OMG! Trump Lets It Slip at Final WH Presser on Shutdown!!

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: OMG! Trump Lets It Slip at Final WH Presser on Shutdown!!

Date: October 1, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

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Overview

In this charged episode, the Meiselas brothers dissect Donald Trump’s final White House press conference regarding the looming government shutdown. Through their dynamic banter and fervent support for democracy, the brothers highlight Trump's baffling statements, worrisome admissions, and the broader implications for American workers, democracy, and the cultural climate. The episode is packed with sharply critical analysis, direct audio clips, and the brothers’ signature humor.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Enthusiasm for a Shutdown

• The episode opens with Trump’s apparent delight at the prospect of a government shutdown, framing it as both opportunity and leverage.
• Trump suggests the shutdown can be used to fire government workers, particularly targeting perceived “Democrat” employees.
  • “A lot of good things can come out of this shutdown. We can fire everybody and we can have our way with the American people.” – [05:01]
• The brothers express outrage at Trump's use of workers' livelihoods as bargaining chips.

2. Deflection and Word Salad on Layoffs

• Pressed on why layoffs are necessary if “waste, fraud, and abuse” have already been addressed, Trump gives a rambling, unfocused answer, mixing unrelated topics such as AI investments and economic comparisons with Biden.
  • “Well, the Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoff…” – Trump [05:59]

3. Weaponization of the Shutdown Against Democrats

• Trump openly admits to using the shutdown as a tool to target Democrats and eliminate their programs.
  • “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.” – Trump [07:04]
• The hosts underscore the authoritarian overtones and disregard for nonpartisan governance.

4. Tangential Rants and Irrelevant Claims

• During the crisis, Trump rambles about cleaning up blue tents in D.C., referencing a supposed “communist tent” and touting cleanliness and booming businesses, while ignoring the gravity of the shutdown.
  • “We had one that you said it was a blue tent, and you said it was a communist tent. Right? So we’re going to have a communist mayor of New York…” – Trump [08:26]

5. Federal Education Takeover Boasts

• Trump brags about Linda McMahon’s (WWE connection) role in returning educational control to the states and suggests federal interference in “bad” states like California:
  • “Linda in education, different. But what she’s doing in education, she’s sending education back to the states…But, you know, we’ll help them out. I want to help them out.” – Trump [10:07]
• The hosts interpret this as an ominous hint at federal power grabs.

6. Claims of $17 Trillion in Revenue

• Trump repeatedly claims he “brought in $17 trillion” to the U.S., a figure the brothers ridicule and challenge, demanding transparency and proof.
  • “If he brought in $17 trillion, where is it? Where’s the account? Did you steal $17 trillion?” – Political Commentator [12:43]

7. Vague Threats: “Medically” Harming Opponents

• Most alarmingly, Trump implies the shutdown will allow for “irreversible” actions that are “bad for them," even saying, "we can do things medically...including benefits," interpreted by the hosts as a threat to use bureaucratic power for political retribution.
  • “Because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out." – Trump [13:34]

8. Healthcare for Undocumented Immigrants

• Reporters challenge Trump’s assertion that Democrats want $1.5T for undocumented immigrants’ healthcare—an illegal scenario under current law. Trump pivots with emotional, unfounded rhetoric:
  • “I have a bigger heart than you do...We want them to come into our country, but we want them to come in legally.” – Trump [15:26]

9. Farm Economy Realities

• Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins calls Trump “the most pro-farm president,” but admits the farm economy is suffering, with hope for future improvements. The brothers point to the contradiction.
  • "This moment of uncertainty in the farm economy is real, and there are many reasons for that…” – Rollins [17:07]

10. Job Losses in Manufacturing

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick denies reports of manufacturing losses, unconvincingly attributing issues to prior administrations. The brothers note the data contradicts the administration’s claims.
  • “The tariff world is going to bring in the greatest building of advanced manufacturing…” – Lutnick [19:32]

