MSNBC’s Chuck Todd spent the first 20 minutes on Wednesday’s MTP Daily complaining about the White House and its “credibility crisis.” “If it's Wednesday, we've come a long way from George Washington and that cherry tree. Tonight, the White House credibility crisis deepens,” he mocked, as he started his show after the administration was found to have misled on several occasions. “I would be fired for lying,” he lamented, noting how people are skeptical of the press.
Todd began his opening rant by playing a clip of the day’s White House press briefing where Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was asked: “Do you see any circumstances where it's appropriate to lie from the podium?” “And it's a question that had to be asked TODAY of this White House,” an irritated Todd sounded off.
But NBC was nowhere to be found back in late 2013 when Fox News’ James Rosen cornered State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki on the Iran deal negotiations, asking: “Is it the policy of the State Department, where the preservation of the secrecy of secret negotiations is concerned, to lie in order to achieve that goal?” NBC was also nowhere to found when the Obama administration was caught editing the question out of their archived video in early June of 2016.
“They’ve compounded misleading statements with misleading statements about those misleading statements,” Todd bemoaned about the current White House. “They've been caught in blatant contradictions and petty fabrications. Where to begin?”
Perhaps it’s best to start with those who are the pot calling the kettle black.
Unironically, Todd whined to NPR’s David Folkenflik that he has talked to people who have told him they “don't know what to believe” anymore between politicians and the media. “And they sort of throw up their hands and say: ‘I give up.’”
But who could blame them? It’s not like they can look to MSNBC for completely factual coverage.
Take Andrea Mitchell for example. When Justice Neil Gorsuch was still in the early stages of the nomination process, Mitchell lied and claimed that President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, was never granted a meeting with any GOP Senators when, in fact, he met with 16 of them. That was a lie also told by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
There were numerous MSNBC hosts, like Katy Tur, who rewrite history to suit their political arguments for the day. And others, like Stephanie Ruhle, who parrot debunked Planned Parenthood propaganda.
But the network’s Rachel Maddow really took the cake when she completely fabricated a scandal involving President Trump and ‘missing funds’ for his inauguration. The evidence for her accusations broke down to: “The inauguration didn’t look like it cost $107 million, so there for Trump must be doing something shady.”
And for all of Todd’s chiding that no one could “take [the Trump administration] at their word at anything,” they constantly took the Obama administration’s word on everything, despite their lies about Operation Fast and Furious and the Benghazi attack.
In describing his reaction to those skeptical people, a clearly frustrated Todd, declared: “I always want to say: ‘I would be fired for lying.’” “You would be, but not everybody believes that,” Folkenflik responded without missing a beat. But would he really? Because all the evidence points to no. MSNBC has yet to fire any of the previously mentioned liars.
And that’s not to mention their most infamous embarrassment: Brian Williams. Despite Williams’ disgraceful lying about his time in the Middle East, MSNBC found it appropriate to keep him on the payroll. And with enough time, he eventually got his own show during the 2016 election called The 11th Hour. The network also conducted an internal and secret investigation into Williams’ offense, but have never been forthcoming with their findings.
There is an abundance of evidence that shows how MSNBC has an ankle high bar for truth telling standards, and they’ll help up those who manage to trip on it. So Todd’s job is secure. And since that’s clearly the case for MSNBC, in the words of Chuck Todd himself: “Why should we or the public or Congress or the world take them at their word at anything?”
Transcript below:
MSNBC
MTP Daily
August 2, 2017
5:00:34 PM EasternCHUCK TODD: If it's Wednesday, we've come a long way from George Washington and that cherry tree. Tonight, the White House credibility crisis deepens.
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place.
TODD: More cases of team Trump's taste for fake news. But are they misstatements, miss directions or simply makes?
GEORGE COSTANZA: Jerry, just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it.
TODD: The line between truth and fiction continues to get blurry.
…
5:01:31 PM Eastern
TODD: Well, good evening. I'm Chuck Todd here in New York and welcome to MPT Daily. Tonight's lead is one that we as journalists don't take pleasure in writing. Folks, it’s one thing to evade. That’s common in politics. But it's another when you mislead and get caught. And it's a whole another animal if you flat-out lie.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you see any circumstances where it's appropriate to lie from the podium?
SANDERS: Absolutely not. I don't think it's appropriate to lie from the podium or any other place.
TODD: And it's a question that had to be asked TODAY of this White House. But cover this White house over the past few days, it has been a mind numbing combination of shocking, frustrating, and depressing because as bad as we thought the credibility crisis was, it's gotten much worse.
They’ve compounded misleading statements with misleading statements about those misleading statements. They've been caught in blatant contradictions and petty fabrications. Where to begin?
…
5:06:14 PM Eastern
TODD: Why should we or the public or Congress or the world take them at their word at anything?
…
It's extraordinarily uncomfortable. As a journalist, we believe we're referees, we're calling balls and strikes. When you get lied to as a human being, you immediately look at that person, whoever lied to you, you look at them differently. So, yes, I think us in the press corps, we're sitting there—we’re more skeptical at anything that comes out of the White House. Trump's base is very skeptical of us. Herein our dilemma.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK: So, well, this is about credibility. I mean, one of the facets of this when you think about it is that reporters react badly, news organizations react badly when being lied to. As you felt you were perhaps lied to by Jay Sekulow in that clip. Because credibility is the currency of the realm here. Like, we’re not trading things, we’re not doing commodities here. This is what we’re trying to do: We're trying to traffic in information, context, and truth so people understand the world around them and this defeats that purpose. So the press has a credibility issue in part because of our failing. And in part because of the fact that we have been used as a political target to bludgeon for political purposes by folks on both sides but particularly the right.
…
5:10:39 PM Eastern
TODD: And I said this yesterday-- There is some segment of the population that is, you know, watching, you know, what the politicians are saying, watching the press and thinks: “I don't know what to believe, and I don't know who to believe.” And they sort of throw up their hands and say: “I give up.” And I've had that conversation with folks and I'm like: “what, are you kidding me?” I always want to say: “I would be fired for lying.”
FOLKENFLIK: You would be, but not everybody believes that.
TODD: I know.
…
