The Manosphere Report

0:00This is Ben on Breaking News.

0:02I'm Ben Micellis and let's get into the breaking news.

0:06The war rages on in Iran.

0:08The United States, unlawful war without congressional authorization.

0:14The latest reports right now are that a U .S.

0:18fighter jet has been downed over southern Iraq.

0:22Drop Sites reporting Iraqi police say a U .S.

0:26fighter jet crashed in southern Basra province with the pilot ejecting right before impact.

0:32According to the statements reported by Al Jazeera and also Iranian state media, there were

0:39videos circulating as well that appear to show a pilot ejecting after one of our

0:45fighter jets crashed. The Basra police command told Al Jazeera their officers were dispatched to

0:54search for the American pilot who ejected within the province.

0:57Authorities say the pilot has not yet been located.

1:01And of course, you have both Iraqi forces and Iranian forces right now trying to

1:07search down this fighter pilot who apparently ejected.

1:12Images circulating show the aircraft going down.

1:16We're going to keep you posted every step of the way as we learn more

1:21there. We'll also talk about on this episode, of course, some domestic news.

1:26Kristi Noem has been fired by the Trump regime.

1:31She's been now put in a position that the Trump regime made up, a position

1:36that never really existed before.

1:38So we'll talk about that in a little bit as well, what went down there.

1:43Mark Wayne Mullen will be replacing her.

1:46He's the MAGA Republican senator from Oklahoma.

1:50And he's the one who wasn't aware that there was an authorization for Iraq and

1:57Afghanistan's war. And he was also the person who said that we were at war

2:03with Iran and then said, actually, I didn't mean to say that.

2:07I misspoke. So we'll talk about that in a little bit as well.

2:12Donald Trump firing Kristi Noem via a social media post that we will get into

2:19on this episode as well.

2:21As I mentioned at the outset, you have the entire Middle East region right now

2:26engulfed, literally, figuratively as well, in this war right now.

2:34Sure, the Iranian ballistic missiles and Shahid drone strikes have decreased from what we saw

2:42a few days back. But they are still launching a lot of Shahid drones.

2:49We saw oil interests and other American interests still in Bahrain, which you're watching right

2:57there, in Saudi Arabia. We've talked about that before in Riyadh, in the United Arab

3:04Emirates, in Dubai, in Abu Dhabi, in Jordan, in other surrounding areas still being targeted

3:13by Iran. And of course, inside Iran, Tehran is getting hit very hard by the

3:20United States and Israel and other cities throughout Iran are getting hit very, very hard.

3:27As we previously reported, I did a whole video on this yesterday.

3:35The Kurds don't appear that they want to be dragged into this war.

3:41And the Trump regime wants to drag the Kurds into this war.

3:45It's so important that we cover international news here on the Midas Touch Network so

3:51that when these things develop, you're not left confused of like, well, who are the

3:55Kurds? And why does the Trump regime want to get them involved in here?

3:59And why were they unlikely to get involved here?

4:03First off, when you talk about the Kurds and the Kurdish group, what they want

4:06most is their own kind of sovereign autonomous territory.

4:10And the Kurds are spread out in different regions within the Middle East.

4:14So to say the Kurds, it is not recognizing already that there are different Kurdish

4:22factions that don't always have the same interests living in different countries in the Middle

4:27East. But at the heart is to have sovereign territory and different Kurdish groups have

4:35consistently helped the United States in prior wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, against al -Qaeda

4:44and ISIS. And time after time, the U .S.

4:49has betrayed the Kurds, specifically Donald Trump, Donald Trump himself, one of the people who

4:55have betrayed the Kurds like the most during Donald Trump's first regime, his first administration,

5:02which I still think is a regime, betrayed the Kurds to Turkey and other interests

5:07after the Kurds were instrumental.

5:11in going after ISIS, Al -Qaeda, other terroristic cells and forces in the area.

5:19And most recently, Donald Trump absolutely screwed over the Kurds in Syria.

5:26Donald Trump's authoritarian in Syria, al -Jelani, the leader of Syria, who was a former

5:33Al -Qaeda leader, the United States had a $25 million bounty on al -Jelani's head.

5:40He's that guy who was in the Oval Office that, remember when Donald Trump was

5:45spraying the perfume? That was the Syrian leader, the Syrian president, al -Jelani, and Trump

5:50would sniff him. And Trump would say, oh, you smell so good.

5:53You smell so good. Remember that moment?

5:55Well, what was happening there as well was a plan to screw over the Kurds.

6:00The Syrian forces loyal to al -Jelani ended up going into the autonomous areas controlled

6:09by the Kurds, where the Kurds were living in peace and relative democracy relative to

6:14Syria. And the Syrian al -Jelani forces basically forced the Kurdish forces to either join

6:24the Syrian army, essentially a lot of people with those connections to al -Qaeda and

6:29loyalty to al -Jelani, or be killed.

6:32And there were massacres of the Kurdish community taking place.

6:36And the U .S. basically did nothing, allowed al -Jelani to destroy the Kurdish area.

6:41When the Kurds called on the U .S.

6:43for help in Syria, the U .S.

6:45Trump refused. And so now Trump was begging the Kurds, we need you to do

6:50an invasion right now of Iran because we need ground forces.

6:59And what then Trump tried to do is put out a statement and say, or

7:06he tried to leak to the media, the Kurds are invading.

7:09The Kurds didn't want to invade Iran.

7:10But Trump and Netanyahu put out statements to the media that the Kurds were invading

7:16because the Kurds didn't want to invade.

7:18So the plan by Trump and Netanyahu, and I've been talking about this now before

7:22it's been reported. If you've watched my prior reports, I called exactly what was going

7:27to be happening. So Trump and Netanyahu wanted to say, yes, the Kurds were invading

7:32to try to get Iran to attack the Kurds and then get the Kurds to

7:39want to be involved because they've now been attacked by Iran.

7:42That's how Donald Trump tried to draw the Kurds into this war, by lying in

7:47typical Trump fashion, and saying that they were ready to invade to get Iran to

7:53attack the Kurds. And the Kurds weren't having any of it.

7:56And so they put out a statement, the different Kurdish groups and Kurdish leaders put

8:00out statements denying that there was any Kurdish ground forces that were planned.

8:05And then you had a Kurdish leader, the Iraqi president's wife, the first lady, if

8:12you will, and a leader in the Jalal Talbani party, Shanaz Abrahim, said that after

8:20what happened to us in Syria, we refused to be pawns again by global powers.

8:26And the release by this very influential Kurdish leader is, leave the Kurds alone.

8:33We are not guns for hire.

8:35And it goes on and talks about how most recently we see what happened in

8:40northern Syria. After all the promises that were made, after Syria's Kurds stood on the

8:45front lines of the war against ISIS, we witnessed how they were treated.

8:50Today, the Kurds of Iraq have finally tasted a measure of stability and dignity in

8:54life. Because of this, it is very difficult, indeed impossible, for Kurds to accept being

9:00treated as pawns by the world's superpowers.

9:02The experiences are there. The empty promises are there.

9:05Too often, the Kurds are remembered only when their strength or sacrifice is needed.

9:10For that reason, I appeal to all sides involved in this conflict.

9:14Leave the Kurds alone. We are not guns for hire.

9:19Leave the Kurds alone. Per Al Jazeera, a U .S.

9:25official is denying reports that a U .S.

9:28fighter was shot down over the Basra province in Iraq.

