The MeidasTouch Podcast - President Biden Delivers State of the Union Address (Full Speech and Live Coverage)

Episode Date: February 8, 2023

President Biden delivered his 2023 State of the Union Address at the United States Capitol before a Joint Session of Congress on February 7, 2023 at 9p ET. Hear our LIVE coverage with Ben, Brett and Jordy, along with special guest, White House Reporter Brian Karem. New full-length episodes of the MeidasTouch Podcast featuring the brothers are released every Tuesday & Friday morning. The rest of the week, enjoy our short-form content we call ‘The Mighty.’ If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to rate, review and subscribe! DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS: ZBiotics: Head to https://zbiotics.com/meidas and use the code 'MEIDAS' at checkout for 15% off! ZBiotics is backed with 100% money back guarantee. Highland Titles: You can use the discount code MEIDAS to get 20% off at https://HighlandTitles.com Shop Meidas Merch at: https://store.meidastouch.com Join us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/meidastouch Remember to subscribe to ALL the Meidas Media Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 The Tony Michaels Podcast: https://pod.link/1561049560 American Psyop: https://pod.link/1652143101 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Please gamble responsibly. If you have questions or concerns about your gambling or 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. I'm Ben Mycelis from the Midas Touch Network, and we will be covering the State of the Union this evening. President Biden's State of the Union address is set to begin at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific. And this is the pre-show where we will be covering everything that you should be focused on leading to the State of the Union. The news of the day, what we expect President Biden to discuss, the idiocracy, the fascism that is the MAGA Republican Party, what they've been focused on all day, condemning and criticizing President Biden and the Capitol Police, may I add, for putting up a fence in front of the Capitol

building after the MAGA Republicans engaged in an insurrection. That was their main condemnation and criticism. How dare they put up a fence in front of the Capitol building? Oh, that's, of course, when they were not talking about the Democrats are trying to take away your chocolate milk and they're coming for your gas stoves and the green M&M and the purple M&M. And what do they do today? What was their performative thing? They claim they were going to read the United States Constitution, which they don't follow, and which their cult leader, Donald Trump, wants to terminate. They claim they were going to read it the very first day of this 118th Congress. They did not do that. They did that today, though, and Kevin McCarthy, in that just horrific voice of his, read the Constitution with others.

It was just such performative BS. As Democrats and as President Biden and the pro-democracy coalition is focused on actual results for the American people, about bringing jobs to the American people, right? You look at the jobs report from January, 517,000 new jobs created in January alone. More than 12 million jobs created during the Biden administration to date. Unemployment is at the lowest it's ever been since 1969. There's over 7,000 infrastructure projects currently underway. In the next few months, there will be about 20,000 infrastructure projects underway. And it's not just bringing jobs here. It's bringing good paying jobs here and focusing on working conditions, your working conditions, because most Americans are not billionaires that the MAGA Republicans want

to create this oligarchical fascist force field to protect. And so while MAGA Republicans fight to keep a minimum wage suppressed, Democrats are not just fighting for a living wage, but with a wage that has dignity so that people don't have to work multiple jobs. And Democrats are focused on bringing back manufacturing jobs right here to the United States. There's the CHIPS Act, for example, as well, bringing back semiconductor jobs to right here

in the United States, in addition to the infrastructure projects. At the same time, Democrats, President Biden focused on reducing the cost of prescription drugs, reducing the cost of insulin, making sure life-saving care is available to all Americans. On the other hand, you've got the MAGA Republicans going out there and saying healthcare, life-saving care is not a right that people have, that people shouldn't be treated in the hospitals if they're about to die. Matt Gaetz went on TV, went on his right-wing fascist echo chamber media. He talked about it.

Former Vice President Pence talked about privatizing Social Security. That's what they want to do and have their incompetent oligarchical idiots run that and take away your Medicare and take away your Social Security. And that's not fear mongering by me. That's actually what it is that they're saying. At the same time, what else are MAGA Republicans doing? In addition to talking about the green M&M and Dr. Seuss and the purple M&M and woke this and woke that. They're just introducing these performative bills, if you will, that actually do nothing. We hereby condemn socialism in all of its forms. Well, tell me about the agricultural subsidies that are being provided in most of your states. Tell me about Social Security. Tell me about Medicare. What do you mean in all of its forms? And then they say things like,

what do President Xi and Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un have in common? Democrats fight back. You saw it. You saw it. What did Maxine Waters say? They all have in common Trump. Trump, who calls President Xi his king. I call him my king, Donald Trump said. Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump says, I love him. We're in a loving relationship. I love him more than anything in the world. We fell in love with each other. And Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump was willing to sell out our entire country as Vladimir Putin's stooge, completely and utterly despicable. And on the same day that MAGA Republicans are just, again, just showing what a bunch of idiot fascists they are. You've got their cult leader.

You've got Donald Trump calling DeSantis a pedophile, calling DeSantis a groomer. By the way, we'll talk about this in a little bit. There it is right there. Using our reporting. So back on October 25th, 2021, we had an exclusive report here on the Midas Touch Network that there it is right there. That's DeSantis when he was 23 years old. When Ron DeSantis was 23 years old, he was a teacher at a school in Georgia, it's a history teacher,

a private school called the Darlington School. And DeSantis liked to party with the underage girls there. That's what he was known for. And he would drink with the underage girls and party with the underage girls there. And our sources who knew the underage girls in those photos whose faces were blurred sent us the photograph and gave us other proof of this taking place. But we published that October 25th, 2021. So fast forward until today. And Donald Trump, utilizing our reporting, found its way onto a social media platform, turned into a meme by this weird bot account. Here is Ronde sanctimonious grooming high school girls.

And then Donald Trump says, that's not Ron, is it? He would never do such a thing. So there you have it, the Midas Touch reporting back from October of 2021, perhaps before some of you had subscribed to the Midas Touch YouTube channel. But how important that reporting was back then, and it's led to this civil war today, as Democrats and pro-democracy are completely united, united in making America stronger, in leading with compassion and decency. You've got MAGA Republicans, DeSantis, one faction, Trump, the other faction, each pointing fingers at each other. No, you hung out with Jeffrey Epstein. No, you hung out with underagestein. No, you hung out with

underage girls in high school. There's one, for example. Can someone remind me how many times Trump traveled aboard Jeffrey Epstein's Lolita Express? That's a DeSantis fan. Do we have the one from Cat Turd? There he goes again. The correct answer is seven that we know of. Seven is more than zero. Do we have the cat turd? There it is. Cat turd is one of the leaders of the modern day Republican Party. I'm not making this up. They are led by a cat feces.

You can't make this up. The Republican Party's main backbone of ideas comes from a cat feces account, a cat turd, lying POS. This is who they are. I mean, these people are completely insane. They're dangerous. They're idiots. They should be nowhere near power. And when you see these MAGA Republicans currently in leadership positions in the House of Representatives, you see why these individuals should be nowhere near power. It's idiocracy meets fascism meets incompetence, meets just freaking weirdness. And we got to call it out. We got to call these people out for what they are. And we got to make sure we're supporting pro-democracy all the way. I want to talk about Biden's accomplishments because he's going to be highlighting those accomplishments during the

State of the Union. We have a list right here. You may have seen this list. This is from Biden's post. Two of the strongest calendar years of job growth in history, the lowest unemployment rate in over 50 years, manufacturing rebounded at the fastest rate in nearly 40 years, two strongest years of small business applications in history, record decreases in deficit. And I want to make that point right there. We should never, ever call these MAGA Republicans fiscal conservatives. Don't call them conservative anything. Biden, me, you, we are far more fiscally conservative than these MAGA Republicans. I mean, look, under Donald Trump, 25% of America's current debt was incurred in one term under the Trump administration. And you want to rewind even more and see where that started to accumulate. Go back to Ronald

Reagan. Go back to George W. Bush. Democrats balance budgets. Democrats are the ones who have decreased the deficit. Biden's decreased the deficit by trillions of dollars. Just the data. It's just the facts. So I know these MAGA Republicans go, oh, America first, America first, fiscal hawks, fiscal conservatives. No, you're not. You are fiscal arsonists. You are a bunch of idiots. You hate America. And we need to call you out in terms that direct. We shouldn't mince words here. We shouldn't be fearful. Oh, but if I say that, is that politically incorrect? We have a fascist party in the United States of America because large media networks were not able to confront the challenge. And they have spineless leaders and fascists in the mega Republican party.

But large media networks, oh, we can't call them that. Oh, here are liberals. Here are conservatives. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz very very far right conservative they're not conservatives they're election deniers they want to overthrow our democracy i'm more conservative than they are you look through my views and values they would line up with what's traditionally viewed as liberal or progressive, but I believe in conserving our constitution. I don't think you need to read it and reenact it in a performative way while supporting policies to destroy it. Hey, Kevin McCarthy, your cult leader, because that's what it is, wants to destroy that document. Each and every one of those pages that you read, you violate every single day. So stop calling these fascists conservative. Stop calling them fiscal conservative. That's why we

don't use that framing here on the Midas Touch Network, right?, you have pro-democracy, pro-democracy, which includes a large group of Americans who love our country. We love our country. We love our constitution. We don't have to do performative BS. We go about it every day. On the other hand, you've got the MAGA fascists who want to overthrow our country when it comes to example for raising the debt ceiling, which just means paying our bills that Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans ran up. They don't want to do that. They want us to default on our debt.

They want us to default. Our full faith and credit means nothing to them. So how are they fiscally conservative? They want to hold our nation hostage. They don't even know what the debt ceiling is, apparently. It's about paying their freaking bills. Bunch of idiots, a bunch of fascists call them out in direct terms. Sorry, I digress sometimes. Let's pull back up Biden's list right there. Record decrease in deficits. See, that's where I left off. Fastest gas price decline in eight years

because Biden addresses the issues. The same reason why the price of eggs is dramatically decreasing. Now, look, problems are going to emerge. That is why we have leaders to address the problems, right? a virulent disease that resulted in an egg shortage, which meant the prices went up. But the issue, same thing back when there was a baby formula shortage, crises are going to emerge. You have leaders who confront and address the crisis and solve it. Not in the MAGA Republican Party, because they're just the fake rage machine. Oh, the Democrats are doing this to you, the Democrats, this, the green M&M, that, Mr. Potato Head, that. It's like whack-a-mole with these fascist idiots. Whereas most Democrats are like, let's solve the problem. Let's figure out how we address the problem. And that's one of the things that President Biden did. And we turned a profit by selling from our strategic oil reserve, which MAGA Republicans don't want to let Biden ever do again? Because they hate America. And you go, oh, Ben, that's a strong term. No,

the MAGA Republicans hate America. And we need to call it out that directly. Let's pull back up the list right here. Fastest gas price decline in eight years, annual inflation down for six months. Why? Again, the Inflation Reduction Act. Biden has a solution to a crisis, frankly, that Donald Trump put us in with his idiotic economic policies and that Republicans and MAGA Republicans who don't know how to manage the economy, their stupid trade wars, their idiotic policies, the way they managed or mismanaged the PPP program, fraught with fraud. You want to know why there is inflation? Well, how do you address it? How do you confront it? And Biden has confronted these problems and not only confronted the problems he inherited from the biggest trader

in the history of the United States, but he's progressed. He's created a situation that has put America on a path to prosperity. One of the things that Pete Buttigieg said on the Midas Touch Network is that what we have to call what President Biden's doing is not the New Deal. It's going to be referred to as the Big Deal. I agree with that. It is a big deal, what Biden has accomplished. Here's a list of 22 other things. We could just kind of go down them now, right? Passed the bipartisan infrastructure package to increased investment in bridges and roads, airports, public transport, national broadband, internet, waterways, and energy systems. Two, helped get more than 500 million lifesaving COVID-19 vaccinations. Three, stopped a 30-year streak of federal inaction on

gun violence by bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the boyfriend loophole, and provided funds for youth mental health, made a $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, five, ended the longest war in American history by pulling the troops out of Afghanistan, six, provided $10,000 to $20,000 in college debt relief to Americans who make under $125,000 a year, something that MAGA Republicans oppose and have filed lawsuits to stop. And Biden's currently in court to try to maintain the college debt relief going to Americans making less than $125,000 a year. Meanwhile,

the MAGA Republicans are willing to bail out all of the billionaires at any given time, give them all of the benefits. And these MAGA Republicans themselves got hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some got millions of dollars in PPP loans with the debt being forgiven. But when it comes to just hardworking regular folks, regular Americans, that's where the MAGA Republicans go. Absolutely not. How dare you? If they're not billionaires, if they're not part of the oligarchy, then screw that. We want to make sure that the average American feels pain, that the hardworking American feels pain. We only want to take care of our cult and the billionaires. Let's keep going through the list of accomplishments.

Seven, cut child poverty in half through the American Rescue Plan. Now, I'm gonna read you 15 more accomplishments, but if I just stopped there, if I just stopped after the first two, you'd be like, this is a historic presidency. Oh my gosh, this is some historic stuff right here. I know, but it keeps on going on. Let's keep going, let's keep going. Here's number eight. Cap prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year for seniors on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Do you know how big that is? Some of those drug prices could be thousands, 5x, 10x that a month. How important and vital that is. What that means. What that means to seniors on Medicare. What a game changer that is. At the same time, Social Security's increased for seniors. Think about that. How important that is. Number nine, passed a COVID-19 relief deal that provided payments up to $1,400 to many struggling U.S. citizens while supporting renters and increasing unemployment benefits. Ten, historically low unemployment rates. Eleven, imposed a 15% minimum corporate tax on some of the largest corporations in the country,

ensuring that they pay their fair share. Twelve, recommitted America to the global fight against climate change by rejoining the Paris Agreement. Thirteen, strengthened the NATO alliance in support of Ukraine after the unlawful Russian invasion by endorsing the inclusion of world military powers, Sweden and Finland. Fourteen, authorized the assassination of the Al-Qaeda terrorist head Ayman al-Zawahiri. Fifteen, gave Medicare the power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also, and I'm not done yet, and I'm not done yet. Let's go to 16 if we have it. Well, where is it goes? Gave Medicare power to negotiate prescription drug prices through the Inflation Reduction Act while also reducing government health spending. 16, held Putin

accountable for his invasion of Ukraine by imposing stiff economic sanctions. 17, boosted the budget of the Internal Revenue Service to reduce tax invasion and increase revenue. 18, created more jobs in one year than any other president in United States history. 19, reduced healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act by $800 a year as part of the America Rescue Plan. 20, signed the PACT Act to address service members' exposures to burn pits and other

toxins. You all remember the Republicans fist bumping, celebrating that they blocked the PACT Act, and it took Jon Stewart, a comedian, and the Democrats to shame these MAGA Republicans who were high-fiving each other, who were celebrating that they were causing our troops so much pain. You remember it was the MAGA Republicans high-fiving. They were pumped at what they did to hurt our troops. That's why I say, let's be clear. These MAGA Republicans hate our troops. They hate the United States of America. They are fascist. Their conduct is reflective of that. The PACT Act passed thanks to President Biden and the Democrats shaming the MAGA Republicans. MAGA Republicans did not really help there. Let's keep going down that list. 21, sign the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen American manufacturing and innovation. And 22, reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act through 2027. Look, we could keep on going right now with, I mean me just even think, you know, where the MAGA Republicans are like, you let the Chinese spy balloon over the continental U S first off.

And at least three separate occasions that occurred during the Trump administration, Donald Trump, either intentionally covered it up, or he was just so incompetent that he didn't detect it. The Biden administration came up with a plan immediately when they took office how to address it. Immediately when they became aware of the spy balloon, they neutralized the threat. They then wanted to make sure after neutralizing the threat that they shot it down over a safe area. And at the same time, we extracted intelligence from China. And so the Biden administration handled it flawlessly, unlike the Trump administration led by Donald Trump, by the way, who calls our veterans losers and suckers. And he said this stuff publicly. You heard what he has said about John McCain.

But Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans covered up their spy balloon issues over and over and over again. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried to attack the Midas Touch Network when we broke the story from the Department of Defense about these three other instances where there were spy balloons in the Trump administration. She then changed her tune after it was obvious that it was taking place. Then they go, oh, it's the deep state. It's the deep state that's doing it. It's the woke Department of Defense. Yeah, it's the woke Department of Defense. That's what it is. And here's what Marjorie Trader Green was doing today. We have this video of her

with a balloon. This was when she's been walking around with a balloon because she's a fascist clown. And these MAGA Republicans are fascist clowns. She's saying, in the State of the Union, I'm walking around with this balloon because Biden hates balloons. If we've got this video of Marjorie Trader Green, let's play some weird stuff. It's just some incredibly, incredibly weird and bizarre and traitorous stuff right here. I want to show you this video, though, of Pete Buttigieg. This is Buttigieg talking over the weekend about how we can message Biden's accomplishments better. Let's play this clip of Pete Buttigieg from this weekend on Meet the Press. Play the clip. Let's go to the president's State of the Union. Look, he's got a lot of things to tell.

Why do you think that it has not penetrated the American public? Well, these things don't sell themselves. And it's one of the reasons I'm really looking forward to that State of the Union address. I will say that there have been so many accomplishments under this administration, it can be difficult to list them in a distilled way. Recently, the president hosted a send-off for Ron Klain, the departing chief of staff. And he put it in a way that I thought was especially moving when you think back in historic terms to what it means to inherit one of the toughest situations faced by any president since FDR, pass the most significant legislation

on our economy in many ways since FDR, while facing the largest land war in Europe since Truman, achieving the second most important healthcare bill since LBJ and the most important infrastructure bill since Eisenhower, as Ron put it. And that was just the beginning of the list of accomplishments. But one of the things that we found is that this is happening simultaneously with some of the toughest circumstances ever. We recognize that. And there continue to be a lot of issues that Americans are facing every day, even as we see

extraordinary economic news. 500,000 jobs just created in the last month. Well, that's the thing. None of it seems to accrue to his benefit. Well, people say that, but then this president has exceeded expectations again and again, politically and functionally in terms of what we're getting done. I mean, when you even just watch the way Chuck Todd, none of it seems to be penetrating into the American people. It's because you, Chuck Todd, and it's because of people like you who are not reporting it to the American people. Instead, you want to report about how DeSantis has engaged in these incredible initiatives in Florida and how he's showing strength in Florida. And you love to tout those fascist narratives.

