Transcript

LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy

From MeidasTouch · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 57 min · 11,003 words · 117 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy", an episode of MeidasTouch published January 10, 2026 (57 min, about 11,003 words). It mentions 6 people, works and ideas, including Donald Trump, Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Dietrich, National Democrat Training Committee, DHS.

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on Donald Trump's perspective on morality and international law, highlighting his belief that personal ethics are the only constraints on his power. The analysis also questions Trump's character and decisions, suggesting a broader concern regarding his moral integrity and implications for leadership, particularly in light of his past associations and actions.

Key takeaways

  • Morality is the ultimate governor; it can either steer leadership towards justice or veer it into chaos.
  • Ownership obsesses some leaders; it's a psychological trap making them believe they possess more than just power.
  • The Constitution may feel neglected; a reminder that lawmakers can't ignore this social contract without dire consequences.
  • Congress's rubber-stamp tendencies reflect a doormat mentality, risking democracy for party loyalty over civic duty.
  • In life-or-death interactions, compliance is crucial; tragic outcomes highlight the human cost of miscommunication in crises.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Donald Trump, Bonnie Hunt
  2. – 10:00: Donald Trump, Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Dietrich, National Democrat Training Committee
  3. – 15:00: Kelly Dietrich, National Democrat Training Committee
  4. – 45:00: Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Dietrich
  5. – 55:00: Bonnie Hunt, Donald Trump
  6. – 56:53: FP Wellman

Notable quotes from "LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy"

  • Get from just sign. Okay, that is from the New York Times interview with Donald Trump this last week as audio.
    about Donald Trump · at
  • Yeah, that's Representative Hunt from Texas, an Army veteran like myself.
    about Bonnie Hunt · at
  • So, let's talk about that. I got a great guest. Kelly Dietrich runs the National Democrat Training Committee, not associate with the DC, but it's a committee that trains an organization that trains people to run for office. It.
    about Kelly Dietrich · at
  • Can use your time. Use your money. Do it all peacefully. We'll take this country back. I'm Fred Wellen. This is FP Wellman. We'll see you again next week.
    about FP Wellman · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

Companies & orgs

  • National Democrat Training Committee — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    So, let's talk about that. I got a great guest. Kelly Dietrich runs the National Democrat Training Committee, not associate with the DC, but it's a committee that trains an organization that trains people to run for office. It.
  • DHS — Company · 2 mentions

Full transcript with timestamps

Is there anything that could stop you if you wanted to? Yeah, there's one thing. My own morality, my own mind. It's the only thing that can stop and that's very good. I don't need international law. I'm not looking to hurt people.

Do you feel your administration needs to abide by international law on the global stage?

Yes, I I do. I you know I do, but it it depends what your definition of international law is. You mean in Greenwood? We had in Greenland we because Stark in the 1951 agreement though you were it says the United States can reopen these bases anytime you want. You could send as many troops as you want and you haven't done it. How come?

Because I want to do it properly. And properly means own it. Really? It is to me it's ownership. Ownership is very important. You know

why is ownership important here? because it's what I feel is psychologically needed for success. I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can't do whether you're talking about a lease or a treaty. Uh ownership gives you things and elements that you can't get from just sign. Okay, that is from the uh New York Times interview with Donald Trump this last week as audio. Now, aside from the slurring and the strange comput, you know, thinking, what you heard very directly was that the president of the United States feels the only thing to control his power is his own mind, his what he thinks is right or wrong, his own morality. And I look, I'm not going to get into a long conversation about Donald J. Trump's morality. I'll leave that to others. You can make your own judgments. People have elected him. People haven't. You know, I would question his morals any day, any time. We know he's all with the Epstein

files. We know he was friends with them. We know he sent bizarre bank, you know, birthday cards. I question Donald Trump's morality on a daily basis. I don't believe he has a moral code. I don't believe he has honor. He avoided serving in Vietnam by making him fake bones after playing four years of collegiate tennis. So, I don't believe for one moment that Donald Trump has a moral compass. But more disturbing for me as a citizen of the United States and as a person who swore an oath to the Constitution, raising my right hand on the plane of West Point in 1983, the ripe old age of 17 and then re re-upping that oath until 2010 and for the rest of my life if if you are like me to the Constitution United States. He didn't even mention the Constitution. Donald J.

char the president of the United States said to reporters sitting at the resolute desk that he doesn't believe that even international applause that that he wants to own things. He wants to own Greenland. Well, he's allegedly just the president for four years, right? So, technically he's only president for three more years. You should worry. Okay, but here's the thing. It is January 2026, folks. This is our first uh show. I got a guest. Obviously, I had a solo show last week, but we got a great guest this week talking about issues we face in the midterms. This is the midterms. 2026 is an election year for the midterms. We we will we will elect all of the House of Representatives or reelect them. We will elect onethird the Senate. The opportunity for the United States of America to change the makeup of our legislature, the co-equal branch of government, article one of the Constitution branch of government is

upon us. And what I keep coming back to is many of many people running for office are running against Congress members. And in the end, if Donald Trump doesn't feel that he has anyone to answer to but his own morality, I would hope that our Congress recognizes their duty to the Cong to the uh Constitution, their duty to our nation to check his power. So, let's think about what that and I I couldn't think of a better example of how broken that is. How far our Congress, our Republican doormat Congress, this is the Republicans, not it's the Republicans, folks. Let's let's be very clear. This is the Republican doormat Congress. Just like Harry Truman had his Republican do nothing Congress.

We are faced with the Republican doormat Congress. And what I mean by a doormat is that's that thing you put in front of your door that people wipe their feet on their way by. They don't even think about it. Maybe they'll see it's got live, love, laugh on it or some [ __ ] but they wipe their feet on and keep on going. That's what their public commerce has become. And I couldn't think of a better example of that than the horrifying events of Minneapolis this. The bottom line is this. When a federal officer gives you instructions, you abide by them and then you get to keep your life. And it is clear that she tried to use her vehicle as a weapon, mow over an ICE agent, and now she is dead. And her death is tragic, but at the end of the day, it was completely avoidable if she would have simply followed the commands of the ICE agents.

