PREVIEW: The Friday Edition. - Of course, Trump is doing some good.

Summary

Tangle Podcast: "PREVIEW: The Friday Edition – Of Course, Trump is Doing Some Good."

Host: Isaac Saul
Date: May 22, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this special Friday edition of Tangle, host Isaac Saul shares a personal opinion piece addressing a recurring listener question: “Has Trump done any good in his current term?” Saul—known for his nonpartisan, critical stance—reflects on criticisms of Trump’s second term, but also aims to acknowledge positive outcomes and popular policy moves. The episode is a candid, nuanced exploration of political accomplishments and public sentiment, aimed at maintaining Tangle's dedication to honest, independent analysis.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. Host’s Critical Stance and Audience Feedback

• (02:22) Isaac Saul opens with a frank summary of his dissatisfaction with Trump's presidency (“I've not been happy with the President…”). He openly references both his professional critiques and personal grievances.
• Trump holds a starkly negative -33 approval rating among independents at the time, reflecting widespread public discontent.
• Saul describes feedback from listeners who ask him to recognize any positive contributions from Trump, noting these calls come from both Trump supporters and skeptics:
  • “A lot of readers and listeners have written in saying either 'it’d be nice if you ever talked about the good things Trump is doing,' or, 'Is there any good Trump has been doing?’” (04:02)

2. The Role of Journalism and Tangle’s Mission

• Saul stresses the responsibility of the press to question those in power rather than serve as a mouthpiece:
  • “My job is not to share all the good things Trump is doing. I am not his press secretary. I am part of the press.” (04:45)
• He contextualizes Tangle as focused on controversy and honest debate, not easy praise or one-sided analysis.
• Saul mentions that overt praise generally only comes through larger retrospectives, not in regular coverage.

3. Balancing Criticism with Recognition

• Saul agrees that recognizing positive actions is fair and necessary, even if his reporting has mostly focused on criticism:
  • “Just because I have been lobbing harsh criticism at him does not mean his presidency is all rotten or all bad. It just means I've had a lot to criticize.” (05:28)

4. Criteria for What Counts as "Good"

• Saul outlines how he’s approaching his list of “good” things:
  • Not merely his personal preferences, but items with broad, bipartisan support.
  • Some positives are complex and may come with caveats (“The world is gray…”).
  • Many accomplishments (or problems) are the result of inherited situations.

5. Examples: Trump’s Accomplishments

• Prescription Drug Prices (06:24):
  • Saul highlights a major win: Trump’s expansion of Medicare drug price negotiations, building on prior administration momentum.
  • This policy resulted in “reductions well over 50% on some products” and “an estimated $6 billion in annual savings.”
  • This is noted as being widely popular and beneficial to many Americans.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Press’s Role:

  • “I believe journalists and opinion columnists should have an adversarial relationship with people in power so we should not spend time doing their work for them.” — Isaac Saul (04:50)

• On Recognizing Positive Outcomes:

  • “It just means I’ve had a lot to criticize. To that end, I figured I could write up my thoughts about what’s been good so far, both through the broad political lens, that is things that I believe are widely popular, and through more traditional metrics around presidencies.” — Isaac Saul (05:40)

• Acknowledging Nuance:

  • “A good listed here doesn’t mean I personally think it is good, but it does mean it’s the kind of thing I think a plurality or majority of Americans support.” — Isaac Saul (06:02)

• Citing Concrete Benefits:

  • “Trump built on the Biden era momentum by expanding his Medicare drug price negotiation program with reductions well over 50% on some products. These reforms contributed to an estimated $6 billion in annual savings.” — Isaac Saul (06:24)

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Important Timestamps

• [02:21] – Host’s introduction and explanation of his critical stance on Trump’s presidency
• [04:02] – Listener feedback: Requests to discuss the positive side of Trump’s term
• [04:45] – Saul articulates the press’s purpose and his approach to political praise
• [05:28] – Acknowledgement that his critiques do not mean Trump’s presidency is entirely negative
• [06:02] – Criteria for listing “good” accomplishments
• [06:24] – Highlight: Lowering prescription drug prices as a widely appreciated Trump policy move

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Summary & Takeaways

This episode is a rare, measured look at the positive impacts of Trump’s second term, led by a host who has been vocally critical. Saul bridges honest skepticism with a willingness to give credit where it’s due, providing fair context to listeners of all political stripes. The most prominent positive cited is the reduction in prescription drug costs through Medicare reforms, framed as a win not just for partisan supporters but for the majority of Americans.

Ultimately, this Friday Edition reaffirms Tangle’s commitment to open debate, nonpartisanship, and transparent journalism—even (or especially) when it means praising those usually in the crosshairs.

