The Chuck ToddCast

Alvaro Bedoya — the former FTC Commissioner whom Trump fired in an unprecedented break with a century of agency-independence norms — joins the Chuck Toddcast to explain why his firing matters far beyond his own career, and what it reveals about the collision between corporate power and consumer protection in the Trump era. Bedoya makes the legal case plainly: removal "for cause" is clearly written into the law, Congress needs to codify FTC independence, and while he's skeptical this Supreme Court will rule in favor of agency independence, the circumstances of his dismissal are damning — he believes he was fired specifically for suing companies that happened to be Trump donors. The Amazon case is his exhibit A: the FTC was actively pursuing Amazon until Trump intervened, and after Amazon funneled millions to Trump, the investigations simply evaporated — proof, Bedoya argues, that existing laws against bribery and corruption clearly aren't working. He walks through the sprawling, well-funded lobbying effort against meaningful privacy legislation, and offers vivid examples of how unchecked data collection harms ordinary people. His prescription is structural: America needs genuine restrictions on what data can be collected and how it can be used, paired with serious antitrust enforcement — but the agencies tasked with that work have been starved of the resources they need.
The conversation opens up into a fascinating, wide-ranging debate about monopoly power and consolidation across the American economy. Bedoya argues that streaming bills were already climbing even before the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger — a deal he believes there's a clear consumer case to block. He notes that Thomas Jefferson once argued for an anti-monopoly amendment in the Bill of Rights, that consolidation has hammered workers across countless industries, and that America is now suffering a genuine "drought of creativity" because of relentless media mergers — pointing out that there are only three serious buyers of documentary films left, and that half of America's TV news archive is about to be owned by a single family. Bedoya is honest about the nuances (Costco throws its weight around but has genuinely been good for consumers; vertically integrated health insurers are universally loathed), wrestles with whether unilateral Democratic executive action is even the answer, and warns that in this environment it's dangerously easy for regulators to simply get overwhelmed.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Alvaro Bedoya joins the Chuck ToddCast
02:00 Trump broke a long standing norm to fire Alvaro from the FTC
02:30 Congress needs to codify FTC independence
03:30 Firing “for cause” is very clearly written into the law
05:30 This Supreme Court unlikely to rule for agency independence
06:00 Was likely fired for suing companies that were Trump donors
06:45 You want consumers to be protected from political donors
08:30 FTC was pursuing case against Amazon until Trump intervened
10:00 Amazon funneled millions to Trump, investigations went away
10:30 Laws against bribery & corruption clearly aren’t working
12:30 How should government tackle consumer privacy protections?
13:15 There is a massive lobbying effort against privacy laws
14:30 Background actors were being scanned rather than being paid
15:30 Privacy can sometimes be an abstract concept to people
16:00 Labor unions are the group actually winning in this space
18:15 Need protections around privacy, data collection and antitrust
19:00 Need restrictions on collecting certain data and how it is used
20:30 Against law to use SEC database to solicit donations, not enforced
21:00 Agencies have been starved of resources needed for enforcement
23:15 Meta has grown massive and Zuckerberg retains total control
25:30 The debate about whether to break up the biggest companies
26:15 Breaking up AT&T benefitted consumers, ended long distance rates
27:00 T-Mobile merger should not have been allowed
28:00 Streaming bills going up even before Paramount WB merger
31:30 Jefferson argued for an amendment against monopolies in Bill of Rights
34:00 Consolidation has hurt workers in a variety of industries
34:45 Has there been a consolidation that’s been good for consumers?
37:15 Costco throws its weight around, but has been good for consumers
38:15 Health insurers are vertically integrated, and consumers loathe them
39:30 Iheart’s merger was allowed as an effort to preserve a “dying industry”
41:00 Paramount/WB only shot of catching Netflix/Disney is to merge?
42:15 Loading up the company with $80B in debt won’t produce a healthy firm
43:00 There are only 3 buyers of serious documentary films
44:15 Half of America’s TV news archive is about to be owned by one family
45:30 There are clear consumer cases for preventing the Paramount/WB merger
48:30 There’s been a cycle of innovation, then consolidation
50:00 We are suffering a drought of creativity due to mergers
52:15 There are antitrust exceptions for co-ops, can FTC encourage them?
54:15 Is unilateral Democratic executive branch action the answer here?
55:30 In this environment, it’s easy for regulators to get overwhelmed
56:15 The White House UFC fight was corrupt
59:00 Making the UFC event private at the WH was made it feel dirty
1:01:45 Favorite potential 2028 candidates?
