By Ben Meiselas
I had a critical conversation on the MeidasTouch Network this week with former Washington Governor Jay Inslee—one of the nation’s foremost leaders on climate action—and what we discussed should set off alarm bells for anyone who cares about American jobs, energy security, or even basic economic sanity.
The GOP’s proposed budget, crafted in Donald Trump’s image, isn’t just cruel. It’s a direct assault on the clean energy jobs that are transforming this country for the better. Jobs for electricians, ironworkers, machinists, and battery techs. Real, good-paying, American union jobs. Jobs that don't require a $40,000 degree but do provide dignity and a path to the middle class.
And Trump? He’s out there calling this the “green new scam,” mocking wind energy with his bizarre “windmills go round and round” rants. Meanwhile, our adversaries like China are thrilled to pick up the slack as we surrender our leadership in the global clean energy economy.
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Governor Inslee didn’t mince words. He called Trump’s policy “idiocy,” and he’s right. This MAGA cult is actively tanking tens of thousands of jobs. Inslee cited 62,000 lost already and driving up energy prices just to appease their failed, fossil-fueled overlord. These aren’t lefty talking points. These are hard economic facts. Solar and wind are now cheaper than coal in 92% of U.S. districts. Yet Trump and his cronies are tearing up the tax credits that made this revolution possible.
We must act. Inslee reminded us: democracy is simple. If politicians betray their constituents, we must vote them out. And that starts with putting heat on vulnerable Senate Republicans, folks like Thom Tillis in North Carolina, who know this MAGA budget is poison but are too spineless to stand up to Trump.
This isn’t over. The Senate can still stop this disaster. But only if we show up, speak out, and demand better. Call your senators. Share this interview. Join the movement. And let every last MAGA saboteur know: you kill our jobs, you kill your political career.
Let’s get to work. Join now as a paid subscriber to keep our independent reporting going.
Sabotage is right, this is not a government , it’s a coup of ignorance.
More like coup of evil. They know what they are doing….
Weaken US before becoming a true evil dictator. This will make him satisfied doing cruelty and murder on total population! Like Putin!
Taylor the scammer is reported and blocked.
It’s the billionaires behind Project 2025 are calling most the shots. Trump himself was always obsessed by tariffs. The intention is to isolate us and weaken us so we become subservient to the white supremacist billionaires. Then throw in a dictator and christian nationalism.
And don't forget about the greed.
Seems to me that the sabotage is the point.
Trump getting kickbacks from his oil fields owners is Trump's plan.
Exactly,also payback for political "donations"
Love y🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦ou
It was a pleasure to serve with Governor Inslee on President Obama’s State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. As co-chair of our energy committee we made common sense bipartisan proposals that were activated during President Biden’s term. Governor Inslee is absolutely right that Trump’s cutting of tens of thousands of these good paying jobs is pure “idiocy”. Trump and his regime are setting out children and grandchildren back in so many ways. He can spitefully crush these jobs now, but he will be judged so harshly in the future that his next generations will not be able to nor want to claim him as a relative. They will run the other way at the mention of the terrible legacy he leaves. Destroying jobs, our health, clean water and clean air, and likely creatures like monarch butterflies and thousands of bird species, to name a few. It’s bad. Really bad.
Well said, and thankfully the rest of the world has all the documentation to show what trump and the GOP Congress have done so even when they rewrite history books used in America the rest of the world will know and will continue to shun America.
As President Eisenhower said of the holocaust: ”Get it all on record now — get the films — get the witnesses — because somewhere down the track of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1945
Ike surely would be considered "woke" today! I grew up with those kinds of Republicans (although my family were democrats) and I sure miss them. Of course that was a bit before the Nixon era, and I was too young to understand the McCarthy era...I guess Ike was anomaly
I have written and called both of my Senators. Everyone, please call 202-224-3121
Call any senator or representative
202 225 3121. H
Just give a name
Excellent conversation. Thank you governor Inslee for the great information and all the positive work you're doing.
