The Stack: AOC, Bernie Sanders, and the Shutdown Narrative
Todd breaks down CNN’s high-profile town hall with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, moderated by Kaitlan Collins. The discussion zeroes in on the ongoing government shutdown, media framing, and the stark contrast between progressive and conservative worldviews. Todd challenges the claim that Republicans refuse to negotiate, dissects the filibuster math in the Senate, and analyzes Trump’s executive order guaranteeing military pay during the shutdown. He also calls out political theater in AOC’s rhetoric about “radicalized” young men and the larger implications of performative politics.
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🎧 Listen to Today’s Episode
📰 Stack Links
US Senate vote to end government shutdown fails for 10th time
Bernie Sanders clashes with town hall attendee over Schumer leadership during shutdown
White House Rages at CNN Town Hall With AOC in Live-Posting Spree
Vance again downplays Young Republicans texts, looks to shift attention to Virginia AG race
Kansas Young Republicans shut down after Politico report on racist, violent encrypted chat
‘Gas them’: How a leaked pro-Nazi young Republicans chat sparked GOP storm
Ex-Trump national security adviser Bolton charged with storing and sharing classified information
Former Trump aide John Bolton indicted over handling of classified material
John Bolton, former Trump adviser, charged with sharing classified information
📝 Transcript: AOC, Bernie Sanders, and the Shutdown Narrative
The Todd Huff Show – October 17, 2025
Host: Todd Huff
Todd Huff: It’s Friday, my friends, and it’s a pleasure to be here with you. You know the email address if you have thoughts, questions, feedback—always, of course, include that. Adoration and praise. Todd Huff Show—I’m kidding, but just a little bit. Todd@toddhuffshow.com is the email, or 317-21-0283 is where you can text us. I want to get into a couple of things here today.
Todd Huff: Number one, I want to get into this town hall that was hosted at CNN—hosted by Kaitlan Collins. Yes, that Kaitlan Collins. She had a couple of guests: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, and Bernie Sanders. They were both on there having this town hall meeting. I want to talk about a couple of things about that, my friends. We’ll get to that here, of course, in just a bit.
Todd Huff: Also, you may have seen some headlines, some reports of messages that were being exchanged by young Republican party leaders, I guess. We’ll get into that—talk about that, time permitting. You may have also seen that John Bolton has been indicted by a grand jury. I think it’s 18 charges—mishandling classified information. So we’ve got that out there. That’s what’s in the stack of stuff.
Todd Huff: I’ll do my level best to get to all of this today. And by the way, by the way, something else we do—and you know this if you’ve listened to the program for any length of time—we also produce a daily Todd Talk and a daily newsletter. Both are free. You can listen to Todd Talks on our website, or you’ll also get them if you sign up for the free email newsletter at toddhuffshow.com/truth.
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Todd Huff: All right, friends, that being said, let’s hit the ground running here today. There was a town hall event on CNN yesterday, moderated by Kaitlan Collins, as I mentioned. The event was technically about the government shutdown, but of course, they talked about several things. It was in New York City—where Oz visited last week, as you well know, her first time to the Big Apple.
Todd Huff: So Kaitlan Collins is there, doing her thing, and she’s got two of the left’s loudest voices—AOC and Bernie Sanders—front and center, talking about this so-called government shutdown.
Todd Huff: Now, first off, I’ve got to say something here. The language they use, folks, it’s never accidental. It’s never just about what words sound better—it’s about shaping perception. “Government shutdown.” That phrase is designed to scare people. It’s designed to make you think everything stops—like the military’s grounded, Social Security’s cut off, air traffic stops, and the country collapses. None of that is true.
Todd Huff: You and I both know this. Essential services continue. The people who are truly necessary to keep the country running—they keep working. And yes, others get delayed paychecks, which is unfortunate, but that’s not the end of civilization.
Todd Huff: But see, when you listen to folks like Bernie and AOC, they use the “shutdown” narrative to sell bigger government. “Look how bad this is,” they say, “now we need more power, more funding, more programs.” It’s the same pattern every single time, my friends.
Todd Huff: So Kaitlan Collins starts this CNN town hall, and she opens by setting the stage—asking AOC and Bernie how they feel about the “Republican dysfunction” that supposedly caused all this. Let’s go ahead and play that soundbite.
🎙️ [SOUNDBITE SEGMENT BEGINS]
Kaitlan Collins: Senator Sanders, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, thank you for being here tonight. The government shutdown has now entered its second week. You’ve both been outspoken about the impact on working families. What do you say to Americans who feel frustrated that Washington can’t seem to get anything done?