1:03:45 Popular movements are effective pushing back against corporate power
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with the Iran ceasefire collapsing as the U.S. and Iran trade strikes again — but the real story, he argues, is that the U.S. military just inadvertently revealed Trump was lying about the war all along. The targets American forces hit in this latest round were the very targets Trump claimed weeks ago had already been destroyed; either Iran somehow reconstituted its entire military in a single week, or the president lied to the country, and CENTCOM's own report makes clear which it was. He warns that lying about war is historically not a small thing for a president to survive, no matter how badly Trump wants to memory-hole the entire episode. He then turns to the escalating Democratic fight over taxing billionaires, taking a characteristically nuanced position: billionaires are genuinely undertaxed, but "tax the rich" doesn't work as actual policy the way it works as a slogan, the loopholes built into the code exist to avoid unintended consequences, and the changes to the inheritance "death tax" are responsible for an enormous share of current inequality. He assesses Zohran Mamdani taking a victory lap as the new face of the DSA (and increasingly comfortable as a face of the Democratic Party), praising him as a genuinely compelling performer and possible heir to the Bernie movement while questioning whether his story can travel beyond New York City. He closes with one of his favorite structural arguments — that the far-left and far-right are now feeding off each other's fear, that a faction doesn't need to capture the whole country, just one congressional caucus, and that the founders' actual protection against factions was supposed to be a multitude of them — which is exactly why the House was meant to scale with the population and why Congress's choice to freeze its size needs to be reversed. He also looks ahead at fascinating Colorado primaries.
Finally, he hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to explain the origin of the name of the bikini swimsuit, and why America’s relationship with nuclear technology changed over time. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Asl Chuck” segment.
From the opening whistle to the final kick. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored at Fanduel.com
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
05:15 U.S. and Iran trade strikes again, ceasefire not holding
06:15 The U.S. military basically revealed Trump was lying about the war
06:45 Historically, voters don’t accept lies from presidents about war
07:30 The targets the U.S. hit were targets Trump said were already destroyed
08:30 Three weeks ago Trump said Iran had nothing… clearly it wasn’t true
09:15 Making the case that Trump is full of shit isn’t hard*
10:30 Either Iran reconstituted its military in a week, or Trump lied.
11:15 CENTCOM’s report shows that Trump lied to the country
13:15 Trump announced on his birthday that he had ended the war
14:00 Handing Iran billions of dollars is hardly the “surrender” Trump proclaimed
15:45 Lying about war is not a small thing for a president to do
17:15 Trump thought he could memory-hole the Iran war, Iran won’t let him
17:45 There’s a right way to tax billionaires, but it’s not currently being proposed
19:00 Billionaires are undertaxed, but tax policy doesn’t work as a slogan
19:45 Loopholes are built into the tax code to avoid unintended consequences
20:30 Reforms to the inheritance tax allow the wealthy to avoid taxation
21:45 Closing other loopholes could raise hundreds of billions
23:00 Taxing billionaires is fine, but you can’t mess up tax code in the process
24:30 The Newsom vs. Khanna fight - Both are making good points
25:00 A state level wealth tax could create a shortfall in the long term
25:45 The “death tax” change is responsible for much of the current inequality
26:30 “Fair share” polls well, but requires major changes to the tax code
27:30 Tax reform isn’t simple or quick, requires real work from congress
28:15 Mamdani takes a victory lap, wants to be face of the DSA movement
29:30 Mamdani is fine with being the face of the Democratic party
31:00 Mamdani is telling a compelling story, but can it go beyond NYC?
33:00 Mamdani had a weak defense of the Dan Goldman coffee incident
34:00 Mamdani is very good as a performer, could be heir to Bernie movement
35:45 The far-left and the far-right are feeding off of each other
36:30 Trump ramps up rhetoric against DSA, calls them “godless communists”
37:30 The DSA and Trump both working off the fear of each other
38:45 A faction doesn’t need to capture the country, just one caucus
39:30 The founders’ protection from factions, was a multitude of factions
41:30 The House of Representatives was supposed to scale with the country
43:15 Congress chose to stop letting the House grow, needs to change
46:45 The Colorado primaries will be fascinating
48:15 Michael Bennett has to carry the banner of being a D.C. creature
48:45 John Hickenlooper facing a viable challenge from the left
50:30 The DSA candidate for congress is ahead in the polls
55:15 ToddCast Time Machine
56:15 July 1946 The bikini swimsuit named after atomic bomb test
58:45 Both fear and optimism rose about nuclear technology
59:30 We didn’t have an enemy yet with an atomic bomb
1:00:15 The atom wasn’t viewed just as a weapon, but as the future
1:01:45 We were exporting the atomic age and that seemed cool
1:02:15 The people on bikini atoll were being told to leave their homes
1:03:15 The vibe changed once the Soviets detonated their first bomb
1:04:15 Very few people know why the bikini swimsuit carries its name
1:05:45 Ask Chuck
1:06:00 Do you see somebody jumping into ‘28 presidential race prior to midterms?
