MAGA pundit and influencer Dave Rubin is facing ridicule after struggling to name a single aspect of the economy that has improved since President Donald Trump returned to power last year.
Rubin appeared on Jubilee Media’s adversarial YouTube show Surrounded, in which inquisitors sit in a ring around the guest and take turns coming forward to debate them on political subjects.
Halfway through Sunday’s encounter, liberal social media personality Parker Sedgwick stepped up to ask Rubin simply: “What is one main metric that Donald Trump has made better off since he got into office?”
“An example would be GDP, unemployment, inflation, et cetera,” he elaborated.
“Right now… first off, the Big Beautiful Bill was just passed last year, it’s kicking in now, right?” Rubin answered.
“It’s kicking in now, so we are see… we’re going to now see results of that,” he persisted. “Like… even the tariffs, so let’s do tariffs – are you for or against tariffs?”
Sedgwick refused to let him off the hook, answering: “I’m against the universal tariffs – so what’s the main metric that he made better off?”
“What?” Rubin responded, drawing instant laughter from the audience, who recognized the stalling tactic.
“What’s the main metric that he made better off, any idea?” Sedgwick prompted.
“Listen…” Rubin began, only to draw further laughter.
“I don’t think you do,” his tormentor suggested.
“Hold on,” Rubin countered. “So you’re arguing that things economically were better under Joe Biden… Can you give me an example of how?”
“Yeah GDP growth was better off, real median wage growth was better off, inflation was better off at the end of his administration, unemployment was better off at the end of his administration,” Sedgwick said, rattling off his answers at speed.
By way of contrast, he continued: “We had the worst year of job growth this last year under Trump’s administration. Inflation was 3.8 percent year-over-year since Trump got in office. We’re seeing all of those economic indicators become worse off. Can you tell me anything he’s done to make it better off?”
“Have you looked at the stock market,” Rubin began, only for Sedgwick to point out that the Dow Jones and S&P 500 had less growth in 2025 than they did in 2024 under Biden.
The exchange brought further derision when a clip of the encounter was shared on X, with progressive influencer Hasan Piker writing: “Why did Dave Rubin even choose to do this? He would’ve lost the debate to an empty chair. Truly the dumbest the right has to offer.”
Ex-MS NOW host Mehdi Hasan, who has appeared on the same show himself, commented: “I have watched a lot of Jubilees and I have never seen anyone get their a** handed to them this badly. Just embarrassing.”
Podcast host Brian Shapiro was even more withering: “This is just about every MAGA talking head in media. Dave is a complete imbecile. This was embarrassing.”
However, Rubin is not alone in struggling to find the positives in Trump’s second term.
The president continues to poll poorly, with a Politico survey published on Friday revealing that a majority of Americans say the ongoing cost of living crisis is the worst they can remember. Even more of a concern for Trump, 46 percent of respondents said they held him fully or mostly responsible for the state of the economy.
Trump ran for a return to the Oval Office in 2024 on a promise to bring inflation under control and end “forever war” commitments overseas.
Instead, he has introduced a reciprocal tariffs policy that has seen the increased cost of imports passed onto consumers and attacked Iran, resulting in higher gas prices following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
