Important Message from MeidasTouch

Hey everybody. It’s MeidasTouch co-founder Ben Meiselas.

Happy Sunday. Grab your coffee, or whatever you’re drinking this morning, and let’s spend a little time together. These Sunday coffee posts are always my favorite because they give us a chance to slow down, reflect on the week, talk about what’s ahead, and spend some time together.

First, thank you to everyone who subscribes to this Substack. You make this community possible. Every paid subscription allows us to keep growing independent media and expanding MeidasTouch. If you’re still a free subscriber, I’d love for you to become a paid subscriber. We’re grateful to have every one of you here.

Let’s get into it.

I have to start with Donald Trump’s speech in Washington, D.C. last night.

I covered it immediately after it ended because, frankly, it was painful to watch. Trump stood before what appeared to be a relatively small crowd, ranting about imaginary communists, glitching through his speech, struggling to complete coherent thoughts, and once again trying to distract Americans from the complete collapse of the promises he made when he took office.

He promised lower prices. Americans are paying more.

He promised peace. The world is more dangerous.

He promised to help working families while his billionaire friends and insiders keep getting richer.

The whole performance was designed to distract from those failures.

The second story that we absolutely cannot let disappear is Trump’s financial disclosures.

In my opinion, what we’ve seen so far is one of the most disturbing financial disclosure documents ever released by. About $2.5 billion in disclosed income, cryptocurrency ventures, licensing deals, settlements, thousands upon thousands of stock trades, foreign money, conflicts everywhere you look—and I don’t even believe we’ve seen the full picture.

Corporate media wants to normalize it.

They want to tell you, “Well, it’s unseemly, but this is just how Trump operates.”

No.

Let’s stop pretending this is normal.

As someone who spent years litigating major fraud cases, in my opinion these disclosures demand serious scrutiny. We cannot allow this story to disappear because another news cycle comes along. That’s exactly what those in power want.

Meanwhile, I’ve been spending a tremendous amount of time following what’s happening with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz because I think most of the coverage you’re seeing is missing the real story.

I’m not interested in propaganda. I’m interested in facts.

Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains dramatically below pre-war levels. That tells me the region is nowhere near stable despite all the headlines about ceasefires.

I’ve also been watching what appears to be a major geopolitical realignment taking place across the Middle East.

People have begun referring to an emerging “Islamabad Quartet” involving Pakistan, Qatar, Egypt, and Iran, while countries like Saudi Arabia and Turkey are increasingly participating in new regional diplomatic structures.

Whether that exact framework ultimately takes shape or evolves into something else, the broader point is undeniable: the regional balance of power is changing.

I also spent a lot of time covering the Ayatollah’s funeral because I thought it revealed something that much of the Western media refuses to show.

You don’t have to agree with the Iranian government to recognize that understanding the country requires actually looking at what’s happening there instead of relying on simplistic narratives. I thought it was important journalism to show what was taking place on the ground because I believe many Americans are not getting the full picture.

That’s what I’ll continue following this week.

I hope you’ve been enjoying my daily summaries. I spend a tremendous amount of time putting them together because I want this community to have the best, fastest, and most honest analysis available anywhere.

Thank you for spending your Sunday morning with me.

If you’re able, please become a paid subscriber. Every subscription helps us continue building independent media that isn’t afraid to ask the questions corporate media won’t ask.

Enjoy your Sunday, enjoy your coffee, and I’ll see you throughout the week.