9:33So I want to just give you that data point as well.

9:37There were other videos circulating of a pilot ejected.

9:40Some were saying that that video is actually another video that happened at a different

9:45time or is not what actually went down there.

9:49But there appears to be some sort of search and rescue operation on the way

9:55that's taking place in Iraq right now.

9:58And the Basra authorities have at least said they're searching for this pilot who's been

10:02shot down. But the U .S.

10:05is denying it. And I think one of the big problems and challenges right now

10:11that we deal with, frankly, in reporting on this, is that the Trump regime lies

10:18about literally everything. Everything is a lie out of this regime.

10:23So they can literally say we invaded Iran because Israel was going to invade Iran

10:33first. And then we thought Iran would attack us.

10:36That's why we did it.

10:37That's what Marco Rubio said.

10:38Then there are. asked about that.

10:40Then they go, oh, we didn't say that.

10:42That's actually was not the question that was asked.

10:44We're like, we heard the question that was asked.

10:47We heard you say it.

10:48We know what went down.

10:51Like, why do you lie about literally everything?

10:56And again, we are seeing the real ramifications of this disastrous war that was not

11:03planned out, where the State Department hadn't even come up with an evacuation plan at

11:08a bare minimum. Doesn't even seem like the State Department was even aware that we

11:14were going to go to war when we went to war.

11:15Like, it didn't seem like Rubio even knew, or others at the State Department weren't

11:19told, because now we have so many people stranded in the Middle East.

11:23When they call the State Department hotline number, it's like, sorry, nothing we can do.

11:29We wish you the best.

11:30Try to find a commercial flight while the commercial airlines are being targeted by Iran.

11:38We know that the liquefied natural gas in Qatar, which is the second largest supplier

11:46of liquefied natural gas, is basically all but shut down at this point.

11:52Chinese exports out of the Middle East are all but shut down at this point

11:58of their oil and their crude.

12:00The prices of the Brent crude is starting to reach closer to $90 a barrel.

12:07That's going up. The price at the pump for you is going up significantly right

12:13now. Some of the largest increases that we've seen in a short period of time

12:21in history, right? I mean, the price of gas has gone up.

12:26I mean, we're approaching now, what, national average, $3 .50.

12:31I mean, soon that could start heading up to $4 a gallon.

12:35I think that because of all of the times that Donald Trump has chickened out

12:40or whatever the taco expression or whatever the hell that, with Donald Trump injecting so

12:47much lies and disinformation into the market, I think the markets are probably overly optimistic

12:55that there's a resolution in sight here.

12:59The Trump regime tries to put out propaganda that, oh, Iran wants to negotiate.

13:04Iran wants to do this.

13:05And all of the statements coming out from Iran are to the contrary.

13:09They're putting out statements. We don't want to negotiate with you.

13:14We have no interest in discussions.

13:17There was a recent incident as well in the past 48 hours or so where

13:22there was an Iranian ship called the Dena, D -E -N -A, that was in

13:28India, invited by India to basically take part in a military parade.

13:34Part of the stipulation about being invited by Modi to India was that this Iranian

13:41ship had to sail into the port unarmed.

13:44Whether that actually took place, I don't know.

13:47But that was the requirement by India.

13:49But they were guests of India.

13:52The United States was also invited.

13:53The U .S. turned down that invite.

13:55So the U .S. and others were aware of this Iranian ship, this Dena ship

14:00that was there in India and then was 2 ,000 miles away from Iran.

14:09It was off the coast of Sri Lanka and a United States submarine using a

14:16torpedo. One of the first times there was a submarine torpedo takedown of a naval

14:21ship since really World War II, although there's been some other incident.

14:26But one of the rare times it's been utilized that way blew up, sunk this

14:35ship, this Dena ship, killing close to 100, maybe more people on board on the

14:42Dena. I think there were maybe like 30 survivors.

14:47And after the U .S.

14:51hit it, there was no attempt at following maritime law, which is after you hit

14:57it, if there were people struggling in the water, the rules of engagement in maritime

15:02law, for those who know it is, you actually have to render assistance.

15:06You can't watch people drowning who are defenseless.

15:10But the U .S. let the individuals drown.

15:12It was actually ships from Sri Lanka who had to save the 30 or so

15:17people who actually lived. And so, you know, the U .S.

15:22is engaging in stuff like that.

15:23You have Pete Hegseth talking about, we are raining down death from the sky.

15:29When you look up in Iran, you will think of death.

15:32Just the things that he says, you know, just to hear a United States regime

15:38just speak and vocalize like the bad guy, you know, is certainly a sight to

15:46behold. All of this is also taking place, the Strait of Hormuz, as you know.

15:51It's basically shut down at this point.

15:54A few ships get through, but by and large, the Strait of Hormuz is pretty

15:58much closed, right? That's where a lot of oil gets shipped from.

16:0420 % or so has to go through the...

16:07Strait of Hormuz. And again, even as Iran's arsenal, or they're not able to execute

16:14some of their Shahid drone strikes and their ballistic missile strikes as they did before,

16:19as long as they just create this strategic uncertainty in the area and make it

16:25a high risk to visit Doha in Qatar or Dubai, United Arab Emirates, or Abu

16:30Dhabi, or to visit one of these locations, it has a chilling effect on the

16:37economies there. And I saw statements that were made by a very wealthy Emirati billionaire,

16:46for example, Khalif Ahmad al -Abtur, slamming Donald Trump, saying, who gave you the authority

16:53to drag our region into a war with Iran?

16:57And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision?

17:01Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield?

17:06And he goes on to say, for before the ink was even dry on your

17:10board of peace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we

17:15find ourselves facing military escalation that endangers the entire region.

17:21So where did those initiatives go?

17:23And what is the fate of the commitments made in the name of peace?

17:27Most of the funding proposed in those initiatives came from the countries of the region

17:32themselves and from Arab Gulf countries that contributed billions of dollars on the basis of

17:37supporting stability and development. And these countries have the right to ask today, where did

17:43this money go? And are we funding peace initiatives or funding a war that exposes

17:49us to danger? This Emirati billionaire is asking the same questions that retail investors were

17:56asking who put their money into Donald Trump's meme coin that note holders and investors

18:03put into Donald Trump's casinos in the past.

18:06This is what Trump does.

18:08He's a con artist. He's a fraud.

18:11He lies. You think the Kurds are going to help you out after you screw

18:16them over? You think that you're going to rally the international community behind your back

18:23to support you after you put tariffs against the world?

18:26And now Donald Trump's out there begging Zelensky for help, saying, Zelensky, you have the

18:36expertise to deal with these Iranian Shahid drones because Iran's been giving these drones to

18:41Russia. Russia's been using them against Ukraine.

18:45Also, the ballistic missiles that are launched into Ukraine by Russia.

18:50The United States had been basically starving Ukraine to death, quite literally, of weapons that

18:59were promised, of munitions that were promised, that were promised, let's be clear.

19:05And now you have Trump and his regime begging Zelensky for help.

19:09Zelensky, even after all of this, said, sure, I will help, but you got to

19:14help me over here in Ukraine.

19:16Remember that? And then yesterday I was watching the press conference of Caroline Levitt.

19:21And Levitt was still mocking Zelensky and blaming Zelensky why there is a lack of

19:28munitions in the Middle East.

19:31That's why this Trump regime is just so despicable.

19:34They're dumb and despicable. On the one hand, you're begging Zelensky for help to stop

19:41the Shahid drones and ballistic missiles, since no one in the region really has the

19:46expertise to deal with it, right?