The science, technology, and industry also was introduced by Obama as a way to increase jobs and as an investment of USA knowledge, skills, and technology that other countries would be seeking from the US. People tend to forget, and I believe Biden felt the same, but they both acknowledged the urgency. Trump is wrapped up in industries that harm our environment and had a vengeance to undo all that Biden worked hard to implement thus destroying our economy, our allies, and our standing in the Free World, so against our values!
DT wants his “Golden Age” back when the boom was oil, coal, mining of precious minerals that polluted the planet.
And done basically with slave labor. And not just trump but the entire GOP Congress that supports his every move.
The Police State is Coming
Alex Karp, Peter Thiel, JD Vance, Curtis Yarvin are names you may or may not recognize but they are behind the scenes creating and privatizing a Fed database that is committed to produce a civilian surveillance system using AI eliminating loss of civilian privacy Illegal? Hell yes!!! How to create a vast civilian database so they can manipulate us
The above cast of characters are the minds behind this system that will have the potential to corrupt elections for good since they will have the data on all of us From the “burn it all down and start over” Yarvin to financier Thiel and government supporter and idealogue Vance to Karp who oversees the Palantir software, they all are playing the role as participants in trying to turn the US into the Third Reich And they’re acting fast….blitzkrieg if you will
With the use of the AI Palantir software the techbros are on a path to create a technoauthoritarian surveillance state meant to destroy the democratic republic and install their 21st century Nazi style of governing
But AI is a scam meant to veil the sinister underpinnings of this movement which they claim is Christian Remember “We tolerate no one in our ranks who attacks the ideas of Christianity. Our movement is Christian.” Adolph Hitler 1928
Americans can do something about this by standing up and protest protest protest against this government takeover This is the way WE the People defeat fascism and this kind of fascist takeover Join the Resistance Lab
See https://bit.ly/3FGOreX Stewart interview of Cadwallader
Exactly. Peter Thiel is co-founder and the largest shareholder of Palantir. He’s major force and financier behind Project 2025. Trump is giving Planatir large contracts in many govt agencies (if you still want to call them that now).
Jon Stewart is way too cynical (and frankly, ignorant... he seems to only realize that the GOP is neofascist now, half a year after everyone else...) for me, but that was a great interview indeed, everyone should know this!!!
A damn shame 😞 keeping the truth from the people. Going backwards is so counter productive
The best part is knowing a bunch of states have joined together. Strength in numbers.
I hope Governor Inslee will run for President again. Such a smart and caring man. What a change that would be!
Seems to me we have a lot of smart, caring, talented men and women who can/should run for president and I honestly don't know who I'd vote for!
… while a glacier melts and collapses in Switzerland destroying the village of Blatten and forming a lake. Lower down more villages have been evacuated.
One of the main examples of global warming has been glacier melt.
i heard some where hidden in that ripoff bill is a part that makes the convicted felon KING is this true????
It's the part that prohibits the court from imposing and enforcing contempt charges against the government. Meaning, there would be no way to compel obedience to the law.
Yes, there is a part that makes him above the law totally and says he cannot be charged with contempt when he disobeys a court order, and therefore he does not have to obey the Constitution. Lets try to keep this in the public's eye...this is what the GOP Congress wants....we the people have to obey whatever law trump makes up but he has to obey nothing. And I guess that goes for the GOP Congress and anyone trump likes on any given day. So only Democrats and Independents have to obey the law.
Our country is now run by an ignoramous who flies by the seat of his dirty diaper. How are we supposed to be "America First" without clean energy ? He has no idea how a tariff works, changes with the wind and lives to dictate how the world will operate, based on his childish whims. The people elected a Republican dominated Congress who does his bidding cuz they're too scared of pissing him off and ending their gravy train in Congress. And the Democrats have no clear path forward (I call if complicity). What else can go wrong?!?
We build new better chips except, how far behind are we? tRump is a fool.
I can count on both of my senators to vote the right way--Durbin and Duckworth--thank goodness. But people in red states and purple states better get writing, calling, marching and screaming for the votes they truly want, not what their greedy, publicity seeking senators are ready to do for the new "Gipper".
