The MeidasTouch Podcast - GOP gets Instant Karma over Trump’s Disaster War!!

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on how Republicans are getting absolutely eviscerated of their support for Trump’s unlawful war against Iran.  Order now at https://drinkwillies.com and use code MEIDAS for 20% off of your first order + free shipping on orders over $95 Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican leaders are panicking as a shock poll has just been released by Ipsos Reuters, showing that only 25 to 27 percent of Americans or so actually support this unlawful war against Iran. And right now, the top Google searches in the United States are war authorization, Donald Trump's approval. Did Donald Trump get approval of Congress in a addition, by the way, to Epstein. And so now Donald Trump has sent out his magasicophants and stooges to tell the American people that we are not at war. There is no war taking place. What's occurring is just strategic strikes, not war. Now, Donald Trump previously said we're at war. I mean, in one of those bizarre and derange videos he did at Mar-a-Lago, since he couldn't bother to go

to Washington, D.C. when doing this unlawful war, he said, yeah, it is a war. Others in the Trump regimes have referred to it. We're in a war right now and stop freaking gaslighting us by saying that we're not in a war right now. That's absolutely absurd. So Democratic Congress members have pushed back and they're working with some Republican Congress members like Thomas Massey and others to force a vote for a war powers resolution to prohibit. prohibit Donald Trump's war against Iran without congressional approval. I mean, it is already unlawful. And Maga Mike Johnson and all these MAGA Republicans now are fighting tooth and now.

And they're trying to whip up all of the support amongst every Republican to try to block any attempt to restrain Donald Trump's unlawful war against Iran, where we've already had a number of service members. who have been killed and seriously injured. Now, this also comes when Donald Trump has told members of the media like Jonathan Carl at ABC and others that one of the main reasons we've gone to war is because in his paranoia, he says, the Ayatollah was going to kill me, so I killed him first. Okay. And also Donald Trump said, expect this war to last, this war to last many, many, many weeks.

and expect, he says, that the Pentagon predictions are that there will be a lot of casualties. A lot of Americans are going to die. A lot of American service members will die. That's what the Pentagon's telling Donald Trump. But what Donald Trump said is, look, it is what it is. Like, this is just what happens in war. And this is what it is. And there will be lots of deaths from American service members.

So then you have people like Donald Trump's ambassador. to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, who's like, in response to the service members who died yesterday, Ambassador Walt, I haven't to call him an ambassador, he was like, freedom is never free. And then you have other kind of Trump sycophants, Bill Ackman and others are like, this is the most glorious way to die. Dying in Iran is the most glorious form of death. And then you have Lindsey Graham saying, this would be an honor. I direct quotes. Lindsay Graham's like,

it would be an honor, an honor for you to die in Iran. This is the highest form of patriotism. And so now we have the Epstein class, Donald Trump and his whole cabal covering up the files, sending our service members to die in a potentially never-ending war

that's already spiraling out of control. That's what's actually going on. So I want to bring the receipts for you. I want to share with you what these MAGA Republican Congress members are saying. I want to show you what the Democratic Congress members and senators, MAGA Congress members and senators, Democratic senators and congressmen, what they're saying right now. I want to bring you the receipts. The first data point I want to show you, though, is what Brian Stelter had to say about the Google trends right now that everybody's searching, you know, for Trump approval. Trump, did he get permission?

Play this clip. You know, Caitlin, if you look at Google Trends data right now for the word Trump, look at the rising searches. You'll see the number one rising search in the last 24 hours is a question. The question is, did Trump get congressional approval? The answer is no. The number one rising search in the last four hours, really interesting. It's Trump addresses nation. So in other words, people are literally searching online, looking, trying to find out if the president is

addressing the nation. They want to see him explain and justify these strikes. And if you look at the word Trump, but just the last hour, the number one rising search in the last hour is Trump approval rating. And of course, all of those searches, they're all related, right? They're all from Americans trying to find out more information about this military effort. We should also keep in mind the Pentagon has severely restricted the flow of information to the press this year. Actually, in the past 14 months, a lot less information coming out of the Pentagon about these strikes as well, Caitlin. All right. Now let me bring for you the other receipts right now.

