Transcript of Tuesday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 4/14/26 New

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Welcome to Ben on Breaking News. I'm Ben Myselis and this is your breaking news. You have Donald Trump saying that he expects there to be additional negotiations with Iran fairly soon. He says that they'd likely take place in Pakistan. Again, from all reports, we're hearing that the Trump regime is accepting the idea that Iran will get to enrich uranium It's just a matter of when they will get to enrich uranium again. Apparently the Trump regime is okay with a 20-year period where Iran can enrich uranium. Iran is saying that they want to be able to enrich uranium in about, uh, 5 years. But notably, I don't even think the Trump regime is talking anymore about any of these other terms. I think they've basically accepted, uh, Iran's control over its stockpile of ballistic missiles, of the Shahed drones, of the FPV drones. In some sort or fashion, Iran will now control the Strait of Hormuz. All the Trump regime is saying is that they want to be able to control it on a joint venture basis with Iran as well. So I think recognizing that this Iranian regime will have a lot more power. Iran is saying that they need $260 billion in reparations right now from the Arab neighbor nations, and they're expecting that that take place as well.

There were some ideas being floated around about negotiations taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, or Geneva, and Iran said absolutely not. If we we do another round, it's going to be taking place in Pakistan, which Trump assented to basically right away. And so I think when we talk about this kind of total capitulation, if you will, by the Trump regime to the demands of Iran, that seems to be where this is headed. I think you can contextualize it with how Donald Trump dealt with Kim Jong-un of North Korea. And I just think we shouldn't forget right, that Kim Jong-un right now of North Korea has nukes. Trump allowed him to get nuclear weapons. I'm not sure if you even knew this, but Kim Jong-un has been doing missile tests pretty much every day for the past several months, and big missile tests took place over the past 24 to 48 hours as he brags about having nukes. We are a nuclear power in North Korea. The world understands that. Kim Jong-un says that. And he's also bringing up his daughter and his family as the next wave of leadership there in North Korea. I just reflect on former President Obama's presidency, where it was viewed as the ultimate sign of weakness.

That's how the media reported things. Anytime Kim Jong-un would do a missile test, how can Obama let a missile test happen? How dare he let a missile test happen? Or you remember Under Biden administration, there were weather balloons overhead and it was like, they're letting Chinese weather balloons get near the United States. Then it turned out that these weather balloons frequently took place under the first Trump administration and the Trump regime then just basically ignored it and covered it up and pretended it wasn't happening. But Biden was transparent and actually took action against it.

And so, you know, what did Donald Trump do to Kim Jong-un? What would the great dealmaker do?

Kim Jong Un got nuclear weapons.

Kim Jong Un got everything he wanted, and now he just does ballistic missile tests and is stronger than ever.

And Donald Trump got love letters from Kim Jong Un and totally played.

That was the excursion there. And now the media doesn't even talk about it, right?

When Kim Jong Un does ballistic missile tests, not even really even discussed or talked about. So it seems where Donald Trump is landing this ship, if you will, if you even want to call it landing or crashing. This plane, if you will, is Iran now emerges as a world power, right? Iran stronger than ever right now. They in some form or fashion control the Strait of Hormuz, and all of the neighbors realize that at any point in time, if Iran views their conduct as falling out of line, Iran can just close the Strait of Hormuz and through proxy groups like the Houthis. Iran also controls the Red Sea and the strait right there, over there, but just haven't even decided to use that card yet. They've been waiting to see what the Trump regime does at this point.

China, more powerful than ever.

China swoops in, always been allied with Iran as the major player right now in the Middle East, right? That's what's happening. I mean, just look at what's taking place. And again, this is where our media here in the United States is an utter failure. But like, you do realize that right now the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is meeting with Xi Jinping, like, as we speak? And you also have Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister of Spain, meeting with Xi Jinping right now, uh, in Beijing, because it is very clear as the United States has lost its hegemony, lost its power, as the United States security umbrella in the Middle East has collapsed, the new main player in that region is Iran, China, and Russia to a large degree as well.

And also now what you're seeing is, well, like, what do we do with the US security umbrella, you know, crumbling under the Trump regime?

Well, you have France and the UK proposing a coalition that doesn't include the United States the way they describe it, that doesn't include the, uh, warring parties, and they are forming an alliance to try to deal with, um, bringing stability and security back right now, uh, in their own way, in a defensive posture to the Middle East. You have a lot of these Arab nations that were once allied with the United States whether it's Saudi Arabia, whether it's Jordan, whether it's Qatar, whether it's Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, whether it's Bahrain, whether it's Iraq, whether it's any of these, Kuwait, they've been forming and making deals with Ukraine. Just think about that. As Donald Trump has threatened and attacked and gone after Zelensky, Zelensky has the best understanding of 2026 modern warfare because of defending valiantly and also going on the offense against Russia. I mean, Ukraine has all of the, uh, unmanned vessel defense that it utilizes, um, in and around its territorial waters and nearby. Um, it has the top drone technology, the drone interceptors, uh, the wherewithal about how you go about intercepting the Shaheds and the FPV drones, you know, how you go about either utilizing drone jammers or evading drone jammers through various technologies.