I have been writing and calling to the five MAGA Republicans as House and Senators in my state! They don't listen to ANYTHING that I say! And I touch base with each of them EVERY WEEK! What else can I do except protest! I'm a lone Democrat surrounded by ultra conservative MAGA Republicans! What would you suggest do more of?? I'm open to suggestions, but honest to God, no one is listening to me!
I am in the same boat. But there are things we can do. many of them require a little (or a lot if you can) financial assistance...donate to all the Dems who are out there doing town halls in red/swing districts. Pressure the DNC to do more things that are visible like the Taco Truck they have in front of the RNC in DC. Continue to all your MOC, even though, like mine they basically laugh in your face. If you are unable to go in person to a protest then donate somehow to help someone who can. Call those Dems who are fighting for us even though they are not our members of Congress and tell them how very much we appreciate them (also just for good measure drop a note to the Ukraine Embassy and tell them how impressed we are with them and remind them the vast majority of Americans support them, not putin, it's mostly trump and the GOP Congress who have realigned us with Russia and have abandoned our former allies). Boycott all you can. I can't boycott Walmart as it is the only store within about 65 miles, but I pretty much only buy groceries and household necessities. I used to do a lot of shopping on Amazon because I could get things there I could not get at Walmart but for now I'm doing my best to just do without. Let mainstream media know why you are not watching/reading them. Hold on to the knowledge that not every place in America is like where we live and there are places where minds can be changed and we need to support the folks trying to do that. I have written letters of support to Bishop Budde a few times just to continue to thank her for standing up for the word of Jesus and I have written to local churches condemning them for their hypocrisy..doen'st change them but at least it lets them know that someone sees it and resents how they lie about following Jesus. Check out Bluesmurf....she has great ideas. Above all, do not get discouraged...that is what the GOP wants...they want us to feel helpless and overwhelmed and just give up. When you call your members of Congress if you get to talk to a real person, be sure to limit your concern and have data to back up what you say....quote the WSJ when you talk about how bad the tariffs are. I asked the person who answered the phone in one of my Senator's office is he could tell me just how many abled bodied men in Missouri were receiving medicaid and would be cut off and how much they each used their medicaid card and what the total charges were for those doctor/hospital visits. This was just asking exactly how much would be saved by getting these men off of medicaid. Of course he had no idea so I said I thought that was pretty poor planning, to not have any real data to base your decisions on. He said he'd share my concern with the Senator, which I am sure he did not but at least I told him. And it's ok if your MOC are not listening to you because it seems that others across the country are..well the elected officials aren't but voters are and Dems are having victory after victory in state and local elections. I asked a person in my Congressman's office to explain to me how an increase in my taxes that is included in the new bill, and an increase in everything I buy by at least 10-15% because of the tariffs is going to improve my standard of living and he had not answer except that we have to suffer not for the future. I asked him how reducing my disposable income by 10-20% will not result in others becoming unemployed since Walmart will need 10-20% fewer workers. He had no response. Stay strong!
Question: Is it possible for idiot trump to get any MORE stupid then he is already?
Thanks Governor Inslee! It's so encouraging to hear about your current projects. When everything seems hopeless, you're a model of positive action. <3
Another way to FIGHT BACK is to MAKE THE JUMP TO GREEN ENERGY YOURSELF!!! I enrolled in NEXAMP, have been assigned to a Solar Farm, & my power bill is CHEAPER, & I'm no longer paying National Grid, who's power is 68% generated from natural gas from FRACKING!!!!! **NO.** I am sooooooo AGAINST FRACKING, that the instant I found out the % of power through National Grid that was from FRACKING, I ACTIVELY LOOKED FOR A WAY TO DUMP NATIONAL GRID. BINGO!!!!!
I live in Washington State. Governor Inslee was (is!) one of the best. Hope people in all states (especially who don't have alternate sources of energy to coal, etc.) pay attention to him and work towards it. The Dictator Criminal Psycho and his pals are holding us back from all of this. Tax cuts are great, but what the Idiot in the Oval Office and his pals are doing is taking us back hundreds of years. Like Governor Inslee said--take a look at China (and other countries) and see how far advanced they are compared to where we are on EVERYTHING. We sure don't want to be dependent on China (or any countries like it) for our technological needs, either. We already are in many respects and it's frightening.
