The David Pakman Show – November 24, 2025

Episode Overview

Theme: The episode investigates the intensifying "MAGA civil war" as Donald Trump and his allies face rising internal turmoil amid worsening economic realities. David Pakman breaks down the Trump-Mamdani meeting, Marjorie Taylor Greene's resignation, policy failures like the shutdown of "Doge," and administration attempts to spin economic data. The program also covers emerging cracks in the MAGA movement, foreign influence on right-wing social media, and Trump's cognitive decline concerns.

Major Topics & Key Insights

1. Trump & Mamdani: Unexpected Camaraderie Ignites MAGA Backlash

Timestamps: 03:00–13:00

• Background: New York City’s mayor-elect, Zoran Mamdani, meets Donald Trump in D.C., a spectacle after heated exchanges labeling each other “fascist” and “communist.”
• Key Moments:
  • Mamdani is asked if he believes Trump is a fascist:
    • Trump: “That’s okay. You can just say, okay, okay. It’s easier. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.” (05:20)
• Pakman’s Analysis: Unsure if Trump is easily manipulated, a master manipulator, or simply relishes attention. Turns the usual bitter fight into a display of odd mutual respect ("politics makes strange bedfellows").
• Bombshell: Trump says he’d be “very, very comfortable” living in NYC under Mamdani:
  • Trump: “Yeah, I would. I really... Especially after the meeting. Absolutely… I want him to do a great job, and we’ll help him do a great job.” (06:48)
• Political Fallout: This undermines the GOP’s narrative—especially Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s attacks on Mamdani as a “jihadist.”
  • Trump: “No, I know, but she’s out there campaigning and you know, you say things sometimes in a campaign… I think I met with a man who’s a very rational person. I met with a man who wants to see, really wants to see New York be great again.” (09:43)
• Memorable Moment: Pakman jokes about Trump’s sudden “Village poetry slam” look after meeting Mamdani.
  • “One meeting with Mamdani, next thing you know, Trump comes out wearing a scarf and looking like he’s about to go to a poetry slam.” (11:53)

2. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Resignation: Fallout & Trump’s Retaliation

Timestamps: 13:00–20:00

• Resignation Announcement: MTG releases a video resigning from Congress effective Jan 5, 2026, citing frustration with the "political industrial complex."
• Quote:
  • MTG: “I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026.” (15:03)
• Trump’s Reaction:
  • On Truth Social:
    • Trump: “Marjorie Trader Brown, because of plummeting poll numbers and not wanting to face a primary challenger with a strong Trump endorsement where she would have no chance of winning, has decided to call it quits.” (15:38)
  • In person:
    • Trump: “We just, I just disagreed with her philosophy...She resigned because...she would never have survived a primary. But I think she’s a nice person.” (16:09)
• Pakman’s Analysis:
  • This is an enormous shock to the MAGA base—a sign of deepening internal conflict. “A bomb went off in the heart of the MAGA movement.”
  • Her resignation weakens the already “narrow Republican majority,” possibly previewing a Democrat House in 2026.
  • MTG’s future ambitions: hints at staying politically active, possibly contemplating a Senate or gubernatorial run.
• Impact: Pakman notes, “The optics of this are terrible, terrible for Donald Trump’s control of this movement. So the MAGA civil war is very real. It’s intensifying.”

3. Trump’s Policy Failure: Shutdown of “Doge”

Timestamps: 20:45–29:00

• Background: Doge—the Department of Government Efficiency, created to “root out fraud, waste, and abuse”—is shut down for being inefficient and wasting money.
• Humiliation:
  • “Trump designed an agency that was going to increase government efficiency by saving money...it was costing more than what it supposedly was able to save." (22:30)
• No Results: No prosecutions or public findings of fraud.
  • “Fraud is a crime. They talk about rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, and yet we have seen no one, no one, not a single person, face consequences of any kind...” (22:55)
• Elon Musk’s Role: Doge was branded around Elon Musk, who left when the project failed, coinciding with the collapse and quiet shuttering of Doge.
• Summary Judgment:
  • “The program to clean up DC exposed that what really needs to be cleaned up was the program to clean up DC itself…It’s like it became the punchline of its own joke.” (25:11)

4. Trump’s Social Media Meltdown & Signs of Cognitive Decline

Timestamps: 29:30–36:30

• Truth Social Rants: Trump posts AI-generated images, incoherent rants, and launches attacks at former allies.
  • “AI generated images of himself looking very strong…Time to obliterate the deep state. Nothing can stop what is coming.” (29:55)
• Attacks on MTG:
  • (See previous Trump quote, 15:38)
• Economic Spin: Trump claims economic success despite reality.
  • “I have just gotten the highest poll numbers of my political career…Stock market…prices coming down sharply from the Biden disaster…” (31:04)
• Pakman Counters: None of this is true; approval ratings are at a low, economic claims are false.
• Cognitive Decline Segment:
  • Cites Dr. John Gartner, clinical psychologist:
    • “Trump already has the most extreme version of a personality disorder...narcissism, psychopathy, paranoia, sadism…” (37:22)
    • Notes vocabulary decline, “word salad,” memory issues, and his increasingly unstable gait.
  • Dr. Gartner Prediction: “Trump will not be of competent mind by the end of Trump’s term.” (39:45)
• Implication: Real power may shift to Trump’s more extreme advisers as his cognitive capacity wanes.

