'm pointing with both fingers. here. So, you know, I have to be right. if I do this. That That's how you call. That's what you call a hedge, Ben. we. call hedge. You scan that QR code, it's. going to take you right to that audio. feed where we've been trying to get. people to subscribe. It's 100% free. Take out your phone, scan that QR code. at the top of the screen. It'll take you. to the Mightest Touch podcast audio. feed. We really appreciate it. Benji, where are we starting off today, Big. Brother? >> As the Midas Touch Network continues to.

expand, we announced earlier that we're. bringing in Justin Wolfers to be our. chief economist. He's a professor over. at University of Michigan. He started. Platypus Economics, his own independent. media company that we're going to do a. strategic partnership with. But the. thing is, we really need data people. right now. And you all know from. watching the Midas Touch Network, what's. most important to me is the data and. looking at the charts and discussing. what's going on here. That's why, you.

know, for a very long time now, for. weeks, um I've been raising uh lots of. red alarms over the strategic petroleum. reserves. And that our strategic. petroleum reserves are at a point where. we're hitting not just functional tank. bottom, but tank bottom. And the Trump. regime has been manipulating the prices. of crude. It's like a futures crude. market, which is different than the. price of oil in a refinery. And they've.

been manipulating these prices for a. long time. They've been doing it in. really two ways. One, by releasing to. the global oil market a lot of our. strategic petroleum reserves in order to. keep the prices down. Then I notice. overnight and throughout the day there. are unusual trades taking place and. massive short positions being taken by. what are sometimes referred to as these. whale investors. People are coming in. with massive amounts of money and.

betting against what we all see with our. eyes. I mean, we all see the straight of. horm closed. We all see the strategic. reserves being depleted. We all see. volatility and instability rising. But. there are a group of people who are out. there shorting and betting that things. are not just going to be um normal with. the straight of hormuz with everything. that we're about to discuss in this. episode, but that things are going to be. better than they ever were before. So.

you're like, who is betting on that? And. I believe when this story is told, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has. been working behind the scenes with a. lot of Donald Trump's right-wing. oligarchs in order to do that. But even. they can't hold back the overwhelming. nature now of of of what's going on. And. so, uh, oil prices, gas prices, uh, the. price of crude, I should say, um, rose. about 9% today, right? Right around that. $80 a barrel, which given the.

instability is actually still pretty. low. You would think based on. everything, all the data points where it. should be right now, I don't want it to. be there, but with all the data inputs, it should be about $150 a barrel to $175. a barrel. But what we do see is. something called the 321 crack splits. That's the refinery prices. And the. crack split, the delta or the difference. between the price of the crude and the. price from the refinery, that's at. record highs. So now though we're seeing.

the rise in the crack splits, the delta. or the difference, but now we're also. seeing a conccommatant rise in the price. of crude. And this is all pointing to a. major major economic disaster that I've. been warning about. Now Donald Trump is. getting desperate. He's now found. himself in this escalatory trap. So as. I've also been warning, I said, you. know, he's got those, this is what I've. been saying since last week. He's put. those two US super carriers, Abraham.

Lincoln and George HW Bush, very close. to the coast of Iran. I said, "Watch. there." He's definitely trying to create. a Gulf of Tunken like incident, which is. what led to the escalation in Vietnam. under Lynden B. Johnson. And I said, also look on the coast of Oman. You can. see one of these uh amphibious assault. ships, one of these uh ships that. basically it's the main ship for our. special forces. and they're right there. on the coast of Oman. And then I say pay.

attention to where the United States is. striking. And if you look at the pattern. of these strikes, the infrastructure. being hit, it looks like the US is. preparing the terrain for a ground. invasion of special forces and they're. hitting certain radar facily. pointing to um a ground invasion um and. and leading to something else. And I. said, I just want to raise those red. flags because that appears to be, you. know, what what's going on. And now.

we're seeing, you know, this evening. obviously massive escalation in the. region. Um, you know, the whole region. right now is on fire. Um, you also have, you know, uh, the the the resumption of. of a real real war between Saudi Arabia. and which basically backs the government. in Yemen and the Houthis which control a. lot of the territory in Yemen which are. supported by Iran. We saw Saudi Arabia. basically bomb an airport that was under. the control of the Houthis. The Houthis.

responded by attacking Saudi Arabia. So. we have this whole region in a massive. confilration, massive uh war going on in. the whole region. All of the Arab. nations, you know, have been brought. into this and we're at a point that's. frankly even worse than I think at the. than at the beginning of war back in. March. And then you also have escalation. going on right now in Russia's invasion. of Ukraine. Yes, you have Zalinski. successfully striking lots of targets in.

Russia, but you also have Putin striking. Keev as of this recording and there are. massive massive attacks that are. underway. And so quite literally, you. have war everywhere. You know, you have. a war going on essentially everywhere in. the world or all nations in the world. are somehow involved in a war right now. And that's not me being hyperbolic. As I. said, gas is gas is up um right now. And. you you look at a bunch of the other. data points right now. Strategic. reserves down 321. Crack price is up. Um.

and then, you know, we'll talk about a. little later also, but you've got uh the. total US federal debt is now up a record. 39.4 trillion. And get this, Brett and. Jordy Rising $3.2 trillion over the last. 12 months. Trump has added $3.2 2. trillion to the national debt while. lying and saying he's brought in $19.2. trillion. Well, how'd the debt rise by. 3.2 trillion if you brought in 19.2. trillion? And why do you need this.

reconciliation 3.0 to fund the defense. department if you brought in all that. money? So, I'll pause there, Brett, and. toss it over to you, but I wanted to. start actually with the data because to. me, that's what we need to be focusing. on. And I'll just add this, you know, you know, it reminds me of that kind of. famous phrase that's been passed along. through the years. The definition of. insanity is doing the same thing over. and over again and expecting different. results. And how fitting is that for. Donald Trump to be stuck in this escal. escalatory trap, which fits right into.

the definition of insanity? I mean, we. literally have an insane person right. now at the helm making all of these. decisions. And for some reason, I mean, because he's insane, him and and Pete. Hegsth and all these folks in the Trump. regime seem to think if they just bomb. harder, if they just bomb more, if they. just do it again, that they're going to. get different results, but they're not. going to get different results. And they. think that they could create this. alternative reality as they tried to do. here in the United States. And there's.

plenty of propaganda media who's happy. to go along with it, but they're trying. to create this alternate reality where. the United States actually controls the. straight of Hormuz. and and all this. stuff. And it just could not be further. from the truth. And I think it's worth. just reflecting right now how much the. kind of mission, the objectives of this. war have shifted so dramatically. And. think about all the stories that we have. heard out of this regime, the Trump. regime from day one. At first, it was. about what? Regime change. It was about. Iran's nuclear program. I bet if you ask.

10 people on the street, what is this. war about? I I don't even know if a lot. of people would even realize we're in a. war. But the folks who uh you except for. knowing that gas prices are sky-high and. everything is way more expensive. Uh but. I have I could almost guarantee you that. nobody would actually be able to give a. straight answer because there really is. no straight answer. Now what Donald. Trump seems to be doing every time he. goes on television is he seems to be. saying that the whole goal right now is. we got to open the straight. We're going. to do it by force. Actually, we own the.

straight. Something that was open prior. to the war. So, we are fighting for. something that was caused by Donald. Trump's own actions. It is the biggest, most clear-cut, black and white example. of a failure in a war that I can think. of like in history. Objectively. speaking, this isn't like a a Brett. opinion. Objectively speaking, this. thing has been a complete and utter. disaster. And what Trump is realizing, I. think what he's realized throughout this. entire thing is he has no clean way out.

