The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Gets Blindsided as Senate GOP Turns Against Him on Vote

Episode Date: October 29, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Senate Republicans voting against Donald Trump’s tariff plan and Meiselas reports on how Republicans are increasingly getting upset at the optics of Republicans vacationing during the shutdown and Trump and the GOP ripping away people’s healthcare and SNAP benefits. Schedule your free inspection and get up to 30% off your entire purchase at https://leaffilter.com/MEIDAS Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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On this vote, the Azer 52 and then Azer 48. and the joint resolution is passed. That right there was the moment where Donald Trump got blindsided by the Senate, which the MAGA Republicans control, and they voted against his tariffs against Brazil.

Those tariffs are crushing American companies. I think more significantly, American consumers. We all see the price of coffee skyrocketing, the price of beef skyrocketing, the price of, other critical commodities that we get from Brazil skyrocketing. And in the Senate, you had a number of MAGA Republican senators who try to pretend that

they're moderate joining forces with Democrats to send a powerful message against Donald Trump saying that we do not support these tariffs. Now, it's important to note that in the House of Representatives, MAGA Mike Johnson has ordered that the MAGA Republicans don't even show up to. work. I think in the past 100 days, they've worked about 12 days in the House of Representatives as they continue to cover up the Epstein files and refuse to swear in. Congresswoman elect from Arizona, Adelita Griehalva. Also, previously, the MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a resolution or a piece of legislation where they've said that anything

that Donald Trump says about tariffs overrides anything they can do in the House. so they've preemptively blocked their own power under Article 1 of the Constitution, the power of the purse, the tax, and for tariffs, but the Senate sending a clear message right there. So the Senate voted 52 to 48 to overturn Trump's 50% tariffs on Brazil. The five Republicans that joined with Democrats include Susan Collins, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, and Tom Tillis. As I just noted, the measure seems to be dead on. arrival in the House of Representatives as House Republicans voted earlier this year to block all

votes challenging Trump's tariffs until March 2026. But we're also seeing growing discontent among some notable names in the House of Representatives, MAGA Republicans, whether it's Marjorie Taylor Green being very outspoken against the Trump regime and others, which I'll cover in this video as well. Senator Ruben Gallego says breaking the Senate just passed a bill to reverse Trump's reckless tariffs on Brazil. About time, Trump realizes he can't make coffee beans grow in the United States. His chaotic tariffs just make your morning cup more expensive. Senator Elizabeth Warren says coffee prices are up 21 percent. Ground beef prices are up 13 percent. Big reason why Trump's chaotic tariffs on Brazil. I voted to repeal these tariffs

along with every Democrat and a few Republicans and it passed in the Senate. All eyes now on the House Republicans who are still on vacation, as Burgess Everett writes. Some Republicans are also now rooting for the United States Supreme Court to block Donald Trump's tariffs against the world. That case with the Supreme Court, we've covered on the Midas Touch Network briefing from former chair members, the chairpersons rather of the Federal Reserve, former top Treasury Secretaries, former Federal Reserve Board of Governors, a third. 44 federal judges joined forces in an amicus brief and others.

All of the, a lot of the blue state governors, all of the blue state governors. And here are just a sample of what some Republicans said. A GOP senator too cowardly to be identified said, we are the ones who dictate tax policy. Tariffs are a form of taxation. You think? Maybe you want to put your name out there. Susan Collins says the constitutional authority is pretty clear.

investing in Congress. I know, but does that make you, are you perturbed, Susan Collins? Are you perturbed by this? Senator Murkowski says the Canada retaliatory tariffs are not appropriate and he had no basis for advancing those. And you'll recall that the tariffs against Brazil is because Donald Trump doesn't like that the Brazilian Supreme Court successfully convicted the insurrectionist leader of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, who was a MAGA puppet of Donald Trump. Let me share this with you. You got Republican Senator Rand Paul. He says to Politico, show called The Conversation, that 20 GOP senators are privately grumbling

about losing farm exports to China because of Trump's tariff war, but none of them have the guts to speak up. He said there are 20 of us. who oppose all of this but won't say anything because they prefer to have their little seat at Club Rose Garden or perhaps a golden ticket to the golden ballroom. Here play this clip of Senator Rand Paul. There are probably eight farm states. Maybe there are 10 farm states. That means there's 20 senators who have always believed in free trade and they're all grumbling and they're all like, China's not buying any of our, you know, soybean this year. The tariff war with China.

has led to this, and they don't have the guts because it's their president, and frankly, they're afraid. They're afraid that he will do to them what he's trying to do to me. That's too bad, because it would be a little easier on me if I weren't the only target if there were other people willing to stand up and oppose bad policy. Now, yesterday there was a hearing on Capitol Hill in the Senate where they're still holding hearings, not in the House. In the House, Maga Mike said, don't show up House members. We don't speak. to Democrats, yet alone negotiate with Democrats. That's what Maga Mike's view is.