Folks: Use RewiringAmerica.org as a guide. You can start your journey to electrify your existence by obtaining an energy audit of your home by a nationally-certified auditor. This service is sometimes free from your electric utility. The auditor’s measurements & report recommendations will focus any subsequent spending on what makes a difference vs. what will not. The value of that information cannot be overstated!
If you rent, read RewiringAmerica.org’s guidance.
Former Gov. Inslee is terrific! Thank you for this interview, Meidas Touch, and I am looking forward to the follow-up[s] with Jay Inslee. I remember when, under Trump 1.0, this former Governor was up front and center fighting against the so-called "Muslim ban." An amazing leader who needs more public recognition.
t and the republi-Nazi's brand of leadership by chaos is not governance. It's s recipe for disaster.
Please people, 202 225 3121 is a number that will get you to any member of Congress! I bleed🟦🟦 so call ! All the usual maggots! I been calling the 5 phony po💩
Collins, Paul, Ron I’m a traitor Johnson, Tillis, Josh I’m phony n don’t even live in Missouri Hawley.
Watch tRUMPs eyes when he speaks. You can see he is crazed moments right in his eyes.
Tillis thinks he is above the elections. He does not listen to his constituents and between him and congresssman Rouzer the reading comprehension by their staff is non-existent
Don't forget Ted Budd as being tone deaf to anything that not Republican sponsored.
Who listens to tRUMP as he talks about anything. Robots/clones and anything that will rile the people to the crazy stupid non believable story's that only a child would believe.
They are not and have never been "pro life". As Senator Jones just openly admitted: we're all going to die, so screw the 99% and let's go for a massive shift of wealth from the 99% to the 1% NOW!
Why? Selling out to oil companies, etc to enrich himself, billionaires, corporations, etc …why? WHY? None of these people need the money…for power? None of this will save them. To quote the dumbass Ernst, (approx) “They’re all gonna die anyway” The sooner the better
The whole world is striving for renewable energy it is the only way to go. Trump knows nothing & insists the windmills kill birds & causes cancer! I live in the UK, am old & poor but now with government grants I have solar panels, air heat source & an energy saving battery - I am now selling back to the grid. Lots of US states have massive sunshine to give solar energy - not fossil fuels that is damaging the planet... No wonder Greenpeace is on the war path with Trump.
Ben, Excellent interview! - PLEASE OFFER THE TRANSCRIPT. I do noT want to type it all out. Thank you. Diane in Minnesota, one of your Meidas Mighty!
Please read my post on our flagging technology race.
https://open.substack.com/pub/jacknilles/p/the-energy-contest?r=9himv&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
As Trump said “you pay the mob” You know what don’t pay
Stand Up Shout Out
"And Trump? He’s out there calling this the “green new scam,” mocking wind energy with his bizarre “windmills go round and round” rants." Worst is yet to come. Donald "The Beast" Trump is building a wall once again. Colossal tariff wall that is the beginning of the end for the system of down. At first the beast will pull the plug out of the global economy. The worst financial crisis of human history will pull a swarm of the banks underwater and the bank run begins. Then the beast will collapse a mountain of debt shattering the backbone of the monetary system causing a systemic risk to realize. Finally the beast will cast American citizens into a system slavery under the name of Ronald Wilson Reagan, just to "honor his legacy" count the number. After the destruction a new world order will be established in the US. And the Golden Age begins from the ruins of the world wide collapse. All of the system slaves will love it. No more cash - just digital transactions. No more traditional criminal activity. No more tax evasion. No more transactions without the "all seeing eye". Outcasts will hate the world without freedom, hope and privacy. To cover up the mess and distract the public by smoke and mirrors, the beast will engage in a war with Iran. Lies and deceit, corruption and decay, dancing on the graves will continue. Until; Black hole sun, won't you come, won't you come... I want to play a game. Time has come to opt out of the empire of filth. Live or die...
Yes Ben, thank you for focusing on this! It's such a shame Trump has put us years behind!
STOP CUTS TO THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT
Constituents need to contact their senators to VOTE NO on Trump’s proposed bill that will roll back the Endangered Species Act protection (buried in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill). The Senate could vote anytime, so it’s urgent to contact them now.