Yeah, that's Representative Hunt from Texas, an Army veteran like myself. I want you to think about what he said that as long as you comply with the federal agent, you get to keep your life. Okay, he's saying you could be summarily executed for not listening. And if you follow that entire and I'm not going to show that entire video, I'm just not I I could. You've seen it already, but you do know if you've seen the entire video and there's like five freaking angles. The first order was move away. Move out of way. You see Renee waving vehicles past her. You see her backing her vehicle up. You see, you can hear her in a new video just came out today saying, "I'm moving. I'm moving. I'm moving.

Their first command was get out of the way. So, she was complying with their orders. Their second command because they lost their tempers. We'll talk about that more later was get the [ __ ] out. You know, the professionalism of the uh ICE, the get the [ __ ] out. Get the [ __ ] out. She was scared to death. She wasn't running anywhere. She wasn't weaponizing her vehicle. I don't give a damn what they said that comply. She was told, "So, which order is it, Representative Hunt? Is it the order to get out of the way? Is it the order to get out of your car? Is it the order to get down? Is the order to pick up your gun?" What is the order that causes you to be summonly executed by the edge of the dome? Summonly executed by the agents of Donald J. Trump, the man at the beginning of the show said, "I don't answer to anyone but me." And therefore those who work for him can say I don't answer to anyone but Donald Trump or to

anyone. The United States Congress, the Republican le Congress has walked away with their constitutional duty in ways our founding fathers never possibly could have been. It is horrifying to see the lies and excuses they've made this week for everything from the Venezuela incursion to this outrageous behavior of federal agents in Minneapolis. And we'll have more to talk about the end of the show because I have another angle on that too. But in the end, you see a member of Congress, go on TV and say if you comply with federal officers, you get to keep your life. And while her death is tragic, she made that. She did not make that choice, ladies and gentlemen. She's a mother of a young child. They blew they shot her and she had stuffies spilling out of her glove compartment for her kids.

But you know, if she just complied, she could keep her life because a federal agent gave her an order. Folks, we're through the looking glass. We're through that looking glass as so many of us been predicting for years. We are through that looking glass. And I'm asking this simple question. Where is Congress? Where is the United States Congress? Where is the Republic of Congress? So, you have a choice. This fall, starting in March, we start having primaries for this election. Just two months away, you could start voting. Less than two months, you will start voting for the 2026 election.

Time to step up. Time to change this Congress. Time to hold them accountable. So, let's talk about that. I got a great guest. Kelly Dietrich runs the National Democrat Training Committee, not associate with the DC, but it's a committee that trains an organization that trains people to run for office. It trains staff to help them run for office. Trains volunteers. It's all free. Kelly's been on the show before. We're going to talk about a lot of this stuff. Talk about what we need to do in this moment. So, as you know, that's what we do here at On Democracy. We talk about what you can do and what we can do for our democracy. I'm Fred Wellman.

This is Anamoxy FPM right here on the MTouch Network every Friday night. Let's get out the show. I still like my music and it's been like almost three years I think. I already spilled coffee. Hey, Friday night. Uh, wow. Uh, welcome back to Sean. Welcome. I'm Fred Wellman. As I mentioned 30 seconds ago, this is on demox felman got so you know where you are. Welcome to on demoxy on my such network Friday night. Look, that opening, you know, that's some there's some crazy stuff going on in the world. I I mean, I I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Uh what did we see this week? What did we hear? Um what does this mean in the grand context of where we are? But even more importantly, as you guys know, the grand context is it's an election year.

And look, if you guys follow me on social media or here, you know I'm not one of those doom and gloom guys. There's not going to be an election. It's the end of the world. I'm not that guy. Okay? So, um and so I'm not gonna let you be that guy. Um what we do has we have the power we have power we the people's power we have power to protest we have peace we have the power to let our government know who we are we have the power to vote still and we're going to use it right um as much as Donald Trump wants to think he's the king he's not so it is the election year it is the midterms and we are here and we are going we're going forward and there's a lot to get ready for so I'm really excited to have my first guest by the way my first guest of 2026 because last week I did solo which I don't know I don't like doing solo twins I Maybe you guys like him. I don't h I get bored. Uh I get bored of me. I'm sick of hearing

myself that guy. So my first guest of 2026 is my good friend. I say that without even there's no cat as a star. My good friend Kelly Dietrich. He's the founder and CEO of National Democrat training committee. Not affiliate with the DNC, but he's an independent organization providing guidance for anyone who runs staff or support a campaign at any level. Let's welcome Kelly. Kelly, welcome back to the show. Let's bring him in. Satchel.

Oh, hey Satchel, too. There's intern Satchel. I love it. Yeah. Okay. Well, don't don't run away, Satchel. So, for those who don't watch the show and you don't remember, I had intern Satchel with us for how long we with us, Satchel. Go ahead and talk. You're you're with us. Uh

I believe three months. Three, four months for the summer. He went off to study abroad. He's back. This is our first show back. And Satchel put himself in the screen. I love it.

All right, get out of here, Satchel. We're gonna do a show the three of us. All right, D.

I love it. It's so good. By the way, you can expect the quality of the show to go up from now on because I won't be running it by myself.

You know, we were laughing the pre-show, folks. I was talking before we went live that uh he always caught me like trying to run the show by myself, like looking off his face, trying to type in banners and stuff. So, anyway, Kelly, back to be back. Thank you, sir.

I think we were last here in March. I mean, first one in 26. Thank you. You're the first guest of 2026, man. I'm I'm I'm honored to approach you. You know, I was like, I gota tell you, you know, it's funny. You know, it I literally did the numbers in March was nine months ago, but it feels like I haven't seen you in 20 years. Um, you know, it's it's a lot. I think we talked a lot about uh what's happening in the world. We'll talk about NTC Bard, but in the end, you know, one thing we haven't So, it is the election. It is the midterms. Midterms are happening. We have God, our first our first primaries are in March. I think that's why you run the show is like a year till the first primary. So

that's about right. Some states are having primaries as early as March, right, Kelly?