But Chuck Todd, you are the media. You could report the same way we do here on the Midas Touch Network, the accomplishments. And look, I'm happy to also talk about the negative. It doesn't all have to just be all of the good stuff, but you should also cover the accomplishments. I don't think these networks ever cover the accomplishments at all. Instead, they want to focus on whatever the most minuscule, bogus story is of the day regarding Biden. It was the same thing they did with Obama. Obama's wearing this colored suit. Oh my gosh, why is he doing that? Oh, did Biden salute the person this day? It's like versus the actual accomplishments. How about the fact that the MAGA Republican traitors were voting against giving healthcare to the troops. How about that? Let's also show

you, though, the White House communications director, Kate Bedingfield. And Kate describes what we should be looking for today during the State of the Union on CNN with Don Lemon here. Let's play this interview of White House Communications Director Kate Benningfield on what to expect at the State of the Union. Here, run this clip. Good morning, Kate. Thank you for joining us here on CNN this morning. Really appreciate it. It's good to see you. Good morning. Thanks for having me. Let's talk about what is going to happen and people's perceptions, because there is this new Washington Post ABC News poll. It finds that about two-thirds

of Americans feel that President Biden has not accomplished a whole lot in his first two years in office. Listen, perception is reality, especially when it comes to public office. So why aren't the American people feeling or seeing what the president plans, what the president is doing? And is he planning to talk about that tonight? Well, absolutely, he's going to talk about that tonight. You're going to hear from him tonight about the things we've accomplished in the first two years that are making a difference in people's lives. 12 million jobs created during President Biden's first two years in office, historic low unemployment, wages going up, investments in our infrastructure, our roads and bridges,

historic gun safety legislation. So, yes, the American people are going to hear directly from the president tonight about what we've accomplished in the first two years, but also about the path forward, about how we're going to keep building on that progress, how we're going to finish the job. People across the country remember. But why aren't the American people feeling it? Because the polls are showing that the American people are not feeling that. Is that the issue with the president? Is that the communications office? What is going on?

Well, well, remember where we were when President Biden came into office. We were we were in the depths of a pandemic. The economy had ground to a halt. Inflation was creeping up not just here, but around the globe as a result of the pandemic. And so the president took quick action, meaningful action, to start rebuilding this economy from the bottom up and the middle out. And the choices that he's made have, again, led to historic job creation, historic low unemployment,

and people are starting to feel that around the country. But as the president would be the first to say, and will say tonight, we're gonna keep talking about what those impacts mean. Over the course of 2023 and into 2024, people are gonna start to feel the impact of some of the major legislation that we've passed. The infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act that's lowering prescription drug costs and lowering energy costs for people. People are going to start to feel the impact of that. And so you're going to hear from the president today.

I want to say one thing now. And you're also going to hear from the president, the vice president, the cabinet. So here's the thing. Everything she's saying is great. I guess we have more latitude here on the Midas Dutch Network, though, because I'd call Don Lemon out there. I would say, look, Don, the problem is you. The problem is CNN. The problem is all large media networks.

It's not the communications department of the White House. Go through the list of accomplishments. Instead, everything that you report on CNN, it's like Fox Light. You have a fascist network in Fox, which literally injects disinformation every moment in the veins of one group of Americans, a significant portion of Americans. Just think about that, that there was a group of people, a family, the Murdochs, not from the United States, outside of the United States, came to America and created a propaganda network that basically attacks the Democrats, attacks pro-democracy, promotes fascism, and promotes disinformation at all.

And then you've got kind of the tentacles of that more extreme, if you will, with OAN, Newsmax, literally everything they say is total, total disinformation. So you got that. Then you've got CNN, which is Fox Light, won't cover a single Biden accomplishment. And you don't have to fanboy Biden. It's not about that. It's about just talking about the reality. You saw at the top of the show, we talked about 22 historic achievements. Any single one of those would be a big deal, yet alone all 22 of them thus far, and a lot of them coming in the past year. No, Don Lemon, I'm sorry. It is because CNN and all these large media networks, even the ones that aren't

Fox, are run by right wing people who want an oligarchy. They don't actually want capitalism. They just want socialism for billionaires. That's what they want. They don't want to actually help hardworking Americans. They want a situation where they get favorable treatment and they figured, hey, the way I can do this is these MAGA Republicans, if we play nice with them, they'll violate all of the laws. They'll give us an advantage over other businesses. Well,

then you're captured by these MAGA Republicans and then they do what DeSantis did to Disney and what they do to all of these other companies that just do things like, hey, we should promote not being racist in our organization. Well, then the DeSantis is going to retaliate against you and he's going to make sure that the government of Florida screws you over as a result. But that's the problem here is that you have fascist media and you got fascist light media. And then you got MSNBC, which is good on some things, not great on others. They got some good people on MSNBC. They got some good people on CNN, but they still view things through this both sides prism. Here's a liberal. Here's a conservative.

Two minutes. Fight with each other. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Oh, I guess we don't have the answers to the question. We'll be right back after these commercial breaks. Okay, that's the stupidest way of doing news. Okay, it's such a disservice. It's such a disservice to public discourse.

It's why we haveervice to public discourse. It's why we have to reframe it here. That's why what we're building here at the Midas Touch Network is a tool to confront that. That is what we have to build together. That's why I want everybody to check out patreon.com slash Midas Touch. We don't have outside investors hereas Touch. We don't have outside investors here at all. We don't have any of that. We're just supported by you. We're 100%

accountable to you. We're 100% independent through patreon.com slash Midas Touch. That's it. That's it. And we got advertisers who support our pro-democracy content. And frankly, if they don't support our pro-democracy, I don't care because we're supported by you. They don't need to advertise on us. They support our pro-democracy content. But if they said, hey, we don't, it's not going to make me change a single thing because no one's going to change what you do, what we do, what we're all doing here in this Midas Touch pro-democracy community. Oh, by the way, have you seen Killing County on Hulu? Where is it? Hulu. There it is. Check it out on Hulu right now. It's called Killing County. It focuses on Kevin McCarthy's district,

the highest crime, highest homicide rates, highest police shooting deaths in all of the country, pretty much. That's right there in Kevin McCarthy's district. It's right there, Killing County. It's a true crime docuseries. I executive produced it with Colin Kaepernick. It's crushing right now on Hulu. It's doing really good. It's sometimes hard to watch because the subject is heavy, but also it's about perseverance of these families uniting and coming together. It really talks to the spirit of this country. And I'm so proud to share this with the world. Also, one of my business partners, Akeem Aliu, has got a book out.

It's called Dreamer. Akeem was born in Nigeria, grew up in Ukraine, became a professional hockey player in Canada, was one of the few black hockey players, professional hockey players at the time. Akeem is incredible. That's through Kaepernick Publishing and Scholastic. It's called Dreamer. We are going to be back with more of our special live coverage of the historic State of the Union address. But first, a quick word from these sponsors. Please do not go anywhere. I will be right back. And now let's take a quick break to talk about our next partner, ZBiotics. You ever skip a workout because of drinks the night before?

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And now, back to the video. Jordy is such a good ad reader. Love you, Jordy. So blessed that I get to do this network with my brothers. Also excited to have Brian Karam join us, White House reporter. Brian Karam will be discussing with us his thoughts about what we can expect, and I want him to respond to a lot of these statements that are being put out by the MAGA Republicans tonight. Brian Karam, White House reporter, friend of Midas Touch,

proud to call you my friend. Brian, welcome to the show. Thanks. Good to see you. Good to see you too. We talked about some of the accomplishments in the Biden administration. This is just breaking right now. I want to show you the House Judiciary GOP account. I guess all they do right now is just a troll tweet like this. This is what they just said. The state of our union is a Chinese spy bullet. Brian, what does that even mean? It means it's a dog whistle for people who can't think, won't think, and want to gripe about Biden. So they'll do it. I mean, I'm sure they have tweeted out far worse.

I know Marjorie Taylor Greene has, and Lauren Boebert, and Jim Jordan, and half of them don't even make sense. I was reading through the excerpts from Sarah Sanders' retorts that, you know, the GOP responds to the State of the Union, and hell, that doesn't even make any sense. It's like, you know, just throw, you know, cabbage out there, throw, you know, alphabet soup and see if people will react. It makes no sense. It doesn't. Here's another one that they posted right now on the same House Judiciary GOP. They said, TV you can watch tonight that will be more informative than Joe Biden's State of the Union.

Real housewives of New Jersey, impractical jokers, Lethal Weapon, Bearing Seagull. I mean, how has our political discourse on certain fundamental issues, right? You talk about the Chinese spy balloon and a national security issue where we as Americans should all come together and care about our national security. Here we have the State of the Union. And I even remember, even when it was, I guess, pre-Trump, though, even when it was Republican, like with George W. Bush or Obama, people would still say, look, it's the State of the Union, and there would be a terse rebuttal. We would talk about policy, but this weird, fascistic, strange behavior, I mean, how do we get here? Well, it's an attempt to frame the argument that there's something wrong with Joe Biden,

so don't watch. That way, if you don't watch, you can be misinformed much more easily than if you actually watched it. The fear, of course, is that if you watch it, you can be misinformed much more easily than if you actually watched it. The fear, of course, is that if you watch it, you may come away with a different idea than the narrative that the GOP is going to try and popularize after the fact. And in fact, you know, I was talking about Sarah Sanders. Here's one thing she's saying. Finally, every day we are told that we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags, and worship their false idols. All while big government colludes with big tech to strip away the most American thing there is, your freedom of speech. The sentence makes no sense. The statement makes no sense. But it's key buzzwords

to get you angry. And so the idea of the GOP is to get you angry. The idea, you know, as I've said, we have two parties in this country. One has no heart, one has no head. The Democrats don't frame the argument very well, and they could do better at that because they've actually done some really good things. Biden has as president, and you know he has because the GOP campaigned on the things that the Biden administration accomplished. During the midterms, it was the GOP that was campaigning on the infrastructure bill, though most of them voted against it. So, you know, they've done some decent work, but they haven't really shouted it from the rooftops like Donald Trump did whenever he, you know, told us infrastructure week was there. And for 52 weeks, four times, you know, so 208

times we had infrastructure week and we never got anything out of Donald Trump. So what you're seeing is an attempt to misinform, disinform the American populace, which is what the GOP is reduced to. And unfortunately, the press falls right in line with it. We're not doing a very good job of vetting our facts and the idea that we must be objective. We've become objectivity is objective. And so there's no such thing as objectivity. Just give me the damn fact. Somebody be Colombo. Just go get the facts. Even over the fact that there should be a fence in front of the Capitol building where these MAGA Republicans themselves were

insurrectionists. I don't know if you saw this reporting, but Kevin McCarthy's newly appointed sergeant at arms opposed installing security fencing around the Capitol for Joe Biden's State of the Union address. It was a three-person vote, two-to-one said have the fencing. Here's the story. The Capitol Police Board, a three-member body that makes security decisions for the Capitol complex, split two to one last week in favor of erecting a temporary security fence ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, according to two people familiar with the decision. The lone vote against the plan, William McFarlane, the House's newly minted sergeant at arms. Before having you react to that, I just want to show you some of these other posts with MAGA Republicans focused on the issue of fencing. Here are no particular odd or salty. You can call up anyone. This is Fox politicizing it. Fence built around Capitol ahead of the State of the Union to protect Congress despite Dems

claiming that walls are ineffective. We got anyone else from some of these other politicians. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's one of the leaders now in the House of Representatives because of the MAGA Republicans. Just saying that is just so disgusting. The fence is back up around the Capitol for the State of the Union because Biden knows walls work on the ground. Joe Biden is more afraid of Americans visiting their Capitol than a Chinese spy balloon invading our airspace that could have carried God only knows what. Here's one from Boebert. They've reinstalled the fence around the Capitol with no reports of increased threats. I can only assume it's to ensure Biden doesn't wander off after the State of the Union. And here's what Boebert said, though, obviously, right before the insurrection and during the insurrection. America is depending

on all of us today. This is something I don't take lightly. Today is 1776. Get ready, y'all. Remember these next 48 hours. These will be the most important days in America history. The Speaker has been removed from the chambers telling the insurrectionists of Nancy Pelosi's movements. You know, how else, I'll ask for your reaction to that. Well, I think one of the key things you have to realize is in that first statement that you showed me, the police chief of the Capitol Police Department, Tom Manger. Tom is a former police chief in Montgomery County. I've known him for probably 15, 20 years. This guy is as solid as they come. So if there is a recommendation that he can't vote, only provide information. The information

that the Capitol Police provided led people to believe that there could be a chance of renewed violence, or at least the security would be questionable if they didn't have a fence. Now, it's not unusual to fence during the Trump administration. Hell, I swear, you'd walk to the White House and there'd be, there were fences on the street just to get to the White House. So it's disingenuous for the Republicans to say anything about, a fence is not a border wall and they know that as well. It's temporary fencing that's going to come down after the speech. So it's nuts to even compare the two. Yet they'll do it because they'll get people that will listen to this dog whistle and will go after them and say, hey, you know, you're what? This daggone Biden, he's a menace to society.

And so you can't listen to it. You have to, again, report the facts, the vetted facts. And if we did that, we'd be better off. You cannot count on the Republicans to do that. And sometimes you can't count on the Democrats. You have to count on us, on reporters. And unfortunately, we're not doing it. Not very well. Well, speaking about the vetted facts, I want to talk about this interaction you've had with Bill Barr recently. And so Bill Barr was speaking. I'll let you tee it up. So tell us about the event, why you were there, and what happened.

Well, so I was there for the opening keynote to start the conference off. He was the launch speaker. So I was there to talk a little bit about my book, Free the Press, and talk a little bit about what we need to do to help the press become better and the problems that we have because government, every president since Ronald Reagan, and yes, that name, I will say it still is a name that lives in infamy. He started us down this primrose path that led to Donald Trump. Every president has helped in some form or fashion to hurt the First

Amendment and hurt free speech and independent reporting. The biggest sinners, of course, were Reagan and both of the Bushes. But nonetheless, I was there to speak about that. And the night before we got together for a dinner and Bill Barr decided to charge $1,000 for his presence at a dinner. And I was not going to go to that. So I and a few and many others in the conference met for dinner elsewhere. And we had a pretty good time. So when I found out that I didn't know if Bill didn't invite me on purpose or if he had a problem, I ran into him in the elevator that night, put my hand on his shoulder and said, look, I've been trying to talk to you since the Mueller investigation. And he goes, oh, I'm not going

anywhere. Talk to me tomorrow after my speech. I said, great. I look forward to seeing you in my speech. Of course, he didn't show up, but I did call him out in that speech and I said, great, I look forward to seeing you in my speech. Of course, he didn't show up, but I did call him out in that speech and I said, I'm glad that Bill Barr has been invited to this event. I would very much like to see Bill Barr answer some questions about the fictions that he produced, publicized, and propagated after the Mueller investigation. And about 10 minutes after I got off stage, I got a call saying he wouldn't do the interview. And so I was only able to get one question in after his speech, he took questions,

but you had to write them down on a notepad. And mine was the first that was read to him. And all I asked him was point blank. Yeah, there you go. He blamed his speech, he blamed all, he blamed the reporters for everything. And I asked him, does he take any responsibility for any of the disinformation during the Trump administration? And his answer was, no, I take no responsibility. So there you go. There's there it is in a in a in as brief as time as I can put it. I mean, isn't that as Republican as you get?

I take no responsibility. And then you wonder how you get people like George Santos. By the way, I got to get your take on on Santos because I have not had you on the show to ask you about your view having covered Capitol Hill, having covered presidents in the White House, and you've seen some weird shit in your days, right? You've seen some weird, you've seen some bathroom stall, feet tapping, you know, you've seen some stuff. Yes. You've got to tell me, though.

Santos? What's going on? Well, I think he missed his calling, but I'm really happy that he was one of the first people to walk on the moon, or at least he told me he was. You know, there's nothing about Santos that cannot be looked at without laughing. I mean, you just can't look at anything the man's done and not laugh at the complete fool he's made of himself in order to get elected to office. And it says two things.

It says, first of all, man, I'm going to be honest with you. If I was a Democrat running against Santos, I would every every day, I'd be standing up shouting from the nearest, you know, yard arm. I'd shout from my tabletop. I would scream and rant and rave, this moron said this. But more importantly, it does speak to the fact that the press doesn't vet our candidates very well as we used to. And that's a sad, sad saying. And I have in 40 years of covering politics and a lot of that in D.C., I have the old saying, I've been to three county fairs and a goat raping, and I ain't never seen nothing like George Santos. Here were his constituents today. I think we've got a video of this. So by the way, thiserrymandering, that became the third congressional district. And then Swazi ran for governor and lost in the primaries. And then you

had Santos for the MAGA Republicans versus Zimmerman for the Democrats. I'm occasionally tempted to, to be like, how, I, my brothers say this, and it's hard for me to even articulate it. Like, should I run for that seat? I love what I'm doing in Midas Touch Network just way too much to, you know, to, to go that route, but I would so want to run against Santos. And sometimes I merge when, when I'm here, the producers will tell me sometimes I call Santos DeSantos because Santos DeSantos Trump and all kind of mixes in my mind. But look, this is a video of the constituents from Long Island who took a bus to basically tell Santos what a trade illusory is. Here, play this clip. imagine working imagine working for the guy you know Imagine working.

Imagine working for the guy. You know, could you imagine? And by the way, it's like that every day. I've been in the hall, and that's a very – there are a lot of people in that particular building, a lot of congressmen, and, you know, Americans will come out to see a car wreck, and that particular building, a lot of congressmen. And, you know, Americans will come out to see a car wreck. And that's what George Santos is. I mean, we love to build up our heroes

and tear them down. But in the case of Santos, it's much easier to tear down because he ain't building nothing up but BS. So watching those people out there, I can't take it seriously, man. I really can't. It's nuts. You see this guy walking in the hall, and I swear, I've seen him walking down the hall, and I look, and I'm going, is he not aware of how silly he is, or is he that damn dumb or that arrogant? And I think it's a good combination of both. Which makes him a modern day Republican. Republican, yes.