11. Conservative Culture Wars: Military Grooming Policy

• Pete Hegseth unveils new strict military grooming standards, railing against “beardos” and “Nordic pagans.” The brothers find this both bizarre and indicative of the administration’s obsession with culture war issues.
  • “No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression… No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done.” – Hegseth [20:08]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump on Shutdown as Leverage:
  • "A lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things." — [07:04]
• Trump on Federal Workers:
  • "We'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And the Democrats, they're going to be Democrats..." — [05:59]
• On Healthcare and Immigration:
  • "I have a bigger heart than you do...No system can take care of the health care of all of those people that came in." — [15:26]
• On “Medical” Retaliation via Shutdown:
  • "Because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out." — [13:34]
• Pete Hegseth on Grooming Standards:
  • "This also means grooming standards. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression... We don't have a military full of Nordic pagans..." — [20:08]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 05:01 – Trump’s initial comments on leveraging shutdown for layoffs.
• 07:04 – Explicit statement about using shutdown to attack Democrats/programs.
• 08:26 – Trump’s blue tent/cleaning D.C. tangent.
• 10:07 – Linda McMahon and the education state takeover.
• 13:34 – Trump on “irreversible” shutdown actions and “medical” threats.
• 15:26 – Trump’s evasive, emotional response on healthcare for immigrants.
• 17:07 – Brooke Rollins admits farm economy struggles.
• 19:32 – Howard Lutnick on manufacturing jobs denial.
• 20:08 – Pete Hegseth mandates military grooming standards.

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Tone and Language

• The Meidas brothers mix biting criticism with exasperated humor and passion for democratic values, keeping the discussion urgent but accessible.
• Trump’s language in the audio clips is often meandering, with frequent hyperbole and digressions; the brothers sharply analyze and fact-check these moments.

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Conclusion

The episode exposes what the Meiselas brothers present as Trump’s reckless disregard for workers, authoritarian instincts, willingness to use the shutdown as a political bludgeon, and readiness to bend facts to suit his agenda. They emphasize the importance of vigilance and the collective responsibility to hold power to account—encouraging listeners to stay informed and active in defense of democracy.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary delivers a vivid, timestamped roadmap of Trump’s controversial comments, the administration’s contradictory narratives, and the MeidasTouch brothers’ forceful media watchdogging.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

Yikes. Donald Trump was made massively fumbling the questions he was being asked about the government shutdown, which he appears to be giddy about and rooting for and saying, a lot of good things can come out of this shutdown. We can fire everybody and we can have our way with the American people. It's really despicable. So a reporter asked Donald Trump, but if you said Doge has been getting rid of all of the waste, fraud and abuse, why are you going to use the shutdown as a way to lay off people? Why are you going to use it as a pretext to fire hundreds of thousands of people in the government? Again, Donald Trump just gives a absurd word salad response. Watch this here, play this clip.

[Interviewer]

President, as we inch closer to government shutdown this morning, you said you might do a lot of layoffs. If Doge is already reducing the federal workforce, why is it necessary to link more federal jobs cut to a shutdown?

[Donald Trump]

Well, the Democrats want to shut it down. So when you shut it down, you have to do layoff. So we'd be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And the Democrats, they're going to be Democrats. As you know, we, this country, no country can afford to pay for illegal immigration, health care for everybody that comes into the country. And that's what they're insisting. And obviously I have an obligation to not accept that that would affect everybody. You know, when I see what we're doing with AI and all the plants that are opening up in the country, $17 trillion is coming in. If you compare that to Biden, Biden had a, in four years, less than a trillion. We have 17 trillion more than that. I think it's going to be much more than that, David. By the end of this year, I think it's going to be far over. That's a record. It's already a record in eight months.

[Political Commentator]

And then Donald Trump brags that a lot of good can come from the shutdown. And he says, what we'll be able to do is kind of go after Democrats. We'll be able to go, you know, so you heard him say that before. We'll go after the Democrats in this shutdown and make Democrats feel painful, especially those Democrat employees. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

I think it's going to be far over. That's a record. So ready a record in eight months. It's a record by a lot. And so we're doing well as a country. So the last thing we want to do is shut it down. But a lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want, and they'd be Democrat things. But they want open borders. They want men playing in women's sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stop. And they don't learn. We won an election in a landslide. They just don't learn. So we have no choice. I have to do that for the, for the country. Yes.

[Political Commentator]

As Democratic Congressmember Don Beyer writes, as he did during his first term, Trump again goes on TV to say government shutdowns are good. No, they are not good Republicans and this president should go back to work and make a deal to stop a shutdown. And prevent price increases for the American people. He's actually rooting for the shutdown. And then Donald Trump is starts talking about the. Some blue tent that was outside of the White House, like that. They removed a blue tent. Like that's what's on your mind right now. As the government is just a mere hours away from shutting down. You're talking about a blue tent that you removed. What the hell is going on here? Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

We've had a home run in D.C. you can walk out. Brian, you got mugged here a long time ago.