19:48And then on the other hand, you've got the Trump regime still attacking Zelensky.

19:53And what, two days ago, wasn't Donald Trump calling Zelensky like the PT Barnum?

19:58And wasn't Donald Trump saying, oh, this guy was like a con artist.

20:01And now you're begging this guy for help.

20:04I just want you all to think about that.

20:06Now, Middle East countries who are running out of munitions, Arab states and the Persian

20:12Gulf are running dangerously low on interceptors to take down Iranian -fired ballistic and cruise

20:18missiles. Just think about this.

20:20These interceptors are like $4 million to $8 million a pop.

20:24That's what the interceptors cost.

20:27You know what those Shahid drones cost that the interceptors are used on?

20:31Anybody know in the chat?

20:33$20 ,000. So a $4 million interceptor to stop a $20 ,000 drone where Iran

20:42has a huge supply of these drones.

20:45They can produce thousands and thousands a month.

20:47We can only produce six or seven interceptors in that same time period.

20:52And also now, the Arab countries nearby are running out of their interceptors, which they

21:00got from the U .S.

21:01And that's why also that Emirati billionaire is like, did you think about any of

21:05us before you did this?

21:07No, he didn't. He didn't even think about American citizens there.

21:10The State Department had no evacuation plan for the Americans who were there.

21:14Think about that right now.

21:17So these Arab states in the Persian Gulf are running dangerously low on interceptors.

21:22They don't know what to do.

21:25The taxpayers, are we going to be on the hook now for some $50 billion

21:29supplemental spending package right now while our healthcare is being ripped away?

21:34While the American people are getting screwed in every aspect of life, now there's a

21:39$50 billion supplemental package that has to happen.

21:43What in the world is going on there?

21:46And what we see in Iran, if we're being honest and truthful about it, is

21:52more radicalization against the U .S.

21:55and Israel. What do you think is going to happen if you basically bomb the

21:59equivalent of Iran's White House, kill the equivalent of, well, it's a little bit different

22:03in Iran because the Ayatollah is a spiritual leader, but kill a spiritual leader, terroristic,

22:08horrible, all true, brutal, but still a spiritual leader for 300 million Shiites in the

22:15region, not just in Iran.

22:17Kill other spiritual leaders there.

22:20And then Donald Trump puts out statements like today saying that he wants to be

22:25the person who picks the next Ayatollah and the next president.

22:28He goes, I want the selection.

22:31I'm going to do it.

22:32Me and Netanyahu are going to do it.

22:34Do you think saying that's going to encourage support?

22:40And then Donald Trump also publicly says that he wants, that he wants, he's fine

22:48with someone in the Islamic Republic to still keep running Iran.

22:53So what message are you also sending to protesters there who, by the way, you

22:59threw into the meat grinder last month when you said, go out and protest, we

23:03got your back. And 30 ,000 to 40 ,000 protesters were massacred who were supporting

23:07democracy because they thought you were going to go in then.

23:10And now you're saying you want someone else from the Islamic Republic, you're using Venezuela

23:15as your model saying Delcy Rodriguez is your model.

23:19By the way, you know that Trump did a deal with Delcy Rodriguez yesterday where

23:23she's giving him $150 million in gold.

23:26Did you hear about that?

23:27They did a gold deal yesterday.

23:29So remember that story about Donald Trump holding an indictment over Delcy Rodriguez's head and

23:34then the justice department denied it.

23:36Yeah. Well, Donald Trump wanted gold.

23:37If you don't give me gold, I may indict you.

23:40So that's how Venezuela is being run right now.

23:44The Chavistas are still in power.

23:45By the way, Trump has his own handpicked person in Ecuador right now, Naboa.

23:50Do you know that we have troops on the ground in Ecuador right now?

23:55There's a war going on in Ecuador.

23:56American soldiers are there in Ecuador.

23:59I know that's not being discussed enough.

24:01But anyway, that's the model that Trump wants in Iran.

24:05The people in Iran are like, the hell is, what are you even talking about?

24:11You don't even understand the way it works in Iran.

24:14So who do you think can help us all make sense of this, everybody?

24:18What guests should I bring on right now while we are live right now?

24:23I've got 35 ,000 people who are watching this live right now.

24:29Should I bring on Pete Buttigieg?

24:32You want to hear from Pete?

24:34Do you do that? But should I do special guests?

24:36Just go live, bring in Pete Buttigieg, get his perspective.

24:39Remember, Pete Buttigieg served in Afghanistan, outside the wire, right?

24:46He knows a thing or two about war.

24:49This is an interview. Before I went live, I did this interview with Pete Buttigieg,

24:55moments ago. Let's bring in the interview with Buttigieg.

25:01Now I want to bring in someone who needs no introduction.

25:04I want to bring in Pete Buttigieg.

25:05Pete, it's great to see you, as always.

25:08You know, you served in Afghanistan.

25:10I want to get your perspective right now in this war in Iran.

25:14I know one of the things that when you were in Afghanistan, you know, driving

25:18outside of the wire, you know, in areas that were very, very dangerous.

25:23The IEDs that tragically killed so many of our service members, some of those parts

25:30were made in Iran. And I don't think that gets enough attention as well, because

25:34as we think about this phase that's already begun in Iran, where they've been launching

25:39the ballistic missiles at our interests in the Middle East and in the neighboring countries,

25:44and Donald Trump so cavalierly throws around, you know, ground invasion, this, that, and the

25:50other. You know, what we're seeing, what you've seen and what you're aware of, like,

25:56it just seems that there's no plan here, even on details like that.

26:00So I want to get your perspective on everything that's happening.

26:03Yeah. I mean, one thing I take away from my experience, which to be clear,

26:06was not in Iran, but was in Afghanistan, which was impacted by Iran.

26:10You know, everything is connected and everything is extremely complicated.

26:16That almost goes without saying when you're talking about the Middle East or when you're

26:20talking about war and peace.

26:21But I think it's worth reminding ourselves of because we have learned this the hard

26:26way repeatedly in our lifetime.

26:28We saw how hard it is to achieve regime change in Iraq.

26:32We saw what happens when you don't have a clear sense of mission in Afghanistan.

26:37And here we are just a few days into this Iran war.

26:41There are already casualties. We have not yet heard a consistent explanation for what we're

26:47even doing there, which means we are a long way away from understanding what it

26:52would take for the mission to be accomplished.

26:54It's more like mission to be determined.

26:56And when you're putting American lives on the line, not to mention sending billions of

27:01dollars that - we really need here at home into a war, you have to

27:05have a better plan than that.

27:06Yeah, which is the question that needs to be always asked is who's paying the

27:11price for war? Soldiers abroad, what that actually means.

27:16And we know that we've had service members who have been killed.

27:20And, you know, Hegseth described that as, you know, why is the media, why is

27:24the fake news always focusing on those things?

27:27Why aren't you focusing on the blowing up stuff in Tehran?

27:30Focus on that. Then at home, the military families here, can you discuss that?

27:36Yeah, I mean, when you get ready to deploy, you, of course, are constantly thinking

27:41about the worst case scenario.

27:44And the scenario that you pray hard is never going to happen is that your

27:47loved ones get the knock on the door.

27:49That has now happened to six families that we know of.

27:53And that, you know, the people who served, they're patriots.

27:57They're ready to go wherever their chain of command tells them they are needed in

28:01exchange for them making that promise, putting their lives on the line.

