The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Loses Control of War as Markets Implode

Episode Date: March 22, 2026

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump blowing up markets in the United States and globally as a consequence of his disastrous war and Meiselas highlights potential market manipulation taking place as well. 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 plans starting at just $4.99 a month, go to homeserve.com. That's homeserv.com. Not available everywhere. Most plans range between $499 to $11.99 a month your first year. Terms apply on covered repairs. Donald Trump is losing it as his disastrous and catastrophic war in Iran gets worse by the minute. And one of the devastating consequences, especially for Donald Trump, is how disastrous it has been to the economy and particularly for his right-wing oligarch friends. So one of the things that Donald Trump is trying to do desperately as this war has escalated out of control,

role is Donald Trump wants to manipulate the markets. My opinion, that's what he's doing for his oil buddies and for his right-wing oligarch buddies. And so there was this outrageous headline yesterday. We reported on it. I'm sure you've learned about it by now that the United States removed sanctions on 140 million barrels of Iranian oil because Donald Trump seeks to lower gas prices. That was the headline on CNN. That's the headline that Donald Trump and his regime wanted, somehow connecting, removing sanctions on Iranian oil, 140 million barrels, to lowering gas prices. Why? Because Donald Trump wanted to manipulate the markets, because the price per barrel is skyrocketing.

I mean, Saudi Arabia estimates it's going to be $180 per barrel in no time. you all know how much more you're paying at the pump right now, whether you're putting in regular gas or, God forbid, diesel. Right now it is a complete and utter disaster. Also, supply chains of helium and fertilizer have been utterly gutted and destroyed. Our farmers here in the United States need yet another bailout, as Donald Trump at Pete Hegesith are now demanding another $200 billion for this never-ending and disastrous war. But you see what Donald Trump wanted by this headline, again, as treasonous and traitorous, in my opinion as it is, you're removing sanctions against Iranian oil while you're in a war with Iran after removing sanctions on Russian oil as well at making this huge financial gain for Russia, while Russia's providing Iran with information about how to kill Americans and attack American interests in the war in Iran. and Russia's just gloating about it. But what this really is all about is market manipulation because I guess one of the questions we should be asking is 140 million barrels.

Where's that even coming from? And then when you look at some of the statements that have been made by Iran's oil minister, they're like, yeah, we don't have that. Like to the extent that existed, that's been blown up by Trump and Netanyahu. I mean Saman Gudusi, who's the spokesperson for Iran's Ministry of Oil, put out the following statement. At present, Iran essentially has no crude oil left floating on water or surplus for supply in other international markets, and the statement by the U.S. Treasury Secretary is merely aimed at giving hope to buyers and psychologically controlling the markets. Now, we may be saying, well, Ben,

it's what the Iranians are saying. I mean, you trust what the Iranians saying, no, I don't, but I also want to verify what the data is because you will recall that Donald Trump previously claimed that the Iranians were reaching out, begging for a ceasefire. Remember that all last week. They were begging for ceasefires. And then you had to have the foreign Minister of Iran come out and say, nope, my last contact with Steve Whitkoff, Donald Trump's envoy, was prior to his employer's decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public. And then remember right before the markets were set to open this past week, what did Donald Trump do?

he announced that he had assembled a coalition of the willing. All of these countries were joining with the United States in order to open up the straight of Hormuz. And Trump would be announcing that this week. And what did we learn? That was all a lie. So Donald Trump does this right as the markets are closing, right as the markets are going to open to manipulate the markets. And if you look at some of the announcements that Donald Trump made today, for example, or rather on Friday, you'll see the massive movement. in the market based on him putting out completely contradictory messages where people, insiders,

who are in the know, likely made hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, buying and selling based on insider information. And Donald Trump has completely gutted the Securities and Exchange Commission, so there's nobody regulating any of the stuff anymore. So yesterday, for example, at 3.43 p.m. Eastern Time, Donald Trump says, I do not want to do a cease fire with Iran. There will not be a ceasefire in Iran. Well, at 5.13 p.m. Eastern time, Donald Trump says, the U.S. is considering winding down the war with Iran. What changed over those 90 minutes, the Kobayasi letter asks. And it should be noted that the United States has sent multiple

marine expeditionary units right now to the Middle East. There was the one on the USS Tripoli, which was sent out last week. That's arriving at the end of March. There's the USS Boxer and numerous other Marine Expeditionary units coming from San Diego. Separately, the 82nd Expeditionary. The 82nd Airborne Division, rather, is also coming in. So we are ramping up in Iran, not pulling back. But Donald Trump put out a statement at 5.13 p.m. Eastern Time right around when the markets would start to be wrapping up, that the U.S. is considering winding down the war with Iran.

