Trump Spirals on Sunday as Damage Control Backfires

Summary

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The MeidasTouch Podcast

Episode: "Trump Spirals on Sunday as Damage Control Backfires"

Date: November 16, 2025
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the Meiselas brothers break down former President Donald Trump’s latest attempts at damage control—including controversial social media posts, political feuds, and public relations missteps. They explore the deepening fractures within the MAGA movement, the growing opposition to Trump within the Republican Party, and the national conversation around the release of Jeffrey Epstein files. The tone is lively, irreverent, and unfiltered, with a mix of pointed analysis and the brothers’ signature comedic banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Desperate Image Rehabilitation

[01:17–03:59]

• Trump’s official White House account posted photos with Melania labeled “America’s power couple,” apparently an attempt to distract from damaging revelations tying Trump to Epstein-related controversies.

• The hosts deride these as “damage control” that backfired because the public focus remained on the unfolding scandals.

  “Do you think that’s going to make us forget that you’re covering up a child sex trafficking ring like that? We’re just going to go—oh, Donald Trump's name wasn’t all over those Epstein emails that were just released because Donald and Melania, they’re America’s power couple.”
  —Podcast Host (Ben), [01:29]

• Trump lashed out at Indiana Republicans for refusing his gerrymandering scheme, essentially showing disarray within the party.

• The hosts highlight Democratic maneuvering in states like California as pushback to GOP schemes.

2. Economic Turmoil under Trump

[02:49–03:45]

• 23 U.S. states are currently in recession; 11 more are on the brink, with Michigan newly tipped into contraction per Moody’s.
• The hosts criticize Trump for “spiraling” over bad economic headlines that contradict his public messaging.

3. MAGA Movement Fractures: Marjorie Taylor Greene Speaks Out

[03:45–05:49]

• Marjorie Taylor Greene distances herself from Trump, criticizing his support for H1B visas, the influx of Chinese students, and lack of an “America First” agenda.

  “Those are not America first positions… I would love to see Air Force One be parked and stay home and there be nothing but a constant focus in the White House on a domestic agenda that helps the American people once and for all.”
  —Marjorie Taylor Greene, [04:18]

• Greene further condemns Trump for honoring a known Al Qaeda-affiliated leader on the Marines’ 250th anniversary.

  “I think that was very hurtful to the great men and women who served over in the Middle East… from fighting Al Qaeda. So there’s things I disagree with and I am allowed to do so.”
  —Marjorie Taylor Greene, [05:25]

4. Trump’s Loyalists & Party Weirdness

[05:49–07:21]

• With the MAGA base splintering, Trump is left with fringe loyalists like Nick Adams (Australian self-styled “alpha male” who was made ambassador to Malaysia).

• Nick Adams claims, “You’re either with Trump or you’re against America,” prompting Governor Newsom’s tart response:

  “We’re pro America and pro people with critical thinking skills.”
  —Governor Gavin Newsom, paraphrased by Host, [06:30]

5. The Swiss Tariff Scandal & Corruption

[06:36–07:21]

• Trump administration accepted extravagant gifts (Rolex clock, 1kg gold bar) from Swiss negotiators before agreeing to reduce tariffs.
• Hosts lampoon the brazen quid pro quo, noting a Trump spokesperson bragged that Swiss bribery outclassed even Apple’s.

6. Epstein Files: Political Fallout

[07:21–11:00]

• Senator John Barrasso dodges questions about the House’s impending vote to release Epstein files, downplays their importance, and frames the issue as a Democratic ploy.

  “This is not about truth. It’s not about justice. This is about an attempt by the Democrats to make President Trump a lame duck president. And I’m not going to aid and abet them in their efforts.”
  —Sen. John Barrasso, [08:23]

• Rep. Thomas Massie teams up with Democrat Ro Khanna to push for transparency, warning Republicans:

  “Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement. But in 2030, he’s not going to be the president and you will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don’t vote to release these files… The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump.”
  —Rep. Thomas Massie, [09:21]

• Massie suggests Trump’s sudden investigation is a “smokescreen” to prevent file release.

