UH OH! Trump COLLAPSES in Florida at WORST TIME!!!

What this episode is about

Donald Trump's approval ratings in Florida are declining sharply, now at a net negative 7.5%, posing significant challenges for him and MAGA Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Key losses for Trump-endorsed candidates, including a Democrat's unexpected victory in a traditionally Republican district and a historic Democratic win in the Miami mayoral race, signal growing voter discontent and suggest a potentially unfavorable political climate for Republicans in the state.

Key takeaways

• Trump's Florida approval rating plummets to net negative 7.5%—a vivid sign of cracks in MAGA's armor.
• Ronda Santis throws a lifeline to pragmatism, recognizing that special elections aren’t just quirks—beware the warning signs.
• Florida's 27th district: Salazar's Dignity Act promises sound lofty, but is a GOP tether to a fading Trump legacy.
• Miami's electoral shift marks a 30-year Democratic drought—a tidal wave indicating voters crave change over Trump’s brand.
• Hispanic voters are drifting from GOP like a boat with a hole—if Salazar can't patch it, who will?

Who speaks in this episode?

• Richard Leandon (Host) · 11 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Maria Salazar, Dignity Act
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Dignity Act
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Maria Salazar, Richard Leandon, Miami, Maria Karina Machado
4. 9:00 – 12:00: Dignity Act, Donald Trump, Maria Karina Machado

Notable quotes from "UH OH! Trump COLLAPSES in Florida at WORST TIME!!!"

• Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are getting a rude awakening in Florida and they're looking at the midterms coming up and ain't looking good for Trump and MAGA. Some of the latest polling has.

  about Donald Trump · at 0:00

• Take a look recently there was that Miami mayor's race as well. and you had Eileen Higgins becoming the first Democrat elected the mayor of Miami in nearly 30 years when Donald…

  about Eileen Higgins · at 1:17

• Was interviewed by PBS, she said, I promise you everybody, Donald Trump is supporting my dignity act. It's called the Dignity Act because if you've been here and you're…

  about Dignity Act · at 2:36

• Congresswoman Salazar introduced legislation that would give some illegal immigrants in the country a path to citizenship. 10 Republicans signed on to what she's calling the Dignity Act. I'm.

  about Maria Salazar · at 4:27

• Let's just give a few more months. Give me two more weeks. It's all going to be better. I promise you. I want to bring in Richard Leandon. Richard, great to see you. Richard…

  about Richard Leandon · at 6:14

• Venezuelan community it's not just the Nicaraguan and the Cuban community but the Haitian community this city is one that is built by immigrants it's one that when you come…

  about Miami · at 10:15

• And people throughout the country, this is one of the top flippable seats in the entire country. I've spent my life up until this point building a company, EcoFi, that fights…

  about EcoFi · at 16:27

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Donald Trump — Person · Primary referenced political figure · 5 mentions · first at 0:00
  Central figure used to frame Florida political dynamics, polling, endorsements, immigration policy claims, and intra-GOP conflict.
• Maria Salazar — Person · Key referenced officeholder / subject of critique · 2 mentions · first at 1:47
  Discussed as the MAGA-aligned incumbent in Florida’s 27th district, criticized for immigration claims (Dignity Act), alignment with Trump, and perceived failures on constituent issues.
• Richard Leandon — Person · Main guest (candidate interviewee) · 1 mention · first at 6:18
  Interviewed as the challenger to Maria Salazar in FL-27; discusses district demographics, affordability, healthcare, immigration impacts, and campaign positioning.
• Ron DeSantis — Person · Referenced political figure (governor) commenting on elections · 2 mentions · first at 0:19
  Cited as a MAGA Republican governor commenting on special elections and implicitly distancing from Trump; name appears to be a transcript misspelling of Ron DeSantis.
  Trump's approval in Florida at net negative 7.5% and that's been decreasing by the day. You have the MAGA Republican governor out there, Ronda Santis, commenting about the…
• Maria Karina Machado — Person · Referenced foreign political figure (Venezuela opposition) · 2 mentions · first at 6:12
  Raised in discussion about Venezuela’s opposition and U.S./Florida political messaging; used to critique Salazar’s positioning on Venezuela and shifting narratives.
  Rubio said it. It's been 48 hours. Let's give us a few months until we create the stability. And I'm sure the Maria Karina Machado, let's just give a few more months. Give me…
• Eileen Higgins — Person · Referenced local political figure (election example) · 2 mentions · first at 1:22
  Mentioned as winning Miami’s mayoral race as a Democrat, used as evidence of shifting political environment in Miami/FL-27 area.
• Lee Wham Gans — Person · Referenced candidate (Trump-endorsed) in election example · 1 mention · first at 0:39
  Cited as a Trump-endorsed candidate who lost a Texas special election, used to illustrate underperformance of Trump-backed candidates.
  Where the Democrat overperformed by plus 31 points and won in a plus 17 Trump district by a plus4 margin against a Trump endorsed candidate named Lee Wham Gans. Taylor Remitt…