So take a look right here. this is a description of how this impacted the markets. So at 2.30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS reports that Trump was considering boots on the ground. Then at 3.43 p.m., Trump said, I don't want to do a ceasefire with the S&P 500 hitting a new low in 2026. Exactly 90 minutes later, at 5.13 p.m. Eastern time, Donald Trump said the U.S. is considering a wind down in the war in Iran between 3.43 p.m. Eastern time comments. the S&P 500 had already risen nearly 1% on no news. By 6.15 p.m. Eastern time, the S&P rallied by a 1.8% from its low, adding $900 billion in market to the cap. Markets are now closed, obviously, until Monday.

But you look at the overall condition of the markets, and to say they are unhealthy would be an understatement. Look at the current situation of the markets. U.S. inflation expectations have surged to five. point two percent, a three-year high. The Russell 2000 is officially in a technical correction. U.S. gas prices have risen nearly 45 percent in four months. Interest rate futures are now pricing in potential rate hikes. Gold prices are down about $1,000 an ounce from their record high. Mortgage rates have risen 50 basis points to a new 2026 highs. We are witnessing colossal economic change on a daily basis. And the SMP, by the time the market's

closed yesterday, posted its lowest close of 2026, erasing $3.2 trillion in market cap since the Iran war began. But throughout it all, right, and it's all trending down, Donald Trump is giving, in my opinion, these periods of reprieve, these periods of respite, these periods of financial gain to the insiders to have these buy moments in order to make their money. So to me, when we're talking about 140 million barrels of oil from Iran, my question is, where is it? How is it going to be transacted? Where is that oil sitting? And also, has that oil already been unloaded, you know, and sent to China and sent elsewhere to begin with? And so who is this also benefiting? Is if anyone's going to benefit, isn't it going to be China to benefit? Is this just

one massive move to move the markets? Listen to what Gregory Bruce says. over here. This is after the Treasury Secretary announces this. The U.S. is providing a 30-day sanction waiver for Iranian oil on the water loaded before the 20th of March. While the U.S. is trying to supposedly bomb Iran into submission, it's permitting nations to buy Iranian oil for the first time since 2019. In fact, the waiver actually permits Iranian oil to be brought into the United States for the first time since the 1990s. But didn't Donald Trump and his regime say we have so much oil in the United States that we wouldn't need any foreign oil at all because we have all this drill baby drill happening here. So again, what's this all about? This is about

market manipulation in my view. As Fitch believes you'll have $120 per barrel as the average soon, as Saudi Arabia believes it's going to be 180, why don't we take a look at what United the airlines, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. They said that the airline is prepping for oil to hit $175 a barrel and then it won't get back down to $100 a barrel until the end of 2027. United is shaving 3% off peak flights. Think red eyes Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday flying this spring and this summer. So just to repeat that and reiterate that. The CEO of United Airlines, what are they preparing for, right?

Because they use a ton of fuel for flights. What consumes the most fuel? Like airlines, right? And they are preparing for 160. $75 a barrel and that it will not get back down to $100 a barrel until the end of 27, 2027, likely 2028. Okay? That's a sober analysis from someone who has to deal with this, the real business implications here. Now, here was the post by Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, which in my view, my opinion is just textbook market manipulation right here. He goes, this is what he writes,

Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism. And through President Trump's Operation Epic Fury, we are winning this critical fight at an even faster pace than anticipated. So in response to Iran's terrorist attacks against global energy infrastructure, the Trump administration will continue to deploy America's economic and military might to maximize the flow of energy to the world, strengthen global supply, and seek to ensure market stability. So today the Department of Treasury is issuing a narrowly tailored short-term authorization, permitting the sale of Iranian oil currently stranded at sea. At present, sanctioned Iranian oil is being hoarded by China on the cheap. By temporarily unlocking this existing supply for the world, the United States will quickly bring approximately 140 million barrels of oil to global markets,

expanding the amount of worldwide energy, and helping to relieve the temporary pressures on supply caused by Iran. In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against Tehran to keep the price down as we continue Operation Epic Fury. Okay, but the price continues to rise and rise and rise. But don't you see all of the coded language right there of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in my opinion, sending a message to his rich oligarch bros of like, here's what you need to do. Here's when you need to buy. Here's what you need to see. Here's when he needs to go down. This is Treasury Secretary Scott Besant when he made a media appearance talking about removing these sanctions on Russian oil and removing the sanctions on Iranian oil here, play this clip.

