Meidas Founder Delivers Sunday Message

MeidasTouch Network Mar 30

By Ben Meiselas

Hello Meidas Mighty. It’s Ben Meiselas, co-founder of MeidasTouch. Please grab a coffee, tea, water, or your drink of choice, and let’s chat.

As always, I want to start by thanking our subscribers to this Substack. Please subscribe now if you aren’t subscribed.

Trump knows he is now losing the information war to Meidas. The White House is aware Meidas is beating Fox News in views and Rogan in podcast downloads. Trump launched a podcast initiative to boost MAGA podcasters and get us off the top of the charts this week. He failed. Trump created a section in the White House called “podcast row.” This initiative failed miserably. Our numbers grew, and the MAGA podcasts shriveled—just like their dear leader.

Yesterday, JD Vance attacked MeidasTouch host and Army vet Fred Wellman for calling out Vance’s Greenland stunt. This follows multiple other attacks by Trump, Vance, Fox, and others at Meidas. We are what they feared the most (subscribe now and help us grow if you can).

OMG! JD Vance Just Attacked Meidas Contributor!! MeidasTouch Network, FPWellman, and Ben Meiselas · 1:00 AM Read full story

This was a disastrous week for Trump—domestically and internationally.

First, let’s chat domestic. Trump crashed the markets again. His 25 percent tariffs on autos are a disaster. The Atlanta Federal Reserve and other top economists predict a negative 2.8 percent GDP and stagflation (negative GDP and high inflation). The latest inflation report shows prices surging. Yesterday, Trump gave an interview with NBC where he said he “couldn’t care less” if prices skyrocket. I covered this all on our Substack and on our MeidasTouch YouTube channel.

Second, let’s discuss international affairs. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s special relationship with America is over, and the Canadian boycott against all things American is causing major harm to American exports and tourism. Europe is creating a new defense alliance without the United States and held a meeting with President Zelenskyy in France to stand up to Putin (and Trump). JD Vance had a humiliating trip to Greenland where not a single Greenlander would allow him into their home, so he held a press conference on a military base and said America “must own Greenland,” and then he quickly left in disgrace.

This was the week of Signal-Gate as well.

The Trump regime’s top defense officials were exposed discussing war plans over a text chat on the messaging app “Signal,” where they inadvertently invited the Editor-in-Chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg. The Trump regime then had the worst cover-up as well and claimed the war plans weren’t classified and “weren’t war plans,” and blamed Goldberg for getting “sucked into” the text message thread. They then called Goldberg a “sleaze-bag” just because. Clearly, no countries will share sensitive info with the United States anymore.

We also learned new stories of migrants kidnapped by the Trump regime and thrown into concentration camps in El Salvador without due process, who were not gang members. Mother Jones and others did an excellent report on numerous people who were lawful asylum seekers but were kidnapped and put in concentration camps by Trump with no due process. The MeidasTouch Network broke the story of how Homeland Security Secretary “Cosplay” Kristi Noem wore a $60k Rolex when she paraded herself in front of an El Salvador prison cell at a concentration camp to shoot an ISIS-style or Nazi-style video.

Democrats continue to hold town halls in their districts and in MAGA districts where the GOP Congress Members are too scared to show up. MeidasTouch has gotten a lot of shoutouts from Democratic Congress Members and the audience at these town halls. We are grateful for the support and love. We do our best to meet this moment and fight back every moment, and it warms our hearts to see the support for Meidas in the streets. As you know, we continue to cover the protests across the country as well.

My 6-month-old baby girl said “dada” this week and she went on the swing set for the first time. We also danced to Britney Spears together once I learned she apparently loves Britney’s original hits. That was some good personal news.

Finally, the MeidasTouch Network keeps growing—and growing rapidly. We are approaching 5 million subscribers on YouTube. We hit 6 billion views. We get double the monthly podcast downloads as Rogan (Add the MeidasTouch Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify). Our Substack community is thriving. We welcomed Don Lemon to Substack and hosted his first interview on Substack under my unofficial role as the Mayor of Substack. We have interviewed a ton of governors, senators, Members of Congress, and others this week. We broke major stories—whether it was Kristi Noem wearing the $60k Rolex or the MAGA Lieutenant Governor of Virginia saying she doesn’t care that people are losing their jobs in Virginia and thinks people should just shut up about it.

