Transcript

🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!

From MeidasTouch · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 27 min · 5,131 words · 53 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!", an episode of MeidasTouch published November 10, 2026 (27 min, about 5,131 words). It mentions 36 people, works and ideas, including Congress, Mike Johnson, Ben Meiselas, Republican Party, Democratic Party.

What this episode is about

A conservative speaker, Mike Johnson, is portrayed as distressed as many Republican members skip votes during the lame-duck session, while Democrats show higher attendance and push for impeachment-related actions against Hegseth, with potential cross-party support extending into the incoming Congress. The piece highlights attendance disparities, looming impeachment moves, and shifting political dynamics between the current Reagan-era House and the forthcoming 120th Congress.

Key takeaways

  • Lame-duck dynamics magnify attendance gaps; leadership credibility hinges on who actually shows up to vote.
  • Polling misses, partisan optimism, and 119th-century messaging collide, revealing polling’s persistent blind spot.
  • Johnson’s insinuated exit and leadership vacancy highlight a volatility trap: a party losing its grip before January.
  • Impeachment chatter thrives on momentum, yet a dwindling GOP presence risks turning bold moves into empty theater.
  • Democrats’ current turnout surprise isn’t a victory parade; it’s a temporary power spike before January’s real reset.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Congress, Mike Johnson, Republican Party, MAGA
  2. – 10:00: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Colorado's 4th congressional district, Democratic Party, Haley Stevens
  3. – 15:00: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Donald Trump, Richard Ojeda, TMZ
  4. – 20:00: Donald Trump, North Carolina's 9th congressional district, Congress, Iran war (2026)
  5. – 25:00: Congress, Donald Trump, Iran war (2026), Richard Hudson
  6. – 27:24: Congress, MeidasTouch, Richard Ojeda

Notable quotes from "🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!"