1:11:15 What do you think happened in the meeting between Trump & senators?
1:19:15 Thoughts on college athletics eligibility changes?
1:22:15 Thoughts on straight-ticket voting?
1:24:15 Is the premise that moderate Democrats are more “electable” overstated?
1:31:45 Would reforms that redistribute power meaningfully improve our system?
1:33:45 Any go-to books on civics and the constitution?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with the Iran ceasefire collapsing as the U.S. and Iran trade strikes again — but the real story, he argues, is that the U.S. military just inadvertently revealed Trump was lying about the war all along. The targets American forces hit in this latest round were the very targets Trump claimed weeks ago had already been destroyed; either Iran somehow reconstituted its entire military in a single week, or the president lied to the country, and CENTCOM's own report makes clear which it was. He warns that lying about war is historically not a small thing for a president to survive, no matter how badly Trump wants to memory-hole the entire episode. He then turns to the escalating Democratic fight over taxing billionaires, taking a characteristically nuanced position: billionaires are genuinely undertaxed, but "tax the rich" doesn't work as actual policy the way it works as a slogan, the loopholes built into the code exist to avoid unintended consequences, and the changes to the inheritance "death tax" are responsible for an enormous share of current inequality. He assesses Zohran Mamdani taking a victory lap as the new face of the DSA (and increasingly comfortable as a face of the Democratic Party), praising him as a genuinely compelling performer and possible heir to the Bernie movement while questioning whether his story can travel beyond New York City. He closes with one of his favorite structural arguments — that the far-left and far-right are now feeding off each other's fear, that a faction doesn't need to capture the whole country, just one congressional caucus, and that the founders' actual protection against factions was supposed to be a multitude of them — which is exactly why the House was meant to scale with the population and why Congress's choice to freeze its size needs to be reversed. He also looks ahead at fascinating Colorado primaries.
Then, Alvaro Bedoya — the former FTC Commissioner whom Trump fired in an unprecedented break with a century of agency-independence norms — joins the Chuck Toddcast to explain why his firing matters far beyond his own career, and what it reveals about the collision between corporate power and consumer protection in the Trump era. Bedoya makes the legal case plainly: removal "for cause" is clearly written into the law, Congress needs to codify FTC independence, and while he's skeptical this Supreme Court will rule in favor of agency independence, the circumstances of his dismissal are damning — he believes he was fired specifically for suing companies that happened to be Trump donors. The Amazon case is his exhibit A: the FTC was actively pursuing Amazon until Trump intervened, and after Amazon funneled millions to Trump, the investigations simply evaporated — proof, Bedoya argues, that existing laws against bribery and corruption clearly aren't working. He walks through the sprawling, well-funded lobbying effort against meaningful privacy legislation, and offers vivid examples of how unchecked data collection harms ordinary people. His prescription is structural: America needs genuine restrictions on what data can be collected and how it can be used, paired with serious antitrust enforcement — but the agencies tasked with that work have been starved of the resources they need.
The conversation opens up into a fascinating, wide-ranging debate about monopoly power and consolidation across the American economy. Bedoya argues that streaming bills were already climbing even before the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger — a deal he believes there's a clear consumer case to block. He notes that Thomas Jefferson once argued for an anti-monopoly amendment in the Bill of Rights, that consolidation has hammered workers across countless industries, and that America is now suffering a genuine "drought of creativity" because of relentless media mergers — pointing out that there are only three serious buyers of documentary films left, and that half of America's TV news archive is about to be owned by a single family. Bedoya is honest about the nuances (Costco throws its weight around but has genuinely been good for consumers; vertically integrated health insurers are universally loathed), wrestles with whether unilateral Democratic executive action is even the answer, and warns that in this environment it's dangerously easy for regulators to simply get overwhelmed.
