Fox News Collapses on Air as Trump Blows Everything

18 Nov 2025 · 22 min · 4 chapters

Ask about this episode

Ask anything about it. ChatGPT or Claude reads this page and answers with the times it was said.

Connect VO and ask about every podcast you hear, including the moments you saved. Add to ChatGPT · Add to Claude

In short

The episode argues Fox News is “collapsing” while promoting pro-Trump talking points ahead of a vote to release the Epstein files, and it criticizes guests’ claims about affordability, tariffs, border enforcement, and government shutdown impacts.

Guest backgrounds (as named)

Jesse Watters (Fox host); Tim Pool (MAGA commentator); Greg Bovino (Trump Border Patrol head); Mike Johnson (House Speaker); Sean Duffy (Trump transportation secretary, former TV personality); Todd Blanche (DOJ deputy attorney general, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney); James Comer (House Oversight chair); Ted Cruz (senator); Scott Besant (Treasury secretary, as stated in transcript).

Key claims

Don’t buy gifts for adults; Epstein files can’t be fully released due to “national security”; Americans aren’t focused on Epstein; Trump is “clean” per Maxwell/Epstein lawyers; border raids target “criminals” regardless of identity; Congress was “most productive”; tariffs are beneficial; flights weren’t “dangerous” despite controller staffing cuts; Halligan misconduct is “phenomenal”; Epstein documents will be released “legally”; no China trade deal exists yet.

Notable examples

“Grandma doesn’t need slippers” clip; “you can’t release everything” clip; “Americans… grocery prices” argument; Border Patrol “landscapers” roundup video; $10,000 bonus for controllers; Cruz 2028 run headline; Besant admitting no China trade deal completed yet.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Fox News Live Coverage Collapses

1:35 to 7:37

Discussion on Fox News' coverage and its implications regarding Trump and economics.

“So Fox is having guests show up who are saying that if you want to make things more affordable and you want to have an easier Christmas, just don't buy your grandma and your parents any gifts this Christmas.”

Border Patrol Tactics Under Scrutiny

7:37 to 9:30

Examination of Border Patrol's controversial tactics and their impact.

“who says, but at the end of the day, we've done our best work in Congress so far.”

Political Maneuvering and Accountability

9:30 to 14:00

Analysis of political narratives surrounding Trump and Epstein files.

“If not, they'll help you switch for free.”

Discussion on Transparency and Document Release

14:00 to 19:21

Learn about the challenges and strategies surrounding the release of Epstein files and the Trump administration's efforts.

“And I think it's an important to know that terminology because that's how they're going to avoid turning over the Epstein files.”
Hear the part that matters, and keep it.Open this episode in VO. Double tap your headphones to save a moment as you listen.
Get VO free

Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Choice Hotels gets you more of what you value. Here's a little tune to help you remember. Same drive, different day. Don't you wish you were getting away? Pack your bags and come on through.

0:12Ben Meiselas:Texas, Ohio, Alaska, we're up there too. Comfort Inn, it's calling your name. Save on the stay. Oh, and free waffles are yours to claim. Well, I hope you like my little song. Book direct at choicehotels.com. ever wonder where tropicana got its name the tropics and every time you enjoy a glass you're not just drinking juice you're taking a trip stepping into sunshine and embarking on a flavorful journey into the tropics where ripe fruit is crafted into wildly delicious juice and the best part no passport required tropicana give life some juice Monday.com AI agents took over my work. And I absolutely love it.

1:00Ben Meiselas:Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind now. I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent in minutes on Monday.com. State regime media, which calls itself Fox News, was collapsing live on air throughout the day. This is right before the vote to release the Epstein files. This is as Donald Trump's approval is absolutely crashing. This is as Americans are pissed that Donald Trump's promise to make things affordable was a complete and utter fraud. Let me show you what was going down. So Fox is having guests show up who are saying that if you want to make things more affordable and you want to have an easier Christmas, just don't buy your grandma and your parents any gifts this Christmas.

