NPR Retraction and Supreme Court Retirement

This is an IiHart podcast Guaranteed human. Horseshoe Online Casino has a special offer for you, New Jersey. New users can get five hundred bonus spins in their first month on games like Huff and lots of puff and more. It's simple and rewarding to play your casino favorites. Download and play today. Must be twenty one plus and physically present in New Jersey. mininimum wagering within five days required to unlock bonuses. Full terms and wagering requirements at horseshoe onnlinecasino dot com slash promos. If you or someone you know is a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler Can you strengthen your construction business With Proxima Systems from ExxonMobile. Our advanced resin systems enable lighter and stronger alternatives to traditional steel rebar, helping reduce labor and transportation costs while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. We're helping build a more efficient construction industry with sustainability in mind Exxon Mobile, let's deliver This episode of the Chuck Todcast is brought to you by Quintince. Look, one thing I love about summer is anything that just makes everything feel easy, right? That's what we all think of as a summer day. The days are a little more relaxed You find yourself reaching for maybe the same comfortable go anywhere clothes again and again. It's why I keep coming back to Quints because they have all these comfortable clothes. They focus on the well made essentials that naturally become those everyday staples you actually live in all season long. The teas are soft enough to live in all day h They're lightweight cotton sweaters are exactly what you kind of want on a summer night when you feel like I got to have a long sleep, but I don't want to sweat, right Everything at Quintince is priced fifty percent to eighty percent less than similar brands They work directly with ethical factories that cut out the middlemen. So you're paying for exceptional quality, but you're paying much less of that markup. Um Look, I've I'd love what I've gotten from Quintince. I have you see more Quintince clothes on me than you may realize. You know, they're not somebody that shoves their label out the door, which frankly, I kind of like too All right, I'm not here Trust me, I've been wearing a lot of quuin.y the way, not just clothing, Quins has become a trusted favorite for everything from home to travel whole bunch of of everyday. essentials Make your summer wardrobe easier Go to quQininces dot com slash check for free shipping on your order, three hundred and sixty five day returns. now available in Canada as well That's Qu NcE d. com slash chuck for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns Qince d. com slash chuck Hello there and welcome to the Thursday episode of the Chuck Todcast. And you know, it seems to me that I need to let you know every day of what my goal is and what I'm doing here. And let me just put it simply I'm just trying to explain politics to the rest of us There's a lot of left wing content and right wing content, anti Trump content, pro Trump content I'm just here trying to explain politics to the rest of us. And so if that's what you're looking for, understand What is and understand what should be U and that was always the goal of what I'm trying to do every episode, but hey There's nothing like a little repetition to remind you we're up to here. So that's what it is. Welcome to the Chuck T cast. politics for the rest of us. And To get there, let me give you a quick little rundown of today's episode. Obviously we got some big suupreme Court rulings and we had another round of elections in Colorado and some important poll information that came out of the New York Times and my friends at AARP that I think serve as a good sort of benchmark, here we are, sort of Five months to go before election day, we've got some benchmark ideas of where the electorate is at the moment and where the electorate could be headed And I also have my top five list It's a fun one this week. my five favorite fictional presidents I'll be very curious if you can guess what number one is Let's just say I'm u It is a fictional president that looks more real all the time And then, of course, I've got your question. But where am I going begin? I'm going begin where're what we're all doing this weekend Um, And that is wanting to celebrate the fourth of July But let's be honest The celebration of America at two hundred fifty sucks. And I know That is not the word you could argue that I'm supposed to use. I should come up with something a bit more mature than just simply saying, oh, this sucks. Guess what Maybe I'm supposed to say the celebration is challenging or complicated or uneven, but the fact of the matter is no it just simply sucks And it's not because America sucks. quQite the opposite America two hundred fifty should be so much bigger than what we're what we're sort of experiencing at the moment It should feel like one of those moments when the country pauses long enough to take itself Seriously worship itself not lie to itself op itself in bunting and pretend the story has always been noble and clean Take it seriously. This is an incredible experiment that's still gone two hundred and fifty years since the Declaration of indepeence Its two hundred fifty years since this country announced a radical promise that it did not yet live up to and then spent the next two and a half centuries fighting over whether it really meant Declaration said Hell of a story And yet as this fourth gets closer This celebration feels smaller and smaller And it really bothers me It's funny. it's sort of like what angers me? It's shit like this that angers me Because this should have been an easy one, at least as these things go. That easy because the story'on It is not simple. It's never been simple. It's fascinating. But it's easy because the country gave us the material public morning contradiction. founding document that declared equality while slavery still existed, a constitution that created a structure for self government but left millions of people outside the circle of full citizenship. a nation that has been visionary and hypocritical S and generous, exclusionary and expansive self satisfied and self correcting. It's not a boring story. Certainly not a weak story Qintessential lo This is the American story. it's a great story And I wish that were the story we were telling right now becausecause I do not believe America is disappointing. believe exactly the opposite. The American experiment is one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of self governance It is hard to govern a large country. It is harder to govern a large diverse country. and it is really hard to gover a multiethnic democracy People have the right to disagree with each other. suue each other organize against each other Vote each other out of power and still somehow remain part of the same constitutional system. We should not undersell this We spend a lot of time looking at what we do not have or what we might lose. or where the country has failed. I do that all the time In politics, that is usually where the action is But every once in a while it is worth stepping back and saying the obvious thing. But America's buildt is extraordinary And it is also much younger than we pretend Country is two hundred and fifty years old The version of America that The founders created is only actually about sixty years old Because if we are being honest, the modern version begins with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Acts of sixty four and sixty five Before that, yes, we had democratic forms. We had elections, we had parties and we had courts and had all the language of democracy But for millions of Americans, that promise was not real in any practical sense By the way, this does not diminish the country tells the truth about how we have made a more perfect union The greatest phrase Oh The founding document It's doing so much, right? That phrase And it matters so much. More perfect is not a claim of perfection It is an admission that the work is never finished Societies evolve and there's constantly opportunities to make a more perfect union Now the words were there before the reality showed up Right? The ideals were there before the law ever caught up The country had to be pushed, and forced, embarrassed, sometimes shamed imes inspired sometimes dragged closer to the thing it said it wanted to be That is the American story I wanted to see us celebrate two hundred and fiftieth birth That's some cartoon version of seventeen seventy six Not a history that is afraid of slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow, immigration, civil rights, dissent, protest, war, corruption, or any of the uncomfortable chapters that make a story worth telling It's the uncomfortable parts that make a story interesting It's what makes it our story America is not remarkable because it was born perfect It is remarkable because it created enough room over time people to keep fighting to make it And that is why the Supreme Court rejecting Donald Trump's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship in this moment matters a lot. I know some people want to focus on the folks who disagreed with the majority always going to folks that disagree with a majority in this democracy. What's important is what was agreed upon and a conservative court refusing to let them this president narrow that inheritance is not some side issue partart of the story It is another reminder that the multi ethnic democracy Built is more durable than its enemies want to believe And it is a reaffirmation that America is an idea, not an ethnicity And I'm sorry, anybody that does not believe America is an idea is not an American in mine. Court struck down Trump's order june thirti with the majority reaffirming birthright citizenship under that fourteenth Amendment kind of is it a six three decision? Is it a five and a half to three and a half? This Justice Kavanaugh agreed in the result on statutory grounds, which is why the legal split is probablyroably more nuanced than than a headline alone suggests But it's proof that this country in this repepublic is durable. It's not indestructible But it is durable and the durability. of an idea is no small thing. So this anniversary should have been a moment to think seriously about the country, to celebrate it But also to understand it a little civics education, right? we failed at that too tell the story of a republic that has been all of these things all at once visionary and hpocritical Brutal and generous exclusionary and expansive arrogance and self correcting That's not