On Friday, NBC’s Today brought on Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd and MSNBC anchor Nicolle Wallace to blast President Trump’s interview with Nightly News anchor Lester Holt. Todd derided the White House sit-down as a “bungling attempt” by Trump to explain the firing of FBI Director James Comey, while Wallace ranted that the entire administration had “zero credibility.”
The panel discussion began with co-host Savannah Guthrie teeing up the nasty reviews: “I mean, this is a president who believes he is his best spokesperson....if the goal was to convince people, ‘Look, I fired Jim Comey for good reason, not related to this Russia investigation,’ how did he do?” Todd wasted no time bashing the exchange: “He did pretty poorly....But what really made this, I think, a bungling attempt, sort of Keystone Cop-like, is the fact that the staff seems to be playing catch-up.”
The Sunday show host then laughably announced: “We in the media seem to have the timeline better and more accurately than the White House staff themselves.”
Appearing on Fox News’s Special Report Thursday evening, The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway was easily able to list several examples of media stories about Comey’s firing that proved to be false: “So, pretty much every major story that was pushed out to produce this narrative, again, of a Russian conspiracy was debunked within hours....the manner in which they are covering this is borderline delusional.”
Meanwhile on Friday, co-host Matt Lauer was worried that the White House had not yet been forced into “damage control” by the harsh press coverage: “If a president comes out in an interview and directly contradicts what his staff has been saying, and by the way, what he said earlier, and what the Vice President said, you are playing damage control the next day. And we’re not really getting that sense today.”
In response, Wallace launched into a tirade:
I cannot overstate how extraordinary it is....What the President does over and over again, is create a reality that is completely detached from the reality that he believed in hours before....We now have a vice president, a senior staffer in Kellyanne Conway, an entire press office, with zero credibility. That White House podium used to mean something. And now, they send them out to say whatever.
Todd singled out Pence’s comments and tried to sow division between the Vice President and the President:
The Vice President has done his duty, stood by the President, showed his loyalty in public, and was the good soldier. And in the first 24 hours since right now, to many people, he's the most credible face of the administration. He’s gone out there and used his credibility. And now it’s eroded away.
I actually have talked to some people that are close to the Vice President and they’re very concerned that he’s being used this way. And they hope at some point he finally says, “You know what, Mr. President? I will do everything on health care. I’ll do whatever – I’ll stand up for you on immigration. I'll stand up for you on whatever policy. Don’t ask for me to spin on Russia anymore because it is ruining my own credibility, which then, of course, hurts the administration.”
Here is a full transcript of the May 12 segment:
7:15 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Let us bring in our experts. Chuck Todd, moderator of Meet the Press, and Nicolle Wallace, host of MSNBC’s Deadline: White House. Guys, good morning to you both.
NICOLLE WALLACE: Good morning.
CHUCK TODD: Good morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Trump’s Changing Story on Comey; Contradicts Earlier White House Accounts]
GUTHRIE: And Chuck, I’ll start with you. I mean, this is a president who believes he is his best spokesperson. And if the question to be answered, if the goal was to convince people, “Look, I fired Jim Comey for good reason, not related to this Russia investigation,” how did he do?
TODD: He did pretty poorly. He should have done it three months ago, when there would have been more running room to do that. More of an expectation at the start of the administration, at a time like that. But what really made this, I think, a bungling attempt, sort of Keystone Cop-like, is the fact that the staff seems to be playing catch-up. We in the media seem to have the timeline better and more accurately than the White House staff themselves.
And the fact that you have that disconnect, just sort of adds to this chaotic nature of what apparently was a decision that was made somewhat hastily in the last week. And based on the fact that the President’s not happy with the fact that every time he saw Comey on TV, he wasn't talking about Hillary Clinton’s e-mails, he was talking about the Russia investigation.
LAUER: And Nicolle, you’ve worked in a White House. If a president comes out in an interview and directly contradicts what his staff has been saying, and by the way, what he said earlier and what the Vice President said, you are playing damage control the next day. And we’re not really getting that sense today.
WALLACE: I cannot overstate how extraordinary it is. You know, I worked in a White House that was far from perfect. But I never was asked to go out and lie and I was never caught in a lie by a president who went out and contradicted me. Neither was the Vice President of the United States. Neither was a senior adviser.
What the President does over and over again, is create a reality that is completely detached from the reality that he believed in hours before. And then he sent his entire team – and no one is immune from his, you know, whatever he believes to be true in the moment. Not his vice president. We now have a vice president, a senior staffer in Kellyanne Conway, an entire press office, with zero credibility. That White House podium used to mean something. And now, they send them out to say whatever.
GUTHRIE: Well, Chuck, let me ask you about Vice President Pence. Because this is two times where he’s sort of been out on a limb, taking up the cause of the administration, giving the talking points, only to find out they’re in error. I mean, he went out there and stuck his neck out and said, “Comey was fired because the Department of Justice said so.” And then the President told Lester, “No, he was fired because I wanted to fire him.” So I mean, what’s the Vice President thinking right now?
TODD: Look, and you’re absolutely right. Especially on the issue of Russia, first Mike Flynn, now this. The Vice President has done his duty, stood by the president, showed his loyalty in public, and was the good soldier. And in the first 24 hours since right now, to many people, he's the most credible face of the administration. He’s gone out there and used his credibility. And now it’s eroded away.
I actually have talked to some people that are close to the Vice President and they’re very concerned that he’s being used this way. And they hope at some point he finally says, “You know what, Mr. President? I will do everything on health care. I’ll do whatever – I’ll stand up for you on immigration. I'll stand up for you on whatever policy. Don’t ask for me to spin on Russia anymore because it is ruining my own credibility, which then, of course, hurts the administration.”
TODD: Alright, Nicolle and Chuck, thank you. And of course, Chuck’s going to have a lot more on all of this Sunday on Meet the Press.