We were hoping that the memorandum of. understanding, theou uh would be abided. by and that folks would be able to. continue down a road and a path of peace. even though that we did not believe that. Donald Trump would be able to do that. And this is why we didn't believe that. Donald Trump would be able to do that. because Donald Trump is not a dealmaker. Donald Trump is a deal breakaker. He. does not enter into these agreements. with good faith. And that's the issue. that we have because as we've been. saying from the beginning, what happens. when you lose a war? you got to kind of.

give some things up to the victor goes. the spoils. Donald Trump is refusing in. this scenario to give anything up. despite that despite theou he doesn't. want to stick to the terms and so now. we're left in this escalatory trap that. is essentially never ending that is just. showing the United States of America's. weakness that is depleting our resources. depleting our oil that continues to. allow Iran to rain fire down on American. bases in the Middle East or what's left. of them. This is a complete and total. train wreck for the United States, for.

the region, and for the world. >> Well said. B. Look, I want to go back to. something you said earlier. The the. entire justification for this war in the. first place was supposedly Iran's. nuclear program. Then it became regime. change and then most recently the goals. become monetizing the straight of our. moves, an international waterway. This. mission has completely collapsed in. itself. Up is down, down is up. The. United States is losing this war worse. than we lost to Belgium two weeks ago. And here's the thing. Iran's not backing. down. They're they're not backing down. The longer this drags out, the worse.

it's going to get for our troops, for. our citizens, and for this economy. And. and to that point, where are all the. MAGA people who wrap themselves in the. flag and pretend to love our troops? They honestly think that that our troops. risking their lives is worth this for. for whatever this is. This is a war of. choice by Donald Trump and it's nowhere. close to being resolved. along with. Epstein, along with his bankruptcies, along with unleashing the murderous ICE. onto our streets, this failed war will.

be Trump's legacy. This is one of those. things that Trump will be forever known. by. This is his Vietnam in many ways for. for whatever reason, ignorance or. bravado or or what have you. Trump. thought this would be an easy victory. And at this rate, it's crystal freaking. clear that it's not going to get. resolved during his presidency. >> It's very clear. I mean, but just think. also he wants to hold a press conference. on Thursday about the 2020 election in. July 2026 while the American people are.

suffering tapping into their savings if. they're fortunate to have any or are. being foreclosed on andor going bankrupt. and are starving. And he wants to do. something about the 2020 elections and. lie about it. He still talks about 2016. Russia, Russia, Russia. He says that. over and over again and you know he was. uh what posting you know weird photos of. like Hillary Clinton wearing hats that. say I lost to Donald Trump and this is. what he's talking about in 2026. And so.

my point is is that he doesn't move on. from things. To your point, Jordy, this. is not going to end in this term at all. Like there's no chance this ends. He. doesn't know how to end things. He. doesn't know how to resolve or solve. anything. what he does know how to do is. blame and destroy. And so after his. first term ended and Biden had to. actually fix the things that Trump. created the problems, whether that was.

actually leaving Trump's never-ending. wars and leaving, you know, Afghanistan, whether it was addressing and dealing. with COVID, whether it was dealing with. the supply shocks that Trump created for. completely mishandling COVID, Biden had. to deal with it. And what did Trump and. MAGA and our corporate media do? They. blamed the firefighter for trying to put. out the fire and they sided with the. arsonist who was blaming the. firefighters for trying to put it out. And so that dynamic is shaping up now.

The problem is is that Trump's here for. another, you know, two years. unfortunately. And so the amount of. destruction in those two years is only. going to compound and get worse. And. Jordy, when you said, "Is MAGA good with. sending our troops into these never-. ending wars?" Like, is this what they is. this what they want? That's why I. started with the data. I'm like, this. shouldn't be like, are you a Democrat, Republican, or independent? Like, look. at those charts. Like, gas is about to. go average over $4 a gallon right now. You know, our debt is out of control,

and Trump keeps on adding to it. We're. about to get an inflation report. tomorrow that Justin Wolfers is going to. cover with us. It's going to be. horrific. horrific. Mark my words, it'll. be very bad. And then um you're gonna. and then that'll keep on getting worse. And now inflation's only going to. continue to rise and rise and rise, which is why I said by the end of this. year we'll be at 5 a.5% inflation. And. then once we hit the five uh number, oh. my god, how did we get here? It's.

because you've been other people have. been following these media narratives. and not the facts and the data. every. month it goes up about point CPI you. know um goes up about 3% 2% 4%. It's. easy to see how it's going up, right? It's fairly easy to see the. directionally where this stuff is going. But Jordy and Midas mighty, this is a. real video. This is not a parody that. the defense department is releasing. And. what they say in this video, this is. what this is their call for people to. join the military as they're now.

escalating everything. Listen to what. they say carefully. go they go whether. the mission was real and defined or. vague throughout generations Americans. have said send me whether the missions. are vague send me send me I mean this. right here is straight out of 80 1984 in. fact far more dystopian here playing. this clip. throughout our storied history when. soldiers said.

send. well equipped or poorly equipped. It. didn't matter whether they were stepping. into a clear mission or a vague one, whether there were clear skies or. raining. was always the determined reply. Every one of them, just like you, were. called to serve something greater than. themselves. [music].

send me. >> And it's actually a truly horrifying. video if you listen to what they said, whether they were well equipped or. poorly equipped. I don't know what. history you've looked at, but I don't. think people were saying send me poorly. equipped, whether the mission was. defined or vague, send me, whether the. skies were clear or raining, send me. No. If you actually look at history, we. had responsible generals who would not. want to send people when there were. certain weather conditions because you.

wanted to make keep the people alive. I. I it is the most deranged view of of. history and the send me send me send me. to my death, right? I mean, it's some. crazy stuff. I want to pause there, though. I want to take our first quick. break of the show. When we come back, we. have a lot to discuss. I want to show. you what's going on here domestically. with ICE, with reconciliation 3.0. I. want to talk more about um what else. Donald Trump's been saying today as he.

escalates this war. We'll talk about. Lindsey Graham, what's going on there. Talk we have a lot to discuss. Just a. quick reminder, hit the QR code and. subscribe on audio. It really helps. We. made it easy for you. for those who want. to really help us out and grow. It's. free to subscribe to audio. So, hit the. QR code. Um, scan it, subscribe on audio. and uh and leave a fivestar review. All. right, let's take our first quick break. of the show. Ever wake up sweaty, freezing, or just.