anti American. That is the only kind of patriotism that makes sense to me and instead Here we are And I do not think there's any way to avoid the obvious reason this anniversary feels so much smaller than it should be Donald Trump has made the country's birthday about D. Allll see this coming? Yes We did Most of us did but it didn't doesn't make it Any left Look, it's not the only thing that is wrong with this moment. There's other things that are wrong, but this is the defining thing. Donald Trump has ruined the American brand and the American birthday celebration. The country had a bipartisan congressionally created American two hundred fifty effort you know, years ago in the in the planning. America two hundred fifty, the organization describes itself as a bipartisan initiative for the two hundred fiftieth anniversary at the US semi quincentennial Commission was created by Congress in twenty sixteen to lead this nationwide commemoration There were supposed to be state and local events, historians, civics groups, schools, museums, cities and towns, all capable of telling their own piece of the great American story It could have been broth It might have been a little messy Might have even been a little bland at times, but that would have been fine because sometimes bland is the point Sometimes bland is how you make room for everybody. Maybe a little bit hokey and bland, right But that's okay. you' you're trying to widen the atmosphere aperture here couldn't do it. You couldn'tave it al He created his own version of the celebration First, he created this task force and celebrating America's two fiftieth birthday with Freedom two hundred fifty President is chair, the vice presresident is vice chair And it competed and overshadowed the congressionally created taxpayer funded America two hundred fifty effort Trump just took it all over. He staged his own little UFC fight onn the White House lawn A literal cage gets erected or a bouncy house that looks like a cage gets erected in the backyard on his birthday. U And it was supposed to also be about the two hundred fiftieth birthday What's s to even add on this, right? The image does the work. There's a cage on the White House lawn A national birthday turned into his own personal political rally A celebration of the country made to orbit one This is why So many people are opting out This is why so many polls have shown how uninspired people feel at this moment And this is the part that Trump's supporters refuse to take responsibility for They want to say that Democrats are being petty or the left is pouting, or Trump's critics just refuse to feel patriotic while he is president Well, number one, the beauty of this country is that you get to feel whatever the hell you want. F A memory. There's no law that says you have to love America every hour of every day There's no requirement that we all feel proud at the same moments or for the same reasons What made me proud as American may not have made you proud to be an American at a given point Some people feel patriotic when they see military power Some feel it when they see protests. Some feel it when they watch Fireworks on the fourth of July Some feel it watching a naturalization ceremony One of the most moving things I've ever attended Some feel it when the country honors the founders S feel it when the country finally tells the truth about the people the founders excluded. This is not a defect in America. It's what makes us different from every other fricaking country on this planet This is the feature of this country president who understood the country would understand that. He would understand that his job at a moment like this is not to force everybody into his version of patriotism. His job is to make room for other people's patriotism too Trump cannot do that He can't even fake it Make it Talk about the ultimate insult to all of us as Americans He always thinks everyone else should accommodate him He never thinks he should accommodate anyone else. at all. That's why our allies are not really there for us anymore And that is a real problem when the job is to lead a country where half the people did not vote for you once. did not support you and may never support you They are no less American than you are This is the thing that gets lost in a lot of the coverage of him. ter is not some side issue It is about whether Someone is personally admirable It's not about that either The character matters because there are moments when the country needs a president to rise above himself you have the character to just Anybody else before yourself I'm not even asking you to do it all the time, just for small beair of time. just long enough to let the country have this moment. It's not your moment Donald Trump. You selfish guy, you But he couldn't do He turns participation into endorsement He turns every handshake into a trophy He turns this natural ritual into some branding opportunity The self enrichment is just disgusting I mean, you want to know why JD Vance now says that Nixon no longer you know be a ten hour story. It's because the corruption taking place and the administration he's serving in totally overshadows anything Nixon attempted to do And then we're all supposed to pretend the people who stay away are the ones being divisive Please, this is so backwards. If you make every shared space feel like your personal property, You should not be surprised when people stop showing up The great American State Fair on the National Ball could have been amazing could have been EpCot comes to the comes to DC Instead, it became another example of the problem A patriotic showcase that many people could not quite separate from the man who had seized it There's a reason there are sparse crowds withdrawn performers states declining to send delegations. acccusations of partisanship and GF around everything Freedom two hundred fifty as an organization is touched And what makes this especially frustrating is that these big anniversaries almost never You know, we don't have a lot of them and ironically Big anniversary moments have come at some really inopportune times And maybe that's the lesson we need to take away from this Maybe anniversaries are less like celebrations and more like mirrors What hundred The country was about to abandon reconstruction We were on the edge of one of the worst retreats from equality in American history The eighteen seventy six romise one of the worst things we have done our in our country's history That was just after we turned a hundred at one hundred and fifty six, the country was still living with the stench of Teapot Dome and the corruption of the Harding era, which at the time was probably the worst taxpayer grift we've seen yet. two hundred. the country was still coming out of Vietnam Watergate Nixon and a profound loss of trust in government. So here we are, at two hundred fifty, we have this Maybe that isn't an accident Maybe the big round numbers force us to look at ourselves Sometimes we do not like what we see I do not like what I see right now I do not like that we had a chance to celebrate the country in a serious way. and are instead watching this president cheap in it I do not like that younger Americans are being taught that this is normal that natural rituals are just campaign events with better fireworks I do not like that a country with this much to celebrate has a leader who cannot share the stage. countountry he leads And I should be clear about something. I'm not mad at the voters. Voters make choices for all kinds of reasons. Some are wise, some are not That's democracy I'm mad at the leader I'm mad that someone handed this responsibility keeps showing he does not understand the story he's supposed to be helping this country tell. Trump does not see himself as one president in a long constitutional chain that begins with George Washington He sees himself as the exception to this change He treats the presidency as if it begins a new book instead of being one chapter in a very old, very messy, very consequential That is not patriotism Patriotism is not being afraid of history It is not pretending the country was perfect in seventeen seventy six. It is not acting as if the only way to love America is to sand off every rough edge and call the result pride I love the American story because it is so complicated I love it because this country keeps producing people who force it to become better than it was I love it because the Constitution gives us a way to argue and repair and restrain power and expand Lberty and to keep going when we get it And we have gotten plenty wrong. part of the story too But I remain an optimist about America Id really do I think it is possible that someday we will look back on the Trump era and be grateful for some of what it exposed grrateful for the damage or for the cruelty or for the corruption. for the clarity He has shown us what needs fixing been an MRI He has shown us how fragile norms are. He has shown us how much depends on restraint institutions, character. He has shown us what happens when a president does not see the country as something larger than himself And maybe that is the lesson of America two hundred fifty That's the celebration we deserve in some ways Donald Trump's doing all of us a favor by selfishly trying to steal this anniversary from us We now see who he really is So now, it's not the celebration we deserve, it's not the one we could We get a mirror And the miror is telling us something The country iss a bigger than Dald Trp It is bigger than any president obviously bigger than any political party And there's no one definition of patriotism, but it still needs leaders who understand that It still needs citizens who insist. And it still needs people willing to say that the national story belongs to all of us, not just whoever happens to hold power at anywone. America at two hundred fifty may be a lost opportunity Donald Trump has absolutely sullied the brand of America But America two hundred seventy five does not have to be Maybe by then we will want to make up for what we miss And this in this in this anniversary Maybe by then we're going to remember how to celebrate the country without making the celebration feel like an endorsement of one man or one political movement Maybe by then we will have learned again that the American story is the most powerful when it is told honestly We make other countries behave better when we own up to our mistakes That story is still the most important For some people, the central text in their lives is religious, and I respect for me The Constitution has always carried that kind of weight So that's why I'm so angry feel betrayed I do. I feel betrayed as