Trump’s Middle East Diplomacy and Transactional Deals

Chuck Todd breaks down the latest political and global chaos as the government shutdown drags on with no resolution in sight—because, as he puts it, “nothing moves without Trump.” From Trump’s trade threats against China and his transactional diplomacy in the Middle East to Netanyahu’s political freefall in Israel, the episode examines how American and global politics are increasingly driven by short-term leverage over long-term stability. Todd also exposes how Trump’s team has weaponized government institutions—from Russ Vought’s reckless layoffs to Pam Bondi’s politicized DOJ—and how Trump’s online behavior, including an embarrassing Truth Social blunder, raises national security concerns. With the rule of law eroding and America’s moral authority slipping away, Chuck warns that the U.S. may be entering an era where power, not principle, defines governance.

Finally, Chuck goes back to the 1987 market crash in the ToddCast Time Machine to compare the conditions then to current market conditions, answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment, and gives his college football update.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction - New addition to the Todd household

02:45 Trump/China threaten trade retaliation, just posturing? 

03:45 Government remains shutdown, no resolution without Trump 

05:00 Trump sensitive to tariff price hikes on pharmaceuticals

06:00 Trump's transactional diplomacy works well in the middle east 

08:15 Can Netanyahu survive politically without an active war? 

09:15 2/3rds of Israeli voters want Netanyahu to resign 

10:15 Many of Israel's threats are gone, but is now very isolated 

11:45 Trump's government has weaponized/politicized everything 

13:00 Russ Vought's mass layoffs were sloppy, overfired at CDC 

15:00 Pam Bondi has overtly weaponized the Justice Department 

17:15 DOJ indicting Trump enemies he named in social media post 

18:45 Trump was DMing Bondi on Truth Social, mistakenly posted publicly 

20:30 Trump's communications far more insecure than Hilary's emails 

23:15 The current Republican congress just rolls over for Trump 

24:15 Trump is destroying the rule of law & reputation of the GOP 

25:30 If roles were reversed Republicans would be apoplectic 

26:45 US has lost moral authority & credibility on the world stage 

28:15 Most military leaders would resign quietly if given illegal orders 

29:45 Presidents used to respect their predecessors… not Trump 

30:45 Trump's supposed to govern for the entire country, refuses to 

33:15 Trump believes two wrongs make a right 

34:15 Trump started a trade war with China, and nobody wins a trade war 

35:45 United States is far too reliant on China for rare earth metals

38:30 ToddCast Time Machine 

39:15 October 19th, 1987 - U.S. stock market crash 

40:00 Crash resulted in added financial regulation and safeguards 

41:45 In week leading up to crash, markets had seen sharp declines 

42:15 Computerized trades contributed to crashed 

43:45 Crash wasn't rooted in one singular event/issue 

44:45 Crash didn't result in wider problems like banking crisis 

45:30 Lesson learned was "Don't Panic", market came back 

46:45 Current market is dominated by algorithmic trading, creates risks 

47:45 Market is highly concentrated in tech 

48:45 Why 1987 isn't a corollary for 2025 

50:45 Market will always have volatility 

51:15 Ask Chuck 

51:30 Should more candidates not run under the D or R label? 

56:00 What practices would you suggest to reform ballot access? 

59:30 Is the risk of China owning Tiktok any worse than Trump allies? 

1:03:45 Were Biden's infrastructure projects halted by Big Beautiful Bill? 

1:06:45 College football update

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