We heard from the leader of the Soybean Association, Caleb Ragland, and he spoke about how harmful these tariffs are on him, not to mention the fact that all export markets have been cut off as a result of Trump's tariffs against the world, but also the prices of things like fertilizer. Play this clip. Other factors are contributing to higher

input cost. The U.S. imports $33 billion in inputs annually. For high-cost products like fertilizer and pesticides, tariffs create a heavy financial burden. IEPA tariffs have raised tariff-related input expenses for farmers from 1% to over 12% this year. Inputs also depend on the global market. Many fertilizers and half of the active ingredients for pesticides are imported. Global dynamics like demand shifts and geopolitical issues also impact prices. The high cost of farm production has eroded the financial safety net of soybean farmers and has made it harder to weather trade-related market losses this year. Now, the former Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, he's He had this to say, this was actually in August, this clip, though, but it's relevant today as ever about Trump's reckless trade war against the world and specifically against Brazil, where Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil, despite the fact that America has a significant trade surplus with Brazil.

They justify tariffs based on trade deficits. I don't think that's the way to go, but then they threw a tariff on on Brazil at 50%. And we have a trade surplus with Brazil. So there's no sort of rationale for, this other than you know just the president wanting to raise tariffs based upon his whims his opinions and so i think choppy waters are ahead we all know that autumn leaves are beautiful until they're clogging your gutters enjoy the season knowing your gutters are clean and avoiding costly damage protect your home now with leaf filter america's number one gutter protection company so you never have to clean out your gutters again right now you can get a free inspection, a free estimate, and save up to 30% off your entire purchase at leaffilter.com slash midas.

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the rule. From McConnell, folks, Mitch McConnell put this statement out yesterday. I'm approaching this week's votes on tariffs the same way I did earlier this year and the same way I have my entire career. Protectionists in Washington insist that the past several months have vindicated the policy of indiscriminate trade wars against both close allies and strategic adversaries. But Kentuckians are especially well equipped to sort the bluster from the truth. New trade barriers imposed this year have made it harder to sustain the supply chains that let thousands of Kentuckians build cars and appliances in the Commonwealth. Retaliatory tariffs on the American products have turned agriculture income upside down for many of Kentucky's 70,000 family farms. Bourbon has been caught in the crossfire from day one, and consumers are paying higher prices across the board as the true cost of trade barriers fall inevitably on them. Protectionists eagerly celebrate the revenue from tariff duties, but they don't talk nearly as much about how much of that revenue they'll spend protecting American grants.

growers and producers from the avoidable harm of their policies. Tariffs make both building and buying in America more expensive. The economic harms of trade wars are not the exception to history but the rule. And this is where Mitch McConnell just sticks in the dagger and twists it. And no cross-eyed reading of Ronald Reagan will reveal otherwise. This week, I will vote in favor of resolutions to end emergency tariff authorities. And folks, it's not just. just on this issue of the tariffs. It's not just on Trump's unlawful use of tariffs. It's also

Donald Trump unlawfully withholding supplemental nutrition assistance protection benefits from 42 million Americans because Trump wants to see Americans not only lose their health care as the Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire. Donald Trump wants to see Americans starve to death. At least Marie Antoinette wanted them to eat cake. Donald Trump wants you to starve and die because Donald Trump hates Americans. Let me repeat that. Donald Trump hates Americans. And why do I say that not to be hyperbolic? His behavior shows he hates Americans. Ripping away health care from 20 million Americans, hates Americans. Obviously wants him to die. 42 million Americans losing supplemental nutrition assistance program. Yeah, that's hate,

hating, hating Americans. Listen to what Susan Collins says while she clutches her pearls. Top Senate appropriator, right? It's top Senate appropriator. Her job is to, even though we don't want it to be her job, is to figure out how funds get appropriated in the Senate. She goes, in my judgment, based on analysis that the attorneys on my staff have done, the Senate Appropriations Committee, it is a novel interpretation for the department, meaning Trump's Department of Agriculture, to claim that it cannot use the $5 billion in contingency money to help with SNAP benefits. If you look at what the Center on Budget and Policy Priority says about this as well, they say SNAP's contingency reserves available for regular SNAP benefits as USDA and OMB,