an American by Constitution is not perfect But it gives us a way to keep going It ises a structure for disagreement. It gives us a method for repair It gives us the possibility of becoming better without pretending we were always good. It makes some of the same promises that some religious texts do And this is why I'm so pissed off. Not because I love the country less I love the idea of America enough to resent seeing it cheapened by this man America deserve better at two hundred fifty Someday I believe It will get better Let's thend your hands Don't let him steal your patriotism. You don't have to pay attention to anything he does on the fourth of July belongs to you This episode of the Chuck Todcast is brought to you by Chapter Now almost everything you hear about Medicare is somebody quietly trying to steer you somewhere And you're skeptical of that As you should be. I get it. I mean, there's a federal lawsuit going on right now Over exactly this, companies that branded themselves as unbiased while allegedly pointing people toward whatever would pay them the most as some sort of broker So if your default is to distrust everyone in this space, honestly, I get it. I'm a bit distrustful these days myself. That's the whole reason I want to tell you about chapter independent Medicare advisors whose entire model is that their advisors are not paid to push anyone They're just trying to help. Yes, there's compensation that goes with it, but it's across the board is what they're trying to do. At the end of the day, they're advocating for you. They're not the insurance companies themselves. They're an actual person goes through your doctors, your prescriptions, your needs, and then compares them every single plan available to find the best one that will work for you and hopefully save you a couple dollars too And here's the part that sets chapter apart. They don't disappear once you've been enrolled. They will keep advocating for you. They're kind of like almost like a concierge service. You're just there. I need help. You're like customer service You know, the plan, you know, help me navigate this again. so you ever get hit with a wrongful medical bill, They'll help you fight it. They They want to stay an advocate for you even after you've done this. So look, I get it I think there's all sorts of You see a lot of people are throwing themselves in this healthcare space. What I like about these chapter folks, I've spent time with them. This is a very transparent organization. It is Medicare and all of its affiliated stuff can be very confusing. The whole point of this is to make this easier and less confusing Okay, so look Take the skepticism you already have in all of this. pointint it at your own plan for twenty minutes. It's free, there's no pressure and then call chapter. Tod at nine eight zero seeven, three, four Three, nine, eight, five Horseshoe Online Casino has a special offer for you, New Jersey. New users can get five hundred bonus spins in their first month on games like Huff and lots of puff and more. It's simple and rewarding to play your casino favorites. Download and play today. Must be twenty one plus and physically present in New Jersey. minimum wagering within five days required to unlock bonuses. Full terms and wagering requirements at horseshoe onnlinecasino dot com slash promos. If you or someone you know is a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler Summer is a gift It's The gift of days that last a little longer, a brighter state of mind So giveift yourself a new Kia at the KIia Summer Sticker Sales event, E spepecially tacked vehicles including the Sorrento, Sportage, Carnival, as well as the Nurohybrid all backed by a ten year one hundred thousand mile limited powertrain warranty. So the gift of summer can keep on giving for summers to come. Kia Movement that inspires. Call eight hundred three three three four K F details host as a free event and seven six twenty six to deealer for warranty details All with that. I want to go to a few things. I've done some short form videos on a few things, but I want a little bit about a few of the headlines that we've had over the last three or four days. One, let me tackle the court real quick, because I will say this, I think between the birthright citizenship case, the campaign finance case in the Eging Carrool case, right Here's one thing that you cannot say. This is not a Trump court. Okay It is a conservative court. But it is not a Trump court. And that is an important distinction I think some of the coverage of the court, you know, this is where You know This is why I'm doing what I'm doing, right? I don't, you know, I have no desire to ever go back to this the like world of legacy media because I just don't think I just think that time has come and gone, not in just my career, I think for leegacy media in general. But you know, there's there's this, you know, binary way that the court gets covered And It's complicated. It's ironic, by the way, that the Tumpiest justices two that he never appointed, right? The Tumpiest justices or two that were appointed by H W. Bush and George W. Bush that in your establishment hat and and stew it, right Um But you see that that the This is This is a There is a majority conservative, no doubt There are partisans on this court But the court itself has not become partisan. And that's important Um I will say this, the look, the campaign finance decision is You know, this court has been consistent on money, so it didn't surprise me But it is shouldn't be lost on anybody. And this is where I think why so many in the left believe the court just simply is pro Republicans because two of their biggest decisions have basically bailed Republicans out here in the midtermss deceision one was the gutting of the Voting Rights Act that essentially greenlit, you know, and it's not lost on me. It seems as if this Supreme Court will green lightight any Republican remap but seems to not have the same enthusiasm for greenlining democratic remaps And yes, there were technical distinctions and you can sit here and say that they', you know, following the letter of the law, they just seem to Fine ter the letters seem to be easier to find in red states than they do in the blue states. U, but it's an important, right? It is it is down the number of swing seats and then this decision on campaign finance. And why is it such a bailout of the Republican Party in a moment that they needed a bailout because what it does is it allows their big donors to have their money go farther. Let me explain. So right now when you purchase a television ad campaign the candidate trying to purchase that ad time has to be sold that at time at the lowest There is a special political right, right? They're not allowed to gouge that Outside groups have to pay the same rate that Colgate pays or that prorogressive inssurance pays. They got to pay the higher rate And so what the court said is the party money now is that that the for the national party. So this is just the RNC, NRSC, NRCC, right? The National Party commommittee, the Senate commommittee and the House commommittee and the DNC, the DSEC and the DRpleC same construction there, the National partarty. that they can now coordinate their spending and the money that is spent by the National Party to help a specific race It can be used buy the lowest ad rate possible This is why this matters, right? There used to be this distinction where candidate raiseed dollars were're given the discount Party committee dollars or independent expenditure committee dollars. that are essentially where they can raise unlimited funds or Huge six, seven and eight figure checks Those Um, thoseose used to have to pay at a higher rate. Well now that you could pay that lower rate, well, Democrats are better at raising small dollar contributions than Republicans are these days blue is this is why Republicans have targeted act Blue. It's been an incredible organizing tool to sort of takeake grassroots money and move it smartly The Republicans have tried to come up with a competitor and win red to try to do the same, but they just really have a small donor problem But on the six figure and seven figure checks, there are more Republican six and seven figure donors than there are. Democratic donors in that The super big donors, both parties have about the same, but it's sort of this upper middle class donor, the person that can write the million dollar check, but that can't write the ten million dollar check. right? Republicans and Democrats have the same amount of people that can write the ten, fifteen and twenty five million dollars check But where the Republicans dominated is they have a hell of a lot more people that will write the five hundred two million dollar checks compared to the Democrats. And that's where this becomes a huge asset. So the point is This is a huge financial asset for particularly for House Republicans But if you just look at it, right, the national Republican Party committees and their're big donors, they are they they're able to, you know, I think this well financially bring Republicans basically on par and probably means that Republicans willll end up outspending the Democrats. The last couple of national cycles Democrats have been able to outspend Republicans out advertise Republicans because they've had this advantage of buying lower advertising rates using dollars to buy lower advertising rates. Now the Republicans are able to essentially do the same thing. So it does This is a huge help. in a midterm cycle where all the enthusiasms on Team Blue And this is an attempt to mitigate it. So It's a huge deal But you can't sit here and say the same court that does this then also said that Egene Carrool had to be paid and also birthright citizenship. My point is it's a conservative court And this has been, you know, that is fact It is not a Trump court And we should be relieved and thankful that it is not a Trump If there is one thing that this court is consistent about By the way, And I think another reason why birthright citizenship, if you care about this issue, you need to don't assume this is The thing you need to be concerned about is what this court Yeah Well this court will show deference to Congress if they are explicit in what they want, right? If you want to prevent the firing of some of these independent, you need to be more explicit in exactly what the what the regulatory body should do, what happens when certain people end up being fired by the president? How does the replacement process work I think a good lesson's been learned in the Director of National intntelligence and how the statute was very specific Congress wants to protect the