Yep. Some of them are some of them we've got races in February, we got races in March and it just starts rolling on. I mean, you had to you had to file for office in Texas and then a few other states uh in December. So election season is here. Uh

it is here. Yeah. It's not it's not a theory anymore, right? Yeah, we are in election season and they are happening. Yeah. So for contrary to popular belief there will be elections in March in Texas and that's several states. So and these are key like hell the primary in Texas has gotten very heated and very interesting all of a sudden. So there's a lot happening in the world you know and one of the things we've been I guess before we get too far down that road. Tell people what NDTC is uh and what you guys do and then we're going to talk about the rest of the stuff.

Yeah. Yeah. Sounds good. Uh the National Democratic Training Committee. Look, our whole mission is to make it as easy as possible for anyone who wants to get involved in Democratic politics. You want to run for office, you want to staff a campaign, you want to become a local leader, you want to learn how to to to go to a protest, we have free resources, free trainings on demand at train.org available for anyone. We need we need to make it as easy as possible for people to make change in their communities. And that's our whole mission.

I'm a member. I'm a member. I am a free member of NTC and I for no reason. For no reason. I just did it.

Nothing else going on in my life. Not not uh No. Yeah, that that's good. And and and and I guess from that so to lead the conversation, what are you hearing is like are you seeing a lot of folks stepping up to run? Let's start there. We are in the midterm.

What's what's your vibe on that? Absolutely. We uh it is a tough cycle for Democrats, right? It is a tough time. It is hard every morning to wake up and see the absolute chaos and frankly stupidity of this administration and what they're doing. However, the good news, there are literally thousands of people. The the base has been fired up. There are plenty of people who want to run. And it's not just for Congress. It's also its state house, its local office, city council, school boards, all of those things that are incredibly important. We're seeing momentum similar to 2018 when we had the beer wit. That level of enthusiasm and engagement is there and we want to keep that going. So here's here's the plug to anyone watching, anyone listening. If you want to run, we'll help you. If you know someone who should run, go tell them.

Send them our website. We can help them get started. Everything is free. We need to take advantage of this moment, of this opportunity in this election at every level we possibly can.

At every level. And I and I love you saying that because it is it is the like look, we just I think what gave me hope was seeing the super majority in Mississippi get broken, right? I mean, for those who don't live if you don't live in a supermajority state on either party, let's be honest. You could be in Hawaii for all I know. Uh but supermajority states are weird. Um they don't I think that they don't feel democratic because they're not I mean small D you know I mean the idea that one party one party either party let's be honest with that one party controls all the strings of power I think we're seeing what that links to on the national and so many states like my own in Missouri we've had a supermajority for over two decades for god's sake and what have we got out of it 49th in school spending 50th in teacher pay you know I mean it is it is one one party rule is is is is a as our friend David

Pepper calls the laboratories of autocracy. Um and and so you saw it get broken in Mississippi. I mean that doesn't give you hope. I mean is that how you see it too that there's

absolutely there's gold. Yeah. There are amazing success stories. Uh Democrats are overperforming in almost every election. I mean we won a statewide in Georgia uh a commissioner seat down there. We won two of them actually. Uh we the the wins in Virginia weren't just in the blue areas. I mean we flipped a bunch of seats in the state delegate races there. The success that we are seeing even in in specials in red districts even if you don't win uh uh the the Tennessee special election that just took place uh often overperformed by a huge number. I mean, the only reason, speak clear, the only reason Republicans have the House of Representatives and have power is because they are running on illegal maps. They know they can't win on issues, so they change the rules. And when you draw the lines to favor your team, this is this is what happens. So, um, we need to stand up and this is our time. This is our moment, right? This is

the start. That's the other thing I've I'm constantly reminding people. This election, you don't beat Trump. You don't beat MAGA or authoritarianism in one election. This is going to take years and it's going to take time. We can't think that, oh, we won this November. Everybody go back to what you were doing. That's not how it works.

Well, you can't just go back to nor traditions. That's weird. I've never heard that before.

Everybody those famous quotes that keeps popping up is like Nor's tradition was out the [ __ ] window a long time ago. um you know we have to we have to be aggressive we have to be patient we have to build a team right and that's that's where NDTC comes in right it is about building a team building a bench of people who are capable and and I like to say and you and I have talked before I think and and and as a as a political insider as both of us are unfortunately sorry guys uh is it's not just the candidate right I mean you guys don't just train candidates I think I think that's what I like about NTC because really in the end the challenge we have a lot of places mostly like well Missouri let's be honest Missouri Dems have been out of power for a long time. We have very few Missouri native sons and daughters who have run statewide campaigns in Missouri. Right.

There's just when you when you do have this situation of one party being in power, the other part also loses the bench of people who can run those things, isn't it? That's that's I I don't think we talk about that enough, do we, Kelly? It's like it goes down beyond candidates. It's also because look, I I know in a campaign I'm very close to, the only reason that campaign's succeeding in many ways is because of the talent of the people who are actually running it and keeping the candidate up, getting them up every day, kicking them in the ass to do the job, arranging them. It's that and you guys train more than just candidates, right?

It's it's beyond quarter a quarter of our look, we've trained 125,000 people since we've we've started. More than a quarter are campaign staff. Those are fundraisers, campaign managers, field directors, uh you know, digital operatives, the the whole gamut. Uh and absolutely, we need to be creating that talent pipeline because you can't win a campaign on your own. Doesn't matter how big or small. In fact, when I meet with candidates and they ask me for for advice, one of the things I I tell them is that the most successful candidates are the ones who can delegate because you can't do everything yourself. Right. Right. Uh, a lot of incredible candidates, a lot of incredible leaders are in positions where maybe they've been an attorney or they've been some role where they're like the executive doing all the things.