Finally, he hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to explain the origin of the name of the bikini swimsuit, and why America’s relationship with nuclear technology changed over time. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Asl Chuck” segment.
Protect your family with life insurance from Ethos. Get up to $3 million in coverage in as little as 10 minutes at https://ethos.com/chuck. Application times may vary. Rates may vary.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
From the opening whistle to the final kick. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored at Fanduel.com
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
05:15 U.S. and Iran trade strikes again, ceasefire not holding
06:15 The U.S. military basically revealed Trump was lying about the war
06:45 Historically, voters don’t accept lies from presidents about war
07:30 The targets the U.S. hit were targets Trump said were already destroyed
08:30 Three weeks ago Trump said Iran had nothing… clearly it wasn’t true
09:15 Making the case that Trump is full of shit isn’t hard*
10:30 Either Iran reconstituted its military in a week, or Trump lied.
11:15 CENTCOM’s report shows that Trump lied to the country
13:15 Trump announced on his birthday that he had ended the war
14:00 Handing Iran billions of dollars is hardly the “surrender” Trump proclaimed
15:45 Lying about war is not a small thing for a president to do
17:15 Trump thought he could memory-hole the Iran war, Iran won’t let him
17:45 There’s a right way to tax billionaires, but it’s not currently being proposed
19:00 Billionaires are undertaxed, but tax policy doesn’t work as a slogan
19:45 Loopholes are built into the tax code to avoid unintended consequences
20:30 Reforms to the inheritance tax allow the wealthy to avoid taxation
21:45 Closing other loopholes could raise hundreds of billions
23:00 Taxing billionaires is fine, but you can’t mess up tax code in the process
24:30 The Newsom vs. Khanna fight - Both are making good points
25:00 A state level wealth tax could create a shortfall in the long term
25:45 The “death tax” change is responsible for much of the current inequality
26:30 “Fair share” polls well, but requires major changes to the tax code
27:30 Tax reform isn’t simple or quick, requires real work from congress
28:15 Mamdani takes a victory lap, wants to be face of the DSA movement
29:30 Mamdani is fine with being the face of the Democratic party
31:00 Mamdani is telling a compelling story, but can it go beyond NYC?
33:00 Mamdani had a weak defense of the Dan Goldman coffee incident
34:00 Mamdani is very good as a performer, could be heir to Bernie movement
35:45 The far-left and the far-right are feeding off of each other
36:30 Trump ramps up rhetoric against DSA, calls them “godless communists”
37:30 The DSA and Trump both working off the fear of each other
38:45 A faction doesn’t need to capture the country, just one caucus
39:30 The founders’ protection from factions, was a multitude of factions
41:30 The House of Representatives was supposed to scale with the country
43:15 Congress chose to stop letting the House grow, needs to change
46:45 The Colorado primaries will be fascinating
48:15 Michael Bennett has to carry the banner of being a D.C. creature
48:45 John Hickenlooper facing a viable challenge from the left
50:30 The DSA candidate for congress is ahead in the polls
56:45 Alvaro Bedoya joins the Chuck ToddCast
58:45 Trump broke a long standing norm to fire Alvaro from the FTC
59:15 Congress needs to codify FTC independence
1:00:15 Firing “for cause” is very clearly written into the law
1:02:15 This Supreme Court unlikely to rule for agency independence
1:02:45 Was likely fired for suing companies that were Trump donors
1:03:30 You want consumers to be protected from political donors
1:05:15 FTC was pursuing case against Amazon until Trump intervened
1:06:45 Amazon funneled millions to Trump, investigations went away
1:07:15 Laws against bribery & corruption clearly aren’t working
1:09:15 How should government tackle consumer privacy protections?
1:10:00 There is a massive lobbying effort against privacy laws
1:11:15 Background actors were being scanned rather than being paid
1:12:15 Privacy can sometimes be an abstract concept to people
1:12:45 Labor unions are the group actually winning in this space
1:15:00 Need protections around privacy, data collection and antitrust
1:15:45 Need restrictions on collecting certain data and how it is used
1:17:15 Against law to use SEC database to solicit donations, not enforced
1:17:45 Agencies have been starved of resources needed for enforcement
1:20:00 Meta has grown massive and Zuckerberg retains total control
1:22:15 The debate about whether to break up the biggest companies
1:23:00 Breaking up AT&T benefitted consumers, ended long distance rates
1:23:45 T-Mobile merger should not have been allowed
1:24:45 Streaming bills going up even before Paramount WB merger
1:28:15 Jefferson argued for an amendment against monopolies in Bill of Rights
1:30:45 Consolidation has hurt workers in a variety of industries
1:31:30 Has there been a consolidation that’s been good for consumers?