This is from Scott McFarlane. Alert. Representative George Santos sitting in the seat nearest the center aisle in the House chamber for the State of the Union. He's positioned himself to attempt to shake President Biden's hand on national TV when President enters the House chamber at 9 p.m. You'll see Santos is wearing a bright orange tie. By the way, though, this is who. You're really upset. Let's break it down, though. You got Santos doing that here for those just joining that this is Marjorie Taylor green walk in

the halls right now with a white balloon here play play this video clip of Marjorie trader green right now. You got the official GOP account tweeting out this photo about wait until the coastal elites find out that this is where their food comes from. Wait until the coastal elites find that out. Well, wait until the GOP finds out that that is actually Josh Harder's district in California in the Central Valley. This is a Democrat's district. California has the most agriculture anywhere in the United States. Josh is a Democrat's district. California has the most agriculture anywhere in the United States. Josh Harder, I'm proud to represent farm communities in Congress, and I'm proud to be a Democrat. I mean, they're idiots. You couldn't write the script what buffoonery and idiocracy these MAGA fascists are, huh?

Well, you know, you not only can't write, no one will believe you if you did. You would just go, this is unbelievable. This is no way is there anyone like this. But look, you have media illiteracy in this country. You have gerrymandered districts. You have a lack of education. When you have media illiteracy, lack of education, and gerrymandered districts in Congress, you have a lack of education. When you have media illiteracy, lack of education, and gerrymandered districts in Congress, you're going to end up with what we've got. I mean, if you're Republican, the only thing you have to worry about being challenged from is from your right flank, nowhere else. So it's all going to drift farther and farther to the crazies, as we now see with Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Bober, Louie Gohmert, Jim Jordan et al. They are without a doubt, you would not be able to get elected if

the media scrutiny was there. And I say that and when I say that, here's what I mean. When I first joined the ranks of reporters, there was a paper I worked for, it's called Courier Journal and Louisville Times, great regional newspaper. Now, not everybody liked them. They were progressive on their editorial page, but you absolutely respected them for delivering facts. And if you ran for office, you wanted their endorsement, whether you liked them or not, because most of their candidates that they endorsed got elected. Why? Because they would take two reporters and do opposition research to present questions to six members of an editorial board who would interview you vigorously if you ran for office before they would issue,

whether they would endorse you or not, issue an endorsement. Because of that, people like George Santos would never get through. Neither would Lauren Boebert or Marjorie Taylor Greene. And it's no coincidence that Mitch McConnell rose to national prominence after the Courier-Journal and The Liberal Times was sold to Gannett and they stopped the process of vetting candidates. That is ground zero for what's wrong with the press in this country and why we can no longer keep a check on the morons. I mean, it's good comedy, I guess, or bad comedy, but it's not, yeah, it's not really what you want in the White House or even an outhouse, much less Congress. I appreciate our graphics team right there. I love that.

You got the best graphics team in the biz. Salty. Whenever I say salty, everybody in the chat takes out their salt shakers. And one of the things we do here and we encourage on the live chat is when any one of these MAGA Republicans are talking or saying some of this BS,

we are okay with vomiting emojis. We're okay with, we encourage that here. So the cult leader of this MAGA Republican party, the same party that's talking about save chocolate milk here. I think we got this House Judiciary GOP. Save chocolate milk. There it is right there. And Elise Stefanik, one of the leaders. They're trying to take away your gas stoves. They're trying to take away your chocolate milk. But you had Trump attacking DeSantis or DeSantos today.

And Trump was calling DeSantis basically a pedo and a groomer. By the way, that photo that you see there actually comes from a Midas Touch Network story that we broke October 25th, 2021. So DeSantis taught at the Darlington Academy in 2001 when he was 23 years old. And we have sources who were there at the time who said he loved partying with the underage girls and drinking with the underage girls. And they sent us photos. And so we published that photo back on October 25th of 2021. The New York Times ran some story in November of 2022, where they barely touched it. They said he loved partying with the seniors and they gave no other attention to it. But what do you know? Today, we saw Donald Trump make that post calling DeSantis basically a pedo. Here is

Ronde Sanctimonious grooming high school girls. This is the Republican Party today, man. Well, I tell you what's even funnier. I still am on, you know, when one of the things that Donald Trump stole when he left the White House was he stole the mail list, the email list for all the reporters. And try as I might, several times to get off this damn list, I still get crap from him and Sarah Huckabee Sanders every damn day. So today, while he's moments after he's saying that about DeSantos, he sent out an email to all of his supporters asking them to buy t-shirts that denounce Joe Biden before he makes the speech. So he does not miss an opportunity to grift his audience. And there everybody's watching. We see Vice President Harris walking in right now. You see Mitch McConnell behind her. The State of the Union is set to take place at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific. There you see, is that Santos right there? He's positioning himself. You know, they obviously told Biden that he's going to be right there he is positioning himself you know they obviously told biden

that he's going to be right there to try to shake his hand there's no way biden's going to shake the guy's hand it's going to be a funny i really do because i would like to watch his reaction santos is not i mean he's a class clown and now if if Biden is a man of, whatever else you say about Joe Biden, the man is a decent human being. He's gone through hell in his life. And to sit there with, I would love to see him just put Santos in his place, but that's just me. No, absolutely.

So, Teprez, spending your career as a White House reporter covering many, many, many State of the Unions, the historical significance of tonight's State of the Union, and what should we all expect? I think you should expect, I've listened to a lot of reporters today speculating that Joe Biden will come out swinging against the Republicans, but I don't buy that for a moment. I believe that Joe Biden is going to come out and talk about his accomplishments. Some of the excerpts that we've seen already talks about creating jobs and a strong economy to counter the argument that has been made by Republicans that, it's an out of, he's the worst president ever ever, etc. I also think you're going to see Joe Biden,

because he's famous. I mean, he does it with our overseas antagonists. He says, you know, we're in competition. We're not enemies. So he's also said that about Republicans, and he's going to try to reach out where he can to Republicans to get them to work together. And some of the things that he wants to work together on is better health care and better care for veterans. I think that's going to be part of the speech. He'll have to touch on the problems brought about by classified documents and the recent

incursion of a balloon from China. But I don't think you're going to hear much of the speech talking about that. He's going to talk about the state of our union and how we avoided calamity on January 6, 2021, and America is back and our democracy is held. I think that's by and large what you're going to hear. The Republicans, you're going to hear afterwards just a mishmash of dog whistles. And, you know, it's going to be ridiculous to have to watch. But, you know, having what I think is funny, honestly, Ben, is they're going to have Joe Biden giving the State of the Union and Sarah Sanders is giving the retort. She's the reply from the Republicans.

How far down the ladder is that? It's a child playing in a game with a serious adult. There is nothing about Sarah Huckabee Sanders and my experience with her that gives her the gravitas to come across as anything other than a shrill dog whistle when she gets a chance to take the stage and counter the president. And you talk about the dog whistle. I mean, her main thing that she's introduced, I don't even know what you'd call it. We need to make sure that the American flags that are made in her state are made in America. That's the American flags that have been made in America.

And it's like, okay, we're fine with that. But like, that's your, how about focusing on healthcare for Americans? How about focusing on jobs? How about focusing on making education more affordable and accessible? It should be education. As they used to say in Arkansas, thank God, during the Clinton era, thank God for Mississippi. Mississippi was 50th, and Arkansas was, I think, 49th. So it hasn't gotten a whole lot better in Arkansas.

And since Clinton was there, he improved it a bit. But since then, it's not been anything to write home about. So it's going to be a clown show coming out of the Arkansas governor's mansion. Well, look, we talked here about the accomplishments. Let me show you some of the tweets that President Biden has just put out. It's definitely in juxtaposition to Donald Trump's posts calling for violent civil wars and multiple times a day and QAnon memes. This is what President Biden wrote. Two years after taking office, we've come a long way. We've more than recovered all the jobs lost in the pandemic. And the number of Americans on unemployment is near the lowest it's been in decades. Lowest it's been since 1969. And then one of the cool things that Biden did is he

showed the promise from a year ago and then showed that it was delivered. So for example, in March of 2022, he wrote, let's cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month so every family can afford it. And then he posted today, we got this done for 3.3 million seniors on Medicare with diabetes. Now it's time to get it done for everyone else. Democrats would get it done for everybody else. It's the MAGA Republicans who are blocking this. Then you see for March of 2022, the United States of America stands with the Ukrainian people. And then Biden writes today, since this, we've stood shoulder to shoulder with the world in our support for Ukraine, keeping the flame of liberty burning as brightly as we can. Yeah. Compare that to Marjorie Taylor Greene and

Boebert screaming that they, why are we sending tanks to Ukraine? We should send them to our border. To do what? What would you send them to the border to do? They can't police, they can't be used. There's a thing called the Posse Comitatus Act. These people are completely ignorant of history, completely ignorant of the Constitution, and completely ignorant of what this president has done. you know what, MAGA Republicans, you want us to brief you on some of these classified records that we found at Mar-a-Lago? Okay. Okay, we'll do that. We'll tell the gang of eight, the classified records that we found. Let's meet up. You said you wanted to get information about ongoing criminal investigations. By the way, in the past, when that's been done, it's usually preceded charging decisions so that they brief, you know, the gang of eight first. But it's like, you know, these MAGA Republicans keep stepping into it.

Right. It was the same thing with the spy balloons. You know, it was like Biden, this Biden, that because everything is just performative BS outrage versus actually kind of let's figure it out. And then it's like, well, actually, when Trump was in office, this happened at least three times. He did nothing. He either covered it up or was too incompetent to even identify it. And then they go, deep state. It's the woke Department of Defense. Yeah, it's our Department of Defense is an incredibly woke institution, but they keep stepping into it, huh? Well, you can get careful what you wish for. The thing about, you know, I loved how when the balloon issue came about, suddenly, I woke up that morning and suddenly everyone was an expert on bringing down high altitude balloons. Now, I don't think, you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene does not

sit on the defense committee, nor does Boebert, nor do I believe this Santos. Nonetheless, they certainly had an opinion on when and where and how and why it should be brought down. And as the facts changed, as the situation progressed, so did their opinion. So whatever it was that Biden did, he should have brought it down. He shouldn't have brought it down. He brought it down too soon. He brought it down too late. Why did he bring it down? Everything that they said was simply a dog whistle to get people upset and not thinking about the real issue and the simple fact. And look, I've talked with several members of the DOD and several members of security in the United States since this has happened. And those people that tell me, look, it was best to bring it.

The president was first spotted over Alaska. The president on Wednesday said, bring it down when it drifted into Montanaana it was obvious it was being steered they were able to suppress they won't tell us how but they were able to suppress it from sending information back to china they waited till it was over the sea so they could bring it down safely so that nobody would be you know i can you imagine what headlines that would be if he brought it down in iowa and it killed a couple of kids on the playground that would be if you brought it down in Iowa and it killed a couple of kids on the playground? That would be completely insane. So they waited until it was overseas but within our territorial waters, brought it down, and now they're getting it.

They're going to search it. They're going to find out what it is. Now, we know why high-altitude balloons are used instead of satellites because they allow you to linger over a place longer and get more detailed information. We don't know what they were trying to get, but the telemetry from it and whatever equipment is on board once we recover it, we'll be able to tell. So anybody making any assumptions as to what it was or why it was or how it was or why it was brought down are morons. Wait and let the people who do it tell us and then we can react. We are 15 minutes away from President Biden's second State of the Union address, a historic State of the Union address.

The State of our Union is strong, despite the fact that MAGA Republicans each and every day try to break that strength. And one of the things I like as well, though, and I think it's with the new Democratic leadership under Hakeem Jeffries, I like the Democrats in Congress punching back with the stupidity. And I like this clip. This one brought me a great deal of joy. This was Maxine Waters, by the way, where all the MAGA Republicans refused to testify before the January 6th committee. They ran away from subpoenas. Maxine Waters was like, put me in, coach. I'm ready to testify. I want to be in there. I'm ready to go. And I want to tell you how stupid this resolution that you want to pass is, where you want to say you want us to pass a resolution condemning socialism in all of its

forms. Y'all realize how dumb that is? Where do you think these agriculture subsidies are for your states? What do you think Social Security is? What do you think Medicare is? Here, play this clip though of Maxine Waters just punching back during this rules committee here. Just says everything about my friends across the aisle that you can't condemn socialism. I mean, in your opening remarks, you were talking about Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Xi. You know what they all have in common, right? Trump. Trump? North Korea, China, and Russia? He loves Kim Jong-un. That's quite the intellectual leap. I would say communism. Would you like to denounce any communist leaders?

Well, I don't know what you're asking, but let me just... The leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump, has made often glowing, described other Ontarians like Kim Jong-un, who is condemned in the resolution regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trump said, Kim wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters, and we fell in love. You sure you want to hear the rest of this? You've got to love this woman.

So good. You know, you even then had Cicilline, Democratic Congress member David Cicilline, basically pushing back one of the things that Matt Gaetz said is, we've got to make sure that we don't just read the Pledge of Allegiance once, but multiple times. And we want the MAGA Republicans to lead the Pledge of Allegiance right before we go into our committee session. And Cicilline is like, I'd like to offer an amendment to that here. We had this clip. Let's play it right now. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I, you know, Mr. Issa just made reference to how important it is for us to display our commitment to the Constitution and to commit to defend it aggressively. So I'd like to offer an amendment to the amendment, adding in the second paragraph where the chair may designate an individual to lead the Pledge of Allegiance to add the following language.

Provided, however, the pledge shall not be led by an individual who supported an insurrection against the government of the United States in any way. Because I think if we adopt this amendment, then we will be truthful in representing that stating this pledge is an affirmation of your defense of democracy and the constitution. It's hard to take that claim seriously if, in fact, an individual who in any way supported an insurrection against the government of the United States is allowed to leave the pledge. So I would ask Mr. Gates to accept this friendly amendment, and I look forward to supporting it. Would the gentleman yield for a question? I first ask Mr. Gates if he'll support the amendment. To make sure that someone who led an insurrection against the United States doesn't make a mockery of the Pledge of Allegiance and stand before this committee with their hand over their heart

claiming to support the Constitution. Mr. Cicilline, my concern would be if your definition of an insurrection is objecting to electors, then there would be many Democrats on the committee that wouldn't be eligible to lead the pledge since so many objected. That's not my definition of an insurrection. I mean, the last Republican president to get sworn in absent Democrat objectors was George Herbert Walker Bush. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Gates, I will allow the chairman to determine whether or not someone has participated in an insurrection in the United States.

I think this language is important. Would the gentleman further yield? I'm asking Mr. Gates, will you now accept the amendment? Well, I'm concerned that you may be disqualifying too many of your own members, Mr. Cicely. I'm not concerned about that at all. Then agree to the amendment. Let's make this real. If you want to give someone the right to stand before the House Judiciary Committee and lead the Pledge of Allegiance at a bare minimum, let's guarantee that that person has not participated or supported or in any way.

That is the moment that Matt Gaetz. She's like a simple proposition. And that's the moment Matt Gaetz realized he screwed up. Let's go right to the House floor. Now, Brian, we have our own cameras in there right now. This is a proprietary Midas Touch feed right here, by the way, that we're bringing people coverage here. We will keep you informed as some of the other individuals make their way into the chambers. Brian, final words from you before we thank you and send you off and just go to the House floor.

I think it's important that you listen to the content of what he says regarding working together with Republicans. And I think you're going to have to, I think he's going to give the country a ground view of what he believes he's accomplished and what he believes he has to accomplish in the next two years. Since he has not formally declared his intent to run for re-election, I think you should also be listening to this speech for hints as to which way that will fall. Brian Karam, White House reporter, friend of the Midas Touch Network. Thank you for joining us here today. Wish you the best. And if you are around after when we have our post coverage, we will cut back to you.

I'll join you afterwards. Be happy to. Perfect. We will reach out to you then. Let's go right to the house floor now. The United States. Thank you. Mr. President! How are you? Mr. President! It was you, my friend! You gotta come to Stony Brook.

I know you're gonna have fun today. Mr. President! How are you? Mr. President! Mr. President! Mr. President! Mr. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey.

Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey.

Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey.

Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Mrs. Harvey. Thank you. Welcome back, Mr. President. We'll be almost home. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, right here. I always thought by the way, I always thought he was out there. ¡Aplausos! Aplaudiments. Thank you. Thank you. Hello, hello, hello. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor to present to you the President of the United States. Mr. Speaker. Thank you. You can smile. It's okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You can smile. It's okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Please. Mr. Speaker, Madam Vice President, our First Lady and Second Gentleman,

good to see you guys up there. Members of Congress. By the way, Chief Justice, I may need a court order. She gets to go to the game next week. I have to stay home. Got to work something out here. Members of the Cabinet, leaders of our military, Chief Justice, Associate Justice, and retired Justice of the Supreme Court, and to you, my fellow Americans, you know, I start tonight

by congratulating the 118th Congress and the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. Thank you. And I want to congratulate the new leader of the House Democrats, the first African-American minority leader in history, Hakeem Jeffries. He won it despite the fact I campaigned for him. Congratulations to the longest-serving leader in the history of the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell. All right, Mitch. And congratulations to Chuck Schumer.

Another, you know, another term as Senate Minority Leader. You know, I think you, this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader. You're the majority leader. About that much bigger? Well, I tell you what. I want to give special recognition to someone who I think is going to be considered the greatest speaker in the history of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. Folks, the story of America is a story of progress. We're the only country that has emerged from every crisis we've ever entered stronger than we got into it.

Look, folks, that's what we're doing again. Two years ago, the economy was reeling. I stand here tonight after we've created, with the help of many people in this room, 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any president's created in four years because of you all, because of the American people. Two years ago,

two years ago, COVID had shut down. Our businesses were closed. Our schools were robbed of so much. And today, COVID no longer controls our lives. And two years ago, democracy faced its greatest threats in the Civil War. And today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken. As we gather here tonight, we're writing the next chapter in the great American story, a story of progress and resilience. When world leaders ask me to define America, and they do, believe it or not,

I can define it in one word, and I mean this, possibilities. We don't think anything is beyond our capacity. Everything is a possibility. You know, we're often told that Democrats and Republicans can't work together. But over the past two years, we've proved the cynics and naysayers wrong. Yes, we disagreed plenty. And yes, there were times when Democrats went alone. But time and again, Democrats and Republicans came together. Came together to defend a stronger and safer Europe.

