Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes

Episode Title: Fox News Practically BEGS Trump To Admit Prices Are Up
Host: Andrew Egger
Guest: Will Saletan
Date: November 13, 2025

Main Theme & Episode Purpose

This episode explores how Donald Trump responds to widespread voter anxiety about the economy—especially rising prices for everyday goods—amid pressure from even sympathetic Fox News hosts to acknowledge these concerns. Andrew Egger and Will Saletan analyze Trump's public refusals to admit prices are up, the mainstream conservative media’s efforts to get him to address economic pain, and what this all signals about Trump’s relationship with reality, his base, and the future of the Republican party.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Public Perception vs. Trump's Economic Narrative

• Widespread Anxiety: Egger opens by highlighting the current public worry over the economy, jobs, and especially prices.

  “You might have noticed there is a lot of anxiety around the economy right now. … A lot of people telling a lot of pollsters that they're worried about prices, that they're worried about jobs.” (Andrew Egger, 00:45)

• Trump’s Denial: Trump is repeatedly claiming that the economy is strong, that costs are “way down,” and accusing critics of manufacturing a conspiracy against him.

2. Fox News Hosts Attempt to Get Through to Trump

• Bret Baier Interview

  • Fox News' Bret Baier gently presses Trump after poor GOP election results, asking why voters seem unhappy with the economy.

    “You said that the shutdown and your name not being on the ballot were big factors. ... Do you see that at all?” (Bret Baier, quoted by Trump, 02:34)

  • Trump responds by touting $2 gasoline and groceries being “way down”—facts that Saletan and Egger immediately debunk.
  • Saletan: “First of all, are you paying $2 for gas? … The average price in the United States for a gallon of gas is $3.” (03:43)

• Laura Ingraham Interview

  • Ingraham lists goods with rising prices (e.g., beef, coffee, auto repairs) and tries to prompt Trump to empathize or propose solutions.
  • Trump doubles down:

    “It's a con job by the Democrats. … Costs are way down.” (Donald Trump, 05:03–05:36)

  • Saletan notes Trump’s consistent detachment: “He's adding now the media conspiracy. … Is the cost of everyday goods something that a politician can successfully lie to the public about?” (05:36)

3. The Limits of Political Spin

• Nature of Trump’s Response
  • Egger and Saletan discuss whether Trump is lying, spinning, or genuinely delusional.

    “Do you think he thinks this is the best way to actually, like, politically triangulate … Or … incapable of grasping the broader picture of, like, seeing how things are out there on the street?” (Andrew Egger, 07:19)

  • Saletan leans toward delusion:

    “Trump is just not like that … It just bounces right off him.” (Will Saletan, 07:59)

• Polling & Voter Reality
  • Even when prodded about polls showing voter anxiety, Trump denies their legitimacy:

    “I don't know that they are saying, I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we've ever had. … It's largely because of my election, but it's also largely because of tariffs.” (Donald Trump, 09:36)

  • Saletan: “So the polls are fake … I don't believe these polls that are telling me that you're unhappy. … A whole other level of delusionality.” (09:51)

4. The Tariffs Paradox

• Trump touts tariffs as economic wins, despite economists citing them as a key driver behind rising costs:

  “What is one of the primary drivers for what, what's … pushing up prices this year are Donald Trump's tariffs.” (Egger, 12:03)

5. Cracks in the MAGA Narrative: Marjorie Taylor Greene

• Internal Dissent: Even MAGA icon Marjorie Taylor Greene is openly acknowledging that voters are struggling with higher prices.
• Trump’s Dismissal: When confronted, Trump dismisses Greene:

  “I don't know what happened to Montre. Nice woman, but I don't know what happened. She's lost her way, I think.” (Donald Trump, 13:58)

• MAGA = Trump: Trump insists, “MAGA was my idea. … I know what Maga wants better than anybody else. And Maga wants to see our country thrive.” (Donald Trump, 14:28)
• Saletan summarizes:

  “It sounds to me like this is what the French would call 'MAGA, c'est moi.' … There seems to be this division between Trump and Greene over whether to listen to MAGA or … just impose the President's version of reality.” (Will Saletan, 14:37)

6. Will Reality Finally Intrude?

• Egger and Saletan ponder if Trump's “impose my vision” strategy, successful in the past, will falter now that it clashes with everyday economic realities:

  “His ability to just sort of like snap his fingers and impose a reality is not functioning the way we have often seen it function before.” (Egger, 15:01)

  • They point to cracks in GOP unity, recent election setbacks, and MAGA’s internal doubts.
• Saletan’s Closing Prediction:

  “If ever it's going to fail, it should fail here … if reality is gonna intrude, this is the issue on which it's gonna happen.” (Will Saletan, 18:21)

• Egger’s Final Note:

  “Hopefully things just turn out great … I'm not 100% sure that's the road that we're headed down right now.” (Andrew Egger, 19:39)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Donald Trump thinks I'm doing better than I think I'm doing. … It's a little different when the delusion is that you, Mr. And Mrs. America are feeling better than you actually are.” (Will Saletan, 01:33)
• “Groceries are way down, other than beef.” (Donald Trump, 02:48)
• “The average price in the United States for a gallon of gas is $3. It's not $2.” (Will Saletan, 03:43)
• “It's a con job by the Democrats … it's such a rigged system. So are you ready? Costs are way down.” (Donald Trump, 05:03–05:36)
• “Didn't we all just live through this? … When prices are spiking … voters feel that pain. And I think that is the real disconnect.” (Andrew Egger, 05:59)
• “I think polls are fake. We have the greatest economy we've ever had.” (Donald Trump, 09:36)
• “So the polls are fake … we're going beyond the media fed this to you. … A whole other level of delusionality.” (Will Saletan, 09:51)
• “MAGA was my idea. … I know what Maga wants better than anybody else.” (Donald Trump, 14:28)
• “If ever it's going to fail, it should fail here … if reality is gonna intrude, this is the issue on which it's gonna happen.” (Will Saletan, 18:21)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:45–01:33] – Setting the stage: Economic anxiety and Trump’s denial
• [02:34–03:43] – Bret Baier’s Fox News interview; Trump’s economic claims debunked
• [04:49–05:36] – Laura Ingraham’s direct questioning; Trump accuses media of a conspiracy
• [07:49–09:51] – Discussion of Trump’s delusional vs. strategic denial of reality
• [13:44–14:37] – Marjorie Taylor Greene’s remarks, Trump’s response, and “MAGA, c'est moi” moment
• [15:01–18:21] – Analysis of the limits and future of Trump’s narrative control

Engaging Takeaways

• Even Trump’s political allies and sympathetic media are alarmed at his unwillingness to acknowledge economic pain—potentially threatening his “reality-bending” hold on the GOP.
• Trump’s insistence on his own version of reality is increasingly tested as material issues like prices hit voters directly.
• Both Egger and Saletan agree: if there is a political reckoning for denialism, it will come over something as unavoidable as Americans’ grocery bills.

This episode offers a lively, skeptical, and insightful discussion on Trump’s economic messaging and the limits of political spin when it collides with voters’ lived experiences.