Trump Blows Up in Oval at Press Event with Saudi Prince

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Trump Blows Up in Oval at Press Event with Saudi Prince
Date: November 19, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the fallout from Donald Trump's chaotic and widely criticized Oval Office press event with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). The Meiselas brothers dive into Trump's combative exchanges with the media—especially female reporters—his fawning praise of MBS, and the outlandish economic claims made during the press conference. The hosts combine sharp political analysis, biting humor, and righteous indignation to unpack what they see as an embarrassing and troubling moment for US democracy.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Press Conference Meltdown

• Opening Recap:
  The episode kicks off immediately after the Oval Office press event, which the hosts describe as "one of the most bizarre press conferences we've seen." Trump appears "giddy" to welcome MBS, with the Oval Office transformed into a "weird golden bordello."
  [02:00]
• Host Commentary:
  Ben, Brett, and Jordy display a mix of disbelief and disgust at Trump's demeanor and the opulence on display, emphasizing the disconnect with struggling Americans.

2. Trump vs. the Press—Particularly Female Reporters

• Blowup at Reporters:
  Trump loses his temper with a female ABC News reporter who questioned the conflict of interest regarding his family's Saudi business ties and MBS’s role in the Khashoggi murder. Trump labels her "Fake News" and dodges the question.
  Notable Quote ([03:40] – Donald Trump):

  "Fake news. ABC Fake News. One of the worst. One of the worst in the business... I have nothing to do with the family business... What my family does is fine. They do business all over... I've made America more successful by far than it ever was."

• Host Reflection:
  The brothers underscore Trump’s pattern of lashing out when challenged on substantive issues, especially by women, and note his willingness to dismiss US intelligence on Khashoggi in favor of flattering MBS.
  [04:42] Ben:

  "He attacks America’s intelligence, which clearly shows that MBS was behind the murder and torture of Khashoggi. I mean, this is utterly despicable."

3. Dodging Questions About Epstein Files

• Escalating Anger:
  When asked why he doesn’t simply release the Epstein files, Trump shifts to attacking the reporter’s "attitude" and calls them a "terrible person and a terrible reporter."
  Quote ([05:25] – Donald Trump):

  "It's not the question that I mind. It's your attitude... You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter."
  [05:57]

4. Trump’s Praise for Saudi Arabia and MBS

• Credulous Applause:
  Trump lauds MBS’s "incredible" human rights record, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
  Quote ([06:47] – Donald Trump):

  "I'm very proud of the job he's done. What he's done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else... And I just want to pay my greatest respect to your father the King, who is an amazing man."

• Host Outrage:
  The hosts are appalled at Trump’s “sycophantic” praise, noting the ongoing human rights abuses and MBS’s connection to Khashoggi’s murder.
  [07:37] Brett:

  "You’re applauding Saudi Arabia for what it's done with human rights? Here, play this clip."

5. Bizarre Economic and Investment Claims

• Making Up Trillion-Dollar Figures:
  Trump and MBS exchange dubious claims about Saudi investments in the US, going from $600 billion to $1 trillion, with Trump gushing like a "snake oil salesman."
  Quote ([08:57] – Trump):

  "Are you gonna do a trillion dollars? They're just making up fake numbers while Americans suffer..."

  • MBS responds with “real opportunities... a huge demand of computing power... spend in the short term around $50 billion.” ([09:47]-[10:22])

• Trump on White House Renovation:
  Trump brags about the popularity of his new White House ballroom, joking about asking MBS for a donation if not for foreign donation restrictions.
  Quote ([10:58] – Trump):

  "No government funds. It's all put up private money... Otherwise I could have asked you just for a check. Okay."

6. Awkward Banter and Personal Chemistry

• Strange Physical Gestures:
  Trump asks if he "blows away" Reagan in terms of Saudi relations, then grabs MBS's hand in an awkward, giddy display.
  Quote ([13:30] – Trump to MBS):

  "Does Trump blow them all away?"
  MBS ([13:34]):
  "It's out of the league, Mr. President."
  [13:42] – Trump:
  "I grabbed that hand. I don't give a hell where that hand's been."

