Podcast Summary: The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Fox News Crashes Out on Air Over Trump’s Rapid Fall
Date: December 7, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

Overview

In this lively episode, the Meiselas brothers break down the spectacle of Fox News (referred to as “state regime media”) attempting to defend Donald Trump and the broader right-wing media environment as Trump’s political fortunes sharply decline. The brothers provide biting commentary, play and react to Fox clips, and emphasize the need for robust independent media. The episode humorously dissects Fox’s narratives around Trump’s bizarre FIFA Peace Prize, continued election denial, manufactured culture wars, and attempts to paper over economic and congressional woes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fox News' Desperate Narratives Around Trump

• Fox hosts are depicted as flailing to defend or prop up Trump’s image despite overwhelming evidence of his collapse.

• The “FIFA Peace Prize” moment—Trump awarded himself a clearly fake honor with the complicit head of FIFA—is mercilessly ridiculed.

• [04:00] Laura Ingraham gushes about Trump receiving the “first FIFA Peace Award,” openly admitting to the showmanship:

  "He was honored actually with the first FIFA Peace Award...even I had forgotten how many wars, how many conflicts Donald Trump has helped end." — Laura Ingraham

• [04:29] Meidas brothers lampoon the circus:

  "Donald Trump and the head of FIFA created a FIFA, like the soccer league, a FIFA Peace Medal. And they awarded it to Donald Trump and he, like, wore it and started dancing and, like, threw himself a party. What?"

2. Absurd Commentary and Election Denial

• Fox personalities continue pushing election denial lines, even after billion-dollar defamation losses.

• [05:17] Jesse Watters spins a bizarre providential narrative:

  "It's almost like God gave us Covid to kick Trump out so he could reemerge again and oversee this wonderful four years of birthday parties, international sporting events, and octagon." — Jesse Watters

• Watters veers into dangerous territory by speculating the 2020 election might have been stolen, despite direct evidence to the contrary and Fox’s legal trouble for such claims.

  [06:15] "We might find out the election was stolen. That was, that was not in the prompter. No, I said stolen." — Jesse Watters

• Hosts highlight Fox’s contradictions, especially when Watters admits he hasn’t followed the facts of a Trump-supporting pipe bomber case but continues to speculate:

  [07:09] "I don't know anything about this case. I haven't been following this case, but I will tell you this..." — Jesse Watters

3. Fox's Flailing Economic Spin

• Fox reluctantly acknowledges real economic pain but tries to blame Biden, even when discussing Republican policy fallout.
• [07:55] A panelist notes, "We need to acknowledge that high interest rates and tariffs have affected small businesses hard. Stop. We need to acknowledge that."
• The hosts point out the cognitive dissonance as panelists flip between blaming Biden and touting supposed Trump-era economic wins.

4. Culture Wars, Scapegoating, and Performative Outrage

• Fox personalities obsess over trivialities and attempt to manufacture outrage over things like Gavin Newsom’s posture ([02:59]) and holiday nativity scenes highlighting immigrant family separation ([15:20]).
• [09:45] The brothers underscore how quickly conversation descends into farce, like Greg Gutfeld celebrating Trump’s FIFA Peace Prize solely because it didn’t go to Greta Thunberg:

  "I also love that the Peace prize from FIFA, it didn’t go to, like, Greta Thunberg or some silly little peace guy, because it was created for the president." — Greg Gutfeld

5. Manufacturing Success and Shifting Blame

• Trump’s former economic adviser Kevin Hassett makes outlandish claims about economic success—while simultaneously blaming Biden for any lagging metrics.
• [12:36] "He's the best communicator I've ever seen...because the President is on fast forward and he's solving, it seems, all the world's problems, you know, stopping wars and everything else." — Kevin Hassett
• [14:19] Hassett blames Biden for slow recovery:

  "...it's going to take a little bit more time to get the hole that Biden dug to be completely filled. But we're going to do it." — Kevin Hassett

6. Fox on Migration and War

• A Department of Homeland Security figure denies child abuses at the border, while the hosts remind listeners of ample evidence to the contrary ([15:20]).
• Fox guests defend military actions with misleading or inaccurate claims, with Representative Rick Crawford on record supporting specious justifications for strikes ([17:37]).

7. MAGA Congress and Productivity Spin

• House Speaker “MAGA Mike” Johnson absurdly boasts about having “one of the most productive Congresses in history,” a claim played for laughs.

  [18:20] "We've had one of the most productive Congresses in the history of the institution." — Mike Johnson

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the FIFA “Peace” Medal:

  [04:29] "Donald Trump and the head of FIFA created a FIFA...Peace Medal. And they awarded it to Donald Trump and he, like, wore it and started dancing and, like, threw himself a party. What?" — Ben Meiselas

• On Election Denial:

  [06:15] "We might find out the election was stolen. That was, that was not in the prompter. No, I said stolen." — Jesse Watters

• On Fox’s Logic:

  [09:45] "If I'm ever elected president, I will not blame George Washington for anything. You can't keep blaming everybody for. You gotta. You gotta." — Fox Panelist

• On Trump’s Economic “Wins”:

  [12:36] "He's the best communicator I've ever seen...because the President is on fast forward and he's solving, it seems, all the world's problems, you know, stopping wars and everything else." — Kevin Hassett

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:59 | Jesse Watters on Gavin Newsom’s posture | | 04:00 | Laura Ingraham on the “FIFA Peace Prize” for Trump | | 05:17 | Jesse Watters’ bizarre God and COVID take | | 06:15 | Continued election denialism by Fox hosts | | 07:55 | Economic segment: small business bankruptcies | | 09:45 | Panel mocking endless blame of Biden | | 12:36 | Trump’s economic adviser claims “best communicator” | | 14:19 | Kevin Hassett: “hole that Biden dug” narrative | | 15:20 | DHS figure minimizes border abuses, nativity scene debate | | 17:37 | Rep. Crawford defends military strikes | | 18:20 | Speaker Mike Johnson: “most productive Congress” |

Tone & Style

Throughout the episode, the interplay is fast-paced, irreverent, and sharp. The brothers employ a mix of humor and exasperated incredulity, using Fox’s own clips to underscore the absurdity of current right-wing narratives. There is a persistent call for vigilance in supporting honest, independent media as a bulwark for democracy.

Summary prepared for listeners who missed the episode. For the full context and banter, listen to the MeidasTouch Podcast on your preferred platform.