independent regulators at the SEC, the FTC, the FCC, FEC, and at the Fed. I think it's clear that Congress needs to be more explicit and exactly how it wants this regulatory body to function. how vacancies are supposed to be filled. gets to fill it, what are the qualifications? And it's clear to me that if you add more on the on the side of the statute You make it harder the for the courts to simply default to the executive authority. And that's what this court's going to going to do All right, They're going to continue to default to the executive unless there's explicit legislative language here that's put into the statute. So Um, I think you're going to see a conservative effort to try to restrict some part of birthright citizenship Maybe it's birth tourism or something like that And the courts may be more open to something like this, but it's going to have to come from the legislative branch But that to me is the big lesson that policymakers should take away from this court that if you want to protect some of the regulatory powers of these quasi independent agencies in the executive branch You got to be more explicit. I know this sounds a little wonky, but I think that this is the lesson and this is what we're gonna to find out, right? Until Congress is a functional body cares about its independence again We're going to continue to have these sort of problems between the executive and the judiciary because of the way Congress has abdicated its its responsibilities Now a quick little thought on what happened in Colorado. and I think the question is Are we seeing right the is this H the DSA movement broken through coasts into the heartland And I just simply think TVD All right, Denver is a, I think a small sample size I'll go back to what I said before. The real test for the DSA movement and DSA adjacent movement and the justice Democrats is going to be Michigan and frankly, the real test isn't Michigan on primary day with Abduul al Sayed. It is whether if he's the nominating whether he can win the general And that is that is that is going to be the big big judgment on that front. but I think you can't discuss the success of the DSA candidate in Denver Tuesday night and ignore What also happened with John Hickenlooper where he got held under sixty percent by somebody that spent nine to one and the loss by Michael Bennett U in the gubernatorial primary to the sitt A attttorney General Philwiser Um the if there was a common threat between Um the Gat race, the gov race. and the and the Senate race. It was all three sort of Washington figures here because obviously Bennet wasn't the incumbent, but he kind of he kind of ended up being treated as the incumbent Um the the the critique that seemed to hit that was hardest for them to push back on was this idea that, hey, you're part of the system that created this mess and you have not done enough about it. In fact, you Michael Bennett even voted to confirm a Trump cabinet secretary. You John Hicken Looper, even confirmed. And this is what we saw with the Tea Party early on where where where a firing offense would be something like that, where that used to be not considered a fireable offense, sort of the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, which is just kind of like perfunctory to many people When that starts right. you saw the right would just get mad that they even by by by confirming in Obama cabinet official you've given you've accepted the premise that he can govern or whatever it is. and I think there's this anger on the left that feels very similar to that we saw that sort of your anger in the right and If you're fighting Trump, you need to be fighting him all the time can't ever give an inch and what seemed to unify and what hit all three of those races is was was If you if you just work You need to get caught fighting what it was and I have to say, I mean, you know, I saw somebody note with these New York Times polls that show that the, you know, the candidate seems to be the safest is Roy Cooper. And needs to be more notice of how did Roy Cooper do this? Well, I've got a simple answer. Roy Cooper avoided a primary And you know, we're in a moment right now just like we saw it It' like how did Glen Youunin win in Virginia? And he didn' have a real primer. We're in a moment right now where this is a restless, these are restless electorates The base of the Republican Party distrusts its establishment, the base of the Democratic Party basically looks at the second election and Trump and says, okay, this is now a reflection on you guys You guys had a chance to eradicate them and you failed anybody associated with the Biden era in ' twenty four. And Let this be a lesson to Pete Buttigge. Let this be a lesson to anybody that Kamala Harris If your're if you've got fingerprints in the Biden era There're going to be voters are saying you didn't do enough to stop Trump the first time. Why should we trust you with power this time That may be what we're hearing out of here And this is why I'm not convinced the Republicans are going to easily be able to say, hey, look, the Democrats are going crazy left U I think it's something that could that they can weaponize for a presidential race. I think it's a little harder to weaponize in different races. In fact, the New York Times polling shows me that I think Iowa is one of those places where you see the numbers where people say, yeah, I think the National partarty is too liberal, but I don't believe that of my nominee in my state, right And in Iowa, like Turk does better than the national brand. And it's almost consistent across the board. So the fact that voters see a distinction between their candidate and the national brand. I think tells you that this is going to be, I think harder I think it's I'm not as convinced that DSA is a is baggage yet in some of these races, especially when you have an unpopular president in all this. I'm not saying it eventually isn't problematic And I think it becomes, you know, The real question is what happens Yeah You know, there's sort of to me, there's three outcomes. that will determine this sort of civil war that's perhaps going to take place inside the Democratic Party. There's sort of three outcomes that I think Um depending on what happens will trigger different types of fights. So If Democrats win both the House and the Senate, I don't think, you know, I think our team Jeffreys is going to have a fairly smooth path to the speakership. I don't think you will see the justice Democrats or DSA adjacent Democrats or DSAs who look like they're going to be a caucus of somewhere between twelve and twelve and twenty, right U twenty on the high end, sort of ten to twelve on the low end. Um You know, if Democrats are picking up more seats than than the entire size of the Justice Democrats DSA caucus then he should have nothing to worry about But if Democrats win the House, but don't win the Senate That's where things I think get hinky for a knocam Jeffreys and that because I do think a failure to win the Senate. you're going to have finger pointing going both ways, right? You're going have the establishment pointing to the the socialists and the progressives saying, it's your fault we didn't pick up the Senate. And you're going to have this this the left wing, the socialists progressives saying, hey, we picked up the house. you guys suck. Schumer sucks. That's the reason. And in fact, we need to put some more guardrails on Jeffries because we don't trust Jeffries down the road. So That's a scenario where the split decision, right, I think totally sets Then of course, there's a scenario where where nobody wins anything, right? Where the Republicans hold both the House and the Senate That's Katie bar of the door. That becomes existential crisis and it's like everybody could get could get thrown out. But That is, I think that's the scenario we're seeing. Look Ultimately It's clear Democratic voters are fired up about fighting Trump The question is what can get these voters to fifty percent plus one in a general election Um Resistance to Trump has not been enough to win over these voters or if it would, you would you know, there wouldn't be a second Trump term Um Is it affordability? Is it corruption Every day, Trump makes it a lot easier for Democrats to make their case, right And that's probably the best asset they got it going is that Donald Trump refuses to retreat In fact The fact that he wants to nationalize his elections and have a national convention in September promise you, I think James Talorico and others would help fund this convention to make sure Please, Republicans, go ahead, get closer to Trump, nationalize this election a nationalized election Arible for the party in power And I don't care where you right. That is exactly You make this a referendum on Trump I promise you I know what that result's going to be. and him leaning into this Convention, I get their thinking. They're thinking is, well, theyve got to find, they've got to find a way to motivate the Trump voter to show up to the midtermss. becausecause they this may simply be an energy turnout contest That's true in a few states That's not necessarily true in some other states. Now again, I get I think the Republican line of thinking on this and I get to it more later in this show when I talk about the potential for an elito retirement. is whatever it takes for them to get that presidential voter to show up in a midterm So this is the whole idea of the Trump experiment that somehow it's going to get Magga going I think that that u You know, it's like put it this way If you sign Justin Verlander, do you think you got Justin Verlander from fifteen years ago or do you have a version of Justin Verlander who might have lost his fastball I think Donald Trumps lost his fastball, so I don't know if he can motivate the way people think we shall see. So anyway, I'm going look, I really wanted to spend more time. I'm stewing. I'm angry. I'm really just I'm sorry This president screwed up an opportunity that could have been an incredible educational experiment experience all of these things It's so depressing U because it was a real opportunity And he ruined it. and he's the reason why we have we're all feeling kind of disappointed And how and how this is all turned out. This should be a better party This should be a better celebration but we just We have the wrong person in charge. He just can't doesn't know what it's like. He doesn't know what it's like to be in America W that taking a break and we come back my conversation on The, um Centrist wing of the Democratic Party how they plan to deal with the rising progressive part of the party Horseshoe Online Casino has a