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[Donald Trump]

And mugger must have felt some pain because you're a tough cookie. Well, he had a gun. And I wish. I know. Well, then if he had a gun, all you could do is say thank you very much. Yeah. No, but it's everybody here. I mean, you were here in the room when I said to the reporters who got mugged in the last year, and like, half of the people raised their hand. Now, if you said, who got mugged over the last 60 days? Nobody. Nobody. No killing, no nothing. And the restaurants are booming, the town is booming. It's clean. You know, the National Guard actually went out and started cleaning all the crap out of the parks. The tents are knocked down. We had one that you said it was a blue tent, and you said it was a communist tent. Right. So we're going to have a communist mayor of New York. So, you know, let's see how that works out. And I've gotten a lot of feedback on that. It was very appreciative. Yeah, you told me about a blue tent. And I said, I can't be there because we knocked him down. But this was a very highly sophisticated group of people that had permits and all the other thing. Well, their permit expired. We knocked it down. It took what, 24 hours? Less maybe. So I appreciate you telling me that. No, we have. We have a great thing. The country is doing incredible. We are a hot country. The hottest. We're the hottest country in the world right now.

[Political Commentator]

And then Donald Trump also brags that Linda McMahon, the W Dub, the wife of the WWE founder, that she's making sure that she goes after education in Democratic states. We're taking it over from California. We're going to help them out. No, stay the hell out, Donald. Stay the hell out. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

I get 97% bad press, and I want in. Landslide. Which tells you the press has no credibility. But I will say that what we've done has been a great tribute to the people that standing behind me in different forms. Linda in education, different. But what she's doing in education, she's sending education back to the states. That's a big move. The states, like, you know, you go back to Indiana, Iowa, you know, I would say 40 states will be great, 45 will be, you know, the 5% of them will be pretty good. But. And then you're going to have a Gavin Newscomb and some other people that aren't going to do a good job. But, you know, we'll help them out. I want to help them out.

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[Political Commentator]

And then you'll recall that earlier in the day, during a prior Oval Office press conference, Donald Trump said that first off, he says that they've brought in $17 trillion in Braggs, which they did not bring in 17 trillion. Dol I want to see Democrats ask if he brought in $17 trillion, where is it? Where's the account? Did you steal $17 trillion? Because it ain't showing up in the treasury, so where the hell is your $17 trillion? And then Donald Trump says that the good thing that they can do during a shutdown is that they'll be able to do things medically to harm people. They will be able to do medical things that harm people. This is a sick authoritarian regime. Medically to harm people. You're boasting about killing, that shutdowns are good. Watch for yourself what went down here. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Told you we have $17 trillion being invested, so the last person that wants to shut down is us. Now, with that being said, we can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them, like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like. And you know, all, you all know Russell, though, he's become very popular recently because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn't do any other way. So they're taking a risk by having a shutdown because, because of the shutdown, we can do things medically and other ways, including benefits. We can cut large numbers of people out. We don't want to do that, but we don't want fraud, waste and abuse. And you know, we're cutting that.

[Political Commentator]

But, and then you had another reporter, that same reporter who went from the AP who asked a great question that you saw there, also said to Donald Trump, but you are aware, Donald, that it would be illegal, unlawful to fund, to have the federal government fund healthcare for, for undocumented immigrants. That's not even allowed in the law. So how are you saying that Democrats want to fund $1.5 trillion for undocumented immigrants if it's not in the law? Donald. And then this response to me is almost most telling of all because he just responds with words out, I have a bigger heart than you. Everybody knows my heart is bigger than your heart. Just watch again, this shouldn't be a Democrat or Republican or independent issue. He's not answering the question because this is all a lie. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Time for that.

[Interviewer]

Eligible for the health care subsidies that Democrats are demanding. So can you clarify what are you talking about when you say Democrats want to. To protect their health care?

[Donald Trump]

So when an illegal person comes in, a person who came into our country illegally, therefore breaking the law. And look, we all have big hearts. I have a bigger heart than you do. They're all breaking the law and they're coming into our country, and we just, as a country, cannot afford to take care of millions of people who have broken the law coming in. We want them to come into our country, but we want them to come in legally. Now we have a strong border, very strong border, thanks to Christy and Tom Holman and the whole group. They've done an amazing job at the border. I mean, we had a border that was reckless. We had a border that was a disaster. They were coming in by the millions. I say 25 million people. You're saying less, but I say 25 million people came in illegally, and no system can take care of the health care of all of those people that came in.

