Chuck Todd fancies himself as being on the front lines in the fight against President Trump's so-called war on the truth, but in an interview with Colorado Senator and longshot presidential hopeful Michael Bennet on Monday, Todd let Bennet spew objective falsehoods while also pressing him to censure Trump now that impeachment has failed.
As closing arguments were set to begin, Todd asked Bennet, "What do you want to see accomplished today? We seem to be in a situation where the shouting is over but you have to finish the trial."
Bennet then began uncorking false statements. "Mitch McConnell is covering up what the president has done. They're going to get out of this trial because they're having a trial with no witnesses and with no evidence, no other court in America could get away with such a thing."
If Todd was the fact-checker or the referee he wants us to believe that he is, he would have pushed back on Bennet, noting that it is simply not true there has been "no witnesses with no evidence." There has been plenty of witness testimony and evidence in the House inquiry, just not the new ones Bennet wants, which the House decided for some reason they did not need because they believed they already had an ironclad case....or they wanted to finish before Christmas.
Todd should also have corrected Bennett when he said "no other court in America could get away with such a thing" because the Senate conducts a political trial, not a strictly legal one, so the analogy is meaningless and misleading.
Instead he decided to resurrect the idea of censure, citing Republicans who have said what Trump did was wrong, but not impeachable he asked, "there's a majority of the United States Senate that is uncomfortable with the president's actions in some form or another, is that something you should formally essentially put on the record via censure?"
Bennet naturally agreed, but also still condemned those senators for not voting for more witnesses and evidence.
Of course, Democrats had the opportunity to censure Trump back in the House and might have been able to win over a few Republicans with that, but they declined. Now that impeachment has its inevitable dead end, it's odd for anchors to demand Republicans do yet another thing that House Democrats declined to do.
Here is a transcript for the February 3 show:
MSNBC
MSNBC Special Coverage
9:43 AM ET
CHUCK TODD: Let me ask you this. What do you want to see accomplished today? We seem to be in a situation where the shouting is over but you have to finish the trial.
MICHAEL BENNET: I think, Chuck, we have to find a way to end this trial and in days after this trial try to reestablish for the American people a standard of what our expectation is of elected leadership in Washington. We are in a moment in our country's history when we are in a constitutional crisis. The president has completely stone walled the House of Representatives, and Mitch McConnell is covering up what the president has done. They're going to get out of this trial because they're having a trial with no witnesses and with no evidence, no other court in America could get away with such a thing, and it is unfortunate, but in days ahead, we have to keep this issue in front of the American people so they really understand what's at stake. And the more stuff comes out, the easier that's going to be to do.
TODD: I think I'm up to about a half dozen Republicans who have said what the president did in some form was wrong, in some form they believe the entire case the Democrats made, whether Jerry Moran in Kansas, Lamar Alexander explained, I think the most his vote the most, in Tennessee, Marco Rubio in Florida, obviously Mitt Romney and Susan Collins have voted a certain way. My point is this: there's a majority of the United States Senate that is uncomfortable with the president's actions in some form or another, is that something you should formally essentially put on the record via censure?
BENNET: I think if we can, we should. Again, these folks who are saying now what the president did was wrong should have voted for witnesses and should have voted for evidence.