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too. That's quint.com/midus. for free shipping and 365day returns. quint.com/midus. Let's go. Shout out to our sponsors. Links in description of both the YouTube. and the audio. Use the links. Use the. codes. If there's an exit survey, let. them know I sent you. I was going to. play this prank on you, Ben, but I felt. bad in my own head playing it back. You. were pointing correctly to the QR code. before a break. I was going to tell you.

you were pointing incorrectly. And I. didn't want you to spiral out and text. me on the side. >> Don't throw Ben. Don't throw Ben off his. game. He's in the zone. >> He's in the zone. Can I just say this. really quick before we get going to I. just go through my day. I think like. most people in this world where you're. not even like viewing things through the. context of like is this how a Democrat. would respond to this issue or is this. how a Republican oh now I'm going to. respond to it based off of those beliefs. that just go through today like right. versus wrong and so many times those. values of right I mean right in like the.

good sense get attributed to a single. party with beliefs and values and actual. like like stands for something versus. the other party that's just okay again. sending our troops into this war of. choice. It's so frustrating. Like I'm. not here to cheerlead for any parties. It becomes a values-based thing at the. end of the day. And just I I just it. blows my mind that not even MAGA, but. like more Republicans, more red-blooded. Republicans aren't pissed off about. sending our troops to die in this.

pointless freaking war. Because Jordy, there's no values proposition for MAGA. It doesn't exist, right? the the values. proposition is what does Donald Trump. think about this? And it's why they. could hold a hundred different positions. at once, right? They could say something. one day. Heck, they could say something. one minute and Donald Trump could say. something the next minute and then they. all flip at the same time. So, it's not. a values proposition for them. It's what. does dear leader say? And and we even. saw that today uh with uh uh when when.

the governor of uh South Carolina chose. to nominate Lindsey Graham's sister uh. to fill this role temporarily. And we'll. talk about this soon, but you saw at. first you saw, you know, some. Republicans saying, "I'm going to pick. this person because they have x amount. of years of experience, you know, as a. representative. I'm gonna pick I I want. this person. I this person will best. serve, you know, the people of South. Carolina." And then Donald Trump said, "No, no, no, no, no. Lindsey Graham's. sister. That's who it's going to be. And. then like that, everyone was like, "Oh, I have an idea. Lindsey Graham's sister.

That's who it has to be. There's no. other choice." It's like, didn't like. five minutes ago, weren't you pushing. for somebody else? Like, you really have. zero spine at all? And the answer is. yes. They have zero spine at all. Zero. beliefs of their own. >> Lindsey Graham's sister. Again, as I. said during the first segment, I've had. so many people from the international. bureaus of MIDA saying, "What is you. appoint a sister? What kind of what kind. of country do you have over there?" I.

go, "It's a it's a great point." Yes. Governor McMaster, the governor of South. Carolina, has a posted Darlene Graham, Nordan, Graham's sister, to fill out the. remainder of his term. And of course you. all know now and Midas was one of the. first news outlets that did a story on. Lindsey Graham's uh passing. Um but as. you know Lindsey Graham died Lindsey. Graham's office made a post saying it. happened very suddenly. He returned from. Ukraine where he was on Friday and the.

videos of him on Friday. He looked um. you know as as it relates to Lindsey. Graham you know relatively fine. That. doesn't mean that, you know, something. couldn't have happened at his age. And. based on what his uh uh the preliminary. results are purportedly from the, you. know, autopsy results, do we just have. what they what they posted, Brett, about. the condition that they claim that the. initial examination from the DC medical. examiner's office determined that Graham.

died as a result of aortic dissection. due to arterioclerotic cardiovascular. disease. In layman's terms, this means a. tear in the aorta caused by hardening. and narrowing of arteries as a result of. an underlying cardiovascular. disease. I'm not sure people close to. Lindsey Graham knew about this. I'm not. sure Lindsey Graham, you know, had. talked about it. You know, the only kind. of questions that I have there is what. Lindsey Graham at least had been. describing to people or even what Trump.

said and others, you know, was that he. was not feeling well. That he had made. some sort of statement that um I hope I. don't die before I'm able to, you know, see sanctions on Russia. I hope I don't. die before, you know, I'm able to see. through what happens in Iran. or I hope. I don't die before I see those thing, you know, before the Abrahamic before. Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords. when we know Saudi Arabia is never going. to join the Abraham Accords unless uh. Palestine is recognized and there's a. two-state solution and that Israel, you.

know, uh stops the genocide. Um, but you. know, the the only I mean, the only. question that I just have is that if you. knew you had uh a cardiovascular. condition that could be fatal because. you've done yearly checkups, describing. yourself as just not feeling good and. feeling under the weather and saying, "Ah, I'm just going to get it checked. out, you know, on Sunday or Monday. after, you know, you're supposed to be. on Meet the Press." I mean, what. wouldn't you go? I mean, he he lived in. DC. There's the George Washington.

Hospital right there. you know, the. moment you started feeling anything, knowing you have a condition that could. be fatal and knowing the age group and. risk that that that that's just the only. part, you know, there there are lots of. FBI agents. As I've said before, I'm not. veering into the land of kind of. conspiratorial. um and I don't want to, you know, other. than to say we know that these are. people who don't tell the truth about. basically anything um and at all and you. know that that's just those are just. >> I'll I'll say this. I think it's quite.

um weird. Uh the FBI handles things. quite weirdly, I will say. And this. administration, this the Trump regime. seems to uh do everything in like the. weirdest way possible that uh allows for. conspiracy theories to thrive. So like. sending nearly 20 FBI agents to Lindsey. Graham's house after he has uh uh after. he dies in this way is very peculiar. and Cash Patel's comments that he made. were very peculiar and to me only serve.

uh to amplify conspiracy theories. But, you know, when I think about this whole. thing, if I could just give my, you. know, opinion here for for a quick. second, the whole thing's really sad to. me, honestly. And I I just wonder if, you know, there are other folks in the. MAGA world who kind of sold their soul, who look at this and have some sort of. awakening. I'm certainly not holding my. breath thinking about it, but I I I. mean, think about it. Lindsey Graham, he. he was a wararmonger like the whole. time. and and that's you know frankly. unforgivable but this is a guy who when. you look at those clips of him back in.

you know 2016 and we made plenty of. videos you know especially at the. beginning of Midas with the word things. he said about Joe Biden and the things. he said about Donald Trump I mean we all. remember that to so give up your soul. and give up your power give up your. autonomy give up nearly every single. thing that you believe in in order to. become Donald Trump's little pet and. then to go out in this way as you are. Donald Trump's little pet, giving away. all of your power, all of your dignity, any any shred of dignity that you may.

have had. To me, that's a really sad sad. sad way to live. And I just wonder if. there's anybody, any of these Trump. sickants out there who look and go, is. that how I want to be remembered as. Donald Trump's little pet, as his little. pet dog? Like it to me, it's just it's. that's a choice that you make, right, in. life. You only have so many years on. life and you can life could be taken. away from you at any point, right? And. it's one of the most shocking things to. me that people insist on living that.

way, on on living to support this man. and these heinous actions and that and. that the heinous things that they do, knowing that it could all go away in a. second and that's how you're going to be. remembered and and that you're going to. throw everything else away. It's just. it's that that part of it is is quite. tragic to me. >> No, well said be and look, I want to add. this point too, man. states rights. I. totally get it kind of like, yeah, okay. But it's bizarre to me that stateto. state it's either the governor like a. McMaster gets to go ahead and appoint or.

it's a special election. It's wild to me. that that state implications could then. have federal implications in a way. that's not chosen by the people at. large. It it re it hurts my brain. sometimes when I look stateto state and. say, "Okay, so the governor gets to. appoint this state. This state goes into. a runoff. This is a special election. It's crazy to me. >> Welcome to Federalism. Thank you. And let me let me say, you. know, it's not like, you know, we're the. United States. You know,

us for our freedom, right? The Ayatollah. there. You know who who Yeah, it was the. Ayatollah's uh uh son who came. And so, it's kind of like that. It's kind of. just like that. >> Look, I know it might sound sophomoric, but still whenever it hits, I'm like, "Oh, this state the governor just gets. to put Oh, and now it's the sister with. no with no experience." Okay. It's a. little more complicated. Nothing that. you say is sophomoric, though. And. everything you say is is is a wise sage. So, I just I support it all. >> There is a there will be a special I. believe it's next month. This is. temporary just to.