5. Administration’s Economic Gaslighting & Tariff Debacle

Timestamps: 43:00–56:00

• Key Interview: Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins attempts to spin administration’s failing farm and trade policies.
  • Claims tariffs are helping farmers, while Pakman points out they're the root cause of distress.
• Memorable Quote:
  • Pakman: “The problem isn’t negotiations. The problem is tariffs. That is what is crushing these farmers...now he needs to put out a fire that he set.” (46:06)
• Word Salad on Soybeans: Officials cite imaginary purchases and exaggerated improvements:
  • “We’ve got a significant way to go…they will indeed buy or purchase 12 million metric tons or put the order in.” (49:17)
• Inflation Spin: Rollins falsely claims food prices and mortgage rates are down, wages are rising faster than ever.
  • “She just told six or so lies back to back.” (52:51)
• Deeper Analysis: Pakman (and Sorkin) highlight that gaslighting is failing because people's lived reality disproves the administration’s narrative.

6. The Tariff "Dividend" & The Supreme Court

Timestamps: 59:20–63:30

• Howard Lutnick’s Defense: Secretary Lutnick insists tariffs are “great” and argues Trump’s $2,000 "tariff dividend" checks are proof of success, despite economic evidence to the contrary.
  • “Trump partially putting out the fire he started proves starting the fire was a really great idea.” (60:18)
• SCOTUS Question: The Supreme Court is evaluating whether blanket tariffs are constitutional.
  • Lutnick: “We are going to win the case” (62:35) — Pakman is skeptical based on oral arguments.

7. Social Media Influence and Foreign Operations

Timestamps: 67:30–72:00

• Musk’s Transparency Feature Exposes Foreign MAGA Influence: The new Twitter “About this Account” feature reveals major pro-Trump accounts are run from Macedonia, Nigeria, Eastern Europe.
  • “It turns out...some of these accounts aren’t based in the United States. They aren’t who they claim to be, and it was Elon Musk’s own transparency tool that exposed them.” (69:21)
• Irony: Years of warnings about foreign influence are vindicated by Musk’s update.

8. The Russia-Ukraine “Peace Plan” Scandal

Timestamps: 72:00–73:20

• Peace Plan Favors Russia:
  • Kristen Welker to Scott Bessant: “Was this 28 point plan written by Russia?”
    • Bessant: “I have no information on that, Kristen...” (72:40)
  • The administration's refusal to deny Russian authorship on a plan beneficial only to Russia stokes further controversy.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• Trump to Mamdani: “Yeah, I would. I really. Especially after the meeting. Absolutely.” (06:48)
• Trump on Stefanik’s jihadist accusations: “No, I know, but she’s out there campaigning and you know, you say things sometimes in a campaign...” (09:43)
• Pakman (on Doge): “The program to clean up DC exposed that what really needs to be cleaned up was the program to clean up DC itself.” (25:11)
• Pakman (on administration spin): “It’s lies all the way down, all the way down.” (52:51)
• Dr. John Gartner: “Trump will not be of competent mind by the end of Trump’s term.” (39:45)
• Pakman (on administration approach): “The goal is create the feeling that everything’s fine as long as Trump’s in charge. Whatever he’s doing…is awesome.” (65:00)

Conclusion & Outlook

David Pakman’s closing arguments:

• The “MAGA civil war” is now undeniably public, as key movement figures fracture and Trump’s grip weakens.
• Economic cracks are widening; the administration’s narrative doesn't match the on-the-ground reality Americans face.
• The collapse of flagship initiatives like Doge and public infighting further expose MAGA’s shaky foundation.
• Efforts to rewrite reality cannot last indefinitely: “Ultimately, reality will win, and Trump is going to have to figure out what sort of messaging might save the House of Representatives for Republicans in 2026, if it is even savable.” (66:45)
• Finally, the bonus show teases a deeper look into the Russia-Ukraine plan, Democratic strategy in upcoming elections, and ramifications for Trump's legacy and party control ahead of 2026 and 2028.

Listeners are left with a picture of a movement in chaos, leadership in decline, and economic hardship masked by propaganda—a snapshot of American politics as the 2026 midterms approach.