Chuck Todd unloads on newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche for appearing at a political rally alongside Trump — a line past attorneys general knew better than to cross — and for openly stating that the Justice Department won't be independent of the White House. Chuck argues Republicans are making the DOJ far more nakedly partisan than any prior administration, that the senators who voted to confirm Blanche should be ashamed of themselves, and that Blanche is essentially telling the country in advance that the institution won't hold. He turns to the horror stories surfacing about morale and conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, where Trump's response was that the deployment hasn't gone on nearly long enough — proof, Chuck argues, that neither Trump nor Hegseth is even pretending to care about the people they've deployed, and that America was taken into a war it was never prepared to fight. After years of record military budgets producing bad results, Chuck’s question is simple and furious: what the hell have we been paying for? He identifies a clear leadership problem at the Pentagon, then pivots to what he sees as the coming Republican civil war over JD Vance, who now says he wants to end the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency and who views America's alliances as liabilities rather than strengths — positions Vance will have to actually sell on the merits, because he doesn't have Trump's charisma to carry them, and positions that could drive a meaningful number of Republicans out of a Vance-led party altogether. Chuck closes with a genuinely provocative question about the missing anti-war movement: where are the protests over Iran? He wonders aloud whether the Gaza demonstrations were ever really an anti-war movement at all, whether they were as organically American-driven as they appeared, and argues the silence around Iran is revealing in ways nobody on either side seems eager to examine — before previewing Tuesday's Florida primaries. 

Politico politics bureau chief and senior political columnist Jonathan Martin joins the Chuck Toddcast for a reporter's-eye tour of the 2028 landscape, starting from an observation both men keep circling: the governing wing of each party is badly out of step with its own voters. Martin walks through the Democratic field with real granularity. Pete Buttigieg carries genuine Biden baggage and is fundamentally a creature of institutions — he isn't going to burn the house down, which is precisely why the left will never trust his establishment credentials, and why Martin wonders aloud whether his future might be more as an advisor than a candidate. On AOC, Martin's read is that the entire question is simply whether she runs: if she does, she's the lead car in the progressive lane and could clear it outright, and she'd be formidable in a crowded field. He notes it's no accident she reemerged right after El-Sayed's Michigan win, that she's been careful and disciplined about picking her spots during the primaries, and that she more than held her own speaking at Ebenezer Baptist church — which matters enormously given the Democratic calendar was explicitly designed to stymie progressives by putting South Carolina first. Martin isn't at all convinced Jon Ossoff runs, even though Ossoff checks every box on the list of things Democrats have historically wanted, and he thinks Abdul El-Sayed could be a genuinely formidable presidential candidate. The overarching question, as Martin frames it, is whether Democrats vote with their head or their heart in 2028 — a decision the November midterms will shape more than anything else.

On the Republican side, they point out Vance simply wasn't a good candidate when he ran for Senate and needed both Trump and Peter Thiel to drag him over the finish line, that Rubio's presidential campaigns always ran into whoever's "turn" it was, and that the fastest way to lose in this environment is to be seen as one of the donor candidates. Vance's real challenge, Martin argues, is the Tucker Carlson model — and the open question of who carries that banner in 2028. He and Chuck agree the far left is currently stronger than the far right within their respective parties, and that insurgencies are a natural feature of the party out of power. Nothing, Martin says flatly, gets better for Republicans between now and the midterms; the Iranians want to humiliate Trump and Jimmy Carter him, and they're timing their moves to the American political calendar. They agree Democrats are either picking up two Senate seats or six with very little in between, and predict Greg Abbott will have to spend real money to win in Texas. Plus: why in-person interviews still beat remote ones, the disappearance of the old guard of Tennessee Republican politics, how Buttigieg's sexuality might factor into a national campaign, why online small-dollar money means Democrats no longer need to court only big donors — and whether UVA can actually contend in football this year.