I mean, if you look at some Ukrainian towns and cities, they have netting all over them because of the threat of these drones. And so you have, you know, interesting defensive techniques. So Nations are going to Ukraine in order to learn information, and Ukraine's out there striking deals in the Middle East to rebuild the security umbrella. You know, what's the expression that, you know, in the absence of, you know, a power, whether it's the US or otherwise, you know, there are things that come in to fill that void, right?

It's not like You know, the US strategy of so-called America First is now America Alone.

I did a video on it this morning talking about just the weakened position that the US is in.

I mean, just think about it. You have Iranian social media accounts making posts like this.

The Strait of Hormuz is in social media.

If someone blocks you, you just can't block them back.

You know, we've heard these stories about Malawian which are Malawian-flagged, technically Chinese ships that have been able to go in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. By and large, even though Donald Trump claims 34 ships have been able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz loaded with all of this liquid gold and all this, it's just not true. There's been a few ships that have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and they mostly— and they basically still are able to get past this blockade, even though you have CENTCOM saying no ships have been able to break the blockade.

It's impenetrable, the blockade.

Well, I mean, there's a ship called the Rich Starry that got through the Strait of Hormuz, and there's limited traffic.

But just the very idea that Donald Trump's plan is, how do we open up the Strait of Hormuz? Let's close it even more. Let's do a blockade of Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz.

That will show them what kind of plan, what kind of plan is is that. And also, I think it's clear that Donald Trump realizes how the war is so harmful to the economy, how it harms the markets. And this is why Donald Trump always chickens out, as they say.

And he talks a big game, the bluster, the bravado. We're going to obliterate you. We're going to destroy you. And then he extends his deadlines, extends his deadlines. And then he basically, you know, agrees to most of Iran's terms, recognizing Iran as not just a regional power but a world power.

So we are going to talk more about that in this episode because I think it's important to fully contextualize what's happened.

Iran hasn't been obliterated. Iran has been damaged, you know, and yes, the Trump regime has destroyed a lot of buildings, bridges, hospitals, elementary schools. Also military infrastructure.

But Iran has half of its ballistic missile arsenal, half of its drone arsenal, half of its ballistic missile launcher arsenal still exist. Most of its fast ships, the smaller ships exist.

How do you think they control the Strait of Hormuz? What do you think they're controlling that with?

You know, their top leadership was out there in Pakistan.

You know, when the Trump regime tried to change the 10-point negotiating framework that they agreed to, Trump agreed to a 10-point framework that Iran put forward, and then the Trump regime showed up and said, ah, that's not the framework that we actually want to do. You need to agree to our terms. And Iran was like, no, we're not doing that. And then it got to this point where it seems that the main sticking points is, will Iran not be allowed to enrich uranium for 20 years, or is it 5 years? But nonetheless, the deal—

and you have people like Mark Levin, that's how he talks from state regime media, which calls itself Fox. Mark Levin, it reports of a 20-year ban on Iran. Enrichment are accurate, and I doubt it. That would be a terrible concession. There's no need for any concessions. The Iranian regime will collapse if we keep the pressure on, and Donald Trump is gonna do it, and he's gonna save the day.

I mean, look, Obama's deal 10 years ago had them not enriching uranium ever with international protocols and the buy-in from all of the key stakeholders. So now, in the best-case scenario, The best-case scenario: Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz to some degree, which didn't exist before the war, and a much weaker deal exists than Obama's deal. Great deal-making, Donald.

You did it again.

Fantastic. And it needs to be talked about like this, with the truth, with what's really going on, so that people understand the stakes here and that this doesn't just get, you know, passed along to the next presidency. And then whoever it is as the Democrat inherits all the mess, then they have to deal with it. And then the Republicans are like, oh my God, can you believe what they're doing? It's like Donald Trump left them the biggest mess imaginable. And we have to be able to document that right now so that we end this freaking cycle of Donald Trump destroys and then MAGA blames and the arsonists pretend that they're the firefighters when they're not. Okay, we have to just hold accountable. This should be a bipartisan issue. It should be bipartisan. And speaking of bipartisan, again, I want to go back to international in a moment, but I want to talk about domestic as well, because Congress, after a long vacation while this war was taking place— must be nice to vacation as long as they've been vacationing— they are back right now. And one of the first things they do is they help Pam Bondi not show up for her deposition where she's been lawfully subpoenaed before the House Oversight Committee.