That's not how campaigns work. You need to you need to delegate. You need to uh build a team to reach your goals, right? You have to empower people to get you where you need to be to make that change. We can show you how. And there are so many races, right? I mean, uh, there's the US Senate races. Uh, apparently every state is now in contention.

You there to have an election. Hundreds of House races. I mean, even red to blue, which are the top top, you know, targeted races in the country, have a difficult time finding staff who have experience. So, how do you get how do you train a fundraiser to run a call time operation? How do you train a field organizer to target or talk to voters, right? And and just as importantly, like why are we forcing everyone to reinvent the wheel,

right? You shouldn't have to learn how to do a field script, you know, like, okay, here's an example for you. Let us handle that for you. Like, here's an example. You a template go, right? How can we use your time as effectively as possible?

I love all that. And that is the thing because a lot of times it is someone close to the candidate run that cate. You know, you have to you have to understand the candidate. You know, one of the things I tell every candidate I've ever worked with is you're the product now. Hey, you know, you can't use the old, oh well, it's my name on the banner. That's true. It is. And just like just like uh you know, Apple, don't sell Apple, you know. Yeah. It's Took. He's in charge, right?

So So you you know Tim Apple is president. But he said, but I digress. Uh, you know, uh, it's not Tim Apple. No, it is Tim Cook. And, and I told people, you're the product. And that is an uncomfortable feeling for somebody, especially if you're running for an executive position like a governor or a senator or even a congressman. It's like, no, you have to understand that your job is to talk to humans, make ss and and allow you

local levels. You need you need people out there like you can only knock so many doors, talk to so many people, make so many phone calls yourself. If you can the single greatest powers, if you can motivate empower an army of volunteers and that army may be three people, it could be 10 people, it could be a thousand people. they you're exponentially increasing your reach because the the mo the single most effective tool in convincing someone to vote is a one-to-one conversation, an honest, earnest uh uh conversation where someone is explaining why they believe this candidate is the best choice talking about their values, right? An authentic conversation. Well, if you I I know you and I can can do that. But if if you're running a race, it's only one person, but if you can get 10 people doing that, if you can get a hundred people doing that on your behalf, oh, that's powerful. That t

It's uncomfortable. And it's uncomfortable. I I've never had a candidate I've never had a candidate that's comfortable with somebody else covering a meeting or speed, you know, and it is a tough transition. and and and let's talk so I think from that let's I we probably should talk about the environment which is I think what we originally planned to talk about is I mean I every week if if people watch this and by the way those of you watching this beginning one God bless you I don't know how you do it two I'm sick you know but for those that have you know I say almost every freaking week it's funny one time I had a guest who had been like one of my very first guests maybe Dennis Aftergut which was my very first guest on my nostalgia And and I I I pull the script up and it opens up. Wow, another crazy week in Washington. Like I'm so tired of saying that every shower and then you look back and you're like,

"Oh my god, there'll be crazy week though." I mean, my god, it's hard to believe that a week a week and a half ago was Venezuela. uh right he's the president of Venezuela and and a lot of us um and look justifiably there's anger I'm one of the guys that was in because I'm a veteran so a lot of things touch foreign affairs touched me a lot because I'm a veteran I got a kid who's a veteran son of a veteran you know um but it's also a moment where at the same time the exact same week the exact same week all of our healthcare went up right everybody's healthcare rates went up the ACA subsidies expired um panic in the streets I mean I talked to people every day in my district who are like, "Oh my god, you know, I in my healthcare went from there was a story recently of a couple here uh or a woman who's in cancer treatment. Her her Medicare is going to go up or ACA is going to go up from $580 to $1,200,

doubling. Um number, right? I mean, sure. Well, last week the couple theirs went up to 21,100 for a retired couple. That that's a second house payment for us. as a we can't do that. And so

it doesn't have to be this, you know, like this is it. This is ridiculous between Venezuela, healthcare, ICE. By the way, we still don't have the Epstein files, right? Like, oh yeah, don't forget that. Yeah.

One hit after another. And a lot of this is just cover for all of that. Like, you know, don't don't think about the Epstein files because we're doing this and we're doing this. It's their muzzle velocity where they want to overwhelm us day after day, which is why

So, what are you telling your candidates? I mean, I know you talk to a lot of candidates. I mean, that's that's part of your job and that's one of the reason. So, guys, the reason I like to have Kelly on the show is because you can get a campaign manager or consultant, but you talk to a lot of candidates, you know. Um,

we are we are an we work uh almost one out of every seven candidates, Democratic candidates on the ballot in 24 used our our materials.

Wow, that's a lot of candidates. So, what's your thinking? I mean, as you look at that that moment, I mean, we are in a what a convoluted moment between we open the show talking a little bit about essentially Greenland, but in the in the in the concept of a president who believes he's untouchable power. Um, and then you see we that goes to Venezuela, that goes to the horrifying things we just saw in Minneapolis, which I'll talk about when you leave, you know, of mass men killing people. Um, you know, we had a congressman there hunt at the beginning saying, well, you know, if you comply, you get to live. I mean, as you talked I I can't even measure that. Just I Oh, I got my pink back. I'm a little washed out this week. Um, what are you telling C? Like, as we talk about these things,

there are so many things that they want to distract us with, right? And every week there's going to be every day there's going to be another thing. We need to be laser focused because uh if you're listening to watching this, Fred, you and I, we're not normal, right? We pay way too much attention.

We live this stuff. Yeah. Live this stuff. Winning an election is about talking to the voters and convincing them, getting them to take action to vote for you. Voters, unfortunately, they may know about Venezuela. It's not affecting their dayto-day, right? And there's all kinds of problems with the fact that we sent the US special forces in and US law enforcement to arrest the president of another country and and essentially kidnap him.