You came together to pass one in a generation, once in a generation infrastructure law, building bridges connecting our nation and our people. We came together to pass the most significant law ever, helping victims exposed to toxic burn pits. And in fact, it's important. And in fact, I signed over 300 bipartisan pieces of legislation since becoming president. From reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, the Electoral Count Reform Act, the Respect for Marriage Act that protects the right to marry the person you love. And to my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress,

there's no reason we can't work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well. I think, folks, you all are as informed as I am, but I think the people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere. That's always been my vision of our country and I know it's many of yours. To restore the soul of this nation, to rebuild the backbone of America, America's middle class, and to unite the country. We've been sent here to finish the job, in my view. For decades the middle class has been hollowed out in more than, and not no one administration, but for a long time. Too many good-paying manufacturing jobs move overseas.

Factories closed down. Once thriving cities and towns that many of you represent became shadows of what they used to be. Along the way, something else we lost. Pride. Our sense of self-worth. I ran for president to fundamentally change things. To make sure our economy works for everyone. So we can all feel that pride in what we do. To build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out. Not from the top down. Because when the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well.

We all do well. I know a lot of you always kid me for always quoting my dad, but my dad used to say, Joey, a job's about a lot more than a paycheck. He really would say this. It's about a lot more than a paycheck. He really would say this. It's about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay and mean it. Well, folks, so let's look at the results. We're not finished yet by any stretch of the imagination, but unemployment rate is at 3.4% a 50-year low.

A near record unemployment for black and Hispanic workers. We've already created, your help, 800,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs, the fastest growth in 40 years. And where is it written? Where is it written that America can't lead the world in manufacturing? And I don't know where that's written. For too many decades, we imported projects and exported jobs. Now, thanks to what you've all done, we're exporting American products and creating American jobs. Inflation has been a global problem because the pandemic disrupted our supply chains and Putin's unfair and brutal war in Ukraine disrupted energy supplies as well as food supplies, blocking all that grain in Ukraine. But we're better positioned than any country on Earth right now.

But we have more to do. But here at home, inflation is coming down. Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 from their peak. Food inflation is coming down, not fast enough, but coming down. Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months, while take-home pay has gone up. Additionally, over the last two years, a record 10 million Americans applied to start new businesses. 10 million. And by the way, every time every time someone starts a small business is an act of hope. And Madam Vice President, I want to thank you for leading that effort to ensure the small businesses have access to capital

and the historic laws we enacted that are going to just come into being. Standing here last year, I shared with you a story of American genius and possibilities. Semiconductors, small computer chips the size of a fingerprint that power everything from cell phones to automobiles and so much more. These chips were invented in America. Let's get that straight. They were invented in America. We used to make 40% of the world's chips. In the last several decades, we lost our edge.

We're down to only producing 10%. We all saw what happened during the pandemic when chip factories shut down overseas. Today's automobiles need 3,000 chips each of those automobiles. But American automobiles couldn't make enough cars because there weren't enough chips. Car prices went up. People got laid off. So did everything from refrigerators to cell phones. We can never let that happen again.

That's why we came together to pass the Bipartisan Chips and Science Act. Folks, I know I've been criticized for saying this, but I'm not changing my view. We're going to make sure the supply chain for America begins in America. The supply chain begins in America. We've already created. We've already created 800,000 new manufacturing jobs without this law, before the law kicks in. With this new law, we're going to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the country. And I mean all across the country, throughout not just the coast, but through the middle of the country as well. That's going to come from companies that have announced more than $300 billion in investment in American manufacturing over

the next few years. Outside of Columbus, Ohio, Intel is building semiconductor factories on a thousand acres, literally a field of dreams. It's going to create 10,000 jobs at one investment, 7,000 construction jobs, 3,000 jobs in those factories once they're finished. They call them factories. Jobs paying an average of $130,000 a year, and many do not require a college degree. Because we work together, these jobs are people don't have to leave home to search for opportunity. It's just getting started. Think about the new homes, the small businesses, the big, the medium-sized businesses, so much more that's going to be needed to support those 3,000 permanent jobs and the factories that are going to be built. Talk to mayors and governors, Democrats and Republicans, and they'll tell you what this means for their communities.

We're seeing these fields of dreams transform to the heartland. But to maintain the strongest economy in the world, we need the best infrastructure in the world. And folks, as you all know, we used to be number one in the world in infrastructure. We've sunk to 13th in the world. The United States of America, 13th in the world in infrastructure, modern infrastructure. We've sunk to 13th in the world. The United States of America, 13th in the world in infrastructure, modern infrastructure. But now we're coming back because we came together and passed the bipartisan infrastructure law, the largest investment in infrastructure since President Eisenhower's interstate highway system. And folks, already we've funded over 20,000 projects, including major airports from Boston to Atlanta to Portland.

Projects that are going to put thousands of people to work rebuilding our highways, our bridges, our railroads, our tunnels, ports, airports, clean water, high-speed internet, all across America, urban, rural, tribal. And folks, we're just getting started. We're just getting started. And I mean it sincerely. I want to thank my Republican friends who voted for the law and my Republican friends who voted against it as well. But I'm still I still get asked to fund the projects in those districts as well. But don't worry, I promised I'd be a president for all Americans. We'll fund these projects and I'll see you at the groundbreaking.

Look, this law, this law will further unite all of America. Projects like Brent Spent Bridge in Kentucky over the Ohio River, built 60 years ago, badly in need of repairs, one of the nation's most congested freight routes, carrying $2 billion worth of freight every single day across the Ohio River. And folks, I've been talking about fixing it for decades, but we're really finally going to get it done. I went there last month with Democrats and Republicans, and from both states, to deliver a commitment of $1.6 billion for

this project. And while I was there, I met a young woman named Sarah, who's here tonight. I don't know where Sarah is. Is she up in the box? I don't know. Sarah, how are you? Well, Sarah, for 30 years, for 30 years, I learned, she told me she'd been a proud member of the Ironworkers Local 44, known as the Cowboys in the Sky. The folks who built Cincinnati's skyline. Sarah said she can't wait to be 10 stories

above the Ohio River building that new bridge. God bless her. That's pride. And that's what we're also building. We're building back pride. Look, we're also replacing poisonous lead pipes that go into 10 million homes in America, 400,000 school and childcare centers. So every child in America, every child in America can drink the water instead of having permanent damage to their brain. we're making sure we're making sure that every community every community in America has access to affordable high speed internet no parent should have to drive by

McDonald's parking lot to help do their phone work online with their kids which many thousands were doing across the country and when we do these projects, and again, I get criticized for this, but I make no excuses for it. We're going to buy American. We're going to buy American. And it's totally, it's totally consistent with international trade rules. Buy America has been the law since 1933.

But for too long, past administrations, Democrat and Republican, have fought to get around it. Not anymore. Tonight, I'm announcing new standards require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America. Made in America. I mean it. Lumber, glass, drywall, fiber optic cable. And on my watch, American roads, bridges, and American highways are going to be made with American products as well. Folks, my economic plan is about investing in places and people that have been forgotten.

So many of you listening tonight, I know you feel it. So many of you felt like you've just simply been forgotten. Amid the economic upheaval of the past four decades, too many people have been left behind and treated like they're invisible. Maybe that's you watching from home. Remember the jobs that went away. You remember them, don't you?

The folks at home remember them. You wonder whether the path even exists anymore for your children to get ahead without having to move away. Well, that's why I get that. That's why we're building an economy where no one's left behind. Jobs are coming back. Pride is coming back because choices we made in the last several years. You know, this is my view, a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives at home. For example, too many of you laying in bed at night like my dad did,

staring at the ceiling, wondering what in God's name happens if your spouse gets cancer or your child gets deadly ill or something happens to you. What are you going to get money to pay for those medical bills? Are you going to have to sell the house or try to get a second mortgage on it? I get it. I get it. With the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed into law, we're taking on powerful interests to bring health care costs down so you can sleep better at night with more security. You know, we pay more for prescription

drugs than any nation in the world. Let me say it again. We pay more for prescription drugs than any major nation on Earth. For example, one in 10 Americans has diabetes. Many of you in this chamber do, and in the audience. But every day, millions need insulin to control their diabetes so they can literally stay alive. Insulin's been around for over 100 years. The guy who invented it didn't even patent it because he wanted it to be available for everyone. It cost the drug companies roughly $10 a vial to make that insulin. Packaging it all, you may get up to $13. But Big Pharma has been unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars, $400 to $500 a month, making record profits. Not anymore.

Not anymore. So many things that we did are only now coming to fruition. We said we were doing this and we said we passed the law to do it, but people didn't know because the law didn't take effect until January 1 of this year. We capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare. People are just finding out. I'm sure you're getting the same calls I'm getting. Look, there are millions of other Americans who are not on Medicare, including 200,000 young people with type 1 diabetes who need this insulin to stay alive. Let's finish the job this time. Let's cap the cost of insulin for everybody at $35. Folks, the big pharma is still going to do very well, I promise you all.

I promise you they're going to do very well. this law also caps and won't go into effect until 2025, costs out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors on Medicare at a maximum of $2,000 a year. You don't have to pay more than $2,000 a year, no matter how much your drug costs are. Because you know why? You all know it. Many of you, like many in my family, have cancer. You know the drugs can range from $10,000,

$11,000, $14,000, $15,000 for the cancer drugs. If drug prices rise faster than inflation, drug companies are going to have to pay Medicare back the difference. We're finally giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices. Bringing down prescription drug costs doesn't just save seniors money. It cuts the federal deficit by billions of dollars. By hundreds of billions of dollars because these prescription drugs are drugs purchased by Medicare to make, keep their commitment to the seniors. Well, guess what? Instead of paying four or 500 bucks a month, you're paying 15. That's a lot of savings for the federal government. And by the way,

why wouldn't we want that? Now, some members here are threatening, and I know it's not an official party position, so I'm not going to exaggerate. But certainly to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. As my coach, that's OK. That's fair. As my football coach used to say, lots of luck in your senior year. Make no mistake, if you try anything to raise the cost of Brazilian jobs, I will veto it. Look, I'm pleased to say that more Americans have health insurance now than ever in history. A record 16 million people are enrolled in the Affordable Care Act. And thanks for the law I signed last year, saving millions, saving $800 a year on their premiums.

And by the way, that law was written, and the benefit expires in 2025. So my plea to some of you, at least in this audience, let's finish the job and make these savings permanent. Expand coverage on Medicaid. Look, the Inflation Reduction Act is also the most significant investment ever in climate change. Ever. Ever. Lower utility bill. Creating an American job.

Leading the world to a clean energy future. I visited the devastating aftermath of record floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires from Arizona to Mexico all the way up to the Canadian border. More timber has been burned, as I've observed from helicopters, than the entire state of Missouri. And we don't have global warming? Not a problem. In addition to emergency recovery from Puerto Rico to Florida to Idaho, we're rebuilding for the long term. New electric grids that are able to weather major storms and not prevent those forest fires. Roads and water systems will withstand the next big

flood. Clean energy to cut pollution and create jobs and communities often left behind. We're going to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations installed across the country by tens of thousands of IBEW workers. And we're helping families save more than $1,000 a year with tax credits to purchase electric vehicles and efficient appliances, energy efficient appliances, historic conservation efforts to be responsible stewards of our land. Let's face reality. The climate crisis doesn't care if you're in a red or blue state. It's an existential threat. We have an obligation not to ourselves, but to our children and grandchildren to confront it. I'm proud of how America, at last, is stepping up to the challenge.

We're still going to need oil and gas for a while. But guess what? No, we do. But there's so much more to do. We've got to finish the job. We pay for these investments in our future by finally making the wealthiest and biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share. Just begin. Look, I'm a capitalist. I'm a capitalist, but pay your fair share. I think a lot of you at home, Fortune 500, made $40 billion in profits and paid zero in federal taxes? Zero?

Folks, it's simply not fair. But now, because of the law I signed, billion-dollar companies have to pay a minimum of 15%. God love them. 15%. That's less than a nurse pays. And I need to be crystal clear. I said at the very beginning, under my plans, as long as I'm president, nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny in taxes. Nobody, not one penny. But let's finish the job. There's more to do. We have to reward work, not just wealth.

Pass my proposal for the billionaire minimum tax. You know, there's a thousand billionaires in America. It's up from about 600 in the beginning of the term. But no billionaire should be paying a lower tax rate than a school teacher or firefighter. I mean it. Think about it. I mean it. Think about it. I mean it. Look. I know you aren't enthusiastic about that, but think about it.

Think about it. Have you noticed Big Oil just reported its profits, record profits? Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis. I think it's outrageous. Why? They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production. And when I talked to a couple of them, they said, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries anyway, so why should we invest in them? I said, we're going to need oil for at least another decade. And that's going to exceed and beyond that. We're going to need it. Production. If they had, in fact, invested

in the production to keep gas prices down. Instead, they used the record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders. Corporations ought to do the right thing. That's why I propose we quadruple the tax on corporate stock buybacks and encourage long-term investments. They'll still make considerable profit. Let's finish the job and close the loophole

to allow very wealthy to avoid paying their taxes. Instead of cutting the number of audits for wealthy taxpayers, I just signed a law to reduce the deficit by $114 billion by cracking down on wealthy tax cheats. That's being fiscally responsible. In the last two years, my administration has cut the deficit by more than $1.7 trillion, the largest deficit reduction in American history. Under the previous administration, the American deficit went up four years in a row because those record deficits, no president added more to the national debt

in any four years than my predecessor. Nearly 25 percent of the entire national debt that took over 200 years to accumulate was added by just one administration alone, the last one. They're the facts. Check it out. Check it out. How did Congress respond to that debt? They did the right thing. They lifted the debt ceiling three times without preconditions or crisis. They paid American bills to prevent an economic disaster to the country. So tonight I'm asking the Congress to follow suit. Let's commit here tonight to the full faith and credit of the United States of

America will never, ever be questioned. So my many of some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage. I get it. Unless I agree to their economic plans. All of you at home should know what those plans are. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority. Let me give you anybody who doubts it. Contact my office. I'll give you a copy. I'll give you a copy of the proposal. That means Congress doesn't vote. I'm glad to see you.. I tell you, I enjoy conversion.

You know, it means if Congress doesn't keep the programs the way they are, they'd go away. Other Republicans say, I'm not saying it's a majority of you. I don't even think it's even a significant, but it's being proposed by individuals. I'm not politely not naming them, but it's being proposed by some of you. Look, folks, the idea is that we're not going to be moved into being threatened to default on the debt if we don't respond. Folks. So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? They're not to be stopped. All right.

We got unanimity. Social Security, Medicare are a lifeline for millions of seniors. Americans have to pay into them from the very first paycheck they started. So tonight, let's all agree, and apparently we are, let's stand up for seniors. Stand up and show them we'll not cut Social Security. We will not cut Medicare. Those benefits belong to the American people. They earned it. And if anyone tries to cut Social Security, which apparently no one's going to do, and if anyone tries to cut Medicare, I'll stop them.

I'll veto it. And look, I'm not going to allow them to take away, be taken away. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. But apparently it's not going to be a problem. Next month, when I offer my fiscal plan, I ask my Republican friends to lay down their plan as well. I really mean it. Let's sit down together and discuss our mutual plans together. Let's do that. I can tell you, the plan I'm going to show you is going to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion. And it won't cut a single bit of Medicare or Social Security.

In fact, we're going to extend the Medicare trust fund at least two decades, because that's going to be the next argument. How do we make, keep it solvent, right? Well, we'll not raise tax on anyone making under 400 grand, but we'll pay for it the way we talked about by making sure that the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share. Look, look, look, here's the deal. They're not just taking advantage of the tax code. They're taking advantage of you, the American consumer. Here's my message to all of you out there. I have your back.

We're already preventing Americans from receiving surprise medical bills, stopping $1 billion surprise bills per month so far. We're protecting seniors' life savings by cracking down on nursing homes that commit fraud, endanger patient safety, prescribe drugs that are not needed. Millions of Americans can now save thousands of dollars because they can finally get a hearing aid over the counter without a prescription. Look, capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It's extortion.

It's exploitation. Last year, I cracked down with the help of many of you on foreign shipping companies that were making you pay higher prices for every good coming into the country. I signed a bipartisan bill that cut shipping costs by 90 percent, helping American farmers, businessmen, and consumers. Let's finish the job. Pass the bipartisan legislation to strengthen antitrust enforcement and prevent big online platforms giving their own products an unfair advantage. My administration is also taking on junk fees, those hidden surcharges too many companies use to make you pay more.

For example, we're making airlines show you the full ticket price up front, refund your money if your flight is canceled or delayed. We've reduced exorbitant bank overdrafts by saving consumers more than $1 billion a year. We're cutting credit card late fees by 75% from $30 to $8. Look, junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in, like many of you did. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay your bills or afford that family trip. I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it.

Not anymore. We've written a bill to stop it all. It's called the Junk Fee Prevention Act. We're going to ban surprise resort fees that hotels charge on your bill. Those fees can cost you up to $90 a night at hotels that aren't even resorts. The idea that cable,, internet and cell phone companies can charge you 200 or more if you decide to switch to another provider.

Give me a break. We can stop service fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events and make companies disclose all the fees up front. And we'll prohibit airlines from charging $50 round trip for family just to be able to sit together. Baggage fees are bad enough. Airlines can't treat your child like a piece of baggage. Americans are tired of being, we're tired of being played for suckers. So pass. Pass the Junk Free Prevention Act so companies stop ripping us off.