Companies & orgs

• EcoFi — Company · Business focus · 3 mentions
  Company founded by Richard Leandon, mentioned in the context of his campaign and its focus on fighting climate change.

Concepts & topics

• Dignity Act — Concept · Key argument · 5 mentions · first at 2:43
  Legislation discussed as a promise by Congresswoman Salazar regarding immigration, but criticized for lacking a pathway to citizenship.

Places & events

• Miami — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 7:11
  Primary location discussed in the context of political races and immigration issues, particularly in Florida's 27th congressional district.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are getting a rude awakening in Florida and they're looking at the midterms coming up and ain't looking good for Trump and MAGA. Some of the latest polling has Trump's approval in Florida at net negative 7.5% and that's been decreasing by the day. You have the MAGA Republican governor out there, Ronda Santis, commenting about the Texas special elections, including the most recent one for state senate district number nine, where the Democrat overperformed by plus 31 points and won in a plus 17 Trump district by a plus4 margin against a Trump endorsed candidate named Lee Wham Gans. Taylor Remitt went on to win that race. And Ronda Santis writes, "Special elections are quirky and not necessarily projectable regarding a general election. That said, a swing of this magnitude is not something that can be dismissed. Republicans should be cleareyed about the political

1:00 environment heading into the midterms. And day by day, Dantis is throwing the Trump regime under the bus even more. That's a story to keep on following. And I saw he came out against data centers and a lot of the AI initiatives of the Trump regime recently as well. Um, you take a look recently there was that Miami mayor's race as well. Um, and you had Eileen Higgins becoming the first Democrat elected the mayor of Miami in nearly 30 years when Donald Trump the same way he endorsed that MAGA candidate in Texas. He endorsed uh the mayoral Republican candidate Gonzalez in Miami who suffered a massive loss there. You know, and that brings us really to Florida's 27th congressional district right here where you have a big race coming up. You have this MAGA Republican candidate, Maria Salazar. Her parents and family fled Cuba. And her whole thing was that she was protecting the population from socialism and dictators.

2:01 And then she hoisted up Donald Trump who was a dictator and who does socialism for the billionaires. and uh she's been saying and promising her constituents all along that uh we promise you, you know, Donald Trump is not going to do immigration raids. He's not going after people who have been here for a long time. He's only going after criminals. So the day after the presidential election back on this is by the way is what she's been saying. She's been MAGA through and through. And so I'll just give you one clip for example. the day after the presidential election when she was interviewed by PBS, she said, "I promise you everybody, Donald Trump is supporting my dignity act. It's called the Dignity Act because if you've been here and you're hardworking and you're an immigrant, you have nothing to worry about at all. You're good. It's only the violent criminals." Trump told me, he promised me we're going to get this act

3:00 passed. Even if we don't get the act passed, he supports it. Watch what she said on PBS the day after the election.

3:06 I am sure that we're not that the Trump administration is not going to be targeting those people who have been here for more than five years that have American kids that don't have criminal records that have been working in the economy and paying taxes. I am sure that they're going to hone in on the criminals who arrived less than four years ago because I wrote the dignity act and I am the first one who understands that you have to give some type of dignity to those who have been here for more than 5 years. people who have roots in the country, not people who are coming to commit crimes.

