The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Past Resurfaces After Speech at Steel Plant

Episode Date: May 31, 2025

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump’s past of using Chinese Steel instead of American for his projects and Trump lying about the terms of the Nippon Steel deal with US Steel. Meiselas has the receipts! Fast Growing Trees: Get 15% OFF your first purchase at https://fastgrowingtrees.com/meidas when you use code: MEIDAS at checkout! 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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You don't need to be up there. The Summer Big Red Sale is on from June 5th to June 12th. Conditions apply. Details online. You know I love to come with receipts here at the even the toughest of critics with freshly prepared Canadian barbecue favorites from Sobeys. You know I love to come with receipts here at the Midas Touch Network. I like to come with the evidence. So when I saw Donald Trump speak at the U.S. Steel Factory in Pittsburgh, which is about to be acquired, that's an important word, acquired by Nippon Steel in an acquisition, and I saw the steelworkers who were all there being used as props, and a lot of them were clapping for Donald Trump. I'm thinking to myself, y'all realize that you are clapping for your own demise? Y'all realize that you are clapping for

somebody who has attacked steelworkers his entire life and who has always sided with foreign steel over American steel in his own projects over and over again. So let me come with the receipts. The first thing I want to show you is by now you know that all of these MAGA Republicans are claiming that Nippon Steel is not acquiring US Steel. No, no, no. Even though it's always been called an acquisition, what's really happening here is some like strategic partnership and US Steel is just accepting an investment from Nippon. That's not what's happening. Nippon Steel, a Japanese steel company, the fourth largest in the world, is acquiring U.S. steel.

And a lot of politicians and a lot of people believe that posed a national security issue to have any foreign ownership of U.S. steel. How do I know it's an acquisition? Let's go to the Nippon Steel website and let's show you what they're referring to it. Nothing's changed since March 15th, 2024 in terms of the terms of the deal. If you wanna show me the deal, I'll look at if the deal has been revised,

but the deal that I'm aware of is the one that former president blocked for national security reasons. And here's what the Nippon Steel Corporation posted about the deal. Statement about acquisition of United States Steel Corporation by Nippon Steel. In the Asia trades and in the Japanese markets, how are they referring to it? Nippon Steel says U.S. Steel acquisition would help defenses against China.

And then you go and read their release. Nippon Steel said its purchase of US Steel would strengthen American supply chains and economic defenses against China. Okay, that's how they're framing it because it is an acquisition. So let's go through kind of line by line and let me just point out how the people who were in Pittsburgh, the steel workers, were clapping for their own demise. So, Donald Trump posts the following, We don't want America's future to be built with shoddy steel from Shanghai.

We want it built with the strength and pride of Pittsburgh. Who would ever want to use shoddy steel from Shanghai? Oh wait, Donald Trump. Here's an article back from October 3rd, 2016 Newsweek, how Donald Trump ditched US steel workers in favor of China. Plenty of blue collar workers believe that as president, Donald Trump would be ready to fight off US trade adversaries and reinvigorate the country's manufacturing industries through his commitment to the Rust Belt.

What they likely don't know is that Trump has been stiffing American steelworkers on his own construction projects for years, choosing to deprive untold millions of dollars from four key electoral swing states, instead directing it to China, the country whose trade practices have helped decimate the once-powerful industrial center of the United States. A Newsweek investigation found that in at least two of Trump's last three construction projects, Trump opted to purchase his steel and aluminum from Chinese manufacturers rather than United States corporations based in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. In other instances, he abandoned steel altogether, instead choosing the far less expensive option

of buying concrete from various companies. Of Trump's last three construction projects, the first to use Chinese steel was Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, which opened in 2008. The manufacturers from China is not immediately evident. The fact is hidden within a chain of various corporate entities, including holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. That micro-state is a popular site for obscure, offshore entities that exist only on legal documents, limiting the potential liability of real businesses while obscuring

their true owners. According to government documents, the Chinese entity chosen by Trump to provide steel for the Las Vegas property is a holding company called Osin Innovation Co-LTD, formerly known as Ultra Glory International LTD. That British Virgin Island entity in turn owns a second holding company called Osin Innovation Materials Group LTD,

which through a complex legal arrangement indirectly owns Osin Innovation Materials Co, LTD, which through a complex legal arrangement indirectly owns Oson Innovation Materials Co., LTD, and through it Oson Steel, Wire, and Cable Co., the operating business located in Shanghai. With such layers upon layers of corporate shells and divisions, builders like Trump can purchase their steel from less expensive Chinese suppliers without the ultimate supplier being readily apparent. But I guess Donald Trump says that would be the shoddy steal, but he would always use that in all of his business projects.