The bill will rescind nearly all habitat protections for endangered species. Millions of acres of our public lands and coastal waters will be sold off, closed down and destroyed including the Arctic Refuge to cut down forests, build and drill. Our wildlife will suffer and many will perish.
Trump is also trying to remove some species off the endangered list. Only experts can determine when it is safe to remove them, not Trump! But he has no compassion for anything but money and power.
If we don’t stop this, we will lose our beautiful lands and wildlife. They can’t speak for themselves but we can speak for them.
The Republicans who passed the bill in the House are starting to say they don’t even know what was in it.
So when will the GOP start referring to itself as MCGA, Make China Great Again since that is what they are doing. I would really like to know if this is their plan (that does not seem to make sense, but either does dumbing down America) or are they just too dumb to see that this is what is going on. Or do they grasp that this is what their policies are doing and they just don't care as long as somehow they get re elected.
💙💙💙
Thank you for all the honest stuff and information you are telling us about TRUMPSTER!!!! LOL
Traitor trump could not care less about the future - he won't be here for it!!
All he cares about is the money he's making and the bribes from his rich friends and their corps.
They All need to go to jail there’s all kinds of loopholes that are bogus and probably illegal lock their asses up especially Theil for writing this shit! WTH is going on in his head is he on drugs too!
Think of you WALLET first & save money by reducing your expenses....
Allow me to share a recent issue...years ago, we replaced INCANDESCENTS with CFLs. ~15% of your electric bill is lighting.
It's not sexy or headline grabbing, just your POCKET BOOK!
I replaced 2 ALWAYS ON LIGHTS with LEDs (that cost $1 each). The next month the bill dropped $5. Pretty good payback.
With the surcharges on the bill, the electric bill was creeping up & we began replacing CFLs with LEDs which began an odyssey of educating ourselves with availabilty & numerous outlets that overcharge including AMAZON & WALMART for which you need an outrageously priced membership to purchase overpriced LED BULBS. (Dispose of CFLs responsibly because they contain MERCURY.)
A limited attempt reduced the first partial month with some LED replacements by $13.
60 watt equivalents were too bright in some locations, so we looked for 40 watt equivalents - most were grossly overpriced until we found 1000BULBS located in TEXAS.
Their pricing for FLUORESCENT REPLACEMENTS is equally impressive although we haven't tackled FLUORESCENTS yet.
Shared only to highlight that if you want to reduce your expenses, you can with some time & effort! Our peripherals are all on ENERGY STRIPS - when they're OFF - they're not using electricity. We can each pick away at our expenses & reduce our consumption.
You need to buy an appliance & ENERGY STAR provides the information that allows you to compare ENERGY EFFICIENCY of comparable appliances. Why not SAVE MONEY with the most efficient MODEL?
Notice that EPA DESTROYER LEE ZELDIN wants to ELIMINATE ENERGY STAR - the program that rates ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF APPLIANCES - it allow CONSUMERS to make informed decisions & reduce their ENERGY CONSUMPTION!
There's an organization we support: SUSTAINABLE ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT COALITION (SEECPAC) - consider subscribing!
excerpt:
It may be familiar to you if you own an energy-efficient refrigerator, washing machine, or other household appliance. Energy Star is an energy efficiency program that has saved over $500 billion in energy costs and prevented 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution from entering the atmosphere. Those numbers alone make it the quintessential clean energy success story!
But now, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is spreading misinformation about it and threatening to privatize the public program.
In response to questions from SEEC Member Rep. Darren Soto (FL-9), Lee Zeldin said that the Energy Star program could be run outside of the government and voiced his doubts about how much the program saved consumers (as if he didn’t have access to basic data about the program administered by his own agency).
CHINA is promoting CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY!
CHINA is building ROADS & making FRIENDS while TRUMP insults friends & allies.
For decades, REPUBLICANS have used CHINA as an excuse not to reduce U.S. ENERGY CONSUMPTION even though Americans are ENERGY GUZZLERS, using more PER CAPITA than CHINA!
