Immediately following President Trump’s White House address on Thursday in which he took a victory lap over his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, NBC went to work slamming the “diatribe” as a “greatest hits of grievances” and an event that “had to be exceedingly difficult for Democrats to watch.”
Leading the broadcast network’s special coverage, Nightly News anchor Lester Holt proclaimed: “President Trump savoring the triumph, his acquittal in the Senate trial of his impeachment....He spoke for more than an hour, a lengthy diatribe revisiting long held grievances and responding directly to his acquittal, but also other grievances that he holds against Democrats, media, and even members of the FBI.”
Moments later, Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd channeled how the left would view the speech: “Well, look, I mean, for half of America it’s gonna feel like a dystopian speech of some sort, a Bizarro World speech...” He then conceded: ...but for half of America, they have been celebrating all along.”
Todd warned that the President was “not over this” and “clearly is gonna be looking for some sort of revenge or vengeance.”
Continuing to rant about the presentation, the Sunday show host declared that Trump “was really flexing his cult of personality muscle.” Todd then blasted the GOP: “This is a Republican Party that is no longer organized around ideas, it is organized around a person. Pure and simple.”
Reporting from the East Room of the White House, correspondent Hallie Jackson bemoaned how the President “aired a series of grievances, almost a greatest hits of grievances at this point, of everybody from his fired FBI Director James Comey to servants, public servants who he has had longstanding issues with.”
Turning back to Todd a few minutes later, Holt sympathetically remarked: “Chuck, this had to be exceedingly difficult for Democrats to watch as the President really celebrated this sense of triumph.”
After Holt wondered how the President would campaign leading up to the 2020 election as a result of the acquittal, Todd argued:
I mean, they’ve made a decision how they’re gonna run this race. Just supercharge the base, supercharge the base, supercharge the base. But I don’t know, there is a tolerance level at some point with the middle of this country that’s gonna crack on this stuff, and the question is, when?
After the failed impeachment effort, the liberal press are desperately hoping they can influence the 2020 campaign and get people to sour on Trump.
Here are excerpts of the February 6 NBC News special report:
1:23 PM ET
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LESTER HOLT: President Trump savoring the triumph, his acquittal in the Senate trial of his impeachment, in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by his Republican defenders and his family. He spoke for more than an hour, a lengthy diatribe revisiting long held grievances and responding directly to his acquittal, but also other grievances that he holds against Democrats, media, and even members of the FBI.
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CHUCK TODD: Well, look, I mean, for half of America it’s gonna feel like a dystopian speech of some sort, a Bizarro World speech, but for half of America, they have been celebrating all along. I think in some ways it’s a speech we should come to expect. But there’s a few things that I think are worth taking note of. Number one, he’s not over this, and he clearly is gonna be looking for some sort of revenge or vengeance. He seems to be in that mode.
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TODD: He was really flexing his cult of personality muscle, right? This is a Republican Party that is no longer organized around ideas, it is organized around a person. Pure and simple. And he was almost doing the conditioning thing, loyalty will be rewarded and as you saw, boy was loyalty rewarded.
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HALLIE JACKSON: He aired a series of grievances, almost a greatest hits of grievances at this point, of everybody from his fired FBI Director James Comey to servants, public servants who he has had longstanding issues with. And the reaction in the room was incredibly supportive.
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HOLT: Chuck, this had to be exceedingly difficult for Democrats to watch as the President really celebrated this sense of triumph. What happens now for the Democrats? You’ve got a primary season under way. Nancy Pelosi says she has got a legislative agenda. What’s next?
TODD: They have a real divide inside – basically there’s a Washington divide among congressional Democrats, some who believe you gotta keep going, you gotta keep these investigations at least going because you can’t slip on the job of accountability, more stuff’s gonna come out. Nancy Pelosi has a desire to start to pivot toward issues like health care, prescription drug prices. Lester, you and I were witnesses to that, right? Speaker Pelosi basically wrapping the knuckles of any reporters trying to ask a second question on impeachment. But she has members that want her to do more. And then of course the presidential campaign is going, “Guys, stop this, we got this. We want to talk issues, we want to talk about beating Trump at the ballot box. So I don’t think Democrats have figured this out yet. And I think that they’re still a bit – having their own impeachment hangover on this and trying to figure out how can they walk and chew gum. They’ve got to still pursue Bolton, I think, in their own heads, and at the same time, start thinking about November.
HOLT: And what we heard here likely will be the refrain of the President in his re-election bid.
TODD: It will, likely. It’s just like, “They’re out to get me, they tried to take away one presidency, they’re going to try to take away this one.” I mean, I think we know how he’s gonna run, it’s how he prefers to run, you know, it’s him against the world, grievance. It is certainly his more comfortable position to be. I’ll tell you, it still is not – I mean, they’ve made a decision how they’re gonna run this race. Just supercharge the base, supercharge the base, supercharge the base. But I don’t know, there is a tolerance level at some point with the middle of this country that’s gonna crack on this stuff, and the question is, when?
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HOLT: And so the beginning now of a new post-impeachment chapter in American politics. One that appears to be even more divided and acrimonious than before, as both sides now look ahead to an election showdown nine months from now.
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