[Political Commentator]

Now, so while that was taking place, you have Brooke Rollins, the Agriculture Secretary, saying that, um, Donald Trump's the most pro farm president in history. But she goes that the situation with farmers is getting really bad and it's going to get worse, as we wrote on the Midas Touch account. Why is the farm economy not in a good place, Brooke? Why is it going bad, Brooke? Didn't Donald Trump promise on day one the farmers were gonna get rich and it was gonna be a golden age? The only person who's gotten rich is Donald Trump. Make billions of dollars more, and he's screwing over farmers, screwing over workers, screwing over the American people. That's what's going down here. Play this. Clips are getting a little angry, a little antsy here. It's pretty clear they support the administration.

[Donald Trump]

They understand what's going on, but they're.

[Political Commentator]

Sort of caught in the middle.

[Donald Trump]

China specifically, trying to hurt them in this tariff war. So what should they expect from the White House?

[Interviewer]

Well, thanks so much for having me on, Charles, and I loved your introduction. I think it told the story perfectly. For so long, this country has been basically built on the backs of our farmers and our ranchers. The president, President Trump has been the most pro farmer president perhaps in our lifetimes, perhaps in history. But this moment of uncertainty in the farm economy is real, and there are many reasons for that. Obviously, the ongoing trade negotiations with China and others. But it goes way before that. Under Joe Biden, the cost of inputs went up 30%. No new trade deals, which you showed in that chart, which was actually a great Chart. It's pretty remarkable that in four years under Joe Biden, there was not one new trade. And we went from an ag trade surplus under Trump won to a $50 billion ag deficit under Joe Biden. And we're now just beginning to crawl our way back out of that. But the times are changing. Listen, it is a golden age. It's around the corner. But this president, on Liberation Day at the White House, when, you know, we were all watching when he announced this new tariff and trade world realignment, that it was going to take a little bit of time, but in that time, we've already struck seven or eight deals. Japan, the uk, the eu, Indonesia, the Philipp. I mean, it is. I was in the UK 2 weeks ago selling ethanol. Supposed to be in Japan tomorrow talking rice and other row crops. We'll see what the government shut down if that happens. But it is going to be gangbusters. But right now, the farm economy is not in a good place. We're working around the clock. The President has committed to supporting our farmers, and we'll have an announcement on that very soon, likely next week.

[Political Commentator]

Okay, Then again, while that was taking place as well, you had Donald Trump's Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, giving an interview with News Nation. And Howard Lutnick is asked, well, if you claim there's a manufacturing boom right now, why have we lost 80,000 manufacturing jobs? And he goes, oh, that's not true. Donald Trump's just so great. Here, watch this.

[Interviewer]

So you've already alluded to the national security interest in a lot of the reshoring of manufacturing that the President's tariff regime is designed to do. But some reports suggest that we've lost up to 80,000 manufacturing jobs since the President took office. Walk me through that tension there, that contradiction.

[Political Commentator]

Well, it can't be true. I mean, sure, the first day, you.

[Donald Trump]

Know, you walk in from the Biden.

[Political Commentator]

Administration, and what happens on the next.

[Donald Trump]

Friday, you know, they blame Donald Trump, which is silly, right? The tariff world is going to bring in the greatest building of advanced manufacturing that this. It's not.

[Political Commentator]

It's not the country's ever seen. It's not even possible to scale. And then finally, you had Pete Hegseth lecturing the military generals about no more beards or long hair. We're not having Nordic pagans in the military. Nordic pagans? What are you all talking about here? Play this clip.

[Pete Hegseth]

This also means grooming standards. No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression. We're going to cut our hair, shave our beards, and adhere to standards because it's like the broken windows theory of policing. It's like when you let the small stuff go, the big stuff eventually goes. So you have to address the small stuff. This is on duty, in the field and in the rear. If you want a beard, you can join special forces. If not, then shave. We don't have a military full of Nordic pagans, but unfortunately we have had leaders who either refused to call BS and enforce standards or leaders who felt like they were not allowed to enforce standards. Both are unacceptable. And that's why today, at my direction, the era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos. The era of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done. Simply put, if you do not meet the male level physical standards for combat positions, cannot pass a PT test, or don't want to shave and look professional, it's time for a new position or a new profession.

[Political Commentator]

So no wonder Donald Trump's approval is deeply underwater in the swing states. And no wonder Donald Trump's approval rating is in the tank in general. And no wonder, by about a 15 point margin on average in all the major polling, Americans are blaming Republicans and Donald Trump for this shutdown because they're giddy about it. They're giddy. You see them giddy?

[Donald Trump]

Wait.

[Political Commentator]

Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Thanks for watching.

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