I want to bring in right now the man who made this post right here. For those on audio, we're showing a Scott McFarland post where he got a scoop from Democratic Congressmember, ranking member of House Oversight, Robert Garcia, that Pam Bondi was a no-show for her deposition today. Pam Bondi is evading a lawful congressional subpoena by failing to appear appear before the Oversight Committee for a deposition about the Epstein files and the White House cover-up. This subpoena applies to her regardless of her title. She must appear before the committee, and if she continues to ignore the law, Oversight Democrats will move forward with contempt proceedings immediately. We will fight until there is true accountability and justice.

Let's bring in the Midas Touch Network's chief Washington, D.C.

correspondent and host as well of Scott McFarland Reports on his YouTube channel. Everybody subscribe to Scott's YouTube channel. Scott is live right now on Capitol Hill. Scott, it's great to see you reporting live from DC, from Capitol Hill. Talk to us first, if you will, about what's going on with Bondi's deposition, the response by Democrats, and also the response by Republicans.

My freshman year high school English teacher, so proud there were no freaking typos in that long quote that I did verbatim from Robert Garcia. I got the punctuation right, Ben, nailed all the spelling. Look at that. That is, that is, that's playing with an A-game right there, Ben. So Robert Garcia gives this big statement, um, and it's been echoed by other members of the House Oversight Committee. I just spoke with James Walkinshaw, who says this really is a snub to the people in addition to the Congress. She was to be here today. She was subpoenaed by name, not by power, not by position, and she didn't show. So she has defied the American people and their representatives. Contempt Proceedings would be done through a vote in the U.S. House if they want to find her in contempt of Congress, and they may or may not move on that. That may happen. The Republicans have been silent on her no-show today. They have not been criticizing nor been, um, alibiing her no-show. But there's a real fundamental bottom line here, Ben. It would be the Department of Justice that would have to decide whether to prosecute Pam Bondi for contempt of Congress.

It truly would be Todd Blanch, who decides if Pam Bondi gets charged with a crime. That's not even in the fan fiction version of what happens next. So they're without a lot of leverage here other than public pressure. And because, Ben, the Epstein Files coalition is bipartisan and unique in nature, because it's a unicorn, they really can apply some political pressure here on Trump, on his team, and on Pam Bondi to get her here eventually.

So you had Todd Blanch basically saying today as well, we've turned over all of the files, there's nothing to discuss anymore regarding Epstein. This is— we're putting a kibosh on it, basically.

And he reiterated during his first press conference as acting attorney general that this is over, don't talk about it.

He said we've turned over all of the documents, when in fact the Democrats say, and I believe rightfully so, there are still millions of documents being withheld under privilege grounds or assertions of privilege that probably shouldn't be made. One such privilege that the DOJ is claiming is a big one— deliberative process— which kind of eats the whole, if you will, of the production. Where basically, for those who, you know, don't know what a deliberative process— basically, that's everything that takes place in a DOJ investigation when they deliberate in that process of internal communications in a typical criminal case, because it would make no sense to give a criminal defendant the internal communications of the DOJ. That is a privilege that understandably applies to an active current case where there's like a criminal trial, right? Because you don't want the inner workings being known. But now, you know, many years later, when you have a law that doesn't provide a basis to assert those privileges to begin with.

They're asserting like a litigation trial privilege, deliberative process, to not turn over what I think, Scott, would be a bulk of these documents. And Blanche is saying we're done. And so how is, how is that playing out there? And to me, it just continues this, and people are going to say, okay, we know you're hiding, this isn't going away. Like, we don't, we're not forgetting, we're not gonna be like Okay, Blanche, even Jesse Waters was like, I don't think you fully know how people think about this issue. Jesse Waters, of all people.

Todd Blanchard can want this to be over. He could want to turn the page the same way my 15-year-old son can want to borrow dad's car. It ain't happening, but you can want it. That's wonderful. Um, this is not so much a legal distinction as a political one. I'm sitting in the Capitol, and this is a political animal. And though Todd Blanch thinks he may have a legal ground to stand on by withholding 3 million pages of these records— 3 million— um, that's not quite how it works here. There are political pushes and political shoves, and he's on the wrong side of an issue vis-à-vis his own party. Remember that Epstein Transparency Act passed 434 to 1, basically. One dissenting vote only. The Republicans voted in a wave to support the release of these files. So he is defying his own party to a degree. And I don't hear James Comer, the other oversight Republican, saying, yeah, we're done, it is over, Todd Blanchard's right. So he may be going up against his own party here on Capitol Hill. That's not sustainable. You can't keep just hoping it goes away because the survivors are not going to be quiet.

Members of the Oversight Committee are clearly not going to be quiet. They're going to keep pushing this. At some point, the public voters are going to see the asymmetry then between Bill and Hillary Clinton sitting for a deposition, a former president behind closed doors, and Pam Bondi, who is uniquely relevant to this conversation, not doing so.

