Chuck’s Commentary - The Full Spectrum of Trump: Chaos Abroad, Division at Home + We Need To Amend The Pardon Power

This week’s episode of The Chuck ToddCast dives into the full spectrum of Donald Trump’s political chaos — from a deadly Venezuela boat strike that jolted Congress awake to an explosive shooting in Washington, D.C., where Trump delivered the most divisive response imaginable. Chuck breaks down how the shooter’s surprising CIA ties, Trump’s immediate “blame game,” and his increasingly politicized rhetoric toward the military risk putting service members in harm’s way. He examines Trump’s contradictory foreign policy moves, including pardoning a cocaine-trafficking former Honduran president and a billionaire fraudster, all while saber-rattling toward Venezuela and relying on Roger Stone as his unofficial “pardon broker.” With Republicans bracing for a wave of resignations and watchdog committees gearing up for investigations, Chuck argues that the founders never intended the pardon power to be used this way — and that a constitutional fix may now be essential. Finally, Chuck hops into the ToddCast Time Machine to December 7th, 1941 when FDR addressed the nation via radio after Pearl Harbor, and traces the history of media fragmentation throughout the decades. He also answers listeners’ questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment and gives his college football update.  Go to https://getsoul.com & enter code TODDCAST for 30% off your first order. Thank you Wildgrain for sponsoring. Visit http://wildgrain.com/TODDCAST and use the code "TODDCAST" at checkout to receive $30 off your first box PLUS free Croissants for life!  Got injured in an accident? You could be one click away from a claim worth millions. Just visit https://www.forthepeople.com/TODDCAST to start your claim now with Morgan & Morgan without leaving your couch. Remember, it's free unless you win! 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. Timeline: (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements) 00:00 Chuck Todd’s introduction 02:00 We got the full spectrum of Trump this week 02:45 Venezuela boat strike has awoken congress from its slumber 03:15 Pete Hegseth could take the fall for war crime strike 04:00 Resignation of head of SouthCom was a flashing red light 05:45 Two national guardsmen shot in Washington D.C.   06:45 Trump’s response to shooting was most divisive possible 07:30 Surprising that shooter was Afghan employee of CIA 08:45 It’s likely shooter was mentally unstable & something triggered him 09:30 Trump immediately went into “blame game” mode after shooting 10:15 Trump’s entire political currency is division 11:00 Trump’s politicization of military risks putting target on their back 12:00 Trump blames Biden’s vetting, but administration rarely vets anything 12:45 Trump gave away everything U.S. won in Afghanistan to Taliban 14:30 Every president in the 21st century has screwed up Afghanistan 15:45 Trump tried to weaponize the shooting for political gain 17:30 Pay attention to what Trump does, not what he says 18:15 Trump pardons cocaine trafficking ex president of Honduras 19:00 Trump threatens war with Venezuela over drugs, then gives this pardon?? 20:00 Trump threatens voters of Honduras over their election 20:45 Roger Stone has become Trump’s pardon merchant 21:45 Pardon was direct result of Roger Stone’s lobbying 22:15 Trump has normalized pardoning of convicted felons 24:15 Trump pardons executive guilty of 1.6B fraud scheme 25:15 Trump’s pardons are far more corrupt than prior president’s pardons 26:30 We need a constitutional amendment to change the pardon power 29:30 Founder imagined congress would prevent abuse of pardon power 28:15 We’ll likely see 2-4 retirements per week in congress through December 29:45 Senate Armed Services committee will do thorough investigation of strike 31:15 Trump is likely to give an illegal order w/ military action in Venezuela 32:45 Trump’s coalition wanted less military intervention overseas 38:45 ToddCast Time Machine - December 7th, 1941 39:30 The shock of Pearl Harbor is almost gone from living memory 40:00 Pearl Harbor showed the power of shared media experience 41:00 Radio was the height of communal media 41:15 December 1945, FCC gave massive expansion of FM radio 42:00 FM created the first fragmentation of media 43:00 Summer of 1980, Walkman introduced personalization in media 44:30 The Walkman was the beginning of mass media fragmentation 46:30 By 1990, 40% of minutes listened in the car weren’t radio 47:15 Radio never recovered from the Walkman 47:45 Streaming and social are diminishing TV & cable 48:30 For Americans under 60, almost all media consumption is on smartphones 51:00 Ask Chuck 51:15 Love for “The Barn” and the book recommendations 54:30 Is there any hope for a return to respectful bipartisan discourse? 1:00:15 Should we consider distributing presidential roles & diluting power? 1:05:00 What benefits do members of congress receive after leaving? 1:10:00 College football update See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.