Chuck Todd opens with the Iran war back on and the rug pulled out from under the world economy once again — but his central argument is that this is now the biggest broken campaign promise in 40 years. He draws a crucial distinction between ordinary campaign lies and genuinely major broken promises: "build the wall" was a broken promise that didn't much hurt Trump, but "no new wars" was foundational to his appeal, and the Iran calamity is now actively damaging the economy and making everyday life harder for the voters who t...
Chuck Todd opens with the Iran war back on and the rug pulled out from under the world economy once again — but his central argument is that this is now the biggest broken campaign promise in 40 years. He draws a crucial distinction between ordinary campaign lies and genuinely major broken promises: "build the wall" was a broken promise that didn't much hurt Trump, but "no new wars" was foundational to his appeal, and the Iran calamity is now actively damaging the economy and making everyday life harder for the voters who trusted him. He notes candidate Trump was actually right that an Iran war would be irresponsible, that securing anything would require a months- or years-long ground commitment Trump won't make, and that the president was so consumed with keeping his birthday celebration on schedule that he tried to time the war around it. Marco Rubio, as always, has vanished now that things are going badly. Todd flags the NATO meetings underway in Turkey (a complicated ally Trump only engages because he and Erdogan play by the same strongman rules), marvels that Trump remains inexplicably sympathetic to a Putin who has never been weaker, and warns that all of it is making Americans less safe. He then turns to the Maine Senate race, which has become a genuine debacle: Todd argues Graham Platner was caught in a clear lie to Democratic senators about Jenny Racicot — who has said publicly she believes Platner sexually assaulted her — and that Platner knew both what she believed and that she was talking to reporters. Todd is emphatic that the lies need to be called out, that leaning into misogyny is no way to win back working-class white men, and that progressives cannot let Trump set the bar for acceptable character. He frames the whole primary through the fighter-versus-winner divide, notes this could be the second high-profile Bernie-endorsed candidate to lose (raising the stakes for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and underscoring how much harder it is for progressives to win statewide), and argues the progressive left urgently needs to get its house in order. Todd closes with two intriguing threads: the swirling rumors about Mitch McConnell's health and status (his seat is on the ballot in November, and Kentucky's legislature changed its vacancy-appointment law in a way that may violate the state constitution but has never been tested in court), and the escalating fight between the Trump administration and the Smithsonian — where Todd concedes the administration had a couple of fair critiques but argues that its core complaint, that the museum is "woke" for simply asking questions about history, amounts to demanding the Smithsonian swap one alleged ideology for an openly right-wing one, when the honest approach to contested history is simply to present the facts and let people interpret them.
Finally, Chuck updates the ToddCast Top 5 most likely senate flips if Maine is off the board for Democrats post-Platner scandal and answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
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Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
05:00 The Iran war is now back on
06:00 The rug has been pulled on the world economy once again
06:30 The Iranians won this conflict, they have more leverage
07:30 There’s a difference between campaign lies & major broken promises
09:30 “Build the wall” was a broken promise, but didn’t impact Trump much
10:45 Trump’s other major promise was “No new wars” & Iran is a calamity
12:30 This broken promise is damaging the economy & making life difficult
13:15 When things are going badly, Marco Rubio disappears
14:30 This will be the biggest broken campaign promise in 40 years*
15:00 Candidate Trump was right that an Iran war would be irresponsible
16:15 Ground troops would be a months… if not years commitment
17:30 Trump wanted to stop the war in time for his birthday party
18:00 Trump was more concerned with keeping celebrations on schedule
18:45 NATO meetings currently taking place in Turkey…a complicated ally
19:30 Trump likely only attends this meeting because Erdogan is hosting
20:45 Trump & Erdogan are world leaders that play by the same rules
21:30 Putin has never been this weak as the ruler of Russia
23:00 It’s still perplexing that Trump is so sympathetic to Putin
24:15 Shirking Putin would make things easier for Trump…but he still doesn’t
25:00 Trump’s actions are making us all less safe
26:00 The Maine senate race has turned into a massive debacle
27:30 The framing is “Do you want to fight, or do you want to win?”
28:15 How much leverage does Platner have in choosing his replacement?
29:30 Democratic base wants a fighter, not a uniter this primary cycle
32:00 Pragmatic Democrats should make the “winning” case
32:45 Susan Collins has overperformed “generic Republican” for 30 years
34:30 Platner was caught in a clear lie to Democratic senators *
35:45 Jenny Racicot made clear she believed she was sexually assaulted by Platner
36:45 Platner knew she what she believed and that Racicot was talking to reporters*
38:00 He clearly lied to senators and the lies need to be called out*
39:30 Leaning into misogyny isn’t the way to win back white men
40:15 Platner was the left's idea of how to appeal to working class white men
41:30 Progressives can’t let Trump set the bar for character
42:30 Democrats should be thankful there’s time to fix this
44:30 This could be two high profile races that Bernie endorsees have lost
46:30 It’s much harder for progressives to win in statewide races
47:15 This puts more pressure on Abdul El-Sayed to win in Michigan
48:00 The progressive left needs to get their house in order
49:45 Rumors are flying about the status of Mitch McConnell
50:30 If Republicans wanted to put the rumors to bed, it’d be easy to do
51:30 McConnell’s seat is on the ballot in November
52:00 KY legislature changed law on vacancy appointments, against state constitution
53:00 Law change has never been tested in the courts
54:15 Simplest explanation might be McConnell wants to keep it private
56:00 Could keeping the illusion of McConnell going help with a SCOTUS confirmation?
57:00 This wouldn’t change a confirmation vote by much since he can’t vote
59:30 Fight between Trump administration and the Smithsonian
1:00:00 Administration had a couple fair critiques, but most wasn’t
1:00:30 Administration claimed the Smithsonian is “woke”
1:02:45 Another complaint was not enough America 250 programming/exhibits
1:05:00 Simply asking questions about history isn’t proof of an ideology
1:05:45 Administration is demanding the Smithsonian adopt their own ideology
1:06:30 Report claims left-wing bias, but now insists on a right-wing bias
1:09:15 History is open to interpretation, it’s best to present the facts
01:14:45 Chuck’s thoughts on the interview with Tad Devine
01:15:15 ToddCast Top 5 most likely senate flips if Maine is off the board
01:15:45 #1 North Carolina
01:16:15 #2 Michigan
01:19:30 #3 Ohio
01:20:00 #4 Alaska
01:20:45 #5 Iowa
01:21:00 If all these flip, Dems need to find one more seat
01:23:15 Susan Collins still unlikely to win, but Dems have to get it together
01:24:15 Democrats have to nominate a woman after Platner scandal
01:25:00 Ask Chuck
01:25:30 What’s one widely believed political myth that isn’t true?
01:29:15 Comparison of Trump’s impact on Atlantic City to Robert Moses?
01:31:45 Are Republicans not aware a future Dem could use expanded presidential powers?
01:34:45 USMNT loses to Belgium, whatever Trump touches dies
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