Full Episode: Sunday, December 21, 2025

This Week with George Stephanopoulos

ABC News

Politics, News

3.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sits down with Jon Karl about his party’s push to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for millions of Americans with the subsidies set to expire on December 31; Jon Karl interviews Republican Senator Rand Paul about the ongoing health care battle on Capitol Hill and President Trump’s primetime speech on affordability amid slumping approval ratings over his handling of the economy; Influential radio host Charlamagne tha God sits down with Jon Karl for a conversation about the first year of Trump’s second term, his perspective on how Americans view both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, and the road ahead for Democrats in 2026 and 2028. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's been an erratic week for Donald Trump.
0:03.0	We've seen a defensive primetime address, the renaming of the Kennedy Center to the Trump Kennedy Center,
0:09.0	a partial release of the Epstein files, and military action in both Syria and the Caribbean.
0:15.0	All as Congress leaves Washington without addressing rising healthcare costs.
0:20.0	This week starts right now.
0:23.8	Are you going to let this happen, or will you intervene?
0:27.1	They will skyrocket because it was never any good.
0:29.9	President Trump rejects extending Obamacare tax credits,
0:33.6	as millions of Americans brace for insurance premiums to surge.
0:38.3	No more excuses, no more delay, no more burying your head in the sand.
0:44.3	With most Americans unhappy with the state of the economy, the president gets combative and deflects blame.
0:51.3	Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it.
0:56.0	Anybody who saw his speech last night saw an angry old man who has no connection to what
1:01.0	Americans are going through.
1:02.0	This morning, I'll speak exclusively with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican
1:08.0	Senator Rand Paul.
1:10.0	Renamed?
1:11.6	And I was surprised by it and I was honored by it.
1:15.6	Trump's appointees add his name to the memorial for President Kennedy.
1:19.6	But can they legally do that?
1:21.6	Our roundtable on the president's latest moves to Trumpify Washington. And what most surprised you about 2025 from the political front?
1:32.3	The lack of respect for the working class.
	...

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