>> But but that's what I'm saying for this. for this period of time. >> It's odd. Look, it's it's odd that. you're like, "Yeah, his sister is going. to become a senator right now." So, so. but but but here are some of the. contradictions or just outright fraud, right? The crowd that says, "Don't tread. on me." Love being tread on me, right? The don't tread on me crowd is tread on. me, daddy. Tread all over me, daddy. I. mean, that's that's quite literally they. call him daddy. They love being treaded. on. They love they love having a guy. who's crazier than Kim Jong-un as their.

furer. It's bizarre for me to watch it. It's bizarre that corporate news even. treats it, and I'm not talking even just. about state regime media like Fox or CBS. or News M. Just even corporate news, you. know, treats a lot of this like it's. normal when it's the furthest from. normal. You know, also the people who. profess to be pro-life, they hate life. They hate life. You know, they they. support genocide. They support mass. murder abroad and slaughter. They don't. give a when they slaughter little. girls in an elementary school in Iran or.

in Gaza or in Lebanon. But they claim. they're pro-life. And more. significantly, not sign or or equal, you. know, equally as as as crazy, you know, they don't they don't care about their. own life like too like like just it was. profoundly you know when during COVID. when you saw the death toll rise and. Donald Trump was giving himself an A and. the people out there were literally like. like you know you saw those MAGA. politicians who were like just out there. like dying and then the family was like. but we love Donald Trump. We love him.

You're getting killed. you're literally. killing like you're dead. What What are. you What are you doing? And so that that. left a profound impression on me also. that, you know, we're not I I we're not. dealing with we're dealing with crazy. stuff. [laughter]. I don't know how else to to capture it. other than by just kind of calling it. out what it is. I mean, just look what. went down, you know, what what what. Trump's even talking about. Trump goes. on one of these right-wing shows before.

um and he's talking about we're going to. hit Iran very hard tonight. We're going. to hit them hard tomorrow. Not a damn. thing they can do about it. Okay. They're not damn What do you mean. there's not a damn thing that they can. do? You want me to tell you what they. can do about it? They're shooting a lot. of ships right now this evening in the. straight of Hormuz. Okay. And not even. in the straight of Hormuz. Outside of. the straight of Hormuz. Uh we're seeing. right now uh over here that Iran was. able to strike a ship off the coast of. Kulat in Oman which ain't even all that.

close to the straight of Ramoose. There. are UAE tankers that are being hit. right. There's like an allout war. What. do you mean that there there ain't. nothing they can there's a lot they can. do about it. They're doing a lot about. it right now and things are escalating. very much. They got no navy. They got no. missiles. They want to do a deal though. By the way, he said that tonight also. Trump in an Oval Office presser. I think. that they still want to do a deal with. me. And it's like, dude, shut up with. the deal. Stop saying no freaking word. Every I'm a deal guy. I do deals. They.

want to do a deal. I don't want to do a. deal. Dude, just shut the hell up and. either do the deal or don't do the deal. Just it it is truly like, as you said. before, like a psychotic, deranged. person. Here's what he told the. right-wing podcast person where he's. like he's like, "Yeah, they can't do a. damn thing about it." Here, play this. clip. Can you or the American uh. military or the Israeli military get to. what's left of their third string and. their fourth string and their fifth. string? Do you know where they are? Can. you kill them? >> Yeah, I do. And but we don't want to. talk about that, >> but we uh. >> we certainly are watching. Yeah, I I.

know a lot about that subject. I know a. lot, but I don't think it's appropriate. to talk about it right now. But we will. >> we will be hitting him like as an. example, we're going to hit him very. hard tonight and uh we're going to hit. him hard tomorrow. And there's not a. damn thing they can do about it. They. have nothing. They have nothing going. other than they have big mouths. >> Keep it up, Mr. President. >> Very good that I did because I got to. know him. >> The buck and it's a lot better. You. know, people say I was at least. reasonable, but I got to know him and.

they're stone cold people. >> First off, he's a stone cold person. That reporter is a stone cold person. And their third string and their fourth. string. Can you kill him? Can you Can. you can Can you kill him? Yeah. I'll. kill him. I'll kill him. You want to. kill him? I mean, man, unlike unlike. Donald Trump, the the Iranians have big. mouths and and Trump would never uh do a. whole stream of consciousness that's all. psychological projection about himself. It's really incredible how everything. the guy says is about himself and he is.

putting these on other people. And as I. said before, literally, it's the. definition of insanity. Doing the same. thing over and over again. But because. we're to me we're in this of the war. right now where it's been drawn out. where thisou has been such a catastrophe. and Donald Trump's back is against the. wall. I think you feel even more. desperation coming out of Donald Trump. This is the guy who said like on day two. we won the war. Remember? I mean we. could go back in time and play those.

clips. We won the war. We won. We won. It's over. It's over. Like a miracle. It's going to go away. Two cases. Day. It's the same stick. It's the same. stuff. It's it's the same shtick. And. now, you know, as we were saying uh on. the last episode, we were reporting on. the fact that one of the things that's. really not being talked about a lot. right now, and this is mind-blowing to. me that it's not a bigger story, is the. fact that the Pentagon is essentially. going bankrupt at the moment. They have. the biggest budget that they ever had, $1 trillion budget. Donald Trump and is.

now requesting $1.5 trillion. That's. nearly like double what the budgets were. before Donald Trump came into office. and they are burning through this money. at a rapid clip. And so you're now. seeing Donald Trump at these press. conferences speaking to the press. And. he right now, I think in the back of his. mind, is realizing how damaged the. United States is. Remember, he always. says, "Oh, I built the military back up. I made it." He's doing the opposite. He's running the United States military. and the Department of Defense. Yes, it's.

called the Department of Defense. He's. running it right now like one of his. failed casinos. And so even just before. we were recording, Donald Trump was out. there in the Oval Office and he's. speaking about that now this is his new. scam, right? Oh, we actually think maybe. all the other countries they have they. should probably reimburse us because we. came into the region and we were such. good people by coming into the Middle. East and causing all this chaos there. and getting Iran to attack all of them. So maybe they will thank us by showering. us with cash as as a thank you. Did you.

say thank you Saudi Arabia? Did he say. thank you Qatar? I mean this is actually. severely deranged. Watch this. >> They were involved because they're stone. cold crazy. They are crazy. >> and we're not going to put it up. Yeah. I want to be reimbured because we're. protecting a very rich portion of the. world. We're spending money. And so what. we've done is we are going to be. reimbursed for protection. We're. protecting by the countries that we're. uh helping. For instance, you look at.

