The MeidasTouch Podcast - Panicked White House holds Disaster Press Conference

Episode Date: March 17, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt holding a press conference that went off the rails real quickly. Shopify: Sign up for a one-dollar per month trial at https://shopify.com/meidas 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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Here she was asked a question about Donald Trump claiming to void all of former President Biden's pardons, including pardoning people who were part of the January 6th committee, because according to Donald Trump, former President Biden used an auto pen and did not give consent to any of the pardons himself. Listen to how Caroline Levitt responds. Let's play it. If the president was even consulted about his legally binding signature being signed onto documents. And so I think it's a question that everybody in this room should be looking

into because certainly that would propose perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were signing the president of the United States autograph without his consent. Is on the record talking about issuing preemptive pardons to these people. But was he aware of his signature being used on every single pardon? That's a question you should ask the Biden. Is there any evidence on that that he wasn't aware of it? You're a reporter. You should find out.

Sean. Arrogant and totally unprepared there. And what a unhinged conspiracy, but a conspiracy that is typical of Donald Trump. Next up, Caroline Levitt, Donald Trump's chief propagandist, has asked about the United States withdrawing from the International Center for the Prosecution of Crime Against Ukraine, which investigates Russia's crimes against humanity, including raping and murdering and kidnapping Ukrainians.

The United States was the biggest supporter of this international center. It's now being widely reported that the Trump regime, to help Putin, is pulling the United States out of that international center support. Here's what Caroline Levitt said. Let's play it. Sure. Thanks. There happened to me a report just in the last few hours that the administration has decided to withdraw from the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of

Aggression Against Ukraine, which is designed to hold Putin accountable for war crimes. Are you able to confirm that? And if that has occurred, why has that occurred? I'm not able to confirm it because I have not heard that. I will caution. I know there have been many inaccurate and misleading reports from Reuters lately, so I would caution anybody taking that seriously. But I can check in and get back to you.

Again, unprepared, sloppy, and very, very dangerous. Here, Caroline Levitt is asked, what criteria is the Trump regime using when it invokes the Alien Enemies Act to take so-called gang members who are Venezuelan and send them to concentration camps in El Salvador and then make these brutal ISIS-style videos where they are treating these human beings like trash. What's the standard? How do you know that they're actually gang members if you're not giving people due process rights? And here's what she says.

Let's play the clip. What criteria, other than, say, tattoos or maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time, are they using to determine that someone is actually a member of one of these organizations? Intelligence and the men and women on the ground in the interior of our country who are finally being allowed to do their jobs.

Their hands were tied under the previous administration. And as I said, they take their jobs very seriously. They should be trusted and respected by the American public with this operation. And of course, as I said to Kelly, the administration will provide all details to the questions that the court poses. Jennifer. That's her response. Oh, just intelligence, you know, just trust us. Just trust Donald Trump when he says someone's a gang member, that they're a gang member. It's not like Donald Trump doesn't lie about everything. And by the way, those videos that they're making gang member. It's not like Donald Trump doesn't lie about everything. And by the way, those videos that they're making of treating human beings like absolute trash,

I mean, to me, as I said, they're like ISIS-style videos. And I want to be very clear about my position. Gang members need to have the book thrown at them. I am a law and order person. Gangs, people who commit crimes crimes need to be brought to justice. Absolutely. We have processes in the United States called due process, though, where we don't just pick people off the street, say they're gang members and throw them into concentration camps in countries that are run by authoritarians. I don't know. That's that's something that I believe in. And the Supreme Court has previously believed it. Then Caroline Leavitt attacks France. Here, play this clip. Something different. There is now a member of the European Parliament from France who does not think the U.S. represents the values of the Statue of Liberty anymore. They want the Statue of Liberty back. So is President Trump going to send the Statue of Liberty back to France?