Bernie Sanders: Well, Kaitlan, what we are seeing right now is a complete failure of Republican leadership. They are holding the American people hostage because they don’t want billionaires to pay their fair share. Meanwhile, working people—people living paycheck to paycheck—are the ones suffering.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Exactly, Bernie. The same people who claim to fight for fiscal responsibility are shutting down the government and putting thousands of families in financial limbo. This is cruelty disguised as principle.
Todd Huff: See, there it is—there it is, friends. They always make it sound like the government’s the only lifeline between people and total disaster. That’s the message—without government, you’re helpless. But you’re not. That’s not how America was designed.
Kaitlan Collins: Congresswoman, some critics say Democrats are also unwilling to compromise—that your side has drawn red lines on spending. How do you respond?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I reject that framing, Kaitlan. What we’re doing is protecting working families from cuts that would devastate essential programs—programs like childcare, healthcare, education. We’re not the problem here.
Todd Huff: Friends, that’s what I’m talking about. The “essential programs” are always the justification for more spending. They never define “essential,” because if they did, we’d realize half the budget doesn’t fit the category.
Bernie Sanders: Let me just say this—no one wants a shutdown. But what we can’t do is reward extremism. The House Republicans are refusing to fund the government unless they can slash programs for the poor, for seniors, for students. That’s unacceptable.
Todd Huff: There you go again—“extremism.” Standing up for fiscal restraint is now “extremism.” That’s how they frame it. It’s all about moralizing government control, not debating policy.
🎙️ [SOUNDBITE CONTINUES]
Bernie Sanders: We have a moral obligation to make sure that the people who make this country run — the teachers, the nurses, the firefighters — are not punished because a handful of extremists in the House want to make a political point.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: That’s right. And let’s also remember that government workers are people too. They have rent to pay, children to feed, student loans to manage. It’s easy for politicians who are millionaires to say, “We’ll just wait this out.” But real families can’t afford that.
Todd Huff: I mean, come on — it’s always this emotional play. Nobody wants families to struggle. But what they never mention is how their policies make everything more expensive in the first place. Inflation, taxes, regulations — those are government-made problems, folks.
Kaitlan Collins: Senator Sanders, are you suggesting the president should take executive action if Congress can’t reach a deal soon?
Bernie Sanders: Absolutely. The president has the responsibility to protect the American people. If Republicans refuse to act, then he must. There are tools available — emergency funding measures, executive authority — and he should use them.
Todd Huff: (interjecting) Oh, here we go again. The same folks who screamed “authoritarianism” for four years under Trump suddenly want executive orders to run the entire government. The double standard couldn’t be more obvious.
Todd Huff: They love executive power when it’s their side in charge. But when Trump does it, it’s the end of democracy. Folks, this is why we call it narrative building. It’s not about principle — it’s about control.
Kaitlan Collins: Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, you’ve said before that shutdowns expose the fragility of American governance. What did you mean by that?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: It shows that our systems aren’t built for ordinary people. Every time the government shuts down, the people who suffer aren’t the corporations or the billionaires — it’s working-class Americans. And that’s because our priorities are upside down.
Todd Huff: (responding) Upside down, huh? I’d say what’s upside down is thinking government’s supposed to protect everyone from every inconvenience. The founders didn’t write the Constitution so that bureaucrats could run our lives like we’re children.
Bernie Sanders: (continuing) And when people lose faith in government, they lose faith in democracy itself. That’s dangerous. We can’t allow these right-wing extremists to dismantle what millions of Americans depend on.
Todd Huff: Friends, there it is again — “faith in government.” Not faith in freedom, not faith in individuals, not faith in God — faith in government. That’s their religion.
🎙️ [SOUNDBITE ENDS]
Todd Huff: So, that’s the clip, my friends. I wanted you to hear it directly — not because there’s anything new in what they said, but because it perfectly illustrates the left’s communication pattern.
Todd Huff: First, they frame the situation as a moral crisis. Then, they use that moral crisis to justify more government control. Finally, they demonize anyone who disagrees as “extreme.” That’s the formula. Every time.
Todd Huff: And you’ll notice something else in that exchange — not once did Kaitlan Collins challenge them on how the math actually works. Not once did she say, “Okay, Senator Sanders, if you’re going to fund all these programs, where’s the money coming from?” Nope. That question never comes up.
Todd Huff: But if a conservative says, “Hey, maybe we should spend less,” suddenly it’s “How can you be so heartless?” The whole media framework tilts left by default. It’s baked in, my friends. It’s not even hidden anymore.