28:05They are supposed to be assured that their commander in chief would never put their

28:10lives on the line unless it was absolutely necessary, unless there was no alternative.

28:16Look, we have a military because sometimes a country needs to use force.

28:22But one thing we have learned over and over and over again is that you

28:27only use force if you absolutely have to.

28:30And that simply has not been what happened here in Iran.

28:33This was very much a war of choice.

28:35And the burden is being carried by those service members.

28:39And by the way, this is service members all over the region, many of whom

28:43did not think of themselves as being deployed into an active combat zone.

28:48Those who lost their lives were a reserve unit that was deployed to Kuwait.

28:53You know, when I heard that missiles had been launched at Al -Adid Air Base

28:57in Qatar, I couldn't stop thinking about what it felt like when I was at

29:01that base getting ready to go into Afghanistan, then later getting ready to come home

29:05after the deployment, because that is a or was a stopover base for so many

29:11of the troops who came and went.

29:12So really troops across that entire region, not to mention civilians, like the American civilians

29:18who have been told by the State Department to get out of the countries that

29:22they're in, but with what is clearly a very after the fact attempt to help

29:27them do it with no real plan having been put in place.

29:31They're the ones who are most at risk.

29:33And then all of us are paying in some way.

29:34We just learned this week through investigative journalism in the New York Times, we just

29:40learned that the VA has cut thousands of doctor and nurse jobs.

29:48And this is after assuring the public last year that the medical care was not

29:52going to be impacted. How is it that this country, this government, this administration is

29:57cutting doctors and nurses who take care of our service members when they are veterans,

30:03says we don't have the money to take care of them, but can find the

30:06money to take out of our communities, out of our taxpayer funds, and send it

30:11into this war with no clear mission all the way over in Iran.

30:14You know, and there's this split screen, of course, while this war is raging on,

30:19while there are these massive cuts to VA and healthcare being ripped away, you have

30:24this Mar -a -Lago class or Epstein class, I mean, quite literally partying away at

30:29Mar -a -Lago. I mean, with the images of like people dancing in martini glasses

30:35and, you know, just so disconnected and feel like they're rubbing it in the faces

30:39of all the other, of all the other Americans.

30:42But quite literally, when this war began, rather than address the people, Donald Trump was

30:48holding like a million dollar fundraiser at Mar -a -Lago.

30:52He couldn't even get to Washington, D .C.

30:54He stayed at his fundraiser instead of addressing the American people.

30:59And I just, you know, look, there's definitely outrage among the people, but it's just

31:05so fascinating that that's not even like talked about, like such a betrayal.

31:10I just, when I saw that, I was like, what's he doing?

31:13Get your, if you're going to send our troops to war, get your ass to

31:16D .C., address the American people talk about, what are you doing?

31:19Yeah. The symbolism could not be more extreme, right?

31:22The commander in chief as a side hustle literally owns a club for rich people

31:27that costs a million dollars just to get into.

31:31And he's on the sidelines of the golf course at that club, launching American troops

31:36who of course, aren't the kinds of people who can buy memberships to Mar -a

31:39-Lago or, you know, invest in his crypto fund.

31:42They're the ones who are going to be paying the price.

31:46I mean, think about this.

31:48You've got money from the Middle East going into the Trump family crypto fund while

31:55you have Americans going to the Middle East for Donald Trump's war.

31:59It could not be more upside down, more wrong in terms of the priorities and

32:05the interest that this president has at heart.

32:07But it's because he knows that this isn't going to impact him or his buddies.

32:11The richer you are, the less you are likely to feel either the deployments themselves

32:17or the tax dollars that all of us are sending abroad at the moment when

32:22there are tax cuts going to the riches.

32:24This is another thing, right?

32:25America doesn't usually cut taxes, especially for the wealthy, in the middle of a war

32:30effort. George W. Bush changed that, we had a tax cut at the same time

32:33as the Iraq war. Most of us believe, most of us Americans, not just Democrats

32:38believe that that was wrong on both counts, that the war was wrong and that

32:42the enormous deficit, the debt we're going to be paying for the rest of our

32:46lives created by that tax cut for the rich was wrong.

32:49All of these things are connected and we've got to demand better.

32:53Now, here's the important thing.

32:54The American people already understand what's going on, right?

32:57Most Americans reject having a war of choice in Iran.

33:02Most Americans reject the Trump tax cuts for the wealthy.

33:05Most Americans reject the idea that it's okay to cut healthcare, cut meals on wheels

33:10for seniors, cut doctors and nurses at the VA while all of this is going

33:16on. The important thing now is to make sure that the American people have our

33:20voice heard, whether that's town halls taken to the streets, but most importantly of all,

33:25of course, at the ballot box.

33:26Yeah. When you mentioned all these things are interconnected also, I mean, the doge cuts

33:31to the State Department gutting it.

33:33And now probably would be nice to have diplomats and people in the Middle East

33:38who can start interfacing with American citizens who are terrified right there.

33:44You know, there was apparently no plan to evacuate Americans in the Middle East.

33:49People would call a phone number and it would basically say, good luck.

33:52Try to find a commercial airport.

33:54While commercial airports are under attack, you have that.

33:58Then you have the attack on our allies.

34:00And when you're going to go to a war, you need the help of your

34:04allies. And, you know, Donald Trump's out there tariffing everybody, attacking Ukraine when Ukraine actually

34:12holds unique knowledge about how to deal with Shahid drones and ballistic missiles.

34:17Then rushing to Zelensky and saying, hey, actually, you know what?

34:21Forget all the stuff I said.

34:22We need your help right now and shooting down the Shahid drones.

34:26But then Trump sends out Caroline Levitt, who then blames Zelensky for other issues in

34:32the United States on the same day.

34:33It's just like, what are you like?

34:35They don't know what's happening.

34:36It's so bizarre. Then they have Steve Whitcoff, you know, a guy who did like

34:40real estate stuff with Trump, you know, a Trumpy real estate guy, you know, out

34:45there doing these negotiations with the foreign minister of Ahmad and Ahmad.

34:49What are you doing? And the thing about this is, again, it's not just that

34:52it's a bad look. It's that there are life and death consequences for troops and

34:57ultimately for our whole country to this being done the way it's being done.

35:01Think about this. Many of those Middle East embassies, even deep into the second year

35:06of the Trump administration, still aren't properly staffed.

35:09They don't even have confirmed ambassadors.

35:11And they've been removing or firing a lot of career Foreign Service ambassadors just because

35:15they happen to serve because, again, they're not political appointees.

35:19So, of course, they did under Democratic as well as Republican administrations.

35:22When you do that, that weakens this country, let alone the putting a thumb in

35:27the eye of our allies.

35:29You know, I remember serving alongside troops from Denmark, to take one example.

35:33They gave more lives per capita than any other ally in the Afghanistan operation.

35:38Obviously, pissing them off through the Greenland rhetoric is not something that strengthens the alliance.

35:45And NATO matters. NATO is involved in missiles that had to be shot down on

35:49their way to Turkey from Iran.

35:51So we continue to see just the utter chaos.

35:55And I think that's the biggest thing to be concerned about here, that when you

35:59go in, we've learned this the hard way.

36:01When you go in to the Middle East without a plan, the result tends to

36:04be chaos. And chaos eventually can lead to harm to Americans, even sometimes on American

36:11soil. The administration needs to give us answers.