Don Lemon and MeidasTouch GO LIVE On Substack Ben Meiselas, MeidasTouch Network, and 2 others · Mar 28 Read full story

I could spend the entire day with you on this Substack. I love spending time with you on Sunday and every day. But I also want you to do me a favor today. Do something to take your mind off politics today. Go for a jog, or go to a park, or play a sport, or go birdwatching, or take a walk and look at some flowers, or visit a family member, or go see a fun movie or show. Give yourself a small break today. You are the true hero of this pro-democracy movement. We are fighting back because of you. Trump is flailing. We can’t get complacent. But we have the momentum now. We have a big fight ahead this week, so catch your breath. We are so grateful for all you do. After Democrats flipped a ruby red State Senate seat in Pennsylvania’s 36th State Senate District last week, we will see if Democrats can win the open Wisconsin Supreme Court seat and Florida special elections on April 1. We have been digitally covering these races. Check out our MeidasTouch YouTube page for some of that coverage.

Finally, we are very close to hitting our weekend subscriber goal. So if you are not a subscriber, please subscribe to this Substack now. Your subscriptions go a long way to help grow this network and deliver the results I’ve talked about above. We need your help to keep growing and to stay number one. You can also get a gift subscription for people you know if you are already subscribed.

Thanks for all you do in the fight for democracy.

Shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!

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"AUTOCRACY BY EXHAUSTION"

As a community, we must stand together or we will fall together This is not a job for one or the few. It's a job for us all. Subscribe. Read. Restack. Share with your friends and family!

Michael Cohen Mar 30

On this glorious Sunday, let me ask you something: How much more of this can you take? I mean it. Seriously. Another day, another headline that leaves you stunned, muttering, “What the actual fuck now?”; only for it to be quickly drowned out by tomorrow’s bigger, badder, more batshit-crazy scandal. The sheer volume of madness is becoming a weapon in and of itself. And the sad truth? It’s working. The chaos, the insanity; it’s the new normal.

Trump fatigue is real. And it’s deliberate.

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

You can’t even finish processing the fallout from one international crisis before another one hits. Trump picks a fight with Ukraine, again. Not over their corruption or some principled stand on sovereignty, but because President Zelenskyy had the audacity to publicly criticize Trump’s half-assed “peace plan” that amounted to a full-on surrender to Vladimir Putin. Then there’s Canada, where Trump imposed trade tariffs so steep they’d make the Smoot-Hawley Act look like a charity bake sale. Canada! Our friendly neighbor. The one whose citizens apologize when you accidentally bump into them.

But that’s just the appetizer. Trump’s diplomatic brawling now includes Panama; yes, the tiny nation whose entire economy depends on a functioning canal. Trump accused them of allowing “pro-terrorist vessels” through the canal; a claim that not even his own State Department could corroborate. Then there’s Greenland. Yes, you read that right. Trump is once again muttering about buying Greenland, as if it were a goddamn timeshare in Boca. And when Denmark refuses to sell, he throws a fit and calls them “ungrateful.”

Mexico? They’ve got a different problem. The southern border is now a militarized zone. But it’s not just migrant caravans facing Trump’s wrath. It’s journalists, humanitarian workers, and even American citizens caught in the immigration dragnet. People with valid visas are being denied entry or outright deported if border officials decide they look “suspicious.”

And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse; it does.

The chaos doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. Trump’s domestic war machine is fully operational and expanding. The latest target? Foreign student visa holders. Their crime? Participating in protests. That’s right; international students exercising their First Amendment rights are now being rounded up by ICE, their visas revoked, and put on planes with no due process. No hearings. No calls to their embassies. Just gone. Why? Because Trump deemed it “illegal protest.” A vague, arbitrary term that now means anything he doesn’t like.

But why stop there? Trump’s mass deportation effort has reached new lows, extending beyond migrants to include immigrants with legal status, some with decades of residency. The message is clear: No one is safe. And, if you think by saying, “wait, I voted for Trump”, sorry and fuck you too. On your way out, remember the new ICE motto: Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

And if you think you’re safe because you’re a citizen, think again. Trump's policies are hollowing out the programs millions of Americans depend on. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; the so-called “third rail” of politics are now on the chopping block. Trump’s latest budget proposal slashes billions from these programs, calling them “wasteful entitlements.” Except they’re not entitlements. They’re earned benefits paid for by your hard-earned dollars. But to Trump, they’re just bargaining chips.

Farmers? Screwed. Government workers? Fired. Lawyers? Intimidated. The free press? Declared public enemy number one.

