Appearing on MSNBC in the 10:00 a.m. ET hour on Thursday, NBC News senior digital politics reporter Alex Seitz-Wald revealed that “anxious” Democrats were “feeling resigned” to the idea that President Trump may likely win reelection following the failed impeachment effort.
Anchor Hallie Jackson cited an article written by Seitz-Wald and NBC national political reporter Sahil Kapur “reporting this morning that some of the President’s critics are worried the current 2020 field is not up to the task of essentially punishing President Trump at the ballot box come November.”
Seitz-Wald channeled the fears of liberal voters:
Well, I’m hearing a lot of anxiety from Democrats. I mean, just look at last week, you had Donald Trump come to Des Moines do this huge rally, bigger than any of the rallies that any Democrat in the state had. And then a few days later, this massive catastrophe at the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. And then just a lot of voters who are feeling resigned, feeling anxious, concerned that nobody in their party can live up to Donald Trump.
He further noted: “They worry about any of them going up against him on the debate stage...they’re not seeing clearly who could be the one person to go up against him and they’re very concerned.”
“It’s a very different mood from 2016, where throughout the entire Democratic primary, all the way to the general election, and I think even on election night, Democrats were sure that they were going to win,” Seitz-Wald observed. He concluded: “And now they might be overlearning that lesson, not having the confidence that I think a lot of them think they need heading into the rest of the primary season.”
With impeachment over, the media will now turn to the 2020 campaign and try to find a way to boost the left’s spirits as the election approaches. Apparently the press has an uphill battle ahead.
Here is a transcript of the exchange:
10:16 AM ET
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HALLIE JACKSON: So President Trump has made his way now back to the White House, you can see on the left side of your screen, getting ready, frankly, for another victory lap. And as of this morning, the President has officially survived the following: An impeachment, a federal investigation into his 2016 campaign and three years of near-constant legal battles over his business and his policy. Which means, as our NBC News political reporters put it, Democrats “have shot all of the most powerful arrows in their quiver save one – the voters.” That is raising the stakes on this year’s elections even more for Democrats. But our team is reporting this morning that some of the President’s critics are worried the current 2020 field is not up to the task of essentially punishing President Trump at the ballot box come November.
I want to bring in senior digital politics reporter Alex Seitz-Wald, who has that reporting for NBC News from Manchester, New Hampshire. And Alex, explain this and how it plays into the current moment that we’re in.
ALEX SEITZ-WALD: Yeah, Hallie. Well, I’m hearing a lot of anxiety from Democrats. I mean, just look at last week, you had Donald Trump come to Des Moines do this huge rally, bigger than any of the rallies that any Democrat in the state had. And then a few days later, this massive catastrophe at the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. And then just a lot of voters who are feeling resigned, feeling anxious, concerned that nobody in their party can live up to Donald Trump. They worry about any of them going up against him on the debate stage. They think each of them together might have the right pieces, but they’re not seeing clearly who could be the one person to go up against him and they’re very concerned.
It’s a very different mood from 2016, where throughout the entire Democratic primary, all the way to the general election, and I think even on election night, Democrats were sure that they were going to win. They were convinced. They really didn’t even doubt it until late on election night 2016. And now they might be overlearning that lesson, not having the confidence that I think a lot of them think they need heading into the rest of the primary season.
JACKSON: That’s really interesting.
(...)