Talk to us about the legislation introduced by Democrats today to set up a commission on presidential capacity for Donald Trump's ability to discharge his duties. And we know that Democratic Congress member and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, has been saying that what we've all been, I think, observing, that Donald Trump's physical and cognitive capacity appears to be deteriorating. Just when you watch his behavior recently, his post, it seems to be getting worse. And that's what Congress member Raskin was getting at. What are you hearing about this commission, and what's this all about?

What Congressman Raskin described today used pretty muted terms for him and for the situation. He says the president's been volatile and incoherent. You could argue that's an understatement, because you could also argue that it's been unhinged, unspooled, if not completely mad— the things he's been posting, the things he's been saying. So you have to look at this as a short-term or a long-term strategy. In the short term, Nothing's gonna become of these commissions that are being set up or these efforts to better prepare for the 25th Amendment. That ain't happening. I mean, it's— there's no feasible, tangible way to get to the 25th Amendment in the short term. For long-term prospects, this is really a good optimistic moment if you're a Democrat, because it shows you the party feels comfortable communicating on this issue. The party feels comfortable saying This is not normal. We need to consider finding whatever we can do to support the cabinet moving against Trump. Compare that then to 2024, when you're walking on eggshells sometimes talking about things so as not to affront or to somehow offend the purple district voters or those who aren't concerned so much about Trump, more about their bottom line.

Democrats feel pretty comfortable talking about this right now. So either their polling, their research, or their door-to-door knocking indicates, yeah, the American public is growing increasingly concerned. So for Democrats in the short term, this talk of the 25th Amendment doesn't really do anything in a realistic retail way. But for the November 2026 of it all, this may be a good sign.

What's the mood like on Capitol Hill with the resignations of now former Congressmember Swalwell and former Congressmember Gonzalez? I also know on a bipartisan basis We are hearing many other members of Congress saying, you know, not only is this unacceptable behavior, obviously, but, you know, we need to, you know, uncover who else on Capitol Hill has these NDAs that have, you know, tried to block information about their own sexual assault and sexual harassment settlements being resolved. And, you know, and I've seen that on a bipartisan basis. And, you know, on a day where Congress has been vacationing during some of the most critical times in our history for many, many weeks. They show back up and you have these resignations. So what's the mood like there from both sides?

Some of this is going to elicit cynicism. I mean, there's a pretty unanimous force here that the opinion is both Swalwell and Gonzalez needed to go. They can't serve their constituents and ask for things and negotiate and legislate with all this hanging over their heads. They needed to go. Seems to be pretty much a unanimous opinion. You don't have the same rights you have in court when you're being an elected leader. You have a different threshold where you need to leave. So we're there. That they had to wait to do it as a pair is going to draw some cynicism, that we had to make sure everything was balanced on the House floor before we do the right thing. That is such a Congress thing to do. And there they were, they did it. But I think there's a much broader issue. There were some safeguards put in place, Ben, in 2017 during the MeToo era to help provide more of a safety net for legislative staff in America, because Congress is like its own small business. Every member of Congress is his own or her own boss. There's no HR office, there's no, you know, types of protections you get if you work in the private sector for a company, or if you work in the public sector for a local government.

So they put some safeguards in place, but this place is absolute tinderbox for sexual misconduct. It has been for as long as there's been a Congress. To a degree, this is a little bit like a dog biting the man versus a man biting the dog. We almost expect a rhythm that there be sexual misconduct members of Congress. That is a horrible thing, but it's reality. Think of some of the dynamics at play here, Ben. You have very young people, some fresh out of college, far from home, working for bosses who have no oversight and no accountability. And you have these members of Congress 3 days a week away from their spouses here in Washington, boozed up. It's a terrible combination of things. No single person is to blame for the broader risk, but they sure are to blame for what they've done with their staff. It's a terrible situation. They need to consider more safeguards for the young men and women who want to serve their country, work for a very discount salary, and be part of the U.S. Congress.

Any other observations that you are making today after this vacation while country's been in war, gas prices are up, Things are far less affordable. Consumer sentiment is at record lows, even worse than Great Recessions, dot-com crashes. You know, since some of these surveys have been around, people have never felt worse about the economy. We often hear about K-shaped economy where the rich getting richer, that's the upper part of the K, and people who are struggling are doing worse. It's the lower part of the K. That's the euphemistic, bizarre way it's referred to as. But what else are you seeing before we go? You know this institution, this building, this town better than just about anybody. What are you seeing?

I'm glad you asked because one thing really jumped out at me today. I interviewed a bunch of senators on a bunch of things. There was one moment with, of all people, Senator Cynthia Loomis, Republican from Wyoming. I think the Trumpiest state in America. I think Wyoming is. She certainly has been a MAGA ally. We asked her about gas prices because we've been asking a lot of people what they make of this. And Senator Loomis says, I will admit I'm really concerned where this is going. And to have a Republican say, I'll admit I'm troubled by where we are right now, that's quite a thing to acknowledge aloud into cameras. And what Senator Loomis was saying then is that she is seeing significant uptick in food pantry food bank usage among Wyoming people. I mean, people who need the help because she says the gas prices are out of control. And that is a frank acknowledgment from a member of the MAGA-loyal part of Congress, somebody who is from Wyoming of all states. I think that's a read on how some of these Republicans are viewing the reality right now. Some may not say it. Some are going to continue to defend the war, defend the president's stewardship.