Yeah. What we as Democrats need to be focused on on our message is very simple. The Republicans were elected with a promise of lowering prices of of returning affordability to America and they have utterly failed. Every day I every every week I go to the grocery store. Our grocery bill is through the roof. My electric prices are through the roof. This shit's not getting better. While his billionaire bunnies buddies seem to be making a lot more money, right? We're lo people are losing their healthcare. It's doubling.

It's tripling in price. Epstein hasn't been released. you stay focused on the issues that matter to Americans pocketbooks because all this others stuff I'm trying to watch my language on your show Fred and I don't lie three years ago

it's like you never met me before but go ahead keep trying to we stay focused on what matters to the majority of Americans which is affordability and you can take all of these things now masked agents killing US citizen is not acceptable and it is a symptom of the recklessness and frankly this as as another Republican senator said I am sick of the stupidity right this is this has gone on too long enough is enough we need to vote these [ __ ] out so focus on what gets as many voters to the polls Democrats we're going to turn out how do we get those independents how do we get those disaffected moderate Republicans we talked talk about ways that we can make life more affordable. The ways that when you sit down, you look at your family. Uh I've got a I've got a daughter. I am constantly worried about what the future looks like. What can we provide for her? Right? How are we going to ease those fears for families? How

are we going to let people feel better and safer in their own home with their own pocketbook? These are the these are the things that we need to be talking about.

That's the or and it's great advice and and for my experience as you know I've got this side gig I'm doing um as I talk to people in my community in my district it's shocking to me how often almost every conversation especially people look like me and you we both got a gray beard mine used to be brown uh eight months ago

um but having said that consistently people who look like us say I'm worried about my kids I'm worried about the future for my is uh my kid I have a neighbor my kid goes to Colombia I think he's coming back here to

uh and this crosses shockingly economic lines um you know there's a there's there's a crisis for our next generation uh and it's not because they're eating avocado toast it's not because they're um living above their means they cannot afford and and I think Scott Galloway's book that came out he said um that seven-year-olds today are I want to say 30% wealthier than they were seven than they or 30 years ago, but people under 40 are 24% less wealthy.

Yeah. Than they were. And so we have a this isn't the price of eggs, right? It's not the current although that's a piece of it, but in the end, like you said, Missouri, we had the highest increase in energy cost in the country, 37% in one year. that's, you know, it's not because of windmills, you know, just so the there's easy, it's even be easy, I guess I would say it's it feels like it's easy to be distracted either within the context of making sure we form about what the issue is and and our and our opponents are very good saying, "Hey, look, I got the price of eggs now." When they had nothing to do with it or gas is low, oh, look, gas is well, gas is low because people can't afford to go any low, right? He's claiming it's under $2 somewhere. The man is a consistent liar, right? He loves a distraction, right?

Americans didn't vote for more forever wars. We didn't vote for foreign interference. We voted for affordability. The economy

for us, not billionaires. Yeah. It's not it's not handing handing oil to oil companies,

right? You know, he just I think just just today he had all his oil buddies in the White House, right? It's it's remarkable how the billionaires are getting richer and richer while the rest of us are paying more and more and he wants a distraction. Republicans want a distraction because they don't want us talking about how he's spailed on the economy, how healthcare premiums are skyrocketing or his involvement uh with the Epstein files. Right? This is why Democrat candidates, we've got to be laser focused on how are we going to improve the life of everyday Americans.

That means driving down inflation, afford, addressing affordability, lowering health care costs, groceries, reducing unemployment, all of these things, just like you said, because it's not just our kids. It's it's people in even if you don't have kids, times are tough right now. And this administration, MAGA, is not doing anything to make it better for you. They're lining their own pocketbooks and creating distractions so that he, you know, so that we don't realize what's going on.

And they want us to fight each other. U you know, it's it's it's what I love about we are 25 minutes in this conversation and we haven't called it culture wars. Uh we haven't called it kitchen table issues because this is life. These are life issues. Like I don't I never use the term crit tail issues anymore because this is like I get in my car and I can't afford you know I can't afford anything. You know it's it was interesting to me um I' I've quoted it a lot because that's my brain works. It gets stuck in there. But one of the things I quote a lot is the fact that co McDonald's last fall or last earlier this fall yeah this fall was on an interview on I think CNBC and he said we have a two-tiered economy and the way it's translating at McDonald's is that the top 10% are doing great. They can travel. They buy whatever they want.

They're doing fantastic. He said basically himself like I can hop, you know, I can go to Bali Bali and I'm good.

Yeah. But the lower the rest of the country is is in a different economy. And the way it's translating just at McDonald's is there's less people buying breakfast. Like breakfast is like one of their most affordable workingclass meals. I can I can pick up a fork three bucks and keep going, right? and he says, 'We've seen a downturn in our breakfast sales because people can't af and and that's it was a I love that. I love that for me as a person who's a communicator, especially the way we translate these issues to average Americans. This is in my kitchen table.

It's like I can't even drive down the highway without looking at a building or looking at a store and saying, "Well, I can't I can't do it. I can't afford that." Um, so we get distracted by, "Oh, the price of eggs is down. Great, but beef's the highest it's been ever." And when and and these aren't and I think the other thing so what's your thinking on like these are long-term issues though I mean we do you sometimes I I I say one of our failures right now is we're sending people to Washington DC who have stopped doing big things

we stopped doing big I mean the IRA was a big thing the infrastructure bill was short term right we're thinking very short terms like today tomorrow you know I mean it feels like we're sign people DC, especially on their poker side, who were just trying to get to the next election. It seems that there's a time I would like to see people step up to run for officers. Like, look, I'm willing to lose in two years, you know? I'm I'm willing to I'm willing to be put out of this job to do big things, you know?

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, with there are plenty of Democrats who lost their seats because they voted for the ACA,

right? And now here we are. my friend Patrick Murphy in Pennsylvania two years there.

