Trump Spirals as Spontaneous Protests Erupt

Summary

The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: Trump Spirals as Spontaneous Protests Erupt

Date: November 6, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on former President Donald Trump’s tumultuous week following a resounding Democratic victory in the elections, leading to spontaneous protests erupting in Washington, D.C. The Meiselas brothers dive into Trump's erratic public appearances, controversial statements (including talk of military action in Nigeria), economic misinformation, cognitive slips, political fallout, and reactions from both supporters and critics. Throughout, they blend their signature brotherly banter with sharp political analysis and unfiltered criticism of Trump’s actions and rhetoric.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Spontaneous Protests and Trump’s Defiant Messaging

• [00:00] Protests in D.C. erupt post-election, with demonstrators calling out against ICE, the border wall, and the Trump regime.
• [00:10] Election results indicate a significant Blue Wave, with Democrats sweeping and California Governor Gavin Newsom leading polling among young voters against top Republican contenders.
  • Notable statistic: Newsom leads JD Vance 43% to 29% and Marco Rubio 42% to 25% among 18-25-year-olds.

2. Trump’s Escalating Rhetoric: Military Threats Against Nigeria

• [01:35] Trump floats possible military action in Nigeria, threatening a "guns blazing" approach against so-called Islamic terrorists, emphasizing protection of Christians.
  • Quote: “We’re going to do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns are blazing...”—Donald Trump [01:35]
• Hosts highlight the recklessness and extremity of such statements coming from a sitting president.

3. Pivoting to “Affordability” Amid Policy Contradictions

• [02:03] Trump’s advisor claims affordability will be the administration’s focus next year—while the hosts point to recent controversial spending (White House renovations, Argentina bailout) and benefit cuts (food stamps, healthcare).
  • Hosts mock this sudden pivot as insincere and out-of-touch.

4. Trump’s Miami Speech & Juvenile Attacks on Newsom

• [03:18] Trump gives a speech, sponsored by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund, in Miami—slinging childlike insults at Newsom, calling him “Slimy Newscom.”
  • Quote: “He’s a slimy one. Maybe that should be his nickname. Slimy. Slimy Newscom. Right.”—Donald Trump [03:23]
  • Hosts ridicule the immaturity and the involvement of foreign sponsors at a U.S. political event.

5. GOP Denial and Deflection Post-Election

• [03:49] “MAGA Mike” Johnson claims the Republican losses were “expected,” downplaying the significance of the election.
  • Quote: “No big surprises last night… Obviously, we predicted all of this.”—Mike Johnson [03:57]
• The hosts note GOP attempts to spin the outcome and avoid addressing voter rejection.

6. Signs of Trump’s Cognitive Decline

• [04:40] Trump bizarrely claims Miami has been a haven for those fleeing “communist tyranny in South Africa,” conflating South Africa and South America.
  • Quote: “For generations, Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. I mean, if you take a look at what’s going on in parts of South Africa. Look at South Africa, what’s going on? Look at South America. What’s going on?”—Donald Trump [04:40]
  • Hosts openly question Trump’s mental acuity and fitness for office.

7. Conflating Indictments and Grievance Politics

• [05:40] Trump complains about criminal indictments over a Ukraine phone call (mixing up impeachment and criminal charges) while portraying himself as a victim.
  • Quote: “I got indicted. I made a phone call… These people are the worst. Then they say he’s going to have to call me. They indicted me. They impeached me. They did everything. It’s unbelievable.”—Donald Trump [05:40]
  • The hosts dissect how Trump manipulates facts to fuel his grievance narrative.

8. Economic Misinformation and Revisionism

• [06:23] Trump claims “grocery prices are way down” and that “everyone’s rich in America,” contradicting widespread reporting.
  • Quote: “Grocery prices are way down.”—Donald Trump [06:38]
• [07:59] Trump boasts of lifting 600,000 off food stamps and adding nearly 2 million jobs in nine months, with easily debunked figures.
  • Quote: “In nine months, we’ve lifted over 600,000 Americans off of food stamps, which is a record… Almost 2 million… more than when I took office.”—Donald Trump [07:59]
• [08:37] Claims of $18 trillion in new investments in 9 months, aiming for $21 trillion, directly contrasted with less than $1 trillion under Biden.
  • Quote: “In nine months, I’ve secured commitments of over $18 trillion, and we’re going to have 21 trillion within the first year.”—Donald Trump [08:37]
  • Hosts highlight the absurdity and impossibility of these numbers.

