Tony Bruno joins from Florida, complete with bubbles, and the cut sheet starts with the crew reacting to the Pope, Trump’s Super Intelligence terminology and the first pieces of the Jack Smith Senate hearing. Tony’s cut sheet goes deep into Sen. Eric Schmitt’s questioning of Jack Smith. We hear Schmitt suggest Smith attended an Atlanta Hawks game, only for the hearing to establish that Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball game in Maryland. We react to Amy Klobuchar correcting the mix-up and debate how a high-profile congressional “gotcha” falls apart when the underlying details are wrong.
That mistake opens a larger argument about Republican investigations, congressional hearings and what voters actually receive from them. Nick argues that Republican officials risk wasting political capital on recycled grievances while Dawn and Tony push back with concerns about government power, prior investigations and what could happen when control of Washington changes hands.
The hour later turns into classic What Up Wednesday wandering. We debate politicians changing their speaking styles, ask whether people in their 20s still quote movies such as Caddyshack, Animal House and Rain Man, check in on the Flyers, and watch Ron DeSantis eat his way through a restaurant appearance. Mustard becomes an event, Trump-versus-DeSantis comparisons return, and the crew debates who has the natural personality for that kind of campaign-stage moment.
Sep 30, 2026