1:34:00 Costco throws its weight around, but has been good for consumers
1:35:00 Health insurers are vertically integrated, and consumers loathe them
1:36:15 Iheart’s merger was allowed as an effort to preserve a “dying industry”
1:37:45 Paramount/WB only shot of catching Netflix/Disney is to merge?
1:39:00 Loading up the company with $80B in debt won’t produce a healthy firm
1:39:45 There are only 3 buyers of serious documentary films
1:41:00 Half of America’s TV news archive is about to be owned by one family
1:42:15 There are clear consumer cases for preventing the Paramount/WB merger
1:45:15 There’s been a cycle of innovation, then consolidation
1:46:45 We are suffering a drought of creativity due to mergers
1:49:00 There are antitrust exceptions for co-ops, can FTC encourage them?
1:51:00 Is unilateral Democratic executive branch action the answer here?
1:52:15 In this environment, it’s easy for regulators to get overwhelmed
1:53:00 The White House UFC fight was corrupt
1:55:45 Making the UFC event private at the WH was made it feel dirty
1:58:30 Favorite potential 2028 candidates?
2:00:30 Popular movements are effective pushing back against corporate power
2:02:30 ToddCast Time Machine
2:03:30 July 1946 The bikini swimsuit named after atomic bomb test
2:06:00 Both fear and optimism rose about nuclear technology
2:06:45 We didn’t have an enemy yet with an atomic bomb
2:07:30 The atom wasn’t viewed just as a weapon, but as the future
2:09:00 We were exporting the atomic age and that seemed cool
2:09:30 The people on bikini atoll were being told to leave their homes
2:10:30 The vibe changed once the Soviets detonated their first bomb
2:11:30 Very few people know why the bikini swimsuit carries its name
2:13:00 Ask Chuck
2:13:15 Do you see somebody jumping into ‘28 presidential race prior to midterms?
2:18:30 What do you think happened in the meeting between Trump & senators?
2:26:30 Thoughts on college athletics eligibility changes?
2:29:30 Thoughts on straight-ticket voting?
2:31:30 Is the premise that moderate Democrats are more “electable” overstated?
2:39:00 Would reforms that redistribute power meaningfully improve our system?
2:41:00 Any go-to books on civics and the constitution?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with a programming note—the ToddCast moves to a Monday/Thursday schedule for July and August—before digging into the fallout from Zohran Mamdani-endorsed candidates sweeping New York's primaries. Chuck unpacks who powered the wins (younger, white progressives), argues that Mamdani's affordability focus rather than his endorsements was the real galvanizing force, and examines how Israel has become a litmus test on a left that, like MAGA, increasingly has little patience for the pluralism Chuck calls the heart of the American experiment—warning that when every issue becomes a litmus test, disagreement turns into something punishable. He weighs whether this is a singular New York moment or a broader realignment in which two uncompromising factions come to dominate both parties, with Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid shaping up as the next big test. From there, Chuck turns to Trump blowing a chance to show voters he cares about affordability by refusing to sign a housing bill that already has veto-proof majorities—and how the president keeps making it nearly impossible for the GOP to govern heading into a brutal midterm stretch he's brought on himself. Finally, an alarming look at Pete Hegseth's overt politicization of the military: the firing of respected leaders like Chris Donahue, purges that appear to target officers for their race, gender, what they know, or their willingness to push back on illegal orders, the removal of the JAGs and the Pentagon press corps, and why Chuck argues that whoever Hegseth wants out may be exactly who the country needs leading it next.
Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.
Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to https://Quince.com/chuck for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.
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From the opening whistle to the final kick. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored at Fanduel.com
Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
00:15 Programming Note: July & August the ToddCast will be on M/TH only
03:30 Fallout from Mamdani endorsed candidates sweeping NYC primaries
04:30 Younger, white progressives powered Mamdani’s candidates
05:00 Mamdani was smart about where he spent his political capital
06:15 Unlikely there’s a wider swath of voters open to socialism
08:30 Mamdani’s affordability focus was galvanizing, not his endorsees
09:15 Israel has become a litmus test for some on the left
09:45 MAGA, and increasingly the progressive left don’t appreciate pluralism
10:15 Pluralism IS the American experiment
11:00 When every issue is a litmus test, disagreement becomes punishable
14:00 Many Jewish Americans felt very unsettled by the results
16:00 Is this New York’s moment, or a broader ideological realignment?