That is no longer true! CHINA is leading with CHEAP CLEAN ENERGY & they're prospering!
CHINA has HIGH SPEED RAIL, improved ENERGY GRID while KOCH & DIRTY ENERGY oppose & obstruct CLEAN ENERGY & Trump wallows in BIG POLLUTERS' $$$ !
Trump repeats his LIES that WIND TURBINES cause cancer...
CHINA is making friends & building roads, while Trump insults & offends other nations.
The REST OF THE WORLD moves on ... will America join them?
This was a TERRIFIC interview! I've passed it to my State Senators (and Congressman, because I'm pretty sure the House is going to see it again) to provide some ammunition for them to fight the environmental catastrophes of THE MAGA Murder Bill.
Thanks MeidasTouch! You guys are helping me stay sane and in the fight!
Why does anyone take business advice from a guy with multiple bankruptcies?
Thank you, Governor Inslee! Thank you, Ben!! This compact interview
is seriously excellent, to the point, done and done. You see there is no
need for name-calling in how he explains the issue, there is no strongman
attitude, no fear-of-others to justify - just the facts and the truth...
And yes, Ben, please bring Governor Inslee back for a longer visit.
There is a sliver of hope to build on to save the clean energy tax credits — see letter from GOP Sens. Curtis (UT), Murkowski (AK), Moran (KS) and Tillis (NC): https://www.curtis.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/energy_tax_credits_letter.pdf:
“The United States produces some of the cleanest and most efficient energy in the world, and an all-of-the-above approach—including support for traditional and renewable energy sources—has
long been a hallmark of our energy strategy. To that end, many American companies have made
substantial investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure based on the current
energy tax framework. A wholesale repeal, or the termination of certain individual credits, would
create uncertainty, jeopardizing capital allocation, long-term project planning, and job creation in
the energy sector and across our broader economy.”
Contact your Senator and get them on board!
What?? Did Trump really say "the mob charges money" referencing his tariffs ideas. What kind of crazy comparison? Are people listening to this??? Come on??!?!
These people are suicidal. Take them down!
We need the green energy jobs left here in the US. If they take this out in the bill, it will hurt us!
ONE man thinks that he knows everything on all topics, but he is an Outdated and Ignorant old man. To show how ignorant he is, remember that he fired thousands from their jobs that were Experts, Educated, and Honest! DICK tater
America has been moving into the 21st century with the goals of preserving our planet, OUR HOME! This regime is/has been destroying it piece by piece for the 5 months! New science technology for clean air, water, natural power resources-air, water, solar are the needed tools we need to use to help keep his world alive & well! Not drilling the earth & creating “sinkholes”, not allowing the global climate warming that is melting our glaciers at the most rapid pace since they have been measured. This regime is thinking backwards, not forwards for the future generations that will be living on Earth. And “trying to find another “habitable” planet maybe what will be needed centuries from now, but WE NEED TO PRESERVE WHAT WE HAVE NOW!!
This regime is only looking at how much money can I put in my pockets (they don’t spend it, just look at it & boast about their wealth), and how much more can I destroy this planet to gain power!
Governor Inslee is very plain speaking, down to earth in his statements. Please do have him back again. 👍
He wants to open drilling in Alaska and the magas there seems to be fine with it.
It's an old joke by now why does Donald Trump want to take over Greenland so he can rename it Orangeland
It seems that Trump has done so many things that distract us from responding to any one thing. Let’s start responding to EVERYTHING he is doing. I believe a nationwide strike in the form of everyone NOT going to work or buying anything except for medical treatment. Most of us could fast just for one day. So let’s hear it from someone, set a date, and get the media to tell everyone about the plan. I don’t have the social media following that some do but social media alone won’t suffice. The media needs to publicize it widely.
It seems that Trump has done so many things that distract us from responding to any one thing. Let’s start responding to EVERYTHING he is doing. I believe a nationwide strike in the form of everyone NOT going to work or buying anything except for medical treatment. Most of us could fast just for one day. So let’s hear it from someone, set a date, and get the media to tell everyone about the plan. I don’t have the social media following that some do but social media alone won’t suffice. The media needs to publicize it widely.