7. Right-Wing Media Minimizes Economic Crisis

[11:00–14:58]

• Trump’s narrative of a “golden age” is not matched by economic reality or independent coverage.

• Most right-wing outlets ignore stories about affordability struggles; left-leaning and centrist media cover it extensively.

  “The awakening that we’re seeing among Trump’s MAGA base is that they’ve been lied to by their media so much and now they’re just going out and they’re like, I’m not living the golden age. Why are you hiding this stuff from me? I want the truth.”
  —Podcast Host, [12:53]

• Hosts plug Ground News, an app that helps reveal media bias and blind spots.

8. State Media, Trade Policy, & the Tariff Dance

[14:58–17:50]

• Fox News focuses on trivial stories (“Taco Bell items rumored to be removed from the menu”) while ignoring Trump-Epstein connections.

• Trump administration claims credit for “removing tariffs” that it initially imposed, arguing this will lower prices at the grocery store.

  “You put the tariffs on and raise the prices. Now you want to get credit for removing tariffs... Are these the biggest liars in the world?”
  —Podcast Host, [14:48]

• Treasury Secretary Scott Besant insists the Supreme Court should not overturn Trump’s tariffs, spinning them as keys to world peace and fentanyl reduction.

  “This is one of President Trump’s signature policies. And traditionally the Supreme Court does not interfere with a president’s signature policy… I would push this back onto the Supreme Court.”
  —Secretary Besant, [16:20]

9. Trump’s Feuds and MAGA Backlash

[17:52–18:24]

• Trump spends taxpayer dollars on weekends with Lindsey Graham and publicly feuds with Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling her “Lightweight Marjorie Taylor Brown.”

• Candace Owens voices regret for supporting Trump:

  “What I will say is that he’s been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn’t going to happen. And it is happening.” —Candace Owens, [18:24]

10. Federal Crackdowns and Community Responses

[18:45–19:45]

• Hosts discuss federal crackdowns in North Carolina (Charlotte/Mecklenburg area), likening Trump regime’s tactics to gestapo-like targeting of communities.
• They highlight the importance of local resistance and solidarity across U.S. cities.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s PR stunts:
  “Do you think that’s going to make us forget that you’re covering up a child sex trafficking ring?”
  —Podcast Host (Ben), [01:29]

• On the MAGA Split:
  “I would love to see Air Force One be parked and stay home… on a domestic agenda that helps the American people once and for all.”
  —Marjorie Taylor Greene, [04:18]

• On Political Accountability:
  “The record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump.”
  —Rep. Thomas Massie, [09:32]

• On Right-Wing Media’s Blind Spots:
  “I’m not living the golden age. Why are you hiding this stuff from me?”
  —Podcast Host, [12:53]

• On Republicans and Tariffs:
  “Are these the biggest liars in the world?”
  —Podcast Host, [14:48]

• On Regret for Supporting Trump:
  “He’s been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him… This is not the candidate that I voted for.”
  —Candace Owens, [18:24]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Topic/Quote | |------------|----------------------------| | 01:17 | Trump’s “America’s power couple” PR, attacks Indiana | | 03:59 | Marjorie Taylor Greene denounces Trump’s policies | | 05:09 | Greene slams Trump’s Oval Office moves | | 06:36 | Swiss tariff bribery discussed | | 07:35 | Sen. Barrasso on Epstein files | | 09:16 | Rep. Massie on GOP and voting to release files | | 10:05 | Massie accuses Trump of “smokescreen” investigations | | 11:00 | Right-wing media ignores economic crisis | | 14:58 | Fox focuses on Taco Bell, not scandals | | 16:20 | Treasury Sec. Besant defends tariff policy | | 17:52 | Trump feuds with Greene; MAGA base splits | | 18:24 | Candace Owens expresses regret over Trump | | 18:45 | Updates on North Carolina crackdown |

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Conclusion

This episode captures the unparalleled chaos surrounding Trump’s efforts to manage explosive scandals, the unprecedented rift between him and longtime MAGA supporters, and the Republican Party’s increasing division over transparency and accountability. Driven by the dynamic banter and sharp analysis of the Meiselas brothers, it offers an engaging, in-depth look at political developments, the battle for truth in media, and the evolving face of the American right.

