Schmitt's Jack Smith Trap Backfires, Paxton Blames Trump, Collins Probe Dropped

Look Forward opens with Senator Eric Schmitt's attempt to catch former special counsel Jack Smith in a perjury trap, which fell apart in real time when Schmitt mixed up the Atlanta Hawks with the Iowa Hawkeyes. We break down the collapse and why his "I'm just asking questions" follow-up made it worse.

Ken Paxton is heard on a recording published by the New York Times telling donors that Trump's midterm convention hurt Republicans. His campaign calls the recording "manipulated nonsense." James Talarico leads in most recent independent polls. ProPublica reports an FBI probe into donations tied to Susan Collins ended in 2025 after the Trump administration purged the unit handling it. The FBI says it found nothing implicating Collins, and she denies wrongdoing though the facts in Pro Publica paint a different story.

Trump calls a voluntary AI safety pledge "morally binding," even though it carries no enforcement. Meanwhile, an OpenAI agent accessed an Australian government health portal. Hegseth names Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and Newt Gingrich to co-lead Project Meridian, a 120-day Pentagon study on future autonomous warfare. We also cover the press outlet bans, rolled-back fuel efficiency standards, taxpayer-funded ads featuring Trump, and Republicans angry about a welfare ad in Arkansas.

Look Forward is a weekly progressive political podcast covering U.S. politics, government policy, Democratic strategy, elections, voting rights, Supreme Court rulings, and political news. Featuring progressive commentary, political analysis, and unapologetic opinions on the fight for democracy. Hosted by Jay and Brad. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Black on Black Cinema (Black film reviews), and Dense Pixels (video game news).