The MeidasTouch Podcast - GOP Leaders Nuke Congress on Live TV... Dems Strike Back

Episode Date: February 10, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the shameful appearances on weekend shows by Republicans and Meiselas compares it with the appearances by Democrats. Save your smile and your bank account with Remi! Get up to 50% off your custom-fit mouth guard at https://ShopRemi.com/MEIDAS today! 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

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Watching these MAGA Republicans on the weekend shows, supporting Elon Musk and private individuals, taking, seeing them support the dismantling of the NIH, the dismantling of FEMA, the dismantling of core government agencies that keep people safe, it shows you there's no depths to their depravity. What gives me some hope, though, is to see some Democrats pushing back and saying, we will not fund the government. We will not support any government funding the way we've bailed you out before in the past, because the way the government remained funded was because Republicans got Democratic support. Otherwise, the government would have shut down. I think Democrats are now saying, Republicans, you're on your own here.

So let me just show you what went down over the weekend. So here's MAGA Republican Mike Turner, member of Congress. And here, MAGA Republican Congress member Turner says basically, Palestinians are dangerous wherever they go because they are inherently dangerous people, the Palestinians in general. So for all of the Palestinians for Trump or Arabs and Muslims for Trump, let me present to you Mike Turner. Play this clip. Next next i want to show you the homeland security secretary christy noem and here she justifies why elon musk and private individuals now have access to all of our government information and she says because

the government can't be trusted as dana bash points out i think she did a good job here dana bash says but you are the government now. Here, play this clip. I remember a time when Republicans were very careful about and worried about the government, particularly unelected people. We can't trust the government anymore. Having access to personal data. Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

You are the government. Yes, that's what I'm saying, is that the American people now are saying that we have had our personal information shared and out there in the public. But now Elon Musk has access to it. Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do and he has gone through the processes to make sure that he has the authority the president has granted him. I am today by the work that he's doing by identifying waste, fraud, and abuse. And his information that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information. Not focusing on it, but he has access to it. You know, we'll be continuing to talk to him about what all he has access to. But this audit needs to happen to make sure that we are

going through a process that adds integrity back into these programs. Going back to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he or she dismisses concerns about the legal rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees. Play this clip. Cannot attempt to subvert the statutory and constitutional rights afforded to these non-citizens in the U.S. by transferring them to an offshore prison and holding them incommunicado without access to counsel or any means of contact with the outside world. First of all, can you speak to whether that is an accurate characterization? And what do you say in response to their claims about legal rights for these folks? You know, that's just bold. And I just wish they would

grow up and really recognize what we're doing here. What we're doing is, of course, we're giving due process to migrants. We've done that all the time following the same procedures we always have been. But where are they advocating for the children that are missing, that Joe Biden lost? Why are they not advocating for these families that have lost children, Lake and Riley's family, Jocelyn's family? Why are they not out there fighting for them and saying, thank you, Mr. President, for making sure that our kids aren't going to continue to be killed by drugs and trafficking and have dangerous criminals robbing small businesses in our hometowns. I mean, just

get your priorities straight. This is about America. So start focusing on them instead of focusing on these dangerous people. I watched a plane load of people unload a Gitmo that were pedophiles, child pornographers. They were drug dealers in our communities that literally these cartels are partnering with the Chinese to kill our next generation of Americans. That's who we're putting down there at Gitmo. And I'm just so thankful that they're not in our country anymore. Now I want to show you some Democrats. Democratic Senator Andy Kim from New Jersey says he's prepared to support a government shutdown to Trump administration's lawlessness. Play this clip.

My next question, because your colleague Jeff Merkley basically said he's prepared to try to shut down the government over some of these sledgehammer actions that he's seeing by Elon Musk. Are you prepared to shut down the government to join Democratic colleagues who want to stand in the way of keeping the government open? Well, you have to look at what the Trump administration is doing right now. They are simply trying to dismantle the government. So yes, look, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we're seeing when it comes to this administration's actions. And for us to be able to support government funding in that way, only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government,

that is not something that should be allowed. So just to be clear, Senator, you are open to voting yes to shut down the government, to make this point. This is on them. This is about whether or not they can get the votes. They are the majority. And if they cannot govern, then that's for the American people to see. But I worked in government,

I worked through multiple government shutdowns. I would be the last person to wanna get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that,

nor should we assist in that. Next Democratic Congress member, Connolly, let's play it. Public opinion matters. And the public did not give Trump a mandate to dismantle the whole chunks of the federal government. Gave him a mandate to kick the tires, check the dipstick, and make sure that things are running well and efficiently. In that part, he has a mandate to kick the tires, check the dipstick and make sure that things are running well and efficiently. In that part, he has a mandate. But what Elon Musk is doing is way beyond any mandate that Trump could possibly realistically claim. And we're going to fight that. Here's Democratic Congress member Connolly again. Let's play it.