We had a break the glass plan across the administration and a treasury. We unsanctioned Russian oil. We knew that there were about 130 million barrels on the water. And we created supply that is. is beyond the Straits of Hermose. So we anticipated this. We knew that there could be a temporary, and I want to emphasize temporary choke point there, and there was 130 million barrels of floating storage. In the coming days, we may unsanctioned the Iranian oil that's on the water.

It's about 140 million barrels, so depending on how you count it, that's 10 days to two weeks of supply. that the Iranians had been pushing out, that would have all gone to China. In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign. And again, if you've been wondering, well, why does Donald Trump keep having like his economics people, like the Treasury Secretary, the energy guy, you have a Secretary-Rite, the Interior Secretary Bergam.

Like, why do these people continue to go on TV? Because I believe it's just textbook market manipulation, right? Here's what Bergam was saying yesterday. And you'll see they were doing their best to keep the markets from imploding by engaging in manipulation. And here's the thing. It's bad manipulation. Like it's stupid manipulation. Like it's not even smart.

And smart money, I'm telling you, smart money. Smart money can sniff this out a mile away. And so it's paradoxically, contradictoryly, it is backfiring. Well, it is not doing what it's intended. It looks like my point is they look like they're panicking with all of their moves right now. And it doesn't like they think that they're so much smarter like, oh, we're doing this. No one's going to know what we're doing. No, we know you're panicking and we know you're trying to manipulate the market.

Like, we're not stupid. They treat everyone like we're stupid. Isn't what Bergam says. Play this clip. President Trump, 180 degrees different. American-made U.S. energy, affordability for Americans, and energy security. And then the ability right now for the U.S. to be in a position where we've got the lowest energy prices in the world right now because of President Trump. Here's what Trump's energy secretary, Chris Wright, had to say, play it. Quick, before you go, what do you make of this comment from Saudi Arabia officials that oil prices,

could soar past $180 a barrel if the disruptions persist until late April? Yeah, Iran's attacks have been terrifying because these are countries they've lived near for decades. They're aiming at their airports, their apartment buildings, their condo buildings, their energy infrastructure. So this destruction certainly is not helpful for global oil prices. The United States military needs to finish the job to defang Iran's ability so they won't do this for the next 47 years but but we you know we've got to get through the period we're in thank thank God we have American energy dominance more from Chris Wright right here I'll play this clip right here some people are saying look how do you justify Iran monetizing

oil during this conflict yeah well this is a very short-term period that oil was going to be monetized anyway again it was just waiting in the line to unload in China so that that oil would have been monetized other ways. But the action against Iran right now is to just pummel their military capabilities. For 47 years, they've terrorized their neighbors. They've had multiple attempts to block the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz before. They have been a geopolitical influence that has driven up the price of energy through my entire adult life. And we just did not want to kick that can down the road to one more administration. Because Iran spends almost all its oil and gas money on armaments, you know, conventional armaments surrounding a nuclear

program. Like you cannot have a nuclear armed Iran. They would be able to put pressure whenever they want, wherever they want, if they had nuclear weapons in a massive nuclear arsenal. So this president's had the bold leadership, and our military every day, every hour of every day is degrading their ability to terrorize their neighbors, threaten Americans, and the infrastructure to build the next round of armaments this is a it's it's a rough conflict to go through but it is very very necessary then you know you have donald trump saying i expected worse gas price

i expected it was right when this failed when this market manipulation strategy fails trump's like but i expected it to be worse here play this clip When I expected worse, actually. I really thought that oil prices would go much higher when I did. S&P, now had 50,000, S&P had 8,000, like nobody's ever seen before. But I said, I have to go off from that path and have to take a little journey. We have to get leave. And he would agree.

But he's not going to go off on a circuitous path and take their business. And we are in the process of doing it. And I'll tell you, I think we're... ahead of schedule. My secretary of state is very happy. You have a question for Marco? And then what was the last week? He was like, the prices are already coming down. We expect the prices to be coming down soon. No, they're not. And again, this is just up here. It's just like COVID, right? Like a miracle, it's all going to go away. What did he say yesterday? The straight will open on its own. We don't need to do anything. Straight of her moves will just

open on its own. Anyway, here's what Donald Trump said about. Prices will be coming down. Let's play it. are coming down very substantially. I would say it went up a little bit less than we thought. It's going to come down more than we. There you have it, folks. Donald Trump getting smoked out yet again, a scheme, market manipulation. Let me know what you think.

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