Chuck Todd wrecked the Republican talking point that President Obama meddled in elections Russia by pointing out that what Obama did was public on MSNBC’s MTP Daily.
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Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham tried to falsely equate Obama and Russia, “I think if you ask Bibi Netanyahu whether he appreciates foreign countries interfering in elections, he would have a different answer. So look, the Russians obviously had an interest in this. They’ve had an interest in past elections, but let’s not pretend that the Obama administration hasn’t played this type of game with the Israeli election.”
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Todd came back with some facts, “For what it’s worth, that was pretty public. There were Obama supporters working for the other side.”
Obama supporters working for a candidate publicly in an Israeli election is not the same as the Trump campaign secretly colluding with an enemy of the United States that has a stated goal of destroying democracy. Campaign operatives work all around the world. Liberals work for liberals, and conservatives work for conservatives. There is nothing unusual about this professional arrangement. It is also not in the same universe as what the Trump campaign is suspected of doing with Russia.
Obama didn’t hack Netanyahu’s emails and leak them to help his opponent. Obama didn’t launch a wave of fake news and bot attacks designed to sway an electorate. Obama didn’t collude with an enemy of America to get his candidate elected.
There is no comparison. Todd was right to remind viewers of the facts. Falsely claiming that Obama did this too is not going to get Republicans out of their Russia mess. It is important that people are reminded of facts, and when members of the press stop talking points with facts, it strikes a blow against the conservative efforts to mislead and dumb down the American people.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