Todd Huff: And by the way, I want to point something out here that’s important. The military paychecks — they’re still going out. Social Security checks — still going out. Air traffic controllers, TSA — still working. So the panic you hear on networks like CNN isn’t about service disruption. It’s about political optics.
Todd Huff: It’s about creating fear. Fear drives dependency, and dependency grows government. It’s the same cycle we’ve seen since FDR. And every time people buy into it, liberty loses an inch.
Todd Huff: Friends, liberty doesn’t disappear overnight. It gets chipped away little by little — headline by headline, soundbite by soundbite. And if we don’t call it out, it becomes normal. That’s why we do this show.
Todd Huff: And I know — I know some people say, “Todd, you’re always fired up about the media.” Well yeah, because the media shapes culture, and culture shapes policy. You lose truth there, and everything else follows.
Todd Huff: So, while CNN’s busy staging emotional monologues about “Republican extremism,” regular Americans are out there just trying to pay bills, raise kids, and stay afloat — and wondering why groceries cost 40% more than they did four years ago.
Todd Huff: That’s the real story, not the spin about “shutdown chaos.” The government shuts down all the time — it’s happened over 20 times since the ’70s. But somehow, civilization still exists.
Todd Huff: Now, let’s talk about executive orders for a second, because that’s one of the things Bernie brought up there. He said the president should use his “tools.” What that really means is, “If Congress doesn’t give us what we want, we’ll find a way to do it anyway.”
Todd Huff: That’s not governing, folks. That’s rule by decree. That’s monarchy-level thinking. And yet, half the media cheers it on because it’s their guy in office.
Todd Huff: But when Trump did the same thing — and let’s be clear, Trump’s executive actions were mainly to reverse what Obama had done unilaterally — they screamed “dictator.” They marched in the streets. They said the republic was over.
Todd Huff: You see the hypocrisy, right? It’s never about the method — it’s always about the message. The left doesn’t hate executive power; they just hate who’s holding it when it’s not them.
Todd Huff: And look, this isn’t just a Democrat thing. Republicans do it too. Both parties have grown comfortable letting presidents do Congress’s job. Why? Because it’s easier. It’s politically safer. You can avoid accountability and still look like you’re “getting things done.”
Todd Huff: But that kind of governing — what I call “governing by crisis” — is dangerous. Every time there’s a crisis, the Constitution gets a little weaker, and the executive branch gets a little stronger.
Todd Huff: The founders didn’t design a system for efficiency. They designed one for restraint. There’s a big difference between “slow” and “broken.” Slow means you’re forcing debate and compromise. Broken means you’re ignoring the Constitution.
Todd Huff: But again, when you’ve got networks like CNN shaping the conversation, most Americans never even see that distinction. They just hear, “Republicans are causing chaos,” and boom — public opinion shifts overnight.
Todd Huff: And that’s how policy gets pushed — not through reasoned debate, but through emotional manipulation. Through fear, repetition, and selective outrage.
Todd Huff: You know, I said earlier that liberty dies by inches — well, that’s how they take it. Inch by inch. And it’s always “temporary.” It’s always “for the greater good.” But somehow, those temporary measures never go away.
Todd Huff: Now, before I get back to the main story, let’s talk quickly about something else in the headlines today — the John Bolton indictment. Yeah, that’s right. The same John Bolton who’s been a vocal critic of Trump for years, now facing 18 counts related to mishandling classified information.
Todd Huff: You see the irony here, right? We’ve got one standard for Trump and another for everyone else. When Trump’s accused, it’s “national security threat.” When it’s one of their own, it’s “unfortunate paperwork errors.”
Todd Huff: I’m not here defending every decision Trump made, but let’s be honest — if justice were blind, half of Washington would be under indictment right now. That’s the truth, and everybody knows it.
Todd Huff: Now, what’s interesting about this, my friends, is that this Bolton case just quietly dropped. No 24/7 breaking news banners, no dramatic coverage like we saw with Trump. Just a few mentions here and there. Why? Because it doesn’t fit the narrative.
Todd Huff: The media loves stories that reinforce the image of Trump as chaos, corruption, and criminality. But when the same system catches one of their allies, suddenly it’s “nothing to see here.”
Todd Huff: And that ties back to everything we just heard in that CNN town hall. The selective outrage, the selective storytelling — that’s how they steer perception. It’s not just what they tell you, it’s what they don’t tell you.
Todd Huff: And this is where independent media — shows like this one, and so many others — have to fill the gap. Because if we don’t, people just assume the surface-level narrative is the truth.
