By Ben Meiselas
Thank you for the kind words about these afternoon recaps. The news cycle these days moves quickly, so I will try to bring you these updates every day to keep you all up-to-date on what is going on. I am so glad you find them valuable.
I was doing everything I could yesterday to try to get my recap out, but unfortunately the AWS outage prevented me from posting. In case that ever happens again, remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast anywhere you get podcasts, like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, to make sure you are getting all of my updates.
Here’s the latest from today.
Donald Trump woke up to a flurry of bad headlines and poll numbers that tell a story of political collapse and economic mismanagement. The latest Gallup poll found that Americans now trust Democrats over Republicans to “keep the country prosperous,” by a margin of 47% to 43%. Just a year ago, Republicans led that same question by 13 points. That’s a 17-point swing, a direct reflection of Trump’s disastrous leadership.
At the same time, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Treasury Department has quietly instructed its employees not to share photos of the ongoing “ballroom construction” at the White House, a project that has already led to the demolition of parts of the East Wing. Treasury officials, whose building sits adjacent to the White House, reportedly have a front-row view of what can only be described as desecration.
Then there’s the economy. Small businesses across the country are sounding the alarm over Trump’s tariffs, which economists have called “a massive warning for the economy.” The Chamber of Commerce has even sued the Trump administration over a new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, another policy that is crippling American companies while pretending to protect them. A coalition of businesses is also urging the Supreme Court to strike down Trump’s global tariffs, calling them an “illegal $3 trillion tax” on American industry.
Bloomberg published yet another damning report, this one declaring: “The U.S. has no China policy, no strategy, and no clue.” The analysis described the Trump administration’s foreign policy as “strategic schizophrenia.” I would remove the word “strategic.” It’s just schizophrenia. And it’s emblematic of why Trump bankrupted so many businesses before he ever entered politics.
Meanwhile, as the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel unravels, Trump posted a rambling and incoherent statement on social media, boasting that “numerous of our now great allies in the Middle East… have explicitly and strongly with great enthusiasm” agreed to his plan to “straighten our Hamas” (yes, his post included that typo). The sentence barely makes grammatical sense, but it’s clear he’s once again playing geopolitical pyromaniac, praising autocrats, confusing facts, and stoking instability for his own image.
Even Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, couldn’t hide the corruption when asked about the ceasefire. “Well, Jared’s the investor,” Vance replied. Excuse me? That’s a stunning admission that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, has personal financial stakes in the region. Just as we’ve been saying.
The chaos doesn’t stop there. While China builds the world’s largest solar farms, Trump has canceled approval for a 6.2-gigawatt clean energy project in Nevada, gutting American leadership in the global renewable market. The New York Times reported that Chinese companies now produce 60% of the world’s wind turbines and 80% of its solar panels — a direct result of Trump’s assault on climate policy.
And back in Washington, MAGA Republicans continue to hold the government hostage, refusing to fund healthcare subsidies for 20 million Americans. “We don’t have a strategy,” Speaker Mike Johnson admitted during a press conference. When confronted about the health care crisis, he even blamed the Affordable Care Act for existing, rather than the Republican sabotage that is threatening to bankrupt working families.
As if the day couldn’t get darker, news broke that a pardoned January 6 rioter, Christopher Moynihan, was arrested for threatening to assassinate House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Trump personally pardoned him.
Yet amid this chaos, Trump has found time to announce $40 billion in U.S. funds to Argentina, a move that has already failed to stabilize that country’s currency, enriching Trump-aligned investors while Americans struggle to pay rent and afford groceries.
And now, he’s calling for the U.S. to import beef from Argentina, abandoning American cattle ranchers just as he’s betrayed soybean farmers.
This is what happens when corruption replaces competence. When narcissism replaces governance. When a con man mistakes the Oval Office for a casino floor.
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