1:48Ben Meiselas:And this will go a long way to helping you afford more things. Just don't buy grandma any gifts. This is what the guests on Fox are saying. Here, play this clip. Budget, budget, budget. You need a plan. Also remember, adults don't need gifts, okay? Focus on the people in your life who are age three to 18. Grandma doesn't need slippers. If they don't live by you, don't get them a gift. Now's not the time to spend and break the bank sending packages across the country, Dana. Focus on the people in your life, ages three to 18. That's my 30 seconds for you. Then Fox propagandists like Jesse Water continue to try to cover up the release of the Epstein files.

2:25Ben Meiselas:And they say, well, even if the house votes to release the files, no one's really going to release the actual files. There's national security issues in there and classified issues. So the files should never be released. Here's their propagandist, Jesse Water saying this. Here, play this clip. Jesse, let's go to you first. Will this house vote and getting all of this out finally put an end to the story? Never, Dana. Okay. Never, because you can't release everything. A lot of it's, they're going to say national security, and they'll be able to hold that back. They'll be able to argue that it's classified national security implications.

3:03You can't see it.

3:04Ben Meiselas:Then Jesse Waters brings on another MAGA propagandist, Tim Pool, who says, you know what? Americans are not talking about Epstein. Nobody cares about this. Here's what Americans really care about is affordability and things are so much more affordable. So Americans just want to talk about how great the economy is right now and not the Epstein files. Okay. Let's be very clear. Americans are talking about the Epstein files, number one. And number two, things are not more affordable. They're far less affordable. And yes, Americans are talking about the complete and utter fraud of Donald Trump and MAGA and your claims that things are more affordable, just further perpetuate the lie and make people even more pissed off.

3:44Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. But I do think it's a big distraction and Democrats are getting caught up in something. Some have suggested Trump is doing this on purpose. Rope a dope. Tell him to come in. Oh no, the Epstein thing's a hoax. They, they tackle this issue. And then Trump focuses on tariffs. He focuses on immigration. The American people at the kitchen table aren't talking about Epstein. They're talking about grocery prices. And as you already pointed out, they're down. I mean, And they're still high, but they're coming down. And I think that's what's going to win a midterm election. Yeah, and he's now real focused on it, especially after the last elections in these blue states.

4:19Kind of a wake-up call. And that's a good thing.

4:22Ben Meiselas:Then Jesse Waters says, look, here's who we really need to trust. You have Epstein's lawyer, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyer. They're saying that Donald Trump didn't have anything to do with this. So we should believe them. Well, there should be a number of things to point out. First off, Epstein's lawyer, I guess Dershowitz, is also Trump's lawyer before as well. Also, Ghislaine Maxwell is a lifelong liar and child sex trafficker. So I don't think we should view what she's saying as she angles for a pardon to be accurate. But sure, Jesse, I guess that's what passes for credible on Fox.

4:59Ben Meiselas:Ghislaine Maxwell. OK, here play this clip. Epstein's lawyer says Trump was clean. Maxwell said he was clean. Not a single victim has come forward and said Donald Trump did anything. So I think we could put that to rest. If Epstein had anything, he would have blackmailed Trump in the first term. If anybody had anything, there were three elections that went through. They would have used it then. Then Fox brings on Greg Bovino, the head of Trump's Border Patrol. And right now, Border Patrol has launched an operation called Charlotte's Web in the Mecklenburg County, Charlotte area in North Carolina.

5:34Ben Meiselas:And Greg Bovino has shown these videos of Border Patrol agents rounding up landscapers and construction workers. Here's what he says. He goes, well, look, at the end of the day, how do we know they're illegally? So we'll just go after them. It doesn't matter who they are. Here, play this clip. Gone viral. And I want to get your reaction to it of landscapers who were being addressed by this individual that you see in the video. What do you say? What do you say to people when they look at that and say that falls outside of this purview of getting criminals out? What do you say to them? Martha, do we know the criminal records of those so-called landscapers?