special offer for you, New Jersey. New users can get five hundred bonus spins in their first month on games like Huff and Ls of puff and more. It's simple and rewarding to play your casino favorites. Download and play today. Must be twenty one plus and physically present in New Jersey. mininimum wagering within five days required to unlock bonuses. Full terms and wagering requirements at horseshoenlinecasino dot com slash promos. If you are someone you know is a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler Chest top by top by Well in the spirit of Independence Day, America two hundred fifty, which of course I've lamented and how much Unfortunately This has been ruined by the current president, I thought instead of talking about real presidents we talk about fictional presidents because I'll be honest when I think of Iependence Day, I think of the greatest fictional presidential speech Today is not just our independence Day U by u by Bill Pullman. So I thought, you know what I'm gonna give you my five favorite fictional presidents. This doesn't mean they're who I think would have made good presidents per se U There's one or two on here that I think would have would have made good overall presidents Um But I think in the spread, I'd love to hear from you who would you have added to this list and let's have a little bit of fun that. So here's my top five list is always brought to you my friends at Fandal. So number five is Pident David Palmer, Dennis Hazbert from twenty four and I will This is the most presidential of my picks, if you will, like he could have been president. Now, I'm also going to put him on the list because Dennis was the voice of meeet the press When he used to introduce Meet the Press, the longest running television show, that was of course u, the voice of Dennis Haysberdies and and just like his voice overver for the introduction to me on Meet the press And twenty four, he was calm. He was grave. He was believable. He was one of the fictional presents like, I'd vote for that guy. Um and it did seem as if he was constantly dealing with national security crisis. So at least the fictional resume is pretty strong. so count me in Number four in my list. is of course one of the worst presidents, fictional presidents we've ever had, but perhaps the Funniest fictional president we've ever, and that is President Selina Meyer, Julie Louis Dreifus on the Mount Rushmore of All time Great comedic actors Look, Vep, as many of us tell you all the time, you know, what's more real Vep or West Wing? I'm telling you, Washington is more Vep than West Wing. There is no, you know, the world that Aaron Sorkin has created does not exist and may never have existed The world created by Vep very much exists. And look She is What what's what Selena Meyer exposes is those that have the super ambition. Now the irony is Most of the of the Truly ambitious driven wannabe presidential candidates Never actually get the office We do we're usually pretty good at sniffing out those who just want the office to have the office's sake, right? that everything like that. And I say we're usually pretty good at sniffing that out I said, we're usually pretty good at sniffing that out. We don't always sniff that out very well. I'm Selena Meyer all the I mean, Vep Vep is one of those shows that I, when I now watch it in the Trump era, It just gets different Important but it hits different. Number three on my list is President James Marshall You may know I as Harrison Ford. get off my plane. right? Look, Harrison Ford You know, I have a son named Harrison. I love Harison Ford. I didn't technically name him after Harrison Ford for those of you wondering But You know, it's funny if there's like two actors that sort of have been with me in more movie theaters than any other two actors that I would go to for the longest period of time, whether in movie or TV, it is Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford. So there is this affinity I certainly have for Harrison Ford. I'm a middle aged white guy, so I'm probably not alone on that front I don't know if that character would have been a good president, but I know that if I wanted deal with the Russians. I would want fictional president James Marshall and get off my plane is it's basically What happens if Indiana Jones had the nuclear coodes? Because the beauty of Harrison Ford You know, I've always I heard one time heard this interview about acting There are two types of actors humans and aliens. And the point being is that the alien is like a Merril Street or Gary Oldman, they become the character and you can't even recognize the actor playing the character. They are so good at essentially Beoming this character. And then there are people like George Clooney, Harrison Ford Um who are always George Cly and Harrison Ford. and yet They know how to play Harrison Ford as a fictional president or Harrison Ford as the archaeologist or Harrison Ford is uh, the Schwashbuckling smuggler Right in a in a in a space movie. The point being is, you know, they're kind of the same guy but we really like that guy And I think that's Harrison Ford. So he's number three Number two on my list Normally would have been number one because it's the greatest fictional speech anybody's ever written It is Thomas Whitmore Otherwise the fictional president played by Bill Pullman in Independence Day, it is the speech, right? If Harrison Ford is defined by get off my plane when he kicks him off the plane This president, you know, it's funny. It's like he's kind of feels like a weak president in over his head. like That's kind of how they paint him, right? And Jeff Goldblum's the smart guy in the room And then by the end, you're like, I'm going to follow that guy, you know, when he gets up there and grabs the microphone and does this, you know, july fourth will no longer be remembered as an American holiday Oh And here youre you're finding yourself all fired up. about some manufactured fictional aliens that don't really exist, right Um That's when you know somebody has written some pretty good sci fi and some pretty good fantasy. But number one on my list, Should be a joke And yet I'm putting them on my list because you and I both know This isn't going to be filled with much subtext. It is President Duay Elizondo, Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. played by Terry Cruz in idiocracy Yes, it's the Chaos pick. It's the ridiculous pick. He's loud. He's vulgar. He's the pro wrestling coded president in in Mike Judge's idiocracy Um, but it's an unforgettable character and he's actually Even though you may think I am picking this as a not so subtle subtext of our current politics Which yes, I am. So there's no subtext here. Absolutely. But you know the big distinction between my fictional President Camacho and our current President Camacho in the White House is that the president Camaco in idiocracy was self aware on one point He had one presidential virtue that when he found someone smarter than he was, he gave that guy power I don't think in the real world that our real President Camacho. would do that. So there you go There's my top five list of this week. Enjoy it. My five favorite fictional president. who's yours? I think at this point, given the real world that we live in It is hard not to put camacho at number one But you tell me Who's your number one? numberum one that's The most important to sort of showow what we're living in. and of course I'd love to know Who's the fictional president that she'd actually like to see as president. And I know what some of you going to say Where's the west wing Now as I told you Its it's just a little too unrealistic to me And which is why I'm leaving, um just I Bartlet off of this one, but I know many of you will put him on your top five. Look, he' he's a strong Honorable mention, don't me wr But there you go, there's my top five for the week Well, this episode of the Chuck Todcast is brought to you by Fandal. It's the biggest stage in world soccer. Trust me, you got Americans caring about soccer. I'm sitting suddenly caring. E goal changes everything. and now Fandel It's giving you a reason to root for every single goal that gets scored because they have something called every goal pace bet on a match and you get bonus bets for every goal scored in that match. So hey, you think France is rolling, right or Norway, think my friends in Mexico are going to keep kicking and win by two or three goals? No, you get a bonus bet, right? So you bet on a match, you get these bonus bets for every single goal scored in that match More goals means more bonus bets. And all you have to do is turn on your token 's be honest, us Americans here who didn't necessarily have soccer as their first love. We like a little more scoring. Well that's your opportunity here. It gives you an opportunity to root for more scoring. Now do your scouting carefully You got some defensive minded teams there. onnce they get their one or two goals, that's it. But if you think you have some high flyers here like England, Mexico These are some aggressive teams. I can't wait for that match. That's one where it feels like Yeah Trust me, I'm even knowing who the heck Harry Cane is, right? There's going to be some goals scores. entially in that one. Well, that's your opportunity to mess around So from the opening whisten to the final kick, let there be goals on fandal. Visit fandal. com to get started now twenty one plus in select states for Kansas and affiliation with the Kansas Stark casino. It's eighteen plus in DC, Kentucky, Wyoming. If you have a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler. or one eight hundred My reset or call one eight eight eight seven eight, nine, seven, seven, seven seven. You can also visit ccPG d. org slash chat in Connecticut. You can visit the MDgamblinghelp d. org in Maryland for help. You can visit gamblinghelplinemA. org. You can call eight hundred three two seven five zero, five zero in Massachusetts. You can call one eight, seven seven eight, hope and why, or you can simply text Hope NY, New York in order to get some help with any gambling concerns. Finally, you can also call one eight seven seven, seven seven zero, seven eight six seven if you're in Louisiana. As Let's get the jinggle gone. Let's do some ass cheheck. All right Jim in Tobahana, Pennsylvania writes, Hey, what's the point of voting down ballot if so many members of Congress seem to vote along party lines? You said temperament is one of the qualities you value in politicians, but does it still matter if representatives are more focused on party leadership than their constituents? Am I wrong Jim and by the way, he writes goo Buffalo Bills, excited