NBC political director Chuck Todd lamented the “real dilemma” Congressional Democrats had on their hands following the Special Counsel finding no collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia. During NBC’s Sunday Today, Todd opined about how the Democrats had to decide whether or not they wanted to chase their dreams of impeachment, and come to terms with the “unintended consequences” for each scenario.
“Look, they have a real dilemma on their hands. And I actually think there is no right answer,” he lamented to host Willie Geist. “[T]here is no right moral or ethical decision, which is there are unintended consequences if they choose to go down this road and there’s unintended consequences if they choose not to do this. Right?”
According to Todd, the Democrats risked normalizing foreign meddling in our elections if they didn’t run down Trump:
Are you, sort of, okaying the idea of foreign adversaries, helping out political campaigns if there isn't an attempt to put this behavior on the docket of Congress. At the same time, you may politically be handing the President a cudgel with which he could get re-elected and maybe that's outside the goals of the Democrats here.
Meanwhile, Todd refused to admit that the infamous and debunked Trump-Russia dossier was funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, used a former British spy (Christopher Steele) to gather the information, and used Russian sources for that information. Todd has claimed that’s a wild conspiracy theory with “zero factual basis for it”. That would be true except for, you know, all those pesky facts.
Todd proceeded to mock Democrats for being too cowardly to impeach a legitimately elected president in a purely political crusade against them:
I do find it interesting, first, we were -- the Democrats said we want to wait for the Mueller report. Now it is we want to wait for Mueller to testify. At some point, these leaders who don't really want to pursue impeachment but don't tell that to the base may say, we're going to wait until Mueller's children testify; we’re going to wait until Mueller's grandchildren testify. I mean, I do think they're trying to buy time to avoid the decision, to be honest.
Earlier in their political reporting, on Sunday, NBC White House correspondent Kelly O’Donnell hyped desperate 2020 candidate Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for being the first candidate to call for Trump’s impeachment.
Part of O’Donnell’s report included a portion trying to discredit White House claims that President Trump was feeling happy this weekend (click “expand”):
Despite a rash of angry tweets, the White House attempted some mood management to counter that fury, releasing smiling photos of Mr. Trump. Even retweeting an aide here in Florida who wrote of the President, “I have never seen him happier.”
[Cuts back to live]
Amplifying that, the President himself tweeting this morning he has “never been happier.” This really appears to be a coordinated attempt to project calm and confidence. It is, of course, Easter Sunday and it is expected the president and first lady will attend services here in Palm Beach.
This is the sad state of modern journalism.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
NBC’s Sunday Today
April 20, 2019
8:06:03 a.m. EasternKELLY O’DONNELL: In South Carolina, Saturday, 2020 candidate Kamala Harris said the President crossed the line.
SEN. KAMELA HARRIS (D-NY): There is no question that there is good reason to believe that there was an obstruction of justice by this president. There’s no question.
O’DONNELL: But Elizabeth Warren, campaigning in New Hampshire Saturday, is the only 2020 candidate calling for impeachment proceedings to begin.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): We have a Constitution of the United States and it says when the president engages in this kind of activity, then it’s time for impeachment.
O’DONNELL: Despite a rash of angry tweets, the White House attempted some mood management to counter that fury, releasing smiling photos of Mr. Trump. Even retweeting an aide here in Florida who wrote of the President, “I have never seen him happier.”
[Cuts back to live]
Amplifying that, the President himself tweeting this morning he has “never been happier.” This really appears to be a coordinated attempt to project calm and confidence. It is, of course, Easter Sunday and it is expected the president and first lady will attend services here in Palm Beach.
WILLIE GEIST: Mood management that is a new one.
(…)
8:10:07 a.m. Eastern
GEIST: And Chuck, of course, Democrats much less prepared to turn the page. Jerry Nadler, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said he wants Bob Mueller to sit before his committee to answer questions. William Barr, the attorney general, will be before both the House and the Senate. What happens from here now in Congress?
CHUCK TODD: Well, it’s interesting. Look, they have a real dilemma on their hands. And I actually think there is no right answer – there is no right moral or ethical decision, which is there are unintended consequences if they choose to go down this road and there’s unintended consequences if they choose not to do this. Right?
Are you, sort of, okaying the idea of foreign adversaries, helping out political campaigns if there isn't an attempt to put this behavior on the docket of Congress. At the same time, you may politically be handing the President a cudgel with which he could get re-elected and maybe that's outside the goals of the Democrats here.
I do find it interesting, first, we were -- the Democrats said we want to wait for the Mueller report. Now it is we want to wait for Mueller to testify. At some point, these leaders who don't really want to pursue impeachment but don't tell that to the base may say, we're going to wait until Mueller's children testify; we’re going to wait until Mueller's grandchildren testify. I mean, I do think they're trying to buy time to avoid the decision, to be honest.
(…)
