The MeidasTouch Podcast - Panama President STRIKES BACK HARD against Trump

Episode Date: January 22, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Panama’s President responding forcefully to Trump’s threats. Go to https://lumen.me/MEIDAS to get 20% off your Lumen. Visit https://meidastouch.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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someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. The president of Panama is striking back hard against Donald Trump after Donald Trump stated at his inauguration back hard against Donald Trump after Donald Trump stated at his inauguration speech that he wants to quote, take back Panama, essentially saying that he wants to use United States military force to conquer the sovereign nation of Panama. So Panama's president, Jose Raul Molina, said the following. On behalf of the Republic of Panama and its people,

I must reject in its entirety the words expressed by President Donald Trump regarding Panama and its canal and his inaugural address. I reiterate what I expressed in my message to the nation on December 22nd. The canal is and will continue to be Panama's and its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality. There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration. The canal was not a concession from anyone. It was the result of generational struggles that culminated in 1999 as a result of the Torrejos-Carter Treaty. And since then, until now, for 25 years, without interruption, we have managed and expanded it responsibly to serve the world and its commerce,

including the United States. We will exercise the right that protects us, the legal basis of the treaty, the dignity that distinguishes us, and the strength that international law gives us as the ideal way to manage relations between countries and, above all, between allied and friendly countries as demonstrated by history and our actions with respect to the United States. Dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty, and ownership of our canal.

Jose Raul Molina, President of the Republic of Panama. And while Fox and other Trump propaganda networks are out there looking like those Russia state TV networks like Jesse Water saying, Donald Trump said during his inauguration speech, he wants to take back Panama. It's the most excited I've ever been in my entire life. That's from Jesse Waters, who reminds me of that Hunger Games reporter, the people of Panama are pissed. Just in the past 24 hours, mass protests at the United States embassy and throughout Panama City have broken out protesting the United States of America with people from Panama spitting on the United States flag, burning the flag, and saying that the

United States of America needs to stay the hell out of Panama. The people of Panama are pissed as Donald Trump is destroying America's relationship there, destroying our relationship with Mexico, destroying America's relationship with Central America, with South America, with Europe, with our allies. But Donald Trump did say that he really likes Kim Jong-un on his inauguration. Donald Trump said that he's talking to Kim Jong-un about building condos in North Korea. How utterly pathetic is that? Here are protesters in Panama in the past 24 hours burning the US flag and vowing to defend against

any Trump-led invasion. Play this clip. By the way, here is some union what the people of Panama are doing in response to Donald Trump's ridiculously offensive speech. Here, play this clip. El medio lo revierte completo. Esas declaraciones atrevidas, esas declaraciones agresoras, por ahora verbal, pero también amenazantes de intervención por la fuerza, tienen que tener un mensaje del pueblo panameño. Y es que no aceptamos bajo ningún criterio las declaraciones de Trump. Ni Trump, ni los gringos, ni su ejército, ni su gobierno tienen nada en Panamá. And we don't accept under any criteria the Trump Declaration. Neither Trump, nor the gringos, nor his army, nor his government have anything in Panama. Are you ready to jumpstart your health in 2025? Well, let me tell you about a game-changing tool that's been helping me understand and improve my body.

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That's L-U-M-E-N dot M-E slash M-E-I-D-A-S for 20% off your purchase. Thank you, Lumen, for sponsoring this episode and helping us all take control of our health in 2025. Folks, just a little bit of history too on Panama. A few things. First and foremost, Donald Trump, his big complaint is that Donald Trump lies and says China owns the canal now and China's running the canal. That's not true. China is very influential in Panama though. They have historical ties together. But setting that aside, diplomatic relationships between Beijing and Panama were

established during the first Trump administration, during a very weak international policy from Donald Trump then. So Trump's whole complaint that China built this official foothold, Panama was recognizing or recognized Taiwan up until 2017. And then it broke off relations with Taiwan in favor of Beijing during right around June of 2017 when Trump was in office. Then in December of 2018, Xi Jinping took a visit to Panama, an official state visit. Again, while Trump was in office and then billions of dollars were invested, was invested in Panama by China, building relations, China saying that they respect Panama's sovereignty. And as part of the Silk Road 2, the Silk Road 2 by China, they are extending investments in South American countries, Central American countries, and throughout the world as a form of diplomacy. It should be noted, just a quick fact check on the things that Donald Trump says, the U.S. did not lose 38,000 people building the Panama Canal.

