Trump Ruins WH Thanksgiving Pardon With Awful Speech

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast: “Trump Ruins WH Thanksgiving Pardon With Awful Speech”

Date: November 26, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers dissect former President Donald Trump’s bizarre and controversial performance at the annual White House Thanksgiving Turkey Pardon. What should have been a wholesome, bipartisan tradition devolved into a public airing of insults, falsehoods, and inappropriate political attacks. The brothers analyze key moments from Trump’s speech, fact-check his claims, and discuss the underlying themes of disinformation, incivility, and the further erosion of presidential norms.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Tradition Turned Toxic

• The show opens by lamenting how the historically lighthearted turkey pardon was overtaken by Trump's inflammatory rhetoric.
• Trump repeatedly mocked Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for his weight, calling him a “fat slob” (02:41), and made off-hand comments about sending the turkeys to alleged “terrorist confinement centers” in El Salvador.

2. Direct Quotes & Play-by-Plays

• The hosts play several clips of Trump, providing real-time commentary and critique.
• Trump’s jokes and asides are examined for both factual errors and breaches of dignity.

3. Blatant Body-Shaming & Personal Insults

• Trump, referencing Gov. Pritzker:
  • “The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob. He ought to invite us in. Say please make Chicago safe.” (02:41)
  • Later intensifying: “I would never want to talk about his weight. I don't talk about people being fat. I refuse to talk about the fact that he's a fat slob. I don't mention it.” (04:36)
• The hosts call out this language as inappropriate and demeaning for a former president, especially during a holiday event.

4. Fact-Checking Trump’s Claims

• On crime in DC: Trump falsely claimed, “We haven’t had a murder in six months.” (05:48)
  • The hosts provide the actual statistics, showing multiple murders reported recently.
• On religion: Trump claimed he was responsible for a religious revival, saying, “Religion is coming back to America” (06:35), which the hosts mock as baseless posturing.
• On gas prices: Trump stated, “Gasoline will soon be hovering around $2 a gallon” (07:17), though the brothers point out gas prices have stayed relatively static despite his claims.

5. Bizarre Turkey Banter and More Insults

• Trump describes the turkeys as “the largest we've ever had. Those are big turkeys… they've eaten every fattening food you can eat,” going so far as to call them “beef-eating turkeys.” (10:11)
• He suggests naming the turkeys “Chuck and Nancy” after Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, stating, “I wouldn’t pardon them. I wouldn’t care what Melania told me. I won’t do it, darling.” (07:49)

6. Political Ramblings & Alarming Proposals

• Trump recommends using the National Guard in Chicago and boasts about militaristic approaches in other cities:
  • “We're ready to go. We've been moving toward Chicago… we could make Chicago a safe city in a period of four weeks.” (11:21)
• Repeatedly touts spurious job statistics and American economic strength:
  • “Leading in AI. We're leading in everything. Our auto plants are pouring back into our country.” (13:00)
• Takes shots at Hunter Biden and levies bizarre claims about “invalid” turkey pardons signed by President Biden using an auto-pen:
  • “Last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned.” (15:14)

7. Media Responses and Further Fact-Checks

• The episode features clips from Fox News and CNN fact-checking Trump’s economic claims, especially on gas prices and inflation:
  • Fox: “The reality is… it’s pretty much the same as it was last month, last year: $3.05.” (16:36)
  • CNN: “Americans feel like prices are rising in each and every single part of their lives… and just don’t feel like they can catch a break.” (17:33)
• Discussion of American sentiment around inflation and rising costs, with both Democrats and Republicans agreeing it's a pain point.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Trump’s Most Outrageous Lines

• On Governor Pritzker:
  • “I refuse to talk about the fact that he's a fat slob. I don't mention it.” (04:36)
• On Turkey Sizes:
  • “Those are big turkeys… they've been fattened on a steady diet of grass beef.” (10:11)
• On Sending Turkeys to Prison:
  • “Some of my more enthusiastic staffers were already drafting the paperwork to ship Gobble and Waddle straight to the terrorist confinement center in El Salvador.” (03:26)
• On pardoning political opponents:
  • “I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them. I wouldn’t care what Melania told me. I won’t do it, darling.” (07:49)
• On Auto-Pen ‘Scandal’:
  • “Last year's turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned.” (15:14)

