Show notes
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. Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. 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Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored at Fanduel.com 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 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