3:37 If if I can just clarify from you, have you received those kinds of of details from anyone in a potential Trump administration? Because so far, what we've heard is proposal for mass deportations. We have about 30 seconds left. Have you gotten those assurances?

3:50 Mass deportation to those who are committing crimes who have been here for less than 5 years. you understand that you have th millions of undocumented who are contributing with the economy and are helping our country to be a better one.

4:06 Checking in on the Trump administration. You support what she just said? She said that she spoke to Trump. You read the legislation. You're with it. It's not what you were doing. You were doing You were attacking hardworking people here in this country and American citizens as well. Let's check in with the White House and see what they had to say recently.

4:27 Congresswoman Salazar introduced legislation that would give some illegal immigrants in the country a path to citizenship. 10 Republicans signed on to what she's calling the Dignity Act. I'm curious what the White House's position is on the legislation and if the president would veto this bill if we needed it to discuss. Uh from my understanding, the White House nor the president has actually read through this legislation. We've been focused on of course the one big beautiful bill which passed which is another historic accomplishment of this president in record time. The genius act this week the recision recisions package that's been the

4:58 No, they haven't read it. They don't support it. They haven't read it. They don't support it. So Congresswoman Salazar now says, you know, Hispanics are leaving the GOP in large numbers. We got issues. And then uh here's what she says about uh about Machado, the former leader of Venezuela or the opposition leader rather of Venezuela. Let's play this clip.

5:20 The America first agenda. Sorry. America first agenda. Yes. So just real quickly if you can, Maria Machado, you you just heard what uh Congressman Crow said about her not being part of this at least the initial stage of this plan. I know that you traveled to Oslo with her. Was she disappointed to hear that they're elevating they're allowing the elevation of the vice president to run the country for now?

5:45 Well, I have not been able to talk to her, but I do know that she is very much pro America and she dedicated that uh Nobel Peace Prize to the president. We have to put things into context and the opposition within within Venezuela understands that we need to this Deli lady who swore herself in and that we have to work with her for now. But Marco Rubio said it. It's been 48 hours. Let's give us a few months until we create the stability. And I'm sure the Maria Karina Machado,

6:14 let's just give a few more months. Give me two more weeks. It's all going to be better. I promise you. I want to bring in Richard Leandon. Richard, great to see you. Richard, uh, executive entrepreneur over there in Miami. You're running against Maria Salazar in the 27th Congressional District. You know, just people know her background. She was like a newscaster in the area. You know, she she ran making all of these promises and she's she lies about everything. And it's very dangerous lies because she lured her community into basically a death trap and now it's like a Ponzi scheme where she keeps moving the goalpost as her people and and the district is under attack. Talk to us about the district that you're running for.

6:58 Absolutely. So this district is in many ways the key district here in Florida. It it covers the heart of Miami. You mentioned Eileen Higgins mayoral victory. A big part of this district is the city of Miami where she won. It is a district that is heavily Cuban, heavily Venezuelan, basically pan Latin American. And you nailed every piece of this where she's been with Trump every step of the way. She has said, like you said in the clip that these that we're only going to focus on criminals, only to focus on criminals. And yet uh here this district is also the one within our backyard is Alligator Alcatraz and that prison camp out there where she went out to the site toward it and said the beds were pretty comfortable. So this is a congresswoman that is basically a weather vein. She leads from behind on every issue. Um you know one of the big things that she has done is um not support the Venezuelan community. You

7:54 mentioned Maria Coran Machado, but also Venezuelans here in South Florida have lost temporary protected status while the same Maduro regime is in power. She has not stood up to administration when Cubans have had double the number of deportations this year than they've had last year. A lot of seniors, many of them of Cuban descent, uh have been left in with in fear because she initially did not support expanding the SNAP benefits that almost were cut. She has supported the Caroline Lev talked about the big beautiful bill. She voted to cut uh a lot of programs for the seniors in her district. This district has the large one of the largest numbers of Obamacare recipients in the entire country. and she is one who cut the tax credits that made it affordable. Some of the people in my district I speak to, their their insurance bills have gone from $450 to over $1,200 a month. So, this is a congresswoman that has

8:50 repeatedly failed. The difference now from previously is that people have caught on to this. I go into a lot of spaces uh with people who voted Trump three times, Salazar multiple times, and they talk about how they're fed up with her. She's never in the community. She's focused on political theater, not the real problems in our community. And you know, and the fact is her only real solution to this problem, you mentioned the dignity act. It's a it's not a pathway to any kind of citizenship. There is no pathway to citizenship in that law. Uh it's a penalty box. It requires immigrants who come here to pay additional fees. It is one that makes sure that we have a second class of citizen here in the United States.