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

04:30 Shout out to ReCenter Indiana

07:30 Todd Blanche appeared at political rally with Trump, now as AG

08:00 Past Attorneys General knew better than to act so partisan

08:30 Blanche says DOJ won’t be independent of the White House

09:15 Republicans are making DOJ far more partisan than prior admins

10:15 Senators who confirmed Blanche should be ashamed of themselves

11:15 Blanche is telling us that the institution of the DOJ won’t hold

12:00 Horror stories surface about morale & conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln

12:30 Trump says deployment hasn’t gone on nearly long enough

13:00 Trump and Hegseth didn’t even pretend to care about these soldiers

13:45 Clearly we were taken into a war that we weren’t prepared for

14:15 We keep passing record military budgets & getting bad results

15:00 What the hell have we been paying for?   

15:30 We have a clear leadership problem at the Pentagon

16:45 The coming civil war inside the Republican party over JD Vance

17:15 Vance says he wants to end the dollar as the reserve currency

17:45 Vance views alliances as liabilities rather than strengths

18:15 Vance doesn’t have Trump’s charisma, will have to sell his argument

18:45 Many Republicans might leave a Vance Republican party

19:30 Where are the protests and the anti-war movement over Iran?

20:30 Was Gaza actually an anti-war movement? 

21:00 Were Gaza protests not as American driven as we thought?

22:15 The lack of protest over Iran is revealing

23:15 Preview of Florida primary elections on Tuesday

28:00 Jonathan Martin joins The Chuck ToddCast

29:30 Why in-person interviews are so much better than remote

31:30 The old guard of GOP politics in Tennessee are gone

33:30 The governing wing of each party aren’t agreeing with the voters

34:15 How does Pete Buttigieg navigate carrying “Biden baggage”?

34:45 Pete is a creature of the institutions, he won’t burn down the house

35:30 The left won’t ever trust Pete’s establishment credentials

36:30 How Pete’s sexuality could affect a presidential run

37:30 Is his future more in an advisor role than an elected official?

40:00 If AOC runs in 2028, she’ll be the lead car in the progressive lane

41:30 The question surrounding AOC is “will she or won’t she run”

42:00 The presidential campaign will be shaped by November midterms

42:30 Do the Dems go with their head or their heart in 28?

44:45 Insurgencies happen in this environment for party out of power

46:15 Nothing gets better between now and the midterms for Republicans

47:45 The Iranians want to humiliate Trump and “Jimmy Carter” him

48:45 Besides Vance, Rubio and Youngkin, who else might run for the GOP?

49:30 Who carries the Tucker Carlson banner in ‘28?

51:45 Vance was not a good candidate when he ran for senate

52:30 Vance needed Trump & Peter Thiel to get him over the finish line

53:30 Rubio’s campaigns were challenging the person whose turn it was

54:45 You don’t want to be seen as one of the “donor candidates”

55:30 Vance’s biggest challenge will be of the Tucker model

56:00 The far left is stronger than the far right

59:00 Democrats primary calendar designed to stymie progressives

1:00:00 Impact of South Carolina going first

1:01:30 AOC would clear progressive lane & be formidable in crowded field

1:02:30 Not at all convinced that Jon Ossoff runs in ‘28

1:03:00 Democrats have a type, and Ossoff checks all those boxes

1:04:15 Abdul El-Sayed could be formidable as a presidential candidate

1:05:00 AOC could emerge from South Carolina in a strong position

1:05:30 AOC held her own speaking at Ebenezer Baptist church

1:06:15 Not an accident AOC reemerged after El-Sayed’s win

1:08:15 AOC has been smart and careful to pick her spots during primaries

1:09:30 What will keep prominent Dems from running?

1:10:00 There’s lots of Dem donor money online, don’t need only big $ donors

1:11:30 Dems are either picking up two senate seats… or six

1:12:30 How cemented is the red/blue map?

1:15:00 Kansas could be ‘06 Indiana but Dem hasn’t won senate seat since 30s

1:16:15 Voters don’t like the public school funding cuts for vouchers

1:17:30 Greg Abbott will have to spend big to win his race

1:18:00 Will UVA be a contender in football?

1:25:00 No time machine this week

1:25:45 Ask Chuck

1:26:00 Why doesn’t congress vote on more clean standalone bills?

1:29:15 List of biggest presidential blunders

1:32:30 Dems chances of shifting red states in the midwest?