The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Folds and Gives Hormuz to Iran

Episode Date: May 6, 2026

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump publicly announcing his surrender of the Strait of Hormuz to Iran in just 24 hours after announcing Project Freedom. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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For less, give AncestryDNA. Visit Ancestry.ca.C. Today. Offer ends May 10th. Terms apply. Donald Trump has already caved. Donald Trump is surrendering again. Project Freedom is now over and lasted under 24 hours. Yes, Donald Trump has folded.

Yes, it is Taco Tuesday, everybody. Donald Trump just posted the following, saying he's shutting down that Project Freedom where he claimed he would be escorting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He said the U.S. was putting all of its Navy behind it and all of its naval power. And Donald Trump also said this was. the single greatest military maneuver in the history of the United States military. He said that in the past 24 to 48 hours. Now, here's what Donald Trump just posted moments ago.

Based on the request of Pakistan and other countries, the tremendous military success that we've had during the campaign against the country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that while the blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom, the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed. Donald J. Trump, as one commentator noted, so he's ceasefire the unilateral ceasefire, he declared. Now, Jeremy Satchel at Dropsite News said, an Iranian official

told me that Donald Trump's post just now is riddled with falsehood. and his operation to liberate the Hormuz Strait failed completely. Quote, we will not participate in direct negotiations until the United States formally announces the end of the blockade, said the official, and Donald Trump has backed down and he has cave. Now also, a source very close to Iran's head of parliament, M.B. Gala Baf posted the following. Sentcom has failed in presenting any type of operational initiative to open the straight of her mother. Moose. An American destroyer has been attacked by unknown agents, and three destroyers are adrift. The Strait of Hermuz is completely closed, and no vessel passes through it.

Trump's hasty operations have increased the risk of vessel passage and have effectively blocked the strait entirely. In terms of timing, the straits closure for another three weeks will create the most unprecedented economic and political crisis in the world, especially within America. So M. B. Ghalibov-Aran's parliament leader put that out. Then Donald Trump announces surrender. And then M.B. Ghalabov's source then says, or M.B. Ghalabaf's proxy says, Trump halts his plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after failing to confront Iran. So on state regime media, which called itself Fox, they had to grapple with this. Oh, we were just talking up Operation Project Freedom. And we were saying this was the greatest military.

endeavor in the history of the United States, and it was going to escort all of these ships. We had all these people saying that this was the greatest thing, and Trump was really in it this time, and he was not going to cave, and he was super serious this time. So watch what happened on Jesse Waters as Donald Trump admitted complete surrender.

Let's play this clip. Fox News Alert, the president says, based on the request of Pakistan and other countries, we have mutually agreed that while the blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the agreement can be finalized and signed. We suspect the president is letting the Iranian save face. The enemy just yesterday said they controlled the straight.

That was obviously a lie. And watching the Americans escort ship after ship out of the Gulf and them not being able to do anything about that was going to be humiliating. Not only were they going to lose whatever military prestige they had left in the region, their negotiators weren't going to be able to fight for their position after they lost their last bargaining chip. The commander-in-chief must believe that the Iranians are serious about surrendering if he's going to pause Project Freedom for the sake of the deal. Because you could also continue Project Freedom during the negotiations. You know, you do want to get these foreign ships moving.

the president must know what he's doing. And we're about to find out how insane in the brain the regime really is. Now, Donald Trump admitted complete surrender. As you'll recall, we were reporting the following. A cargo ship had been attacked with missiles or drones in these trade of removes earlier today, likely by Iran. This is separate from the South Korean ship and the UAE ship and the Port of Fujera, which was struck yesterday by Iran.

Another ship was hit today. We know that Iran was also firing directly at the United States Navy destroyers. And Donald Trump said, if they dare do that, we're going to wipe Iran off the face of this earth. Well, Iran did it as the Navy destroyers looked like they may be heading in. And then Donald Trump did nothing. He backed down yet again. I think part of all of this also has to do with the fact that foreign minister Araghi of Iran is in China right now. meeting with Xi Jinping and meeting with his counterpart, the foreign minister of China,

this was in advance of Donald Trump going to China because Trump's about to take his trip to China. I think that Trump was so worried that his trip to China was going to be called off because Trump really wants that video of him and Xi Jinping with all of the Chinese soldiers standing at attention. Trump wants that photo and Xi Jinping knows that Trump will do anything. I think that has to do with this as well. because I think the timing of Aragchi with Jijing Ping and Donald Trump's being, you know, being in awe of Jijing Ping, the king, as Donald Trump calls him, and also being a Putin boot licker. Also, we learned the following as well before Donald Trump made that announcement. A cruise missile launched from Bandar Abbas, Iran, toward the Persian Gulf.