the five countries. You have Saudi. Arabia, you have uh UAE, you have Qatar. or Qatar as I always say, you have. Qatar, Bahrain, and by the way, you have. others. You have Kuwait and you have. others and they will do very well, but. we think it's appropriate that we don't. need them. You know, we have more oil. than any other country in the world. When you add Venezuela has which has. been amazing when you which has. tremendous amounts of oil that we. control. When you add Venezuela and. everything else, we have more than 50%.

of the world supply. We don't need it, but we need it from the standpoint of. protecting allies, etc., etc., including. Israel, including Saudi Arabia, including Qatar, including, uh, UAE. We're protecting all of them, and we've. done a very effective job. So, uh, four. months ago, the. >> But, but, but brothers, mightest mighty, what about Liberation Day? What about. when we did all of those tariffs? Wasn't. that supposed to make us so rich beyond. belief that we would. >> ever had $19 trillion or $21 trillion in.

investment coming in from all these. countries already? We're flooded with. cash. It's on the tariff shelf. Didn't. you all get your Doge rebate checks? Didn't you get your tariff rebate. checks? Are you seeing the pattern here? It's one scam after the next. And as he. bankrupts this country, he just. continues to lie. He just doubled down. on the doubles down on the lies. He. doubles down on the Ponzi scheme. That's. what we're watching play out right now. in real time. >> Can I can I address one thing, Brett, to.

to that point? So, when I was a. litigator against Ponzi scheme type. cases, one of the things that the Ponzi. schemers would do is create special. purpose vehicles that would then. basically rob from Peter to play to pay. Paul. So, you'd have special purpose. vehicle one, special purpose vehicle. two, special purpose vehicle three. And. as you would kind of as they would steal. and loot the money from special purpose. vehicle one and then the investors in. one said well what's going on what would. you do you create SPV2 then when you.

take that money then SPV3 so to me. reconciliation 3.0 is what they're. calling it is the exact thing that I've. seen writ large as special purpose. vehicle 3 point you know is basically. special purpose vehicle 3.0 No, they've. looted and pillaged Brett. That's what. you said in the first segment. And now. they've bankrupted. So what do they do? They create the special. It's the Bernie. Maidoffs. It's the SC. It's the exact. stuff that I've seen litigated against. the Ponzi schemes. That's what.

reconciliation 3.0 is. And who are they. robbing? Who are they taking? They're. taking more money from the services that. we're actually supposed to be paying for. our taxpayer dollars for that's supposed. to be helping us. and they're stealing. it and taking it and they're saying it's. fraud and it's waste and it's abuse. That's why we need to raid these. programs that Americans rely on in order. to now deal with the fact that they've. quite literally bankrupted the defense. department and they've bankrupted all. these other areas. And where do you.

think a lot of that money is also going. directly to? like that money is going to. Trump and his oligarch friends and the. people who open up, you know, the. private prisons in the United States and. the and all of the defense industrial. complex. All of these companies are. getting our taxpayer dollars. Where did. where did the trillion go? Where do you. think it's going? It's going to Trump. and his guys and his mostly all guys. like his people. And so now it's. reconciliation 3.0. That special purpose. vehicle 3.0. And then I see, you know, you know, even the more basic scams that.

I would deal with when I would. litigating against people. You know, what's one of Trump's recent scams? Oh, inflation is surging. He cites Walmart. as he cites Walmart coupons as though. they're these discounts that that prices. are going down. He did the same thing. during Thanksgiving. Let me put in. perspective for a second. It would be. like if right if like 3 days before. Prime Day, I was like, "Mr. Bezos, lower. your prices. I give you till Wednesday. You better do it. And and then Amazon's. like, "It's Prime Day Wednesday." And I.

was like, "Called it. Got it." Or set. aside Brett. It's It's worse though. It. set aside the called it. Then you. extrapolated Prime Day discounts as. though that was an economic. >> Yeah. I would say like I like I summoned. it. I. >> I No, no, no, no, no, no. That that. reflects the general economy that now. prices are down because they have Prime. Day. because Walmart has done a coupon. that that now means we've reduced. inflation while inflation is surging.

And then what's the other scam which. I'll talk about before our last break of. the show, which is the freedom centers, the freedom gas stations, right? We know. that gas is going up now again. It'll be. $4 a gallon soon. We know that Americans. can't afford anything. So what do you do. when 150,000 gas stations are now. charging a lot more for and that's how. many gas stations are. There may be a. little more than that in the country. Well, you open up 25 in Pennsylvania. You rebrand a gas station. You call them.

freedom centers. Nobody knows who runs. these things. They're clearly being. subsidized somewhere and they're losing. money. You charge $347. So you can say, "Look what Trump did. 47." Then you put out a message. Look, I've made gas prices $347. because 15 gas stations that nobody. knows who's even controlling these gas. stations in Pennsylvania have reduced. their prices, probably subsidized by the. regime or there's some quidd proquo we.

don't know about. while the American. people are suffering. stuff going on there. >> Trump realizes though about you know. about you know a lot of people in his. face um is that you just have to give. him something like this just just throw. him a little thing and they'll be oh but. the freedom centers. Yeah, but that's. not what that's not happening to your. life. That's not happening to you. But. Donald Trump said this. Donald Trump. Yeah, the guy's the guy's been a loser. his whole life. The guy's bankrupted. everything. What do you mean Donald.

Trump said? Stop it. Stop it. You know, and I think, you know, it's been it's. been. good, I guess, to see that a lot of the. country has recognized this fraud. The. part that still gets me, you know, is. after all of this, how could there still. be 30 32% of the country who's like I I. think I'm I love this when objectively. they're doing worse, you know, and then. it gets to the next aspect of it, which. we'll talk about when we come back from.

the break. They like ICE and Border. Patrol torturing people. They like the. torture. They like the author. They like. being treaded on. They like it. They. like it. We can think about it. They. like that. And that's a s it's a sad. harrowing realization, you know, to to. to make that they like it. And you know, that's why the rest everybody else, you. know, you gota you got to realize the. existential threat because that 28% 32%.

block they're always going to be 28 to. 30. They will always be with him no. matter what. And Ben, let me just say. this also before we go to break. Uh. because we were speaking about the gas. prices and and gas prices are once again. rising and and families are really. feeling this all across the country. And. so as we've been discussing, you know, Donald Trump is attempting all all of. these schemes and we were just speaking. about the kind of freedom gas stations. And one of the things that he's been. saying a lot recently is he's also been. trying to shift the blame to the gas. stations rather than the result of his.

policies. And he's saying Mr. Exxon, Mr. you know, this station, that station, lower your prices, stop you gouging our. customers. But this is one of those. situations where I think it's always. watch what they do and not what they say. because this was a uh little discussed. story that happened in the past week as. well that I want to flag for you right. here. And that's that, and you're not. going to believe this, but literally. Exxon's lawyer is now joining the. Department of Justice's energy division. Robert Levy, executive counsel at the.