Transcript

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[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

Not representing the MAGA movement that he started. Right now. I can say that promoting H1B visas to replace American jobs, bringing in 600,000 Chinese students to replace American students, opportunities in American colleges and universities, those are not America first positions. And continuing to really travel all over the world doesn't help Americans back at home. I really, and I said this to him and I will say it out loud. I would love to see Air Force One be parked and stay home and there be nothing but a constant focus in the White House on a domestic agenda that helps the American people once and for all.

[Podcast Host]

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also says that she disagrees with Donald Trump bringing in the former leader of Al Qaeda and spraying him with perfume and cologne in the Oval Office. She goes, that's probably a bad look to do on the Marines 250th anniversary. This is what Donald Trump is waking up to as well. Play this clip.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene]

And I can disagree with the president at times, especially particularly this past Monday on the Marines 250th anniversary when he honored the new Syrian president who is an Al Qaeda terrorist and was wanted by our government for years with a $10 million bounty up until March of this year. I very much am against that. I think that was very hurtful to the great men and women who served over in the Middle east and were sent there. And many of them that were killed and injured and live with PTSD to this day from fighting Al Qaeda. So there's things I disagree with and I am allowed to do so well, you.

[Podcast Host]

So we've done a video this morning on the Magaz leaving Donald Trump, I guess former MAGA at this point, because of Trump's behavior. Now Donald Trump is stuck with people like this Nick Adams. And Nick Adams is this really weird dude from Australia who would make all of these videos saying that, like, I'm the most alpha man ever. He's like, on Valentine's Day, I go to Hooters, and that's like, okay. Like, he's like the weirdest guy. Trump made this. It's such weird stuff. Trump made this guy the ambassador to Malaysia. Um, and he's out there posting things like this. You're either with Trump or you're against America. To which Governor Newsom responds, we're pro America and pro people with critical thinking skills. By the way, you have this news drop. So one of the things that people were saying is, so Donald Trump just reduced some of the tariffs on Switzerland. How did that come about? Well, to negotiate a trade deal with Donald Trump, the Swiss government arrived with a special Rolex desktop clock valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars and a 1 kg personalized gold bar, which the Trump regime spokesperson said they even topped Tim Cook from Apple, whose gold bar was not as big as the Swiss gold bar. You can't make this stuff up. So on the morning shows, they brought in people like this Senator John Barrasso and asked him about the Epstein files, because the House is going to be taking a vote on it this week, and the House is going to overwhelmingly say release the files. So, Barrasso, what's the Senate going to do here? Play this clip.

[Interviewer]

But, Senator, very quickly, four months ago, the Justice Department said there was nothing to to investigate. And then hours after President Trump called for an investigation, Pam Bondi said she was opening an investigation. Is that appropriate from your perspective?

[Senator John Barrasso]

I think there's a lot more important things to talk about right now to get the country back on track to lower prices for the American people. And that's what we need to do, is make life more affordable. The President and the Senate and the House need to be functioning and working on that, not on what's happened to a convicted sex offender who is now dead.

[Interviewer]

Senator.

[Podcast Host]

And here's Barrasso again. Let's play this clip.

[Interviewer]

The Epstein measure passes the House, Will it get a vote in the Senate?

[Senator John Barrasso]

It'll come to the Senate. We'll take a look at it. If it passes the House, we'll see what it says. And we all want accountability and transparency. But to me, this is not about truth. It's not about justice. This is about an attempt by the Democrats to make President Trump a lame duck president. And I'm not going to aid and abet them in their efforts.

[Interviewer]

But you don't commit to a vote, Senator. You don't commit to holding a vote. If the Epstein measure passes in the House just very quickly. We're almost out of time.

