
Chuck Todd warns that Dems are falling into Trump's trap, 'taking the bait' on redistricting
"They're taking the bait. They've decided the only way to fight is to act just as ruthlessly. Revenge redistricting in Illinois, New York, California. And they tell themselves it's self-defense. But in reality, it's exactly what Trump wants, to make his opponents play his illegal and immoral game by his rules in his universe," Todd said during his show, "The Chuck ToddCast."
The journalist also suggested Tuesday that the U.S. was headed toward a "cold civil war" amid the ongoing redistricting battles.
"And here we are. It's the political version of the old saying, when you get into the mud with a pig, you both get dirty and the pig likes it. Replacing, and don't give me this crap, rationalize that, you know, he's a bad mob boss, you've got to do whatever you say, 'We'll be a good mob boss.' The answer is no mob bosses at all," he said.
Beto O'Rourke, a former Democratic Texas Senate candidate, called for the Democratic Party to be "ruthless" in their pursuit of power and endorsed partisan gerrymandering last month.
Todd also rejected comparisons to 1930s Germany.
"Look, I don't like the lazy comparisons to 1930s Germany. I hate the quote second civil war predictions. I'd like to believe that we're a lot better than that," he said during his podcast.
He also referenced Godwin's Law and summarized it by saying: "If you can't make your point without invoking the Nazis, then you're probably not very good at debating and making your point."
Democratic lawmakers and members of the media have repeatedly compared Trump and his administration to 1930s Germany.
Todd went on to argue that it was "uncomfortable" to see mistakes being made "from the 1850s."
"But let's be honest, it's a bit uncomfortable seeing how many mistakes from the 1850s, from 1850s America or pre-war Europe in the early 1930s are happening again right here. The normalization of the unacceptable. The rationalizing of 'just this once will breach our principle.' 'Just this once we'll do this because it's in the name of something bigger and better,'" he said.
"The founders gave us these tools to prevent this. They feared a king. They feared a united majority trampling on the rest of us. They didn't imagine leaders who would just refuse to use the tools. They didn't. They'd come back here and be appalled," Todd continued.
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USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
President Trump calls his Alaska summit with Putin a 'chess game' that could fail
WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump likened his upcoming high-stakes Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to a "chess game" while predicting there's a "25% chance" the meeting could fail to advance peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Trump, in an Aug. 14 interview with conservative talk show host Brian Kilmeade on Fox News Radio, said he hopes his one-on-one meeting with Putin will lead to a second meeting between himself, Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, where the two sides can hammer out details for a peace deal. "It's like a chess game," Trump said. "This meeting sets up the second meeting, but there is a 25% chance that this meeting will not be a successful meeting." Trump suggested that Russia and Ukraine could "divvy things up" ‒ including land and boundaries ‒ during a second meeting, which has yet to be scheduled or agreed upon. Zelenskyy and Ukraine's European allies have stood firmly against Ukraine ceding significant territory seized by Russia in its three-year war on Ukraine. "The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that's going to be a meeting where they make a deal," Trump said. "And – I don't want to use the word 'divvy' things up – but, you know, to a certain extent it's not a bad term, OK? But there will be a give-and-take as to boundaries, land, etcetera, etcetera." Trump's meeting with Putin to include 'bilateral lunch,' possible joint news conference White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, appearing Aug. 14 on Fox News' Fox and Friends, said Trump's meeting with Putin will be followed by a "bilateral lunch" between the two leaders and their respective delegations followed by a news conference. Trump suggested the two leaders could hold a joint press conference if the meeting is productive, but he said it will be a solo press conference if not. "I think it might be nice to have a joint and then separates, so something like that will happen," Trump said to Kilmeade. "Or if the meeting doesn't end well, I'll just have a press conference and head out. I'll head back to Washington." Trump is scheduled to leave Washington DC early in the morning on Aug. 15, flying across the continental United States on Air Force One, before landing in Anchorage. The meeting is set for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The base, established in the lead-up to World War II, is spread over 13,000 square acres. Trump, speaking to reporters on Aug.13 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., warned there would be 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to end the Ukraine war when they meet. He has previously threatened to hit Russia with sanctions and tariffs if Putin does not end the fighting. Ahead of his meeting with Putin, Trump met on Aug. 13 virtually with Zelenskyy and leaders of European countries who have urged Trump not to capitulate to Putin's demands during his solo meeting. Leavitt said Trump wants to "sit down and look the president in the eye" during his meeting with Putin "and see what progress can be made to move the ball forward to end this brutal war and to restore peace." Contributing: Francesca Chambers and Bart Jansen of USA TODAY Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.


