NBC News’s Chuck Todd discussed the connection between heated political rhetoric and violence and how Trump is avoiding his responsibility in dealing with the problem.
Todd said, “We have a problem, and we have a president who doesn’t seem to believe he has a role to play in dealing with it, and I think that is what’s making it more of an uncomfortable situation in our politics.”
Trump sets the tone
Todd later added, “I don’t think it gets better. I think it gets worse because, at the end of the day, the president sets the tone. He sets the tone of politics. He sets the rules for how you conduct politics. Whether anybody likes it or not, he is the head of our government, and he is the head of our political world right now…and how he conducts himself is going to trickle down, so until he changes his ways or sets a different tone, the tone isn’t going to change.”
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“We have a problem and we have a president who doesn’t seem to believe he has a role to play in dealing with it.†@chucktodd joins @WillieGeist to discuss the president’s reaction to this tragic week. pic.twitter.com/lakZ208XJn
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 28, 2018
Chuck Todd added that this had been a bad nine days politically for the Republicans, “Anytime that the president has one of these moments where he’s sort of mishandled it, post-Charlottesville, things like that, he’s had a dip in the polls. I will tell you it’s been a bad nine days for the Republicans to have the president in this kind of pickle.
Trump is the driver of this tone. Trump didn’t send any bombs. He didn’t pull any triggers, but his constant need to create enemies and treat all opposition as the enemy has created a fertile environment for extremists to move from words to action. It is not a coincidence that the far right is acting out at a time when Republicans are poised for massive losses in the midterm election.
The angry fringe white man who Trump represents finds themselves about to lose power again, so they are desperate and resorting to violence to hold on. Chuck Todd was right. The tone and the rhetoric are all on Trump, and nothing unless Trump changes or is removed from office.
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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