There's there's a whole host of former Democratic Congress people who lost their seats because of that vote. They were willing to stand up and do something big. We have the values and the ideas to lead this country. the the opposition, maggot, Trump, they don't have ideas. All they have is tearing us down and blaming everyone else for the problems and turning us against each other as opposed to offering real solutions. Look, governing is hard. You don't get to run a successful country of this size for this long and be like, "Oh, yeah, no problem.

I can do it in my sleep." That's not the way it works. We're seeing it right now with this administration, right? I'm sick of the stupidity. You invade a foreign country, you have no long-term plans. You think you can run it remotely, right? Like they don't think through any of the long terms. I'm still waiting for their healthcare plan.

How long this concept of a plan? Yeah. How long is two weeks? We have concepts. We have binders. Uh that was my favorite one. And now they just want to give us money. That was my favorite. Well, you know, Cassidy walk around his lab code saying, you know, we should let people buy their money. Uh I I my fiance just got an MRI. I'm positive that MRI would have cleaned out our savior.

No, just just one, you know, ridiculousness. Yeah. They don't get it. They're out of truth. And that's why I think Americans are pissed off and that's why we're seeing more and more candidates signing up to run represent their communities because of these issues. Um and look, we're ready, right? We've got everything available for free. staff, candidates, volunteers, your county party isn't organized, great. We'll show you how to get it organized. Anyone who is on the wants to get out there on the front lines, we'll help you for free because we need to be thinking about just to your point long term. How do we win this election and set up the infrastructure to keep winning for the next decade? And we need to be thinking big, right? Uh, I love that Virginia realized early they could redraw, but they needed to vote uh in two separate sessions to redraw their map. And so they got a quick voting.

Like these are the big ideas that we need to be thinking about because voters, we want someone to stand up with a big idea and say, "Yes, we can. Here's how we move forward. We can do this together." Right? We're the greatest [ __ ] country on the planet. I we don't need to be going back to 1970. We need to be moving forward into the 21st and 22nd century now talking about the amazing things we can do. Why are we I can go off on a whole rant but we want a visionary leader and there are plenty of Democrats out there plenty of people listening to this show who can do that and we want to help you.

I go back a lot. I tell the story of of being a soldier. You know I'm I I had the I had the good fortune to attend Ranger School as a as a pilot. I went to Ranger School. Um if you go to Fort Benning, you'll see a statue there. It's called the the infantry statue. It's and and the motto is follow me and and it's a guy standing up and he's waving his arm and and it's a it's a trope. It's a stereotype, but it is true. Like we in in times of trouble, you want somebody who's going to stand up and say, "I got this. Follow me. Trust me. Let's go this direction." And I say that quite a bit.

I've told stories from my own military experience, but you know, if you watch Band of Brothers, the scene at Beststone is they're breaking out of Baston when uh when they want they get stuck in a pin down and they send in the captain and he's like, "All right, here's what we're going to do. Blow up, put everything on that bill until it's gone and then you go left, you go right, follow me." And it's like, "Okay, you know, I mean, it's sometimes in an impossible situation, you just need someone to have the courage to stand up, say, "Look, I'm gonna take some barbs and arrows. I'm gonna take some shots, but let's go." Um, it's it's time to act. And I think we are at that moment in January 2026 of follow me. Let's go.

And then and then I guess the next piece I do want to get before I let you go is the one thing I try to leave these our guests and you've been on the show before our our our wonderful followers and listeners. Um what can they do? Like I I the average there's so many people in America right now. I can't tell you how often I get messages, Fred, what can I do? What can I do? How can I help? I I feel power. I can't I can't believe how many I got this week. I feel powerless. I feel power. What do you answer? What's your answer to that? The average if they don't want to run for office, it's great. But what do you tell people like what can I do right now?

Yeah. This Okay, there are there are three or four things that you can do is what I tell everybody, right? The ways to participate in our democracy. You can give your vote, you can give your time, you can give your money. Three ways. You may not like one of those. Doesn't matter. Those are the three. So, make certain you're registered to vote. Are your friends, family, are the people you know registered to vote? Don't be afraid to have these conversations. Can you recruit people to run? Do you think someone should run for office? Tell them, right? Because people like, they need to hear that from other people. And I don't care if you're in ruby red Alabama or bright blue, you know, Southern California. If you see someone who would be a good leader, tell them, encourage them to run. Be loud.

Don't be silent. Right? The other side wants us to think that we are all alone, that they have all the power, that the majority is with them. And that is factually untrue. More people support our values, support our ideas than this mega [ __ ] But because they control the algorithms, because of the way the internet works and uh uh uh rage culture, whatever you want to call it, we constantly think that, oh man, what is wrong? You're not alone. Talk to your friends, talk to your family, talk to neighbors, have those awkward conversations where people realize, oh, I'm not alone. If you can write a check, support your candidates.

That can be US senator, that can be Congress, but also school board, city council, those local things. And it if it's $5, great. Thank you very much. Because it is expensive for people to raise money. And then volunteer. If you if you have time to give, go find a candidate you like. Ask what you can do to help. Not text.

There's never I I tell people there's not a campaign on earth that doesn't need your help. you know, there just there just isn't a campaign on earth that doesn't need you right now to help them and to be available and to and to, you know, be a part of their campaign. Like even now like even early in this like a lot but tell it's not early anymore some places March is some you here in Missouri it's August but you can start doing things like hey can I organize a house party at my house for you where we just meet my neighbors not even money don't even say hey I'll raise money and just say this is meet you know there is a can on earth that doesn't want to get in front of a crowd right now and and tell their story effectively by the way if the candidate doesn't you know they should be a candidate right so but it's true right I love I didn't want to cut you off but there's a it's a great PI to brief error

pod issue I But I I you know it is so very true that um what we you do need to ask a candidate. I know it sounds funny and it seems weird but if you think about who you want as a political leader, you should pro you probably want somebody who thinks they're not the right person. I know that sounds funny. You're right. I mean, you want guy who thinks he should be president is obviously insane. But by the same token, we we could need more leaders who think why not me, you know, and and then they need people to tell them, I think it should be um and we can do things. Um you can we can help you do it.