for the new stadium. Hey U Jim I curious, do you have a hot do you have a strong preference on the OJ. Simpson situation Do you put him in the new stadium's ring of honor or A. I'm just curious where you standing. I was asked this very question for what it's worth I sort of leaned on the side of I under I think you I think honoring him feels wrong and erasing him feels wrong. So you've got to find what is that? You can't tell the story of the Buffalo Bills without O.J. Simpson that doesn't mean you build a statute to him, right? So I think it's a And I don't think it it's as easy as some people want to make it. But anyway, let me get to your question. Um, You know This is a chicken and egg situation. I assume Um which is You know, so many members of Congress and swing districts swear they're going to be, you know, they're going to, you know They're not going to follow party leadership. They're gonna, you know do what they're supposed to do. And yet, you're right, right There's a reason why each side can run the ad that so and so votes ninety five percent of the time with President Trump and so and so votes ninety five percent of the time You know, Chuck Schumer, you know, whatever it is U becausecause there's so many procedural votes. that are parting line, you know, they're rules. so it sort of inflates that. So sometimes the statistics can be a bit misleading. The fact is in the sort of polarized world that we live in, Um part part of the expectation and part of the job where you sort of You may like an idea that's coming from across the aisle, but that idea is attached to other ideas that are bad ideas that will undermine your side of the aisle and you're trying to figure out what to do. I think this is what frustrates the average voter who isn't a partisan, right? I always say like, you know What am I doing here at the checkpile? This is basically I'm trying to explain politics to the rest of us for the rest of us, which is if you're not a hard partisan on the left or right, you know Why is it so hard to get a member of Congress to just sort of You know, I sort of vote where the public is not where their party is. And it is it is just harder than you think it is And I think part of it is what I just described. It's You know You may like one idea, but you can't vote on it separately. It's attached to three other things, right? Be each party essentially wants to create poison pills, if you will, in order to it's like, fine, we know this part is popular, but I really want to get my unpopular idea to pass. so I'm going to sneak it through a popular idea U and that's how partisans left and right, no matter which side of the of the aisle has the power at the moment, tries to sneak things in. and that's what makes bipartisan agreements so difficult U and even more difficult than ever This is if I were to create the, you know This just simply is politics as it is, right? This is how it works right now and If you if you're gonna if you want to try to govern within the system that we have you're kind of stuck having to do this performative leadership bullshit test What would be better? a situation where individual lawmakers felt as if they had more to worry about from their constituents than more to worry about from their party. And right now Particularly in the legislative branches, the party has a bigger role over your ability to get anything done than if you get a like like it's easier to be independent minded as a governor. It's even somewhat easy to be in slightly more independent minded as being a senator It is really hard in the legislative branch on the house side of things, whether it's a state House or the US House. if you try to operate outside either of the major party structures You just you can't get anything done. the way these these entities are are Oh and make it. they this is to me what makes them undemocratic institutions is that essentially Even though we have a large constituency of Americans that are a member of either party, they basically punish any member who does not member of either party in their ability to get on the right committees and their ability to introduce legislation and their ability to do these things. So Um This is why somewhat brought up the chicken and egg. Um problem there, which is you know, in order to partarty matter less, you need to almost see the whole the rules of all of these institutions completely blow up the two party system and they're totally disincentivized to make the system work better for those not inside one of the two major parties. And I think that this is what makes that that the problem and why are, you know, why Ultimately why most Senate races now are slipping into party label territory. where the jersey color matters more than the individual Um, and I think we're going right that that that is going to that that is being tested the most and in the states of Maine and Texas Maine is a democratic state that has consistently elected and reelected a Republican senator and Susan Collins because they you've had a group of voters who prioritized the individual over the party lab And then in Texas, right, you have a James Taler Rico who' hoping he can get a handful of voters to prioritize the individual party late I just think the voters is more educated than ever and they realize as much as they you know, they see their individual member as being a little bit more independent of say, the national partarty or the state partarty At the end of the day, ninety five percent of the time, they're going to end up sticking to the party label that they are, so you better be comfortable knowing that going again And and I think that that's the um That's explains why why we We're getting so many party line voters and and why, you know, it's sort of like You can't really operate in these legislative branches if you're not essentially somewhat party line, if you want to even introduce ideas and get new ideas. O even be considered So it sort of incentivizes this and then over time voters are getting educated by it. They get it U And that's that's why it's possible if Platner wins. I think it's a reminder that We're going some people will say character doesn't matter and I think we're just going to say partarty jersey matters more if that's the situation that we get All right, next question comes from Luke. Previously from Ohio, now from Connecticut, he writes He said, Hey I had a question after your recent comments on Zoan Mandani and Israel at the principleal Is that modern states shouldn't privilege one ethnic or religious group over others? What makes Israel the exception? What do you see as the key principle behind that distinction? I understand that the Jewish people have endured extraordinary persecution, including the Holocaust, but they are not the only people to have experienced genocide or systemic persecution It' transrgender man, I certainly wouldn't argue that the answer is transgender ethn state. I'd rather build societies where everyone enjoys equal rights and equal protection under the law Thanks. I think the reason there's so why I take issue with what Mom Dny said a little bit because and others have taken a harder line on what he said is because There are you know, dozens of states that prioritize one religion over the other And so the question is, why did you just single out Israel on this when there are plenty of Arab states that prioritize a religion. And it's, you know, and it's not even, you know, it is a Jewish state, but it is not it is also an equal rights state. Now look, I would say the issue is not the state of Israel, the issue is the government of Israel And so The minute your criticism of Israel gets it to the existence of the state itself It is hard for me to take that criticism as anything other than an othering of a small minority population versus if your criticism of Israel is that they're no longer living up, that this government is living up to the foundounder' vision of Israel, Well, that's a different story and you're going to certainly have more credibility people like me and others who are highly critical of what BB has done. And frankly, you know, there's no doubt Hs. who's certainly got, you know, who has done more damage to I to the American relationship with Israel. There's no single individual that's done more damage to this than Bibi Netanyahu He partisanized it, he polarized it. you know, everything he did during the Obama era is what led to this moment and his decision to make it a party you know, to essentially side with one party damaged Israel, right? now Israel's on an island on its own. So look, he's at You know, this I just, you know, they the The immediate C criticism of Israel for this when literally there are fifty other countries that have a similar relationship with one religion over another Um is it just didn't ring true and the fact that he went there it was sort of, like I said, it was a clever answer Right? He didn't want to say he didn't believe in the state of Israel. He just didn't believe in its right to be a Jewish state And, you know, again, it sort of is you couldith what's the difference between you know, Israel and and and Pakistan, for instance u you know, with that preferential treatment for religion or in Indonesia or something like that. So Um Again, I just think if you, you know, your credibility you know, trying to erase the existence of Israel is what makes the debate not a debate with a lot of people. Um making it about how Netanyahu is twisted. tortured the Um, principles what the founders of Israel intended and what he's done now is two different things Um, and again, I mean, if if the DSA wants to have credibility with uh, with with certain voters. Um that They need to start there. And when you when youre when you're essentially your starting point is it shouldn't exist Um Look, I think there should be criticism that BB doesn't no longer believes in a two state solution, right? And that should be Um You know, if you told me American policy and American aid to Israel was tied to Israel pursuing and believing and pushing for a two state solution I think that is something that would have wide support in the American Diaspora on that front. for what it's wor. U Mike and Albany Wright, say a few voting questions for you. Do you think expanding vote by mail nationwide could be argued as an issue of equal access given the costs and barriers some voters face. Al also while Trump can't appear on the ballot for president again, could he legally mount a writing camp? And after his electoral history, do you think it suggests America Still isn't ready to elect a woman as president, thanks for your inside Mike and Albany. L in Albany, Oregon, excuse