Now, one of the things we also know, and let's not forget, is that Donald Trump had a Chinese bank account, which all of a sudden had a deposit in 2017 of $17.5 million. Also it should be noted that in many years Donald Trump had paid more money in taxes to China than he paid for his own taxes here in the United States. Trump paid nearly $200,000 in taxes in a year where he paid $750 in taxes into the United States. As we said, Trump by the numbers, $188,561 in taxes to China, $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, $750 in taxes to the United States. So back in 2020 when Midas Touch was first founded, we created this video.

We called it Quid Pro Trump and we focused on Trump's relations with China. Here, play this clip. The trade war with China is having negative effects on the U.S. economy. I realized that it was going to affect us. I don't like raising my prices. Farmers are the ones that are taking it on the job. It doesn't look like a big win for the United States.

No, it doesn't at all. I like China. Am I supposed to dislike it? John Bolton, the former national security adviser for President Trump, writes in his book, as it relates to President Trump's meetings with President Xi, Trump then stunningly turned the conversation to the coming U.S. presidential election, pleading with Xi to ensure he'd win. There's a sense here in Beijing that another four years of Trump would benefit Beijing.

People say, oh, you don't like China. No, I love them. Did you know Fast Growing Trees is the biggest online nursery in the U.S. with thousands of different plants and over two million happy customers? They have all the plants your yard needs, like fruit trees, privacy trees, flowering trees, shrubs, and so much more. Whatever plants you're interested in, Fast Growing Trees has you covered. Find the perfect fit for your climate and space. Fast Growing Trees makes it easy to get your dream yard. Order online and get your plants delivered directly to your door in just a few days without

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He said he needed to help them out. Quid pro Trump. Or does he not want to be called the taco? Trump always chickens out. This is what Trump posted. He said, two weeks ago ago China was in grave economic danger The very high tariffs I set made it virtually impossible for China to trade into the United States marketplace Which is by far number one in the world We went in effect cold turkey with China and it was devastating for them many factories closed and there was to put it mildly

Civil unrest I saw what was happening and didn't like it for them not for us I made a fast deal with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation And I didn't want to see that happen because of this situation Because of this deal everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual everybody was happy That is good news. The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, has totally violated its agreement with us. So much for being Mr. Nice Guy. I mean, in China it's just obviously just laughing at a statement like that as Donald

Trump does weirdo adult fiction. I think it's important that we understand what the United States Steelworkers Union is saying as well about all of these statements coming out from Donald Trump and MAGA leaders. There's a lot of confusion right now, and the United States Steelworkers don't even know what the deal is. Because if the deal was the 2024 deal, which is the only deal that we're aware of at the Midas Touch Network of Nippon acquiring US Steel, that's an acquisition,

and there could be serious issues about Nippon phasing out the factory workers who belong to the union, going to non-union workers, or trying to consolidate with other manufacturing that they have and eventually shut down this facility. Nippon claims it's never going to do that. Nippon says it's going to be a good steward of US Steel. But remember, Donald Trump during the campaign, MAGA Republicans during the campaign, and former President Biden. I think if there was one area of agreement, they believed that a foreign ownership of U.S. steel could pose a national threat, and they said they were going to oppose it on that and other reasons. Here's what the United States steelworkers had to say.

