Dec. 18, 2025

Trump Speed-Reads Victory Speech As Ratings Tank And Epstein Ties Resurface

Show Notes
Transcript

President Trump races through a rambling prime-time address as his approval sinks to thirty-nine percent, unveils a last-minute “Warrior Dividend” with no clear funding, shrugs off war talk, and faces fresh scrutiny after a New York Times investigation reveals his long-denied closeness to Jeffrey Epstein.

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Callaroga shark media from Washington, DC, where people sound crazy

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when they talk really fast. This is ballot. Well, at

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least we aren't going to war with Venezuela yet. Let's

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hit this. I'm Patrick Guttfield and President Donald Trump delivered

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an eighteen minute address Wednesday night as his approval ratings

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crater to thirty nine percent. Standing in front of Christmas trees,

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Trump read at warp speed, jumping from topic to topic

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like someone trying to explain their entire year before the

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uber arrives. One year ago, our country was dead. We

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were absolutely dead, Trump said. Now we're the hottest country

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anywhere in the world. Nothing says healthy relationship energy. Like

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you were dying before you met me. Trump's approval on

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the economy sits at thirty six percent, with fifty eight

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percent disapproving, So naturally, he spent the speech praising as

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tariff policies, which industry leaders blame for rising prices, and

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bragging that egg prices have fallen. He predicted the largest

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tax refund season of all time this spring, sir, people

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are rationing eggs like it's the depression. In what relieved

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his advisors, Trump didn't repeat his claim that affordability concerns

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are a democratic hoax. The bar for success is now.

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Didn't call your grocery bill fake news. Then Trump announced,

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finalized about thirty minutes ago, that the government will send

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one thousand, seven hundred and seventy six dollars checks to

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military members. He's calling it a Warrior dividend. It's unclear

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how this gets funded or if Congress needs to approve it.

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Congress leaves Thursday, but why let details ruin a thirty

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minute old idea? Trump said tariff revenue would pay for it,

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except tariff revenue needs congressional approval like any other funds.

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He's writing checks with someone else's checkbook that doesn't exist yet.

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There was speculation Trump might address possible war with Venezuela

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after Tuesday's escalation, and instead he claimed he settled eight

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wars in ten months, which is news to the eight

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wars nobody knew were happening. The speech comes as Trump's

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base grows restless, believing he's distracted by international affairs and

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construction projects instead of helping working Americans. You know, distractions

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like installing bronze plaques, calling Joe Biden the worst president

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ever under his portrait. Two White House officials say Trump

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will hold near weekly rallies next year to reconnect with supporters,

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because when people say groceries are too expensive, the solution

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is obviously more campaign events. The address was also overshadowed

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by a Vanity Fair interview where Chief of Staff Susie

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Wiles called vp jd Vance a conspiracy theorist and said

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Trump has an alcoholics personality. Everyone rushed to defender, including Trump,

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who had to publicly support the woman who just compared

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him to someone with addiction issues minus the actual addiction.

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Trump closed saying we have achieved more than anyone could

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have imagined. He's right, nobody imagined thirty nine percent approval

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while declaring total victory. And The Atlantic Tomnickel summed it

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up best. When a president asks for network time, it's

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usually to announce something important. But tonight Donald Trump did

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not give anything like a normal speech or address. He

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was clearly working from a prepared text, but it sounded

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like one he'd written or dictated angrily himself, because it

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was full of bizarre howlers that even trump second rate

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speech writing shop would probably have avoided, such as his

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assertion that inflation when he took office, was the worst

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it had been in forty eight years. Why did he

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pick nineteen seventy seven as a benchmark? Who knows, but

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he's wrong. He read the speech quickly, his voice rising

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in frustration as he hurled one lie after another into

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the camera. The New York Times just published a massive

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investigation into Donald Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The bottom line,

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their friendship was way closer than Trump has claimed for

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the past twenty five years. The Times interviewed more than

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thirty former Epstein employees and others who knew both men.

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According to the reporting, Trump has given contradictory accounts of

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their relationship since the late nineties. Epstein was a terrific

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guy and a lot of fun to be with, but

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also they had no formal relationship, they did not socialize together,

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or there was no relationship at all. Former Epstein employees

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say the two men talked on the phone at least

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three times a week during the mid to late nineties.

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One assistant recalled Epstein putting Trump on speaker phone to

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discuss women. Another time, according to the report, Trump told

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Epstein about having sex with a woman on a pool table.

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The Times obtained daily handwritten notes from a former Epstein

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assistant from late nineteen ninety four, containing reminders to call

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Trump or return his calls. Mark Epstein, Jeffrey's brother told

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The Times that Jeffrey said Trump was in the office

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all the time. Back then, the Times found no evidence

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implicating Trump in Epstein's abuse and trafficking of minors. So,

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according to The Times, two men who talked three times

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a week for years and partied together constantly, somehow barely

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knew each other. Portions of Today's show were made with

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the help of Ai