7. National Security and Investment Nonsense

• Trillion-Dollar Security Claims:
  Trump equates Saudi investment to improved US national security, continuing his focus on fabricated numbers and ignoring the real costs.
  Quote ([14:10] – Trump):

  "When you invest a trillion dollars, that's national security for us too, because it creates jobs, it creates a lot of things."

• Painting Over Reality:
  Trump says the US has “never been in a position like this,” touting his use of tariffs and imaginary investment figures, claiming US prosperity.
  Quote ([19:37] – Trump):

  "We've never been in a position like this. You can go back to the beginning. Our country has never been in a position like this."

8. Gaslighting on Economic Conditions

• Downplaying Economic Pain:
  Trump claims that gasoline prices have already been brought "way down" and promises $2 gas, giving misleading and inaccurate numbers.
  Quote ([16:28] – Trump):

  "We're also bringing down prices very substantially. And we've already brought them down very, very substantially. Gasoline is way down. I think you'll be seeing $2 gasoline..."

9. Deflection on Khashoggi and Human Rights

• MBS’s Empty Regret:
  MBS offers an insincere, generic apology for “anyone losing his life for no real purpose,” referencing Khashoggi without admitting fault.
  Quote ([18:59] – MBS):

  "It's really painful to hear, you know, anyone that been losing his life for, you know, no real purpose... it's painful and it's a huge mistake, and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again..."

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Trump’s Behavior in the Oval Office:
  [17:02] – Trump:

  "Everybody walks into the Oval Office and they say, wow. And now, by the way, the Oval Office is in the kind of condition that it should be in..."

  • Host Response ([16:51] Brett):

    "This grotesque golden bordello. Yeah, wow. What the hell did you do to it?"

• On Saudi Relations:
  [08:06] – Trump:

  "We've always been on the same side of every issue. I think we've done a great job in wiping out the nuclear capacity of Iran. Nobody else could have done that."

• On Reporters’ Rights:
  Hosts emphasize the critical importance of press freedom and transparent leadership, highlighting that Trump’s hostility to direct questions is antithetical to democracy.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:00] – Recap of bizarre press conference and Trump's demeanor with MBS
• [03:18 – 04:42] – Trump lashes out at ABC reporter over Saudi business ties and Khashoggi
• [05:20 – 05:57] – Trump’s meltdown over Epstein files question
• [06:47 – 07:37] – Trump’s extravagant praise for MBS and Saudi human rights
• [08:57 – 10:29] – Trump & MBS’s dubious trillion-dollar investment claims
• [13:27 – 13:42] – Awkward hand-grabbing and personal banter about Reagan
• [14:06 – 14:44] – Trump equates Saudi cash with US national security
• [16:28] – Fuel price gaslighting
• [18:59 – 19:29] – MBS’s empty apology for Khashoggi
• [19:37] – Trump’s hyperbolic claim about US prosperity

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Tone and Style

• The brothers' signature blend of sarcasm, outrage, and humor is front and center throughout the episode.
• Their unapologetic condemnation of Trump’s actions and MBS’s presence in the White House is interspersed with genuine concern for American democracy and the rights of journalists.

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Final Takeaway

With sharp commentary and well-chosen audio highlights, the MeidasTouch brothers dissect a surreal and troubling press event, exposing the self-serving hypocrisy of the Trump-MBS alliance, the dangers of unchecked executive power, and the ongoing threats to press freedom and democratic norms.

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Transcript

[A]

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[C]

Donald Trump just wrapped up a disastrous press conference with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, mbs. It was one of the most bizarre press conferences we've seen. Also, Donald Trump blew up at members of the press when they asked questions. Specifically, he started screaming at female reporters who were asking him good questions. Just take a look at some of these photos from the Oval Office of Donald Trump with the Crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Look at Donald Trump. He's, like, flirting with the crown prince and he's, like, giddy to be there with this weird golden bordello. Oval Office. Here's some more photos. Here's another. Another photo. Another photo. Really bizarre stuff. But when a reporter asked a very serious question about Donald Trump's family doing business with Saudi Arabia at the same time the United States intends to transfer F35 fighter jets and nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, doesn't that present a conflict of interest? And the reporter also says, what is your view about the fact that you have MBS here as part of this PR tour while he murdered a journalist, Khashoggi, and did it in a blatant and disgusting way? What's your view about that? Then Donald Trump just starts yelling at the reporter. Here, play this clip.