  • They've lost their races. They are not showing up to Congress. Meanwhile, you have pretty good attendance among the Democratic caucus. Even though for this lame duck session technically Republicans still have the majority in.
    about Congress · at
  • 120th Congress come January, we can see a lot of activity right now. And we already saw Thomas Massie this morning introduced the articles of impeachment against Hegsith. We…
    about Pete Hegseth · at
  • She moved from her other district to basically try to rig it for herself and she still lost to this incredible candidate. Let me show you moments ago when CNN made that call. Let's play it.
    about Congresswoman Lauren Boebert · at
  • So I guess we don't have to see Lauren Boowbert running in and missing votes anymore. The Midas Touch Network was there every time she would like miss the vote and she would…
    about MeidasTouch · at
  • Elect Oha, retired major Oha, Congressman elect. Great to see you over there. Winning big in North Carolina's ninth congressional district, defeating the MAGA Republican…
    about North Carolina's 9th congressional district · at
  • It to Congress to come up here and allow things to just go unnoticed. we absolutely need to hold these people accountable. I think it's time for us to impeach people like Pete…
    about Richard Ojeda · at
  • And while Donald Trump is out there saying, Is it going to be a deal? If I'm going to blow him up, I'm going to blow him up. I'm going to see. And this unpredictability to me, this utter lack.
    about Donald Trump · at
  • 2020. And when you ran and everybody doubted you, you would text me and you would say, Ben, I'm going to win this race. And you would keep me updated from time to time. And I'd…
    about Ben Meiselas · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Mike Johnson — Person · Referenced political leader · 6 mentions · first at
    Acting Republican Speaker of the House during the lame-duck; focal point of criticism about GOP no-shows and potential resignation.
    Magga Mike Johnson, who is the Republican acting lame duck speaker of the House right now, is freaking out as a lot of his Republican members in the House of Representatives are no shows.
  • Ben Meiselas — Person · Host · 1 mention · first at
    MeidasTouch host leading the episode, introducing clips and interviewing Richard Ojeda.
  • Donald Trump — Person · Referenced political influence · 6 mentions · first at
    Former president repeatedly referenced as central to MAGA strategy, staffing decisions, rhetoric, and international consequences discussed in the episode.
  • Richard Ojeda — Person · Main guest · 3 mentions · first at
    Congressman-elect from North Carolina's 9th district interviewed on the show; discusses holding MAGA figures accountable and policy priorities.
  • Congresswoman Lauren Boebert — Person · Defeated incumbent (referenced) · 6 mentions · first at
    High-profile MAGA Republican incumbent whose loss was used to illustrate Republican poor performance and absenteeism.
  • Pete Hegseth — Person · Referenced target of proposed impeachment/oversight · 4 mentions · first at
    Named by the guest and host as a figure Democrats may pursue accountability or impeachment against during the lame-duck/transition period.
  • Richard Hudson — Person · Defeated incumbent / referenced opponent · 3 mentions · first at
    Chair of the NRCC and Republican incumbent defeated by Richard Ojeda; used to show significance of Ojeda's win.
    Yeah. So, 22 months ago, we knew that if we were going to take on the chair of the NRCC, we were going to have to go non-stop. And I'm going to tell you right now, for 22…
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — Person · Referenced political figure (potential impeachment target) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named alongside Pete Hegseth as someone the guest suggested could face impeachment/accountability actions.
    Things to just go unnoticed. we absolutely need to hold these people accountable. I think it's time for us to impeach people like Pete Hegth and RFK Jr. but when it comes to…
  • Haley Stevens — Person · Referenced Representative · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a Representative who interacted with Republicans and featured in a clip referenced by the host.
    Could have done. and that the people have spoken. Should be noted as well that Democratic congresswoman or it's not even Democrat Haley Stevens who attacked Senator Elect Dr.
  • Thom Tillis — Person · Referenced Senator · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a Republican senator who indicated willingness to vote to convict Hegseth (reference in context of accountability).
    Out by Trump. There's going to be the new senator there, Senator Cooper, come January. But Tillis says, I'm going to vote to convict Hegsith as well. So, let me show you…
  • James Talarico — Person · Representative-elect / referenced politician · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned interacting with previous officeholder and as an incoming official in Texas; used to show Democratic gains in state offices.
    Pushed out. Donald Trump elevated Ken Paxton who ran one of the worst campaigns. Tyler Rico ran one of the best campaigns. He beat Paxton by like 13 to 14 points in Texas. And…
  • Ken Paxton — Person · Referenced defeated official · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as having run a poor campaign and being replaced by a Democratic victor in Texas; used to illustrate Republican losses.
    Elect James Talerico meeting the individual who had that seat before Senator Cornin of Texas who Donald Trump pushed out. Donald Trump elevated Ken Paxton who ran one of the…
  • Nancy Pelosi — Person · Historical reference · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned by Mike Johnson comparing minority-leader decisions (Pelosi stayed on historically) — used as context for Johnson's choice not to seek minority leadership.
    That's my commitment. They know it. I decided not to run for a minority leader. really the only person in the modern era that decided to to to stick around and serve in the speaker ammerita position was Nancy Pelosi. And I.
  • John Cornyn — Person · Referenced media figure · 1 mention · first at
    TMZ reference likely indicates the correct name is John Houston
    Charlie Cotton, who's on Capitol Hill, he caught up with John Houston and just started mocking John Houston. So, now that you lost your race, talk to us are you happy that Donald Trump talked about your ass the entire time?
  • Kelly Ojeda — Person · Spouse / supporting figure · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned briefly by Ojeda as providing hand sanitizer and as family referenced during his recounting of his father's passing.
    Make it. and I'll tell you, it's it's so humbling. before he passed, he was holding my sister's hand and my sister leaned in and he was completely, there was no emotion. He was for the for 24 hours, he was pretty much out of it. But Santana.
  • Abdul El-Sayed — Person · Referenced political figure · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in passing as 'Senator Elect Dr. Abdul Elsad' in the context of being attacked by Haley Stevens — appears as a brief reference.
    Well that Democratic congresswoman or it's not even Democrat Haley Stevens who attacked Senator Elect Dr.
  • Charlie Cotton — Person · Referenced reporter · 1 mention · first at
    TMZ correspondent on Capitol Hill cited for interviewing/teasing defeated politicians; used as a media anecdote.
    Being nice with Senator Elect Taler Rico. You see that over there? Oh, by the way, our friends over at TMZ, Charlie Cotton, who's on Capitol Hill, he caught up with John…

Companies & orgs

  • MeidasTouch — Company · Producer/Network · 2 mentions · first at
    Producer of the episode; host Ben Meiselas is a MeidasTouch personality and the network is referenced for recording and promotion.
  • CNN — Company · News source referenced · 3 mentions · first at
    Referenced for election-calling and for reporting on polling errors and specific race projections.
    You had CNN reported the week before the election, it was on a Monday morning, they had a they had a story and they said that 15 out of the last 16 elections, the October generic.
  • TMZ — Company · Media outlet referenced · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited for catching up with and mocking a losing politician in public comments — used as a pop-culture media example.
    Being nice with Senator Elect Taler Rico. You see that over there? Oh, by the way, our friends over at TMZ, Charlie Cotton, who's on Capitol Hill, he caught up with John…

Products & tech

  • MeidasTouch Patreon — Product · Monetization channel / call-to-action · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as a way to support the MeidasTouch Network; explicit CTA present in episode context.