Tomorrow, Ben, they're going to be this big set of press conferences and events here at the Capitol celebrating Tax Day and the president's tax policies, arguing it gets more money in the pockets of Americans. It's a tough day to make that argument because none of us feels like we have enough money in our pockets. And with gas and grocery prices where they are, a change in the tax code doesn't feel like it really lands. Not now.

Well, you know, his PR stunt yesterday involved a DoorDash grandma who claimed she was making $22,000 a year, and that the tips made up half of her income at $11,000, and that the savings that she made on no tax on tips allowed her to provide some treatment for her husband who had stage 3 cancer because there was no health care for her husband. Although when you break down the fact that she was making $22,000 a year by her own admission, the tax bracket that she falls in is such that no tax on tips would would probably have a de minimis, if any, impact upon her. And I think one of the big takeaways is, wait a minute, a grandma has to work in DoorDash in order to hope that her husband can live because we don't have a healthcare system. I think that was one of the takeaways. And Donald Trump handing her a $100 bill as though, be grateful for this, I'm going to give you breadcrumbs, and this is what you deserve. Good luck with your husband's cancer. Was also a lasting, uh, takeaway. Any reflections on that, Scott, before we go?

Boy, that, that, that was a photo op that seemed to backfire. What good came of that thing? Even in the news silos where they tend to consume Trump news without, without any counterpunching, without any context, I don't know how that thing fell anything but flat. And it's going to take more than that to change the narrative on the economy. And tax on tips is almost the least of people's concerns when the gas is like a tax in and of itself.

Before we go, tell everybody about the growth of your platform, um, where people can find out. Just, it's Scott McFarland Reports. If everybody, uh, just searches @ScottMcFarlandNews on YouTube, make sure you're all subscribed. And everybody in the chat right now, put out a blue heart if you can to show us that you are subscribed to @ScottMcFarlandNews. In the future, we will we'll make sure that we have an emoji for you to replace, you know, everyone wants a Scott McFarland emoji, but everybody can let us know that they're subscribed. Tell us about the growth of your platform, Scott.

Thank you. We hit a big milestone, Ben. My mother learned how to find it. My 79-year-old mother learned all the technology. That's how important the content is, brother. Nightly, we have Scott McFarland Reports, a deep dive of enterprise reporting, exclusive to Midas Touch Network. And then in the morning, we do it again with a whole bunch of stuff that developed overnight that we care about. The unfiltered stuff, the stuff that isn't platforming lies and conspiracy theories and no sane washing. That kind of news, which does distinguish it, doesn't it, Ben? Distinguishes you and me from an awful lot of linear legacy media.

Scott McFarland, we appreciate you. Midas Touch Network Chief Washington, D.C. correspondent. And of course the host and founder of Scott McFarland Reports, @ScottMcFarlandNews on YouTube. Thanks, Scott, for joining us.

Thank you, Ben.

Scott McFarland, everyone. Let's take our first quick break of the show. When we come back, we'll talk more about Donald Trump's capitulation to Iran and what's really taking place internationally. We'll talk as well about Prime Minister Carney in Canada getting a majority government as Pierre Poilievre, the Maple MAGA, has not just fallen but fallen to new depths. But that's what happened when you fester in the depths of depravity. There, the big victory by Peter Magyar in Hungary, um, the pro-democracy party finally ousting Viktor Orbán. We'll talk about that, um, and we'll talk about much more as well. Let's take our first and only quick break of the show. We will be right back after this quick message.

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Welcome back, everybody. I'm Ben Myselis. This has been On Breaking News. It was so great to have Scott McFarland join us on this Tuesday's Ben on Breaking News. You know, I talked to him at the end about that DoorDash grandma stunt. She also has been kind of touring around with the MAGA Republicans. She gave testimony in Nevada as well. There she was, a little bit of a different look over there, but providing testimony, you know, over there. As I mentioned in a video I made this morning, you know, look, her story doesn't make much sense because if she's really making $22,000 a year, she falls into the lowest tax bracket right? So already her entire at most taxable income generally will be at 10% of $22,000 maybe. So the no tax on tips regarding kind of that component, maybe you would say at most would save her, I don't know, $500, $1,000. And that's just not the type of money that it could actually meaningfully help somebody's cancer treatment with stage 3 cancer. That may help you for about 20 minutes in an appointment with an oncologist, but that's not going to be able to fund anything materially.