We need more leaders who have to be convinced that they're the right. I think um the most the the best leaders I've ever met um didn't realize they were going to be the best leaders I've ever met. And I think that's something we have to think about a lot too. So that's fantastic. I guess last thing we always Where can where can folks find you? We put your banners up. Uh where's the best place to find your brother?

Uh we're at train.org is our website. You can come there. There are hundreds of free resources, free trainings. We put on events throughout the week, virtual events. Additionally, you can follow us uh on any of the socials at train. Uh reach out. Please tell us uh what you need, how we can help. Everything we do is free for for Democrats. If you like our mission, please support us. Uh but we're here to uh we're here for anyone and everyone in the country, Democrats, to make a change in their community. We're happy to support you.

I love it. And I think that's it is time. Uh and I guess that's why I was excited to have you on the show this week is it is time, folks. You know, we you've been we've been talking hell. I I actually looked up my show from uh right after the election in December and I said, "It's an election year. People look like I was crazy. is December 2024 and I said it's election 2025 is election year like oh it's election year and look what happened we flipped Virginia we flip you know New Jersey we won New Jersey we flipped we broke the majority the super majority in Mississippi it 2025 was election well folks 2026 is a no [ __ ] election year and in a lot of places at a lot of levels and this is our moment if you want if you start at home always start at home always go from there always make a difference you can make uh and and we can do that make that difference together boy it's been a Crazy morning.

For those who don't know, we do record this in the morning and it's like a little bit nuts.

Um me and I never do moment. But brother, thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I I appreciate it. This is a great show. Anytime you want me, I'm here. Uh and yeah, thank you to everyone who who listened through this. Go out, make change. We can do big things. uh believe Fred and I were talking about uh our our favorite show back there uh Ted Lasso, but uh it's it's not easy, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. So, let's stand up and the only way we make certain we take our country back is through a lot of hard work.

I love it. What a great place to Kelly. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again soon. I'm sure I'll be talking to you probably in a week.

Love it. All right. Thanks for joining us, folks. See you soon. Yeah. I love talking to Kelly Dietrich. Obviously, he's brilliant. Like, check out the check out the uh their website. Learn more about um you know, training training, get the training you need. It's free. It's all right there. You can't beat it. I want to leave you guys with some thought. I mean, I I if you follow me on social media, I've had thoughts about the Minneapolis shooting and the situation. For me, and I've said this elsewhere, for me, one of the most shocking things, the shooting is shocking. um the excuses being made by elected officials like Representative Hunt at the beginning of the show saying that you know she weaponized her vehicle and you know she should have complied and I and my point then was complied with which order because the first order is get out of the way which she did and the second order was get the [ __ ] out etc etc etc.

Now there's a lot of fbombs in this portion of the show so close your children's ears. What was amazing to me first of all that day and I think what shocked a lot of people include the mayor of Minneapolis and others is this guy who we now know by the way was a weapons instructor for DHS this guy after he shot this woman Renee Good after she her car accelerated away and crashed he walked over didn't run walked over looked in the vehicle turned around waved to the other agent kept walking, casually climbed into an SUV, did a U-turn, and left. Now, look, you don't have to watch CSI every week to know. You have to watch the rookie, which I'm a big fan of. But you don't have to watch to know when there's a shooting, when a cop shoots somebody, when a cop kills, when a cop kills, when a professional law enforcement officer shoots any discharges his weapon, believe it or not, there's an investigation. When they kill someone,

there's a very big investigation. Okay? They seal off the scene. They gather witnesses. The officer is done an interview. be sent off for a drug test. I know these things. That's what professional law enforcement does. But in this case, this law enforcement officer casually walked away as the woman died, got in his vehicle, and drove away. And they want us to believe these are professional people. These are professionals. And here's what gets me too is when the mayor of Minneapolis went on TV with raw emotion, with anger that one of his citizens was killed, he showed that anger.

And of course, the administration, like every narcissist, blames the reaction that we have for their actions as the real problem. So, he dropped an F-bomb during a press conference. Who freaking cares, dude? Well, clearly he's causing more pro. He is upping upping the stress level of the tension. Not not the secretary of DHS going on TV immediately to say the woman was a terrorist. Not the vice president of the United States saying she's part of a a gang of terrorists, but the mayor dropping an Fbomb. And this was his response today when when a reporter asked about him upping the tension in this city with his reaction. anything from the Trump administration or the president himself? And also the administration has pointed to some of your comments right after the shooting as turning up the temperature in this city. Yesterday you did see some protest that you know turned volatile at time as

he was sprayed that is tear gas. Do you stand by your statements to tell I Yeah, they stand by their statements. Do you stand by your statements?

I stand by my statements. We stand by our statements. All look back to what I said. What I said was it was reckless abuse of power. Yes, it was a reckless abuse of power. Uh I said that what the narrative that the administration was pushing in the immediiacy following this shooting was garbage and false and BS. It was um I I stand by every one of those. Um and you know this notion of of inflammatory comments. I mean, come on, guys. You know, I dropped an F-bomb. I dropped an Fbomb. They killed somebody. Which one of those is more inflammatory? I'm going with the killing somebody.

Me too. Killing someone in the streets and casually walking away like it's just another day in the job is more inflammatory. But if you want to talk about turning up the heat and who's causing tension in our cities right now, it's people like Greg Bovino strutting around participating in raids, bringing camera crews. A and if you look at the video, by the way, there's another angle of that video that day where the guy who shot her actually was filming. He had his phone out in his left hand. He was circling her car to get her license plates and film her interaction with the other officers on his cell phone and that's why he was in front of her car against all DHS regulations. But if you want to say look if if this game is tone policing of people of elected officials or telling people that they shouldn't uh they have to comply with orders of the police like these ICE officers are professional law and look I

have friends that are professional law enforcement officers. I have friends I support law enforcement. My son was a military police officer in in the military. I have great respect for law enforcement. Okay. I the professionals within law enforcement and those law enforcement people. I've my phone's been blowing up all week from the professionals to include FBI agents who are disgusted by the behavior of this ICE force that's only job is civil immigration enforcement. Parking tickets. You want to talk about turning the heat up? This video was posted by my friend Ron Philowski from a a citizen a citizen uh citizen who's been following ICE satchel. Show this interaction of this professional force that we're supposed to comply with all their order because they're they're law enforcement professionals, you know, of the federal government. Let's watch this video.