Concepts & topics

  • Congress — Concept · Primary institutional setting · 12 mentions · first at
    Central setting for the episode: House attendance, lame-duck session, leadership dynamics, and incoming freshmen orientation are discussed.
  • Republican Party — Concept · Political actor · 7 mentions · first at
    Party of the acting speaker and many no-shows; central to discussion about lame-duck attendance and losses.
    Republican acting lame duck speaker of the House right now, is freaking out as a lot of his Republican members in the House of Representatives are no shows.
  • Democratic Party — Concept · Political actor · 6 mentions · first at
    Democrats had stronger attendance in the lame-duck and are positioned to push oversight and impeachment during the session and after the January transition.
    House of Representatives because far more Democrats have shown up than Republicans. 202 Democrats have voted in the last vote this evening to 196 Republicans. So technically…
  • MAGA — Concept · Ideological label / framing · 6 mentions · first at
    Label used throughout the episode to describe the Republican faction whose losses and behavior are criticized.
    Magga Mike Johnson, who is the Republican acting lame duck speaker of the House right now, is freaking out as a lot of his Republican members in the House of Representatives are no shows.
  • Polling industry — Concept · Explained factor / critique · 2 mentions · first at
    Referenced by Mike Johnson and the host as having systemic problems and underestimating Democratic support in the election.
    Was saying was not breaking news. I think everyone acknowledges the polling there's a serious problem in the polling industry. it missed it yet again by a mile this time. And I…

Places & events

  • Iran war (2026) — Event · Core topic / foreign policy concern · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed by Congressman-elect Ojeda as a catastrophic conflict with domestic economic impacts (fuel, supply chains) and strategic errors.
    This because anybody who has anything between their ears would have known that if you hit Iran, the straight of Hormuz is going to shut down. And now Iran says they're not…
  • Strait of Hormuz — Place · Geostrategic chokepoint discussed · 3 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in context of potential military action against Iran and global economic/energy impacts.
    This because anybody who has anything between their ears would have known that if you hit Iran, the straight of Hormuz is going to shut down. And now Iran says they're not…
  • North Carolina's 9th congressional district — Place · Election district (Ojeda's seat) · 2 mentions · first at
    District Ojeda won; central to the guest's narrative about campaigning and victory.
  • Colorado's 4th congressional district — Place · Race setting · 4 mentions · first at
    District where Lauren Boebert was defeated and Eileen Licker declared victory; used as an example of Democratic pickup.
    Objection. CNN projecting that Democrat Eileen Lawbacker will win Colorado's fourth congressional district, unseeding Republican incumbent and reliable Trump ally Lauren Boowart.
  • Washington, D.C. — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Location of Capitol Hill, House floor, and orientation events referenced throughout the episode.
    That with me forever. and it's been amazing and it's been a whirlwind. And I'm now here in Washington DC for freshman orientation. We are just now, we are finishing up day one…
  • Fort Bragg — Place · Local base / vote source · 2 mentions · first at
    Referenced by Ojeda as a key vote source (Cumberland County / Fort Bragg) that helped secure his victory.
    Looking at where are the votes that are still waiting to come in and I looked and it was Cumberland County. That's that's Fort Bragg. That's that's that's that's Fagatville…
  • January 6th — Event · Reference point for investigations · 1 mention · first at
    Named by Ojeda as one of the topics to investigate regarding Donald Trump (investigative focus rather than immediate impeachment).
    Jr. but when it comes to Donald Trump, what I would like to do is I would like to investigate him thoroughly and let America watch because if we impeach Donald Trump, they're…
  • Arabian Sea — Place · Geographic reference · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in context of U.S. aircraft carrier deployments tied to possible Iran escalation and strategic naval posture.
    Aircraft carrier group out of the Pacific. We don't have any there anymore. We have these two aircraft carriers that are a thousand kilometers deep into the Arabian Sea. Our…
  • Cumberland County — Place · Vote source · 1 mention · first at
    Called out by Ojeda as the county (Fort Bragg area) that supplied critical votes toward his victory.
    Been my biggest fan. And he passed away two nights ago, three nights ago. But, we were sitting there and I started looking at where are the votes that are still waiting to come…
  • Louisiana — Place · Casual reference · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned jokingly as a place Mike Johnson might open a lawnmowing business if he leaves Congress.
    Quit Congress entirely. And he previously said he may open up a lawnmowing business in Louisiana. So, he may do that. Although I think he'd be a very lousy lawn, lawnmower…