Let's pull it up. They said, following uncertainty on the shop floors about recent public statements regarding a, quote, planned partnership between Nippon Steel and US Steel. We want to provide some clarity on what is known and more importantly what remains unknown to everyone who isn't involved in kind of these closed door discussions in which the United States Steel Workers Union has not been included. Over the last several days, we've received calls and messages from many of our members and local union leaders who do not support the merger, asking what the

rumored partnership means. At this time, we cannot say whether the planned partnership described in Friday's message on Truth Social or news reports since then represents any meaningful change from the merger proposed in 2023, under which Nippon Steel would acquire the U.S. Steel and make it a wholly owned subsidiary. Throughout recent months, as the public conversation has turned to Nippon investing in U.S. Steel or partnering with U.S. Steel, Nippon has maintained consistently that it would only invest in U.S. Steel's facility if it owned the company outright.

We've seen nothing in the reporting over the past few days suggesting that Nippon has walked back from this position of ownership of acquisition. We also cannot confirm how much of the publicly claimed $14 billion in proposed investment would be directed to our union-represented plans, or how much of that sum would go toward genuinely new capital improvements as opposed to routine repair and maintenance. In other words, is this promised $14 billion by Nippon Steel just $14 billion in operating costs that they would need to spend anyway or is this $14 billion in new money that's

actually going to help the workers? It sounds like it's just gonna be operating costs and that's why nobody wants to really discuss what it is. And at least just say what it is, just let people know so they can make an informed decision here and not be conned. It goes on to say, further NEPA has not disputed reports that suggest up to 4 billion of the 14 billion would be earmarked

for greenfield operations. And our members already know be earmarked for greenfield operations. And our members already know that our plants are not greenfields. And generally that means non-union. In other words, the 14 billion would be invested in non-union shops and non-union labor to try to break the steel workers unions. So all those people who I saw clapping in the background, I'm sure many of you belong to the union. Like they're coming for you.

Like, you're probably going to lose your job. But I guess, keep clapping, I don't know. It goes on to say, and no details have been provided about how or when this money would be spent over the next 14 months. A claim made in Friday's Truth Social message, a timeframe that aligns closely with the expiration of the basic labor agreement in 15 months. Our core concerns about Nippon Steel, a foreign-owned corporation with a documented history of violating

U.S. trade laws, remain as strong and valid today as ever. And that is so whether U.S. Steel and Nippon adhere to the same deal that they have pursued since December 2023, or whether they tweak the terms to satisfy concerns in Washington. We will continue to demand transparency, fairness, and respect for the rights of our members and enforce our basic labor agreement. As always, your solidarity is our greatest strength. You see, the MAGAs keep calling it partnership. This was Trump's post that was being referred to there. I am proud to announce that after much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will remain in

America and keep its headquarters in the great city of Pittsburgh. For many years, the name United States Steel was synonymous with greatness, and now it will be again. This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the U.S. economy. The bulk of that investment will occur in the next 14 months. This is the largest investment in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. My tariff policies will ensure that steel will once again be forever made in America,

from Pennsylvania to Arkansas and from Minnesota to Indiana American made is back. I will see you all at the US Steel Pittsburgh on Friday May 30th for a big rally Congratulations To all and again, where does that 70,000? Job numbers come from it's a made-up number. This is not going to generate 70,000 jobs job numbers come from, it's a made up number. This is not going to generate 70,000 jobs. It's going to be a net loss of jobs.

If you go look at the former Trump administration, the former first term, Trump's tariffs on steel actually caused a lot of manufacturers to lose jobs. He did not bring jobs back at all. He didn't. There's not going to be 70,000 jobs. That's just something entirely made up. So now let me show you this and I'll just show you kind of the flip-flops here that's taking place. So this is now Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania who recently won the election.

But here's what he said back on January 31st, 2024 that he would be up and he's the senator from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He said we need to have domestic steel owned by American companies and that allowing Nippon to acquire it would be very bad for our national security. So he said that January 31, 2024 here play this clip. Because of the national security implications. So we need to have a domestic steel industry. It's one of those industries that are most critical to our national security.

And so we learned during COVID when our pharmaceuticals were dependent on the outside world, semiconductors, that we need to have critical industries like steel that are made here at home. So the government should or should not block B-PUN steel taking U.S. steel? I said it should block.