9. White House Demolition & Asbestos Exposure Scandal

• [09:20] Discussion shifts to reports of hazardous White House renovations, where safety protocols were allegedly ignored—possibly exposing workers to fatal asbestos.
  • Hosts call this another example of Trump’s disregard for worker safety and public health.

10. Dubious Economic Self-Congratulations

• [11:28] Trump claims outright credit for saving the world from depression through tariffs, mixing up economic jargon (magnets, rare earths) and world diplomacy.
  • Quote: “If I didn’t put 100% tariff immediately on China, the entire world…because of magnets, a special kind of rare earth…We’d be closed up.”—Donald Trump [11:28]

11. Supreme Court Hearing & Tariffs

• [12:02] The hosts discuss a Supreme Court hearing concerning Trump’s emergency powers on tariffs, noting bipartisan skepticism about his authority.
  • [12:28] Trump insists the hearing “went well,” calling it potentially “the most important” case in U.S. history regarding national security and tariffs.
  • Quote: “It would be devastating for our country if we lost that. Devastating. I think it’s one of the most important, maybe the most, but one of the most important cases in the history of our country…”—Donald Trump [12:28]

12. Intellectual Property Scuffle with the New York Knicks

• [13:20] Trump uses the Knicks' logo in a meme claiming “Trump is your president” after losing New York, drawing swift objections from the team and highlighting his habit of disregarding copyright and IP.

13. Revisionist Boasting of Presidential Accomplishments

• [14:02] Trump closes with declarations that these were the best nine months any president has had and touts a “golden age” of prosperity.
  • Quote: “I think it’s the best nine months, they say, of any president. And I really believe that if we can have a few more nine months like this, you’d be very happy, you’d be very satisfied.”—Donald Trump [14:02]
  • The Meiselas brothers respond with sarcasm, reflecting how out-of-touch such declarations are with the national mood.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Threatening Nigeria:
  “We’re going to do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns are blazing…”
  —Donald Trump [01:35]

• On Newsom:
  “He’s a slimy one. Maybe that should be his nickname. Slimy. Slimy Newscom. Right.”
  —Donald Trump [03:23]

• On Geographical Confusion:
  “Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa…I mean… look at South America. What’s going on?”
  —Donald Trump [04:40]

• On His Own Indictments:
  “I got indicted. I made a phone call… They indicted me. They impeached me. They did everything. It’s unbelievable.”
  —Donald Trump [05:40]

• On Groceries and Prosperity:
  “Grocery prices are way down.”
  —Donald Trump [06:38]

• On Tariffs Saving the World:
  “If I didn’t put 100% tariff immediately on China, the entire world…because of magnets, a special kind of rare earth…We’d be closed up.”
  —Donald Trump [11:28]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:10] – Analysis of election results and polling on Newsom
• [01:35] – Trump’s Nigeria threats
• [02:03] – Trump administration’s “affordability” pivot and contradictory spending
• [03:18] – Trump’s Miami speech, Saudi funding, and juvenile Newsom insults
• [04:40] – Trump’s confusion between South Africa and South America
• [05:40] – Trump’s conflation of indictment and impeachment
• [06:38] – Trump’s misleading claims about grocery prices and prosperity
• [07:59] – Dubious statistics on food stamps and employment
• [08:37] – Tall tales of trillions in new investment
• [09:20] – White House asbestos exposure and renovation scandal
• [11:28] – Tariffs, rare earths, and Trump’s self-congratulation
• [12:28] – Supreme Court hearing on tariffs; Trump’s response
• [13:20] – Knicks logo controversy
• [14:02] – Trump claims "best" nine months as president

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Conclusion

This episode lays bare Trump’s spiral in the wake of significant electoral losses and growing public resistance, highlighting his erratic rhetoric, spreading of misinformation, and desperate attempts to control the narrative. The Meiselas brothers provide a biting, comedic critique of these developments, keeping listeners both informed and engaged.