There's a difference between cutting waste, fraud and abuse and dismantling whole agencies. No one gave Trump, no one gave Elon Musk that authority. It is unconstitutional. It's unlawful. It is a violation of Article One and we're going to fight it. Millions of Americans grind or clench their teeth at night and most don't even know that they're doing it. I was one of them. If you have jaw pain or headaches after a night's sleep, there's a high chance you grind or clench your teeth. Teeth grinding, also known as bruxism or TMJ, is generally caused by stress, and it can cause serious damage, such as eroding away your enamel and broken teeth, which leads to expensive dental bills. The solution to protecting

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Look, I've done the whole Remy process. It's phenomenal. Their team is incredible. The product is perfect. Definitely check it out if you fit this category. Remy is for anyone dealing with nighttime grinding, clenching, or jaw pain who wants an affordable solution to protect their smile and say good night to jaw pain and headaches. Head to shopremy.com slash Midas to save up to 50%. That's 50% off at shopremi.com slash Midas with code Midas. Give your teeth a break without breaking the bank with Remy. Thank you, Remy, for sponsoring this episode. Going back to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, he or she says that Donald Trump can and should unilaterally shut down FEMA, get rid of FEMA emergency disaster relief, and should just give block grants to states for disaster relief, and that there should be no FEMA at all. Again, the insanity of these ideas, the dangerousness,

get rid of FEMA, get rid of NIH, get rid of CDC, gut the FAA. Do you see what they're doing? Play this clip. Elon Musk said, quote, FEMA is broken. And he said so in response to the suggestion that he shut down FEMA entirely. FEMA is, of course, funded by Congress, has repeatedly been authorized in statute, including by laws you voted for when you were in Congress. Can and should Donald Trump shut it down? He can, and I believe that he will do that evaluation with his team, and he's talking about it, which I'm grateful for. He'll work with Congress, though, to make sure that it's done correctly and that we're still there to help folks who have a terrible disaster or crisis in their life.

He's been very clear that he still believes there's a role for the federal government to come in and help people get back up on their feet. But there's a lot of fraud and waste and abuse out there. And since President Trump has taken over and come back into this administration, we've seen incredible changes. What's your recommendation to him? You know, he's talked a lot about doing block grants to states and to local officials i was a governor and when i was governor of south dakota we saw 12 different natural disasters that

hit our state um and that were fema related that we had fema disaster so i know it from that level and i knew every single time that i and the local county emergency management directors the mayors the city councils and the county commissioners they made way better decisions than the people in Washington, DC. If the president came to you and said, you're my DHS secretary, do you think I should get rid of FEMA? Excuse me, get rid of FEMA, what would you say? I would say, yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today. We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California. and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California. But you need to let the local officials make the

decisions on how that is deployed so it can be deployed much quicker. And we don't need this bureaucracy that's picking and choosing winners. You mentioned Congress. I mean, literally, the playbook that you're watching is something that you would do if you were working to destroy the country. You would gut these entities. They also want to gut or trying to gut the FBI, the CIA. They got rid of the kleptocracy unit in the Department of Justice, which would stop Russian oligarchs from tampering with United States interests. Anyway, here's Kristi Noem dismissing concerns about Elon Musk having access to personal information of Americans through FEMA.

Play this clip. Reporting that Musk and his Doge team have access to FEMA's sensitive disaster data, which includes personal information about tens of thousands of disaster victims. Have you authorized Elon Musk and his team to have access to Americans personal data that is housed inside DHS? We're working with them at the president's direction to find what we can do to make our department much more efficient.