New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah's tense meeting with boss
Karen Attiah's future at The Washington Post is in doubt after a fraught one-on-one meeting with Adam O'Neal, the paper's newly installed opinion editor, according to a report. Sources told the Status newsletter that last month's discussion between Attiah and O'Neal, a former Economist correspondent who has been meeting columnists to say their work does not fit his vision and suggest they consider buyouts, was uncomfortable and did not go well. Attiah, a staunch anti-Trump commentator, had publicly noted prior to the meeting that she remained at the paper amid the latest exodus in which colleagues were taking voluntary packages. 4 Karen Attiah's future at The Washington Post is in doubt after a fraught one-on-one with her boss. Getty Images She wrote on X: 'So… officially, I'm the last Black staff columnist left in the Washington Post's opinion section.' Keith Richburg and Theodore Johnson, both of whom are black, continue as contributing writers. At that time, Attiah was weighing whether to take the newspaper's voluntary departure package or continue working at the publication owned by Jeff Bezos, the Status newsletter reported. During a tense sit-down following her post on X, Attiah chose not to take the buyout. O'Neal had been conducting individual sessions with various columnists, where many heard similar messages suggesting their writing didn't match his plans for the section and that they might want to accept the buyout offer. While O'Neal may have expected Attiah to follow other colleagues who left after receiving similar messages, and Attiah might have hoped for reassurance about her place at the paper, neither outcome occurred, according to the report. Despite rising tensions, Attiah recently published an article for the outlet about gaining muscle through bodybuilding, describing it as a 'deeply feminine act of self-consciousness.' 4 Adam O'Neal, a former correspondent for The Economist, is the newly installed opinion editor at the Washington Post. X / @WashPostComms Inside the opinion shop, O'Neal's standing is unsettled, according to the report. Much of the previous leadership and several marquee voices are gone, and some of those who remain view him skeptically. The New York Post has sought comment from Attiah, O'Neal and the Washington Post. 4 Attiah last month declined to accept a buyout offer, according to a report in the Status newsletter. Instagram/@karenattiah Signs of that editorial turn emerged this week after O'Neal ran an opinion piece by Jay Bhattacharya, an official in the Trump administration, arguing that the Health and Human Services decision to 'wind down its mRNA vaccine development activities' was a 'necessary' step, a stance that drew reader criticism. He also published an op-ed from Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News host who is now a district attorney, promoting 'the fight to make DC safe and beautiful.' That piece arrived amid President Donald Trump's takeover of Washington, DC's police force. 4 Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos (seen with wife Lauren Sánchez) has overhauled the paper's editorial bent. Getty Images for amfAR A former Washington Post opinion editor told Status that management at the newspaper was 'turning The Post into a mouthpiece for the Trump administration,' and said such pieces would not have cleared under earlier section leaders. Under Bezos, the newsroom that has been repeatedly reshaped over the last two years. In October, the Washington Post broke with tradition by halting presidential endorsements and later announced a significant shift in its opinion strategy emphasizing personal liberties and free markets. The move preceded the exit of opinion editor David Shipley and drew backlash from alumni and readers.


New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump gives ‘25%' chance of Putin summit ending in failure
WASHINGTON — President Trump said there's a 25% chance that his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin will end in failure. Still, the dealmaker-in-chief insisted that he is the only reason the Russian dictator is coming to the table in an interview with Fox Radio host Brian Kilmeade. 'I think [Putin] wants to get it done. I really feel he wanted the whole thing. I think if it weren't me, if it was somebody else, he would not be talking to anybody,' Trump said. 'I'm the toughest one that he's ever had to deal with. He's never had to deal with anybody like me.' Trump also said that a successful meeting on Friday could result in him staying in Alaska to host a follow-up meeting featuring Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 4 President Trump said Thursday that his Friday summit with Vladimir Putin has a 25% chance of failure. Getty Images 'I believe now he's convinced that he's going to make a deal' to end the long-running conflict, the president continued, adding that, 'I'm going to know very quickly.' Trump described the high-profile encounters as a preliminary step toward peace, saying, 'I don't know that we're going to get an immediate ceasefire, but I think it's going to come.' 'Depending on what happens with my meeting, I'm going to be calling the president, Zelensky, and let's get him over to wherever we're going to meet,' he told Kilmeade. 'I don't know where we're going to have the second meeting, but we have an idea of three different locations and we'll be including the possibility, because it would be by far the easiest, of staying in Alaska,' he continued. 'If it's a bad meeting, I'm not calling anybody, I'm going home.' 4 Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 4 Trump said Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, right, may be invited to come to Alaska if talks go well. Bernd Elmenthaler/Future Image/INSTARimages 4 Trump previously had a high-profile summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018. AFP via Getty Images Many details of the Alaska summit remain unknown just a day ahead of time, including whether the leaders will jointly address the press afterward. 'I would say I'll have a press conference in either event,' Trump said. 'If it's negative, I'll have a press conference to say that the war is going to go on and these people are horribly going to continue to shoot each other and kill each other, and I think it's a disgrace, and I'll head back to Washington. 'Or I'll have a press conference that's positive.' Trump acknowledged he has been overly optimistic in the past. 'I've stopped six wars this year. This was going to be one of my easy ones, but it never works out that way. This turns out to be probably the most difficult,' he said.