The Nightcap on Trump prime-time address: 'I thought he was losing it'

The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle

MS NOW, Stephanie Ruhle

Senate, Washington, Ms Now, Policy, News, President, Msnbc, Politics, Congress, Government, Versant Media, Versant

4.5 • 3.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Trump delivers a prime-time address focused on defending the economy and tariffs and bashing his predecessor and democrats. Plus, Speaker Johnson insists he has control of the House as four Republicans break rank and force a vote on extending ACA subsidies. And, the U.S. military announced another boat strike that killed four people just a day after the president annouced a 'complete blockade' of sanctioned oil tankers in and out of Venezuela. Mychael Schnell, Joel Payne, John Harwood, Lt. Col. Daniel Maurer, and Symone Sanders-Townsend join The 11th Hour this Wednesday night.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Greetings, everyone. I'm Simone Sanders Townsend, in for Stephanie Rule.
0:08.3	Welcome to the midweek nightcap. We are now on 321 days, actually 320 days away from the midterm elections.
0:17.1	And tonight, President Trump addressed the nation, making the case for his accomplishments
0:21.2	almost one year into his second term. Here's a bit of what we heard.
0:26.6	When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years. And some would say in the history of our
0:33.2	country, Democrat politicians also sent the cost of grocery soaring, but we are solving that,
0:39.7	too. The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33 percent compared to the Biden last year.
0:47.9	The price of eggs is down 82 percent since March, and everything else is falling rapidly. Companies know that if they build in America,
0:56.8	there are no tariffs. And that's why they're coming home to the USA in record numbers.
1:03.4	So a quick fact check on all of that. Inflation was 3% when Trump took office. That's not the
1:10.7	worst in 48 years or even the history of our country.
1:13.5	In 1980, inflation rose to 14.8%.
1:16.7	Grocery prices are not down.
1:19.9	Average grocery prices were 2.7% higher in September than a year earlier.
1:25.1	And when it comes to manufacturing, since Liberation Day, we've seen
1:28.8	seven straight months of manufacturing job losses. And that's just a few examples. But folks,
1:34.9	it's clear that the president is defensive about the economy. And he is for good reason. A string of
1:41.1	recent polls have demonstrated Americans' frustrations with his handling of
1:45.2	all of it. Just today, an NPR-Maris poll had Trump's approval rating on this very issue
1:50.7	at a new low of 36 percent. And in rural areas where the president has historically carried
1:55.7	support, that number is only 43 percent. With that, let's bring in our nightcap. MS now congressional reporter Michael
2:03.2	Chanel is here, Democratic strategist Joel Payne, and veteran Washington correspondent John Harwood.
	...

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