The MeidasTouch Podcast
California AG Rob Bonta Discusses Lawsuits Against Trump Regime
Sun, 11 May 2025
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Donald Trump attacking Museums across America and Meiselas interviews California Attorney General Rob Bonta on how he’s protecting museums and how he’s fighting backing against the Trump regime. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: How is the Trump regime affecting museums in the US?
The Trump regime is attacking the museums right here in Los Angeles, where I live. They're going after the Japanese American Museum in Washington, D.C. They're going after the African-American Smithsonian Museum. Throughout California, they're going after funding for museums and libraries. It's not just unique to California or D.C.
We've seen attorney generals throughout the country, whether it's been in Arizona, whether it's been wherever, I mean, Michigan, you name it.
the the trump regime is shutting down like or taking things away from museums not giving funding for critical things they're in new york they're going after cultural institutions uh a hundred and hundreds of non-profits in new york for example are having cuts theater dance museums galleries you know i i gave a speech about this yesterday where i was telling the audience i'm like i i
I don't want to be the bad guys. Like, why are we just doing as a country? I know it's not we, the mightiest mighty, like it's just cruelty for the sake of cruelty. And of course we can talk about all the other things, disappearing migrants and just the horrific, just gutting of Medicaid, the treatment of veterans and the firing of veterans.
But like, also it's like, you're going into museums, you're getting rid of artifacts, you're stopping the funding. Why? Just the cruelty is the point. This is what I saw, this out of Washington, D.C., where they were removing the artifacts for the African-American History Museum there. Play this.
Some artifacts are already being removed. Recent executive orders signed by President Trump aimed at removing what he called improper ideology could already be affecting the African-American History Museum. Civil rights activist and pastor Reverend Amos Brown says he was recently notified two of the artifacts he loaned to the museum would be returned.
One precious and most historic book the first history of the Negro race that was written by Reverend George Washington Williams
in 1880 the other a bible from when he went to demonstrations with dr martin luther king jr and jesse jackson brown says that he lent the artifacts to the smithsonian in 2016. they would always give him the option of donating the books permanently or renewing the loan but this time he wasn't asked improper ideology they're going after museums let's bring in california's attorney general ron bata
Attorney General Bonta, you've filed lawsuits here in California on this issue, and you've joined with attorney generals on many other issues, which we'll discuss. But you won two preliminary injunctions on Trump's attack on museums and education institutions in California. Can you talk about those cases and the significance of the order?
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Chapter 2: What actions are being taken by attorney generals against Trump?
OK, they're going after mental health services and getting rid of that in school. And I know you just spoke recently at a mental health symposium or spoke on the issue recently at the Hoover Institute. And so I know it's a very important issue to you. It's very important. It is an important issue. Cruelty is the point, it seems again.
We are massively under-invested when it comes to mental health. We need to do more. People need services yesterday. They need access. We have high levels of anxiety and depression and other trauma, and we need trauma-informed care. And these cutbacks are absolutely devastating. As a government, you're supposed to invest in the services and programs that meet the need, that meet the demand.
And the demand for mental health services is through the roof, and so we need to be investing and doing more, not cutting back and pulling back. And so, again, you know, the irony you point out or the hypocrisy is very appropriate when you talk about gun violence. Republicans like to say guns don't kill people, people kill people, and mental health is the issue.
And then you say, what are you doing about mental health? And then you've got crickets. And that's the truth of the hypocrisy. But it would be funny if it weren't so tragic and dangerous. And people's lives are at risk. Their health is at risk. And so it's hard to understand the endgame here of destroying critical services from the federal government. But we are seeing the human devastation.
And unfortunately, it will only continue if these unlawful and cruel actions continue.
You know, sometimes when I cover this, it feels like whack-a-mole, you know, because you have all the things that we discussed, and then it's like, oh, then Donald Trump's offending Catholics by posting AI images of himself as the Pope. right as Pope Francis passed away and everyone's in mourning. You're like, do I follow that one? Or he'll go, we need to tariff movies.
What do you even mean tariffing movies? But a lot of that's distraction. It doesn't mean necessarily that we don't cover it, but we have to stay focused on these things. And I'm sure as the Attorney General of Now, California is the fourth largest economy in the world. There are things that you see that you're probably like, stop with these distractions. We need to focus on this, this and this.
I wish there was more media attention on this. So we have an audience of now five million subscribers. What issue or issues do you think we need to be focused on more that that's not getting enough attention from you as the top law enforcement officer in California?
I'll first say that you're right. There's this flood the zone approach, shock and awe, high volume, high speed, and it is easy to be distracted. Unfortunately, many of these actions are dangerous and devastating, and a high number of them are unlawful.
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