For too long, workers have been getting stiffed, but not anymore. We're beginning to restore the dignity of work. For example, I should have known this, but I didn't until two years ago. 30 million workers have to sign non-compete agreements with the jobs they take. 30 million. So a cashier at a burger place can't walk across town and take the same job at another burger place and make a few bucks more. It just changed. They just changed it because we exposed it. That was part of the deal, guys. Look it up. But not anymore. We're banning those agreements

so companies have to compete for workers and pay them what they're worth. And I must tell you, this is bound to get a response from my friends on my left with the right. I'm so sick and tired of companies breaking the law by preventing workers from organizing. Pass the PRO Act, because business has a right, workers have a right to form a union. Let's guarantee all workers have a living wage. Let's make sure working parents can afford to raise a family with sick days, paid family medical leave, affordable child care. That's going to enable millions of more people to go and stay at work. And let's restore the full child tax credit, which gave tens of millions of parents some breathing room and cut child poverty in half to the lowest level in history.

And by the way, when we do all these things, we increase productivity. We increase economic growth. So let's finish the job and get more families access to affordable quality housing. Let's get seniors who want to stay in their homes the care they need to do so. Let's give more breathing room to millions of family caregivers looking after their loved ones. Pass my plan so we get seniors and people with disabilities the home care and services they need and support the workers who are doing God's work. These plans are fully paid for, and we can afford to do them.

Restoring the dignity of work means making education an affordable ticket to the middle class. You know, when we made public education, 12 years of it, universal in the last century, we made the best educated, best paid. We became the best educated, best paid nation in the world. The rest of us caught up. It's caught up. Jill, my wife, who teaches full time, has an expression. Hope I get it right, kid. Any nation that out educates us is going to outcompete us. Any nation out educates can outcompete us. Folks, we all know 12 years of education is not enough to win the economic competition of 21st century.

You want to have the best educated workforce. Let's finish the job by providing access to preschool for three and four years old. Studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two or four year degree, no matter their background they came from. Let's give public school teachers a raise. We're making progress by reducing student debt, increasing Pell grants for working and middle-class families. Let's finish the job and connect students to career opportunities starting in high school, provide access to two years of community college, the best career

training in America, in addition to being a pathway to a four-year degree. Let's offer every American a path to a good career, whether they go to college or not. And folks, folks in the midst of the COVID crisis, when schools were closed and we were shutting down everything, let's recognize how far we came in the fight against the pandemic itself. While the virus is not gone, thanks to the resilience of the American people and the ingenuity of medicine, we've broken the COVID grip on us. COVID deaths are down by 90 percent. We've saved millions of lives and opened up our country — we opened our country back

up. And soon we'll end the public health emergency. But — That's called a public health emergency. But that's called a public health emergency. But we'll remember the toll and pain that's never going to go away. More than a million Americans lost their lives to COVID, a million. Families grieving, children orphaned, empty chairs at the dining room table constantly reminding you that she used to sit there. Remembering them, we remain vigilant. We still need to monitor dozens of variants and support new vaccines and treatments.

So Congress needs to fund these efforts and keep America safe. And as we emerge from this crisis stronger, we're also got to double down on prosecuting criminals who stole relief money meant to keep workers and small businesses afloat. Before I came to office, you remember, during that campaign, the big issue was about inspector generals who would protect taxpayers' dollars who were sidelined. They were fired. Many people said we don't need them. And fraud became rampant. Last year, I told you the watchdogs are back. Since then, since then, we've recovered billions of taxpayers' dollars.

Now let's triple the anti-fraud strike force going after these criminals, double the statute of limitations on these crimes, and crack down on identity fraud by criminal syndicates stealing billions of dollars, billions of dollars from the American people. And the data shows that for every dollar we put into fighting fraud, the tax rate gets back at least 10 times as much. It matters. It matters. Look, COVID left its scars like the spike in violent crime in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.

We have an obligation to make sure all people are safe. Public safety depends on public trust, as all of us know. But too often that trust is violated. Joining us tonight are the parents of Tyree Nichols. Welcome. Welcome. We had to bury Tyree last week. As many of you personally know, there's no words to describe the heartache or grief of losing a child. But imagine, imagine if you lost that child at the hands of the law.

Imagine having to worry whether your son or daughter came home from walking down the street, playing in the park, or just driving a car. Most of us in here have never had to have the talk, the talk that brown and black parents have had to have with their children. Bo, Hunter, Ashley, my children, I never had to have the talk with them. I never had to tell them if a police officer pulls you over, turn your interior lights on right away. Don't reach for your license. Keep your hands on the steering wheel. Imagine having to worry like that every single time your kid got in a car. Here's what Tyree's mother shared with me when I spoke to her, when I asked her how she finds the courage to carry on and speak out. The faith of God, she said her son was, quote, a beautiful soul, and something good will come of this.

Imagine how much courage and courage that takes. It's up to us, to all of us. We all want the same thing. Neighborhoods free of violence. Law enforcement of enforcement who earns the community's trust. Just as every cop when they pin on that badge in the morning has a right to be able to go home at night, so does everybody else out there. Our children have a right to come home safely. Equal protection under the law is a covenant we have with each other in America.

We know police officers put their lives on the line every single night and day. And we know we ask them in many cases to do too much to be counselors, social workers, psychologists, responding to drug overdoses, mental health crises and so much more. In one sense, we ask much too much of them. I know most cops and their families are good, decent, honorable people, the vast majority. But they risk. And they risk their lives every time they put that shield on. But what happened to Tyree in Memphis happens too often. We have to do better. Give law enforcement the real training they need. Hold them to higher standards. Help them succeed in keeping us safe. We also need more first responders and professionals to address the

growing mental health substance abuse challenges.. More resources reduce violent crime and gun crime. More community intervention programs. More investments in housing, education, and job training. All this can help prevent violence in the first place. When police officers or police departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable. With the support of the families of victims, civil rights groups and law enforcement. I signed an executive order for all federal officers banning chokeholds, restricting no-knock warrants

and other key elements of the George Floyd Act. Let's commit ourselves to make the words of Tyler's mom true. Something good must come from this. Something good. And all of us. All of us. Folks, it's difficult, but it's simple. All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment.

We can't turn away. Let's do what we know in our hearts that we need to do. Let's come together to finish the job on police reform. Do something. Do something. That was the plea of parents who lost their children in Uvalde. I met with every one of them. Do something about gun violence. Thank God.

Thank God we did. Passing the most sweeping gun safety law in three decades. That includes things like that the majority of responsible gun owners already support enhanced background checks for 18 to 21 years old, red flag laws, keeping guns out of the hands of people who are a danger to themselves and others. But we know our work is not done. Joining us tonight is Brandon Say, a 26-year-old hero. Brandon put his college dreams on hold to be at his mom's side. His mom's side when she was dying from cancer.

And Brandon... Brandon now works at the dance studio started by his grandparents. And two weeks ago, during the Lunar New Year celebrations, he heard the studio door close, and he saw a man standing there pointing a semi-automatic pistol at him. He thought he was going to die. But he thought about the people inside. And in that instant, he found the courage to act and wrestled a semi-automatic pistol away from the gunman

who had already killed 11 people in another dance studio. Eleven. He saved lives. It's time we do the same. Ban assault weapons now. Ban them now. Once and for all. I led the fight to do that in 1994. In 10 years, that ban was law and mass shootings went down. After we let it expire in the Republican administration, mass shootings tripled. Let's finish the job and ban these assault weapons. And let's also come together on immigration. Make it a bipartisan issue once again.

We know we now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border arresting 8,000 human smugglers, seizing over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl in just the last several months. We've launched a new border plan last month. Unlawful migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela has come down 97 percent as a consequence of that. But American border problems won't be fixed until Congress acts. If we don't pass my comprehensive immigration reform, let's at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. And a pathway to citizenship for dreamers, those on temporary status, farm

workers, essential workers. Here in the people's house, it's our duty to protect all the people's rights and freedoms. Congress must restore the right and the... Congress must restore the right and Roe v. Wade and protect Roe v. Wade. Give every woman a consular right. The Vice President and I are doing everything to protect access to reproductive health care and safeguard patient safety. But already more than a dozen states are enforcing extreme abortion bans. Make no mistake about it.

If Congress passes a national ban, I will veto it. But let's also pass. Let's also pass the Bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity. Our strength is not just the example of our power, but the power of our example. Let's remember the world's watching. I spoke in this chamber one year ago, just days after Vladimir Putin unleashed his brutal attack against Ukraine. A murderous assault, evoking images of death and destruction. Europe suffered in World War II.

Putin's invasion has been a test for the ages. A test for America. A test for the world. Would we stand for the most basic of principles? Would we stand for sovereignty? Would we stand for the right of people to live free of tyranny? Would we stand for the defense of democracy? For such defense matters to us because it keeps peace and prevents open season on would-be aggressors and threatens our prosperity. One year later, we know the answer. Yes, we would, and we did. We did.

And together, we did what America always does at our best. We led. We united NATO. We built a global coalition. We stood against Putin's aggression. We stood with the Ukrainian people. Tonight, we're once again joined by a Ukrainian ambassador to the United States. She represents not just her nation, but the courage of her people. Ambassador, our ambassador is here. We're in united in our support of your people. Ambassador, our ambassador is here, united, we're united in our support you as long as it takes. Our nation is working for more freedom, more dignity, more peace, not just in Europe, but everywhere.

Before I came to office, the story was about how the People's Republic of China was increasing its power and America was failing in the world. Not anymore. We made clear, and I made clear in my personal conversations, which have been many, with President Xi, that we seek competition, not conflict. But I will make no apologies that we're investing to make America stronger. Investing in American innovation and industries will define the future that China intends to be dominating. Investing in our alliances and working with our allies to protect advanced technologies so they will not be used against us. Modernizing our military to safeguard stability and deter aggression. Today, we're in the strongest position in decades to compete with China or anyone else in the world.

Anyone else in the world. And I'm committed. I'm committed to work with China where we can advance American interests and benefit the world, but make no mistake about it. As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country and we did. Look, let's be clear. Winning the competition should unite all of us.

We face serious challenges across the world. But in the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker. Autocracies have grown weaker, not stronger. Name me a world leader who changed places with Xi Jinping. Name me one. Name me one. Name me one. America's rallying the world to meet those challenges from climate to global health, to food insecurity, to terrorism, to territorial aggression. Allies are stepping up, spending more and doing more. Look, the bridges we're

forming between partners in the Pacific and those in the Atlantic. And those who bet against America are learning how wrong they are. It's never, ever been a good bet to bet against America. Never. USA! USA! USA! Well, when I came to office, most assured that bipartisanship assumed was impossible, but never believed it. That's why a year ago I offered a unity agenda to the nation as I stood here. We made real progress together. We passed a law on making it easy for doctors to prescribe effective treatments for opioid addiction. We passed

the gun safety law, making historic investments in mental health. We launched the ARPA-H drive for breakthrough in the fights against cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes, and so much more. We passed the Heath Robinson Pact Act, named after the late Iraq war veteran whose story about exposure to toxic burn kits I shared here last year. I understand something about those burn pits, but there's so much more to do. We can do it together.

Joining us tonight is a father named Doug from Newton, New Hampshire. He wrote Jill, my wife, a letter, and me as well, about his courageous daughter, Courtney. A contagious laugh, his sister's best friend, her sister's best friend. He shared a story all too familiar to millions of Americans and many of you in the audience. Courtney discovered pills in high school. It spiraled into addiction and eventually death from a fentanyl overdose. She was just 20 years old. Describing the last eight years without her, Doug said, there's no worse pain.

Yet their family has turned pain to purpose, working to end the stigma and change laws. He told us he wants to start a journey toward American recovery. Doug, we're with you. Fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year. You got it. So let's launch a major surge to stop fentanyl production in the sale and trafficking with more drug detection machines, inspection cargo, stop pills and powder at the border. Working with couriers like FedEx to inspect more packages for drugs. Strong penalties to crack down on fentanyl trafficking.

Second, let's do more on mental health, especially for our children. When millions of young people are struggling with bullying, violence, trauma, we give them greater access to mental health care at their schools. We must finally hold social media companies accountable for experimenting or doing running children for profit. It is time to pass bipartisan legislation to stop big tech from collecting personal data on our kids and teenagers online, ban targeted advertising to children, and impose stricter limits on the personal data that companies collect on all of us.

Third, let's do more to keep this nation's one fully sacred obligation to equip those we send into harm's way and care for them and their families when they come home. Job training, job placement for veterans and their spouses as they come to return to civilian life. Helping veterans afford the rent because no one should be homeless in America, especially here, of the VA. We had our first real discussion when I asked him to take the job. I'm glad he did. We were losing up to 25 veterans a day on suicide. Now we're losing 17 a day to the silent scourge of suicide. 17 veterans a dayge of suicide.

17 veterans a day are committing suicide. More than all the people being killed in the wars. Folks, VA is doing everything it can, including expanding mental health screening. Proven programs that recruits veterans to help other veterans understand what they're going through, get them the help they need. We got to do more. And fourth, last year, Jill and I reignited the cancer moonshot that I was able to start with President Obama asked me to lead our administration on this issue. Our goal is to cut the cancer death rates at least by 50 percent in the next 25 years, turn more cancers from death sentences to treatable diseases, provide more support for patients and their families. It's personal to so many of us, so many of us in this audience. Joining us are Morris and Candice, an Irishman and a daughter of immigrants from Panama.

They met and fell in love in New York City and got married in the same chapel Jill and I got married in New York City. Kindred spirits. He wrote us a letter about his little daughter Ava, and I saw her just before I came over. She was just a year old when she was diagnosed with rare kidney disease, cancer. After 26 blood transfusions, 11 rounds of radiation, eight rounds of chemo, one kidney removed, given a 5% survival rate. He wrote how in the darkest moments he thought, if she goes, I can't stay.

Many of you have been through that as well. Jill and I understand that like so many of you. He read Jill's book describing our family's cancer journey and how we tried to steal moments of joy where we could with Beau. For them, that glimmer of joy was the half smile of their baby girl. It meant everything to them. They never gave up hope. Little Ava never gave up hope. She turns four next month.

They just found out Ava's beating the odds is on her way to being cured of cancer. And she's watching from the White House tonight and she's not asleep already. For the lives we can save. For the lives we can save and the lives we've lost, let this be a truly American moment that rallies the country and the world together and proves that we can still do big things. Twenty years ago, under the leadership of President Bush and countless advocates and champions, he undertook a bipartisan effort through PEPFAR to transform the global fight against HIV AIDS. It's been a huge success.

He thought big. He thought large. He moved. I believe we can do the same thing with cancer. Let's end cancer as we know it. Cure some cancers once and for all. Folks, there's one reason why we've been able to do all of these things, our democracy itself. It's the most fundamental thing of all. With democracy, everything's possible. Without it, nothing is. The last few years, our democracy has been threatened and attacked, put at risk, put to the test in this very room on January the 6th. And then just a few months ago, an unhinged big lie assailed and unleashed a political violence at the home of the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, using the very same language

the insurrectionists used as they stalked these halls and chanted on January 6th. Here tonight in this chamber is a man who bears the scars of that brutal attack, but is as tough and as strong and resilient as they get, my friend Paul Pelosi. Paul, Paul Stanley. But such a heinous act should have never happened. We must all speak out. There's no place for political violence in America. We have to protect the right to vote, not suppress the fundamental right.

Honor the results of our elections, not subvert the will of the people. We have to uphold the rule of law and restore trust in our institutions of democracy. We must give hate and extremism in any form no safe harbor. Democracy must not be a partisan issue. It's an American issue. Every generation of Americans has faced a moment where they haven't been called to protect our democracy, defend it, stand up for it. And this is our moment. My fellow Americans, we meet tonight at an inflection point, one of those moments that

only a few generations ever face, where the direction we now take is going to decide the course of this nation for decades to come. We're not bystanders of history. We're not powerless before the forces that confront us. It's within our power of we, the people. We're facing the test of our time. We have to be the nation we've always been at our best, optimistic, hopeful, forward-looking, A nation that embraces light over dark, hope over fear, unity over danger, stability over chaos.

We have to see each other not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. We're good people. The only nation in the world built on an idea. The only one. Other nations are defined by geography, ethnicity, but we're the only nation based on an idea that all of us, every one of us is created equal in the image of God, a nation that stands as a beacon to the world, a nation in a new age of possibilities. So I've come to fulfill my constitutional obligation to report in the State of the Union. And here's my report. Because the soul of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong,

because the people of this nation are strong, the state of the Union is strong. I'm not new to this place. I stand here tonight having served as long as about any one of you have ever served here. But I've never been more optimistic about our future, about the future of America. We just have to remember who we are. We're the United States of America, and there's nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together. God bless you all, and may God the Union address by President Biden. I mean, during that State of the Union, I had dozens of people who really weren't political. They know what we do here at the Midas Touch Network. And I was getting messages. I was saying, how could anybody be against this? What he's saying makes so much sense, just from a practical standpoint, starting with what he's

doing on the domestic side, drilling down the message of jobs, jobs, jobs, and preventing billionaires from cheating hardworking Americans, and making that contrast clear that the Democratic Party is a party that is protecting the American people on all fronts, then pivoting to foreign policy, bringing it right back to this is all only possible because democracy itself is at stake. Introducing Paul Pelosi to the crowd during this day of the union. Obviously, everybody knows who Paul Pelosi is there. But drilling down how the threat of domestic terrorism impacts the people in that very chamber. And it's a way to do it that wasn't like the other dark Brandon speech where he called out the traitorous MAGA Republican fascist and said that

these are MAGA Republicans. He was able to do it in a very kind of dignified way, but the point was made. And then finally, before getting your thoughts on it, Brett, there were so many moments yet again, and we've kept on talking about it here on the Midas Touch Network over the past few weeks, but we probably could have been talking about it over the past few years, how the MAGA Republicans just step into it, right? There was this moment, and we'll pull it up right now if our producer has it, where Marjorie Taylorlor green and others started yelling at biden like monsters like complete lunatics where biden says look some of these republicans want to take away

your social security and medicare and he's saying it because that's what the republicans have been saying when they go on those steve bannon podcasts and all that right wing BS crap that they do. That's what they say. That's what he says. Look it up. But this is what took place on the House floor when Biden brought that up. Here, play that clip. So my many of some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage.