[A]

Is it appropriate, Mr. President, for your family to be doing business in Saudi Arabia while you're president? Is that a conflict of interest? And your royal highness, the US Intelligence concluded that you orchestrated the brutal murder of a journalist. 9, 11 families are furious that you are here in the Oval Office. Why should Americans trust you with. And the same to you, Mr. President.

[B]

Now, who are you with?

[A]

I'm with ABC News, sir.

[B]

You're with who?

[A]

ABC News, sir.

[B]

Fake news. ABC Fake News. One of the worst. One of the worst in the business. But I'll answer your question. I have nothing to do with the family business. I have left. And when I. I've devoted 100% of my energy, what my family does is fine. They do business all over. They've done very little with Saudi Arabia. Actually. They could. I'm sure they could do a lot of. And anything they've done has been very good. That's what we've done. We've built a tremendous business for a long time. I've been very successful. I decided to leave that success behind and make America very successful. And I've made America more successful by far than it ever was and that it ever could have been. No matter who was president, there would be Nobody bringing in $21 trillion. That I can tell you right now. As far as this gentleman is concerned, he's done a phenomenal job. You're mentioning somebody that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. And we can leave it at that. You don't have to embarrass our guests by asking a question like that.

[C]

So you hear Donald Trump there saying that MBS is entirely innocent of the Khashoggi torture and murder and he attacks the reporter for bringing it up. And he attacks America's intelligence, which clearly shows that MBS was behind the murder and torture of Khashoggi. I mean, this is utterly despicable. Donald Trump is asked another question by that reporter about why are you even waiting for Congress to take a vote to release the Epstein files? Why don't you release the files now? And then Donald Trump blows up at that reporter again. Here, play this clip.

[B]

Pretty good, Mr. President. Here.

[A]

Mr. President, why wait for Congress to release the Epstein files? Why not just do it now?

[B]

It's not the question that I mind. It's your attitude. I think you are a terrible reporter. It's the way you ask these questions. You start off with a man who's highly respected asking him a horrible, insubordinate and just a terrible question. And you could even ask that same exact question nicely. You're all psyched. Somebody psychs you over at abc, you're going to psych it. You're a terrible person and a terrible reporter.

[C]

Then Donald Trump just starts to praise the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia because remember, Donald Trump's family has massive business interests with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, whether it's his son in law, Jared Kushner, the Trump Organization's new hotel in the Maldives, various projects in the Middle East, I mean, they're making quite literally hundreds of millions, billions of dollars from the Saudis. And our military technology is being transferred to Saudi Arabia, which means it's probably ending up with China and Iran and Russia and other places. So Donald Trump, though, says, I'm very proud of Saudi Arabia. I'm proud of the crown Prince and his incredible human rights efforts. Incredible. You, you're applauding Saudi Arabia for what it's done with human rights. Here, play this clip.

[B]

I'm very proud of the job he's done. What he's done is incredible in terms of human rights and everything else. And he's the crown prince, the future king. And I just want to pay my greatest respect to your father King, who is an amazing man. I met him early on. He greeted me at the airport at an age that was pretty high up there and it was about 117 degrees. And he was standing on the red carpet as I came out of the plane. And he's amazing. And when I met his brilliant son who was at the Oval Office. Shortly thereafter, you came in representing the country. And I called the father. I said, this guy is fantastic. And I don't know if that helped you or hurt you, but obviously it couldn't have hurt too much because here you are, right?

[C]

Then Donald Trump says that he's been on the same side of every issue with the Crown Prince and with Saudi Arabia. Trump's always been with Saudi Arabia. On every issue. On every issue. I mean, Most of the 911 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Wahabi ism originates from Saudi Arabia. What are we doing? What are we doing here? Like, seriously, what are we doing here? Here, play this clip.

[B]

We have a lot of jobs, so I just want to thank you. We've been really good friends for a long period of time. We've always been on the same side of every issue. I think we've done a great job in wiping out the nuclear capacity of Iran. Nobody else could have done that.