17:30 Two factions not interested in compromise could dominate both parties
19:00 Both parties used to move to the center to win elections, less so lately
19:45 The DSA could create discomfort with centrist voters like MAGA does
21:30 The next test will be with the candidacy of Abdul El-Sayed in MI
23:45 Mamdani is an incredibly smart and calculating leader of DSA movement
26:15 Despite better organization, DSA has less chance of taking over the party
29:00 It’s still early, but it feels like the left is on the march
29:30 Trump meets with senate GOP after refusing to sign housing bill
30:30 Trump blew a chance to show voters he cares about affordability
31:00 Trump turned meeting into an airing of grievances
31:45 The bill has veto proof majorities even if Trump doesn’t sign it
33:00 Trump is hurting the Republicans politically ahead of the midterms
33:45 Trump makes it almost impossible for the GOP to govern
34:45 It’s going to be a miserable 2 years for Trump, has only himself to blame
36:00 Pete Hegseth is overtly trying to politicize the military
36:30 Military leadership wants to stay out of the political fray
37:30 One of these generals they force out could become next POTUS
39:00 Chris Donahue is quintessential military leader, fired by Hegseth
40:00 Donahue was viewed as a future chairman of the joint chiefs
41:15 Confirming Hegseth is biggest black eye on the record of Tom Thillis
42:00 All military leaders make personnel changes, this is different
42:30 Hegseth is removing leaders simply for being black or women
44:00 Hegseth is firing people for what they know or what they’ve seen
45:00 He also fires officers for when they push back on illegal orders
45:45 Hegseth removed the JAGS to avoid “legal roadblocks”
47:45 Hegseth is trying to force his religious beliefs on the entire military
49:15 We’ve never had a comparable purge in our military
50:45 The Pentagon removed to the press corp to avoid difficult questions
51:30 This should be extraordinarily alarming to Americans
52:15 Whoever Pete Hegseth wants out… should be our next set of leaders
53:00 We can’t risk the military being turned into a political force
53:45 Damage at DOJ and Pentagon will be hard to repair
59:45 Ask Chuck
01:00:00 How much have outlets like Fox News shaped the outlooks of boomers?
01:07:45 Is there a future where large PAC spending burns out due to voter backlash?
01:12:45 Could you talk about Keir Starmer and labours struggles.. Lessons for Dems?
01:20:00 What would you consider the Top 5 presidential actions that worked?
01:25:45 What characteristics define a “Trumpy” voter?
01:28:30 Can the establishment mend fences with the progressives?
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chuck Todd opens with a programming note—the ToddCast moves to a Monday/Thursday schedule for July and August—before digging into the fallout from Zohran Mamdani-endorsed candidates sweeping New York's primaries. Chuck unpacks who powered the wins (younger, white progressives), argues that Mamdani's affordability focus rather than his endorsements was the real galvanizing force, and examines how Israel has become a litmus test on a left that, like MAGA, increasingly has little patience for the pluralism Chuck calls the heart of the American experiment—warning that when every issue becomes a litmus test, disagreement turns into something punishable. He weighs whether this is a singular New York moment or a broader realignment in which two uncompromising factions come to dominate both parties, with Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan Senate bid shaping up as the next big test. From there, Chuck turns to Trump blowing a chance to show voters he cares about affordability by refusing to sign a housing bill that already has veto-proof majorities—and how the president keeps making it nearly impossible for the GOP to govern heading into a brutal midterm stretch he's brought on himself. Finally, an alarming look at Pete Hegseth's overt politicization of the military: the firing of respected leaders like Chris Donahue, purges that appear to target officers for their race, gender, what they know, or their willingness to push back on illegal orders, the removal of the JAGs and the Pentagon press corps, and why Chuck argues that whoever Hegseth wants out may be exactly who the country needs leading it next.