I get it unless I agree to their economic plans. All of you at home should know what those plans are. Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset. I'm not saying it's the majority. Let me give you, anybody who doubts it. Contact my office. I'll give you a copy. I'll give you a copy of the proposal.

That means Congress doesn't vote. I mean, complete maniacs. And then President Biden was able to say, OK, I guess we all support Social Security now. I guess we all support Social Security now. I guess we all support Medicare now. But the lack of decorum, the complete insanity, what a juxtaposition between a dignified president, the Democratic Party delivering for the American people, and these do-nothing-but-support-fascist MAGA Republicans there. Brett and Jordy, welcome to the live stream. Brett, unmute again. Do you hear me now? Oh, my God, Brett.

Wow. I don't think my mic was working. It's nice of you to finally introduce us, Ben. It's a good show, though. No, incredible production. I mean, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I think we really just witnessed such a historic state of the union there. President Biden really leading with unity and optimism. I think it's not often enough that we get to actually experience optimism

in this country with all that's going on from these MAGA Republicans. And President Biden led with a conciliatory tone. He extended his hand across the aisle. He also did it in a way that was a bit of a troll to Kevin McCarthy saying, I hope this doesn't hurt your chances of winning reelection by extending my hand and saying that I want to work with you. And like you said, Ben, really everything that he was saying to me was very just genuine and very logical. We didn't see anything that was outlandish. It was all these are the problems before us. Here is a way that we can solve them. And you had the Republicans on their own just constantly walking into it line after line after line.

And you saw president Biden make these master sort of chess moves, these master sort of like judo. He was like a martial artist up there with judo, with taking that energy from the Republicans and just unleashing it back on them, just throwing it right back on them every single time. And you knew the moments, these hot button moments, like the social security moment that we saw with president Biden, when he brought up an issue where Republicans have been very clear about. And if you listen to the Midas touch podcast, just yesterday, we went through a list of Republican politicians saying out loud that they would like to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and figuring out ways to do that. So I thought it was brilliant when they walked right into it, the Republicans, and he said, come to my office. I'll show you. Come to my office. And they continued to boo. And he, like a masterful chess move, got them all to agree live on TV in public.

Got them all to agree. So we're all in agreement here, right? Social Security is safe. Yes. Yes. Medicare is safe. Yes. Yes.

Medicaid is safe. Yes. Yes. You heard it, the American people. That is non-negotiable. You know that I will not negotiate on that. The Republicans just told you they will not. So hold them to their word. Masterful. Because as we've seen time and time again, every time the Republicans have been asked

about this on TV, they have refused to answer the question. So what do you want to cut? What do you want to cut? We're not saying. We're not saying. Name one thing that you want to cut from the budget. Why are you holding this up? We're not saying. We're not saying. We're not saying. So finally, President Biden puts them on the spot and it wasn't even on script. It was off script. Put them on the spot and got them to say, yes, we will not do it. Master negotiation tactic. I thought that was absolutely brilliant. And how can we just talk for a second about how disgraceful these Republicans are? I mean, I was thinking back to President Obama's State of the Union when there was that one interruption, that one congressman who stood up in the middle and said, you lie, you lie. And that was a big moment.

That was wall to wall news for the next week. Everyone was talking about the you lie moment. Tonight, the you lie moment was like after every single line that President Biden said. It was constant. In fact, Marjorie Taylor Greene had it queued up at one point. I think it was in the clip that we played before, even though you couldn't really hear it. She screamed out, you lie, you lie. And you had after everything-

It's a good Marjorie Deller Green impression. Yeah, she bothered me. So I got to use it a little bit. But you had all the Republicans after everything, and especially the issues that Republicans pretend like they care about constantly, like when President Biden spoke about getting fentanyl off the streets. That's when they got the loudest because they knew President Biden is trying to take away our talking point because President Biden actually cares about these issues. President Biden actually cares about securing the border. We may say he doesn't over and over and do these dumb tweets every day, but he actually does care about it. So when he actually says that out loud in a form where you have a lot of the American people actually watching, what do you do? You scream, you boo, you jeer like you're in a comedy

audience and you're a heckler. That's what they were. They've made this into WWE as they do with everything. But President Biden engaged, and I thought he engaged in a brilliant way. Let them walk right into it. Kind of like, I keep thinking back to Obama for all these comparisons, but do you remember during the Obama debate, I believe it was Obama-Romney presidential debate, and Romney was going on a tangent. I forget exactly what it was, but it was not good for Romney and not good for the Republican party and their nomination. And President Obama at the time, he just goes, proceed,

proceed, keep talking. That was President Biden all night. Okay. What did you say? What was that? Walked right into it. Boom, retort, smack down over and over and over again. And those off script moments to me, those off script moments were where Biden really shined tonight. So every time I see all these analysts and stuff say, does Biden have the energy? Is Biden relatable? It's such gaslighting. It's such gaslighting. What we saw on TV tonight, what you watched here on the Midas Touch Network is someone who has such great command of all the complex issues in our country. And I am very proud to see that sort of leadership here, taking on the tough issues, making the tough decisions, and as an added bonus,

making the Republicans look like the complete fools that they are. Yes, Brett. I mean, you just laid that out perfectly. I echo all of those sentiments and more. And look, it's an expression I tend to start saying now a lot on the Midas Touch podcast. And brothers, I know you guys love when I say this phrase, the Republicans, their stupidity is cyclical. And President Biden knows that. He knows exactly what they're going to react to and what's going to cause them to just come out as utter fools. And President Biden knew those exact moments during the speech tonight. And that's why he was ready for those rebuttals. And he let them step in it, just like we knew that they would and will continue to do.

Because these Republicans who are in Congress right now, they are the single dumbest majority of congressional members that we have ever seen. And time and time again, they will continue to step in it. And President Biden was up for it, and he absolutely crushed it tonight. I mean, you just can't look at that speech and listen to that speech and think and come away with anything else other than that's a president right there. That was freaking awesome. Jordy, I absolutely love you. And one of the things when you brought back that expression again,

you know, I had to hit you because we know with this one again, because when you did that expression last night, I called you out on it. And I'm like, I don't think it's as great as you think the expression. In the comments, let us know. Do you like the expression? Give me the phrase give me the phrase again what your expression their stupidity is cyclical the why not just say they're stupid why why doesn't what's the cyclical part about it ben ben it's it's gonna happen it's a continuous circle they're gonna do something dumb we're gonna call them out on it it's no longer just it's no longer just they get to get away with their dumb WWE antics. We're ready to put them in their place when they start acting like lunatics. Their stupidity is cyclical.

I think it's exposing their stupidity is cyclical. Let us know in the comments if you prefer my phrase or if you prefer Ben talking about his little brother. I just got to call you out when I don't think the expression makes any sense. But one of the things that does make sense as you see how good President Biden was tonight, you see why these billionaires have to put out billions of dollars and use Fox and OAN and all this right wing echo chamber crap to try to distract people. Green M&M, M&M, Mr. Potato Head, because Biden is good. If American people actually get to listen to the real President Biden, they're like, oh crap, like this guy's smart. Everything he's saying makes sense. Again,

those were the dozens of text messages that I got during it from non-political people. Obviously the political people gave me different text messages, but the non-political people are like, I like this guy. Or even people who weren't, like they didn't know one way or the other, despite the fact that they're my friend and they know about the Midas Touch Network. They were like, wow, that was pretty good. And that's the thing that Fox and OAN and Newsmax and all the right wing, they want to distract you from that, which was normalcy, which was solutions, which was what America is all about. We're going to bring in right now White House reporter Brian Karam to the show. Brian, welcome back to our post coverage as well. But Brian, before bringing you in officially and asking for your reaction,

that is, I want to go through some of what I thought were the highlights of this. The first is Kevin McCarthy refusing to applaud for wealthy and big corporations paying their fair share in taxes. Let's play this clip. I can tell you, the plan I'm going to show you is going to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion. And it won't cut a single bit of Medicare or Social Security. In fact, we're going to extend the Medicare trust fund at least two decades, because that's going to be the next argument. How do we make, keep it solvent, right? Well, we'll not raise tax on anyone making under 400 grand, but we'll pay for it the way we talked about by making sure that the wealthy and big

corporations pay their fair share. Look, look, look, here's a deal. There you got that. I want to show you this is the Republicans groaning when President Biden points out that trump blew up the federal budget let's play this clip my administration has cut the deficit by more than 1.7 trillion dollars the largest deficit reduction in american history under the previous administration the american deficit went up four years in a row because those record deficits, no president added more to the national debt in any four years than my predecessor. Nearly 25% of the entire national debt that took over 200 years to accumulate

was added by just one administration alone, the last one. They're the facts. Check're the facts check it out check it out how did congress respond to that debt they did the right thing they left at the debt ceiling three times without preconditions or crisis they paid american bills to prevent an economic disaster in the country so tonight I'm asking the Congress to follow suit. Just look at the clown, Kevin McCarthy, not clapping for that. And he shakes his head and he goes, that's not true. That's not, it's, it's actually data.

Okay. That's actually what the facts are. This is president Biden. This is President Biden saying, some members, Republicans, are threatening to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act despite all of the great things that are coming from it. And then you actually have Republicans clapping for it. And Biden goes, well, I won't ruin the clip for you. You just watch it.

Well, guess what? Instead of paying $400 or $500 a month, you're paying 15. That's a lot of savings for the federal government. And by the way, why wouldn't we want that? Now, some members here are threatening and I know it's not an official party position, so I'm not going to exaggerate. But certainly to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act. As my coach, that's okay. That's fair. As my football coach used to say, lots of luck in your senior year.

Make no mistake. If you try anything to raise the cost of Brazilian jobs, I will veto it. MAGA Republicans, billionaires, screw infrastructure, screw reducing inflation. I mean, these people, that's what was so brilliant about the speech was the setups as well behind it, where the MAGA Republicans just kept on walking into it almost like a prank show, if you will. They just walked right into it and then Biden would just have the line because they're so predictable. Here's Boebert and Gates reacting to Biden saying we need to ban assault weapons. Play this clip. It's time we do the same.

Ban assault weapons now. Ban them now. Once and for all. Actually have someone right there courageously in monterey park at california who stopped the person the mass shooter who had an assault weapon there and then you've got lauren bobert and matt gates shaking their head and that was their face the whole time their face the whole time was like I mean like what you know it reminds me of Brett Kavanaugh's face during the uh confirmation where he was just like I still like beer it's like beer I like beer you know people are complete maniacs and finally a very solemn moment as well

where uh President Biden acknowledged Paul Pelosi here Here, let's play this clip. Few years, our democracy has been threatened and attacked, put at risk, put to the test in this very room on January the 6th. And then just a few months ago, an unhinged big lie, a sale and unleashed a political violence, the home of the then Speaker of the House of Representatives. Using the very same language the insurrectionists used as they stalked these halls and chanted on January 6th. Here tonight in this chamber is a man who bears the scars of that brutal attack, but

is as tough and as strong and resilient as they get. My friend Paul Pelosi. Paul, stand up. strong as resilient as they get my friend paul pelosi paul stanley we are joined by white House reporter Brian Karam. Can I just say I love this hat? I love the hat. So tell us, what was your reaction to this evening's State of the Union? I thought it was a very well-crafted speech.

I thought it was very well delivered. And listen, you can make fun of Joe Biden for being old, but you don't get to be old by being stupid. And Joe Biden crafted a speech that not only took the Republicans to task, but laid traps for them all night long that they eagerly jumped into. So at one point, you've got him saying, so we all agree you're not going to cut social security. So every time it seemed like the MAGA far right had something to say, Joe Biden not only had a line, but you could tell his speech was crafted to draw out the poison, show it for the foolishness that it was, and stomp all over them. So as a reporter who's

been chasing these people, asking these very same questions for the last umpteen years, it was absolutely enjoyable to see that someone at the top got it and brought it home for the American people. So it was, I think, a very well done speech. I think if I had to criticize it, it's not even length. I thought if there's one criticism you could give of this speech is it wasn't long enough. I enjoyed every moment of it. And I don't say that often of any speech that I sit through. Usually after about 45 minutes, I'm looking for the bathroom or at least a beer. And I resisted all temptation on both counts to listen to the speech tonight because there was so much. And unlike some, and I'll speak to his immediate predecessor on this issue, but unlike some State of the Union addresses in

the past, this one had concrete numbers, had concrete facts, and at the end still did not beat up the Republicans, but encouraged us all to work together for our common good. And that it was, I think if you take anything from that, this speech, if nothing else, take that from it. Any surprises for you? What the hell is Marjorie Taylor Greene wearing? It looked like a damn chihuahua around her neck. And I mean, I didn't know what that was. Give me a break. And, you know, nothing surprised me out of her, Matt Gaetz or anybody else. You know, you and that Marjorie Taylor Greene was going to

be able to run over him and it was masterful the way he played that particular moment he it with a and the smile that he gave on a couple of occasions it's like watching my grandfather after he caught you sticking your finger in a light socket. He knows you're a dumb ass and he's laughing at it, but he still loves you. So there's just what you have to take. I guess for anyone who wants to say that this president has lost a step or two, we all lose a step or two with age, but he was about 20 steps ahead of most of them all night long and it showed marjorie taylor green matt gates louis gomer uh jim jordan most of the republicans including kevin mccarthy who couldn't even stand up and cheer when when he was talking about giving better pay for teachers

the only that was just ridiculous what he showed he showed them up for who they were without ever having once having to beat them over the head with it. It's that kind of subtlety and that kind of experience that was very, in a word, presidential. And Brian, you're a sports guy, Brian. You're right. Boxing is classic rope and dope. Biden had them on the heels all night. They had no idea what they were doing. Biden had control every single step of the way. And these MAGA Republicans just didn't know what to do with themselves. The differences between me and Jordy, because Jordy goes straight to boxing. I was going to say he's like a veteran stand-up comedian.

He knows how to, yes. He was great as a stand-up comedian. But I'm going to go to my football analogy. Your senior year, fellas. That was classic. but I'm going to go to my football analogy and go, fuck your senior year, fellas. That was classic. As a football coach, I've said that on a few occasions. And as a former boxer and a former stand-up comedian, I can take both of those. But I think that it was just, all in all, it was something that, you know,

you're going to see Sarah Huckabee Sanders stand up and make a complete boob out of her. No matter what she says, because you cannot, you know, her 15 minutes of experience on the public stage cannot compete with the 50 years that Joe Biden has. And you saw the culmination of experience tonight in a president of the United States who knew what he was talking about. It was a joy as a reporter to listen to facts instead of, you know, what I usually have to listen to from all of the former presidents. So it was nice. The funny thing is when you hear about like when Republicans take things at it as a attacks, it really kind of reveals a lot about who they are. So when you hear President Biden speak about preserving American democracy and January 6th and the attack on our Capitol and the insurrection, the attack on Paul Pelosi, the idea that American democracy, that democracy should be bipartisan, and you see silence from the Republican Party, or you hear jeering from the Republican Party

in those moments, those are the moments to me where they are telling on themselves in a big way. Because if you say democracy is great, we should preserve it. And your reaction is how dare you attack me? Right. You're kind of giving away the game just a little bit. And there were no attack. There were no pointed attacks from Biden, really. It was just a stating of the facts. And they really seem to have a lot of difficulty handling the facts. They had a huge aversion to the facts, like a visceral reaction where they were they just had to scream like they couldn't even control themselves well have you ever thrown salt on a slug that's basically what you're talking about this was salt they're slugs

but i'll take you back to you know there's two things that he said that you know a lot of you said that first of all who had joe biden sparring with and dominating his hecklers on their bingo card that was really nice but he said democracy must not be a partisan issue it must be an american issue we are the only nation built upon an idea those are strong words but the close was saying because the soul of this nation is strong because the backbone of this nation is strong because the people of this nation is strong, because the backbone of this nation is strong, because the people of this nation are strong, the state of the union is strong. He's reaching out, and by the way, most of the stuff that he talked about tonight was really a reach out to the red states and to blue collars workers who have notoriously voted Republican against their own self-interest in the last couple of elections. So he made, if the tail of the tape, guys, is not going to be the speech tonight, but it's going to be the trip

that he puts in to further that speech, it's going to be the other Democrats on the stump taking advantage of this. The fact is, that wonderful infrastructure bill that he touted, the largest since the Eisenhower infrastructure bill. As I said earlier, Republicans ran on that, even though they voted against it and got reelected in the midterms. The Democrats have to go out on the stump and beat people over the head with this speech for the next two years. And if they do that, they'll be in a much better place than they are now.

Do not allow the Republicans to frame the argument and use their buzzwords and all their dog whistles that they always use. Socialism, communism. Hey, I want a post office, pal. Hey, I want, you know, hey, by the way, I like the roads paved. You know, and Social Security apparently is off the chopping block. So it's all nice. It's all good. They just got to go out and beat people to death with those words. So a few things. One, great point. Two, could you imagine being Kevin McCarthy sitting there where because there's no moral fabric and there's no actual coherent vision, you almost don't know what you're for and what you're against. And so he's kind of sitting there and he's got to think like, am I for, am I, am I okay

with manufacturing jobs? Can I clap that we are getting vaccines out? Like what, what statement can I clap at? You know, and he must be, as he sits there there like very nervous and you kind of see him like where do i where do i clap where do i don't clap because the normal lines that you would clap like we're standing up to vladimir putin that could remove him as the speaker so he's got to be like it's so true so there are just some there are some moments when he's sitting there where you look at him and he's like he was almost like what's mar what's marjorie doing is she clapping he grabbed himself i'm not gonna lie i thought maybe his depends were full and other times it looked like for the love

of god it was like watching vanilla ice cream melt on cardboard. There's just watching him sitting there. I could not tell if he was in pain, agreed, didn't disagree, but he looked like he wanted to be anywhere but sitting where he was. And that's probably the truest sentiment you'll ever find out of Kevin McCarthy. He wants the power and does not know how to do it. Here were some of the most powerful lines when Biden was talking about the economy. He goes, I ran for president. I took these notes that I ran for president to fundamentally change things, to make sure the economy works for everyone so we can all feel pride in what we do, to build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.