6:12Do we know the criminal records of any illegal alien walking the streets here in Chicago or anywhere else? What we're finding is child rapists in big box stores looking to go into people's homes or hang those Christmas lights like we see in this video here. How do you know who these people are? Do they have a criminal record maybe in their home country? Who are these people? Too many times we're finding that some very, very disreputable individuals are seeking work in people's homes, in their gardens. And otherwise, we don't want those people in society. And that's what we're after. And I think we've done a really good job here in Chicago and other places to remove these types of individuals.

6:56Ben Meiselas:I saw a stat that showed about 15 to 20 percent of students in Mecklenburg County are not showing up to class because they're being terrorized by the Border Patrol and ICE Gestapo of Donald Trump. People are terrified to leave their homes. Citizens are terrified. People just living there are terrified because of chemical warfare taking place against them, the brutal tactics of Border Patrol. When you're driving in the street, Border Patrol is taking out their weapons, weapons of war and pointing it at people. It's horrific what's going on there. Going on to some more moments of Fox News' utter collapse.

7:36Ben Meiselas:They bring on MAGA Mike Johnson, who says, but at the end of the day, we've done our best work in Congress so far. This has been the most productive Congress, he says, in history. Here, play this clip. that were frustrated. 99.9 % of House Republicans were united in that. And they will tell you, and they have said publicly and privately, they've had some of their best work of their careers during the shutdown because they were in their districts with their constituents, helping them navigate through the chaos of the shutdown that the Democrats created. Mike, all y 'all have done is rip away people's health care, not show up to work, cause a government shutdown.

8:11Ben Meiselas:We didn't work for like hundreds of days, rip away people's health care, try to starve people to death, give tax cuts to the billionaires while ripping away people's Medicaid and shutting down rural hospitals. Great work there, Maga Mike. You saw that clip right there. Then Tim Pool comes back on and Tim Pool says, you know, look, tariffs have been so helpful to all Americans. He goes like me. I run a skateboard company. It's been so great. You're playing this clip. I hear Trump talking about tariffs. I understand this. I am a business owner. I own a skateboard company. We make all of our products in America, and I know what it means for an industry to outsource those jobs.

8:47And I agree with these tariffs because it's been a godsend for the manufacturing in this country, real Americans to get work to benefit our culture.

8:56Ben Meiselas:Now, I think this is really important for me to bring this up. The Medicare annual enrollment period is here. This is the time to compare your options. If you don't, your costs could go up, your coverage could change, or your plan could disappear entirely. So listen up. That's why I recommend you reach out to our partners chapter. They're the only advisors who look at every single plan in the country and provide honest advice to Americans on Medicare. It's why we work with them at the Midas Touch Network. In under 20 minutes, they can see if you're already on the best plan for your needs. If you are, they'll tell you.

9:33Ben Meiselas:If not, they'll help you switch for free. They've already helped many members of the Midas Touch community, and they can help you too. Don't get duped by brokers who are pushing the plans that pay them the biggest kickbacks. And don't wait until December to figure out your plan for next year. Call Chapter today at 82 Medicare. That's 82 Medicare and get honest advice today. Give them a call and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I know the Midas Mighty have been very happy with the results. Then they call on their Transportation Secretary of the regime, Sean Duffy, who is Sean from the Real World Road Rules Challenge in the real world.

10:16Ben Meiselas:That's how this guy got famous and pushed into kind of the MAGA world. and he goes, you know what you should realize about flying? It's very dangerous. It was very dangerous during the shutdown. Very dangerous. And Laura Ingraham's like, oh, they got you now. You've said it's dangerous. So people are going to say, you see, he said it's dangerous. Here, play this clip. Back to the way we were pre-shutdown. And again, this was dangerous. We were in a situation, not dangerous. It was concerning. Uh-oh, they're going to get you for that shot. Well, it wasn't dangerous, but we didn't have enough traffic.