Absolutely not. And my advice to that unnamed low-level French politician would be to remind them that it's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now. So they should be very grateful to our great country. Kelly. You know what she said? She goes, the French would still be speaking German if it wasn't for the United States. I mean, I guess after the United States declares trade wars on countries like France and Canada, and then these other countries stand up for themselves, then the Trump regime says, you should be more grateful for us engaging in trade wars against you. So utterly despicable. Then here, Caroline Leavitt talks about how we want the DOJ that focuses on

fighting law and order. They want to fight law and order. A nice Freudian slip right here. Let's play it. We want to restore the Department of Justice to an institution that focuses on fighting law and order and crime and putting real criminals behind bars, not targeting Americans because of their religion or their political speech. We saw that under the previous administration and it's unacceptable to this president. And just to follow up, Caroline Leavitt then brags about how Donald Trump is now the chairman of the Kennedy Center. Trump fired everybody from the Kennedy Center, made himself the chairman and replaced it with a MAGA board.

And he or she is saying like, look how great it is. We're going to bring the real culture back to the Kennedy Center. Here, play the clip. The president will be traveling to the Kennedy Center later this afternoon. I look forward to going with him.

As you know, he is now the chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, where he hopes to restore arts and culture that embrace American tradition, don't disparage it, as we have unfortunately seen over the past several years. The president will be doing a tour of the center. In his business developer mind, I'm sure he will make some recommendations on how the center itself can be improved, but also'll be discussing perhaps some future plays and musicals and

theatrical programs that the center will be hosting under his new leadership and the board's new leadership. Democratic Congress member Robert Garcia says donations are plummeting, shows are canceling, staff are fleeing. But yes, I'm sure Trump will fix it by booking the MAGA musical of Ted Nugent and Chris Rock. Next, Caroline Leavitt on Putin's invasion of Ukraine. She blames it on former President Biden and says it's actually Biden's fault. No, it's Putin's fault. And Trump enables Putin to play this clip. Caroline, thank you so much.

You mentioned earlier in the briefing that you guys are at the 10 yard line of peace. Given the amount of progress that you've made in such a short amount of time, is that an indictment of the previous administration's foreign policy stance? And is it just more proof that you need to talk to people to sort of get things done? I think so. I think the previous administration is the reason this war began. As President Trump often says, this war would have never started if he were still in office. It only started because of the incompetence and the weakness of the previous administration. And President Trump is very proud of the progress that he and his team have made in such a short amount of time. And hopefully tomorrow that progress will move forward. I often get asked,

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but she gives her theory that a court's verbal orders, what need not be complied with, they don't carry the same weight and effect of the written order that is subsequently given. Thus, you think you can just violate the court's order and just start taking people off the streets and throwing them into concentration camps without due process where a court order said you can't do that. Here, play this clip of Caroline Leavitt. Let's play it. You keep talking about the judge's written order, which hit the docket Saturday night at about 7.26 p.m., but he issued a verbal order before that at about 6.45 and 6.48 p.m. based on the court hearing, a verbal order from the bench. Does the White House feel the

need to comply with a verbal order from this judge? Again, as I said, all of the planes subject to the written order of this judge departed U.S. soil, U.S. territory before the judge's written order. But what about the verbal order, which ofS. territory, before the judge's written order. But what about the verbal order, which of course carries the same legal weight as a written order, and said for the planes to turn around if they were- Well, there's actually questions

about whether a verbal order carries the same weight as a legal order, as a written order, and our lawyers are determined to ask and answer those questions in court. Sean. Hey, so on Friday- Then Caroline Levitt says, oh, don't you love those fun videos

that we're making of the migrants? Ha ha ha, don't you like our fun videos? She goes, so we're encouraging people who are here illegally to self-deport themselves. Or she goes, or maybe you'll find yourself in one of those fun videos. Here, play this clip. Biden administration abused to facilitate the mass illegal entry of illegal immigrants into