Office of Management and Budget, USDA, United States Department of Agriculture, have made this determination in this past. It's not a close call. So folks, when Trump and J.D. Vance say, oh, we can't figure out a way how to get these SNAP funds to the American people, it's a total lie. I mean, if you look at the SNAP funding language from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, I mean, it says right here, for necessary expenses to carry out the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, it says $122 billion, of which $3.2 billion, of which three,

billion to remain available through September 2026 shall be placed in reserve for use only in such amounts and at such time as may become necessary to carry out the program's operations. Now, there was $3 billion from 2024, and then there's $3 billion from fiscal year 2025 still left. It's possible we don't know the number because we have zero transparency from the Trump regime that some of the initial three billion from 2024 may have gone away. We don't know, but assume it's $5 billion. It's between $5 billion and $6 billion. And what we know is from the plain language of the law, I just read it to you. It's not a complicated law. It says this is what it goes to. The prior Trump administration practice, including as recently as a few weeks ago on the

Agriculture Department laps of funding plan, they've removed this language from the website, which they acknowledge that they're supposed to make these payments. The first Trump administration's understanding as communicated repeatedly in multiple USDA documents and confirmed by the government accountability office that contingency funds could be used for SNAP benefits during the 2018 and 2019 shutdown called the Trump precedent that they said this could be used then

and all previous administrations had the same interpretation. So yet another lie from the MAGA Republicans. And look, even Marjorie Taylor-Green, says what the hell is going on here, right? Jake Sherman, who covers the Cummings and Goings on Capitol Hill, he writes, on the House Republican conference call, Marjorie Taylor Green just said

that she is tired of people listening to the White House political staff. Marjorie Taylor Green said that Thune needs to use the nuclear option and reopen government. In other words, abolish the filibuster and pass a funding bill. But she says, you left out that I said,

I have no respect for the House not being in session, passing our bills, and the president's executive orders. And I demand to know from Speaker Johnson what the Republican plan for health care is to build the off-ramp of Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act tax credits

to make health insurance affordable for Americans. Johnson said he's got ideas and pages of policy ideas and committees of jurisdiction are working for it. But he's refused to give one policy proposal to our GOP conference on our own conference call. Apparently, I have to go to a skiff. a sensitive compartmented information facility to find out the Republican health care plan.

Now, we also saw this growing list of other Republicans in addition to Marjorie Taylor Green as well, getting absolutely pissed off about just the optics. And it should be more than optics. It should be what actually American people are feeling and going through and the suffering. But a lot of these Republicans don't like the optics that they're not sure.

showing up to work in Washington, D.C. While this shutdown is taking place, and Americans like, what the hell? You're getting paid to go on a vacation. You're not holding town halls. What cowards you are, MAGA Republicans. You're pathetic MAGA Republicans is what most Americans are saying right now.

That's why Trump's approval is crashing right now, the least popular president in United States history. But, folks, Donald Trump's focused. He's focused on the Golden Ballroom, but he's got a new, something new on his agenda. It's the triumphal arch. Yep, the Washington Post reports. The White House just fired all six members

of the Commission of Fine Arts, an independent federal agency that was expected to review some of Trump's construction projects, including his planned arch in Washington. Yep, remember Trump wants to build that triumphal arch right by the Lincoln Memorial, a Arch de Trump, a memorial to himself.

I'm not making this up. And so he fired the people on the commission who would not approve it, replaced it with loyalists, and they will be building a Trump arc. Let me just say that for those who will be running in the Democratic primary, I think it's going to be an,

I just think it's going to be an important point to say that the ballroom coming down, the triumphal arc, coming down and I think the American people will show up and be applauding that because this is some weird, dangerous, grotesque behavior

as Trump's doing the YMCA Epstein dance that he does. A sick human being. Weird. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Thanks so much for watching. New Midas merch. Head to store.m.com today and get yourself the best Pro-Democracy gear and show your support. That's store. com.