oil company, will retire from his role. and join the federal government later. this month. This is from EnergyWire. And. I'll just show you a little bit about. this because I think it just such a. stunning example of kind of uh this. corruption that's happening in the. background and how they may be saying. one thing in the public and behind the. scenes. They are putting in the people. who are fighting for the oil and gas. companies, who are fighting for higher. prices on people. And so I'll read this. for you right here. A senior level.

attorney at Exxon Mobile is retiring. from the oil and gas company this month. and joining the Justice Department's. newly renamed Energy and Natural. Resource Division. I'm excited to. contribute to the Trump administration's. energy priorities and to our nation's. environmental and legal landscape, said. Robert Levy, executive counsel at Exxon. in a June post on LinkedIn. Levy said he. would depart Exxon after 17 years in the. company. His move comes as a DOJ last. month announced its environment and. natural resources division will now be. known as the energy and natural.

resources division. And this comes, of. course, as well after we see the Trump. administration repeatedly bragging about. not using renewable energy, about. actually using more oil and gas, even as. that strains the energy grid and causes. them to issue these emergency. proclamations from these same grids that. they are hyping up as amazing because. they don't have any renewables. The. United States is doing that. You know. what every other country's doing? You. know what China's doing? they are in. build build mode when it comes to wind,

when it comes to solar, when it comes to. all of these renewable uh energy sources. that the Trump administration is saying. we don't want any of that. This is. America. They don't have that in China. Well, yes, they do and they are focused. on it and that they are growing and they. are thriving in large part because they. are building the future of energy and. more jobs for Americans while the United. States is pushing progress away, screwing over uh the people and screwing. over all the people not only who need.

the energy and we need it more than ever. right now, especially with these AI data. centers popping up everywhere, but we. also need the jobs. These are jobs of. the future that we are just giving away. to China. It is the biggest example of. shooting yourself in the foot. imaginable. And I just wanted to kind of. tie it all together for everybody as we. were on this topic before we head to. break. Let's take our last quick break. of the show. A reminder, subscribe to. the Midas Touch on audio. For those. watching right now on YouTube, there's a.

QR code up there that'll make the. process easy for you to subscribe on. audio. You click the QR code, bam, it. brings you to the audio podcast. Bam, you hit subscribe. It's free and it. helps us. So, if you just do that really. quickly, that's one of the best ways you. can help us and it's free to help us. All right. Um, let's take our last quick. break of the show. We'll be right back. Are you one of those people who loves. coffee? The taste, the smell, the whole. ritual, but the caffeine sends you.

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audio. Use the links, use the codes. If. there is an exit survey, let them know. we sent you real quick because I feel. like this is going to be a heavy. segment. Uh, first off, happy. anniversary to all who celebrate. We are. one month uh since the Knicks won the. championship. So, I know there's a lot. of Knicks fans we have in our arsenal. over here. So, >> curveball curveball for this episode. >> Yeah, you didn't see that coming, did. you? And also, you might have kn I've. been like sniffling. I I go on mute so. you can't hear me when I'm not talking. I've been like sniffling like I'm like. Don Jr. this episode. Don't worry. It's. not that. I think Brett came to. Pittsburgh and got me sick. I'm blaming.

Brett. But you got a cold during the. summer. >> Too hot. >> You're too hot. You're You're sniffling. You're. >> Listen, I I feel I find it important. that the audience know where I am each. episode. >> I think transparency is is is an. important thing, Jory. Look, let let's. get into some of these topics, though, because, you know, with the American. people struggling, suffering right now, psychologically tortured by everything. this Trump regime is doing, Americans. can't afford anything. Uh, we're in a. massive jobs, great recession right now.

We're losing jobs, really dire economic. conditions here. You know, you you look. at, well, what's the Trump regime, you. know, focused on? Obviously, you know, these this escalation right now, I mean, the more and more that comes in right. now. This night seems to be perhaps the. biggest night in the war really since it. even began. Um, we'll I'll get to more. of that in a moment. Some of the stuff. that we're we're we're learning about, but it's it's grievous what's happening. right now in that in that region. I.

mean, it is really really bad. Um, but. you you start making connections here, you know, send me send me send me. We. talked about Hegsith. You have this. escalation which appears to be prepping. for an inevitable ground invasion. Whether that's special forces plus. additional troops or just special. forces. We'll we'll see. But I foresee. I'm just giving you my opinion there. that the setup is happening for that if. you look at what's being targeted right. now by the Trump regime and how he goes.

higher up the escalation ladder. But. then we see Rubio release a video and an. op-ed today that basically attacks the. international criminal courts and he. talks about how the United States right. now needs to abolish the ICC and how. it's going to be the priority of the. Trump regime right now to destroy the. IC. And so again, when you think about. when Americans were waking up today and. they were like, "Can I have some relief. so I can pay my rent? Can I have some.

relief so I can afford gas? It's like, nope. We're gonna escalate the war. We're going to now do reconciliation 3.0. to get rid of more programs than. Americans rely on. And then you've got. the regime saying we are dismantling the. IC and to basically see the United. States, you know, behave in this way in. all aspects. It's like it's it's it's. horrific. And then so you know there's.

this article that was put out by Rubio. why we're dismantling the ICC and then. he releases this video that say this is. a threat to our sovereignty. This is. what Rubio says. Let's play it. But as. we speak the ICC and its friends are. waging a war against our country, not. with bullets or missiles, but with. statutes and compacts and the force of. so-called international law. When the. ICC was born 24 years ago, they told us. that it was merely a narrow backs stop, a global court that would step in to.

prosecute only the gravest offenses, things like genocide and war crimes, and. only when a nation's courts were unable. to prosecute them on their own. But the. truth is, it was something far more. radical and extreme. It was a global. tribunal staffed by unelected globalist. bureaucrats who claim their power is. almost unlimited. you're describing Donald Trump also. and that that's the messaging that. they're that they're pushing out. >> Just interesting that they're right now.

focused on this while they are kind of. actively committing war crimes and. covering up war crimes and and I think. you see really like a lot of the actions. and I think you'll see this continue to. increase as we move through the uh Trump. regime are that at they are going to. ultimately that there's a light at the. end of the tunnel. So, they're try to or. that there's an end is is what I'm. trying to say here to to this regime. So, they're going to try to extend that. as long as they can and and try to. retain power for as long as they can,

but they're also going to try to do as. much as they can to try to absolve. themselves from the consequences of. their actions. And we all know they have. done a lot of heinous things, a lot of. illegal things. I mean, on a daily. basis, I feel like they violate a. bajillion different laws. Um, and so. going after the ICC, I think is part of. that. I think it's also part of. defending Benjamin Netanyahu. I believe. the ICC has an arrest warrant out for. Netanyahu. And I should note that the. Rome stat the US isn't even a party to.

the Rome statute, which is the IC's. founding treaty. And so like technically. the, you know, we're not even a part of. the the IC. I think like Clinton back in. the day uh you know signed that we would. be joining but it was never actually. ratified by the Congress so it was never. made official. And so right now this. just feels like another attempt to try. to say listen we are a lawless regime. here. We do not want to be held. responsible by anybody else and we don't. want people like Benjamin Netanyahu to.