9:27 Something that is completely against the entire concept of the American dream. And she is someone that uh has failed this community at every turn. And and that's a big reason why I'm running,

9:37 right? I mean, she's a total fraud. I mean, she said this Dignity Act is going to make sure everybody here is protected. We've got your back. Mass deportations does not mean mass deportations. When Trump says he's coming for you regardless of your background, he's he's not actually going to be doing that. I got your back. So then Trump revokes temporary protected status. He goes after um hardworking people, just people who are here, family members, children. We see the which by the way is a big one here right now is the Haitians right so the Haitians only recently got uh restored we have a huge Haitian community down here in South Florida so pardon the interruption but this is something that it's not just Venezuelan community it's not just the Nicaraguan and the Cuban community but the Haitian community this city is one that is built by immigrants it's one that when you come here you could tell

10:23 that Spanish in many ways is the first language um and so you know this is this is a congresswoman that is never shows up in the community has never hosted a single public town hall her entire time in office. And so a lot of times when I speak to people, I said, "What do you think is going to be different in the next five months that didn't happen the last 5 years?" She's only passed and written and passed one bill her entire time in Congress. And it's guess what? About birds. So she is someone who literally has been ineffective as a congresswoman. And and people are ready for a change,

10:53 right? So, so then she's rooting for the invasion of Venezuela because she has to move the goalpost in her Ponzi scheme cuz now if she can get Maria Karina Machado, the opposition leader installed as the leader and start, you know, reuniting families with Venezuela a after a lot of the TPS has been revoked and people being deported to a repressive regime and having these atrocities. In her mind, she's like, "Okay, that's my that's my out. Look, we we got Machado. I kept my And then Donald Trump's like, "Yeah, Machado doesn't have respect of the people in Venezuela. I'm gonna go with the Maduro regime. I'm going to go with Deli Rodriguez because Trump opens up a Qatari bank account to sell the oil there to his rich oligarch friends to then give himself the money and hide it in Qatari bank accounts. makes Machado give him the Nobel Prize like the the actual physical medal

11:51 framed by the way like a frame frame and it's just like the it's like mocking your dro it's like it's it's the it's I can't think of anything worse to do but you're saying people are finally waking up like you're seeing like when was the final thing because I saw videos you know still you know of little Havana you know uh five months ago and people would be like well you know I don't like his policy here. I don't like his immigration policy, but I do like his policy on, you know, transgender sports. And I'm like, what are you even talking about? You're you're an immigrant. The policy is to get rid of you. What are you talking what you're So so where are we now?

12:30 Look, it's it's it's very hard to treat people in Miami. And especially a lot of times nationally, the Democratic Party has tried to treat Hispanic people as a monolith. It is not the case at all. It it breaks down very much by age, how many generations have been here. Um, you know, very much there is an immovable group which is the very old school Cuban community, but there are more recent arrivals as well. Um, I will tell you for a fact that down here it may sound silly to many folks listening, but um, the attack of socialist does land here in South Florida because many of these people have uh, fled regimes that have declared themselves that. And so, for example, I was on a Telmundo interview where they asked me like, "What do you think about the Democratic Party being viewed as socialist and communist?" And I said, "Well, only one of us has created hundreds of jobs. I have, but my opponent's created none. Which one of us

13:20 is the socialist?" The answer is none of us. But that's the kind of energy that we as Democrats need to focus on down here to combat that. And that's the kind of energy that then once I can clear the mind of that sort of like spectre of Castro kind of rising up here in South Florida, we're all dealing with the same issues here. Um I could tell you at the at the presidential level, I've had people tell me Greenland was the last straw, that, you know, these the the the murders of two American citizens in Minnesota was the last straw. Um, you know, today we have a post we saw where, you know, the Obamas are being portrayed as monkeys being posted by the president. Everyone's kind of having their own last straw. But the unifying factor that unites everyone is the fact that Miami has been since COVID one of the most unaffordable cities in this entire country. And when we all when I talk to you about the impact that the

