On Friday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer revealed his biggest fear regarding the upcoming Inauguration of Donald Trump: “I don't want to put ideas in anyone's mind, but hypothetically speaking, you have his core supporters out on the mall, and they’re going to be listening to his speech, and they’re going to look up on that podium, or next to it, and see Hillary Clinton....And what are the fears that they may react in a vocal way toward her, mimicking some of the things that have been said during the campaign?”
Turning to Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd, he added: “And I think you know what I'm talking about.” Understanding Lauer’s clear reference to “Lock Her Up” chants against Clinton during the 2016 campaign, Todd replied: “I hear you. I – I cannot imagine that happening. I’ll be honest – ”
Political analyst Nicolle Wallace chimed in: “It's an opportunity for the President....It's an opportunity for the President-elect to, in that moment, react in a way that I think even his supporters are eager to see him do.” She argued he could seize on such a moment to lecture his supporters: “...you have to give that benefit of the doubt to the new president. But it's an opportunity for him to set a tone and say, ‘That is over. I am president now and let's get to work.’”
Todd noted: “I guess I just have higher expectations of the crowd. I think when you come to the Capitol, you feel this moment. I don't care who you are as an American citizen. I think.” Lauer responded: “I hope you're right.” Todd followed: “I hope I’m right, too.”
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Despite all his worries over the behavior of Trump supporters at the event, Lauer showed no concern whatsoever for the left-wing anti-Trump protesters planning to try and disrupt the Inauguration.
Minutes earlier, Lauer pressed incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer on whether Trump would have “kind words” for Clinton in his address: “...when he becomes president, one of his jobs will be to try to heal that division. Will he have kind words for President Obama? Will he have kind words for Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the general election?”
After Spicer pointed to the President-elect “already had kind words” for Obama, Lauer demanded: “What about Hillary Clinton?...Let me just point out, as recent as last week, when the James Comey investigation came up, he tweeted, saying that based on what the FBI knows, I’m paraphrasing here, ‘She shouldn't have been able to run in the first place,’ and then said, ‘Guilty as hell.’ That was just last week.”
Here are excerpts of the January 20 coverage:
7:10 AM ET
(...)
MATT LAUER: President-elect Trump said he didn't create the division in this country, it existed long before he came on the political scene. But when he becomes president, one of his jobs will be to try to heal that division. Will he have kind words for President Obama? Will he have kind words for Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the general election?
SEAN SPICER: Well, he's already had kind words, if you listened to what we’ve discussed about President Obama. He has really enjoyed his conversations with him, getting to know him. And expressed his appreciation for the way that he, the First Lady, and so many of the others in the administration have really helped –
LAUER: What about Hillary Clinton?
SPICER: I think he has said the same about her since then. He recognizes that he became president, it's time to move on, the election ended on November 8th, and that we need to bring everyone together and move forward.
LAUER: Let me just point out, as recent as last week, when the James Comey investigation came up, he tweeted, saying that based on what the FBI knows, I’m paraphrasing here, “She shouldn't have been able to run in the first place,” and then said, “Guilty as hell.” That was just last week.
SPICER: But again, I think that has to do with the issue, not necessarily the person. I think there's one thing to look at the facts that came out on with respect to the FBI, her mishandling of classified information. That's not an personal attack, that’s an assessment of the facts.
(...)
7:15 AM ET
(...)
LAUER: I'm – and I don't want to put ideas in anyone's mind, but hypothetically speaking, you have his core supporters out on the mall, and they’re going to be listening to his speech, and they’re going to look up on that podium, or next to it, and see Hillary Clinton, his opponent. And they’re going to remember some of the things that they said about each other during the campaign. And what are the fears that they may react in a vocal way toward her, mimicking some of the things that have been said during the campaign? And I think you know what I'm talking about.
CHUCK TODD: I hear you. I – I cannot imagine that happening. I’ll be honest –
NICOLLE WALLACE: It's an opportunity for the President.
TODD: I cannot – it is.
WALLACE: It's an opportunity for the President-elect to, in that moment, react in a way that I think even his supporters are eager to see him do. I mean, it is just a – you can't control the crowd and you have to give that benefit of the doubt to the new president. But it's an opportunity for him to set a tone and say, “That is over. I am president now and let's get to work.”
TODD: I guess I just have higher expectations of the crowd. I think when you come to the Capitol, you feel this moment. I don't care who you are as an American citizen. I think.
LAUER: I hope you're right.
TODD: I hope I’m right, too.
(...)