Here’s the kicker: No one can. No administration; no matter how seasoned or skilled could keep up this pace. No Congress could respond quickly enough. No courts could adjudicate fast enough. No watchdog group could investigate thoroughly enough. And that’s the point. Trump has weaponized the Department of Justice, turning it into his personal law firm and hit squad. Gone are the days of impartial investigations and even the illusion of independence. Now, the DOJ exists to fight for Trump, not against corruption.

Trump knows you’re tired. That’s part of the plan. The chaos, the confusion; it’s meant to be numbing. When you’re constantly on edge, trying to keep up, you become desensitized. The unthinkable becomes the everyday. You shrug at the outrageous. You sigh at the illegal. You yawn at the immoral. And that’s when he wins.

Trump has created a state of learned helplessness. He’s turned the country into a psychological war zone where the only way to survive is to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Speak out? You’re a target. Protest? You’re arrested. Share your outrage online? You’re doxxed.

The message is clear: Conform or be crushed. This isn’t democracy. It’s autocracy by exhaustion. The goal isn’t to win hearts and minds; it’s to break spirits. To make you so tired, so overwhelmed, so done that you stop caring.

That’s why he’s still holding rallies. Not because he needs to campaign, but because he needs to remind you who the strongman is. He needs the cheering crowds, the flags, the banners, the chants. It’s all part of the theater of dominance. Trump needs you to see the spectacle and know that the machine never stops. You get worn down. He grows stronger.

Here’s the truth: You’re supposed to feel this way. You’re supposed to feel helpless and hopeless. But you’re not. The only way Trump’s chaos machine works is if you let it. The moment you stop paying attention, stop resisting, stop demanding accountability; that’s when he wins.

You have to fight the fatigue. You have to recognize the chaos for what it is: a smokescreen designed to make you think resistance is futile. It’s not. The only thing more dangerous than Trump’s chaos is becoming numb to it.

Because once you stop being shocked, you stop being angry. And once you stop being angry, you stop fighting. And once you stop fighting, Trump doesn’t just win; he owns you.

(A CALL TO ACTION: Kindly consider supporting this platform and all independent journalists here on Substack. Plus, the first 240 Founding Members to this platform receive a rare, signed, numbered edition of my NYT Bestseller “Revenge, How Donald Trump weaponized The US Department Of Justice Against His Critics.” Join now!)

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‘You Are So Beautiful’

A Reason To Smile

Dan Rather and Team Steady Mar 30

Credit: Getty Images

For this week’s reason to smile, I think we all just need a beautiful song to lift the spirit.

What better way to lift one’s spirit than to listen to the song “You Are So Beautiful.”

A staple of weddings and anniversaries, “You Are So Beautiful” was, surprisingly, not written to be a romantic love song. Singer-songwriter Billy Preston wrote the award-winning ballad about his mother.

Though Preston released a version, the song was made famous by bluesy British rocker Joe Cocker in 1974. Cocker’s rendition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame 42 years later.

When he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it was said that Cocker’s “true genius lay in his rare ability to take someone else’s music and use his raw and powerful voice to make it uniquely his own.” He certainly succeeded with “You Are So Beautiful.”

Cocker dueted with the likes of Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, and Luciano Pavarotti, but I prefer his solo version of the song.

This one is from 2013, just a year before his death. When you hear it, I hope it will rekindle memories of time spent with someone who was beautiful to you.

—

I want to take a moment now to thank all who subscribe to Steady. I’m heartened every day by the comments of readers from around the world; encouragement from you to those deeply hurt by the actions of those who purport to lead our nation.

When you ask what can be done in times like these, supporting other Americans with a kind word or an acknowledgement of their feelings is a good place to start.

Please stay steady, and we’ll see you along the trail.

 

Sunday thought

Comedy and tragedy

Robert Reich Mar 30

Friends,

The past week has been another horror show, and I share your anxiety and sleeplessness.

But the past week also reveals the utter incompetence of Trump and his regime.

Even The Wall Street Journal criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for trying to dismiss “Signalgate” as a hoax, calls Trump negotiator Steve Witkoff “out of his depth in dealing with world crises,” and condemns the administration for thinking “it can bully its way through anything by shouting Fake News.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) instructs the administration to “own it and fix it.”

