Saturday Message from Meidas Co-Founder

By Ben Meiselas

Great to be with you this Saturday. Let me start by sharing this story:

I went to lunch with my wife, Xochitl, and our 5-month-old baby, Ximena, yesterday at a local diner. The entire diner was talking about how awful Donald Trump is. It was abuzz with the spirit of resistance.

I could hear one table talking about Trump’s attacks on Canada and Greenland, another table discussing how they lost a large amount from their retirement in Trump’s awful economy, and yet another talking about supporting Ukraine.

A few people recognized me and told me they were members of the Meidas Mighty and subscribers to this Substack (shoutout to all our subscribers, and please subscribe to this Substack if you can).

We took some pictures, and I was able to chat with them for about 10 minutes after I ate before we had to bring Ximena home.

All across the country—in diners and coffee shops, barbershops and hair salons, grocery stores and gyms, and at concerts—people are feeling the negative impact of the Trump regime and sharing their stories.

We have all been negatively impacted.

We all know people who have been fired or lost essential services.

It’s not a blue state, red state, or purple state thing.

Trump and the Musk-rats have attacked all Americans.

I have been interviewing dozens of Democratic leaders on the MeidasTouch Network who tell me they are going into “red states” and “red districts” to speak with people who have been harmed by Trump.

As my experience shows, these interactions don’t have to be in auditoriums. I’d encourage anyone who wants to lead and help people to go to local shops, just speak to people, and, more importantly, LISTEN TO PEOPLE.

For emphasis, let me repeat this again: LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.

Throw away your preconceived notions and put aside your own narratives of what you think is going on and… LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.

Truly listen and hear them as they share with you their pain, fears, and hopes.

Ask them questions.

Try to understand that most Americans just want a fair shot. They want to be paid what they deserve for an honest day’s work. They want to be treated with respect and dignity. They want to be heard, and they want leaders who will fight for them. They want love, to love, and to be loved. They want connection and community.

The MeidasTouch Network has been the subject of a lot of press lately since we beat Joe Rogan in downloads and Fox News in digital views. I am often asked what the secret to our growth has been. It’s easy. It’s not a secret. First, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Second, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Third, it’s the Meidas Mighty. Fourth, it’s the… well, you get it. The Meidas Mighty! (Remember to add the MeidasTouch Podcast on audio on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.)

We listen to our audience. Listening to the Meidas Mighty is EVERYTHING!

We engage with our audience every day. We never talk down to our audience. We talk with the Meidas Mighty. We are simply members of this pro-democracy community who have been entrusted with leadership positions by this community.

We must always stay humble, and we must always listen.

Our live shows are interactive, where the Meidas Mighty comment and share their thoughts.

We get millions of messages a week—literally millions—from our audience, letting us know how they feel and what we can do better.

I’m sure you have seen all the comments on this Substack from our subscribers (again, a special thanks to our subscribers here) and from all the Meidas Mighty.

We read ALL the comments.

Thanks for reminding me yesterday morning that I was wearing my polo inside out. When my baby girl was crying at 4 AM, I was certain I put it on the right way, but these things happen, and you go on YouTube in front of millions of people with an inside-out shirt on occasion. Happened to Walter Cronkite all the time.

Leading is about fighting for the people. If you don’t want to fight for the people, then get out of the way. You’re just as bad as the oligarchs. However, in order to fight for the people, you must listen.

I can’t emphasize that enough.

The people have made it clear what they want.

They want bold action to stop Trump and Musk.

Every peaceful tool to do that must be utilized and exhausted.

Every. Single. One.

Do not normalize what is taking place right now.

The Trump regime is not a democracy. It is not a government by the people, for the people. It is a government by the bullies, for the billionaires.

At the MeidasTouch Network, we will continue listening to you. We will continue fighting for you. We will continue using this platform you helped build to cover the leaders who are actually fighting for you.

Power to the Meidas Mighty.

Power to the people.

We would love for you to subscribe to this Substack now if you can, to keep this independent media network growing.

Our competition—Fox and Rogan—is funded by the oligarchs.

We are beating them and want to continue winning the information war with the truth.

To do that, you can help by becoming a subscriber now or gifting someone you know a subscription.

Thanks, Meidas Mighty.

Thanks for reading and listening.