[C]

Then Donald Trump. You see what this is really about. The Crown Prince gives Donald Trump a fake number of investment in the United States. The real number is what the Saudis are gonna give to Donald Trump and Donald Trump's companies. But MBS is like, we will now do $1 trillion, up from $600 billion. That's what we will invest in the United States. And then Donald Trump, like a. Like a snake oil salesman's like, do you mean to tell me you hear. Did you hear what he just said? He gonna do a trip.

[B]

Wow.

[C]

Are you gonna do a trillion dollars? They're just making up fake numbers while Americans suffer, While Americans are star. Their health care ripped away. But here, play this clip.

[B]

You are doing that now. You're saying to me now that the 600 billion will be 1 trillion.

[D]

Definitely, because what we are signing, it will facilitate that.

[B]

And I like that. You work hard. No, that's great. That's. I appreciate that. That's great. It's. No, we're doing numbers that nobody's ever done. And.

[C]

And a reporter then asks the question, like, okay, you're talking about a trillion dollars, but like, where are you going to get this money from? Are you just making up numbers? MBS. Here, play this clip.

[A]

You're talking about $1 trillion of investment. Could the kingdom continue to do that? With oil prices in the mid-60s, we.

[D]

Are not creating a fake opportunities to, you know, please, America, please, President Trump. It's real opportunities. For example, when you ask about the AI and the chips, Saudi Arabia have a huge demand of computing power. And we're going to spend in the short term around $50 billion by consuming those semiconductors for our needs in Saudi and Saudi Arabia and with the agreement that we're going to have with America that will allow us to focus that consuming power in short term by $50 billion from the South America and long term with hundreds of billion dollars in the long term.

[B]

So.

[D]

So there's a lot of real opportunities that fit to all of need in Saudi Arabia and fit to all investment strategy.

[A]

Mr. President.

[C]

Then Trump thinks it's funny that he could have asked MBS to help build the ballroom. He's like, I could have had him build the ballroom. But you know, there are some issues about foreign donations for the ballrooms. But he's like, everybody loves the ballroom. It's so popular. It's like the least popular. You destroyed the east wing of the White House while you're also ripping away health care from tens of millions of Americans. Here, play this clip and it's going to be beautiful.

[B]

It's, it's, you know, it's a very popular thing what we're doing. And by the way, no government funds. It's all put up private money, all private money. And in the case I think it's, there's a restriction on foreigners. Otherwise I could have asked you just for a check. Okay.

[C]

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[D]

And Reagan, he's one of the historical president that have close ties with Saudi Arabia. We've worked with all presidents.

[B]

Does Trump blow them all away? There'll be you.

[D]

It's out of the league, Mr. President.

[B]

And Trump doesn't give a fist pump. I grabbed that hand. I don't give a hell where that hand's been. I grabbed that.

[C]

Then Trump continues to say, this guy's a great ally of ours. Did you hear him? $1 trillion. What a great ally. He just said a trillion dollars. Americans are suffering. We don't want to see the country where nine, 11 hijackers came from in the Oval Office. We don't want to see this Donald. And this is gross. You fawning over this guy is freaking gross. The guy who killed Khashoggi. Here, play this clip.

[D]

We just push forward for all the opportunities that we have.

[B]

This is. You have to understand, this is really a great ally. Just the fact that they're now doing. I came in here at 6. I did not know that I was pushing for the 1 trillion. But he didn't tell me that now. He told me this is a great ally of ours. You know, when you invest a trillion dollars, that's national security for us too, because it creates jobs, it creates a lot of things. And I would say, Scott, right when you hear one country is putting a trillion dollars into the United States, that creates national security.

[C]

And, you know, then Donald Trump's like, but you all just, you all should just applaud us right now. I don't have to be here. He doesn't have to be here. We're dealing with the future king right here. And we're here answering your questions. Give us respect. Here, play this clip.

[D]

Huge new chapter on this relation that will add value to both of us.