be responsible uh held responsible by. anybody else. We want to be able to kill. people indiscriminately. We want to be. able to bomb little girl schools. We. want to be able to just really get away. with anything, right? We need a get out. of jail free card and we don't want. anybody coming after us because we're. going to issue mass pardons right when. we get out of office and we don't want. anyone else to claim jurisdiction over. us. The timing of this couldn't be more. obvious. It's another case and point of. the Trump regime just thinking you're. stupid that and just hoping you are too. stupid to care or or or call them out. I.

mean, yeah, Brett, let's bomb a little. girl school. Let's let's get rid of the. ICC. Actually, we should abolish the. ICC. It it it's so obvious what they're. doing here. And it's disgusting to me. because again, it's right in front of. your face this whole time. So, just like. like again, don't don't piss on my face. and tell me it's raining. Like, I I I. see what you're doing, Rubio. I see what. you're doing, Trump regime. It's it's. infuriating. Look, uh you know, when. Donald Trump was in the Oval Office. earlier today, he was asked the. question, there are reports about. Iranian drones in Cuba. So, this is one.

of the things for months I've been. warning about as well that this is where. they would inevitably go. Right? The. Trump regime has tried to break the. Cuban regime with the same types of. tactics that they did with um Iran, which Iran didn't break. Um they were. able, you know, to find someone in. Venezuela in Deli Rodriguez, uh who. would work with the Trump regime and not. actually improve the people's lives in.

Venezuela at all. Um, you know, people are doing horrible. right now in Venezuela. I mean, you had. those two backto-back earthquakes. Um, the death toll continues to rise. You. know, Donald Trump was like, "Well, we're going to give you $160 million. after taking lots of oil wealth in the. billions from the nation." And let's be. very clear, has that oil from Venezuela. actually translated to you paying less.

money at the pump? No. Oh, it's Trumpet. is right when oligarchs and Deli and her. people are making all this money while. you are while you're getting screwed. And so, you know, notably, you know, Cuba also, and if you look through their. history, um Cuba is not going to just. tap out and break and say, "Yes, Trump. regime, invade us, invade us." No, Cuba's going to also kind of fight to. the end if if if it comes to that. They've been preparing for that. But as. they've said, you know, we're we're we. have no like why would we ever attack.

Miami? Why would we ever attack? It'd be. the dumbest thing in the world for us to. do. We don't want to do that. But if you. invade us, we're we're we're going to. we're going to defend. And so now where. they're moving. This is Iran is giving. the drones to Cuba. So now we have to. invade Cuba because there are reports. This is why Donald Trump also wants to. control the med. There are reports and. you know the report was uh Carlos. Himenez a MAGA Republican Congress. member from South Florida I think in the.

Builtmore Hotel was holding uh an. Iranian drone and was saying they have. 300 of these over there in Cuba and as a. result we need to invade them. So just invade every I means that that's. the report by the way and remember that. was coming like a month ago. They're. going back to this and here's what. Donald Trump said, you know, as the. predator that he is. Let's play it. >> There are reports about Iranian drones. in Cuba. There are concerns about that.

Where does the relationship with the US. stand there? Is military intervention. still on the table there? >> Well, if they do have that, and they. might very well have that, we'll take. care of it. Marco's just in the other. room. And if they do have that, we'll. take care of it in short order. Uh we're. we're not going to have a problem. We're. not going to allow that to happen. So, it could be that they're storing some. We're looking into it now. It could be. so and it maybe isn't, >> but we'll figure it out fast. >> By the way, if you saw the Chiron there,

uh, it said that Kevin Walsh, Donald. Trump's chairman of the Federal Reserve, is testifying in front of Congress. Uh, and so, uh, that's if you're listening to this. on Tuesday, he's testifying like so. today is shaping up. If you're listening. to this on Tuesday, uh kind of the. perfect storm of bad economic. situations, you've got the CPI report, you've got Kevin W testifying, and I I. don't want to say to his credit because, you know, anyone who is in the Trump.

regime, I have lots of red flags, but he. has at least talked about he's not going. to allow there to be anything higher. than 2% inflation. And so, he's gearing. up to actually raise interest rates. And. I think his testimony is going to. reflect what's referred to in economist. jargon as a hawkish tilt of raising. interest rates. I think he's going to be. talking about about that. Um and and. then you have this catastrophic war. And.

again, you know, as we've been. recording, you hear more and more about. I mean, these strikes that that the. United States is doing against Iran are. massive. These this is some of the. biggest strikes in the entire war that. are happening right now um along along. the coast of Iran. And then separately. Iran has been able to strike a ship off. the coast of Kulat Oman and also Iran. has been able to strike two UAE vessels. The Ministry of Defense of the UAE. announced that the national tankers.

Mombasa and Bahaya were struck by two. Iranian cruise missiles while transiting. in the southern passage of the straight. of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters as. well. Um according to the ministry, one. Indian crew member aboard the Mubasa was. killed, eight others were injured, including four with serious injuries. The casualties include six Indian. nationals and two Ukrainians. Both. vessels sustained damage on board fires. which have since been extinguished. And Donald Trump saying the straight's.

open. Go everybody. It's safe. It's. safe. And Iran has been making very. clear it's not. We're going to strike. those ships. And that's what we're. seeing happen there. I mentioned earlier. we have Saudi Arabia strikes in Yemen in. the Houthis area. The Houthis responding. and striking there. We've got Putin. launching attacks on Keev. You've got. Keeb and Zalinsky attacking, you know, Russia. You've got Trump threatening war. against Cuba. You've got Trump's. takeover of Venezuela. You've got Trump. putting in all of these puppet regimes.

in South America. You've got Trump. trying to do basically a silent coup in. Mexico by turning people in Claudia. Shinbound's administration into. informants against each other to try to. topple the uh Claudia Shinbound. government. There you've got Trump. threatening Greenland. You've got I mean. so like let's be clear what's happening. right now because Donald Trump is in. office okay all of the threats that were. happening you know oh Biden's going to.

do this Biden's going to do that no this. is again the ultimate projection Trump. all of that is happening right now there. is a war or wars involving the entire. world as we speak right now with no end. in sight and a scarily a lot more upward. ways in the escalatory ladder of what's. taking place. But then we focus on. what's happening domestically. Of. course, at the end of last week, we. covered Lorenzo Arojo and he was killed.

in Texas by Trump regime's ICE. They the. the ICE said that they were going after. Guatemalans, that they were hunting. Guatemalans. I mean, what a sick thing. to hear going after Guatemalan people. And then you went after a guy was 52. years old. He's been living in the. country 35 years. Married all that time. Raised three kids. American citizens. were his kids. Ran a construction. company. He was heading to work at 6:00. a.m. when ICE just goes behind him, rams. into his white van, and then executes.

him and kills him. He was known as the. center of the world for his family. I. mean, this is exactly the type of person. who would be a model person who you'd. want a pathway to citizenship and the. Trump regime executes him. So, we're. seeing that there. Then uh today we saw. in Maine 26-year-old Colombian man uh. who was here had a social security. number likely an asylum seeker um. working uh same thing. ICE approaches.

him in his white car. They surround him, execute him, and then we learn that ICE. was didn't even have a warrant for this. guy. They weren't even he was just brown. brownskinned. And so boom, >> not not even not even the target. I. mean, you know, we were just speaking. about uh, you know, the things that. Donald Trump was saying about Cuba, and. I I can't help but think that it's like. when um, uh, Putin described his. as.

