The Majority Report with Sam Seder

Episode 3630 — Trump Tanking, Calls for Dem Executions and Champions Incompetence
Date: November 21, 2025
Host: Sam Seder
Co-hosts: Emma Vigeland, Matt Lech, Brian Vokey

Episode Overview

This episode of The Majority Report unpacks the turbulent state of U.S. politics in November 2025, focusing on President Donald Trump’s rapidly deteriorating approval numbers, his increasingly extreme rhetoric—including calls for political executions—and a string of glaring administrative blunders highlighted by the failed prosecution of James Comey. The hosts blend deep policy analysis with their signature irreverent banter, contextualizing how economic malaise, polling nosedives, and right-wing authoritarianism are shaping the political landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Economic Downturn and Polling Catastrophe for Trump

• Latest Job Numbers: Job growth in September exceeded expectations on paper (119,000 jobs), but the majority came from low-wage sectors (health care and hospitality). Manufacturing, transportation, and temp jobs dropped dramatically.
  • Sam: “We have averaged 71,000 jobs for 2025 at this point... Population growth means that we’re actually shedding jobs.” (09:00)
• Stagflation Fears: High inflation and stagnant growth are setting off alarm bells for the Fed and the public.
  • Emma: “It looks like we are in prime conditions for stagflation as well, which is what they’re concerned about.” (15:26)
• Damaging Polls: Trump's approval on the economy, even among Fox News viewers, is at historic lows.
  • Fox News Poll: Only 38% approve of Trump’s economic performance—the lowest ever recorded for him. (18:54)
  • Brian Vokey: “When your best poll has you still 14 points underwater, you know it’s truly bad.” (19:54)
  • Among independents, Trump is 43 points underwater according to new polls—an unprecedented collapse. (20:50)
• Root of the Numbers: Inflation and cost of living are overwhelming concerns driving Trump’s collapse among independents, with the public feeling pain regardless of media coverage intensity.

2. Healthcare Crisis and Democratic Weakness

• ACA’s Shortcomings: Looming subsidy expirations threaten 20 million with higher premiums; Democrats seem unprepared or unwilling to address the fallout decisively.
  • Sam: “Right now, the healthcare stuff is a complete disaster. And 10 years later… we now see the fundamental weakness of the ACA... it did not control costs in the way that it should have.” (23:43)
  • Emma: “They make money by denying you care. That is the incentive and that’s the reason that this middleman needs to be cut out.” (25:46)
• Call for Single-Payer: Both hosts underscore the need for a robust Democratic plan beyond patchwork solutions.

3. Trump’s Authoritarian Escalation: Calls for Executions

• Democrats’ Video to Military: Congressional Democrats and military/veteran officials released a video reminding service members to refuse illegal orders if issued by Trump.
  • “You can refuse illegal orders. You must refuse illegal orders.” —Democratic lawmakers’ video (40:36–41:35)
• Trump’s Reaction: Trump’s Truth Social posts escalate to calling Democrats “traitors” and suggesting execution for “seditious behavior.”
  • Trump: “Seditious behavior from traitors. Lock them up... Seditious behavior punishable by death.” (45:10, 46:27)
  • Emma (on Slotkin’s security now): “She has 24/7 security from Capitol Police because of this... the death threats she’s gonna get…” (51:24)
• Conservative Media Amplifies: Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt and Fox News attempt to flip the narrative, accusing Democrats of undermining the military, while essentially arguing the President’s orders are by definition lawful—a dangerous echo of Nixonian logic.
  • Emma: “The premise... is just the Nixonian ‘If the President does it, that means it’s not illegal.’” (48:51)

4. Administrative Incompetence: Failed DOJ Prosecution

• James Comey Indictment Fiasco: Trump’s DOJ attempt to indict James Comey collapsed due to fundamental legal errors and political overreach.
  • Sam: “Trump’s DOJ hires... Lindsey Halligan, who apparently was like an insurance lawyer... She was chastised... for telling the grand jury stuff that was wrong as a matter of law.” (66:31, 68:14)
  • Halligan presented an indictment that hadn’t been actually voted on by the full grand jury, instead gathering signatures from a few members post hoc—an extreme breach of due process.
  • Emma: "It seems deliberately deceptive in a way that should be illegal." (69:37)
• Vindictive Prosecution: The judge openly called out the prosecution for being a political “stalking horse or puppet” for Trump’s vendetta.
  • ABC coverage notes Halligan has no experience in criminal prosecutions and was Trump’s personal lawyer.