[B]

You know, when you think about it, I'm just sitting here. You're with the future king, a man who's respected by everybody. A man that doesn't have to be doing this. Really. I don't have to be doing it either. And yet we're sitting here taking questions. Any questions. We didn't say, oh, you can't talk about this. And there's never been transparency like this, even in his country. But there's never been in our country. That's been acknowledged. But we didn't put restrictions. And I'm saying it's sort of wonderful to be taking questions from all over the world. Everybody is here. This is just a small group, representative of tremendous numbers of media that are outside, that are very jealous that these people were so selected.

[C]

Then Trump says, mbs told me that we inherited a mess. He said that I'm doing a great job because we inherited a mess from Biden. That's why the economy is the way it is right now. We inherited it. Here, play this clip.

[B]

And we inherited a mess. You actually told me you thought the country was in big trouble. I'm not going to use the exact word that you use. I refuse to say that. You thought our country was dead a year and a half, two years ago, but our country was in trouble. And now we have the hottest country in the world. You said that also.

[C]

But Trump goes, don't worry. Everybody knows we're bringing down prices substantially. They're very low right now. No, they're not. They're absolutely not. Here, play this clip.

[B]

Done a job. We're also bringing down prices very substantially. And we've already brought them down very, very substantially. Gasoline is way down. I think you'll be seeing $2 gasoline. But we're now at $252.45. Some are lower than that. It was $455, $6, 353, 75 under Biden. All different numbers, but way high.

[C]

And Trump goes, when anybody goes into the Oval Office, what they say is, wow. Wow. I mean, this grotesque golden bordello. Yeah, wow. What the hell did you do to it? Here, play this clip.

[B]

In the world, like the gentleman on my right, everybody walks into the Oval Office and they say, wow. And now, by the way, the Oval Office is in the kind of condition that it should be in, whether you look at the walk or the marble floors or anything down the road.

[C]

Then Donald Trump tells MBS that $21 trillion will be invested in the United States or committed to being invested. He just continues to make up these numbers. It'll be committed. Committed. No, none of this money is actually coming into the United States like this is quite literally all made up. And how do we know that? Well, we have record deficits right now and our debt is surging. So if we were bringing in record investments, shouldn't that be paying down our debt and reducing our overall deficits? Shouldn't that be because we're bringing in all this money? But didn't you say that we had a liquidity issue with when it came to funding people snap. That we didn't have the cash on hand. We play this clip we have.

[B]

The United States is right now the hottest country in the world. And between the tariffs and the election, November 5th election, we've done things that nobody can believe. $21 trillion will be the amount invested in the United States or committed to invest in one year. So I'm here nine months. We're up to almost $18 trillion. Biden as an example. The Biden administration, if you call it that, it's not. To me, it was the Biden lack of administration. They were less than 1 trillion for four years.

[C]

And then MBS says, oh, I'm so sorry to hear about that journalist. I'm so sorry. Anyone who loses their life for no real purpose, that makes me sad. Dude, do you realize the Saudis are literally just giving us the middle finger right now? Play this clip about the generals.

[D]

It's really painful to hear, you know, anyone that been losing his life for, you know, no real purpose or not in a legal way. And it's been painful for us in Saudi Arabia. We've did all the right steps of investigation, etcetera, in Saudi Arabia and we've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful and it's a huge mistake and we are doing our best that this doesn't happen again, Mr. President.

[C]

And Donald Trump then says, we've never been this rich. We've never been in a position so good. Here, play this clip.

[B]

We've never been in a position like this. You can go back to the beginning. Our country has never been in a position like this. And it really is because of the fact that we use tariffs to bring all this money in.

[C]

What the hell? That was. That was the press conference. That was a press conference in the Oval Office with Donald Trump, like looking like he was like, attracted, like he wanted to date the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. How fricking bizarre. How odd, how offensive to America was that? Anyway, hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. Thanks for watching. Love this video. Support independent media and unlock exclusive content ad free videos and custom emojis by becoming a paid member of our YouTube channel today. You can also gift memberships to others. Let's keep growing together. Hey, Ryan Reynolds here wishing you a very happy half off holiday because right now Mint Mobile is offering you the gift of 50% off unlimited. To be clear, that's half price, not half the service. Mint is still premium unlimited wireless for a great price. So that means half day. Yeah, give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront.

[A]

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