the Trump regime right now coming up for. any excuse whatsoever. most impulses imaginable and the sickest. things imaginable. And we see that. whether it's saying Cuba has Iranian. drones, they're a threat that we have to. now, you know, take over this island or. whether it's these lies that we keep. hearing about these ICE murders. And. yes, I will call them murders here. And. the stories are being told are very kind. of Soviet. But I also want to say, make.

no mistake, this has been going on in. the United States of America for a very. long time, far be uh cameras. I mean, Ben, you know this more than uh more. than anybody. you took on a lot of these. uh you know kind of police shooting. cases back in the day, these wrongful. death cases. And I think this is you. know a continuation of that with these. uh ICE officers who really are not. officers. They are these kind of people. who are often in plain clothes, little. training going out there kind of living. out these murderous fantasies. And then.

you have I think the one difference. right now uh is that you have the. president of the United States out there. and the people who's that are going out. there and they just are so brazen in the. way that they lie about these incidents. And so you've seen uh the uh the murder. that we saw today and the murder that we. saw last week. What does the Trump. regime tell you? They always come up. with some sort of excuse like, "Oh, the. the guy was he was trying to ram an ICE. officer. He was trying to kill ICE. they.

were trying all BS. Once you end up. seeing the the video footage come out, the eyewitness testimony, you learn. pretty quickly that they just made that. stuff up. And I know we certainly have a. lot of, you know, listeners who know. this all too true in in their. communities. I've heard stories from. black Americans for many, many years. about police setting them up, about. police saying that something happened in. order to justify heinous actions against. them. And that's what we're seeing right. now uh with ICE. And even just the.

statement that I saw the Department of. Homeland Security put out made me. absolutely sick. And I'll read you some. of it just so you get a sense of this. propaganda that they're putting out. Uh. Homeland Security uh recently put out. this statement on July 13th, 2026 at. approximately 7 a.m. Eastern. ICE was. conducting targeted surveillance on the. last known address of an illegal alien. with a final order of removal. An. illegal alien departed the residence in. a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted. to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle. attempted to flee the scene and fearing. for public safety, an officer discharged.

his weapon. The driver of the vehicle. was struck and emergency services were. immediately contacted. He passed away. from his injuries. That's a very. generous way to describe that they. murdered somebody. They murdered a human. being. And they try to put this word. illegal alien this that this person was. not even the target. Not even the target. of the immigration operation. I want to. be clear about that. Number one. Number. two, even if this person had been uh a. target by ICE or even like the last this.

is the second time the same thing has. happened right in within the past week, you you can't be judge, jury, and. executioner. And that's what this. administration that's what this regime, the Trump regime wants to be. They want. to be able to say you are in this. country illegally, therefore we can kill. you. And and that expands now also to. you will look like somebody who maybe. should not belong in this country due to. the color of your skin, the way you. speak. We have the right to kill you and.

then we will lie about it. And this is. heinous. It is disturbing. It is. disgusting. And that this is what an. authoritarian government looks like. And. these people, these officers, I mean I. of course, you know, we should learn. more, see what's going on. But this. behavior, as I know it, as I see it, in. my opinion, this is murderous stuff that. we're seeing. And we're seeing it over. and over again. So if you thought, oh, Mark Wayne Mullen, things are going to. be new in the Department of Homeland. Security. Uh-uh. We're seeing the same. people, the same murderous people who do. not deserve a single penny of funding,

who do not deserve the support of who. have do not have the support of the. people and do not deserve the support of. any more dollars or anything. They do. not deserve to exist. They have proven. themselves not only incompetent but. dangerous and and quite evil and have no. place in a uh in in a society like ours. >> Exactly. And look, again, when I walk. down the street, when I read these. stories, when I see the videos of what's. going on out there, I view it through. the lens of good versus evil, humane.

versus inhumane. And just to recap here, ICE murdered another person today. Witnesses out there described it as an. execution. This is a week after they. murdered a 52-year-old father who had. been in this country for decades. This. is a paramilitary force at the direction. of Steven Miller and Donald Trump. We. have got to abolish ICE. I if I have to. put it in political terms so like all. the political people could understand. it. I mean that's the centrist take at.

this point. This is already so out of. hand and just think about how many. people have already been murdered by ICE. in the last 10 months. Like what has to happen? What has to. happen here? A reminder, ICE didn't even. exist prior to the early 2000s. It was. created as part of this like massive uh. federal government reorganization which. followed 9/11. It was officially formed. in 2003. So lose me on this idea that.

this is like some American institution. or or beacon of US lawfulness. Every one of these ICE thugs who has. committed murder needs to be prosecuted. to the fullest extent of the law. This. is insane. Ben and Brett, >> I I agree. Look, ICE is a terrorist. organization in my opinion and what. they're terrorizing people in this. country. They need and it needs to be. abolished. And what's going on is just. beyond unforgivable. every day just.

going in and exacerbating situations and. making it worse and committing the. crimes and it's it's horrific. It's. horrific to watch and and my heart goes. out to all the families who have lost. loved ones as a result of ICE and Border. Patrol. It's it's it's tragic and I. think most Americans feel that way as. well. All right, on that note, we will. uh you know continue to cover what's. happening with this war. Um it continues. to escalate and spiral out of control.

right now. Um, and of course we'll be. covering it all day. >> Benji, can I give you a quick. compliment, man? Your coverage on all of. these updates, I it's always excellent, but I just again I'm always a fan of. giving people their flowers when they. can smell them. And Benji, your coverage. has been incredible. Not just like I'm. not just trying to glaze you here, but. the information that that I get that I. know this community receives from you uh. on like a 90minute basis here when we're. doing our reporting, when you're doing. your reporting, when all the editors are. are working behind the scenes to get. this reporting out. Shout out to the. whole team. Shout out to all the. editors. Shout out to Salty and Remy and.

Sydney. Every one of them, BP, all of. them. Thank you for making sure that. these updates are getting out there. because in this time when corporate. media has so bent the knee, I I big bro, I am grateful for you. >> Oh, I thank you. I mean, look, Donald. Trump's out there saying Iran doesn't. have weapons and we're seeing massive. strikes by Iran in response to the US. invasion, you know, against all of its. neighbors. They have a lot of weapons. They probably have more weapons now than. they did before Trump and Netanyahu. invaded in February. So it's like what. are you what are you talking about? They.

have no weapons. Like why do you like. why I I I can't even have a common sense. like debate with you or discussion if. that's if if you're going to go there. that's not what's happening in this. world. Like we have to we have to live. in the real world about what's happening. right and understand it. And so anyway. that's what we'll keep on doing here. So. thanks everybody for watching. A. reminder um subscribe to the Midas Touch. on audio um right over there. You could. hit the QR code. >> Other side. Other side, Ben. Other side. >> No, it's not other side. That's the.

side. So, [laughter]. it really helps us. It's free to. subscribe on audio. Thanks everybody for. watching. We'll see you next time on the. Mightest Touch podcast. Jordy, take it. away. >> Shout out to the mightest mighty. >> The. mighty [music]. standing strong. against [music]. the fascist. We sing our song. We will give [music] it. >> Want to stay plugged in? Become a.

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