So the first clip I want to show you here is Anna Paulina Luna. And Anna Paulina Luna says the following, when she is asked about the war with Iran, here's what she says, let's play this clip. About is that we will not put boots on the ground there, period. Case close, we will not vote on having war with Iran because as of right now, according to the plan, which I won't say too much on television, but according to the three objectives that this administration outlined, everything is going according to. to plan. Now she says the plan is so secret that we're not allowed to know what it is. It's a secret

of plan. No one can know, but it's all going according to plan. The hell does that mean? What's the plan? What are the objectives? What are we trying to achieve? What's happening? This was originally about uranium enrichment. Now it's about regime change, but now it's Donald Trump is also saying that actually we don't need to change the regime. This would right. Donald Trump said, what we should be doing is very similar to what happened in Venezuela, where someone else in the Maduro regime took over. So Donald Trump's saying when it comes to Iran, at this point, we should just have another Ayatollah, who was close to Kamenei, the Ayatollah Khamini, find someone there from the Islamic Republic. That maybe is a little bit nicer to Donald Trump. That's a direct

quote. He says, Venezuela is the good template. Okay. More from Annapolina Luna here, where she says, strategic strikes are not wars. Here, play this clip. Members, they're multiple wounded. And again, it is not the intention of the U.S. government to invade. That is not what is happening. These are isolated strategic, large-scale attacks. But again, there are negotiations that will take place,

or at least open communication with the White House. As soon as the president decides that he is willing, are ready to talk. And that has developed in the last couple of hours. So that update will come hopefully later on this evening. I'm sorry. You say it's not the intention of the U.S. government to invade? Did we not just invade? We are not invading.

Are you seeing boots on the ground there? Because I'm not. And I've been told directly by the State Department and the White House is. I didn't say boots on the ground. I mean, we just killed the leader of the country. That's not. Okay. Targeting strategic military strikes and invasions are two totally different things.

According to military. They're calling it a war. The president has called it a war. And targeted air strikes. Strategic strikes? strategic strikes, and according to the White House, and I just talked to them, and talked to the Secretary of State, strategic strikes are not war. Really?

So if someone bombed America, that would be war? Oh, wait, that makes no sense. You're saying it has to be boots on the ground. According to your own definition, so that's your standard. The regime of Iran has killed thousands of Americans and murdered them. So by definition, they've already declared war in the United States. I know. I've had she had missiles.

raining down on me too. I know how terrible the Iranian regime is. We're not, we are not debating that they are a truly terrible regime. What we're talking about is the standard for the commander and chief to commit our sons and daughters in the military to war and going to war when it is in the national interest in making that case to America and going to Congress and getting approval for war. So you are saying this is a limited mission that is only bomb strikes. So there is no congressional authorization necessary. How is this different from when Joe Biden bombed the Houthi rebels in Yemen without

congressional authorization? And you oppose that. Now, this is something that was echoed by Maga Republican Senator and Trump sycophant Mark Wayne Mullen. Wolf Blitzer says, so are you okay with the losses? and the fact that if this war drags on and more members of our military die, are you okay with our members of our military dying in a war? And then Mark Wayne Mohn's like,

I'm going to have to push back at you, Wolf. We're not at war. This is not a war. Here, play this clip. In his announcement about this military operation, President Trump warned Americans to prepare for possible troop deaths. If this war drags on for weeks or longer, for that matter, and U.S. casualties mount,

Are you confident that the American public will consider this a noble mission and tolerate growing U.S. military losses? Well, first of all, I'm going to push back. This isn't a war. We haven't declared war on Iran. We're not at war with Iranian people. We had to remove a murderous regime that's been attacking the United States for 47 years. him and his murderous thugs have killed thousands and murdered thousands of Americans for for literally 47 years. You heard the president's announcement. He went through all the attacks that they've had through multiple presidents. And the straw, I would say, that broke the camel's back or the final straw is we're never going to allow the number one world sponsor of terror to be able to get a nuclear weapon. There was no doubt that they were building delivery systems to affect our interest and our assets all around that region.

There was no question they were trying to develop a weapon that would reach the United States. And at that case, it wouldn't be a matter of if, it'd be a matter of when. And so after 9-11, America had a resolve that said we will never do this again, meaning never again. We'll never be caught flat-footed. We're going to be proactive and go after those that threaten us. And President Trump finally had the backbone that other presidents haven't to finally try diplomacy and try diplomacy by saying you're not going to get a nuclear weapon. We're not going to

negotiate with you. We're not going to allow you to enrich because you can't be trusted. You're not going to have the nuclear capability. And if you do, then you're going to pay the ultimate price. And then you have Nancy Mace seeming to say thanks to Donald Trump for the deaths of U.S. soldiers. Here, play this clip. Here right off the bat, your reaction to three U.S. service members being killed in the early stages of these combat operations. The president saying their sacrifice was worth it for this greater mission. And he's also preparing the American people maybe for more deaths by saying it's likely more service members could die. What do you make of the first 48 hours or so of this mission?