our country. It was like a fast pass at Disneyland. That's not happening under this administration. We are encouraging illegal immigrants to actively self-deport to maybe save themselves from being in one of these fun videos. Sure. John, good to see you. They're absolutely despicable that she's referring to these videos as fun videos. As I've said, they look like ISIS videos and the fact that they're being produced by the American regime. It's not a government by the people for the people. It's by the bullies for the billionaires and for the fascists. This is the video from the official White House rapid response account. And then Trump posted

this video. This is official White House videography right here, where they show the migrants that they sent to El Salvador to put in concentration camps in El Salvador. And the videos show the El Salvador police force or military being fairly brutal with these people. Play this clip. And again, let me make my position clear again. The Tren de Aragua, the gangs, they absolutely should be fully prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We don't want gangs in the United States. We don't want criminals in the United States. Throw the book at them, deport them. There is a process for that.

There are laws on the books. Donald Trump declared a phony war against Venezuela to invoke the war powers of a dictator. These war powers have only been invoked before in the war of 1812, World War I, and World War II. So Trump's saying this Venezuela war requires that he be a war leader and then pick whoever he wants based on what tattoos and trust me, bro. And then send people to concentration camps in El Salvador. I'm sorry. That just, that doesn't sit right with me. And I'd like to see these gang members locked up, thrown in jail, but you have to go through a process to make sure they're actually the gang

members and they've actually committed crimes. Call me old fashioned, but I believe in the United States Constitution is a thing and that you don't just get to, you know, you just go get to say, oh, you're a gang member, you're a gang member, and then just send them to concentration camps. Then a reporter to Levitt says, I think this reporter frames it correctly. So you're saying criticizing judges is illegal, but all Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing are attacking judges like every day and saying that judges should be impeached and the judges who rule against Trump aren't real judges. Here, play this clip. Hey, so on Friday, the president suggested at length that it should be illegal to criticize judges, but he has repeatedly criticized judges who rule against him.

And Elon Musk is calling for impeachment of judges who have opposed the administration. So how are those two things not in conflict? I have not heard the president talk about impeaching judges. I know you mentioned Mr. Musk's tweet, but I have not heard the president of the United States ask that. Mary. Then Fox loses its audio and has to cut away, play the clip. And many communities have been totally destroyed.

The president has been actively monitoring the situation and the Trump administration is engaged with governors and leading in. All right. So we're having some clearly technical problems here. We're doubling up on the audio circuit. We will get. Then Donald Trump has his other chief propagandist, Alina Haba, go on Fox. And she brags about she's dealing with her own personal portfolio that deals with human

extortion and human sex trafficking. Play this clip. Yeah. Yeah. And actually, one of my focuses of my portfolio is human extortion, human trafficking and labor and cyber and finance extortion that has happened because of these individuals bringing minors, bringing women, bringing individuals over the border and then seeing them get tortured. And the facts that she mentioned, those are just public ones. I assure

you what I've been briefed on is so severely disturbing that if america knew just 10 of it they would be happy to have these individuals out they are a danger to our society and they have no business being in this country so oh really alina haba because this is a video of you and andrew tate from a few months ago from january of 2025 where you seem to praise and Tate, who was arrested for engaging in sex trafficking and trafficking minors abroad. And he's made statements where he basically brags about trafficking people. I mean, we hear him on audio saying how he takes girls and women and doesn't pay them and then sells them. I don't know what I'm going to go into. But anyway, here's Alina Haba fawning over Andrew Tate to play this clip.

Hi. Hello, Alina. Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm a big fan. Well, nice to meet you. I'm a fan. You're the one saving Trump. You're doing more important work than me. America. America, not just Trump. And I agree with everything you just said. And I think that your anger is the same that President Trump has for our country. And the time is now for us to stop being wimps. I think that's exactly the

right sentiment. And I also have to say that I sympathize with you because I think you go through a lot of the same, show me the person, I'll find the crime that President Trump has gone through. Well, that's the Trump regime for you. Despicable stuff going on at the White House. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 5 million subscribers. And thanks for watching. Can't get enough Midas?

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