Transcript

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[Isaac Saul]

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening and welcome to the Tangle Podcast. This is a special Friday edition. A little personal opinion piece from me and I'm calling this one yes, of course Trump is doing some good. I've not been very happy with the President and I have not been shy about this fact. Like most independents with whom Trump currently is at a negative 33 approval rating, I have found the first 16 months of his presidency alarming, frustrating and disappointing. Less than a year into his new term, I was already writing about how things had gotten pretty bad. I've since written about the self dealing and corruption which came before the Justice Department slush fund and the IRS deal, promising to never investigate or audit his business or his family for any past tax returns. After his Praise be to Allah social media posts which included an open threat of a war crime, I said that the President seemed unwell and unfit for the job. It seems as if he innovates a new norm breaking indignity every day. And I think being honest, independent and nonpartisan necessitates calling those things out. I've harbored more personal grievances too. The President is, for example, wreaking havoc in the area where I chose to build a new home. He's bulldozing legal obstacles and ignoring public outcry to force a multi billion dollar border wall project that will needlessly destroy my favorite town in America, which happens to sit on the border of Texas and Mexico and next to one of our great national park sparks. Given these dynamics and my overt unhappiness with these first 16 months of Trump's second term, a lot of readers and listeners have written in saying either it'd be nice if you ever talked about the good things Trump is doing, or Is there any good Trump has been doing? Interestingly, these requests and questions don't just come from his most ardent supporters, but also from curious folks in the media and open minded readers on the left. My knee jerk reaction to this question is, well, my job is not to share all the good things Trump is doing. I am not his press secretary. I am part of the press. I believe journalists and opinion columnists should have an adversarial relationship with people in power so we should not spend time doing their work for them. When President Biden was in office, I very rarely if ever showered him in overt, uncomplicated praise. I never wrote a piece about all the things I liked about his administration. It's just not my style as a writer or thinker. And it's why so many on the right love tangle when Biden was president but grew frustrated with us once Trump reentered office. My other reaction is that tackling this question is not the nature of tangle. We are wading into controversy each day. Controversy necessitates multiple viewpoints, tension, argument and debate. And typically the stories we cover don't have clean answers where one side or the other is the obvious hero. Our most overt praise of political leaders or their decisions will typically come through broader retrospectives like our reviews of a presidency or a president's first year in office. We reviewed Biden's presidency and Trump's first year, for example. Yet I also recognize these readers are asking something simple Do I think Trump has done any good? And to this I think it's important to say that, well, of course, not just accomplishments that look good in my eyes, but ones that are broadly popular across the political spectrum. Just because I have been lobbing harsh criticism at him does not mean his presidency is all rotten or all bad. It just means I've had a lot to criticize. To that end, I figured I could write up my thoughts about what's been good so far, both through the broad political lens, that is Things that I believe are widely popular and through more traditional metrics around presidencies. A few notes on how I'm thinking about this list. First, a good listed here doesn't mean I personally think it is good, but it does mean it's the kind of thing I think a plurality or majority of Americans support. Of course, in many cases that does include me. Second, many of these accomplishments will have some caveats because the world is gray, not black and white, and every upside has a little downside too. Plus, most accomplishments in an administration's first year or two, along with many of their problems, are the products of inherited situations. With all that throat clearing out of the way, some thoughts. One of the biggest wins of Trump's second term is is continuing to lower prescription drug prices. Trump built on the Biden era momentum by expanding his Medicare drug price negotiation program with reductions well over 50% on some products. These reforms contributed to an estimated $6 billion in annual savings.

[John Law]

Hey everybody, this is John, Executive Producer for Tangle. We hope you enjoyed this preview of our latest episode. If you are not currently a newsletter subscriber or a premium podcast subscriber and you are enjoying this content and would like to finish it, you can go to readtangle.com and sign up for a newsletter subscription. Or you can sign up for a podcast subscription or a bundled subscription which gets you both the podcast and the newsletter and unlocks the rest of this episode as well as ad free daily podcasts, more Friday editions, Sunday editions, bonus content, interviews and so much more. Most importantly, we just want to say thank you so much for your support. We're working hard to bring you much more content and more offerings, so stay tuned. I will join you again for the daily podcast. For the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a great day y'. All. Peace.

[Isaac Saul]

Our Executive Editor and Founder is me, Isaac Saul and our Executive Producer is John Lowell. Today's episode was edited and engineered by Dewey Thomas. Our Editorial staff is led by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman with Senior Editor Will Kaback and Associate Editors Audrey Moorhead, Lindsey Knuth and Bailey Saul. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. To learn more about Tangle and to sign up for a membership, please visit our [e-mail].

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