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Note: Timestamps reflect the original transcript and may slightly differ on published audio versions.

Transcript

[Donald Trump]

No ice. The border wall. The Trump regime has got to fall. The Trump regime has got to fall. No ice. No border wall. No ice.

[Political Commentator]

Spontaneous protests have erupted in Washington D.C. you see it right there. After Donald Trump had devastating results on the elections that took place earlier this week as Democrats blue waves swept across this country. We're seeing the energy still there. And Donald Trump has a message for the country. Happy anniversary, maga exclamation point is what he says. And as those spontaneous protests continue to grow in Washington D.C. donald Trump just got some terrible news as well. California Governor Gavin Newsom right now in the latest tip poll is leading any Republican candidate for the potential presidency. Senator significantly against JD Vance Newsome leads 43% to 29% amongst the 18 to 25 year old demographic. And as it relates to Rubio, Newsom leads 42% to 25% there. So if there was one message that Donald Trump got from the election that he wanted to address, what do you think it was? Invading Nigeria. Right? Donald Trump put out a video a little bit earlier saying that the US is about to go guns a blazing into Nigeria. This is the statement from a fricking president of the United's guns ablazing. He says here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

We're going to do things to Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns are blazing to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible, horrible atrocities. I'm hereby instructing our department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious and sweet. Just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians.

[Political Commentator]

And then also a top Trump advisor says that next year Donald Trump's going to have a focus on affordability. It's next year folks. As we said on the Midas Touch account this year, White House renovations, $40 billion for Argentina, firing everyone, stripping away food stamps, getting rid of healthcare subsidies, getting rid of healthcare, Great Gatsby parties at his private club. But next folks, affordability, baby, next year is your year. Or as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant just said, it's gangbusters next year. You just wait. Here's what Donald Trump looked like all day. Looked like he was having a great day. Not. But what Donald Trump was saying is he gave two speeches. He gave one speech in front of the GOP senators. Then he went to Miami where he gave a speech sponsored by the Saudi Arabia Sovereign wealth fund Piffun, a presenting partner in an American Business association in Miami. He went there on the taxpayer dime. And he wanted to deliver this message. He wanted to show how stable of a human being he was. And he was like, you know what we should call Newsom? We call him News Gum, but maybe we call him Slimy News Scum.

[Donald Trump]

Ha ha ha.

[Political Commentator]

Slimy. This guy is just. Trump is just so freaking deranged. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

He's a slimy one. Maybe that should be his nickname. Slimy. Slimy Newscom. Right.

[Political Commentator]

By the way, while Donald Trump was out there telling the Saudi sovereign wealth fund event that he's going to call California Governor Gavin Newsom Slimy Newscomb, you had MAGA Mike Johnson saying that the election results totally what was expected. This is what the GOP wanted. MAGA Mike Johnson says here, play this clip right here.

[Donald Trump]

Last night's election. How do you interpret the results and what do they mean for the Republican Party going forward, especially when you look at the midterms?

[Political Commentator]

Well, we're very bullish about the midterms. I wouldn't read too much into last night. Special elections and off years are always sort of anomalies. They don't portend what happens in the future. No big surprises last night. I mean, obviously we predicted all of this. Then you really see Donald Trump's cognitive decline in full effect yesterday every day at this point. But he talks about how Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. Okay, maybe time for another MRI there, Donald. I think he meant to say South America, but then he leaned in and started talking about how Miami takes in all these South Africans and here just. The hell is he talking about? Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

For generations, Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. I mean, if you take a look at what's going on in parts of South Africa. Look at South Africa, what's going on? Look at South America. What's going on? You know, I'm not going to. We have a G20 meeting in South Africa. South Africa shouldn't even be in the GS anymore because what's happened there is bad. I'm not going. I told him I'm not going. I'm not going to represent our country there. That shouldn't be there. Take a look at what's happening in different parts of South America. Take a look at what's happening in different parts of the world then.