Because when the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. That is a direct repudiation of trickle-down economics. One of the things he's been fired up against since Ronald Reagan. So he's actually able to take 40 years of opposition to Ronald Reagan's trickle-down economics, turn it on its ear, and get American voters back involved in the economy. I think that was, I pointed that out when it was said live, you're absolutely right. That to me was probably the key statement that he made about the economy. Very well done. Nice pickup.

I'm getting it. And then he goes, as my dad used to say, as my dad used to say, it's like I do this for a living now, Brian. It's like, it's like a thing. As my dad used to say, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say, honey, it's going to be okay and mean it. And then you got McCarthy behind him going, are we for this? Are we against it? Powerful line. And then going through that over the last

two years, a record 10 million Americans also applied to start a new small business. And he said, every time somebody starts a small business, it is an act of hope. Then one of the other great examples, I thought, he said, look, this is where we were a year ago. Here's where we are right now. Standing here last year, I shared with you a story of American genius and possibility. Semiconductors, the small computer chips, the size of your fingertip that power everything from cell phones to automobiles Yeah. 10%. We all saw what happened during the pandemic when chip factories overseas were shut down. Today's automobiles need up to 3,000 chips each, but American automakers couldn't make enough cars because there weren't enough chips. That's why we came together and passed the CHIPS Act, and we're going to make sure that the supply chain for America begins in America. So powerful.

But the one that I like, let's offer every American the path to a good career, whether they go to college or not. And he said, let's give public school teachers a raise. And if you could have looked, if you had that clip of what Kevin McCarthy looked like at that moment, that's the moment where I was pretty sure he had soiled his own laundry. Because the look on his face was crap. And like you were saying, do I cheer? Do I not cheer? Holy shit. He's cheering for teachers.

What do I do? The fact of the matter is, is that on so many points, like I said, it was the way he delivered the speech, but it was also the essence of the speech. I thought he was in good form tonight. Those who want to say he's lost a step can go screw themselves as far as I'm concerned. He's 10 steps ahead of the guy who was there before him. And he's talked about very factual information and the Republicans loathe to do so. Again, it just goes at the end of the day, you hope the Democratic bench and all of his speakers, and you better hope that, and I do hope that he has people in his administration that will go out

on the stump and say this over and over and over and over and over again, because it is a great plank for the Democratic Party. It's a great plank for America, by the way, to sit there and say, look, we work together. Democracy is not a partisan issue. It's an American issue. Bringing people together, that's the key. And him saying that is such,

it's just 180 degrees different from what we got from the previous guy who said only i can fix it the radical by the way speaking of that guy while we're talking i just got an email he's trying to sell t-shirts again based on not a minute goes by that the grift doesn't continue with unbelievable now you know it's interesting because you sorry ben um you just president biden in many ways i think is just the republican party's worst nightmare at this point because i think he really speaks to the voters that the republicans are so desperate to get

he speaks to the voters who republicans think should be theirs right now and who in many aspects republicans are winning. He speaks to working class voters in a way that I don't think many presidents have. He speaks about building out the economy from the middle up, from the bottom up. And I think that is all shown in the way he speaks when he's speaking about teachers, when he's speaking about his personal struggles of dealing with family members with cancer, when he speaks about the loss of a loved one, when he speaks about where to find your next paycheck, when he speaks about infrastructure projects and the importance of workers, that all I think resonates. And I think that's also one of the

reasons why we see these Republicans more than ever. And obviously it's also the scourge that Trump unleashed on our country, but why you see them trying to constantly distract and deflect with all of their craziness. Because at a moment like this, when the country is tuned in and when they actually hear directly from President Biden about what is going on, I think he always gets incredibly high marks. I could guarantee you without seeing if they're releasing those post State of the Union polls where they do in their little rooms with the news networks. I guarantee he has really high marks in all those polls because when the American people are able to see Biden in an unfiltered manner, they're able to hear those things directly from him and say, oh, wait a second. Kevin McCarthy's been calling this guy a communist. That's a great argument for me as to why I want to see him do more press conferences.

He's only done two i've gone in and talked to all of his press at jen saki first and kareem now and i go look he's better at speaking about these things than you are and anybody yes get him out here in front of us and it's not that they don't agree it's that I think they're afraid he's going to create a gap. And look, everybody's going to make a mistake in speaking. Everyone's going to make a gap. Joe Biden's been doing it for years. I've covered him since, you know, I was in some of those gaggles where he would put his arm around you or squeeze your shoulder when he thought, oh, that was a good question, or if he thought you were stupid.

You know, but he was that guy. He's going to continue to be that guy. He relates better to working class Americans and all Americans better than the people who represent him. This is the biggest problem this administration has had. And I'll continue to say it is they put the wrong people out front speaking for the president. It should be Joe Biden. But you don't want to be too careful, right, at the same time. Like, you don't want to be too careful and too precious. And I think back to the moments when President Biden did speak off script, and a lot of those press people in the White House kind of had a freakout moment.

Like when President Biden, what did he call? He called Putin a killer or something to that respect. Yeah, and most americans believe agree that's what you know i was standing there in poland when he made that speech about putin we for god's sake she can't nine words you can't allow this man to stay in charge and i had people who were mega supporters texting me i'm over in poland i'm getting my phone's getting blown up. I'm standing literally 300 feet away from the president making this speech. And I get the text from all of the finally, I agree with Joe Biden. I love Joe Biden. I hated Joe Biden. I like Joe Biden. Screw Donald Trump. I'm now a Biden fan. And then five minutes later, a member of his own

press corps or his staff, not the corps, press staff came out and backed off the statement. And then he came out the next day and said, nope, I meant it. And that's the guy you want to hear from. The people that are too timid – Cannot agree more. They're just too timid and defend him way too much. The guy's got it down cold. Let him talk.

And one of the funny things that is Jordy, go ahead. Sorry. No, I was just gonna say in the speech tonight, which is so good and resonated with just Americans across the board is because what Joe Biden's talking about are very common sense issues, right? We want you to have healthcare. We want you to have your social security. We want to make sure your insulin prices are capped at a certain price. Like these are issues that are facing Americans by and large. And so when you have these Republicans, these MAGA Republicans talking about the green M&M and saving chocolate milk, they're just not serious people in a time and in a country,

in a world where you have to be serious and you need stable leadership. And I think when they're yelling at Biden and just causing a scene while Biden's trying to address the nation, that doesn't bode well for them. That doesn't make them look good. That makes them look childish. And Americans, by and large, are sick of that. And we saw that during the midterms, the outright rejection of this MAGA fascism movement. And it's going to continue to take place. But are we cyclically sick of it? I'm just going to say when we went to the comments on that, everybody had my back on that.

And I, I'm just going to say it again. Their stupidity is cyclical. And the comments agree with me that that is an eight. Not only, not only were the comments that way, Jordy, but I got many a text message from friends as well saying,

stop being mean to your brother. Please stop being mean to your brother. It's a good your brother it's a good friend it's not in here you said the same thing you just reworded it in a different ben is a way i'm making a mea culpa as michael cohen would say okay i apologize it's a good phrase we're challenging that incredible. This is why, though, you have MAGA media with Fox and all these disinformation chambers, because Biden's good. Hakeem Jeffries is good. You know, when when you put them up there and you hear their ideas and you hear that they're looking out for ninety nine percent of Americans and that they're focused on jobs and they're focused on better working conditions and they're focused on your health care and they're focused on your education and they're focused on keeping government out of controlling the bodies of women and the government out of deciding who you could marry and who you love. When you actually break down the democratic platform and pro-democracy you go wow this makes

sense so you need the fake outrage machine you need Fox if you're the right wing to just make people crazy you got a brainwash your base every single day so it's the green M&Ms it's testicle tanning it's the lesbian purple M&M I lose track about who they are it's it's dr. Seuss it's the woke Disney characters they're coming for your chocolate milk it's your chocolate milk Purple M&M. I lose track about who they are. It's Dr. Seuss. It's the woke Disney characters. They're coming for your chocolate milk. It's your chocolate milk. They're coming for your gas stoves. 87,000 IRS agents, caravans, because they don't want you to hear a level-headed, normal leader in president biden who is conveying common sense decency a truly pro-american platform honor and all that our country truly embodies and then why don't they want you to do it why

would these billionaires not want you maybe because they want to pick your freaking pockets maybe because you're the mark and if they got you distracted they go give me your money give me your money i'm going to suppress your wages i'm going to take away your health care i'm going to privatize your social security i'm going to take why because they need 10 private jets and that was the point that b Biden made over and over. He goes, I'm a capitalist. I believe you should make profits. I believe you could have record profits, but you shouldn't make those record profits exploiting hardworking Americans. Thought that was a major point. Brian, I want to hear your take. And then I want to show you,

this is breaking now. Apparently Trump was live posting this event. I want to go through some of those posts. I wanted to get your reaction, not to this yet, but your reaction to what I was saying. Let's go back to the testicle tanning. Is that a thing? Did I miss that? Did I miss? You missed that one?

Oh yeah. That was a couple of weeks of Tucker Carlson. Blood hole bleaching. Is that, you know that? You know, it's bottom line is, of course, it's, you know, when you can argue the facts, argue the facts when you can't just scream at the top of your lungs to short circuit it for politicians. But the simple fact the matter is with it, and it was great what he said, I'm a fan of capitalism, but pay your fair share.

And capitalism without competition is not capitalism. It's exploitation. He nailed it. And those are things that Americans need to understand. They understand it almost in their bones. They don't understand how, and he made a good point tonight of connecting government to the things that we're suffering through why are you suffering through it it's the decisions that governments made and that's the key thing that both reporters and politicians need in their when they're communicating

with the American people is to show them how policies affect them so if the Republicans are screaming you know butthole ble bleaching and testicle tanning, you can go, excuse me, while they're talking about that, by the way, they're taking your money from you. And he came out in favor of unionization. He came out in favor of blue collar labor. He came out in favor of more and pointing out where he had created jobs. Those are all concrete things that resonate with the American public, and which is why I say they need to go out and get on the stump and do this for the next year, talking about this. No matter what goes on for the general,

they need to do it for the general election in 2024. Here's another sign how effective this is. Trump was losing his freaking mind during this. Well, that's not hard. It's not hard, but these posts that he was making are just so good. So he's like, this is what he was saying about insulin. He goes, I'm the one that did the great job on insulin pricing. The Dems just got the benefit of that success. It was passed on to them.

And now they brag about it. Like that was literally in the Inflation Reduction Act. Like that was literally in the most recent legislation reducing the price of insulin and capping it. The MAGA Republicans are against that right there. Democrats passed that. So it's like him saying, I built the infrastructure. I built the wall. So that was one of them. And now they brag about it. Now he's a football player. Now he's a football player. Here's the next one. Joe's taking credit for many of the things that the Trump administration started and did. They just

happened to kick in during this period. But who can blame him? All these posts look like that. He goes, I agree with him that the tax system is not fair to me because they illegally released my tax returns. Deranged lunatic. He goes, and by the way, his avatar, his freaking ugly mug with the American flag is the biggest desecration of the flag. I know he's being investigated for a lot of felonies, and he's likely going to be indicted relatively soon. That violation of flag decorum by putting it on his ugly trader mug should in and of itself be a felony. I'm just saying, Jack Smith. I'm just saying. Just add it to the pile. It also looks like though, when you see the bars down his face,

when I look at it, I actually just see prison bars. Yeah, the shadows of prison bars. If you could pull that, do you have the picture, Salty, of that? If we could pull that up. Can't you see that being the reflection of prison bars along Donald Trump's space? I think that's just a sign of his history. Who does this person think he is? This is some of the sickest, most disgusting, traitorous, treasonous freaking crap I've ever seen. And frankly, screw large media networks. Screw large media networks in general. But specifically for

normalizing that fascist crap. It is so easy to say that is a fascist traitor. That is a criminal. That is a despicable anti-American. The MAGA Republican Party hates this country. Just say it. Why do you? Oh, that's a conservative. That is a liberal. Conservative? He wants to destroy the Constitution. He called for, in the past month, he he called for in the past month he's called for terminating the constitution and a violent civil war on his social media platform the what because it happens on a social media platform it's too complicated for large media networks to freaking report on and then they go oh but uh we don't want to give him any airtime we don't want to give him attention you give trumpism airtime every day by normalizing the crap. And then you go around and you go,

oh, Trump's got his new airplane. Trump force one that's taking a trip. You normalize it in the worst ways. So call it out every day. The front page of major papers should be treason, should just say treason. It should have his treasonous face and they should call him out this is what he also said he goes um he goes pocahontas is really going wild tonight he's like the most misogynistic racist person in the world pocahontas poco chow too yeah that's i'm gonna get to that one in a moment i can't forget that pocahontas is really going wild tonight she almost has to be constrained. The only thing that will do it is a straight jacket. Again, misogyny. Then he goes,

Mitch McConnell- And projection. Talk about needing a straight jacket to constrain a maniac. It's just absolute projection every time. Mitch McConnell looks like hell, so bad for the Republican Party he writes and then he goes he forgot to thank mitch mcconnell and his lovely wife coco chow for giving him all of these trillions of dollars to waste so that was trump's remarks his live posting during it but you see especially from the earlier ones where he's saying those were my ideas. What a freaking pathetic loser, traitor, idiot. This guy is. Well, yeah, it's the grift baby.

Donald Trump is all about the grift. Everything on there is him going batshit nuts because he, he doesn't have the limelight like he had when he was president. And honestly, I got to tell you, I, I, I,

I covered that administration for every day of those four years. And I look at it now, two years later and go, I honest to God can't believe that that guy was president. I honestly cannot understand how it ever came to pass that that man was elected. And to have to remember what it was like. It was such torture covering that for four years. It's so great to be out of it. You can criticize every president for something that they do, but for the love of God, I've never had to look at a president of the United States before I covered Donald Trump, who absolutely hated the United States. I don't understand how you can lead a country and hate and loathe everyone in it.

And there's a telling point about Donald Trump. I was covering a rally of his in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, several years back. And a friend of mine was on Air Force One with him, and I was at the venue. And they taxied Air Force One up to the ramp almost so you could get the full effect of, you know, the theatrical effect of Donald showing up. And he had drifted back in the back of the plane where the press people were, where several reporters were standing. And a friend of mine heard him say, as he looked out at the crowd, look at all those suckers. Now, these were his supporters. Those were his supporters. That's what he thinks of everyone in this country. They're suckers.

And he's out. If you don't buy that, if you don't believe that, you're the mark. So everyone, I saw lots of people posting when I was doing my whole rant about how the MAGA Republicans want to distract with their woke. We had a Midas Touch, Midas Mighty member who made this video and said that I looked like this character and they were so spot on that. I always play it and I saw a lot of people in the comments saying, you got to play the clip. You got to play the clip here. Let's play the clip. Woke. Stop the woke. We need to stop the woke. Pronouns. let's play the clip okay do one more time it's really funny that's what they look like though that's what i'm pretty sure you were just elected speaker

of the house of the republican party i think I think you were just made the new Republican leader after that clip. That was spot on. Spot on impression. Well, the funniest thing, though, as I was watching Kevin McCarthy there, I don't know if you know this, Brian, but I have a show on Hulu now. It's right there. I don't know how to point my thumb in the right direction there. It's called Killing County.

It's based on Kevin McCarthy's district. The highest crime rates, corruption, police shooting deaths. It's a true crime series. I executive produced it with Colin Kaepernick, Robe Embriano, Monica De La Rosa, the team at ABC News and Hulu. It's crushing right now. It's doing really, really well. People are loving it. But they're seeing that this whole narrative of law and order and all of this is like, it's

for these MAGA Republicans. It's break the law, complete disorder. And the heroes in Killing County are these families who all lost loved ones in these police shootings, all on despicable things. You have like the sheriff also saying, it's better to kill than maim. It's cheaper, so kill him. There's an officer who says that he loves tickling dead bodies and that he loves playing with the dead bodies. You have an officer saying that. They killed an unarmed 73-year-old grandpa with early stages of dementia because he had a crucifix in his pocket. It goes on and on and on. That's what happens in Killing County and Kevin McCarthy's district. And by the way, when you want to extrapolate that in general,

red states have dominated the top 10 murder rate states for the past two decades. I worked for a television show called America's Most Wanted, and I was the investigative reporter for that show for many years we often said that we would not be able to stay in business without the carolinas florida and texas which is where all red states where most of the most heinous crimes in america occurred but to your point about bakersfield you could go back and look at some of the stuff that we did way back when in the 90s on bakersfield and in fact there was a i believe it was a uh a triple homicide i covered there where a guy shot his wife and or i'm sorry shot his girlfriend and her son and then went on an eight state crime spree killing whatever so there

were three people that he killed and he said that the sheriff there said well he just turned her head into a canoe you know just shot her down like a damn dog and then we can't come to find out that that was actually it wasn't a metaphor on Friday and Saturday nights there were places in the county where they would go and shoot down stray dogs. There wasn't one in the county. And so it wasn't even a metaphor. So Kevin McCarthy comes from a very strange and bewildering place. And it doesn't surprise me that anything he says is suspect. What surprises me is that he continues to screw up and yet stays in office. It's unbelievable.

We got to talk about the George Santos drama. You've become the third. Jordy just very silently disappeared. You've become the third brother, apparently, Brian. You know what they say, Ben? The Midas brothers are cyclical. That's right. So we got to talk about George Santos. The call george call back in the biz folks you can't knock him when he's away brett um

jordy can't even rebut it i'm taking jordy's side i've learned by not taking jordy's side i got i i will fall out of the great graces of the Midas Mighty very, very quickly. The George Santos situation we got to talk about. Just want to remind everybody as well, make sure to hit the subscribe button on this YouTube channel. Share this channel. We're almost at 1 million subscribers. I think we'll hit it by the end of March with your support.

So make sure you hit subscribe. Check out the Midas Touch podcast right now and subscribe to the Midas Touch podcast on audio. Brian, you've got a book out, right? Yeah, I've got to take off and get ready. I've got a column I've got to finish on the State of the Union address for tomorrow. But it's a pleasure. I'm not kicking you off the show. I wanted you to plug something

I'll plug salon.com which is where you can find my column once a week The book is called free the press and it's in its fourth printing now It's about the problems of the free press and how to fix it And of course the podcast is called just ask the question uh which was uh we try to cover all kinds of politics and interesting interviews with people you haven't heard from before or may have heard from and want to hear more from which is where you guys follow and we've had you guys on the podcast and it's always a lot of fun well brian i brett and I are still going to stay here with the mightest mighty. I know you want to stay all evening, but I know you got to write your column.