Have your plate number. We saw you driving erratically very dangerous to the public.

How you doing? Good. interfering with our operations. If you can be arrested under 18 USC 111,

we will arrest you. Not if you have been interfering with our operations. You were following us yesterday.

What you're doing, dude. Numerous times you interfering with their operation. Not interfering.

Yes, you are. If you continue, you will be in handcuffs. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted.

Code 111. Get that through your head, dude. A lot of numbers you just Good job. I'm not breaking the law and you [ __ ] know it. It's war. Not breaking the law. And you [ __ ] know it. Never got in front of everyone. Never.

One more time and I will put you in handcuffs. One more time. Keep it out. Step the [ __ ] off.

No. No. I'll stand right here. Right here all day. If I [ __ ] touch you, you're going to [ __ ] arrest.

Yeah. [ __ ] you. You are worthless. [ __ ] you. Worthless. [ __ ] you. YOU ARE HONOR.

Hold your [ __ ] dogs back. Hold your [ __ ] You have no honor. That's why I ran that video at the end there. The guy in a mask threatening a civilian. The guy with no name tag. The guy wearing civilian clothes with his plate carrier and his gun. masked men in unmarked vehicles threatening a civilian for simply following them with 18 code 111 and then loses his [ __ ] because he's so you tell me who's the professional law enforcement I'm supposed to respect in that video mass agents of the government who threaten you and lose their temper at the slightest thing so what the civilian called the f off I'm allowed to do that ladies and gentlemen that's the law.

That guy had to be pulled away. He's probably a supervisor. That's who I'm supposed to comply with. That's the guy who gets to decide if I live or die according to Representative Hunt. That guy. I'm supposed to put my life and trust in that guy. His training, his professionalism. You want me to trust him? You want Donald Trump to have absolute authority to unleash his rabid dogs on citizens of the United States of America? This has nothing to do with immigration. This has nothing to do with enforcing our laws. We have an unchecked, unlimited power gang running a muck in our streets led by a man who thinks no one no one can question his authority.

Congress needs to get off their asses and do their jobs. We need to replace them all. Okay? All these Republican members of Congress, why they retired, wide margin chair green, quit, why they know it's over, folks. They know it's over. They know we can see this. I can see Representative Hunt on TV saying that if I comply with that rabid dog you just saw on video, I get to keep my life. Not in America, baby. Not in my United States. So, you know what you got to do, folks. You know the deal. Call your local candidate. I don't care if it's city council, school board. This is happening at every level. Our government, that mayor, his city council will stand behind him. Run for city council, folks. That's who's fighting back against this at every level.

Governor of Minnesota, student, school boards. Hey, after they shot that woman, they decide to raid the high school, we need to control every level of government and take it back from these rabid dogs. Remember that video you just saw? That's the people that Donald Trump and rep the Republican Congress thinks that we need to follow, that we need to comply with. And if we comply with that rabbit dog, maybe we get to live. You know, in Representative Hunt's reasoning, that guy could have shot that civilian filming that because, you know, he didn't comply.

Do not comply with illegal orders. Do not comply with people who want you to die, think you should die because you just didn't listen to them. Uh, again, which order was it? Was the order where I'm supposed to go away? The order I'm supposed to stay? The order where I'm supposed to turn around? Which order gets me killed for a misdemeanor? Well, it's been a hell of a week, y'all. Next week's gonna be crazy, too. I'd love to tell you otherwise, but that's where we're at right now. This is here every Friday night. We've got a lot going on. Hey, if you check out our I want you to check out our Substack. Uh Sash will put the Substack up. It's fpwin.substack.com.

That's where you can find all the information about the show and all the things we're doing right now. We've got a very We got so much going on right now. As you guys know, I got other stuff going on. You want to keep up with all the activities we've got going on. It's fuel.substack.com substack.com. We're there. We post everything there. I appreciate you guys, all the incredible support you've given us the last uh I think this is my third year now on my I keep getting it wrong, but couple three years, I don't know, two, three years, I don't know. Got an anniversary coming up. In the meantime, thank you for being here every Friday night with us. Please tell your friends and neighbors. Please share this show. Please click like. Uh please post it on your social media. It mean the world to me. In the meantime, stay safe out there. Um be safe. Do the right thing. Protest peacefully. Do not give the Trump administration and these

thugs the excuse they're looking for to execute violence upon you. Peacefully use your voice in accordance with the first amendment of the United States Constitution. Be peaceful. Be forceful. Elect decent people. Okay? As as Kelly said, vote. You can use your vote. You can use your time. Use your money. Do it all peacefully. We'll take this country back. I'm Fred Wellen. This is FP Wellman. We'll see you again next week.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy"?

Fred Wellman (Host), Kelly Dietrich (Guest), Representative Hunt (Guest), Satchel (Guest).

What is "LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy" about?

The discussion centers on Donald Trump's perspective on morality and international law, highlighting his belief that personal ethics are the only constraints on his power. The analysis also questions Trump's character and decisions, suggesting a broader concern regarding his moral integrity and implications for leadership, particularly in light of his past associations and actions.

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

6 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Bonnie Hunt, Kelly Dietrich, National Democrat Training Committee, DHS, FP Wellman. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "LIVE: Trump and GOP INSTANTLY IN PANIC over MIDTERMS | On Democracy"?

The episode runs 57 min; the transcript is about 11,003 words in 117 timestamped sections.

More from MeidasTouch

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.