And what questions do you have for the administration moving forward? They're expected to brief you and others in Congress on Tuesday as I understand it. What's going through your mind tonight? Well, number one, I want to thank President Trump for his speech today, acknowledging those who sacrifice these warriors, lay down their lives for our enemy, fighting and protecting American citizens here and abroad, because terrorism isn't just in Iran. It's everywhere around the world, as we've seen in the last 24 hours. It's something to take seriously. Head on a swivel, as they sometimes say, number one, number two, I believe President Trump will go down as the most consequential president in American history during one of the most consequential times. in world history. And he took out someone that no one thought this could ever happen,

taking out the leader of the number one state sponsor of terrorism, the Ayatollah Omni. Are you tired of waking up hungover and worrying about what happened last night? That's why I've been reaching for Willie's Remedy Plus, the THC-infused social tonic that lets you have fun and actually feel good the next day. If you're trying to be more intentional this year, Willis gives you that social uplifting buzz without wrecking your goals. For me, it's perfect for unwinding.

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order plus free shipping on orders over $95 and enjoy life in the high country. That's drinkwillies.com, code Midas, M-E-I-D-A-S. So then you have Lindsey Graham who had always been talking about regime change. Now he says the goal of this operation is not regime change. Okay, Lindsay, let's play this clip. The goal of this operation is to change the threat, not the regime. When this operation is over, no matter who takes over in Iran, they will not have ballistic missiles to hurt us, Israel or the region. They will not have the capability to be the largest state

sponsor of terrorism, whether it's their cleric or a group of representative of the country where there's an election. It doesn't matter right now. Then you have Lindsey Graham saying, what happens next in Iran, I hope that it's better, but it's ultimately their decision to make, we are not going to own rebuilding Iran. So he's just going to do the destroying. We're not going to own the rebuilding. And it's not about what the hell are you all talking about? I truly don't know.

I don't support regime change wars. I also have no clue what that what are we doing? Like for what the hell are we doing there? Play this clip of Lindsey Graham. What comes next? I hope and pray us better. I believe it will be. But I know this.

Iran can't hurt us today like they could yesterday. And this operation was about taking those threats off the table. I will be glad to help to the extent I can, new people in Iran, but we're not going to own rebuilding Iran. That's up to the Iranians. We can be helpful. But it's their decision to make. This is not Iraq. This is not Germany.

This is not Japan. Well, how about Maga Republican senator who chairs, the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tom Cotton. And when Cotton was asked, do you believe the American people are owed some explanation by the commander-in-chief about what the hell is happening?

What is going on right now? Tom Cotton's like, he posted on truth social. He did a truth-social post, so he did an eight-minute truth video. So what else do you want him to do? Not a truth-social video, actually address the American people, describe the individual,

intelligence, explain what the hell is going on. We know that Donald Trump's own regime briefers, right? People who brief Congress, they told Congress that actually Iran never posed an imminent threat against the United States regarding any direct strikes and that Iran would only strike if Israel attacked first. That's the only way Iran would say they would attack our bases. That's what Trump's own regime briefer told Congress. But go on Tom Cotton.

Go on, Tom Cotton. Here, play this clip. According to CBS polling, 74% of Americans said that Trump would need approval from Congress for military action against Iran. He did not seek that. If this operation takes weeks, which is how you described it, do you believe the administration has effectively made its case

to the American public to expect casualties to support this action? Well, Margaret, I thought the president's eight-minute video yesterday was outstanding. It laid out Iran's 47-year campaign of terror and revolutionary violence against the United States and our people and really the civilized world. I'm sure the president will speak more in the coming days. 47 years, he did not describe imminence or justify that in that video. Do you believe that the American public is owed something more than a Twitter video? Well, Margaret, I think an eight-minute address to the American people, whether the president posted on social media or whether it happens on your network, is in keeping with presidential custom of addressing the American people. Again, I'm sure that he's going to be speaking more in coming days.

The administration will be briefing Congress, and we're going to have a vote in the Congress. The Democrats are forcing a vote. I expect there'll be overwearing Republican support for our troops, for our troops, and for the president's decision. to finally eliminate the threat of Iran. Or how about, you know, this is why none of these people in the Republican Party are moderate, right? You had Mike Turner claim that he was this moderate guy and, you know, I'm here just to be, you know, I'm the sensible Republican. But here he is and he says, the reason we invaded Iran, he says, is because while they didn't

have the capability to do nuclear. weapons. They had the intent to do it one day. So now the United States invades if we believe that you have an intent. Not if you do it, we just perceive intent and then we invade you. Here play this clip. Inventory, they had continued as has had been declared to pursue their intention of nuclear enrichment, they had continued. Rubio said they weren't enriching. They had continued their intention to pursue nuclear enrichment. They had said and declared that they were going to do that. Their programs had not been completely abolished and their intention had not been abolished. They remained a threat. And the fact