We see it. You can see the cruise missile. Explosions have been heard on Keshem Island, Bandarabas, and Boucher, per Iranian. media. Then Iran announced, before Donald Trump made that announcement, Iran announces through their parliament, Iran has launched a new system regulating vessel passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to state TV. Ships must first notify Iranian authorities, then receive an electronic message outlining navigation rules. After accepting these terms, they are granted a transit permit. Permits will be issued by a newly established governing body. Now, while this was all taking place, J.D. Vance was giving a speech. And here's what happened during J.D. Vance's speech. It was so

utterly humiliating. Here, play this clip. When I see that, when I see Iowa farmers who need to get that E15 to market. What is this, what is Zach? You're going to have to help me out with her name here. I lost my page here. Okay. All right. Okay, there we go. Sarah Trone Garrett. There he is. I'm on the wrong page here. Now, Barack Ravid, Donald Trump's, outside propagandist over at Axios, he posts U.S. flag, Iranian flag, ship emoji, Trump suspends Hormuz operation, claims progress on Iran deal. My report, this guy's like Trump's stenographer. What's Iran posting? Iran's posting photos of their fast boat saying, these boats control everything. Efficiency matters, not size. They're posting this photo or this cartoon AI image of Donald Trump

in the bottom of the Persian Gulf. latest press briefing from the depths of the Persian Gulf in ultimate misery. Let's check in with Professor Pape, who's been, I think, spot on on Donald Trump's escalation trap and the escalatory ambiguity that Trump's created, which was clear that Donald Trump and the U.S. were never going to achieve their objectives and that Trump had no clue what he was doing. Here's what Professor Pape just posted. Trump just buried Project Freedom with the tax on UAE Oil. it already failed on day one. Trump is desperately bouncing from one extreme to another. A doom spiral of strategic failure in the escalation trap.

The first 60 days of the Iran war didn't go wrong. They followed a script, and that script is now forcing the U.S. into a far more dangerous phase. Ubris, overreach, denial, escalation. 60 days in, Iran's nuclear stockpile remains intact. U.S. allies refused to, military participation. Oil repriced around Hormuz risk, $95 to $15 per barrel on the futures market. Those aren't mixed signals. They are markers of strategic failures. If the U.S. were succeeding,

Professor Pape says Iran would be negotiating on Washington's timeline. Allies would be committing forces. Markets would be stabilizing. None of this is happening in how the mighty fall Jim Colin shows how corporate success turns into collapse. Ubrous overreach, denial, desperate gambles. That same logic is now driving the Iran war. When great powers fail early, they don't stop. They escalate. Wars don't usually end when initial objectives fail.

They enter a phase where leaders try to prevent that failure from becoming visible. That's where the war is now. And when I hear that, I also think about Putin invading Ukraine, the same. eubris, the same psychoticness of Donald Trump. Now, just this morning, folks, just this morning, Pete Heggsett, Secretary of Defense said Iran is embarrassed because we control the straight. They do not. Hegzit said this this morning. Here play this clip. Two U.S. commercial ships along with American destroyers have already safely transited the strait showing the lane is clear. We know the Iranians are.

embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the straight. They do not. So American ships led the way, commercial and military, shouldering the initial risk from the front, as Americans always do. And right now, hundreds more ships from nations around the world are lining up to transit. And Rubio said this morning, the operation is over in Epic Fury. We're winning. Here, play this clip. I think you're linking it. The operation is over. Epic Fury is. The president notified Congress, we're done with that stage of it. Okay, we're now on to this project of freedom. As far as a negotiation is concerned, I think the president's been clear that part of the

negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens to this material that's buried deep somewhere that they still have access to if they ever wanted to dig it out. That has to be addressed, and that's being addressed in the negotiation. I'm not going to go further on what progress has been made on that topic because I don't want to endanger the negotiations, but suffice it to say that the president and this entire team is aware of the centrality of that question, and that will have to be addressed one way or the other. And Rubio said that the new goal is,

we'll take control of the Strait of Hormuz. Here, play this clip. The actor that enables Iran sanctions evasion is going to face secondary sanctions exposure and a loss of access to the US financial system. As President Trump has said, and the facts clearly bear out, the United States of America holds all the cards.

There is no scenario here in which if they decide to join a ladder of escalation, they wind up getting the last say. But our preference is for these straits to be opened to the way they're supposed to be open, back to the way it was. Anyone can use it. No mines in the water. Nobody paying tolls. That's what we have to get back to, and that's the goal here. Every day the conflict continues, however, our leverage on Iran will continue to increase and their position will continue to weaken, especially as the blockade really begins. And folks, we've been seeing this every night in Iran, the people out there in Tehran Square just

celebrating, having the time of their life, apparently, as they've defeated the United States in war. They've brought down Donald Trump. Trump looks utterly humiliated and embarrassed. Perhaps the most pathetic excursion, the most pathetic catastrophic and unlawful war, the most pathetic thing the United States has ever engaged in. One of it. Certainly up there. I've never thought that the U.S. would be viewed as such a loser, but that's what happens when you have a loser in the Oval Office. It's so disgusting. Hit subscribe. everybody, let's get to 7 million. Thanks for watching. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our substack at Midasplus.com.

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