[Political Commentator]

Donald Trump thinks that he was indicted criminally for a phone call that he made about Ukraine during his first term. I think he conflates impeachment with the criminal indictments and the criminal indictments related to the January 6th insurrection and the nuclear secrets that he basically stolen, brought to Mar A Lago. But here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

It's a big industry and I have a lot of people that are great people, great business people. They're in other businesses, but they're in crypto, too. And it takes a lot of the pressure off the dollar. It takes, it does a lot of good things. But we're into it. Biden was vicious on crypto. They were going after these crypto guys. It was terrible. They were under indictment. But I got indicted, too. I got indicted. I made a phone call. Congratulations on your victory. He made a phone call. Let's indict him. These people are the worst. Then they say he's going to have to call me. They indicted me. They impeached me. They did everything. It's unbelievable. Who the hell else could have taken that? Do you guys know anybody else that could have taken it? I don't think so.

[Political Commentator]

Now at this ridiculous speech that Donald Trump gave in Miami, sponsored by the Saudi Arabia Sovereign Wealth Fund, he had another mess, another message. He said, grocery prices are way down. Everybody, everyone's rich in America. Everybody's doing great. Play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Grocery prices are way down.

[Political Commentator]

Then you had the mayor of Miami hand him the keys to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free real estate in Miami for Donald Trump to build what he claims will be his library. And that's what they were bragging about in Miami. Right? Now, play this clip. So disgusting. Let's play it.

[Donald Trump]

You like real estate, right? I do, yeah.

[Political Commentator]

This is a key that opened some.

[Donald Trump]

Really nice presidential library real estate. Thank you. Thank you very much, Francis. I appreciate it. And you know, he's really a special guy. I'm going to take this, I'm going to put it in the White House and then I'm going to move it to Doral. In about three and a half years, we put it right in Doral, right in that lobby of Doral. A lot of people from Doral.

[Political Commentator]

Then Trump lies yesterday and says that we've lifted over 600,000Americans off of food stamps. Here, I'll play this one for you.

[Donald Trump]

In nine months, we've lifted over 600,000Americans off of food stamps, which is a record. 1.9 million more American born workers are employed today. Think of that. Almost 2 million American born workers are employed today. More than when I took office. That's nine months ago. Can you imagine that? And I tell Republicans, if you want to win Elections, you got to talk about these facts. You know, it's really easy to win elections when you talk about the facts.

[Political Commentator]

And then again, he does the lie where he says that we've brought in $18 trillion already when we obviously haven't brought in $18 trillion. We could play this clip right here.

[Donald Trump]

In the prior four years, Crooked Joe Biden oversaw less than $1 trillion of new investment in the United States. So in four years, less than. Think of it, less than 1 trillion. That was not doing too good. In nine months, I've secured commitments of over $18 trillion, and we're going to have 21 trillion within the first year. So Sleepy Joe did think of that. In four years, he did less than a trillion. We're going to have 21 trillion in one year. I would say that's slightly better. Slightly. Just a little bit better.

[Political Commentator]

I'm going to show you this video this morning as well. I'm going to do a video of this hearing where this issue was raised. I flagged it before, and I'm glad that Senator Markey's raising it as well. You know, the East Wing of the White House was filled with asbestos right when it was built.

[Donald Trump]

It was.

[Political Commentator]

The construction material relied a lot on asbestos. Now, during the demolition, there seemed to be no safety precautions taken. Donald Trump did an end run around union work and union safety protocols and all safety protocols, and rushed that demolition of the East Wing. And, you know, there was this looked like a smoke cloud that looks like asbestos when the White House East Wing was ripped down and these dust clouds. And there may have been a lot of asbestos in there. And those workers who were there may have just been exposed to fatal asbestos and may die as a result. I mean, you know, the way Trump's a war criminal, the way he's starving Americans to death, I mean, we're going to have to focus on what the hell happened there, because it seems that there was some fatal exposure to asbestos. And once again, it could be Donald Trump killing more people there. That's. Pay attention to that. That'll be a big story. Donald Trump then gave this interview with Fox after that ridiculous Miami, Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund event. And Donald Trump says, if I didn't do tariffs, the whole world would be in a depression. I saved the world from a great depression. He's like, look what China was doing with magnets and rare earths. He's just saying words because he's an idiot. Rare earths, magnets, China, depression. I'm not even going to speak in actual sentences. I'll just say various words and try to scare you with them. Great plan, Donald. But guess what? America's not stupid and we repudiated your vile piece of trash regime. You, you vile piece of trash. We know what you're doing. We know that you hate America. We know you hate American people. We know you want to destroy this country. And Americans are resisting. Here, play this clip. As Donald Trump says, the whole world would be in a depression. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