So I think it's important. This is essentially an audit of the federal government, which is very powerful and needs to have happen. That agency. And one of the things I've been very clear to the appropriators on in the senate in the house is please give me the authority to reprogram funds there's something that's different from him having access to personal data that is housed the president has authorized him to have access and you feel comfortable absolutely i remember a a time when Republicans were very careful about and worried about the government, particularly unelected people. We can't trust the government anymore. Having access to personal data. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. You are the government.

Yes, that's what I'm saying, is that the American people now are saying that we have had our personal information shared and out there in the public. But now Elon Musk has access to it. Yeah, but Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do. And he has gone through the processes to make sure that he has the authority

the president has granted him. I am today by the work that he is doing by identifying waste, fraud, and abuse. And his information that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information. Not focusing on it, that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information. Not focusing on it, but he has access to it. You know, we'll be continuing to talk to him about what all he has access to. But this audit needs to happen to make sure that we are going through a process that adds integrity back into these programs. And people's personal

information has been out there in these case works that have been closed for a long time that people are getting responses now that they haven't had before. Last question. And here is the National Security Advisor, Mike Walls here, saying that he does think that the Canadian people want to be annexed by the United States of America. Here, play this clip. Canada in a closed door meeting with business leaders. Outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that President Trump is serious about annexing Canada to make it the 51st state. Is he right? Is President Trump serious about planning to annex Canada? Look, I think the Canadian people would, many of them, would love to join the United States

with no tariffs, with lower taxes. And I have all kinds of neighbors down in Florida that are Canadians that are escaping many of the liberal policies and have moved in. But look, what we're talking about here is reintroducing American leadership in the Western Hemisphere. I think some Canadians would disagree with you. But just yes or no. Is he planning to annex Canada?

It's part of his policy. Well, I don't think there's any plans to invade Canada, if that's what you're talking about. But there is a lot of people that like what we have in the United States and do not like the last 10 years of liberal progressive governance in Trudeau. But really what you're seeing is a reassertion of American leadership in the Western Hemisphere from the Arctic all the way down to the Panama Canal. And that's what we're talking about from Greenland to Arctic security to the Panama Canal coming back under the United States. America has avoided our own hemisphere where we have the energy, the food, and the critical minerals for way too long. And you're seeing a reassertion of President Trump's leadership. The New York Post has reported.

Here's MAGA Republican Senator Hagerty lying about Americans promoting sex changes in Guatemala. And again, they want to make up any lie imaginable to distract from their lawlessness right here. Here, play this clip. Appropriator, I've asked them to be very clear about, for example, their role funding Hamas in Gaza. They would not comply. They will not tell us what they do. Now that we start to find out some of the programs that AID has been funding, if you think about it, sex change operations in Guatemala, LGBTQ programs in Serbia. The U.S. government does not fund sex change operations or fund Hamas. You know that, though. But you sit on- That is not true, Margaret. I couldn't get the Secretary of State. I asked him three times to

tell me that we were not funding Hamas through AID. He couldn't do it. And frankly, what we found is that we've been funding as American taxpayers organizations. Do you have any evidence that the United States government is funding a terrorist group? Certainly. The funds that have gone to UNRWA. You saw the UNRWA members who were also Hamas members going in attack on it. UNRWA is not a terrorist group.

UNRWA is part of the United Nations. UNRWA is supporting terrorist groups. And if you look at what UNRWA has done, it's been so counter to our national interest. It's unbelievable that we would fund it. Okay. And look, now's the time where you need Democrats to fight back. Now's the time you need like Hakeem Jeffries. Talk about prices and how grocery prices are not going down.

Here, play this clip. Democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living for working class Americans, middle class Americans, and everyday Americans all across the land. Our Republican colleagues are not serious about lowering the high cost of living. They've done nothing, introduced not a single bill, not put forth a single policy proposal. They've done nothing as it relates to lowering the high cost of living. And here's Hakeem Jeffries again. Let's play this clip. We've been waiting for this so-called budget proposal for weeks. When is it coming? And what's the problem?

What's the problem? We've been lectured for months by Republicans that they have a big mandate. Where is your bill? Where's your budget proposal? What we've seen from Republicans in terms of the budget is that they want to end Medicaid as we know it, are considering eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, and want to take away veterans benefits and nutritional assistance from children and families. Is that something that Democrats will support? No. Well, anyway, thanks for watching. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 4 million subscribers together. Thanks.