Full transcript with timestamps

Magga Mike Johnson, who is the Republican acting lame duck speaker of the House right now, is freaking out as a lot of his Republican members in the House of Representatives are no shows. They've lost their races. They are not showing up to Congress. Meanwhile, you have pretty good attendance among the Democratic caucus. Even though for this lame duck session technically Republicans still have the majority in the House until Democrats get sworn in in January and take control of the House and take control of the Senate. There's a Democratic majority right now in the House of Representatives because far more Democrats have shown up than Republicans. 202 Democrats have voted in the last vote this evening to 196 Republicans. So technically, Democrats right now have the majority. Even in the House of Representatives, even though we're in this Republican lame duck session, it looked like Magga Mike

Johnson was going to cry when he just held a press conference moments ago. And we know the Democrats right now are going to push a lot of strong initiatives, including Hegset's impeachment, maybe RFK's impeachment, maybe Tom Hman's impeachment. And if Democrats can still have a majority right now before the overwhelming majority they're about to have in the 120th Congress come January, we can see a lot of activity right now. And we already saw Thomas Massie this morning introduced the articles of impeachment against Hegsith. We know that there's actually a lot of support from it in the House and even in the Senate. We've heard from people like Republican Senator of North Carolina who's losing his job, Senator Tillis. He was pushed out by Trump. There's going to be the new senator there, Senator Cooper, come January. But Tillis says, "I'm going to vote to convict Hegsith as well." So, let me show you moments ago, Magga Mike

Johnson looked like he was about to cry as he's this lame duck speaker. His own members aren't even showing up. And then I'll show you in a moment as well, Maga Mike may be quitting entirely from the House of Representatives. He may no longer even be a congressman. We already know he's not going to be running for any leadership position when the MAGA Republicans or his MAGA debt when the Republicans have the minority. He's not running for any leadership, but he may quit Congress entirely. And he previously said he may open up a a lawnmowing business in Louisiana. So, he may do that. Although I think he'd be a very lousy lawn, lawnmower business owner because he would probably lie about the grass and pretend that things were handled well, but then the grass would just grow out of control. He would say, "Everything's amazing. Everything Donald, right? Isn't the grass amazing?"

And Donald won't pick up his phone calls anymore. Anyway, here was Magga Mike Johnson moments ago saying, you know, with the polls, the polls were wrong, so we don't know what even happened with the polls. the polls. MAGA Mike actually underestimated the support for Democrats, not the other way around. Magga Mike, here play this clip. I was traveling around the country. I mean, I went to over 40 states. I mean, hundreds and hundreds of campaign events. We would be in ballrooms and and airplane hangers and big big, you know, I'd have three 400 people and I'd say raise your hand if you participated in a poll in the last 6 months and there would be three hands out of 300. And I saw that all around the country, coast to coast.

Um, you had CNN reported uh the week before the election, it was on a Monday morning, they had a they had a story and they said that uh 15 out of the last 16 elections, the October uh uh generic ballot for Congress underrepresented Republicans by an average of four points. That was the average. So, what I was saying was not breaking news. I think everyone acknowledges the polling there's a serious problem in the polling industry. Uh it missed it yet again by a mile this time. And uh I just we've all learned that that you know you really can't put a lot of emphasis on that. Now whether the second question whether more for Magga Mike Johnson again it looked like he was about to cry and wow Magga Mike is not even committing to being a Congress member anymore. He's certainly not going to be in leadership but it sounds like he's about to quit entirely and not even be in the 120th Congress right now. Let's play this clip.

Well my my plan is here we're focused on finishing the 119th strong and we're going to do that. and I'm still in charge here till uh early January. Uh and we're going to do our duty. And after that, my uh my commitment and my objective is to help my team ensure that uh the Republican party has a very successful 120th Congress. And um and we'll see how all that develops. And that's my commitment. They know it. I I decided not to run for a minority leader. Um really the only person in the modern era that that um that decided to to uh to to to stick around and and serve in the speaker ammerita uh position was uh Nancy Pelosi. And um I I just didn't feel after a lot of prayer and reflection, I didn't feel like that was the best uh thing for me to do. Um we we we have a a leadership u election tomorrow as you know and we have uh two extraordinary guys that are running to uh lead the conference and I'm close to

both of them and we'll see how that shakes out. But um I had uh you know three years over three years now as speaker of the house. Um most of y'all didn't know I've had the last three weeks and that's okay. That's nobody did. Uh but we did it uh by a lot of patience and prayer and faith and with a great team and I I genuinely love my colleagues. Uh I have enjoyed uh leading this group and I'm I'm really grateful we got so much done.

