At the top of Sunday’s Meet the Press, host Chuck Todd thought it would be fun to compare the upcoming report from Special Counsel Robert Mueller to a deadly hurricane poised to hit the east coast. He noted how “Democrats are hoping it’s a category five whopper” while Republicans were wishing for “the dud of a storm that turns and goes out to sea.”
“From the moment Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel nearly two years ago, Washington has existed in a kind of political limbo,” Todd declared. “The White House has been working overtime to discredit the investigation while Democrats are dreaming of a Watergate-like gotcha moment,” the show moderator added.
It was then that Todd decided to treat Mueller’s investigation as if were an impending natural disaster:
The wide range of expectations reminded us of those hurricane model maps, with projections forecasting landfall anywhere from Florida to New York. And anything from catastrophic to the benign. So we decided to track Mueller report projections.
He recruited the NBC News graphics department to mock up the “projected paths” of the Mueller investigation on a weather map as her narrated the different possibilities:
Many Democrats are hoping it’s a category five whopper. A direct hit on Washington, D.C., taking down President Trump and spawning more storms and tornadoes that impact other Trump confidants. That is one possibility.
Another is that Hurricane Mueller sideswipes the White House and instead makes landfall on Fifth Avenue in New York, only damaging Mr. Trump’s foundation and business empire.
And then there’s the model that Republicans likely are hoping for, the dud of a storm that turns and goes out to sea. Leaving Mr. Trump saying, “I told you so,” and Democrats wet and embarrassed.
As much as Todd and others in the media hype the seriousness of the Russia investigation, moments like this show them treating the whole topic as some political game. Not to mention making light of actual devastating weather events that cause destruction and loss of life.
Note to Todd: Just stick to reporting the facts, not trying to come up with eye-catching metaphors.
Here is a transcript of the odd February 24 show open:
10:32 AM ET
CHUCK TODD: We’re gonna take a look today at what to expect when you’re expecting – the Mueller report. From the moment Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel nearly two years ago, Washington has existed in a kind of political limbo. The White House has been working overtime to discredit the investigation while Democrats are dreaming of a Watergate-like gotcha moment.
The wide range of expectations reminded us of those hurricane model maps, with projections forecasting landfall anywhere from Florida to New York. And anything from catastrophic to the benign. So we decided to track Mueller report projections.
Many Democrats are hoping it’s a category five whopper. A direct hit on Washington, D.C., taking down President Trump and spawning more storms and tornadoes that impact other Trump confidants. That is one possibility.
Another is that Hurricane Mueller sideswipes the White House and instead makes landfall on Fifth Avenue in New York, only damaging Mr. Trump’s foundation and business empire.
And then there’s the model that Republicans likely are hoping for, the dud of a storm that turns and goes out to sea. Leaving Mr. Trump saying, “I told you so,” and Democrats wet and embarrassed.
Whatever happens, we know the Mueller report will not be turned over to Attorney General William Barr this week as many had expected. When the report is made available in some form to the public, the question is how many of our unanswered questions will finally be answered?
(...)
