By Ben Meiselas
Hi all, I hope your Tuesday is going well. This morning, the latest episode of the MeidasTouch Podcast featuring me and my brothers was released. I hope you have a chance to listen! You can find it for free on audio platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Consider leaving a 5-star review if you can.
Now, let’s get to today’s news. Remember to like and re-stack to spread the word.
This morning began with a notable fracture inside the Trump regime. Tricia McLaughlin, the spokesperson for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and one of the most staunch defenders of the regime’s horrific immigration policies, is leaving the Department of Homeland Security.
McLaughlin’s tenure was defined by propaganda messaging that sought to justify deadly incidents involving ICE and Border Patrol. Her departure comes at a moment when scrutiny of those agencies has intensified and as public opinion has firmly turned against them.
For months, we watched McLaughlin attempt to reframe tragic outcomes. When ICE agents killed Renée Nicole Good, McLaughlin told reporters the agent involved had “internal bleeding” and had been hospitalized. When pressed on the inconsistency between that claim and the agent’s same-day release, she responded: “I just know he’s on leave. He was pretty banged up, internal bleeding. And we pray for him and his family. And this is, you know, any time there’s a loss of life, it is a tragedy.”
Her abrupt resignation signals instability inside an agency already under fire for its inhumane detention practices and escalating operations.
That chaos and instability extends beyond DHS.
As we reported earlier today on our Substack, CBS blocked Stephen Colbert from airing an interview with Texas State Representative James Talarico and instructed him not to mention the cancellation. The network’s legal team intervened directly, citing concerns about retaliation from FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
Colbert addressed the situation openly on-air, stating: “He was supposed to be here, but we were told in no uncertain terms by our network’s lawyers, who called us directly, that we could not have him on the broadcast.”
He later released the interview independently online.
The incident reflects the broader climate surrounding media institutions. Decisions that once might have been framed as editorial are now clearly shaped by fear of government reprisal.
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Back to the news.
Meanwhile, new reporting has drawn attention to conditions inside ICE detention facilities. Following the publication of letters written by detained children describing hunger, illness, and fear, federal agents reportedly conducted raids inside dormitories at the Dilley, Texas facility to confiscate those letters.
The timing was striking. The actions came shortly after ProPublica published excerpts from the correspondence, including one child who wrote that the water was making them sick and that they were unable to sleep.
These developments follow a series of troubling incidents in detention facilities, including medical emergencies involving infants and dozens of deaths reported in recent years. A 2-month-old held at Dilley was rushed to the hospital Monday night after falling ill and we are now learning that he has since been discharged from the hospital with bronchitis and is back at the facility. This is the United States of America in 2026.
The regime’s posture has also been on display in its response to the death of civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson at age 84. Rather than offering a unifying tribute, Donald Trump issued a statement centered on his own grievances.
“Despite the fact that I am falsely and consistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics on the radical left Democrats, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse Jackson,” Trump wrote.
He also used the statement to attack former President Barack Obama.
Beyond domestic issues, the regime’s ideological alignment with right wing foreign leaders has come into sharper focus. For years, Trump allies have pointed to Argentina’s Javier Milei as a model for economic transformation. Yet today’s reports from Argentina describe a population struggling with inflation and basic affordability, with many taking on loans or selling possessions to cover essential expenses.
At the same time, financial pressures are mounting at home. According to new data cited in the Wall Street Journal, the delinquency rate for office loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities climbed to 12.34 percent in January, the highest level since 2000. The number reflects growing strain in the commercial real estate sector, long viewed as a bellwether for broader economic stability.
While ordinary Americans confront a harsh economic reality, the Trump family continues to pursue lucrative ventures tied to defense and surveillance technology. Eric Trump announced a new investment in Extend, an Israeli drone company preparing to go public after receiving a Pentagon contract for swarm drone systems.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently touted oil sales tied to U.S. involvement in Venezuela, stating: “We’ve sold about $1 billion of oil so far. We’ve recently signed agreements to sell about another $5 billion worth of oil in the next several months.”
Economists quickly pointed out that Venezuela historically exported that level of output in a matter of days.
“It's not the most important point, but Venezuela used to export 3 million barrels a day. At current prices, almost $2 billion a day. Not that more oil would justify the invasion (our sanctions largely caused the drop), but it's crazy to boast about these levels of production,” wrote Senior Economist at the Center for Economic & Policy Research Dean Baker.
As these developments unfold, regime-aligned media outlets have largely focused elsewhere. Rather than addressing ongoing investigations into Epstein-related records or broader governance concerns, airtime has been devoted to culture-war distractions and manufactured controversies.
But we won’t be distracted here at the MeidasTouch Network.
Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for all your support. Keep an eye on YouTube and the MeidasTouch Podcast audio feed for more reports throughout the day.