[Senator John Barrasso]

Well, what I've said and what Senate Leader Thune has said is we'll look at it. We'll look at what's come over. I don't even know that it's going to pass the House. The Senate will make a decision. We'll have a discussion about it and make a decision from there.

[Podcast Host]

Now let's hear from actually a courageous Republican by the name of Thomas Massie who worked with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna to release these Epstein files. Massie wants to remind his Republican colleagues of something here. Play this clip.

[Congressman Thomas Massie]

Happen. I would remind my Republican colleagues who are deciding how to vote. Donald Trump can protect you in red districts right now by giving you an endorsement. But in 2030, he's not going to be the president and you will have voted to protect pedophiles. If you don't vote to release these files and the president can't protect you, then this, this vote, the record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump.

[Podcast Host]

And then with respect to Donald Trump saying, oh, everything Epstein is a hoax, this is a hoax. Here is what Massie had to say. Let's play this clip right here. Congressman Massie, thank you for being here. President Trump fought long and hard to prevent your discharge petition from going through. You won that battle. Now what happens? How many Republicans in the House follow your lead and defy the President on this?

[Congressman Thomas Massie]

I think we could have a deluge of Republicans. There could be 100 or more. I'm hoping to get a veto proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote. And you know the president's been saying this is a hoax. He's been saying that for months. Well, he's just now decided to investigate a hoax. If it's a hoax. And I have another concern about these investigations that he's announced. If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can't be released. So this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations to open a bunch of them to as a last ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.

[Treasury Secretary Scott Besant]

I mean it is extraordinary to hear.

[Podcast Host]

Him demand an investigation and only mention Democrats now. I just find it interesting as well that Donald, just take a look at this headline. Trump's Republican Party insists there's no affordability crisis and dismisses election losses. Just think about that. Like you have Trump posting. We're in a golden age. Everything is amazing now. I just wanted to analyze like is this news getting to right wing audiences? What I found interesting. Like all of these articles about how the Republican insist that there is no affordability crisis and everybody's like living their best lives in a golden age now, which we all know is false. The coverage of this is that out of 100% pie of coverage of this left media, 44% center, 49% right covered this story 7% so the right barely covered this story at all, which I just find fascinating and I think it's so important that we have a media diet filled with accurate news. Um, and I think this is the, the, the awakening that we're seeing among amongst Trump's MAGA base is that they've been lied to by their media so much and now they're just going out and they're like, I'm not living the golden age. Why are you hiding this stuff for me? I want the truth. So the way I stay up to date on the news all the time in order to do this podcast, my go to news source is something called Ground News. It's a subscriber funded app and news site and every day they pull in thousands of articles from around the world and organize them by story and then show you what the rights reporting, what the center is reporting and what the left is reporting. It's a game changer. As active, responsible citizens and as the host of a major podcast, I think it's important that I get my news and you get your news from reliable sources. That's why I use ground news every day. They also tell you, did a media conglomerate do this? Did an independent media source do it? They have a feature that talks about the reliability of the level of factuality rather of the article and the news source. I think that's important and it seems to me independent news has a higher factuality than even conglomerates, at least in my view of it. I use their Vantage subscription plan and they have what's called a blind spot feed which highlights stories that are disproportionately covered by one side of the political spectrum. Like the one I just showed you about Republicans insisting there's no affordability crisis. Left and center media are covering that disproportionately more than the right wing media is covering that. So join us by going to ground news slash MTN. Get 40% off the ground news vantage plan that I use every morning. They are subscriber funded and by subscribing you're not only getting a tool we all need today, you're also supporting our work here on this YouTube channel that's G R O U N D News MTN. We pinned a link to purchase your subscription below. Check it out. Ground News MTN Going through some of the morning news as well. I just found it interesting too talking about getting accurate media information on CNN this morning at least saw Trump in the Epstein files. NBC talked about Trump in the Epstein files. ABC talks about Trump in the Epstein files. But on state regime media Fox, their big story this morning, Taco Bell items rumored to be removed from the menu. All potato items loaded grillers, seven layer burrito. Then on state regime media they also had Maria Bartiroma interviewing Treasury Secretary Scott Besant who was insistent that they have a plan to deal with affordability. And they go not only will tariffs come off of things like coffee, cocoa, bananas, that's a result of the great work of the Trump regime. Okay, you put the tariffs on and raise the prices. Now you want to get credit for removing tariffs on the things as you've caused the prices to surge. I mean are these the, the biggest liars in the world? Here, play this clip right here.