36:14Congress needs to demand those answers, but they're doing the opposite.

36:18Senate Republicans had a vote.

36:20And now virtually every Republican senator is on the record endorsing this war of choice

36:26that most Americans are against.

36:28It's one more reason why we have to remember that the ultimate backstop here is

36:32the American people. In this country, the people are still in charge.

36:35The people need to tell Congress that we expect them to hold the administration to

36:39a higher standard when troops, lives, and American treasure are on the line.

36:43We talked before about who pays the price for war.

36:47I remember a story that you shared before about the letter on your life before

36:53you went to war and writing, you know, if anything were to happen to you.

36:59And that was a significant, you know, experience for you, you know, having to write

37:03that and reflect on your life in general.

37:06Before we go, I mean, for people who haven't heard that story, if you could

37:09talk about that, especially in light of the fact that as we hear the American

37:14service members who have been killed, you know, in this war, and you just see

37:18their photos and you see their people and you see, you know, regardless of their

37:22age, but particularly when I see a young person, too, it hits particularly hard.

37:28They all hit hard, but talk to us.

37:31Yeah, you see the faces of the fallen and they remind you maybe of somebody,

37:36you know, somebody you grew up with.

37:38They remind me of people that I served with.

37:41And this terrible news of their sacrifice certainly reminds me of what it was like

37:47to sit down and write that letter.

37:48I still have it around here in my desk drawer.

37:52It says, just in case on the outside, they tell you to write a letter

37:54like that, just in case, in case you don't.

37:57come back and there are some things that you want the people you love most

38:01to know. And it's a reminder for me, I keep it around as a reminder

38:06of what was on the line and a reminder of how thankful I am that

38:10I did come back okay, but also what it felt like not being sure, which

38:15is something that so many people, hundreds of thousands, millions of Americans over the years

38:21who have been deployed have gone through.

38:23And by the way, many answer the call to serve and are deployed many times.

38:28There was a period where I know some of the people I served with were

38:31on their fifth or sixth deployment.

38:33And we made a decision, an increasingly cross -partisan decision among the American people that

38:39we weren't going to go into another generation's worth of forever wars like that.

38:44And that was something that this president promised his base, promised the American people.

38:49It was part of his appeal.

38:50It felt for a minute like you didn't just have to be a Democrat to

38:54want us out of the forever wars.

38:55But the Democrats and a whole lot of independents and a whole lot of Republicans

38:59had come to see this.

39:01And now the reverse is the case.

39:03And this isn't going to matter just because of lines on a map or words

39:06on a page. This is going to matter because as the president has assured us,

39:12more families are going to get that knock on the door, are going to have

39:16to open that letter from someone they loved whose life was put on the line

39:20by this president without a clear plan.

39:23And Pete, before we go, any other message you want to send to our 7

39:27million subscribers out there who are certainly glad to be hearing your voice right now

39:33during these difficult times? I think the most important thing to remember now is it

39:37doesn't have to be this way.

39:39The administration does a good job of creating this sense of powerlessness.

39:43Like there's this steamroller that's just rolling over all of us and there's nothing you

39:47can do about it. And yet we have seen how they can be stopped.

39:51We saw them stopped on the tariffs.

39:54We saw them stopped in their attempt to completely cover up the Epstein files.

39:58We saw them stopped in some of what they were trying to do on healthcare.

40:02And what that tells me is you don't even have to wait till election day

40:06for people rising up in this country to matter.

40:10When members of Congress started to be afraid to see their own constituents at town

40:13halls and then started changing their votes, and I'm talking about some Republicans here.

40:17When some places like my home state of Indiana, which is, of course, a very

40:21Republican state, stood up and rejected the president's gerrymandering plan to grab power.

40:27All of these things are pieces of evidence that we can turn what is happening

40:31in this country. Of course, the best moment we'll have for that this year will

40:37come with those November elections.

40:38We don't have to sit around waiting.

40:40It is a big deal that millions of Americans will be marching toward the end

40:44of this month in the next No Kings set of marches around the country.

40:49It matters to speak up and get the attention of your elected representative, especially if

40:54they're one of these Republicans running cover for this president while they know deep down

40:57that that is wrong. They are beginning to realize that this president will not be

41:03in charge forever. We, in the opposition, need to realize the same thing and start

41:08planning accordingly. Pete Buttigieg, thanks as always for joining us, and thanks for your voice

41:14right now. We need it more than ever.

41:17Appreciate you. Thanks for having me on.

41:19Great surprise right there to have Pete Buttigieg on our live right there.

41:24Interesting development in the continuing coverage of the war in Iran.

41:28So the United States regime is posting that it is absolute false that a U

41:36.S. jet was shot down over Iraq.

41:39But then they deleted the post and then says it's absolutely false.

41:45What are they saying right now?

41:47Yeah, it's absolutely false that the plane was shot down.

41:50They said before it was absolutely false that it crashed.

41:53So they changed the language from it's absolutely false that it crashed to now it's

41:58absolutely false. I know it's confusing.

41:59That was absolutely false that it was shot down.

42:03So it seems to be based on what they're saying in Basra, there seems to

42:08be a crash. But it does seem that the U .S.

42:11is saying it wasn't shot down, it crashed.

42:13But the Trump regime lies about everything.

42:15I mean, before Donald Trump was holding a press conference, today were the markets tanked.

42:21And right now, the Dow is at 47 ,000.

42:25And Trump's like, it's 50 ,000.

42:27It's 50 ,000 right now.

42:28Here, let me just play, not that clip, but let me just show you the

42:32one. I want to show you that this is breaking right now as I'm recording

42:36this. Donald Trump says, things are going so well in Iran that now it's time

42:44we go and invade Cuba.

42:47Here's what he says. I'm done.

42:52I don't see it. He's doing some job.

42:55And your next one is going to be, we want to do that special.

43:01Where's the clip? Where'd the clip go?

43:05Can we try it one more time to play the clip?

43:06Or is there a stream yard glitching?

43:10And watching me wipe my nose during the, well, instead of playing the clip.

43:14Can we try it one more time?

43:16I don't see it. He's doing some job.

43:19And your next one is going to be, we want to do that special.

43:22We want to do the special.

43:26Cuba. You can't even speak in sentences.

43:30Yeah, it's a little stream yard glitch right there.

43:33The special Cuba, by the way, if you're wondering who's standing behind him right there,

43:38who are his props? It's the Miami football club is behind him.

43:43And this is what Trump does a lot too.

43:45He lines up athletes because he thinks they're good looking and strong.

43:49And then he talks about invading countries.

43:52He's done this a ton of times.

43:54So, I mean, and here's the thing though, like if you are, you know, if

44:00you're in those football clubs and you're like, you know, or you're the baseball team

44:04or the hockey team or whatever, and you're like, look, man, it's not political.

44:08It's just, it's just a great time to be in the white, look, it's the

44:11white house. This isn't a political thing.

44:14Okay. Great that you say that, but Trump views it as a political thing.

44:20I agree with you that regardless of who the administration is, even if I despise

44:26the administration in normal times, when a team shows up to the white house, after

44:33winning something, they should get applauded.

44:36Cool. Great work. That's it.

44:39Photos. Okay. If that's really what it was.

44:43Okay. I get it. The moment you go in there, he's going to use you

44:48for all of his propaganda.

44:49He's going to put AI words in your voice.

44:52He's going to AI your name, image, and likeness.

