Chuck’s Commentary - The Circus In The Senate Judiciary Committee + Vouchers Failed… How To Really Fix Public Schools

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.  18+ only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Please carefully consider if it is appropriate for you in light of your personal financial circumstances. Kalshi products are not available in all jurisdictions. See kalshi.com/regulatory for more information. Sign up today to get $25 in bonuses when you trade $25: CHUCKTODD http://kalshi.com/r/CHUCKTODD 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. For free and unbiased Medicare help, dial (980) 734-3985 to speak with my trusted partner, Chapter, or go to askchapter.org/chuck /  *Paid Partnership Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan’s contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don’t directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. 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?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.