Then, Matt Bennett — co-founder and executive vice president of the center-left think tank Third Way — joins the Chuck Toddcast to offer a pragmatist's anxious assessment of what the Mamdani-led DSA surge in New York actually means for the future of the Democratic Party. Bennett's central worry is whether the New York primaries represent a genuine "Tea Party moment" for the left — which he frankly admits would be scary for Democrats — though he takes some comfort in the fact that the three districts Mamdani candidates won are extraordinarily deep blue, and argues the national Democratic electorate simply isn't as extreme as the Republican base, making the party much harder to hijack than the GOP was. Bennett draws a crucial distinction in how these races were actually won: Mamdani himself won on affordability, but many of his endorsees won on Israel, where anti-Israel sentiment has become the number-one voting issue for New York progressives. He's careful but direct on the antisemitism question — not all of the far-left are antisemites, he says, but they are increasingly making common cause with them, pointing to the antisemitic abuse Dan Goldman faced during his campaign — and argues that while antisemitism won't ultimately eat the Democratic Party, it absolutely needs to be contained. Bennett is sharply critical of the self-inflicted wounds of progressive governance (decriminalizing shoplifting was a disaster, he says), and argues the broader problem is that left-coded "performative nonsense" fundamentally changed how voters see the party — that the country rejected both Biden's progressive overreach and the left's woke cultural politics, and that Biden's real mistake was bragging he was the most progressive president since FDR.
The conversation broadens into a rich strategic discussion about 2028 and the soul of the party. Bennett argues that parties are ultimately defined by their nominee, so Democrats will be fine if they simply get that choice right, and frames the Michigan Senate primary — where he's skeptical Abdul El-Sayed can beat Mike Rogers — as a fascinating case study in the tension between charisma and electability. He makes the case that charisma genuinely matters (Mamdani and El-Sayed have it), that "boring doesn't work" in modern politics, and that the biggest open question for 2028 is whether a center-left candidate can successfully run as a genuine change agent — because the status quo is extremely broken, and no one can win by running to preserve it. Bennett offers some encouraging signs for his wing of the party: Iowa is drifting back toward Democrats, James Talarico is a genuinely strong candidate in Texas, and candidate quality still matters enormously. He and Chuck dig into why Palestine became the defining progressive cause rather than the plight of the Uighurs, how social media and the collapse of civics education have sealed people into ideological bubbles, and why the word "socialism" means Norway to some voters and Cuba to others. Bennett argues that Netanyahu has personally turned off a generation of young Americans to Israel — and that if Israelis remove him, it could serve as a genuine relief valve for Democrats — and closes with a series of pointed predictions: Schumer should make clear soon that he won't run for leader again, Warren and Murphy are too far-left-coded to unify the party, both wings could actually rally around Brian Schatz as leader, and the Mamdani story, for all the panic it's generated, is ultimately a minor earthquake rather than a major fracture.
Finally, he answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.

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Timeline:
(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)
00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction
00:15 Programming Note: July & August the ToddCast will be on M/TH only
03:30 Fallout from Mamdani endorsed candidates sweeping NYC primaries
04:30 Younger, white progressives powered Mamdani’s candidates
05:00 Mamdani was smart about where he spent his political capital
06:15 Unlikely there’s a wider swath of voters open to socialism
08:30 Mamdani’s affordability focus was galvanizing, not his endorsees
09:15 Israel has become a litmus test for some on the left
09:45 MAGA, and increasingly the progressive left don’t appreciate pluralism
10:15 Pluralism IS the American experiment
11:00 When every issue is a litmus test, disagreement becomes punishable
14:00 Many Jewish Americans felt very unsettled by the results
16:00 Is this New York’s moment, or a broader ideological realignment?