44:55He's going to use you in the background to talk about invading nations and killing

44:59people. So when you're in the background there, you should know that your name, image,

45:05and likeness is going to be used as propaganda to kill people.

45:09And by the way, I mean, don't say, oh, it's not political.

45:12It's not political. Come on, man.

45:14You can't be talking. That's, you know, this is, this is soccer, man.

45:18This is, this is hockey.

45:19Okay. I love soccer. I played soccer in high school.

45:22I like hockey. I sit on the board of something called the hockey diversity Alliance

45:28with lots of professional hockey players.

45:30My best friend's a former professional NHL player.

45:33Okay. I like hockey. I like watching hockey.

45:35Um, but Trump's the one politicizing it, not me.

45:39You know, when I'm politicizing it, he then uses these people for his own propaganda.

45:43All right, let's take our first and only quick break of the show.

45:46Um, we will be right back at a lot more to discuss.

45:50Let's take our first and only quick break.

45:52What's your weekday breakfast actually like?

45:54Because if I'm being honest, mine is chaos.

45:56I look up at the clock and suddenly it's like 10 or 11 AM.

45:59And I realized I've had coffee and more coffee, no breakfast, no actual food.

46:04And somehow it's already March.

46:06And I'm still trying to stick to my goals of eating better this year.

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49:00M -E -I -D -A -S.

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50:21Thank you to our pro -democracy sponsors right there.

50:26Sponsors help the show go on.

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50:34So thank you to them.

50:36Another housekeeping announcement that I think that you will all like.

50:40So after this live stream ends, I held a discussion with multiple Democratic governors.

50:48So I spoke with Governor Bashir, Governor Shapiro, Governor Hochul, Governor Sherrill, Governor Healy, Governor

50:58Grisham, seeing if I'm leaving anybody out there, but spoke with all these various governors.

51:07I spoke to them before the Iran war started.

51:11So I don't address the Iran war in it, but it's a conversation with all

51:15of these governors. And it's a really good conversation because we talk about things that

51:20they're actually doing for the American people, kind of refreshing, right?

51:25Like rather than Trump ranting and raving like a lunatic.

51:28So I think you will, I think you'll enjoy that.

51:32Just some other news that we're seeing over the break.

51:35We're learning now that jet fuel has doubled in price.

51:38We know that your gas prices are going up significantly, but jet fuel has doubled.

51:42So ultimately plane tickets, travel is going to become much more expensive.

51:46That's obviously going to impact the airline industry.

51:49Inflation was already rising. I think these next inflation reports are going to be catastrophic.

51:57And it's obviously going to impact the ability of the Fed to lower interest rates.

52:01But I think we're going to see a catastrophic report on the inflation coming up.

52:08I wonder if Donald Trump will even show the report.

52:13I think he'll probably say we're at war.

52:15We can't show it right now.

52:17We'll see what he does right there.

52:21Should also be noted, Pam Bondi has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to

52:26testify about the Epstein files.

52:28Actually a bipartisan vote. Five Republicans joined with Democrats.

52:32Burchette, Boebert, Cloud, Mace, Perry joined with the Democrats.

52:37And so she'll have to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

52:42That will be, I think, something important for us all to watch.

52:47Of course, the news today about Kristi Noem being fired.

52:51Uh, Governor Newsom says, uh, new Kristi just dropped the, uh, just fired, uh, meme

52:58right there after she played dress up over and over again.

53:01Uh, Donald Trump announced her termination via a social media post.

53:06He said that she would now become the, oh, first he said, I'm pleased to

53:11announce that the highly respected United States Senator from the great state of Oklahoma, Mark

53:15Wayne Mullen will become the United States Secretary of Homeland Security.

53:19The current secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has numerous and spectacular

53:24results, especially on the border, will be moving to the special envoy for the shield

53:30of the Americas. That's just the made up thing that doesn't exist.

53:33And then she goes, thank you, Donald, for appointing me to be the special envoy

53:38for the shield of Americas.

53:41Thank you, Rubio. And thank you, Hegseth.

53:43They're incredible leaders. I look forward to being the ambassador of the shield.

53:48The ambassador of the shield, everybody.

53:51Very, very, very bizarre stuff.

53:53Now you all know Mark Wade Mullen.

53:56He's the MAGA Republican Senator, uh, from Oklahoma.

53:59He's this guy right here.

54:01Um, he's a total train wreck.

54:03He's a Trump MAGA sycophant who like literally lives on Fox every day.

54:08Um, he was the guy the other day who said, we're at war.

54:11We're not at war. We're at war.

54:12We're not at war, uh, over and over again.

54:14But you know, it's, it's a, a, a complete and utter, I, I, what, what.

54:20Somebody say I read on social media.

54:24It's crude, but I'll say it.

54:27It was like bringing in Mark Wayne Mullen to be the director of Homeland Security

54:32is like finding out you shit your pants and going home and changing your shirt.

54:38You know, something like that.

54:42But, you know, he's an absolute disaster.

54:44I hope that was the expression there.

54:46I mean, it's not an expression at all.

54:48I think we've got that video fixed of Rubio, of Trump talking about Rubio, that

54:53he's doing Cuba next, he says.

54:54He's doing Cuba. Let me play this clip.

54:56This was moments ago. He's doing some job and your next one is going to

55:02be we want to do that special Cuba.

55:04He's waiting, but he says, let's get this one finished first.

55:07We could do them all at the same time, but bad things happen.

55:10If you watch countries over the years, you do them all too fast.

55:14Bad things happen. We're not going to let anything bad happen to this country.

55:18The hell is he even talking about there?

55:22What else did he say?

55:23Here's what Trump had to say on Iran.

55:26He lied and said they're calling to say, how do we make a deal?

55:29By the way, when he like lies about this stuff, not only is it stupid,

55:35but who don't you realize how weak that makes you look to them and to

55:41our allies who know that's not what's happening?

55:46Here's the thing. Even if Iran wanted to make a deal, let's say Iran wanted

55:51to make a deal. I've said this before.

55:55You can't do a deal with Donald Trump.

55:59He doesn't do deals, right?

56:01The same way he lies about everything when up is down and left is right.

56:07He's a deal maker is a front for he's a fraud and a con artist

56:12and a felon and a sexual predator.

56:14It's not a deal. He doesn't do deals.

56:16There was a mediation taking place between the United States and Iran.

56:20The US picked the media, the foreign minister of Oman.

56:23There was a deal in principle reached on Friday.

56:25Not according to me, according to the person the US picked, not Iran, the US

56:31picked the foreign minister of Oman.

56:34Foreign minister of Oman said on Friday, deal in principle.

56:37On Monday, we're going to have some technical details we have to hammer out.

56:41So again, I'm just giving you who the US picked because that's how I can

56:47try to decipher it. Okay, what'd this person say?

56:50And said it before the US struck.

56:53So let's just assume the foreign minister of Oman was lying, went on American media

56:59and then lied and said that we had reached a deal in principle, but that

57:03was not true, right? So if you were the Trump regime, and it's a regime,

57:10so they lie about everything.

57:12But if that type of disinformation was coming out there, right?

57:15If you were in the government and the foreign minister of Oman was going on

57:19your networks and saying that you had a deal in principle, right?

57:23Wouldn't you go out there, send whoever, press secretary, somebody, secretary of state, department of

57:31defense and say, that's 100 % false.

57:34So you get that out there and then explain, actually, not only is it false,

57:38folks, there is an imminent threat and we have to explain to you what's going

57:41on. Like, let me be very clear.

