The Polarized Landscape of Modern Politics

Chuck Todd begins by reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Trump descending his golden escalator and the profound impact he’s had on both our politics and culture since. He argues that Trump has had the greatest impact of any president since FDR, why Trump’s “fake it til you make it” persona appeals to voters and believes the negative impacts Trump has had on society will last for decades. He also highlights the anniversaries of the Watergate break-in and the OJ Simpson chase, and the lasting impacts those two events have had on American media.

Then, Chuck is joined by journalist and staff writer for The Atlantic, Mark Leibovich, for a wide-ranging conversation that seamlessly weaves together sports, politics, and cultural commentary. The discussion begins with Leibovich's criticism of Howard Schultz's role in Seattle losing the Sonics, before diving into whether Obama should be more vocal during this political moment. Leibovich argues that Obama's presence might actually reinforce elitist stereotypes about Democrats and questions whether the former president is out of touch with today's electorate.

The conversation takes fascinating detours through Beatles history (with Leibovich making the case that Ringo was the band's essential glue), speculation about whether Biden's debate performance was intentionally designed to showcase his decline, and pointed observations about Trump 2.0 being "almost beyond satire." Leibovich doesn't hold back on Trump's blatant corruption or Chuck’s assessment that "Idiocracy was a documentary," while also analyzing the genuine nature of enthusiasm around Kamala Harris's campaign. The episode concludes with thoughts on baseball's pitch clock, the Red Sox's future, and advice for Democrats to meet voters where they are.

Finally, Chuck answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment about discrepancies in polling and why poor campaign finance laws allow for the outsized influence of money in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.

Timeline:

00:00 Introduction

00:30 June 16th marks the 10th anniversary of Trump descending the escalator

01:45 Trump’s staying power isn’t an accident

02:30 Trump’s impact has been greater than any modern president

04:00 Trump’s “fake it til you make it” strategy worked*

05:45 Trump is comfortable being an outsider and disrespected

07:00 Trump remade the Republican party in his image

09:00 The poison he’s injected is division and politicization

11:00 The culture Trump built will shape politics for decades

13:00 June 17th the anniversary of Watergate break in

13:45 The biased liberal media narrative was manufactured by Nixon

15:15 Republicans mistake press neutrality with antagonism 

16:30 Service journalism has become rare

18:15 June 17th also anniversary of OJ Simpson chase

19:30 OJ chase/trial massively changed media

23:00 CNN saw CourTV’s ratings and changed strategy

25:15 Before OJ, news networks didn’t chase ratings

29:00 Mark Leibovich joins the Chuck ToddCast! 

32:30 Mark's homage to the Oklahoma City Thunder 

33:45 Howard Schultz deserves the blame for Seattle losing the Sonics 

35:00 Is there an NBA market that needs to be eliminated/moved? 

37:30 Is it a mistake to brand teams to a state/region over a city? 

39:30 Should Obama be speaking out more due to the vacuum of leadership? 

41:30 Obama to blame for not grooming the next generation? 

42:30 Obama favored Hillary Clinton more than Joe Biden 

43:00 Obama didn't believe in identity politics 

44:45 Can Obama lead by example at this moment? 

46:15 Obama's presence reinforces elitist stereotypes about Democrats 

48:45 If John Lennon had lived, would the Beatles have just been the Rolling Stones? 

51:15 Ringo was the glue for the Beatles 

53:30 Ringo is non judgemental and appeals to both sides 

55:45 Ringo was a huge American football fan 

58:00 Obama seems out of touch with the current electorate 

59:15 Was the energy around Harris genuine enthusiasm, or just relief? 

1:00:15 Biden probably loses 6-8 more states than Harris 

1:02:30 Was the Biden debate intentional to showcase he wasn't up to it? 

1:05:15 There was no cover up of Biden's decline, it was obvious 

1:06:00 Will "Biden baggage" sink Pete Buttigieg or other Biden alum? 

1:08:00 Trump 2.0 is almost beyond satire 

1:09:00 Idiocracy was a documentary 

1:10:15 Why is there no mass outrage over Trump's blatant corruption? 

1:13:00 What traits will the next Democratic president have post-Trump? 

1:14:00 Trump's skill set isn't transferable within the Republican party 

1:15:45 Trump is the definition of "Fake it til you make it" 

1:19:00 Trump weaponized the NFL in the culture war 

1:21:00 The pitch clock has been great for baseball 

1:22:30 Thoughts on the Devers trade 

1:25:00 Are the Red Sox for sale? 

1:26:00 Democrats need to meet voters where they are 

1:26:45 You can't write off Gavin Newsom

1:28:00 Chuck's thoughts on the interview with Mark Leibovich 

1:28:30 Ask Chuck 

1:28:45 How can two respected polling companies have very different results? 

1:35:00 Outside money flooding the Virginia gubernatorial race?