The government should block it on national security grounds. All right. Now here he is this past week saying the exact opposite so you can see for yourself. Play this clip. We are told time and time again by all the financial analysts and pundits that this has implications for pretty much all of America. But if you're not somebody who's an investor or shareholder or a worker in the industry, can you lay out for us why we should care? Yeah, well, the first thing is we have to be a place

that welcomes foreign investment. So foreign direct investment in the United States and Pennsylvania alone creates is $20 billion it creates 330,000 jobs. So having companies come to the United States and invest is a key part of our growing economy. And in this case, the reason this is so important is because our domestic steel industry

is essentially almost gone out of business. And this inflow flow of new capital is gonna help US Steel be cutting edge, have all the newest technology, and it's going to help our national security because we need a healthy domestic steel industry in our country. We almost lost it. This will be great for shipbuilding. This will be great for lots of things that are critical to industrial manufacturing. As I said, it's a great driver for economic growth and great jobs. Finally, I could show you other clips like this, but here's Laura Ingraham just trying to,

and she asked a pretty basic question here. Have we seen the terms of this deal? What are the terms? Is this an acquisition? Is this an investment? What's going on here? And watch these MAGA Republicans squirm and a softball question. Here, play this clip. Well, the president fights for American workers first. The president fights for American companies first. This was quite a rally in Pittsburgh. We haven't seen a Trump rally of this sort in a long while. Here to break it all down, Alex Marlowe, Breitbart editor in chief, host of the Alex Marlowe show. Alex, this is being described as a partnership, this deal between Nippon and U.S. Steel, but then it's described as an acquisition on the U.S. Steel website,

and then it's described as a partnership, and President Trump said he will be watching over things as things proceed, as this deal goes forward. Have you seen any of the terms of this deal thus far? Like who owns the majority stake in this company? Laura, this is exactly where I was hoping you would start because I'm reading all these different things. I'm trying to get deal details and I'm hearing it's an investment. Okay, that sounds terrific.

And I hear it's a partnership thinking, wait a minute. And then you think about it, US Steel has been, had the Nippon Steel's had its eye on US Steel trying to buy it for 18 months. And we cannot have US Steel owned by a foreign company. Even a great country like Japan should not be owning any part of US major manufacturing. I mean, that is a major national security risk.

And I've not seen the deal detailed. The rally was sensational. I completely trust Donald Trump and I trust the current Japanese government to do something good. But we have to insulate ourselves, Laura, in case we have a bad president one day. So any deal when we see these terms, it needs to be Pete Buttigieg proof. It needs to be Kamala Harris proof. The amount of surveillance we're going to have to do, the amount of censoring and surveying that we're going to have to do to make sure that Japan can't use US deal to leverage us in a dispute. we're going to have to do, the amount of censoring and surveying that we're going to have to do to make sure that Japan can't use U.S. steel to leverage us in a dispute. It's going to be a lot. I trust Trump. I don't trust everyone else on this.

Well, and I don't know if he was fully informed about the terms of the deal. We just don't know. But if anyone would protect American workers and American industry, it would be Donald Trump. So that's obviously on the side of being in favor of this. So here's the thing, and I'm not approaching this from a partisan way. I'm not approaching this as, oh, Democrats and Republicans. Democrats and Republicans on a bipartisan basis didn't support this acquisition.

Well, now there seems to be support for this acquisition by the MAGA Republicans at least. And people are talking about a deal. And we've seen before with Donald Trump over and over again, he does fake deals. And so the question is, what the hell is really going on? And there should be a modicum of transparency here. And then you go back and you see Trump's history with steel in his own buildings. And he's saying that nobody wants shoddy Chinese steel. But that means all of your buildings

then are shoddy Chinese or a lot of them are shoddy Chinese steel buildings. It doesn't make sense because he's lying. And I'm and this should raise a lot of, if they're lying about that, if they're not showing you the deal, and he's just going up and giving these speeches, I'm talking to the steelworkers there who were clapping for him. Like literally, how many times can you be fooled by this guy? Like how many times? He's just going to over forever? Like he can inflict any pain on you and your family actually. He can destroy your union, but then you'll get angry at a transgender volleyball player. Like that makes sense to you?

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