So you were taking, yeah, I got it. I was taking, I was taking it. I wasn't, I wasn't, but then I thought you were giving me the hint that you had to go.

So I'm trying to give, if you want to hang, everyone's happy to have Brian hang. Well, I have the liquor liquor where's in the hat but let's go let's go let's go let's do it jordy leaves he you know you just have that on your thing see i don't have that i've got coffee on my table that's all i and i just want to remind everybody before we talk about george santos because i know he's so repugnant and I may lose viewers and listeners just talking about George Santos. So everybody just check out patreon.com slash Midas Touch. We have no outside investors at all. We're supported by our members. So we have a lot of exclusive content there. If you love independent media like this, if you're sick and tired of cable news and large media networks who have billionaire and millionaire investors, screw them. Midas

Touch is here. This is the new network of the future. We have no outside investors. We're 100% independent, 100% accountable to you. Go to patreon.com slash Midas Touch, P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com slash Midas Touch. Become a member at one of the membership tiers. All right. The Santos ordeal. I know that when we talk about Santos, Brian's got to take a shot. Should we do this?

I'm going to get you into trouble because before you know it, you're not going to get your column done right now. I feel like I got to go grab a bottle or something. I'll tell you, it's a tough room. I was an ugly child too. I've been told by our editors, I've been told by our editors, there is no drinking on stream allowed.

The producers are reeling us in? There's real producers who have vetoed any ability, and I want to be clear, we are a family-friendly show. I got reprimanded by Salty just now saying, thank you, Salty, for the advice. We're back to reality. We got excited. That was a good president Biden speech. Well, what can I tell you? The edibles are better. All right. So let's start off with Santos. We learned right away before the State of the Union that Santos is sitting in the seat nearest the center aisle in the House chamber for the State of the Union. And he positioned himself to attempt to shake President Biden's hand on national TV

when Biden would enter the House chamber at 9 00 p.m you will see santos wearing a bright orange tie right and whether it was santos or marjorie taylor green or um cinema they kind of took the fashion cues directly from uh what's the what what was the move hunger games hunger game or that or or it i was going on there we go look at that production look at that just i call up hunger games did you have a hunger games photo were you waiting for the joke good i kid you not he had no clue that a hunger games i guess you just keep hunger games photos to our producers in the event I may do a Hunger Games joke. Salty.

And just so you know, Brian, when we call out Salty, everybody in the chat rooms, they all put their salt shakers as an honor and an homage to our editor Salty. And also our screener to make sure that we are accurately not getting kicked off of the channel by having any inappropriate content. So that's how it started. And then we saw, this was what actually went down on the house floor, in the house chambers. You had Romney approach Santos and basically lip readers would tell you that he said like, you should be embarrassed. You should be ashamed of yourself. Here, play this clip. You see Romney. You just see him mouthing the words.

But yeah, it looks like you should be embarrassed. You should be ashamed. Then Santos does a retort back. And at that point, Romney just ignores the guy and walks away. Romney's a serious guy. Like, you know, I mean, like we, like Romney, we can, you know, have disagreements on a lot of things. But one thing I will not have a disagreement is Romney is a serious individual who takes things very seriously. And then you've got Santos.

You know what? It's a perfect kind of metaphor, right, for the Republican Party. You've got Romney kind of walking away and Santos the troll, kind of old Republican and new Republican right there in that one image, right? One person saying you should be ashamed of yourself. And not only is Santos not ashamed of himself, it's like, oh, I'm here, everybody. George Santos here. Look at me in my orange tie. Santos had the gall to tweet out during or after the speech, President Biden is gaslighting.

Could you imagine, like the ultimate gaslighter, the ultimate liar, somebody who's so full of it, on everything, accusing somebody else of lying, of gaslighting? This guy is so shameless. It's unbelievable how shameless he is. He's a child. And say what you will about Mitt Romney, but he, like the president, has a little bit more experience and he's an adult. George Santos has not yet learned that he is in a room with other adults. He still thinks, for some reason, that this is an episode of Delta House. That he's somehow, you know, he's on campus having a toga party. It's, he does not have, look, and you can take, you take, one thing about Romney, to your point, Ben, is he'll take the job seriously, right? You can see that our president takes the job seriously. You can also see that he doesn't take himself very seriously at times. He can crack jokes on himself, like when he turned to McCarthy and said, you know, this will probably ruin your future, but I look forward to working with you. I mean, that kind of

joke is, you know, is self-deprecating humor, but he's still serious about what he does. Santos has no gravitas, no experience, all the arrogance and all the immaturity of a kid who just got his first pair of training pants. Couldn't agree more with you. Now, this is Romney as he was leaving. I think we've got video footage of it salty. You just said you don't belong here. Yeah. Why did you say that? I didn't expect that he'd be standing there trying to shake You just said you don't belong here. Yeah. Why did you want to say that to him? I didn't expect that he'd be standing there trying to shake hands with every senator in the president of the United States.

Given the fact that he's under ethics investigation, he should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and people coming into the room. Look, he says that he embellished his record. Look, embellishing is saying you got an A when you got an A-. Lying is saying you graduated from a college you didn't even attend. And he shouldn't be in Congress. And they're going to go through the process and hopefully get him out. But he shouldn't be there. And if he had any shame at all, he wouldn't be there.

Why did you make a point to say that, though? I mean, it was kind of out of your way to say that. He was standing right there in the aisle, shaking hands with everybody. Did he respond to you? Yes. That's one of the funniest things I've ever seen i gotta do it i gotta do it it was my first time watching it too i don't know that you've seen it like i was perfect like honestly like you know i disagree with romney about so many things but

he's a good guy like he's a good guy he's an honest guy i think he means well generally that was one of the most honest, most candid moments. I didn't expect him to just be like, I didn't expect him to be like standing there, like shaking everybody's hands and parading around. They're like, why'd you say that to him? He's like, he was right there. I was shaking. Why did you say that? This guy's a crook. Can I say one thing about that, Brett? It goes, and Brian, I think you'll agree here, it goes to the media doesn't understand humanity.

They are so far afield from what their job is in reporting the truth that they believed that they believed that what romney did there was problematic that they believed that that was odd like an actual direct conversation of just calling somebody out the media should should be like, that's our job. Of course you would do that, but the media was shocked. So why did you do that? Because he was standing right there. And think about that analogy though, of the media in general, of how many things are standing right there in front of the media's eyes. Santos, and they couldn't call it out. Well, you're absolutely right. the now look it it's has further gravitas when he does it when when he does it and then saying what he said coming out of it

beautiful perfection but yes why isn't the press stepping up again we're we're missing in action we were missing in action when he was elected we We're missing in action and covering him now. We only cover him as a sideshow event and we don't really talk about the real problem that he presents and demonstrates before the American populace. And Romney does. He's under ethics investigation and I hope he gets kicked out. He shouldn't be. He should be sitting in the back keeping his mouth shut instead of standing up front going, I'm a clown, I'm a clown, I'm a clown. But that's where we are in politics in this country, again, which is why it was refreshing to see a president of the United States not play to that. And a president of the United States try to bring people together for the common good and appealing to the better of us in you know the

better part our better angels instead of our our devils so all of that what Romney did and what Biden did tonight are part and parcel part of the same thing and so it was refreshing there are two guys with a lot of experience who are doing what it is that they do best. Look, as a reporter, I learned when I was young, the first time I walked in that White House press briefing room, it was Sam Donaldson who pointed out to me, Brian, that first row there, there's seven chairs, 200 years of experience. Keep your mouth shut and listen. And you learn. So that, you know, you learn a little bit before you shoot your mouth off. Santos it's somebody at least needs to teach him how to dress but that's another story but he's he's just a horrible horrible individual

i think we're having some technical difficulties there with brian who abruptly drops out of the chat brian caram and oh no right now oh no. But Brett, do we have the post? Do we have the post here, though, of George Santos, where he then tweets at Mitt Romney after all of this? And it is Santos saying, hey, Mitt Romney, just a reminder that you will never be president. And it's Santos then also saying donald trump will be the 47th president of the united states brett is there anything more like that display right there and again his uh appeal back to trump right there and then saying that, I mean, are these people so pathetic? Brian, welcome back. The guy's such a complete, complete, complete clown. I'm going to look for that tweet right now as well, because I actually, I responded to that tweet and I said, well, you will

pull up the Romney tweet one more time so I could read it. He said, hey, Mitt Romney, just a reminder that you will never be president. So I responded from Midas touch. Mitt Romney tweet one more time so I could read it. He said, hey, Mitt Romney, just a reminder that you will never be president. So I responded from Midas touch. Mitt Romney will also never go to prison. Unlike you, TikTok, quote unquote, George. And Santos is going to jail soon. Like it's a I mean, that's the craziest thing, too. Like he's going to be indicted soon.

You know, I mean, the crimes are so obvious. The campaign finance crimes, the defrauding. This is how pathetic these MAGA Republicans are. Setting up a GoFundMe account in order to steal money from a homeless disabled veteran claiming that you're raising money to provide life-saving care for the dog who has a tumor of the homeless disabled veteran, raising $3,000 off of that incredibly compelling and sad situation, and then stealing the money from the veteran, and then being welcomed into the Republican Party, and then being welcomed into the Republican Party and

then being appointed with all of that knowledge, being appointed to two committees, one committee, a small business committee that oversees PPP fraud of small businesses. They put him on a committee that oversees business fraud. Just want to reflect on that. And then the space Technology and Science Committee, he withdrew on his own. These MAGA Republicans shouldn't get applauded. They went all in on Santos. And if you want to just know that they have no control over their caucus at all, it's exactly what Mitt Romney said. I'm surprised that he was there. How if you're Kevin McCarthy,

do you not go up to them the exact way that Romney did? You confront him before. You go, if you pull this shit, you pull this crap, you're out tomorrow. Sit there in the corner and just shut the F up. Honestly, that's what I would say to the guy if I was the leader. I'd probably use those words and actually curse, but I'd pull him aside before the event if I was the leader. Maybe I would say, I mean, if it was Santos, I'd probably use those words to make it clear. And I would be very clear. What the F do you think you're doing? Get there in the corner, shut up, and do not talk at all. Be quiet. You do one thing, you embarrass us.

A leader would do that in lots of situations. And here, that's absolutely the opposite. Because McCarthy has no leadership at all. And Brian, I know you're hearing. I didn't want to show sarah huckabees it's just gaslighting and if i show and if i show it here we'll get all the vomit emojis and then people will be like i get it but you don't need to show it the only the only line that's worthy of mentioning is she says the dividing line in America is no longer between right or left.

The choice is between normal or crazy. She's absolutely right. She's absolutely fucking crazy. It's unbelievable how every time the Republicans will take what it is that they're doing and flip it and and and deflect what it is that they've done and it's to me i i i i after four years of it and donald trump i'm just so tired of it i just wish it would change well you know the be the change you ask for right and right? And so one of the things and the ways we go about that here is by, yes, we complain about the way the large media networks act, but we got to create a platform together that is bigger, that tells the truth, that unites this pro-democracy community. And one of the things that I love about our community here at the Midas Touch Network is that it's really grassroots. And when people say, well, tell me, how'd you build this thing? I go, they built it. I go, the fact that, yeah, they're like, well, people are saying in the chat, you look tired.

Well, yeah, I mean, we've been going four hours and five minutes straight, right? We've been going four hours now, four hours and six minutes straight. But what fuels me every day is really to channel the strength and courage and vision and fortitude and sentiments of the Midas Mighty community out there. We're a part of it, but this was created from the ground up. And that's a unique way of having a meeting, because usually it's top down, billionaires and millionaires and decamillionaires

programming and telling people how to feel. But this is from the bottom up of the grassroots. This is us together. This is just from the grassroots. This is how we handle it. And we're just fortunate and blessed every day to be helpful messengers, if you will, and help present this. But I'm so lucky. We're so lucky for the Midas Mighty

community. I want to get everybody's final words, want to remind everybody, if I could figure out which way my thumb goes, that would be an incredible... Once I figure that out, folks, I'll have this act fully together. Check out... I see I can't do it. Check out Killing County on Hulu. I executive produced it with Colin Kaepernick, spread the word about it. Crime, corruption, cover-up, all in Bakersfield, Kevin McCarthy's congressional district. I think you'll be shocked. I think you'll be horrified. I think you'll be inspired though. I think you will love it. Check it out. It's on Hulu now. Check us out at patreon.com slash minus touch. Check out the new book we just released on

kaepernick publishing one of my best friends in the world akim aliu it's called dreamer it's one of the books that's up right there see i could do that with my thumb akim imagine why you're born akim akim was born in nigeria he grew up in ukraine moved to Canada, was one of the few black hockey players in professional hockey. And he's been an incredible voice for diversity and inclusion and social justice and just being authentic and really good. Everybody, if you know me, you know Akeem's a great friend of mine, one of my best friends. And it's called Dreamer. I highly recommend it as well. Released by Kaepernick Publishing. Brian, I want to get your final word. Brett,

then I want to get your final word. Well, first of all, I guess my final word. Can we go back to the streets of Bakersfield? That was one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my life. And yet that's Kevin McCarthy loves it. Also, reminder that Kevin McCarthy said he watched Lincoln win the Civil War. And I just wondered if he owned a DeLorean or otherwise had some kind of way back machine to see that. But my takes from tonight are this. The expectations for the President of the United States coming into the State of the Union address were mixed because of recent events, including a balloon that was, you know, a Chinese balloon that came over the United States, flew over continental United States. And in addition, some of the documents that were found in Mike Pence and his house, classified documents. So there was a bit of taint.

You can see that he was down in the polls. But when he took the stage tonight, he was demonstrative. You laughed, you cried, it had everything. This was a speech that made you laugh, made you cheer, made you cry, and wholly resounded with the idea that we're all in this together and that whenever the United States does its best, it can't be outperformed. What wonderful words to hear from the executive in chief. The chief executive of the United States told us tonight, we're all in this together and by God, we have to work together. And he also talked about, you may disagree with someone, but you may find issues in which you can

work with them. And he said that of China. We seek competition, not conflict. He said that of Republicans. He said that of other Democrats. If you take a look at what this president said tonight, he delivered on everything and even more so than what people thought he would. He had high energy level. He did not gaffe. He did not create a gaffe once. He spoke well to the issues. He used facts. And he told us the State of the Union is strong because we're strong. That's a good positive message to take into the new year. And after all that we've been through, and especially after having covered three of these things in person during the Trump era and not really coming out of them feeling anything more than the need to take a shower. It was really enjoyable to sit

through that. And I think it portends well for the U.S. And if the Democrats will use this speech over the next two years, I think they will fare well in the coming general election in 2024. Brett, final word from you, Mr. Mycelis. I think it was a great restart after a week that was full of noise from the balloon saga and the Republicans trying to put out any distraction. But I think President Biden really laid out the clear stakes and the Republicans did themselves no favors in the way they behave. They behaved like petulant children and no offense to petulant children. It was truly the most disrespectful, disruptive, deranged group of individuals that I have ever seen sitting out there during a State of the Union. And the contrast between that and the cool, calm, competence, seriousness that we saw out of Biden there, I think set it all and really put this all in the right direction, put the right framing on all the issues that we're going through,

because we're going through a lot. We got a lot of issues in this world to deal with, serious, serious issues that affect us all in a major, major way. And I think President Biden delivered the case brilliantly. I think he clapped back at the WWE style antics of Republicans in an absolutely masterful way. Absolute masterclass from President Biden tonight. I hope this just wipes away also any suggestion of, should he run in 2024? Let's get someone. No. President Biden is the guy. He is the man for this moment. I think tonight was absolutely phenomenal. I think it was a historic speech, and I think everybody should be proud to be an American tonight watching that. Brian, you mentioned the streets of bakersfield so before we go i want to show you the remix we

did in our trailer if anybody else is looking for something to watch tonight or later this week it's called killing county crime corruption cover-up it all goes down in kevin mccarthy's district here it is to take us out streets of bakersfield. This is one of the most powerful projects I've ever been involved with. 911, what is your emergency? I'm hearing all kinds of gunshots down the streets of my house. I had never known Bakersfield to be a violent place. That changed pretty quickly. I came here looking

for something. I knew the homicide rate in Bakersfield was high. I didn't really know what that meant until I got here. I'm not trying to be nobody. Two people are dead

and a BPD officer is in the hospital following an early morning shooting at a Southwest Bakersfield hotel. My son died in a shootout. F this, I'm calling the cops on the cops. The deadliest law enforcement in the country per capita. Highest rate of officer-involved deaths anywhere in the country. This is where the story takes a very bizarre turn.

And as you start unraveling the layers, you start to see that there's more than just a couple bad officers. He had collected drugs and then sold for his own gain. I was wrong, and I admit that today. One side, a celebrated character in a movie, and then a disgraced officer. I began to not only bend the rules,

I began to cross the line. How many of you listen and judge me? You don't have to experience what I experienced to really understand that there's a problem here. The man is dead. These cops have no reason to do this to this man. They're not supposed to be judge, jury, and executioner. They don't know me, but you don't know me.

I never thought in my wildest dream that it was my son laying there in the sidewalk. Murder. My brother was an amazing person. He was so full of life. He had amazing kids. And I'm sorry. Police department killed my dad.

They shot my step seven times. Well, who holds these people accountable? Guess what? They met their match. As the Wall Street Spikers see. Now that's a Midas Touch trailer right there. I'm Ben Myselis from the Midas Touch Network, White House reporter Brian Karam. Thank you for joining. Brett, thanks for joining.

Check us out at patreon.com slash Midas Touch. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel. Search out our podcast, the Midas Touch podcast, the Legal AF podcast, our new podcast, Political Beatdown that I do with Michael Cohen.com for the best pro-democracy gear, store.midastouch.com. Thank you all. We love you. We appreciate you so much. Until next time, shout out to the Midas Mighty.