During the ensuing uproar, Witkoff goes off the deep end, telling Tucker Carlson that Vladimir Putin is “straight up” and not a “bad guy,” claiming he’s “100 percent” certain Russia “doesn’t want to overrun Europe,” and embracing Russia’s claim that people in the seized Ukrainian territory “want to be under Russian rule.”

Now that Trump has demanded that Greenland surrender to America, Greenlanders are so adamant they don’t want JD Vance and his wife to visit that the second couple end up visiting only a frigid U.S. military base there.

Meanwhile, just as measles is spreading and avian flu threatens, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services cuts 20,000 jobs and dramatically scales back the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The White House cancels funding for studies of antiviral drugs and vaccines to fight future pandemics, as well as grants to track infectious diseases. It hires a man who promotes the false claim that immunization causes autism to do a study on the topic. And the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine official resigns under pressure, calling Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s stance on vaccines irresponsible and dangerous. “This man doesn’t care about the truth,” says the official. “He cares about what is making him followers.”

Elon continues to attack Social Security, with phone wait times growing even longer.

The stock market continues its meltdown.

Amid the turmoil, Trump expresses his wish at a Women’s History Month event to “be known as the fertilization president.” He complains that a portrait of him in the Colorado state capitol is “purposefully distorted.” He attacks a law firm because it once employed a lawyer who worked on a Justice Department probe of Trump during his first term. He’s imposing sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” that he says will substitute for income taxes. He attacks the “absolutely terrible” work of Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich because she asked on air about the propriety of Trump hosting a Tesla marketing event at the White House. He orders proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections — a power the Constitution assigns to the states and Congress. He launches a barrage of orders against California and issues a new cryptocurrency coin to further enrich himself and his family.

Just this week.

It would all be comic if not so tragic.

Is it any wonder that the special election in Florida’s 6th Congressional District is now trending blue, with Republican Randy Fine’s former lead over Democrat Josh Weil disappearing — despite the heavy GOP tilt of the district?

Or that Trump is so afraid of losing his House majority that he pulled Elise Stefanik back from her plumb United Nations ambassadorial job so she’d remain in Congress?

I don’t want to minimize the cruelty or pain being inflicted by Trump and his cronies, but this week has also revealed a foolishness — a mindless obtuseness — in Trump and this regime that defies belief.

These people know zilch about governing, which is both laughable and terrifying.

 

             WAS THE LITTLE MAN, JD VANCE REFERENCING THE DEFICITS CAUSED 

                BY TRUMP'S TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY? 

OMG! JD Vance Just Attacked Meidas Contributor!! MeidasTouch Network, FPWellman, and Ben Meiselas Mar 30 By Ben Meiselas The Trump regime is at it again. JD Vance has spent the day searching his name on X (formerly Twitter) and attacking people who criticize him. Vance just sent a message attacking one of your favorite MeidasTouch contributors and Army vet, Fred Wellman. Fred criticized Vance’s embarrassing trip to Greenland, and Vance lashed out. Here was the exchange between Fred and Vance: Fred runs the “On Democracy” YouTube channel, the “On Democracy” Substack, and his videos are featured on Meidas under the “On Democracy with FPWellman” playlist. Show Fred some love and subscribe to his channels. Fred is a great pro-democracy fighter who has done great work for the country. On Democracy with FPWellman Substack Community This is the home of the On Democracy with FPWellman community where we discuss the issues of today, lessons from the past, and Fred Wellman's unique experiences as a soldier, veteran, and political strategist. This continues a pattern of Trump attacking Meidas contributors and hosts. We’ve previously reported how Trump attacked us in his criminal court filings and his $500 million lawsuit against Meidas host Michael Cohen, which Trump dismissed after his deposition was about to take place. We are obviously getting under Trump’s skin. Our hosts, contributors, and broader network of pro-democracy fighters are leading the way! And of course, we are still beating Fox News in views and Joe Rogan in podcast downloads (by double!). Let’s keep it going. Add the MeidasTouch Podcast on audio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe now to the MeidasTouch Substack and help us cross the finish line and hit our subscriber goal from earlier today! Thanks, everyone! Meidas+ is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

 