10:44I can see them writing the story. Said it was dangerous, let you fly. It wasn't dangerous, but it was concerning. when you have so many delays and cancellations because you don't have air traffic controllers in towers fully staffing our skies. It's a huge problem. And yeah, we're gonna say it's dangerous

10:58Ben Meiselas:because he's got one job to not make it dangerous. Like we all wanna take flights that are not dangerous. We all want air traffic controllers who do not feel threatened by the Trump regime when the regime threatens them each and every day. What we want is someone who actually takes their job seriously and not someone like Sean Duffy from the Real World Road Rules Challenge. Anyway, moving on to Fox's further collapse. They then have Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former criminal defense attorney, who's now the deputy attorney general at the DOJ. And he says that Lindsey Halligan, who is the federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, prosecuting the Comey case, she was Trump's former personal lawyer.

11:44Ben Meiselas:And then he, she was the person Trump ordered, you know, go after Comey, go after Letitia James, go after Schiff after the Republican United States attorney. And no one else wanted to do those prosecutions. So we all know how like Lindsay Halligan was called out for like, what seems to be extreme grand jury misconduct by the federal judge overseeing the case. But according to Todd Blanche, she's doing a magnificent job. She's doing great. Here, to play this clip. And look, U.S. Attorney Halligan is doing a phenomenal job in the EDVA. And the argument was last week. We'll see what happens in the coming weeks.

12:21But the reality is that there's cases that we have investigated that have been brought before a grand jury, that have been indicted. And listen, they have a right to come. They have a right to fruition. They have a right to see what happens in front of a jury of the peers. And so what's happening with U.S. Attorney Halligan and multiple U.S. attorneys in this country is something that we're fighting every day.

12:47Ben Meiselas:Now, the one good thing about Blanche saying that and Pam Bondi, the attorney general, filing documents saying that they ratify and they support the behavior of Lindsey Halligan is that they're attaching themselves to what seems to be serious misconduct and serious ethical breachers to potentially hold these individuals accountable later on. Todd Blanche says that with respect to Epstein, we're going to find out if there's anybody that hasn't been held accountable, but not Trump. We're going to find everybody, right? Isn't this just like when OJ wrote the book? Like if I did it, you know, it's like, here, play this clip.

13:26And so we're going to continue to find out if there's anybody responsible, anybody that hasn't been held accountable. And if they're out there, we'll find them. Yeah. I think most Americans would say the fact that it has been going on for more than a decade. And it seems like nobody, nobody's left to prosecute or bring charges against there. You can't seem to find evidence is what's concerning to people and a more transparency to better.

13:45Ben Meiselas:Then Laura Ingraham brings on James Comer and James Comer says, at the end of the day, we're going to get all the documents regarding the Epstein investigation that we are legally entitled to. He goes, the DOJ and Trump, they've released what they could quote, legally release. And I think it's an important to know that terminology because that's how they're going to avoid turning over the Epstein files. They're going to say, we turned over everything we could legally release, but we can't release the rest of it. Here, play this clip. So why not just release the files? I mean, if there's nothing in there, who cares?

14:21Why not for transparency sake and the administration, obviously players in the administration said they were going to be released and then some were released, but not all of them. The president said, go ahead and release them. So just get it out there and have it done with. Well, that's what I've encouraged the White House to do. And they're working with us. They've released what they can legally release. There's grand jury testimony and the Trump administration asked the judge to release that grand jury testimony. and the judge who was an Obama appointee rejected the Trump Department of Justice request to release the grand jury testimony.

14:57So a judge has to issue that. But look, I think the Trump administration is working with us a lot more than what the media has given them credit for. But I've encouraged the president to disclose everything. I'm glad that he's gone ahead and put this issue to borrow this due charge petition behind us. This is just a stunt by the Democrats and a few disgruntled Republicans. We're getting the documents. And as soon as we get them on the oversight committee, we're making them public. And I think that's what the president wants. And hopefully we'll get all the documents released and we can move on to the issues that the American people care about.

15:32Ben Meiselas:More from this clown, Sean Duffy, talking about how he can't control the weather. Play this clip. Yeah. So we had into last week and we had 81 staffing triggers at different towers throughout the country. Again, mass chaos. We had delays and cancellations. We rolled those requirements back this morning. And so we are back to normal. We have the appropriate number of air traffic controllers in our towers, our TRACONs, and our centers. So as we look forward to Thanksgiving, I think we're in a really good place to get back to normal. Now, I can't control the weather. I can't control if you have a technical problem with your airplane.

