Thursday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 5/21/2026

The United States Senate has abruptly shut down in protest against Donald Trump's increasingly authoritarian behavior, including a $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6th insurrectionists and a controversial $200 million ballroom project. Ben Mycelis, host of The MeidasTouch Podcast, delivers a blistering critique of Trump's foreign policy failures, from humiliating diplomatic trips to China and Russia, to his reckless attacks on NATO, Canada, and Greenland. The episode reveals that Trump's legal team has secured a self-deal with the Treasury Department, waiving all past tax claims against him and his organization—a move that could shield billions in illicit gains. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers, including vulnerable figures like Congressmember Fitzpatrick and Kylie, are publicly denouncing the slush fund, signaling a potential fracture within the MAGA coalition. The episode also exposes deep prosecutorial misconduct in high-profile cases, including the dismissal of charges against the 'Broadview Six,' and highlights how Trump's repeated false claims—like predicting the Strait of Hormuz would explode—have destroyed his credibility. As the House threatens to follow the Senate's lead in shutting down, Mycelis argues that the real crisis is not political gridlock, but the collapse of democratic norms and the rise of a right-wing fascist movement that now controls the Republican Party.