China does not control the canal. U.S. is not ripped off by the canal tolls. Panama is not violating any treaty. As Shibley Talami says, it took only a few days after Trump's remark for this joke to start circulating among China specialists. Question, what does Xi Jinping feel when Trump starts talking about conquering Panama and Greenland? Answer, hungry for Taiwan. When Trump uses this rhetoric, it legitimizes Xi Jinping's desire to take over Taiwan. It legitimizes, it shouldn't legitimize, but it makes Vladimir Putin's statements about

taking over Ukraine and the sovereignty of other nations go, well, Trump's talking about doing it with Greenland, Canada, Mexico, Panama, all of these countries. So we're just doing what Donald Trump's doing. It's why it creates this great instability in the world. By the way, Donald Trump's first day, 24 hours passed while he praises Kim Jong-un, while he threatens to conquer Panama. No peace in Ukraine. I mean, wasn't the whole thing that these MAGA's trying to say is, oh, Donald Trump, he's going to stop World War III. No, he's not.

He's going to be the bad guy in World War III. He's going to start it. What are you talking about? And Donald Trump was not talking about peace. He was talking about conquering Panama, a sovereign nation, in his inauguration speech. Now, no talk about health care, no talk about unions, no talk about workers, no talk about lowering prices, no talk about inflation other than Donald Trump saying yesterday that he didn't think inflation is really a big issue. Trump says the biggest issue is people from mental institutions coming in, which I don't know what he's talking about. He says, but man, inflation is not really a big deal.

I want to show you this clip right here. It's our buddy Corey Hargraves, a former army sniper who did two tours in Iraq. And Corey Hargraves has a message to these MAGA supporters who are apparently now supporting Donald Trump wanting to conquer Panama. And what Hargraves says is Trump's going to send poor Americans, young Americans, what, to die in wars against our allies? And this is coming from an ex-army sniper who knows about battle. Here's what Corey Hargraves has to say.

Play this clip nobody with the last name trump has ever served in uniform in 150 years john mccain was in a pow camp for six years in vietnam being he was tortured for six years and he came home and and he was mocked by a rich spoiled brat who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Because families, families like Trump don't sacrifice their lives or the lives of their children. They convince poor people to sacrifice their life on behalf of them. And in a perfect world, like I understand that that's the way that this has to go.

But when we're talking about going to war with allies, it's just, it's insane to me. I have no idea how we, how I am surviving as a veteran where we're not talking about North Korea a veteran, where we're not talking about North Korea as our enemy. We're not talking about Russia, who is fighting Ukraine, who wants to join NATO. We're not talking about that. One of our public enemy number one.

We're talking about going to war with our fucking allies. And just so you recall as well, the president of Mexico, Claudia Scheinbaum, several weeks ago, she came out with very strong statements in support of Panama's sovereignty, saying the Panama Canal belongs to Panamanians only. Here, play this clip. And by the way, Donald Trump managed to basically offend everyone when he was asked about Latin American countries and Brazil. He goes, we really don't need them. They need us much more than we need them. Everybody needs us, he says. Donald Trump went on to say that with respect to Gaza, not our war, it's their war. I'm not confident that there will continue to be a ceasefire there. That's what he says there. And then he thought that Spain was part

of the BRICS bloc, part of the European Union. The BRICS bloc is Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and a bunch of other nations as well that are joining. Maybe Spain and others will start, and Mexico may join the BRICS bloc if Trump keeps behaving this way, making China feel like a more reliable ally than the United States of America. But Donald Trump said that Spain's part of the BRICS bloc, and he wants to tariff Spain