The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Fox News Collapses On Air as Trump Loses All Control

Date: August 28, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

Overview

In this episode, the MeidasTouch brothers dive deep into the recent on-air fiascoes and inflammatory rhetoric coming from Fox News, while Donald Trump's grip on the American political narrative visibly weakens. The brothers highlight the collapse of right-wing media coherence, Fox News’s obsession with “culture war” non-issues, the dangerous scapegoating of marginalized groups, and the MAGA Republicans’ continued gaslighting of the American public. They blend sharp analysis with signature banter, exposing Fox’s contradictions and offering passionate calls for genuine common-sense reform.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fox News’ On-Air Collapse and Contradictions

• The show opens with the brothers mocking Fox News for “glitching” live—especially as figures like Sean Hannity misrepresent the use of the National Guard (02:01).
• [02:33] Sean Hannity tries to link a Minneapolis shooting to Trump’s militarized law-and-order agenda, while apparently embarrassing B-roll plays:

  “...sending in the National Guard troop, for example, to clean up crime in D.C.”—while the Guard are shown “picking up trash and visiting tourist attractions.”

• The hosts highlight how Fox’s live footage undercuts its pundits’ narratives (“the National Guard isn’t fighting crime, they’re collecting litter in D.C.”).

2. Deflections from Gun Reform & Victim Blaming

• The brothers underscore Fox News' resistance to gun reform, despite 85% of Americans supporting common sense measures (03:46).
• They call out Fox personalities for shifting blame or scapegoating Democrats and marginalized groups, instead of addressing gun violence rationally.
• [03:23] Jesse Waters:

  “Yet Congress... blamed President Trump... January 6th. Yet they're not going to hold ...Tim Waltz and ...New York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles responsible for using their positions to provide cover ...to allow these people to go out and do these things.”

• The podcast criticizes these false equivalencies, noting the absurdity of comparing Trump’s role in January 6th to mayors dealing with urban gun violence.

3. Fox’s Transphobic Attacks and Culture War Diversions

• The episode spotlights Jesse Waters’ bigoted comments about the trans community:
  [04:35] Jesse Waters:

  “I don’t hate anyone who thinks they’re trans. I feel sorry for them. But statistically, the trans population has been prone to violence. That’s not villainizing, that’s reality.”

• The hosts slam these remarks as classic scapegoating, and lambast Fox’s “obsessions” with the Cracker Barrel logo and irrelevant pop culture grievances.
• Commentary urges a focus on real issues: healthcare, education, and living wages—instead of “Sydney Sweeney’s jeans or Cracker Barrel.”

4. “Common Sense” Solutions Gone Wild

• The brothers ridicule Sean Hannity’s call for a military-style presence in schools (armed guards, metal detectors, sniper perches):
  [05:46] Sean Hannity:

  “Every school in the country should have a metal detector... with armed guards... retired military... tax incentives for volunteers… If they put in enough hours, how about no estate tax if they pass away?”

• They argue that Hannity's prescription for ending school shootings is both dystopian and impractical—dodging the root issue: gun access.

5. MAGA Rhetoric, Victimhood, and the Never-Ending Culture War

• The podcast mocks the MAGA mentality on Fox: blaming liberals for everything, glamorizing cultural regression, and pining for reversed social progress.
• [09:12] Jesse Waters lists off lost “icons” like Aunt Jemima and the Redskins, complaining about “what they took from us”—symbolizing the right-wing’s culture war priorities.

  "If we had just put our foot down years ago... We’d still be smoking on planes. Think about the great things we could still be doing if we had just said no."

• The hosts lampoon the pettiness of these laments, contrasting them to urgent national challenges.

6. Fox’s Predatory Business Model

• The episode exposes Fox News as an exploitative business—selling gold, reverse mortgages, and “Relief Factor” to an aging audience. [15:16] Jesse Waters:

  "Cracker Barrel’s for old people. It's like trying to sell reverse mortgages to young people or gold... That's why people will be watching Fox until they die."

• They point out the cynical targeting of vulnerable demographics with fear-based advertising.

7. Faux Populism & Attacks on Democratic Cities

• The brothers emphasize the pattern of MAGA officials scapegoating blue cities rather than standing up to actual threats (like Vladimir Putin), branding such attacks as a form of “punching down.”
• The “solution” to urban issues presented by Sean Duffy—literally “taking back” Union Station and “driving out” homelessness—illustrates the lack of substantive plans (13:54).

8. Exposing Hypocrisy on Police Funding

• Mike Nellis’s exchange on Fox News exposes the “defund the police” hypocrisy: [17:36] Mike Nellis:

  “...Donald Trump’s budget that he signed by the Republicans... cut community police funding by $2 billion... Donald Trump isn’t interested in [increasing policing].”

• When challenged, Jesse Waters immediately tries to change the subject, underscoring how Fox avoids inconvenient facts.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:50] Progressive Commentator:
  “Stop bullying the trans community. Stop talking about weird things like Cracker Barrel or Sydney Sweeney’s jeans. Let’s just be normal and focus on issues.”

• [07:14] Progressive Commentator:
  “As long as you have these sicko MAGAs... who gaslight and behave like sociopaths on their propaganda network, this is going to continue.”

• [16:19] Progressive Commentator:
  “MAGAs view life as always about suffering, and they want more suffering. They view their own success as relative to the suffering of others.”

• [17:16] Jesse Waters:
  “But DC is so safe, the Guard doesn’t have any criminals left to chase. They’re picking up litter...”

• [17:36] Mike Nellis:
  “Donald Trump’s budget... cut community police funding by $2 billion... so don’t talk about cutting. Donald Trump is the one who funded—defunded the police.”

Key Timestamps

• 02:01 – Fox News “glitches”; Hannity justifies military action, misusing B-roll
• 03:23-04:35 – Waters, Ingraham, and other pundits deflect from gun reform, smear Democratic officials and marginalized groups
• 04:35 – Transphobic rhetoric by Jesse Waters
• 05:46 – Hannity lays out “common sense” (militarized) school safety plan
• 09:12 – Waters laments lost racist branding/cultural icons
• 12:29 – Hannity complains about “intolerant” New York, says he’s now “loved” in Florida
• 13:54 – Duffy plans to “seize” Union Station to “drive out” homelessness
• 15:16 – Waters and hosts openly describe Fox’s aging target audience
• 17:36 – Mike Nellis exposes the police funding hypocrisy live on Fox

Conclusion

This episode unravels the right-wing media machine’s increasingly desperate—sometimes laughable, often cruel—attempts to redirect public attention away from real issues like gun violence and inequality, using a mix of scapegoating, manufactured outrage, and celebrity victimhood. The brothers reaffirm their call for democracy, common sense, and standing up for the most vulnerable, while skewering the empty culture war distractions clogging our national discourse.