me I just said Albany and they're going to jum opening work and that was that's new to me All right, that's that's quite a few questions there So let me start with expanding vote by mail. Look, I think Look, each state has to give equal access to voters, right? It is you know, I think that there's, you know and states you know, can't sort of prioritize certain sets of voters over the others Um But it is a state by state basis on that. I don't think there's any Um, I think can I call this convenience voting, you know, making giving more opportunities to vote that bitit on your time rather than having to You know, only prioritize one day when anything could happen that would, you know, get in the way of you having an opportunity to get to the polls, etcetera So, u, So I look, I think that that's been the best argument for vote by mail has been that it gets equal access. But the way to att the end of the day why it will never go away and why the Republican Party will never be able to kill mail and voting is that suburban voters The upper, you know They want the convenience voting and if you get rid of the convenience voting, the snowbirds want the convenience voting. you know, I mean, the original The original vote by mail U constituency would the snowbirds of Florida and the Republicans dominated that until the Democrats Ded the tactics and found an incredible amount of success Um, so I think that that is a u I think the best way to sell it ist as an access issue, but I think convenience and access together. U, I think make it easier to sell B mail Horseshoe Online Casino has a special offer for you, New Jersey. New users can get five hundred bonus spins in their first month on games like huff and Ls of puff and more. It's simple and rewarding to play your casino favorites. Download and play today. Must be twenty one plus and physically present in New Jersey. mininimum wagering within five days required to unlock bonuses. Full terms and wagering requirements at horseshoe onnlinecasino dot com slash promos. If you are someone you know is a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler All right, now to get to your second question. while, Trump can' appear on the battle to president again, could heillegally mount a writing campaign Well, I mean, you know, in theory, yes, I mean, the problem is he just can't get certified. He can't serve. I will tell you this So Um I think there is one legal loophole that Th that are obsessed with this, Steve Bannon is somebody that is obsessed with this that there's one legal loophole in this in the Constitution. that provide Trump an opportunity to run for a third term and I will walk you through it because if he did want to run for one more full term He would need to do the following in the next six months before the new Congress takes hold and it is the following resesign the presidency and somehow get the Republican and then you and JD Vance agrees to a point the Vice presresident And the Republican Senate confirms him and he becomes the sitting vice president before the new Senate takes over And so why why is that the loophole Well there has been sort of agreed upon constitutional scholarship that says that essentially, if you haven't, you remember, LBJ gets the presidency Um G after the halfway mark of the Kennedy presidency And And so the interpretation of the two terms then was because he had not served more than half of one term, he was actually eligible to serve two full terms. So we so he could have served almost essentially ten right, you know, nine years plus plus U plus about forty days you know, nine years and forty days plus the extra twenty. So basically nine years in two months essentially was what he was constitutionally eligible to serve. Well, if if Donald Trump You know wanted to and this is how youd do it and which is you would have a you would get a Justice Department, office of Legal counsel to do an OLC memo that would sort of address a circumstance like this and just sort of file it away at the OLC as a justustice depepartment interpretation. You would then execute this plan Democrats would raise constitutional questions. The Justice Department would release this offffice of Legal counsel, and then the courts would have to decide how to do this and and, you know, the the point being is then there's a legal thread. Well, he hadn't served a full two years of that second term. Now he's a sitting vice president. He's only served less than six years. if LBJ could have been eligible to serve one more four year term, then why couldn't Donald Trump be eligible to serve one four year term? And oh, by the way, what's magical about becoming the appointed vice president? guuess who would get to oversee his own certification on january sixth going in on that. So What I've outlined to you is a completely nightmare legal scenario. that I fear has just enough thread to make certain judges find a constitutionality to what would be this brazenly unconstitutional power grab, right but you might have it isn't going to be clean on the unconstitutional ruling side of things. So Look, it's pretty clear if you're not eligible to serve you know, it is it is, you know I'm just saying this is the vulnerability that I've identified and a few other people have identified if you're looking for a way. now. This would mean A JD Vance would be willing to essentially be a puppet President Is he willing to do that Are there is there is there are there fifty Republicans willing to confirm Donald Trump as vice president in this current Senate Are we sure right? Bill Cassid, Tom Tillas, John Corn, Lisa Murkowski, right? You could just So I don't think this is a realistic scenario politically in our current political environment But if you're asking me for How would one go about it in a way that would at least create a question about its legality and it would end up in the courts I think this scenario. him running is a write in. I think Democrats would love nothing more for Donald Trump to run as a write in and you would have this situation. I mean, you know, it it is It is I He could and I don't think it would be very successful. Um And then your last question after His electoral history do you think it suggests America still isn't ready to elect woman as president So It's interesting that Donald Trump Right, you know, he's run for president three times. He defeated women twice. He lost to the only man he faced on And I know it's easy to assume it means that women can't win Pblem with being able to make that declaration is, you know How much was Clinton's last name And how much was her gender? what mattered more I will I've I think some of you've heard me say this a million times. like I'll go to my grave believing Hillary Smith defeats Donald Trump and that it was good that it was her last name, not her first name that was the problem. and that it was the idea that she was not changeed. and Clinton was a brand political name that was falling out of favor and brand names and politics were falling out of favor and we know My goodness, it's obvious to see this now ten years later in the moment, it wasn't easy to see and we can't pretend it was easy to see that time. So again, we're all smarter You know, with distance. and and it's pretty it's pretty easy to see these days. So I don't think that's a fair test of whether the country is ready to elect a woman president And then there's Kabbala Harris. She's a sitting vice president. for an unpopular president trying to seek election on her own No vice president has been able to pull that Right? Al Gore couldn't do it. Um and he had a and the and Bill Clinton was was popular as president and unpopular personally and it was that distinction that caused Gore You know, that basically is why Gore came up short. Um, Hubert Humphy U In one of the closest elections of the twentieth century in nineteen sixty eight He was trying to defeat a an unpopular a, you know, he's trying, he was trying to replace an unpopular president that he was serving. So Um, it is, you know unpopular vice, you know Vice presidents of unpopular presidents rarely win. It doesn't matter what their gender is So I guess my argument is we haven't had a fair test yet On this front Um And I understand why it's easy to say what you've said because what we've seen, but Um, I just I just don't think we've had a fair test U And because you've had two There were two other issues both Haris and Clinton were dealing with that were very frankly frankly conventional political problems, meaning they were dragging around somebody else's political baggage. U and it was simply too heavy for them. to get across the finish line nextext question comes from a man Adam B in the most southern place you can go in South Florida, Davey, Florida. He is of course U I think he might be the at least I think he's an elected officer in the Chuck in the As Chuck five timimerers cllub at this point, not just a member. I think he's now an officer He goes, what's your take on the MPR retraction regarding Justice Alito's retirement? How does a story like that happen? Was it a reporting mistake? Or could the reporter have had solid information that changeed? Thanks again, as always Look, I'm just going to take Nina Totenberg at her word. She sort of explained how it happened, which to me explains why You know, this was This was the Mina Tottenberg fell on her sword, but this was the fault of her bosses basasically, well, it's Nina Totenberg. I'm not going to question her. She must have a better source or you know, she's got this I That's what strikes me is the possibility that this happened, right? that it was that it was She misheard something. She thought she heard what she heard. She was sort of It's a classic case of confirmation bias, right? Her ear was already tuned in the word retirement and the minute she had retirement, her brain went immediately, right? She was so this is like and by the way, this is confirmation bias and stories are something you're constantly worried about as a reporter. You're looking to see a divisive Um story in the electorate you're trying to cover and then you find the divisiveness and you lean into it, right? know It is, you know, she's she's there in part waiting to see, you know, there's all these rumors that Alito's going to retire. And so boom, she takes one word and she jumps to it. So If you were to ask me, I think it's two things. One is Um this is a reminder that that Um sometimes been there done that disease that any a reporter can get. I've had it myself where you just It's always been this way. So oh yeah, this I know exactly what's happening. and then you just sort of. And by the way eighty percent of the time