[Treasury Secretary Scott Besant]

So not only will the tariffs come off some of the things you just listed like coffee, like cocoa, many other bananas, many other items that's a result of the trade deals going through. And then we will see this go down. And you know, we're also seeing the import barriers for the other countries come through. So this is a complete trade policy and now we are going to see it affect the prices.

[Podcast Host]

Here's more from Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and, and he's like the Supreme Court better not rule against us on Donald Trump's trade war against the world because it's Trump's signature issue and he stopped wars because of this. He stopped, he stopped the fentanyl big it's like make up stuff and the Supreme Court should go along with him because this is his cuz he has an unlawful signature issue that's crippled our economy. Seriously. Here, play this clip right here real quick.

[Interviewer]

Secretary, what are you expecting from the Supreme Court? Tariffs have already brought you, what, $200 billion or so. If the Supreme Court goes against you in this upcoming decision, are you going to have to pay back. The US government will have to pay back $200 billion in tariff revenue already collected. What's the backup plan?

[Treasury Secretary Scott Besant]

Well, Maria, I want to say this in the strongest possible terms. I think that there are three points. Here is one, this is one of President Trump's signature policies. Signature policies. And traditionally, the Supreme Court does not interfere with a president's signature policy. Two, this is an emergency authority, which is ipa. President Trump has successfully used that one to, as we talked about earlier, you know, on the rare earths problem, he threatens substantial tariffs on China. China. And that made the rare earths flow. Two, numerous of the peace deals that he's negotiated, he threatened to put tariffs on the countries, and that got us to the peace deal. Three, when we're talking about fentanyl, we had fentanyl tariffs. And what is more of an emergency than hundreds of thousands of Americans dying every year? No one had been able to get the Chinese to the table with these precursor drugs. And then, three, I would push this back onto the Supreme Court. I don't think this ruling is going to go against us. But if it does, what's their plan for refunds? Because how is this going to get to consumers? Are they just going to hand some of these importers big windfalls? What if the exporters have given big discounts already and then you're going to give a refund on the tariffs? So they'd be making it on both sides. So I don't think the Supreme Court wants to wade into a mess like that.

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[Podcast Host]

Also, we've seen, again, Donald Trump's been spending the weekend on the taxpayer dime. He's been hanging out with Lindsey Graham. He's been attacking Marjorie Taylor Green. His nickname for her now is Lightweight Marjorie Taylor Brown. That's what he's calling her. It's a stupid name, but that's what he's calling her. Um, that feud has increased. And again, just more photos of Donald Trump and Melania. Here is Candace Owens talking about Trump at this point. Here, play this clip.

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But what I will say is that he's been a chronic disappointment. And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn't going to happen. And it is happening. But I just think that the picture of politics in America is going to look very differently because of his actions. So I don't know where we go from here. I really don't, but I. This is not the candidate that I voted for.

[Podcast Host]

Also, our hearts go out to everybody in North Carolina right now. The Trump regime is invading North Carolina, Mecklenburg County, Charlotte area. They put in all of their Gestapo forces there. You have Greg Bevino, the border patrol head over there terrorizing people in shopping centers and in stores and, um, going through peaceful neighborhoods, you know, in their military fatigues and gear, causing a great deal of terror and trauma in Charlotte. But Charlotte standing up and Charlotte's resisting here in Los Angeles. We know what it's like, like in, in Oregon, in Chicago and lots of other cities and states across the country to Trump regimes targeting them. We'll keep you posted every step of the way, folks, here in the Minus Touch network hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million. We appreciate you. New Midas merch drop. Check out the latest pro democracy sticker packs, T shirts, hats, sweatshirts and more [e-mail] touch.com.