So just the, the, the numbers there don't make sense. I'm not sure if they're trying to imply that, uh, you know, that she got an extra $11,000. That's not the way money works. So I'm not like— I think maybe that's how They tried to push it to state regime media viewers as though like she got $11,000 more. That's not what a deduction is, and that's not what was even being said. But then I reflected in this video I did this morning about all of these stunts that Donald Trump pulls and that corporate media always buys hook, line, and sinker. Remember Donald Trump's Black church stunt in Detroit? He said, I'm giving this big speech at a Black church.

And remember, all the corporate news reported it, oh, look, Donald Trump has all this support amongst Black Americans because he's doing the Black church speech.

Then you dig deeper and it's like a church that's embroiled in litigation and that the kind of current head of this church was like fighting with the other head of the church. And they had to bring in a bunch of Donald Trump's white MAGA supporters to fill up the church.

Remember at the Midas Touch Network, we were the ones who did the report. It's all white people in the black church. So it's red flag. Remember that?

Remember the Chick-fil-A stunt where there's a lady by the name of Michaela Montgomery, I believe is her name, who is a MAGA operative, black lady, and she would go to the Chick-fil-A and then she would be at the church and then she would be at this event and she would always be like hugging Donald Trump.

Then Trump would be, you see, I have big support amongst Black women. And it would be the same lady, Meghala Montgomery, would be the person going to each of these events. And we called her like Chick-fil-A lady, remember, because she would be at all these events. And we pointed it out to say, no, it's just a silly PR stunt. Like, don't fall for this. Remember, Donald Trump would be like, I'm going to the bodega, everybody. Just me taking a little trip to the bodega.

You know, when he wanted to show that he had Latino support in the Bronx and in Harlem.

And it would be the same young Republicans who would show up who were part of the College Young Republicans there of New York City. We'd be like, look, same exact people. Hello.

Remember, he would show up to the barber shop and he would go to like a Black barber shop in Atlanta.

And like the Trump campaign would say, oh, we're doing a community service event to uplift businesses.

Then like Trump would show up and then like the head of the barber shop would be like, Yeah, it wasn't pitched to us as a campaign event, but the Trump regime was like, look, we have the support amongst Black men and barbers.

Look what we have right here.

And he would do that, you know, over and over again.

Remember, he would have the, the fake firefighters would show up and it's like it was people who weren't firefighters pretending to be firefighters, like at an event. Remember, he did the stunt in, I think it was in Michigan where it was at a nonunion shop. Shop, and it was an event pretending to be union workers, and he like rented out the non-union shop and gave them shirts that say Union Workers for Trump. Even a post that's not getting a lot of attention based on all the other crazy stuff that he's posted recently.

He made this post and he claimed that he saved Ed McMahon from foreclosure in 2008. Like, Trump made this weird post and he was like, nobody knows this about Donald Trump. This is what Trump's post said. But back in 2008, Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon was 86 years old. He was dying and he was losing his home. Donald Trump bought the home, allowed McMahon to live in there for the rest of his life, and, and made sure that during this horrible circumstance, Trump's hero, who Trump watched when he went to business school, would be able to live in his home.

And it was a great thing by Donald Trump.

And then you actually look into the story and it was like, no, in 2008, Trump leaked to the LA Times that he was buying McMahon's home in 2008 and then never did it. And then McMahon's daughter was like, yeah, he said he was going to do it and then never followed through. And he increased the torment and tragedy that we had so he can get a PR quote in the LA Times that he was helping, but then never actually did it.

And now in 2026, in April, He's posting about that as though he like helped McMahon. I mean, just a really weird, deranged thing. These are all stunts. It's all propaganda BS, and it's intended to manipulate. And it's such a big lie, all the stuff that he does. Like when he says his trade deals, $21 trillion were brought in. No, all of it's a lie.

Which portion?

All of it. You mean to tell me that someone would lie about $21 trillion? Yeah, yeah, I mean to tell you. He would lie about $21 trillion. And now when you see the statements coming out from CENTCOM in the war and it's like the blockade is going great, no ships are going in and out, Iran is collapsing right now.

One of the sad things about this war was actually a realization that was articulated not just by me. You may think, oh, well, Ben, you don't like Trump or this or that. I'm not sure. Who else is saying what you're saying?

How about the editor-at-large at the Wall Street Journal who said, like, we have to, like, come to believe right now Iranian media like Fars and Tasnim and Mehrs and others more than what Trump is saying. Yeah, the Iranians are close. It's all propaganda sometimes in war, but what they're saying often resembles the truth more than what Donald Trump— that's a really sad realization. To have to make right now that it's like nothing we were told was true. And we have to fundamentally question as well that purported crash of the F-15E when apparently two F-15E fighter pilots, you know, ejected and they were safe and that they were there and, and that there was a rescue mission that just happened to be right by Iran's nuclear facility. In Isfahad, and that the US built an Air Force base apparently there, a mobile base, in order to extract these two F-15E pilots. And it required hundreds of special forces and two C-130s and a Chinook and multiple other helicopters. And all of those airplanes and helicopters had to be destroyed. $1 billion. Of aircraft and helicopters destroyed as well. Multiple MQ-9 Reapers destroyed in this operation. And who are these people?