Yes. And Magg's like all right the results were not what we hoped for but that's our system. Let's play this clip. Um the results were not what we hoped for and worked for as you all know. Uh but this is our our system. I I know without any shadow of a doubt that we left it all on the field. Um I personally raised well over half a billion dollars for this campaign cycle and I I logged enough miles uh campaigning for my colleagues to circle the globe over nine times. Um there's not much more uh that any of us could have done. Uh and that the people have have spoken. Should be noted as well that Democratic congresswoman or it's not even Democrat Haley Stevens who attacked who attacked Senator Elect Dr.

Abdul Elsad in the final days before that Michigan election and torched her entire career. She has been hanging out with the Republicans. So I guess Maggam you've got Haley Stevens right now. She was in the Republican cloak room all day chilling with the Republicans because no Democrats would talk with her. So, I guess he did pick up Haley Stevens. Bye-bye, Haley Stevens. But have you seen all these photos? We showed some earlier today of all of the new Democratic senators elect in the capital. They look like they're happy people who are ready to make a change and actually make a difference. It's so cool seeing all of them together. And then we got the news as well that Lauren Boowbert officially loses her race in Colorado's fourth congressional district. Bye-bye Lauren Boowbert. That was called a few hours ago. She will lose the fourth congressional district to Democrat Eene Licker. And uh Eileen

Licker is a veteran. Uh ran a great campaign. And remember, Lauren Boowbert moved to uh Colorado's fourth congressional district because it was even more Republican and more Trumpy. She moved from her other district to basically try to rig it for herself and she still lost to this incredible candidate. Let me show you moments ago when CNN made that call. Let's play it. Objection. CNN projecting that Democrat Eileen Lawbacker will win Colorado's fourth congressional district, unseeding Republican incumbent and reliable Trump ally Lauren Boowart.

Boowart's loss coming after she decided to run in a more conservative district last cycle in an effort to preserve her political future. Her opponent, Lawbacker, served more than three decades in the Navy and focused her campaign on affordability issues. This win growing the Democratic majority in the House to 256 seats now.

So I guess we don't have to see Lauren Boowbert running in and missing votes anymore. The Midas Touch Network was there every time she would like miss the vote and she would run and then like the vote would be closed like remember when we captured this one right over here where she missed a vote. Play this clip real quick. I know you said earlier I

remember back in 2023 this clip outside of the Capitol building where she ran up the stairs as she was missing yet another vote. I'll show you what that looked like. Play this clip.

They just closed it. They closed it. Yeah. Yeah. And then she like did this video where she lied back in 2023 and she's like, "I did a protest. There's absolutely no way to justify adding four to$6 trillion in the debt. So I did a protest vote." No, no, you just missed it. We saw you miss the vote. This was back from 2023. Play this clip.

Hey everyone, I am back in Colorado. But let's talk about DC. No excuses. I was ticked off. They wouldn't let me do my job, so I didn't take the vote. Once again, Washington's power machine shoved a multi-t trillion dollar bill down our throats, refused to allow debate or amendments, disregarded everything we fought for in January to actually allow representatives to do their jobs, and instead they served us up a crap sandwich. Call it a no-show protest. But I certainly let every one of my colleagues and the country know I was against this garbage of a bill and against bypassing the voice of each representative. Deals cut in the dark are why we are headed towards $36 trillion in debt and I refuse to be a part of it.

Got this photo over here of Senator Elect James Talerico meeting the individual who had that seat before Senator Cornin of Texas who Donald Trump pushed out. Donald Trump elevated Ken Paxton who ran one of the worst campaigns. Tyler Rico ran one of the best campaigns. He beat Paxton by like 13 to 14 points in Texas. And every Texas state office went blue. Every single one of them. And the Texas Supreme Court seats and the Texas House. But Senator Cornin um right over there being being nice with uh Senator Elect Taler Rico. You see that over there? Oh, by the way, our friends over at TMZ, Charlie Cotton, who's on Capitol Hill, he caught up with John Houston and just started mocking John Houston. So, now that you lost your race, um, talk to us like, are you happy that Donald Trump talked about your ass the entire time?

Are you happy about that? Here, play this clip. Hey, now that the dust has settled, how do you feel about the president complimenting your butt?