14:14 big bad ugly whatever the heck bill you want to call it these days has had on this community it's had an enormous negative impact on seniors on young people. I talk about and I talk about my policies in the terms of freedom because I think every Dem every candidate has their own district in a district like mine which is purple leads slightly Republican but is key to us flipping the house and maintaining it. I talk about the fact that you can't make it in America if you're not free to be healthy. If you don't have access to health insurance, you can't make it in this country if you don't have the freedom to raise your family because you can't offend afford to send them to preschool, which down here is incredibly expensive. That you're not free if you can't afford a home of any kind and get a roof over your head. And you're not free if our seniors can't retire with dignity. And when I talk about the fact

15:06 that if we don't set as the Democratic party a foundation for people to be successful, then nobody can achieve the American dream, that is where I break through a lot of the partisan barriers because most people at a values level agree that everyone deserves a fair shot. Um, but that's that's kind of the way I'm breaking through. Everyone's different in doing it, but couching the my my values and the same ones I've built in my business, which fights climate change uh into this campaign is how I is how I reach these people. And it's been incredibly effective so far.

15:36 Yeah. You know, it's just so fascinating because to me it's so obvious that Trump is the Castro.

15:42 You know, Trump is the Maduro. Trump is that guy. And part of being that guy is to tell you, I'm not that guy. And accuse everything else of exactly what you're doing. He's doing price controls. He is doing the same exact type of repression against freedom of speech. He's the one hoisting up the oligarchy and repressing everybody else. But I could go on and on that forever. Give me before we go though, um, two things. One, where could people learn more about the campaign and just your final message out there to people in your district and to the rest of the country right now who may be seeing you for the first time?

16:18 Yeah, so you can find us at richard.vote vote Richard for Congress on social media. And I think what's important to understand um both people in my district and people throughout the country, this is one of the top flippable seats in the entire country. Um you know, I've spent my my my life up until this point building a company, EcoFi, that fights climate change, but bringing businesses into the climate fight. Um, and a district like this is key to Democrats not just flipping the House this time, but maintaining a majority for years to come to make sure that we can not just roll back the damage this administration has done, but also bring this country towards a better future. And so to those across the United States, it's important for you to know that you're paying attention to these districts, focusing on these flippable seats. What that does is that also builds Beach Head to start pulling Florida back, which we all know

17:11 has gone the crazy direction over the last few years. Uh, and making sure that when it comes time to presidential elections, we continue to have the kind of infrastructure that we need to flip states that have drifted more in a red direction. And so, um, I have the ability to do that because I have a business background, but I've I've given paid parental leave in my company. I pay people well, what they're worth. I, you know, generous paid time off. I have instilled democratic values into every aspect of my life and now is the time for us to go out in the community, point out all the ways this administration has failed and and flip the US House and the Senate and make sure we can actually deliver real results for people. And that's that's entirely what I'm focused on.

17:52 Richard Leundon, appreciate you. Appreciate you. Thanks for having me on. Everybody, hit subscribe. Let's get to six million subscribers.

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Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "UH OH! Trump COLLAPSES in Florida at WORST TIME!!!"?

Richard Leandon (Host).

What is "UH OH! Trump COLLAPSES in Florida at WORST TIME!!!" about?

Donald Trump's approval ratings in Florida are declining sharply, now at a net negative 7.5%, posing significant challenges for him and MAGA Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Key losses for Trump-endorsed candidates, including a Democrat's unexpected victory in a traditionally Republican district and a historic Democratic win in the Miami mayoral race, signal growing voter discontent…

What is mentioned in this MeidasTouch episode?

10 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Donald Trump, Maria Salazar, Dignity Act, Richard Leandon, Miami, EcoFi. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "UH OH! Trump COLLAPSES in Florida at WORST TIME!!!"?

The episode runs 18 min; the transcript is about 3,462 words in 31 timestamped sections.

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