The MeidasTouch Brothers’ Commentary

• On Trump’s demeanor:
  • “Can you just pretend for like 30 seconds to be dignified?” (14:36, paraphrasing hosts)
• On the politicization of tradition:
  • “There was once upon a time where the president was a respected tradition. And you would show your kids these ceremonies. This is just awful, awful.” (04:15)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:18 — Trump attacks Pritzker during the turkey pardon
• 03:26 — Trump jokes about sending turkeys to El Salvador prison
• 04:36 — More fat-shaming comments about Pritzker
• 05:48 — False claim about Washington D.C. murders
• 06:35 — Trump claims he’s bringing back religion
• 07:17 — Gas price and economic claims
• 07:49 — Pelosi and Schumer “jokes”
• 10:11 — Trump describes “record-setting” turkeys
• 11:21 — Trump discusses National Guard deploying to Chicago
• 13:00 — Trump boasts about jobs/economy
• 15:14 — Claims about Biden and auto-pen turkey pardons
• 16:36 — Fox News fact-checks gas claims
• 17:33 — CNN on American economic sentiment

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Summary & Final Thoughts

This episode exposes how a simple, joyful tradition was subverted into an opportunity for personal attacks and misinformation. The MeidasTouch brothers’ mix of humor and incisive critique lays bare both the absurdity and the serious consequences of such rhetoric, with real-time fact-checking providing essential context. The Turkey Pardon, typically a pause for unity and levity, instead became a showcase of the very worst traits of Trump’s public persona—bullying, partisan insults, and reality distortion.

The episode will be especially engaging for listeners who appreciate pointed political analysis mixed with family banter and a strong advocacy for democratic norms.

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For more: Subscribe to MeidasTouch Podcast for ongoing, unfiltered political analysis and brotherly banter.

Transcript

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[Political Commentator]

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[Political Commentator]

Ruined the annual Thanksgiving pardon to just be a normal, wholesome tradition. You part of the damn turkeys. It should be pretty easy. Not for Donald Trump, who used the pardon ceremony again, which is supposed to be fun and light hearted, to attack Governor Pritzker of Illinois by calling him a very fat slob.

[Donald Trump]

Here, play this clip of every newspaper. It's out of control. The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob. He ought to invite us in. Say please make Chicago safe. We're going to lose a great city if we don't do it quickly.

[Political Commentator]

Make and then Donald Trump goes on to talk about how instead of pardoning these turkeys, he was thinking about sending them to the terrorist confinement center in El Salvador. So he's making jokes about sending Americans unlawfully to concentration camps in foreign countries. That's what he's doing right now. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

But instead of pardon, some of my more enthusiastic staffers were already drafting the paperwork to ship, gobble and waddle straight to the terrorist confinement center in El Salvador. And even those birds don't want to be there. You know what I mean? It was a tough. I'd like to thank the president of that country. They do a rather efficient job. It's going to be the largest prison in history. I've never seen anything like it. And a lot of people are behaving on our streets now. You know, Washington, D.C. is a safe. It's considered a safe zone. This was one of our most unsafe places anywhere in the United States. It is now considered a totally safe city. I won't tell you about murders. We're having murders, like a lot of murders on a weekly basis. We haven't had a murder in six months.

[Political Commentator]

And there was once upon a time where the president was a respected tradition. And you would show your kids these ceremonies. This is just awful, awful. Here he is further attacking Pritzker and saying that he's fat. He's a fatso fat slob. I shouldn't call him a fat slob, but he's a fat slob. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

You're not going to have these crimes that are making the newspapers and the front page of every newspaper and television story, news story will make Chicago a safe place very quickly. I looked at the various cases granting mercy, discovering that the terrible trauma that everyone's going through. And I had a little bit of a Pritzker joke. I was going to talk about Pritzker in size, but when I talk about Pritzker, I get angry because he's not letting us do the job. So I'm not going to tell my Pritzker joke. They have a very cute little joke. You know, some speechwriter wrote some joke about his weight, but I would never want to talk about his weight. I don't talk about people being fat. I refuse to talk about the fact that he's a fat slob. I don't mention it.

[Political Commentator]

Then Donald Trump goes on and starts lying about the fact that there's no murders in Washington D.C. he, he said that we haven't had a murder in six months in Washington, D.C. there's actually been a lot of murders in D.C. 15 in June, 15 in July, eight in August, five in September, eight in October, five in November. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Murders. We're having murders, like a lot of murders on a weekly basis. We haven't had a murder in six months. And it doesn't sound good even to say that we haven't had a murder in six months. But when you were averaging one and even sometimes two a week and you haven't had one in six months, you can walk with your family down the middle of any street, go to a restaurant, you won't get in. They're opening new restaurants all over.