Do you— I mean, I'm asking the question, like, do you know who these F-15E pilots are? Like, isn't it odd that, like, we've never met them? Like, we don't know who they are. Like, what's their condition? What's happened to them?

You know, we're supposed to believe that one of them was a a colonel, which is kind of odd that they would be— not impossible, but a little bit odd that they would be doing a mission like that.

But okay, you're telling me a colonel. Who's the colonel? I don't— do you know? Does anybody know? We're supposed to just stop asking questions? Or why was there hundreds of special forces? I mean, at a most common sense level, if we were going to extract two F-15 pilots, wouldn't you want to make less noise? Like, wouldn't you want to just send like a very small special forces team in locate them, get them out right away, and then get the helicopter down and try to be as quiet as you'd want hundreds of special forces.

I mean, or the alternative, was there a mission to try to get to the Isfahan nuclear facility, which was nearby, in order to, you know, take this ridiculous idea we were going to take the enriched uranium from it? And then Iran was able to neutralize some of the airplanes the C-130s and such that were landing.

And so that mission was aborted and the F-15Es were pretext by our CIA in order to claim that there was a mission. But the real plan was to bring in the special forces with the pretext being that it was, you know, an extraction mission. Again, this is where I like—

I'm like, okay, Ben, you know, don't veer into conspiratorial world.

Stick to the facts. That's what we do here at the Midas Touch Network. But the reality is, I don't think that is a far-fetched idea. I don't think that's conspiratorial at all.

I think that there's a higher likelihood that that's the reality of what went down than the story that we've been told, you know.

And it's like during the negotiations in Pakistan between the US and Iran, we were told, remember, that there was a successful minesweeping operation with two naval destroyers and it was great, and now there's free passage in the Strait of Hormuz. We did it.

And then it was like, no. And there's like video actually of the US Navy destroyers turning around when Iran's navy— yes, because it still exists— said, turn around or we're going to fire upon you.

And then our destroyers turned around. So I mean, when you're told such a lie, now Like, now CENTCOM says the blockade is so successful, it's really working, and we've now implemented, you know, uh, free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. No, you, you haven't done that. You have not done that. Only 6 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz yesterday is what, is what happened. And like, I just, I just want to get the facts, Jack. I just want to get the— I just want to live in a I just wanna live in a reality right now.

And you all saw the reports today as well about inflation rising, PPI, which is wholesale inflation surging up to 4% year over year. Yes, we're back in 4% inflation land when Trump promised to decrease it. Core PPI, core wholesale inflation, which doesn't include some categories like some of the increased energy prices, that remains steady at 3.8%, which is still elevated and high. CPI, and that's what the Trump regime was celebrating.

We did it. A better, a better report for core CPI than anybody thought possible. I mean, PPI, wholesale PPI, it was at 4%. And the American people, we know things are getting more expensive. Like, stop the gaslighting. We know that everything is more expensive.

People can't afford things. That's just the reality of it.

You know, and then you think over here, yeah, that's the report. It's the highest since 2023 right now. It's going in the opposite direction. So when I say it's the highest since 2023, Guess who was in office in 2024? Biden. So was it lower in 2024 than right now?

Yes.

And Trump's whole thing is, I'm going to make prices lower immediately on day one.

And he didn't do that. That's why even among non-college-educated white people, Trump's disapproval is now at 52% and his approval is 48%. His core base, white Non-college approval, 48% right there.

And I want to give this data point as well, because all of this to me is inextricably intertwined. And I know not enough reporting is done or attention is paid to climate issues, but it is inextricably intertwined with the economy.

Take a look at this new report right here for Climate Power, 365 clean energy projects taken off the grid as Americans face months of pain at the pump thanks to Donald Trump's war.

This new report from Climate Power showing that Donald Trump and Republicans have canceled enough projects to power nearly 15 million homes, spiking utility bills by as much as 13%. Gas prices have skyrocketed by more than a dollar per gallon since Trump attacked Iran and will remain high for months after the conflict ends. So since Trump took office, household electric bills have risen as much as 13% nationally, while residential natural gas prices have increased by 12%. Pause. You knew that. I didn't have to tell you that because you get your bills. I get my bills. I know that it's probably around that number, if not higher. Trump's war of choice in Iran is sending oil, diesel, and jet fuel prices skyrocketing.

Skyrocketing.

Yet his priority is spending $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to stop homegrown clean energy production that would protect America from global oil shocks. Trump and Republicans started this energy crisis with their attacks on clean energy projects and are now accelerating it with their war of choice in Iran. These canceled projects would have produced enough electricity to power the equivalent of 14.6 million homes.

