Chuck Todd: Schumer, Jeffries ‘Paralyzed’ By Opposing Factions of Dem Party
Former NBC "Meet the Press" moderator Chuck Todd commented on Friday that Democratic leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer appeared "paralyzed" due to internal party divisions between two competing factions.
"Jeffries and Schumer are acting paralyzed because they have two different constituencies. They have ones who are worried about a left-wing tea party, and they should be worried about that, because I do think this anger inside the base is real," Todd remarked during an appearance on CNN.
Todd, who recently stepped away from NBC News after years of moderating "Meet the Press," now hosts a podcast titled "The Chuck Toddcast." During a panel discussion, he and others analyzed the Democratic response to protests that erupted during President Donald Trump’s congressional address.
"Then you have others who are like, hey, I won, and Trump carried my state. So I’ve got to do this. So, I think that’s why Jeffries and Schumer come across as paralyzed because they’re trying to placate a coalition party that doesn’t know which direction to go to," Todd explained.
"This really they should be having a loud argument the way Bill Clinton and Jesse Jackson did in 1989 and 1990 after a thrashing in 1988 where Republicans won," Todd stated. "And the problem is, the Democrats right now are afraid of having a public debate because they don’t want to help out Trump, but I do think it’s stifling their ability to figure out what to do next."
Republican strategist Brad Todd weighed in, asserting that for Democrats to reclaim the House, they must connect with Trump voters.
"Democrats can’t take the House unless they appeal to people who voted for Donald Trump. That‘s their challenge," Todd noted, as reported by Fox News.
In a recent podcast interview, Todd described former President Joe Biden as a "craven political animal." Appearing on Lincoln Project co-founder Steve Schmidt’s podcast "The Warning," Todd delved into the reasons behind the Democratic Party’s defeat in the 2024 election and reflected on the media’s role in covering Trump’s second administration.
"You know, Joe Biden never should have been there in the first place, right? Number one, he shouldn’t have run for president [in 2020]," Todd asserted.
"I completely got so angry at Joe Biden, the man, when I read the transcript of the Hunter Biden trial, and when I realized that not one, not two, but three Biden children, and I count Beau’s widow, were all dealing with drug problems in 2018. And Joe Biden said, ‘Now’s a perfect time to run for president, because who cares about our family?'"
"I have to tell you something about Joe Biden. There’s this mythology about Joe Biden, that the man cared so much, it’s all bulls—," he continued.
Todd claimed that Biden had "created this myth" over his decades-long career, painting himself as an "incredible family man."
Interestingly, Todd had frequently defended Biden and other Democrats throughout his journalism career, particularly during Biden’s presidency.
Meanwhile, last month, a former official in Biden’s administration acknowledged that he and his colleagues had "gaslit" the American people regarding Biden’s health condition throughout his presidency.
Michael LaRosa, who previously worked as the press secretary for former first lady Jill Biden, spoke with Puck reporter Tara Palmeri at the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics at American University. During the discussion, he admitted that efforts had been made to shield Biden from media scrutiny.
He revealed that concerns over Biden’s cognitive state had existed "Day One" and conceded that they had downplayed the president’s declining poll numbers.
"There are some things that are true. I mean, like the gaslighting, there was a lot of denial of the polling. And I will use the term gaslight because that’s what they were doing, the campaign, former colleagues," LaRosa admitted.