I I take uh compliments from the president. Uh uh very well. You know, I I appreciate I app all the things that can happen to you in a political campaign. People are saying all these neat things about you. It was nice to have somebody say something positive.

Did you laugh about it privately sort of thing? Oh, my wife and I my wife and I took the responsibility very seriously. We're going to We've been in the gym doing our lunges and our squats all the time.

That's hilarious. Maybe in your next career you should use your asset. You know what I mean?

Well, you know what? where we uh do our best to uh to uh live up to the expectations the president set for.

You could be a model. I don't I don't know about that. I think I'm a little past my prime.

Yeah. Have you got any like uh what physical trait of the presidents do you most admire if he enjoys your eyes?

Well, you know, keep that to myself. Okay. Hey, thank you, mate. I appreciate that. Cheers, mate. Oh. Oh, TMZ also caught up with Lauren Boowbert moments ago as well. Here's what she was saying. She's not officially conceding it. Let's play this clip.

CNN's called your Ricks. Yeah. But you still feel like you think I'm Listen to CNN.

You still think you got a shot? No. No. No. So, listen. Yes. Uh, the fat lady ain't saying song yet. Okay. So, um, anyway, we have thousands of ballots that are being cured. Those are rejected ballots and those are being cured. They'll be counted Friday. Um, there's also military and overseas ballots that are still coming in. So, there's thousands of ballots. Um, you know, and if it if it changes the outcome, it changes the outcome. And if not, we'll accept the decision.

And here is Democrat Eileen Licker declaring victory in her race, even though Lauren Boowbert has not officially tapped out yet. Play this clip.

There are going to be people around the country who hear about this race in large part due to the national prominence of Congressman Boowbert, who held the seat previously, and they are going to say, "What happened in Colorado's fourth congressional district?" And a lot of people are going to have takes on that. What is your take? What happened?

So my take is that people um people are hungry for servant leaders. You know, people are hungry for people who understand what I've always said this job is about. I've always said that it's pretty clear to me. The job description is in the title, representative. The job's not about me. It's about the people of the district. It's about the idea that they want someone who's going to actually show up for them, who's going to actually serve them, who's going to put the the needs of the people of the district above their own. And and that is what I've always said that I want to do that. I spent 34 years doing it in uniform. I'm I'm ready to deliver for people here. And I think um that's the message. Uh if you you have to you have to instill trust in people. You have to be transparent with them. You have to talk to them. You have to show up for them. And you have to listen to them. And then you have to serve them.

And that is what I am determined to do. I mean, the race is called Lauren Boowbert lost. What are we even talking about here? And then let me share this with you over here. This is Richard Ojada over here, major. He's a retired major in the military. And he said that my wife Kelly got gave me hand sanitizers with all these politicians around. I got to make sure my hands are sanitized. Shaking all of these hands. Here's what he had to say. Let's play this clip.

Richard, you're going to be meeting a lot of politicians this week. You bringing anything to keep yourself prepared?

I actually am. I am bringing hand sanitizer because not everybody's hands are clean. Now, I want to bring in the interview I did moments ago with Democratic Congress member elect Richard Ojada. Uh, veteran, incredible guy. Let's bring let's bring in this interview right over here. Now, I want to bring in Congressman Elect Oha, retired major Oha, Congressman elect. Great to see you over there. Winning big in North Carolina's ninth congressional district, defeating the MAGA Republican incumbent Richard Hudson, who actually led the entire Republican House strategy. You took down the MAGA Republican in charge of that and you've come out swinging.

Congressman, you posted first Hegzip then Homeman belt to ass hold them accountable. Then today you said that's the philosophy right there, launching the new belt to ass congressman from North Carolina. Talk to us about that. Congressman,

hey, look, I I didn't uh, you know, make it to Congress to come up here and allow things to just go unnoticed. You know, we absolutely need to hold these people accountable. I think it's time for us to impeach people like Pete Hegth and RFK Jr. Uh, but when it comes to Donald Trump, what I would like to do is I would like to investigate him thoroughly and let America watch because if we impeach Donald Trump, they're going to martyr him. But if we investigate him, January 6, classified documents, Epstein files, and let the American people watch all of it, then finally, I believe we will finally be able to wake people up in this country. You're someone who doesn't hesitate to speak their mind for those who knew you before you ran. And right now, you're just calling it like it is. Talk to us about what people can expect from you now representing North Carolina's ninth and just being there on

Capitol Hill. Yeah, it's it's time for us to, you know, start doing things for the American people, for the workingclass people. Uh it's time for us to start putting money in their pockets and stop giving every single penny that we find in and shoving it into the pockets of somebody who has more money than they could spend in a thousand lifetimes. It's time for us to stop caring about the billionaires so much and start caring about the people that wake up every morning, put on their work clothes, and bust their humps to feed their families because those are the people that I'm working for.

talk about your background in the military, how that's informed your run for this congressional seat and now that you're there, there's clearly a lot of oversight needed into this catastrophic war in Iran. Now, you've been into combat, you've seen what war actually looks like up front. So, talk to us about that.