that instinct serves you well. twenty percent of the time you can have egg on your face and she had egg on her face.ere's what I want Hlight though What a reputable news organization does is exactly what NPR did, which is explained how all this happed. the reporter She did every. I mean, I, you know, it really frustrates me, you know the way the Partisans weaponize mistakes in the press. Everybody makes mistakes Um and the weaponization of, ah, this proves this, this proves that, right? whether it's partartisan activs on the left or the partisan activists on the right And to me, ultimately, a news organization that owns their mistakes explains how it happened U is a news organization, I'm going to trust even more than the one that claims they never make a mistake because It's human beings. Everybody makes a mistake. By the way, even the artificial human beings. I mean, any of you that have dabbled in the AR and large language models, this happens every day you know, it is it is certainly, you know, my initial use of AI has made me I will not use any one model for anything because I keep for the stuff that I know that where I'm an expert on those things, I see how many things they're missing. So for the stuff I'm not an expert at I'm extrapolating and assuming well if they're screwing up the stuff I know, I'm sure they're screwing up the stuff I don't know And you've got to you've got to Youve got a triple check and you know, I models against each other and you know, I go down multiple rabbit holes in the same question and then see where I find contradictions and then go to the source. I mean, you just You, you know, as a reporter, you're kind of your all you have is your credibility So Um I sort of see how it happened and I think that it was You know you know, she didn't throw her own editor on the bus, but I might have Somebody there just sort of gave her a pass because she's Netin Todenberg, Nina Todberg, and you know, she's had some great scoops for NPR over the years. So it just feels like you had an operation that was sort of ready for breaking news and then Um You know, one of their all timers had it and did it and lo and behold You had the mistake that you made. Now. A lot of super sleuts have noted that that in the first report it had the word Friday. So now the biggest conspiracy theory is well, she know she already has it. She just thought it went early. and then we'll see it later Um, by the way, I, you know, Alito could retire anytime this summer. U And I do I still think that the pressure on Alito to retire is going is going to increase because I do think there are plenty of Republicans When you look at the Senate map If you you know, I know the average Republican strategist will believe that if you can make the court One of the three or four most important issues and who's going to be on the court and you have sort of a tangible opening to show this It's a way to motivate voters that may not be normally motivated. And the Republicans in particular, have a base have a problem there And when you look at the Senate map, which all leans red, right? Ohio, Iowa, Alaska, Neraska, Kansas, Mississippi, Texas, you know, however big or small you want to expand your potential target list, all of them are red leaning states. which means the court you know, it, you know, any way you can goose turnout on the right, I think is a net plus for the our side. So Um I actually think, you know, I'm still on Eito retirement watch and I'll be on Eito retirement watchatch really until until September Um, I think it is I think this is the I think this is the last tool in the toolbox that they will use before the fall of the have to Um, Tyler R here from Michigan's fifth District He says, How difficult do you think it will be for JD Vancech to secure the Republican nomination given the political baggage he you may inherit from Trump? And you think he'll continue embracing some of the same Trump isms? Like claims of election fraud, thanks so much Tyler H Well, some of it is going to depend on how Is it Vance and Rubio running against each other or is there only one sort of Trump friendly candidate, right? If he's got one if there's if Rubio has stood down and it's just Vance againgst say Glenn Junkin, Ran Paul Um then I think it's going to be really difficult to say look A sitting vice president that wants to get a presidential nomination of their party is rarely denied that I mean, I'm sitting here. I'm going in my quick back of the envelope math here, right? you know, sitting vice presidents. Okaykay., you know, Dan Qule was, you know, went nowhere in his campaign, but he was four years removed from being the sitting Vice President Um, So you know, it's very, the only thing harder is to dislodge a sitting president from a nomination Dislodging a sitting vice president from a party's nomination is not easy. Um, And so, you know, you I expect it that there'll be a moment or two where you're like, Ohh, is this is going to go south Is this not going to go well type of thing Um But I suspect, you know, part that again, it's as if there's no other Trump friendly candidates in the race. If there's multiple Trump friendly candidates, then Then Vance has less room to maneuver. He can't risk alienating him because we know this seems to still work Now I don't know how much it's going to work. a year from now Republicans lose the midterms sort of decisively Does that start to make Republicans wanting to turn the page on Trump? And does that become damaging to evance? right? I think Vance is going to try to be this sort of different Republican that he wants to be. Like he clearly wants to carve out something different that really isn't Trumpy that is a bit more that has a little bit more intellectual rigor behind it Right? I think he's I think there is I think he's a real nationalist. I think he's a real isolationist Um And I think that's where he wants to take the party I I think he is a, you know You know, it's funny they're going they're going to use this socialism. they're going to attack the left on socialism, but, you know, he's He's pretty pro socialism on some things too, especially the nationalizing of certain industries and all of that. So I I think he's going to want to try to sort of Be who he really is ideologically m But a lot of that depends on whether whether he can, you know, if Rubios if both of them are running, he may feel a little bit And I have to tell you I'm right now I think it's not even a close call. Trump would prefer Rubio over over Vance. and it weirdly, it's because Rubio and Trump are closer than Vance and Trump are. Vance is You know, b V Vanceces son on his side Ruby has got Daddy on his side Rubio has worked Um Donald over for a little less than a decade now his way back in, he turned him into a Miami, Cuban Republican U he got them, you know, sort of becoming best friends with the remaining living may have pigs, veterans And , you know, in that sense, you know, I just think Trump right now There is a All of Trump's rich friends in Mar Laga would prefer Rubio Trump spends a lot more time with his rich friends in Mar Lago than he does with the folks that want fans. J something thathing. Horseshoe Online Casino has a special offer for you, New Jersey. New users can get five hundred bonus spins in their first month on games like Huff and lots of puff and more. It's simple and rewarding to play your casino favorites. Download and play today. Must be twenty one plus and physically present in New Jersey. mininimum wagering within five days required to unlock bonuses. Full terms and wagering requirements at horseshoe onnlinecasino dot com slash promos. If you are someone you know is a gambling problem, call one eight hundred gambler lastast question for the weekend here. Hope you're enjoying your summer, going for my second question as I work toward the Five Timers Club. Realistically, what's the latest Supreme Court justice could retire and still be confirmed by current Republican Senate? Could a retirement after the election still lead to a confirmation before the new Senate is seated? or are there ways Democrats could slow the process, Ray D in Las Vegas, third Congressional distict, PS Jets fan, Vegas has them and Five and a half wins this season taking the over or the O Oo Take that first. But that feels like a correct number Um, I don't see the big leap, right? I don't see U And then, you know, they've got a division problem, right They are clearly the fourth worst team. I think the dolphins have done a lot more work in the off season. I'm a believer in Moy Qillis a little bit of that' the packer in me. U Obviously Buffalo' Buffalo U and Josh Allen, as long as he's healthy they've got ten to ten to twelve winens in a any time Obviously I think we all assume the Patriots are going to take some step back but it ain't going to be like six wins, right? It's probably and they're so fiveive and a half feels about the right line. And'd be the jets You know, Yeah, you have to be smoking the opium if you take the over The smart batter's takaking me under on that one And my guess is the money line shades to the undernd that one. Let me go to your other question about the Supreme Court. I do not think there's enough legislative days to pull that off after the election. That's why I go back what I should have combined the two questions. you know, that's me not planning well enough here based on the other Supreme Court, the question I turned into a Supreme Court question. But what I would u But what I would u suggest on this one is I do think September one's the realistic And here's the point This This isn't You know, if you're if you're if you want to leado, if you're trying to replace that seat, you got to do it where you know you have a Republican Senate. U And you want to do it when you think it could have electoral value Um So no, you know, in theory, could they you know, could it be done but you'd have to have the cooperation of the minority party and you're just not going to have cooperation of theity. C So u no You know, now Republicans hold the Senate That's a different story Um, but I don't suspect, you know, I don't, you know, I think if if If Alito retires, point is to try to find electoral benefit out of it There are enough red leaning Republican seats that tell me that there's real electoral benefit U, if they it could be may not matter, right? It just may, may not matter. Conservative voters may feel more satisfied about the direction of the court. Um then then then maybe Sometimes the press gives out on this, right? You know, the social media conservatives are not where normal conservatives are about this court. And they may not feel a sense of urgency