Todd Huff: And that’s why I keep reminding you, my friends, you have to think critically about who benefits from the story you’re being told. There’s always a political angle, even when it’s dressed up as “news.”
Todd Huff: And that brings us right back to this shutdown issue. It’s not really about keeping the government open — it’s about keeping the money flowing, keeping the bureaucracy funded, keeping the system dependent on itself.
Todd Huff: That’s why Bernie and AOC were up there doing a moral appeal. It’s the emotional cover for what’s really just an argument over power.
Todd Huff: So, let’s talk about this illusion of crisis for a moment. You’ve probably noticed that every political debate today gets framed as an emergency. “Climate emergency.” “Healthcare emergency.” “Democracy emergency.” Now it’s a “shutdown emergency.”
Todd Huff: Everything’s an emergency, because emergencies justify speed — and speed means no time for thought or resistance. When people are scared, they’ll accept almost anything if it sounds like safety.
Todd Huff: And that’s the danger, my friends. Once the government realizes fear works, it becomes the main tool for persuasion.
Todd Huff: Think about the private sector for a second. When business slows down, companies cut costs, adapt, innovate. They don’t shut their doors and tell customers, “Sorry, we’re closed until Congress gets its act together.”
Todd Huff: But government? Government throws a tantrum. It says, “If you don’t give us more money, we’ll make you feel it.” That’s not service — that’s manipulation.
Todd Huff: And yet, when you have a compliant media, people don’t see it that way. They think, “Oh, poor government workers.” Now look, I sympathize with anyone missing a paycheck. But we’ve got to recognize who created that situation — it wasn’t taxpayers. It was politicians.
Todd Huff: And here’s what really gets me: this country was built by people who could make something out of nothing. People who crossed oceans with faith and courage, not fear and dependency.
Todd Huff: Now we’re being told that unless D.C. stays open for business 24/7, the whole system collapses. Nonsense. The only thing collapsing is the illusion that government can fix everything.
Todd Huff: The private sector finds a way. Faith finds a way. Families find a way. But government? It only finds excuses.
Todd Huff: And that’s the mindset AOC and Bernie represent — this idea that without big government, we’re lost. But what they’ll never admit is that the bigger the government gets, the smaller the individual becomes.
Todd Huff: That’s the trade-off they never talk about. You don’t get both. You can’t have massive centralized power and maximum freedom at the same time.
Todd Huff: You know, at the end of the day, this isn’t about shutdowns or political parties — it’s about philosophy. Do you believe people can manage their own lives, or do you believe the government should do it for them? That’s the dividing line in America right now.
Todd Huff: Every argument you see on CNN, every so-called “crisis,” every town hall like the one last night — it all boils down to that question. And the left’s answer is always the same: “Trust us, we’ll take care of you.”
Todd Huff: But my friends, when you trade freedom for comfort, you end up with neither. You just end up dependent — and dependence is the enemy of liberty.
Todd Huff: That’s why I’ll never stop calling this stuff out. Because once you see it, you can’t unsee it. You start noticing how every headline, every speech, every new policy fits the same pattern: more control disguised as compassion.
Todd Huff: And that’s why we talk about truth here. Truth matters. It cuts through the noise, the spin, the manipulation. And the truth is, America doesn’t need more government — it needs more grit, more faith, more courage, and more people who are willing to think for themselves.
Todd Huff: That’s what this show is about. That’s why we call it “Conservative, Not Bitter.” Because the fight for freedom doesn’t have to come from a place of anger — it can come from conviction, clarity, and love for what’s right.
Todd Huff: So, as we wrap up this Friday edition, I want to thank you for spending your time here. You could be anywhere, doing anything, but you’re choosing to think deeply, question boldly, and live free — and that matters.
Todd Huff: Don’t forget, you can sign up for our free daily newsletter and Todd Talk at toddhuffshow.com/truth. You’ll get short, insightful updates every weekday — totally free, packed with real news and perspective the mainstream media won’t give you.
Todd Huff: And remember, if you sign up before tonight at 11:59 p.m., you’ll be entered into our drawing for Under Siege by Eric Trump. Again, that’s toddhuffshow.com/truth.
Todd Huff: Folks, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again — truth wins in the end. So, keep your head up, keep your heart strong, and don’t ever forget: the best days of America are still ahead.
Todd Huff: Take care, my friends. Have a wonderful weekend. We’ll see you back here Monday morning. God bless.SDG
🎙️ [OUTRO MUSIC FADES IN]
Please note that transcript are generated automatically with transcribing tools and AI. While fairly accurate, it is not perfect. 