Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director and moderator of Meet the Press, appeared on Sunday’s Today to preview his show and had some harsh words for Republicans in the wake of President Obama’s executive action on immigration.
Speaking to co-host Erica Hill, Todd argued that “politically on Capitol Hill it’s very toxic. I think congressional Republicans they are united on one issue, they don't like how the president went about doing this. But after that, they don't quite know how to retaliate politically.”
The segment began with Hill pointing out how “there has been heavy Republican opposition and the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Americans aren't exactly behind the president either. 48 percent are opposed to president taking executive action on immigration. Just 38 percent support it.”
After Hill’s comments, Todd went into spin mode and insisted that the American public is actually behind the president’s actions but the GOP has created a toxic environment in Washington:
It’s actually unclear and congressional leaders, Republican leaders don't want to go anywhere near the idea of a government shutdown. They think politically that would be toxic. At this point they could pass a bill but can't unite the party around any single bill. And by the way, the policy the president is implementing is actually not unpopular. It’s just how he went about doing it that is unpopular. That adds to the confusion of how Republicans should respond.
As the segment progressed, Todd continued to harp on the supposed toxic atmosphere created by Republicans, this time over the GOP’s ObamaCare lawsuit:
It’s almost sort of like a carrot to the conservative base of Republicans who want some retribution against the president. A few of them have even brought up the “I” word impeachment. And this has always been a way for Speaker Boehner to tell them, hey guys keep your powder dry, look at this, we’re going to try to sue the president over his unilateral actions. So they picked health care because obviously health care’s also unpopular with the conservative base.
After repeatedly scolding the GOP’s “toxic” attitude over immigration reform, the segment concluded with Todd injecting some "toxic" language surrounding the protests in Ferguson, Missouri:
We’re going to do a lot of immigration but we’re also going to deal with what’s going on in Ferguson and sort of how government officials are handling Ferguson. Are they preemptively, by preemptively planning for violent protest oddly accidentally encouraging it?
See relevant transcript below.
NBC’s Today
November 23, 2014
ERICA HILL: President Obama is on his way back to Washington today from Las Vegas where he’s been pushing his new immigration plan. There has been heavy Republican opposition and the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows Americans aren't exactly behind the president either. 48 percent are opposed to president taking executive action on immigration. Just 38 percent support it. Chuck Todd is moderator of Meet the Press. Chuck good morning.
CHUCK TODD: Good morning Erica.
HILL: The president knew that this would be an uphill battle but we’re hearing some Republicans even talk of a possible government shutdown. Just how toxic is this situation?
TODD: Well, I think politically on Capitol Hill it’s very toxic. I think congressional Republicans, they are united on one issue, they don't like how the president went about doing this. But after that, they don't quite know how to retaliate politically. Yes, there’s a few that have said hey, why don't you use the power of the purse and Congress and legislation and maybe you force a government shutdown. But it’s actually unclear and congressional leaders, Republican leaders don't want to go anywhere near the idea of a government shutdown. They think politically that would be toxic.
At this point they could pass a bill but can't unite the party around any single bill. And by the way, the policy the president is implementing is actually not unpopular. It’s just how he went about doing it that is unpopular. That adds to the confusion of how Republicans should respond. At this point congressional leaders frankly Erica, are just hoping some state or two sues the president so then it ends up in the courts and they can tell conservatives who want to retaliate, keep your powder dry. Let the courts work their will.
HILL: Well speaking of courts, you made a nice segue for us on that one Chuck. Because as all of this was happening, we know that health care is still a major issue in this country, specifically for Republicans. A lot of them ran on that. So on Friday, House Republicans filing a lawsuit as all this immigration action is happening, filing a lawsuit challenging ObamaCare. Where is that going to go at this point?
TODD: By the way, that was not a coincidence that the House Republicans released the details of that lawsuit on Friday right after the immigration action because that was their way, it’s almost sort of like a carrot to the conservative base of Republicans who want some retribution against the president. A few of them have even brought up the “I” word impeachment. And this has always been a way for Speaker Boehner to tell them, hey guys keep your powder dry, look at this, we’re going to try to sue the president over his unilateral actions.
So they picked health care because obviously health care’s also unpopular with the conservative base. And they're hitting him on the issues of unilaterally delaying this action or delaying that action saying it's not following the letter of the law that Congress passed. Whether that lawsuit will get standing, you know, they have standing, whether that lawsuit will make its way to the Supreme Court I think’s unclear.
HILL: Alright, Chuck Todd and really quick, what do you have coming up on Meet the Press this morning?
TODD: Well, we’re going to do a lot of immigration but we’re also going to deal with what’s going on in Ferguson and sort of how government officials are handling Ferguson. Are they preemptively, by preemptively planning for violent protest oddly accidentally encouraging it?
HILL: Alright, well we’ll be watching. Chuck Todd nice to see you, thank you.
TODD: You got it.
— Jeffrey Meyer is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Jeffrey Meyer on Twitter. [1]