To The Contrary with Charlie Sykes — "David French: Trump’s Expanding Power"

Date: October 12, 2025
Host: Charlie Sykes
Guest: David French

Episode Overview

In this urgent and vigorous conversation, Charlie Sykes welcomes legal scholar and columnist David French to discuss the Trump administration’s latest maneuvers to expand presidential power and circumvent institutional checks—particularly through the deployment of federal troops domestically, consideration of the Insurrection Act, and the normalization of aggressive law enforcement tactics. The episode also explores Trump’s foray into Middle Eastern diplomacy, the political and legal fallout of unprecedented executive branch actions, and the shifting standards of accountability under the second Trump administration.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Military Escalation in American Cities

[03:17 – 06:19]

• Context: The Trump administration is moving troops from Texas to Illinois, despite resistance from state leaders and a temporary block by a federal judge.
• David French: Highlights the irony that, even as Chicago’s murder rate has fallen to its lowest since 1965, the city faces federal military escalation:

  “In the face of dramatic improvement, we're getting a military escalation. What?” (03:49)

• French’s Analysis: He suggests the deployments are intentionally provocative, aimed at triggering unrest to justify further crackdowns:

  “…They’re being intentionally aggressive…using the provocation and the aggression being used to try to generate conflict. And then the conflict that results is the justification for the deployment of the Guard. And this is a process that's very dangerous.” (04:45)

2. Escalating Tactics: Masked Agents and Normalization of Force

[08:33 – 11:05]

• Charlie Sykes: Raises the issue of masked ICE agents firing non-lethal rounds at civilians, reflecting a normalization of state violence.
• Cites a federal judge’s scathing opinion:

  “ICE goes masked for a single reason, to terrorize Americans into quiescence... To us, masks are associated with cowardly desperados and the despised Ku Klux Klan. In all of our history, we have never tolerated an armed mass secret police carrying on in this fashion... It is a matter of honor. And honor still matters...” (~08:33)

• French: Argues that while doxxing is wrong, “ICE is not entitled to a special degree of anonymity”, especially compared to other public servants:

  “When I was in Iraq and we were arresting Al Qaeda…we had our name tapes on, we had our faces…This sort of idea that it's just too dangerous to show your face...they're not a special class of person…” (09:00)

3. The Insurrection Act: A Legal Time Bomb

[13:07 – 21:04]

• Background: The Trump team considers invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely-used law allowing the President to deploy military troops on American soil to restore order.
• French’s explainer:
  • The Posse Comitatus principle bars federal troops from civilian law enforcement—unless the Insurrection Act is invoked.
  • While the Act permits a governor to request help (e.g., LA Riots 1992), other sections uniquely empower the President unilaterally.
  • Courts currently block some deployments under other statutes, but the Insurrection Act has minimal judicial review.
  • French:

    “It places...a capacity where [the President’s] under their direct command...if he deems it necessary. So it delegates...this authority entirely to the President…” (14:20)

  • The political risk of invoking such a law is high, but the administration is “softening up” the public with regular use of terms like “insurrection” and “invasion” to justify exceptional measures.
  • On rhetoric:

    “If you listen to Stephen Miller, it’s very clear…he’s laying a predicate through his rhetoric to use extraordinary presidential powers against ordinary political enemies...He’s relabeling…just the Democratic Party itself as a fundamentally, you know, illegitimate, dangerous, violent, terroristic[...]” (19:24)

4. Trump’s Middle East Deal & Its Implications

[21:04 – 29:21]

• Discussion shifts to foreign policy, with Trump brokering a ceasefire and hostage release between Israel and Gaza.
• French: Grants Trump “real credit” if the deal ultimately holds, noting,

  “If this initial deal can hold...that aspect of this deal is just…an unmitigated good for which Trump deserves real credit, I think.” (22:26)

• Observes Trump’s record in the Middle East is far stronger than in other regions—crediting use of American/Israeli military power.
• Cautions: Middle East peace is always fragile; these actions may have long-term reputational and strategic costs for Israel, particularly in American and Western public opinion, especially among young people (26:11).
• Sykes:

  “Everybody is looking strong, they're looking like the strong horse right now. But these things play out in decades, not in a handful of news cycles.” (26:53)

5. The Qatari Air Base Controversy in Idaho

[29:51 – 35:27]

• Revelation: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announces construction of a Qatari Air Force facility in Idaho, including F-15s—shortly after Trump gives quasi-NATO security guarantees to Qatar.
• Reaction: Both Sykes and French express disbelief, implying possible corruption (i.e., “you get a brand new Air Force One, we get security guarantees and an air base”) and highlighting Qatar’s extensive influence operations in the US.
• French:

  “We haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg of Qatar pouring money into the US for influence operations. So this is bizarre. This is bizarre.” (32:34)

• Sykes:

  “If Barack Obama had given the Saudis a military base in this country…I mean, half of America would have lost its shit, right?” (33:50)

6. The MAGA Base & Trump’s Immunity to Criticism

[36:46 – 38:52]

• Topic: MAGA figures like Laura Loomer express outrage over the Qatari base, but their critique never targets Trump directly.
• French:

  “Almost always they blame people other than Trump...The buck stops with Pam Bondi or...Pete Hegseth...They will not go at Trump.” (36:46)

• Notes that GOP loyalists react differently depending on who holds power:

  “That’s the reasoning. Yeah. Oh, yeah. All of this would be outrageous if directed at us, because we're great. We're the real patriots.” (35:10)

• Predicts little to no blowback for Trump’s controversial moves due to low political engagement and selective information exposure in the broader public.

7. Legal Fallout, Prosecutions, and Trump’s “Wizard of Oz” Presidency

[40:10 – 41:57]

• New criminal indictments and selective prosecutions against Trump’s enemies represent an escalation in using the Justice Department as a weapon.
• The administration’s approach: Demand that critics “ignore the man behind the curtain” (i.e., Trump’s explicit instructions) and focus narrowly on technical, post-hoc legal justifications.
• French:

  “Every time, when you watch it and see it, you can't unsee it. When he's moving fast and breaking things, they're saying he is a president like no other. And then when he's called to account… they say, 'Why are you treating him like he's a president like no other?'...You can't have it both ways.” (41:22)

8. Supreme Court and the Coming Showdown

[42:35 – 48:31]

• Discussion on how the Supreme Court is likely to respond to Trump-era challenges:
  • So far, the Court’s conservative majority has favored strong executive power (consistent with pre-Trump jurisprudence), but has pushed back when the President encroaches on Congressional or Judicial authority.
  • Upcoming cases (e.g., birthright citizenship, tariffs, Alien Enemies Act) may reveal whether the Court recognizes the unique (dangerous) context of Trump’s presidency.
  • French:

    “If the court treats the unprecedented as if it was precedented, that's when you're going to see that courts are not waking up to the reality of the moment. But if the courts respond to unprecedented actions in a way that is appropriate to the action, that's not a departure from norms, it's enforcing them.” (48:06)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Military Escalation:

  “It seems as if what they're trying to do is to deploy troops for the purpose of triggering a breakdown in civil order.” — David French (04:45)

• On Masked Law Enforcement:

  “In all of our history, we have never tolerated an armed mass secret police carrying on in this fashion. ICE brings indelible obloquy to this administration, everyone who works in it.” — Judge Young, read by Charlie Sykes (08:33)

• On the Insurrection Act:

  “So if the courts block him under that law, will he just go to the Insurrection act and just use the Insurrection Act?...That gives him maximum power…” — David French (14:20)

• On Manipulative Language:

  “They’re using this extreme rhetoric to describe ordinary events, and then trying to use that extreme rhetoric to unlock extreme power.” — David French (21:02)

• On MAGA’s Double Standard:

  “All of this would be outrageous if directed at us, because we're great. We're the real patriots. They hate America.” — David French (35:12)

• On Institutional Response:

  “If the court treats the unprecedented as if it was precedented, that’s when you’re going to see that courts are not waking up to the reality of the moment.” — David French (48:06)

The Takeaway

This episode delivers a sobering analysis of how the language, laws, and institutions designed to constrain executive power are being manipulated or bypassed in the current American political crisis. French and Sykes—by turns incredulous, darkly humorous, and deeply concerned—warn that normalization of extraordinary actions, especially military and law enforcement deployments, mask a broader strategy of undermining accountability. While the activists, courts, and a handful of political actors continue to resist, the episode closes with an anxious, non-triumphal sense that the fate of American self-government is teetering on the actions of courts and a public that is, in many ways, tuned out.

Suggested Listening Points

• Military escalation and provocations: [03:17 – 06:19]
• Masked agents and ruling excerpts: [08:33 – 11:05]
• Insurrection Act legal unpacking: [14:20 – 21:04]
• Qatari air base controversy: [29:51 – 35:27]
• The Supreme Court’s challenge: [42:35 – 48:31]

This summary captures the major threads and the spirit of the episode—high stakes, urgent questions, and the persistent refrain: for all who are alarmed by these developments, “You are not the crazy ones.”