that we had the ability to intervene, that eminence is incredibly important. Now, more from Tom Cotton here. Let's play it. A key part of President Trump's campaign, and it included it in his inaugural address, was no more wars. And there are a number of Republicans who think that this is the opposite of what they voted for, that the president is breaking that promise. Tucker Carlson told ABC the president's decision to strike Iran is, quote, absolutely disgusting and evil. What do you say to members of the MAGA base who say, this is not what we voted for. Well, Dana, I've been on the campaign trail all across Arkansas

for the last two days, visiting with hundreds of Republicans. I haven't heard a single Arkansas express anything but unqualified support for President Trump and for his decision to finally put America's foot down and end 47 years of terror and revolutionary violence by the Islamic Republic against the United States and our citizens. And I suspect you'll see overwhelming. support from elected Republicans in the Congress who are answerable to our voters in places like Arkansas and states all across the country when we're back in the Capitol later this week. One of the things I want to point out as well is in the Atlantic wrote about this last night.

There's a good scoop over there, although it's kind of obvious too. Now Donald Trump says we're going to invade Cuba. Part of this plan is Cuba next. Donald Trump's already getting bored of. Iran. He's bored of this. He thinks we've already, he thinks we've won. We achieve victory. So now he's moving over to Cuba to do a Cuba invasion next. And here's what Democratic Senator Warner had to say about the intelligence that he was aware of before the strike on Iran. Here, play this clip. You heard Chairman Cotton say that the president's decision is completely justified. What do you think?

I think the president has started a war of choice. There was no imminent threat to the United States. So the decision to put our service members in harm's way and bases around the region in harm's way was entirely based upon the president's decision, not an imminent threat to America. I think it is incumbent that the president of the United States, comes before the American people and the Congress and makes the case of why he has chosen to go to war at this point.

Then you have Democratic Congress member and veteran, Ryan, here's what he has to say, let's play it. Just on the deaths of these three service members, obviously, that's three families that are getting a devastating call tonight to tell them about what happened to their loved ones. What do you make of that? It's horrific.

I still wear this bracelet with an amazes of my fellow soldiers I lost in my my two deployments. And for the president to not answer those questions, to have nothing to say to those family members is pathetic. It's pathetic. And it's because he doesn't have answers. There's not a plan here. Or if it is, he's not sharing it with the American people. And this certainly rhymes with past, ill-conceived, half-baked regime-change wars that sound good until they start. And then all a sudden no one knows what the heck is going on. And it's young American men and women that that pay the price and that pisses me off.

More from Democratic Congress member Ryan. Here you see the difference between what these Republicans are saying and what these Democrats are saying. Here, play this clip. Meanwhile, Putin, she, I believe the PRC is our greatest enemy. They're watching this, seeing us bogged down with two carrier strike groups, depleting our munition stocks. And I think that puts us in a less safe position. And I don't want to say that.

I don't say it lightly. Well, and on munitions, you make a good point because we know from reporting, which the president disputed that the Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Cain was worried about an extended operation and what exactly that could look like. And by the way, here's what the Pentagon briefers ended up saying. Let me play this clip. Yeah, Caitlin, just like most of the administration's explanations for why now, why was this operation against Iran launched now, this briefing happened in private.

But we're told that Pentagon briefers did make a stark acknowledgement. And that was that no, there was no indication that Iran was preparing to preemptively strike U.S. bases in the region in anticipation of some sort of an attack from American and Israeli forces. And that's something that senior administration official had said on Saturday that they believed was true. And that was something that contributed to the timing of this operation. So raising more questions still, as the president, we haven't heard from him about his reasoning, his justification and his plan going forward as this military operation continues. Then finally, I'll share with you a Democratic Congress member, Adam Smith, had to say,

he is the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee for Democrats. He says, this is the most cavalier, most arrogant, most unconstitutional and unlawful way a president in the history of the United States has gone to war, was dealt with Congress. Listen to what he has to say, play this clip. It sure looks like President Trump made a knee-jerk decision without taking to account all the warnings. And by the way, everything it has played out, people were saying this was the problem with launching a regime change operation at Iran in the first place that Iran would strike throughout the region. We would lose service members. We would begin to stress our amount of

ammunition to keep this fight going. And it was highly unlikely that the Iranian regime would simply collapse. All of this was known. The risks were known and the president and the most this is the most cavalier manner that any president has ever gone to war in the history of this country i mean he does an eight-minute truth social post at two o'clock in the morning then basically drops the mic and walks away and lets the war go i as the ranking member of the house armed services committee still have not heard from anybody from the department of defense nor has chairman mike rogers the republican chairman of my committee or in the senate you know they're launching this war without a clear explanation of why or what they're trying to do and then saying,

yeah, some people are going to get killed. I mean, you have to take much more responsibility for placing the lives and the men and women who serve our country on the line than that. There you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers together. Thanks so much for watching. New Midas merch. Head to store.com today and get yourself the best pro-democracy gear and show your support. That's store. MidasTouch.com.