17:30 Two factions not interested in compromise could dominate both parties
19:00 Both parties used to move to the center to win elections, less so lately
19:45 The DSA could create discomfort with centrist voters like MAGA does
21:30 The next test will be with the candidacy of Abdul El-Sayed in MI
23:45 Mamdani is an incredibly smart and calculating leader of DSA movement
26:15 Despite better organization, DSA has less chance of taking over the party
29:00 It’s still early, but it feels like the left is on the march
29:30 Trump meets with senate GOP after refusing to sign housing bill
30:30 Trump blew a chance to show voters he cares about affordability
31:00 Trump turned meeting into an airing of grievances
31:45 The bill has veto proof majorities even if Trump doesn’t sign it
33:00 Trump is hurting the Republicans politically ahead of the midterms
33:45 Trump makes it almost impossible for the GOP to govern
34:45 It’s going to be a miserable 2 years for Trump, has only himself to blame
36:00 Pete Hegseth is overtly trying to politicize the military
36:30 Military leadership wants to stay out of the political fray
37:30 One of these generals they force out could become next POTUS
39:00 Chris Donahue is quintessential military leader, fired by Hegseth
40:00 Donahue was viewed as a future chairman of the joint chiefs
41:15 Confirming Hegseth is biggest black eye on the record of Tom Thillis
42:00 All military leaders make personnel changes, this is different
42:30 Hegseth is removing leaders simply for being black or women
44:00 Hegseth is firing people for what they know or what they’ve seen
45:00 He also fires officers for when they push back on illegal orders
45:45 Hegseth removed the JAGS to avoid “legal roadblocks”
47:45 Hegseth is trying to force his religious beliefs on the entire military
49:15 We’ve never had a comparable purge in our military
50:45 The Pentagon removed to the press corp to avoid difficult questions
51:30 This should be extraordinarily alarming to Americans
52:15 Whoever Pete Hegseth wants out… should be our next set of leaders
53:00 We can’t risk the military being turned into a political force
53:45 Damage at DOJ and Pentagon will be hard to repair
01:00:30 Matt Bennett (The Third Way) joins the Chuck ToddCast
01:01:30 Third Way believes themselves to be center-left pragmatists
01:02:45 If NY primaries are a “Tea Party moment” for left, that’s scary for Dems
01:04:00 3 districts Mamdani candidates won are very deep blue
01:04:30 Worried about MI senate primary if Abdul El-Sayed wins
01:06:15 The far left could become a disruptive force inside the Dem party
01:08:30 Mamdani won on affordability, his endorsees won on Israel
01:10:00 Not all far-left are antisemites, but they’re making common cause with them
01:10:30 Dan Goldman faced antisemetic abuse during the campaign
01:11:45 Antisemitism won’t eat the Dem party, but needs to be contained
01:14:15 Progressive politicians decriminalizing shoplifting was a disaster
01:16:15 The national Dem electorate not as extreme as the GOP’s
01:18:00 It will be harder to hijack the Democratic electorate
01:20:00 Democrats suffered from a lack of charismatic leaders in the 80s
01:21:15 Parties are defined by their nominee, Dems will be fine if they get it right
01:22:00 Anti-Israel has become the #1 voting issue for New York progressives
01:23:15 Why has Palestine become the cause and not the Uighurs?
01:27:15 Social media and a lack of civics education has put people in bubbles
01:28:00 You have to be able to talk to people you disagree with
01:29:30 Socialism means Norway to some people and Cuba to others
01:32:30 Biden’s mistake was bragging he was most progressive president since FDR
01:33:15 The country rejected Biden’s progressive change & left’s “woke” culture
01:35:30 The left coded performative nonsense changed the view of the party
01:36:45 Al Gore lost as a VP to a popular president, Harris had impossible task
01:40:00 Could the Democratic base reject someone center-left in 2028?
01:41:15 The Michigan primary is a fascinating case study in Dem politics
01:42:30 Being charismatic like Mamdani or El-Sayed matters in politics
01:43:00 Democratic candidates have to get through the wall in South Carolina
01:44:45 Big question for 2028… can a center-left candidate run as a change agent?
01:47:00 Bibi Netanyahu has turned off a generation of Americans to Israel
01:49:15 If Israelis get rid of Netanyahu, that could be a relief valve for Dems
01:49:45 What can the establishment learn from the DSA?
01:50:15 The status quo is extremely broken, can’t run on preserving it
01:51:15 Iowa is coming back to the Democratic party
01:52:15 Candidate quality matter and Talarico is a good candidate
01:53:30 Boring doesn’t work in modern politics
01:56:00 What does success look like for the center left in the 2026 midterms?
01:56:45 Skeptical that El-Sayed can beat Mike Rogers in Michigan
01:57:45 Schumer should make clear he won’t run in 2028 and announce it soon
01:58:30 Warren and Murphy are too far left and far left coded
01:59:00 Both wings of the party can agree on Brian Schatz as leader
01:59:30 Mamdani story is a minor earthquake not a major fracture
02:00:15 Chuck’s thoughts on the interview with Matt Bennett
02:03:15 Ask Chuck
02:03:30 How much have outlets like Fox News shaped the outlooks of boomers?
02:11:15 Is there a future where large PAC spending burns out due to voter backlash?
02:16:15 Could you talk about Keir Starmer and labours struggles.. Lessons for Dems?
02:23:30 What would you consider the Top 5 presidential actions that worked?
02:29:15 What characteristics define a “Trumpy” voter?
02:32:00 Can the establishment mend fences with the progressives?
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