[Political Commentator]

Then Donald Trump says that he brought back praying and that because of him people pray again and that now religion is back and religion was gone before. This is stupid, just stupid stuff, right? I mean, it's just like, I don't care what political party you're from, this is just dumb. Here, let me show it to you. Let's play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Anything like it? But we have more people working, we have more people praying. The churches are coming back. I don't know if you've been reading that story, but religion is coming back to America. Some people say, oh, why would you mention that to me? That's a big deal.

[Political Commentator]

He then lies and says that gasoline is going to be $2 a gallon. By the way, prices are surging on basically everything. To be fair, gas is basically the same this year as it was last year. It's not dramatically lower, it's the same. Even though there's more oil pumping, the price is the same. So that tells you something too about who's making some money off this. But anyway, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

In a long time, egg prices are down 86% since March and gasoline will soon be hovering around $2 a gallon.

[Political Commentator]

Then again, Donald Trump can't just do anything normal without attacking Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer. And he goes, you know, I was going to call the turkey Pritzker because it was fat and now I'm going to call it Nancy and Chuck. But I would never pardon them. Hahahaha. They would never get a pardon. I wouldn't care what Melania told me. What are you talking about?

[Donald Trump]

Play this clip that's going to be saved. The turkeys being pardoned today go by the names of Gobble and Waddle. When I first saw their pictures, I thought we should send them. Well, I was going to, I shouldn't say this. I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy, but then I Realized I wouldn't be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people. I wouldn't pardon them. I wouldn't care what Melania told me. Darling. I think it would be a nice thing to do. I won't do it, darling.

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[Political Commentator]

And he goes on this weird rant about how this year's turkeys are the biggest turkeys ever and they've never been bigger turkeys before. And he goes on and says that these turkeys are eating beef. He says that the turkeys are. That these are beef eating turkeys, by the way. Okay, okay. Record size. Never been bigger. Never been bigger turkeys in the world. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

These are two of the largest turkeys ever presented to an American president. Over 50 pounds each. That's the largest we've ever had. Those are big turkeys. Are they as good as the normal sized turkey? Better or as good? Do they tend to be a little fatty maybe? No, he said no. He Knows the turkey business anyway, despite their size. Secretary Kennedy has formally certified that these are the first ever MAHA turkeys. I don't know if I agree with that. These are maha. In other words, they could be fat, but they're still maha. They've been fattened on a steady diet of grass beef to allow the smoothies and all of the other things that they've been eating for this occasion. This was a really big occasion. But they've eaten every fattening food that you can eat. We work like we wanted to really make them special. And they really are. They're like record setting. I've never seen a turkey that big before. Are they violent at all? Will they attack as I walk over? Because if they were, I'll stay right up here.

[Political Commentator]

But then he uses the speech to talk about how he wants the National Guard to invade Chicago after calling Pritzker fat. Let's play it.

[Donald Trump]

It's fine. And I want to thank the National Guard. I want to thank Pete Hegseth. The job you've done here is incredible. And I hear you having the same kind of success in Memphis, Tennessee. We had an even worse situation. And Memphis crime is down 64% in three weeks. And by the time you have four or five weeks, you're going to have a down almost where there won't be crime. And we could do that in Chicago, by the way, if they would let us. If the mayor was a low IQ person. But he should understand this. This is a very serious thing. You saw all the crime that took place last night, the night before the woman with the burning. They burned the woman. To be talking about that now. They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train. A man was arrested 72 times. 72 times. Think of that. And they'll let him out again. The liberal judges will let him out again. But we're ready to go. You know, we've been moving toward Chicago. We have a governor that thinks it's wonderful that only like seven people were killed this week. But we are moving toward doing. And we're going to. If crime gets. It's horrible what's happening in Chicago. We could make Chicago a safe city in a period of four weeks, in a period of eight weeks, nine weeks, ten weeks. It would be totally safe. And the people of Chicago want us to go there. And if you look at then Donald.

[Political Commentator]

Trump says America is leading in everything. Jobs are pouring back into our country. Play the clip.

[Donald Trump]

Leading in AI. We're leading in everything. Our auto plants are pouring back into our country. Wait Till you see the jobs coming with them. But there are, many of them are under construction. But Lee's done a great job in getting those approvals. I appreciate it very much. FBI Director Cash Patel, who's been very busy doing a great job also. Thank you.