57:43The Ayatollah led a brutal regime.

57:46The new Ayatollah, the Monjaba, it's more extreme than the old Ayatollah.

57:50We all believe the new Ayatollah is Monjaba, the son, the one responsible for massacring

57:55the 40 ,000 protesters that Donald Trump said he was going to help.

57:58Monjaba is the new Ayatollah, we all believe.

58:01Trump says Monjaba's a lightweight.

58:04Dude, you don't even know what you're talking about.

58:06Monjaba's a lightweight. You don't even know who Monjaba is, dude.

58:09What do you mean he's a lightweight?

58:10So that's what Trump was saying.

58:12And Trump said, I don't like Monjaba.

58:14Trump says that I got to be the person who picks the next Ayatollah.

58:18It's me and me and Bibby pick the next Ayatollah.

58:21Okay. That's what the Iranian people want.

58:23You and Bibby picking the next Ayatollah.

58:25So you got Donald Trump out there, you know, saying he picks the next Ayatollah.

58:29And by all accounts, just so we all know, like what's actually happening in Iran

58:34right now is that you have people on the streets day in, day out who

58:40previously maybe thought the, who were not supporting the Ayatollah, but the Shiite communities pissed

58:45right there and further radicalized by Trump making the Ayatollah into a martyr when he

58:51was 85 years old and was probably going to not live for much longer anyway

58:55and was deeply unpopular. And that's why the experts in the intelligence community you're like,

59:00just wait it out. Let him die.

59:02Because if you waited it out and were patient and the Ayatollah, the Ayatollah dies,

59:07remember you must say, well, Ben, Ben, but if you waited it out, then they

59:12can get nuclear weapons. So don't do that.

59:14Come on, Ben, be smarter about it.

59:16Well, Trump said he obliterated the nuclear weapons in June, right?

59:20He said he obliterated it.

59:22So if you obliterated the weapons, wouldn't the strategy then, we know that was a

59:27lie, but he said he obliterated it.

59:28So then wouldn't the strategy be you wait out the Ayatollah to die?

59:32If they, if the clerics try to appoint a new extreme person who's even more

59:39extreme than the Ayatollah rather, then you actually lend support to, you know, democracy groups

59:45in there. And then you protect the people, you rally the.

59:48community. You rally your allies as Iran is massacring the people.

59:54You now have the moral high ground because they're massacring the protesters.

1:00:01You're there to help the protesters install democracy.

1:00:07You now build a coalition to protect the...

1:00:10I'm just saying, if you...

1:00:11By the way, would I have supported that even?

1:00:15I don't want regime change.

1:00:16I want health care for all of you in the United States.

1:00:18Let me be clear about that.

1:00:20I want you to have affordable housing.

1:00:23There's so many problems. I don't want regime change wars.

1:00:26As much as my heart goes out to the people in Iran, and it truly

1:00:29does, as much as I think the Ayatollah is brutal, terroristic, horrific, we see where

1:00:35regime change wars go. But I'm just saying, if you wanted to do this with

1:00:40a level of sophistication, I think there's a way to do it at least.

1:00:44That's not this. This is the most demented, dumbest, idiotic, dangerous thing, the way to

1:00:50do it. And now you have the Chinese ambassador or the Chinese foreign minister is

1:00:59being called in by Middle Eastern countries.

1:01:03You have Wang Yi, the China's foreign minister, Wang Yi.

1:01:08And he's out there being called in by Arab States to mediate between the Arab

1:01:14States and Iran. Not Iran and the United States, but to mediate between the Arab

1:01:21States and Iran because these Arab States are getting crushed.

1:01:25Because even if the ballistic missile strikes are less consistent and less significant in terms

1:01:34of the sheer quantity, you're going to visit Dubai anytime soon?

1:01:39You're going to Abu Dhabi anytime soon?

1:01:42You're going to Doha, Qatar, or Riyadh?

1:01:45Yeah, you're going there? Is that where you're going clubbing over there?

1:01:48Right? Is that where you're going to be?

1:01:49Is that where you're going to be partying?

1:01:50You think the influencers in Dubai are going there?

1:01:58You think you want to buy one of those mansions on Palm Island or whatever

1:02:03they call it in Dubai?

1:02:05That's what you want to do?

1:02:06You want to get a spot on that beach area right there?

1:02:09Come on. And the Arab countries know that.

1:02:12That's why I read for you the Emirati billionaires post earlier as well.

1:02:16So here's Donald Trump, though, claiming that in Iran, they're calling up.

1:02:21How do we make a deal, Donald?

1:02:22We want to make a deal, which is not happening, but okay.

1:02:25Go for it, Donald. Say it.

1:02:28I said, what's left? But they're tough and they want to fight.

1:02:33And they're calling. They're saying, how do we make a deal?

1:02:36I said, you're being a little bit late and we want to fight now more

1:02:40than they do. I said, you're being a little late.

1:02:44Now we want to fight more than they, what the hell are, what words are

1:02:47you even saying? What, what mush is even coming out of your mouth?

1:02:55Right. What slop? It's like, blah, blah.

1:02:59He's not even saying sentences.

1:03:01We want to fight now more than they do.

1:03:03What are you talking about?

1:03:05They're begging for a deal.

1:03:07They're too late. Dude, what are you saying?

1:03:10And then he says that Pam Bondi's terrific.

1:03:13She's doing amazing. Here's what he says about Pam Bondi.

1:03:16I'm not going to let anything bad happen to this country.

1:03:18Also with us, our attorney general, Pam Bondi is terrific person and fan.

1:03:28And she's proving how tough she is.

1:03:30And I think the next three years, she's going to really prove it, right?

1:03:34Huh? Like these people. Huh?

1:03:38You're going to, you're going to prove it by covering up those Epstein files.

1:03:42Huh? Huh? Huh? And here's the thing too.

1:03:45Now you've got that. Just so you know, all of those Miami soccer players, you're

1:03:52covering up or you're clapping for a coverup of a child sex trafficking ring.

1:03:58And by the way, as I said before, you're, you know, if I don't agree

1:04:03with an administration's perspective on tax policy or taxes or reducing inflation or healthcare and

1:04:15whatever, we have strong disagreements, but the team shows up by the way, perhaps I

1:04:20don't want to even speculate on this because we know that it's impossible with Trump.

1:04:24And obviously he's never done this.

1:04:27So I can't even say that, but look, if, if, if ultimately in the past,

1:04:31if he started and the teams would show up and they would just be congratulated

1:04:37for being a champion of the sport.

1:04:40And that was the only thing that happened.

1:04:42And then the team was like, look, it's a visit to the white house.

1:04:45I'd still tell them they shouldn't show up, but whatever.

1:04:47Right. What are you? Okay.

1:04:49I would still not be for it, but no, he's using you as a prop

1:04:54now to cheer for an unlawful war, right?

1:04:59Where also we know in Iran, a elementary school was hit resulting in the deaths

1:05:06of close to 200 little girls and boys and teachers in the area.

1:05:12And that it seems it was potentially a double tap as well of a strike.

1:05:16like at the hospital, then the elementary school, then nearby also.

1:05:20And now our regime denies it, but by all accounts, it happened.

1:05:26I mean, we are aware of it happening and our regime provides no justification about

1:05:31it. But you are all clapping for an unlawful war where service members have died

1:05:38and have been seriously wounded.

1:05:40You've now clapped for the coverup of the Epstein files back there.

