Chuck Todd opens by correcting Jon Stewart, who made him a punchline Monday — before turning to the circus at Tuesday's Jack Smith hearing. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt, a potential 2028 VP pick, thought he'd caught Smith perjuring himself with text messages placing him at an Atlanta Hawks game the day after the Fani Willis affair broke. Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes women's game in Maryland. Klobuchar spotted the mix-up, Schmitt never backtracked, and Chuck's point is the deeper one: Schmitt decided the conclusion before the evidence and displayed exactly the confirmation bias he was accusing Smith of. If evidence can't change your worldview, what's the point of evidence? The second half is a substantive argument that the voucher experiment has hit a dead end — it never moved low-income kids into private schools, it mostly subsidized families already paying tuition, and school funding may be a real reason Republicans lose in November. He also explains why focusing on improving pre-k through 3rd grade education should be a national project.  

Finally, Chuck presents his ToddCast Top 5 2026 midterm results that will most impact the 2028 race and 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

01:45 Jon Stewart, NBC, and setting the record straight

03:15 Which Republicans will actually campaign with Trump

09:15 The Schmitt-Jack Smith hearing debacle

13:15 Confirmation bias and what evidence is even for

16:15 What Jack Smith was actually investigating

22:45 Public education as an American advantage

25:30 The voucher experiment and whether competition worked

30:00 What Mississippi got right, and why pre-K through 3rd grade is everything

40:45 Vouchers hit a dead end — and the political price

47:30 Alabama's TikTok settlement and the limits of blaming teachers 

00:57:45 ToddCast Top 5 2026 results that will most impact 2028

00:58:00 #5 Does an independent break through?

01:00:15 #4 California’s wealth tax

01:01:45 #3 Texas senate

01:03:15 #2 Texas governor

01:04:45 #1 Michigan senate

01:06:45 Ask Chuck

01:07:00 How would a mega-tsunami election affect committee assignments?

01:11:45 Is there a value in running uphill races beyond winning?

01:16:15 Will Republicans act with more independence from Trump after midterms?

01:18:45 If enough independents won and didn’t caucus, who would have control?

01:23:30 Favorite sports + political movies? Should Trump impeachment have been broader?