5. Gerrymandering Backfires on GOP

• Texas Redistricting Ruling: Trump’s explicit push for racially motivated gerrymandering may cost Republicans more than they gain.
  • The DOJ’s demand to dismantle majority-non-white districts allowed courts to strike down the map for racial gerrymandering—a legal no-no even under the Roberts court’s narrow standards.
  • Sam: “If they had not made it about racial motivations... the Supreme Court would have let that slide. But because they said, ‘We’re giving too much power away to brown people,’ they screw themselves.” (60:30)
• Broader Effects: Other states may now hesitate to join the gerrymander war, putting GOP’s overall House strategy in doubt.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the DOJ/Trump prosecution’s incompetence:
  • Sam: “If you’re going to have your country subject to a fascist takeover, may your fascists be as stupid and as incompetent as the ones we have. That will be the saving grace.” (52:39)
• On Trump’s approval with independents:
  • Brian Vokey: “When you are 43 points underwater with independents, you know you’re doing terribly. You can’t win with this... Adios, amigos, Goodbye, see you later to that House Republican majority..." (20:50)
• On the administration’s legal arguments:
  • Emma: “The premise of her argument also is just the Nixonian: if the president does it, that means it’s not illegal... Now it’s just modus operandi.” (48:51)
• Satirizing Fox News logic and right-wing defensiveness:
  • Sam: (on the history museum) “We need to move forward. When we look at history at the History Museum. At the History Museum, yeah. It seems so just, like, caught up in the past.” (77:18)

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp (MM:SS) | Summary | |---|---|---| | Episode Introduction, Casual Banter | 03:00–07:00 | Show opens with introductions, casual banter about matching outfits, and “Casual Friday” mood. | | Macroeconomic Rundown & Job Numbers | 07:58–15:26 | Deep dive into September jobs report, economic indicators, Fed rate speculation, and the risk of stagflation. | | Fox News Polls Spell Disaster for Trump | 16:04–23:43 | Hosts analyze devastating polling for Trump—even on Fox—and what drives the collapse. | | Healthcare, ACA Subsidy Cliff | 23:43–26:15 | Explains why ACA weaknesses could intensify Democratic woes; calls for single-payer. | | Trump’s Authoritarian Rhetoric | 38:25–46:34 | Examines Congressional video warning against illegal orders and Trump’s unhinged “death penalty” responses on Truth Social. | | DOJ Incompetence in Comey Case | 66:31–75:41 | Explains the collapsed indictment of Comey, legal missteps, and Trump’s politicization of prosecutions. | | Texas Gerrymander Backfires | 54:50–62:55 | Details how explicit racial motives in redistricting may cost GOP their advantage. | | Conservative Legal Unraveling | 62:55–64:45 | Mocks a Reagan-appointed judge’s unhinged, Soros-obsessed dissent. | | Museum Satire & Political “Moving On” | 76:00–78:57 | Parodies right-wing attempts to whitewash history (literally), ridiculing calls to “focus on the positive parts” of American history. |

Tone and Style

The episode remains classic Majority Report: sharply analytical, dense with policy expertise, but leavened by sardonic humor and friendly mockery of the week’s political absurdities. The hosts fuse deep concern about rising authoritarianism and economic pain with ridicule aimed at right-wing incompetence and hypocrisy.

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a panoramic look at American political dysfunction in late 2025—capturing the dangers of Trumpist authoritarianism, the consequences of economic stagnation, Democratic failures to seize the moment, and the sometimes accidental resilience of U.S. institutions when confronted with utter GOP ineptitude. The warning is clear: authoritarian threats remain—what may save the nation, for now, is the bumbling nature of those trying to dismantle democracy.

For further details, see full segments at the above timestamps, especially the joint analysis of polling (15:26–23:43), the legislative and legal rundown of the DOJ’s failures (66:31–75:41), and the heated discussion over illegal orders and political violence (38:25–46:34).