So, the first thing I want people to understand is that in the military, when you are told you're going to be deploying to a combat zone, there's training that is involved. And it's not just training for the soldiers, it's also training for the families. And you know, this deployment, this com this war, you know, they people in on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a brigade combat team kissed their w their their spouses and their children, and they left and they thought, "We'll be back in a week just a show of force." And when they got there, they were told it's a year-long deployment. Those families were not prepared for this. And that is absolutely unacceptable. unacceptable.

Uh people deserve better than that. And that is an absolute fact. And it bothers me that we have so many people that like to rattle the drums of war and they have no idea what the ramifications are. They don't look at what what it's going to do to the soldier, sailor, airman, marine, and they don't think about what it's going to do to their families. And that's exactly what's been going on. And and then there have been a lot of things that have been done wrong that need to be addressed. You know, we don't kill people uh in the Caribbean and just think it's no big deal. We don't we don't bomb a school that kills 160 plus little girls and just say that that's that's water under the bridge.

It's not. Crimes have been committed. Now, I don't think we should have been involved in this catastrophic war in the first place, but even just from a military tactical perspective, like let's say you're a neocon and you wanted it, like which I I vehemently disagree with, but when you have to look at it, I mean, I want to get your perspective just from a military tactical perspective. We now have moved an aircraft carrier group out of the Pacific. We don't have any there anymore. We have these two aircraft carriers that are a thousand kilometers deep into the Arabian Sea. Our navy is being basically used as a way to, I don't know, help transport oil a little bit. And then tankers get struck in the straight of Hormuz while the admiral who's in charge of Sencom is doing a podcast about eating French fries and playing basketball that I saw them post.

And while Donald Trump is out there saying, "Is it going to be a deal? If I'm going to blow him up, I'm going to blow him up. I'm going to see." And this unpredictability to me, this utter lack of leadership, you know, I'm used to seeing military leaders who are nonpartisan, who are deeply serious people who are just boom boom here, here strategy, and I'm just seeing like um it looks like a failed Trump casino, not our proud military. And I hear a lot of that from our military family member base who watches the show.

Look, you know, at the end of the day, anybody who has graduated from the command general staff college or the war college would know that anything that you do with Iran would automatically shut down the straight of Hormuz. You know, this was Pete Hegth and Donald Trump moving on something. And it bothered me that at least I mean, I guess I guess senior leaders probably told them that it was wrong and those those are the ones that lost their jobs potentially. But I mean this was this was absolutely the wrong way to go. Everything about this was wrong. And look at what it has done to this country. People can't afford to put groceries on in their in their refrigerators. People can't afford to put gas in their cars. Farmers are losing their farms because they can't they can't operate their machinery because diesel was too high. You know this, somebody should have thought about this because anybody who has anything

between their ears would have known that if you hit Iran, the straight of Hormuz is going to shut down. And now Iran says they're not going to open it. As long as Donald Trump is sitting in that seat, they're not going to open it. And people in this country are struggling greatly.

Talk to us about your congressional race because, you know, first off, I've known you for a very long time. You and I have known each other since early summer of 2020. And when you ran and everybody doubted you, you would text me and you would say, "Ben, I'm going to win this race." And you would keep me updated from time to time. And I'd respond with, you know, I'm rooting for you. Or an emoji or let's go, you know, and then it started picking up momentum. You're like, "I told you, Ben, don't underestimate it. This campaign is growing." And you weren't just running against anybody. I mean, again, you were running against incumbent Richard Hudson, who led the entire House strategy for Congress and you you won that. Talk to us about the race and now being there today, how surreal it must feel.

Yeah. So, uh, you know, 22 months ago, we knew that if we were going to take on the chair of the NRCC, we were going to have to go non-stop. And I'm going to tell you right now, for 22 months, we have went non-stop. Three to five events a day, no weekends off. And that's what we did. And you know, we showed up. We put boots on the ground. And that was the big thing there is I went to areas and told people that didn't even know what Richard Hudson looked like because Richard Hudson was a chair of the NRCC. He spent all his time traveling the country raising money for the Republican party. And 18 months ago, they thought that they was going to win this race without having to spend a single penny.