Without them, Utility costs have gone through the roof. Factories are closing down, and we are more dependent on volatile foreign oil. These actions are also dramatically increasing the pollution of our air and water right now.

I mean, the serious stuff, serious stuff right now.

And you know who's not doing that?

China. China's doing the opposite right now. And as we reflect on what's going on in the world, again, I did a video on it this morning. We're seeing new alliances form. Donald Trump's America first means America alone.

We're seeing countries take these big visits to China as they're recognizing China as the main superpower in the world right now, and China being viewed as a much more stabilizing force on the international order than Donald Trump is. So you had Prime Minister of Spain You had the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi both visit Beijing in the past 24 to 48 hours. You have France and the UK talking about a coalition, uh, to address in the future oil shocks in the Middle East and how comprehensive strategies can be dealt with. You have Arab nations working with Ukraine to create security umbrellas to deal with the drones. And to deal with the ballistic missiles because Ukraine has unique knowledge there. And then you have Donald Trump through all of this just continuing to attack NATO, continuing to attack Europe, continuing to attack Pope, picking a fight with the Pope, you know, Pope Leo XIV. You know, he attacked him again today, he attacked him before, and it's like, that's where you're spending your time right now, attacking Pope Leo XIV? And saying he's bad on foreign policy and he's bad on immigration and that he shouldn't be talking about world affairs and he needs to just shut up and pray, basically, is what Donald Trump is saying about Pope Leo XIV.

I mean, this is how Donald Trump spends his days.

I don't like NATO.

Paper tiger. Me and Putin talk about NATO being a paper tiger.

They wouldn't give me Greenland. They wouldn't give me Greenland.

How embarrassing.

Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo the Weak. Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, weak, weak, pathetic, pathetic.

She's pathetic.

Just, you know, it's baby, it's baby behavior.

It's whiny baby behavior. I'll show you this clip here of Prime Minister Carney at the Liberal Party convention that took place recently. And Prime Minister Carney, let's play the clip where he talked about the international order is crumbling and suggested Canada's ties with the US are no longer reliable. Let's play that one.

The world's changing, not gradually but suddenly. Yes, some are still in denial. Rather than starting on this journey, they're waiting for the past to return. Nope. But hope is not a plan, and nostalgia is not a strategy. And if we stand still during this rupture, we will surrender our future, surrender our future to others. My friends, technological change is accelerating. We can either shape our future with AI or let it control our destiny. The foundations of the international order, the order which Canada helped build and from which we have benefited for so long, that order is crumbling.

The Canadian people agree. Right. They've handed him a majority government right now, securing his tenure as prime minister through at least 2029. Of course, one of the reasons we follow international updates here on the Midas Touch Network is because, as I've said before, Donald Trump is a vessel of a broader fascist agenda that is embodied in the Trumps and the Orbáns, the Le Pens of France, the Nigel Farages and the Reform Parties in the UK. The Duttons in Australia, right? Orban in Hungary. And with the big victory of Peter Magyar as well from Tisa beating Fidesz and getting the supermajority to be able to change the constitution, to be able to move Hungary in a more pro-EU direction, seeing the rise of Prime Minister Sanchez in Spain, this is truly a struggle internationally between democracy and fascism, if we just focused on domestic politics and gamifying a domestic politics— this party, that party, this person, that person, this person, that person— if we try to exalt politicians with cult of personalities as though they're heroes, they're not.

Okay, we need to situate our movement, our network, in the people. We need to be better listeners than we are talkers. We need to hear the struggles of people, what you are going through on a day-to-day basis, and we need to be responsive to that. And we need to call out the forces because that's what it is, the forces of evil who are making your lives worse, who are taking and taking, who are being predators against you, who are stealing and cheating and rigging the system so that you are the ones who get screwed and they get richer and more powerful at your expense. That's what we need to be focused on. It's why as we expand, we expand internationally as well with a mindset to recognize the interconnectedness of what's happening in our world. And if you can hear, my dogs agree with everything I just said.

Their bark was, saying, so stipulated, Ben.

And they're saying, you know what you need to tell everybody?

What, Taquito and Chiquito?

Tell everybody that the Katie Fang Show is about to start. You all know her, you all love her. She's on the Midas Touch Network. What an incredible honor.

I have a network that, uh, you all help power with Scott McFarland on, and then you go to Katie Fang.

Think about that, what you all helped build. And we're so grateful for your support every step of the way. So you don't have to do anything. You will be what's called slingshotted into the Katie Fang Show as soon as this ends.

If for whatever reason you don't get there, you'll be, uh, just go and search Katie Fang.

But you don't have to do anything. As soon as this ends, you'll be able to get to the Katie Fang Show. So enjoy Katie Fang. Thank you so much for spending this time with me. I'm grateful for you. Y'all are the best. Shout out Midas Mighty. Now it's time for the Katie Fang Want to stay plugged in?

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