1:05:45I mean, you'd be clowned yourself.

1:05:49Don't tell me it's not political when you've been used as a political prop.

1:05:53That's who you are. You are a political prop.

1:05:56You are a tool to cover up child sex trafficking.

1:06:01That's what you are. Undisputed fact.

1:06:04Great work. That's your legacy.

1:06:06Tell that to your children.

1:06:07For real. Tell your children.

1:06:09Or do you not see it?

1:06:10Are you too dense to recognize that?

1:06:14And don't be like, oh, well, Ben, you know what?

1:06:16How are you going to, how are you going to attract like, like, like, you

1:06:20know, men, you know, that's a big problem.

1:06:23Democratic party. Well, dude, if, if, if men support covering up child sex trafficking, they're

1:06:29not fucking, excuse my language.

1:06:30They're not men. Oh, I'm not trying to have them in the coalition.

1:06:33Okay. And we need to stand up and be strong and call out.

1:06:37You know, I like soccer just because I like soccer.

1:06:41I have to support clapping of, uh, covering up child sex traffic.

1:06:44What are we talking about here?

1:06:46No, it's time that we actually stand up strongly for our values and not worry

1:06:50about, oh, how is this going to politically sound?

1:06:52Or how is that going to politically sound?

1:06:54No, we just look at something and say, that's wrong.

1:06:56That's right. That's leadership. That's not, that's what, that's what leaders do.

1:07:01That's how people should behave.

1:07:02And I'm sick and tired of the coddling.

1:07:04Oh, Donald Trump's up there.

1:07:06Oh, it looks like, uh, the Dow is over 50 ,000.

1:07:11No. Have you looked at it today?

1:07:12It's not over 50 ,000.

1:07:13It's not a benchmark of how the American people are doing by the way, who

1:07:17are suffering. It may be a benchmark, how your rich oligarch friends are doing.

1:07:21Now the American people are doing, and it's not even at 50 ,000.

1:07:25How do you go? It's 50 ,000.

1:07:27No, it's not. It's not, it's not a 50 ,000.

1:07:30And in the longterm, the actions were taken will dramatically increase the stability of the

1:07:35region and oil prices and stock markets and everything else.

1:07:40You know, we set the all time record in history with the Dow going to

1:07:4450 ,000. So Dow is at 50 ,000.

1:07:47It was supposed to be maybe if we were lucky within, uh, by the end

1:07:52of my presidency in four years.

1:07:54And we did it in my first year.

1:07:56We did the S and P.

1:07:58We did the S and P.

1:08:00We did the S and P.

1:08:01Everybody. We did the Dow.

1:08:05This guy is an idiot.

1:08:07He is demented. He is a criminal adjudicated as such.

1:08:14He's a sexual predator adjudicated as such by a civil jury.

1:08:21But when the corporate news is like, well, no evidence, he's found civilly liable of

1:08:27sexual assault. What are you talking about?

1:08:28No evidence. Mar -a -Lago was used for the sex trafficking.

1:08:32Undisputed fact, right? Is your home used as a site of sex trafficking of children?

1:08:37Trump's, Trump's is probably a red flag when your home is used for child sex

1:08:41trafficking by, by Jeffrey Epstein.

1:08:43It may be a red flag.

1:08:44And then you say the guy's a great guy who likes women on the younger

1:08:47side. And then you say you own beauty pageants so you can inspect girls naked.

1:08:51And you say you grab women's genitals because you're rich.

1:08:54They let you do it.

1:08:55I don't know, but probably some red fricking flags right there.

1:08:58Eh? Probably some red fricking flags right there.

1:09:03Oh, that's, that's our, that's the country right now across the world.

1:09:09Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia have all been

1:09:15hit. Donald Trump posting memes of himself.

1:09:20I stand with Trump. This guy's just freaking demented.

1:09:24Do we have treasury secretary Scott Besant saying these are fantastic.

1:09:29Okay. I, I, I despise so many people in this regime.

1:09:33Besant may be the worst.

1:09:35And I know it's hard.

1:09:36Like, how do you like Nick Besant exit?

1:09:39But there's something about Besant.

1:09:41He's like, I just don't like these fantastical accounts.

1:09:47We are prospering. I mean, it's like every time I look at this guy, he's

1:09:50like basically saying FU, FU, FU, you're stupid.

1:09:53You're stupid. You're stupid. That's to me what he's saying all the time.

1:09:56Here play this clip is arrogant asshole.

1:09:58Becky, I will tell you the region is not on fire.

1:10:01What is happening is that someone, someone with an iPhone and look, it's terrible when

1:10:05a hotel gets hit the, uh, in Bahrain, uh, when there is a drone that

1:10:12hits the airport in Doha, but those are one -offs.

1:10:17The Iranian, the attack capabilities have been substantially degraded.

1:10:22The U S is getting stronger and stronger every day.

1:10:25And the most fulsome part of our campaign is just starting so that there are

1:10:29the people in the market willing to look through this.

1:10:33And that's what I think everyone should do because president Trump has a vision here.

1:10:38And I think everyone should just step back and think about what he has a

1:10:43vision. here you should step back step back and listen to president trump he's a

1:10:51visionary he's a visionary cut to donald trump uh on a scale of one to

1:10:5715 oh this war is a 15 a scale of one to 10 it's a

1:11:0115 a visionary a genius he's a genius everybody here just play the play the

1:11:09clip of trump on a scale of one to 10 15 15 here play this

1:11:16clip and we're doing very well on uh on the war front to put it

1:11:21mildly i would say somebody said on a scale of 10 where would you rate

1:11:25it i said about a 15 and uh we're going to continue to do well

1:11:29we have the greatest military in the world by far and uh wise words from

1:11:36a visionary wise words that's end there you have it folks i'm gonna cut right

1:11:43now to the special that i've done with the governors so if you want to

1:11:47hear all of the uh governors i mean i think you all want to hear

1:11:52it right we've got uh governor basheer we've got governor shapiro we've got governor mikey

1:12:00sherrill we've got governor mora healy the governor grisham of uh new mexico um that's

1:12:09did i say shapiro we've got shapiro uh so i want you to watch that

1:12:14i do the show with the brothers this evening we'll give you updates on everything

1:12:18that's going on i did a good interview as well with uh uh mark hurtling

1:12:24which i'm excited to to share that with you brett did a good hot take

1:12:28on christy gnome uh didn't he do a great hot take on christy gnome um

1:12:33so we'll uh share that with you um and and folks just i i want

1:12:40you to hang in there um we have to stick through this together shoulder to

1:12:45shoulder democracy and truth is prevailing i mean the fact that christy gnome was fired

1:12:51today there are so many other people that you know we need to keep the

1:12:55pressure up on obviously the midterms are are coming but for me the midterms a

1:13:03broader message needs to be sent not not a not even a political message it's

1:13:08truly a message about values and principles i was speaking at a uh the school

1:13:13of communications in annenburg school of journalism at usc today and i let them know

1:13:19you know that first and foremost this youtube channel and this network is a is

1:13:27a channel and network about values and principles and that's the most important thing uh

1:13:32standing behind those values and principles all right my producers are saying my interview with

1:13:36governor beshear is happening right now watch governor beshear then shapiro we do a bunch

1:13:41of great interviews you're going to want to watch this stay on the midas touch

1:13:44youtube channel hit subscribe we're going to take you don't have to do anything we're

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Thursday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben — 3/5/26