And then the last month and a half, you got Republicans that are angered because they're not getting any money. and the money that is coming in is going to try to protect the chair of the NRCC. So, uh, you know, we did everything right. And, uh, we knew we knew that if we did that, we could win this race. And I'll tell you, it was pretty tough because on election night, we started with a 30,000 vote lead and we were like, "Oh, this will be over in in 30 minutes." And then it went to 17,000. Then it went to 11,000. Then it went to 7,000. And it was at 5,500. And I'm sitting there at my desk and I'm thinking to myself, "We've worked so hard." And remember, my father was upstairs in the bed and I thought to myself, I don't want to ever have to walk in there and tell him, "Dad, we we fell short because he has been my biggest fan." And he passed away two nights ago, three nights ago. But, uh, we were sitting there and I started

looking at where are the votes that are still waiting to come in and I looked and it was Cumberland County. That's that's Fort Bragg. That's that's that's that's Fagatville, North Carolina. and them's my people. So, I knew right then I said to myself, "He can't catch me. There's no way he can catch me." And then all of a sudden, the side door opened and and a person on my staff said, "It's official. You can announce victory." And it went wild. And I went upstairs and I I I leaned into my father and I said, "Hey pops, we did it. We made it to Congress." And he had the biggest smile. And I'm sure you saw that video. It went viral. But you know what?

I got that video for the rest of my life. And I know for a fact that my dad died a very proud man because he saw his son make it to Congress. So I will take that with me forever. Uh and it's been amazing and it's been a whirlwind. And I'm now here in Washington DC for freshman orientation. We are just now, you know, we are finishing up day one of the orientation and it's drinking from a fire hose. But it is just so humbling that, you know, last night I was sitting on the House floor and even though me and and and Mike Johnson probably don't see eye to eye on anything, when we were sitting there, he said, "Where's Richard Oetta?" And I raised my hand and he said to me, he said, he said this in front of everybody. He said, "I lost my father three days before I become a member of Congress." And at that moment, you know, I can't hate him. We can disagree, but I can't hate him. That man spoke my

father's name on the house floor, and I'm forever grateful for that. Very few people can say that.

Talk to us if you can. A lot of our audience would have seen that video of your father, but just to remind our audience maybe who haven't seen it, what happened, you know, he was literally hanging on. his remaining days to see his son win. He was your role model. You told them we win and then he passed away. He was literally hanging on to life for remind our viewers who may not have seen it.

So my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's six years ago and they told us four years. So we got an extra two years with my father. And uh every single day when I come home on this campaign, I had to sit down and tell him, "Did you give a speech? Who did you talk to?" You know, and I he just wanted to to to hear that. He wanted to be a part of that. And I really do believe that he held on. I believe he held on to life just long enough to see his son make it. Uh and and I'll tell you, you know, it's it's so humbling. Uh before he passed, he was holding my sister's hand and my sister leaned in and he was completely, you know, there was no emotion. He was for the for 24 hours, he was pretty much out of it. But Santana leaned forward and she said, "Don't you worry about mama. Richie and I Richie and we were going to take care of her."

And he squeezed her hand hard. And then she left there and went into the restroom. When she come out and sit down, the nurse come in and said, "I got to check his vitals and said, "He's gone." And I really believe that seeing his son make it to Congress and knowing that we're going to take care of a mom, he's okay.

Congressman Richard Oja, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you and congrats on the big victory.

Thank you everybody. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 7 million subscribers. WTF America is officially out now. My brothers and I wrote it, but this book is also about you, the millions who refuse to back down when it mattered most. Scan the QR code, click the link in the description, or find it anywhere books are sold, and order your copy today.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!"?

Magga Mike Johnson (Host), Haley Stevens (Guest), Lauren Boebert (Guest), Eileen Licker (Guest), Richard Ojada (Guest).

What is "🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!" about?

A conservative speaker, Mike Johnson, is portrayed as distressed as many Republican members skip votes during the lame-duck session, while Democrats show higher attendance and push for impeachment-related actions against Hegseth, with potential cross-party support extending into the incoming Congress. The piece highlights attendance disparities, looming impeachment moves, and shifting political…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

36 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Congress, Mike Johnson, Ben Meiselas, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Donald Trump. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "🚨MAGA Mike FREAKS OUT as NO ONE SHOWS!!!!"?

The episode runs 27 min; the transcript is about 5,131 words in 53 timestamped sections.

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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 November 10, 2026.