During an MSNBC interview with North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer on Thursday, MTP Daily host Chuck Todd freaked when the GOP lawmaker called out the left-wing media for refusing to cover the growing Hunter Biden scandal and instead focusing on the latest controversial comments from Donald Trump. A visibly upset Todd ranted that, “It is not about the media.”
Todd asked Cramer about former President Trump’s wild suggestion that brutal Russian dictator Vladimir Putin provide information on Hunter Biden – who is already under federal criminal investigation for his suspicious foreign business dealings: “Why would you want to trust anything? Why would we want to have Putin at all and why would you want to trust anything Putin had to say about Hunter Biden?”
Cramer replied by pointing out: “Well, it’s sort of interesting because Russian collusion – we were going to believe everything that was coming out of Russia a few years ago when it was about Donald Trump.”
In fact, NBC News actually published an article in October of 2020 that cited Putin in an attempt to knock down the Hunter Biden story. The headline read: “Putin rejects Trump’s criticism of Hunter Biden’s business.” On Twitter, the network promoted the piece by touting: “Russian President Putin says he saw nothing criminal in Hunter Biden’s past business ties with Ukraine or Russia, marking out his disagreement with one of President Trump’s attack lines in the U.S. presidential election.”
Reiterating Todd’s question, “why would you want to trust anything Putin had to say about Hunter Biden?”
Cramer rightfully proceeded to call Putin a “war criminal” who could not be trusted to provide evidence about anything. However, as Todd kept trying belabor the topic, Cramer had enough of the focus on the former president versus the scandal swirling around the son of the current commander in chief: “Chuck, here’s the reality. If Hunter Biden’s name was Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump, you guys would be treating the war in Ukraine like it was a boy scout camp gone bad – ”
At that point, Todd completely lost it: “Don’t what-about, enough of this. That is the – Senator, that is the laziest attack. It is not about the media.” Cramer interjected: “It’s also honest.” Todd wailed: “It doesn’t matter about the media.”
Cramer hit back:
Well, what the former president is doing is nothing compared to what the current president is doing in this circumstance. That’s really the bigger issue. Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He hasn’t changed, he’s not going to change. It’s more interesting to the Washington press corps than it is to the general public. Was it the wisest thing in the world to say? Perhaps not, but he’s Donald Trump and he says these things.
An exasperated Todd continued his tantrum: “Look, I’m not going to debate you about whether Trump gets too much coverage or not enough. But he is the leader of your party, sir. At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, he’s the leader of your party.”
Cramer again hammered the glaring double standard in the leftist press: “I’m way more concerned, and I think the American people are, with the current president and his behavior and really the lack of scrutiny of it compared to a former president who has a long history of saying sort of outrageous things...”
It wasn’t until Thursday evening that NBC News finally provided serious coverage of Hunter Biden being under federal criminal investigation. Earlier in the week, the network finally uttered Hunter Biden’s name after failing to do so for 261 days.
Todd’s freak-out was sponsored by Progressive and Intuit. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a full transcript of the March 31 exchange:
1:31 PM ET
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CHUCK TODD: Senator Cramer, I want to ask you about this response you gave to a reporter about former President Trump’s decision yesterday to call on Vladimir Putin to release information, whatever information he might have on Hunter Biden. Why would you want that information? Why would you trust propaganda from somebody who is, you know, right now based on the conversation I had earlier, President Biden called for him to be removed from power? Why would you want to trust anything? Why would we want to have Putin at all and why would you want to trust anything Putin had to say about Hunter Biden?
SEN. KEVIN CRAMER [R-ND]: Well, it’s sort of interesting because Russian collusion – we were going to believe everything that was coming out of Russia a few years ago when it was about Donald Trump. But that said, my answer to the question was more sarcastic than it was anything because I said, this is a war criminal that he’s suggesting provides evidence that there's been a crime committed by Hunter Biden and by the Bidens.
TODD: So you think the former president – so what you’re saying is that was sarcasm, you believe the former president shouldn’t be – I mean, I’m sorry, it comes across as almost a bit unpatriotic to ask literally the enemy of the free world right now for propaganda for a political opponent. I mean, it just seemed like a horrendous thing to do by the former president. No?
CRAMER: Chuck, here’s the reality. If Hunter Biden’s name was Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump, you guys would be treating the war in Ukraine like it was a boy scout camp gone bad –
TODD: Don’t what-about, enough of this. That is the – Senator, that is the laziest attack. It is not about the media.
CRAMER It’s also honest. It’s also honest.
TODD: It doesn’t matter about the media. Is it the right thing to do for the former President of the United States to ask an enemy of the free world to do this?
CRAMER: Well, what the former president is doing is nothing compared to what the current president is doing in this circumstance. That’s really the bigger issue. Donald Trump is Donald Trump. He hasn’t changed, he’s not going to change. It’s more interesting to the Washington press corps than it is to the general public. Was it the wisest thing in the world to say? Perhaps not, but he’s Donald Trump and he says these things.
And the reality is that Vladimir Putin is a war crime – war criminal. I wouldn’t trust anything that came out of it. If he had actual evidence that a crime was committed, if any of us had evidence that a crime was committed, we ought to present it, that’s obvious. The problem is, to your point, the source would not be a trustworthy source, obviously. But once again Donald Trump baited you all and you all took the bait. And now we’re having to – you know, now we’re having a discussion about the Bidens.
TODD: Look, I’m not going to debate you about whether Trump gets too much coverage or not enough. But he is the leader of your party, sir. At the end of the day, whether you like it or not, he’s the leader of your party. Are you comfortable with the leader of your party playing footsie with Vladimir Putin?
CRAMER: Well, here’s what I know. Playing footsie with Vladimir Putin, the evidence that has come out of the recent investigation shows that there’s evidence the Democrats fed information into the White House to plant false evidence that he colluded with the President. You’re never interested in those things.
TODD: Okay, again, does that make what Donald Trump did – how does that make what Donald Trump is doing somehow better?
CRAMER: Well, first of all, it doesn’t necessarily make it better, but he’s a former president. We have a current president who has called for regime changes in Russia. That’s dangerous. We have a current president who says that sanctions are never intended or would never deter Vladimir Putin. We’re all going, why did we issue sanctions then?
And so, no, I’m way more concerned, and I think the American people are, with the current president and his behavior and really the lack of scrutiny of it compared to a former president who has a long history of saying sort of outrageous things, whether seriously or not seriously, and being taken way, way, way too seriously, frankly, by a press corps that’s all too anxious to jump on an interesting personality to say the least.
But, I might also add, Chuck, that when Donald Trump was president, Russia didn’t invade Ukraine. Russia’s invaded Ukraine only when the Bidens have either been vice president or president. So, you know, I kind of like that style of leadership. And by the way, he brought the price of oil and gas down by unleashing American innovation in energy.
TODD: Again, look, rationalize on that stuff, that’s a political argument. That’s fair. Again, working with the enemy seems to be a bridge too far.
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