[Political Commentator]

So we've have the highest jobless claims since the Great Recession at this point, and jobs are heading in the wrong direction. There's basically a manufacturing and construction recession right now. About 80% of the country is experiencing recessionary conditions. Consumer confidence has never been lower. But there he goes and just lies over and over again. Then Donald Trump goes and starts talking about Hunter Biden and auto pens and it's just. Dude, shut up. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Where's Hunter? No, Hunter's was good. That was the one. Pardon Pam. That was good, right? The rest of them are all invalid. I don't know what the hell you're going to do about that. But that's. Now we're going to take a little of the joke and that is a mess.

[Political Commentator]

Then he says he thinks this is funny, that he goes, we're approving nuclear power plants in a week. Hahaha. Great job. Lee Zeldin. Let's play this clip once.

[Donald Trump]

Howard Lutnick, Linda McMahon, Scott Turner, administrator Lee Zeldin, who's done a great job. A nuclear power plant gets approved in less than a week. Okay, I'm only kidding. But pretty close to that. And we have more. Where is Lee? Stand up, Lee. One of my great superstars. Thank you.

[Political Commentator]

Not sure that's something to brag about. Not going through the requisite approval processes. It's not really sure why it's funny. Then Donald Trump says the White House is the department of everything. And then he goes on to attack former President Biden and says Sleepy Joe Biden that the turkey pardons are not valid because of auto pen. Dude, just be, just. Can you just pretend for like 30 seconds to be dignified? I mean, do we need to like just say like, can we do a cardboard printout of mom? Donnie, just put the cardboard print out next to Donald Trump. And here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

You remember last year after a thorough and very rigorous investigation by Pam Bondi and all of the people at Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, the White House Counsel's office and the Department of Everything. We have a Department of Everything. You know what that is? I think that's called the White House into a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden. He used an auto pen last year for the turkey's pardon. So I have the official duty to determine and I have determined that last year's turkey pardons are totally invalid, as are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned other than where's.

[Political Commentator]

Hunter now while Donald Trump is giving that speech, let's talk about what they were saying on Fox. Even Fox had to fact check Donald Trump and they said, really, gas hasn't gone down at all. It's pretty much the same this year as it was last year. But they're like people have conflicting views about gas prices. There's no conflicting views. Trump and the Republican lie about it. And then there's the truth. And the truth is to be fair, the gas prices didn't go up. They're about the same. But all the other prices went up. That's the truth. Let me show you this clip. Let's play it.

[Gas Price Reporter]

Yeah, always better to me to drive than to fly, Sandra. But you know, gas prices. Well, what about that one behind me? Yeah. That's the most expensive gas in the state of Pennsylvania, $4.09, the average gallon, about a dollar more than the national average. And you know, people have conflicting views about gas prices. The administration says it's lower than it was. Others say it's higher. The reality is, well, you see it right there. It's pretty much the same as it was last month. Last year, $3.05. That despite the change in energy production and energy prices, 13.7 million barrels a day pumped the last month. We've got data. And that not only is a record in the US but an all time record in the history of earth.

[Political Commentator]

And then meanwhile on cnn, here's what they're talking about, how people are feeling right now. Let me just show you. This is the sentiment out there. Let's play this clip.

[News Reporter]

I mean just your Costs are up versus a year ago. Groceries 85%. Utilities 78%. Health care 67%. Housing 66%. Gasoline 54%. The bottom line is this. Americans feel like prices are rising in each and every single part of their lives, rising ever climber. And they just don't feel like Kate Baldwin, that they can catch a break.

[Financial Analyst]

The treasury secretary in new comments kind.

[Political Commentator]

Of dismissed the impact tariffs is having on inflation, also saying that prices are going to be coming down in weeks.

[Financial Analyst]

Some of the prices are going to.

[Political Commentator]

Be coming down in months.

[Financial Analyst]

What do Americans think about that?

[News Reporter]

Yeah, they think he's full of it. That's exactly what they think. I mean, just take a look here. Tariffs rise, raising prices, are raising prices right now. Kate's side of screen 71%. How dare I do that? 84% of Democrats, 74% of independents and even a majority of Republicans when you can get a majority of Republicans who agree with majority of Democrats. You know that the pain is being felt by the American public right now. The Treasury Secretary can try and tell the people something, but they can feel in their pocketbooks they simply put don't buy what he and this administration is selling when it comes to tariffs.

[Political Commentator]

There you have it folks. Let me know what you think. Very bizarre indeed. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.

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