And you're happy with what you came out of? If I didn't have tariffs, we wouldn't. We were right. Now the entire world would be in a depression because, you know, that wasn't a threat against us. That was a threat against the entire world. I did this for the world. But, yeah, I would say that I, and I can guarantee you this, if I didn't put 100% tariff immediately on China, the entire world, because of magnets, a special kind of rare earth, etc. Right. We'd be closed up. Without the benefit of tariffs. We would not. We had a very successful meeting with President Xi of China and others.

[Political Commentator]

And then we know that the Supreme Court oral argument was an absolute disaster for Donald Trump yesterday.

[Donald Trump]

The.

[Political Commentator]

The right wing Supreme Court justices were all saying, that doesn't seem like you had the authority to engage in these tariffs against the world. There was nothing that gave you power to tax, and tariffs are forms of taxation. But Donald Trump says, oh, I think it went great. I think it was the perfect Supreme Court hearing. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

How worried are you about this Supreme Court decision on your emergency power on tariffs? The hearing today, a lot of people were trying to read through the tea leaves what the justices were asking. Some were saying they were overly skeptical. You can't really do that in Supreme Court hearings. But how worried are you that they may unwind this thing? Well, I heard the court case went well today, but I just heard that a little while ago because, as you know, it was just two hours ago that they finished up. But I will say this, it would be devastating for our country if we lost that. Devastating. I think it's one of the most important, maybe the most, but one of the most important cases in the history of our country, I think taking tariffs away so that we can have national security. So as an example, President Xi, he hit us with the rare earths, and I hit him with a tariff, 100% tariff on top of all the other tariffs that you're paying. And they called in 10 minutes and we made a deal.

[Political Commentator]

Also, the New York Knicks basically sent Donald Trump a cease and desist. After Zoran Mamdani won the election, Donald Trump posted out a meme using the New York Knicks logo that says Trump is your president. And the New York Knicks were not too happy about Donald Trump stealing their logo to attack the people of New York who just voted significantly against Donald Trump. It's yet another example of Donald Trump's stealing of intellectual property rights. And finally, I just show you this where Donald Trump says that I think this was the best nine months ever. Don't we all think this was a golden age? No, Donald, no one thinks that was. Here, play this clip.

[Donald Trump]

Biggest vote in history. And above all, we won a resounding mandate to make America great again, which is what we're doing. And every day since, I've been fighting to turn the promise made into the ultimate promise kept. We're going to do our job. We have a big job to do. We've done really well. I think it's the best nine months, they say, of any president. And I really believe that if we can have a few more nine months like this, you'd be very happy, you'd be very satisfied. But it's been pretty incredible with trillions and trillions of dollars being poured back into our country by other countries and other places and people.

[Political Commentator]

There you have it, folks. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our [e-mail] you'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad free episodes of our podcast and more exclusive content Only [e-mail].

[Donald Trump]

Morning, Zoe. Got donuts. Jeff Bridges, why are you still living above our garage? Well, I dig the mattress and I want to be in a T Mobile commercial like you. Teach me. So Dana. Oh no, I'm not really prepared. I couldn't possibly at T Mobile get.

[Political Commentator]

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[Donald Trump]

Wow, impressive. Let me try. T Mobile is the best place to get iPhone 17 Pro because they've got the best network. Nice. Jeffrey, you heard them.

[Political Commentator]

T Mobile is the best place to get the new iPhone 17 Pro on.

[Donald Trump]

Us with eligible traded in any condition. So what are we having for launch?

[Political Commentator]

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