16:05But with air travel, we're back to the way we were pre-shutdown. And again, this was dangerous. We were in a situation that was not dangerous. It was concerning. Uh-oh, they're going to get you for that. Well, it wasn't dangerous, but we didn't have enough air traffic. I can see them writing the story. Said it was dangerous, let you fly. It wasn't dangerous, but it was concerning when you have so many delays and cancellations because you don't have air traffic controllers in towers fully staffing our skies. It's a huge problem. How are we making up that? We still have a deficit of how many?

16:33Ben Meiselas:2 ,000, roughly. Then Sean Duffy says, yes, he's going to go back and retaliate against air traffic controllers who he said didn't show up to work during the government shutdown when they weren't getting paid. He goes, I expect you to show up even when you don't get paid. Here, play this clip right here. It doesn't stop. So are we going to see repercussions that the president referenced of those who did not show up during the shutdown and, you know, as he said, kind of had a bad attitude? So we're going to look at the ones who, when the shutdown first happened, that they just started calling out sick right away and they didn't come in to work over the course of that 43 days.

17:09Those ones we'll look at. But we're going to pay a reward to those who didn't take any unexcused absences. They're the ones that actually came in every single day and did the great work. $10 ,000 bonus. And also the tech people that come in and make sure the equipment works. We're going to reward them. Carrot and sticks. We're going to give carrots. I like that.

17:27Ben Meiselas:Then for reasons that are unclear, state regime media brings on Ted Cruz, who talks about running for president in 2028. Kind of a very creepy way to. Here, play this clip. You might be making some news. Axios led its morning newsletter with this headline, Scoop, Cruz Eyes 2028 Run. Senator Cruz, where are you on that? You know, reporters are going to write headlines that get clicks and get eyeballs. I got a job. It's representing 31 million Texans and it's fighting every day for 31 million Texans. And I'll tell you right now, the wins we are getting are historic. The one big, beautiful bill you were talking about just a minute ago, I was blessed to write major portions of that bill.

18:10Ben Meiselas:And then you have on Maria Bartiroma's program, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. He admits that there has been no trade deal with China and that they hope to complete one before Thanksgiving, even though they've been saying since May there was a trade deal in June, there was a trade deal in July. you get the whole summer there were trade deals. September there was a trade deal. October there was a trade deal. But here he admits no trade deals. Here, play this clip. Is China holding back rare earth magnets from companies tied to the U.S. military right now? Yeah, Maria, I think that Wall Street Journal reporting is not very accurate.

18:47We haven't even finished the agreement, which we hope to have done by Thanksgiving. And I am confident that post our meeting in Korea between the two leaders, President Trump, President Xi, that China will honor their agreements. Xi Jinping has great respect for President Trump. The meeting was conducted very high level, and I am confident that they will honor their agreement. And if they don't, we have lots of levers.

19:16Ben Meiselas:Well, there you have it, folks. As I mentioned, Fox absolutely spiraling out of control, collapsing live on TV. You see it right there. Let me know what you think. Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers and thanks for watching. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad-free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

19:45Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile with a message for everyone paying big wireless way too much. Please, for the love of everything good in this world, stop. With Mint, you can get premium wireless for just$15 a month. Of course, if you enjoy overpaying, no judgments, but that's weird. Okay, one judgment. Anyway, give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three-month plan, equivalent to$15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only. Then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

From the publisher

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on Fox News losing control of its programming as Donald Trump blows up his term as his failures have caused his approval to plummet to the worst levels ever.

For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial 82-MEDICARE (826-334-2273) to speak with our trusted partner, Chapter, or go to https://askchapter.org/mtn

Disclaimer: Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options.

Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts:

MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast

Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af

MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial

The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast

The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan

Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen

The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show

Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats

Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54

Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown

On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman

Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered

Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More from The MeidasTouch Podcast

All 2,222 episodes
Fox News Collapses on Air as Trump Blows EverythingThe MeidasTouch Podcast · 22 min
Listen in VO