Who DOGE Hurts: Gutting NOAA Joyce Vance On March 12, there was reporting that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was preparing to lay off more than 1,000 workers as part of the Trump administration's "reductions in force" directive to federal agencies. Cuts like that call into question whether NOAA will continue to provide the early warnings and predictive modeling that help people prepare for weather emergencies in advance. People who live in hurricane and tornado country keep their “NOAA weather radios” handy, and they are especially important for events that occur, as they frequently do, when most of us are asleep. In theory, it sounds like one more bad thing to worry about. In practice, it’s much worse. We’ve just had a demonstration of precisely how effective NOAA is and what we stand to lose without it. Beginning on Friday, violent, long-track tornadoes with damaging winds of up to 80 mph and large hail materialized across the Midwest and South. This was the news Friday night. NOAA’s early warning system, transmitted on social media, radio, television, and by word of mouth, kept it from being much worse. Saturday was even worse. Here in Birmingham, the alerts started midday. At 12:27 pm, I got the first alert through the UA campus system, telling me that in light of what was expected, I should seek shelter now instead of waiting for an actual tornado warning. The system sends alerts after the National Weather Service makes the call about what to expect. The National Weather Service (NWS) is a component of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). We’ve grown accustomed to getting this level of detail. NOAA’s information gets pushed out ahead of these events, causing people to plan in advance. Hard helmets were in short supply here yesterday as people prepared for the storms. We were relatively lucky in Birmingham. But other places were far less fortunate. By Saturday morning, ABC News reported 36 people were dead in the wake of the storms. This was what the devastation looked like in Tylertown, Mississippi. As I’m writing this, the storm is heading east into Georgia. How much worse would it have been without the accurate forecasting that let our local news people and local emergency systems warn folks in the storms’ paths sufficiently in advance to get to their safe places? As much as I don’t like to think about it, if Trump and DOGE stay on their current path, we are going to be forced to. Mother Nature doesn’t care who you voted for. If there’s a tornado headed your direction, you need access to early warning systems. Gutting NOAA means you won’t have that. An example of the tornado warnings issued by National Weather Services offices in Alabama throughout the day Saturday, permitting people to find shelter and take cover in advance. At 8:52 p.m., local television in central Alabama pushed out a message from the National Weather Service: Talladega, take cover now. It was a tornado on the ground near the famous Superspeedway. Alerts meant people were able to stay safe, which is a good thing—this photo of a bus that ended up on the roof of a nearby high school makes it clear that these early warning systems are critically important. What happens if the National Weather Service is no longer there to do that? Apparently, the Trump administration is not concerned with that. ABC is reporting that NOAA is down about 2,000 employees since January “as a result of the first round of the Trump administration's cuts.” California Congressman Jared Huffman, who chairs one of the relevant House subcommittees, said, "There is no way to absorb cuts of this magnitude without cutting into these core missions. This is not about efficiency and it's certainly not about waste, fraud and abuse. This is taking programs that people depend on to save lives and emasculating them." Cuts that sound like a good idea to Elon Musk and Donald Trump have real impacts on the rest of us. That is only just beginning to dawn on people, who I’m sure you’re hearing, like I am, saying, “But I didn’t vote for this.” Trump 2.0, as I’ve written previously, isn’t a pick-your-own-adventure experience. You go to the carnival, you get all of the rides. We were fortunate last night. Everyone in our house (chickens included) is okay, we just have a little cleanup to do. But so many people weren’t that lucky. They lost houses and lives. They will need support from FEMA and other federal services. If DOGE continues its romp through essential federal work that we, as taxpayers, fund and rely on, it’s only going to get worse. When will Republicans wake up? Will their Senators and members of Congress protest what DOGE is doing? Will they even fight for their own backyards? If they continue to bend the knee on this, then instead of demanding that government work for their constituents, they are permitting it to work for the financial interests of the powerful. We know what to do about this. With this piece, and the one Friday night about an Idaho Fair Housing Council that I hope you’ll go back and read if you missed it, we’re putting a face on the people DOGE hurts. It’s not about waste and fraud; it’s about people. People who need their government to work for them. Here’s the phone number for the House switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Here’s that number for the Senate: (202) 224-3121. Make sure your representatives know how you feel. Thank you for being part of Civil Discourse. Your support makes the newsletter happen, and your questions, ideas, and suggestions are the inspiration behind it. So, I have a favor to ask. If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. For $6 a month or $50 a year, you can contribute towards the resources it takes to research and write the newsletter. As Americans, we’re all trying to answer the question, “What can I do to help save our democracy?” My hope is that Civil Discourse provides you with the information and ideas you need to be part of holding the line. More than 590,000 people subscribe to Civil Discourse, and that number grows every day. We’re in this together, Joyce