Ask Chuck: Should Democrats Adopt America First Messaging?

Chuck Todd breaks down the ongoing government shutdown and the deep dysfunction gripping Washington. With the shutdown dragging into late October, Trump is reportedly tapping private donors to pay the military, while Speaker Mike Johnson keeps the House out of session — a move Chuck calls a major political blunder. As Trump consolidates control over both the presidency and Congress, Republicans appear more focused on shielding him than exercising oversight. Meanwhile, the Oversight Committee under James Comer has devolved into partisan theater, investigating the Bidens while ignoring blatant corruption in Trump’s orbit. Chuck argues that without real congressional checks, America risks drifting toward the kind of pre-revolutionary rot the Founders warned about — where power, privilege, and impunity rule unchecked.

Finally, he hops in the ToddCast Time Machine to revisit the publication of the Federalist Papers and why their lessons are extremely pertinent in the Trump era, answers questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and gives his college football recap. 

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction

02:00 The government shutdown continues into the end of October 

02:45 Trump tapping private donor to pay the military 

03:45 Democrats have earned the leverage to reopen the government 

04:15 Mike Johnson making a huge mistake by keeping House out of session 

06:00 Voters want Congress to serve as a check on an unpopular president 

07:45 House Republicans look like they're out to lunch & on vacation 

08:45 Trump says he's both the speaker and the president 

11:30 Sen. Lankford admits R's would be furious if Biden was doing what Trump is 

12:30 Everything now is viewed or ignored through a partisan lens 

14:45 Without congressional oversight, we lose our founding framework 

15:30 Qatari jet gift was the type of bribe our founders warned about 

16:30 Republicans in charge of oversight ignoring plane bribe 

17:30 Trump using coin scheme to build international bribery racket, R's ignore it 

19:00 The oversight committee under Comer has become a partisan weapon 

19:45 Trump is ordering the DOJ to compensate his own business 

21:15 Trump is using his power to direct money to his companies 

22:00 The double standard from Republicans is insulting to the American people 

24:45 Trump's orbit is giving pre-revolutionary France vibes 

25:30 Oversight is still investigating the Biden family 

26:15 Democrats aren't on moral high ground after Biden's family pardons 

27:15 If the Bidens were doing anything Trump was doing, R's would impeach 

28:00 Oversight has become partisan entertainment 

28:45 Democrats weren't interested in Epstein until it entangled Trump 

29:30 Trump's desperation to hold the house is to avoid oversight 

30:15 Trump could stonewall oversight, but private companies can't 

31:00 Private companies can't go to law enforcement when extorted 

31:45 Mike Johnson is the weakest speaker in the modern era

34:00 ToddCast Time Machine 

34:45 This week, in 1787 was the initial publication of the Federalist Papers 

35:30 The papers were America's first political blog 

36:30 Hamilton began by debating whether reason or rage would win out 

37:45 Federalist #51 argued ambition must be made to counteract ambition 

39:00 America's biggest problem now is an extraordinarily weak congress 

39:45 Hamilton warned of political parties & can't limit it to one or two 

40:45 Federalist #70 warned against an overly powerful executive 

41:45 Federalist #65 worried that impeachment would become a partisan exercise 

43:45 Federalist #78 argued that judges should never be elected 

45:00 Madison argued in favor of slow deliberation 

46:30 Founders warned that too few representatives breeds corruption 

48:00 Hamilton argued that rights are only guaranteed by people enforcing them 

50:00 Ask Chuck 

50:15 Should Democrats flip the script and use "America First" messaging? 

52:45 Should Democrats reign in ActBlue for advertising? 

56:45 Why are there no consequences for cabinet members lying to congress? 

58:45 Will Trump governing only for supporters backfire in the midterms? 

1:02:15 College football update

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