Chuck Todd told GOP Sen. Kennedy not to 'gaslight' the nation during testy interview
It was almost like listening to Rudy Giuliani, but with a Cajun twist.
Shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) appeared on Meet the Press Daily with Chuck Todd all fired up and ready to defend Trump. He first said, loudly, that he doesn't "think it's as newsworthy as some have argued," and he's "not sure what the speaker has done today. ... Either impeach or stop talking about it."
Todd asked him about the accusations Trump, his lawyer Giuliani, and other Republicans have made against former Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, claiming that he's corrupt. "I'm trying to figure out why no one from the FBI has been contacted, not a single person," Todd said. "I don't understand why Rudy Giuliani thinks it's better to investigate an American, outsource it to a country that apparently they don't trust. Do you see why I'm skeptical that the Hunter Biden stuff is really that serious?"
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kennedy responded that Todd doesn't know if the FBI hasn't been contacted, and then said no one has looked into the allegations. Todd shot back that the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian and U.S. journalists have, adding, "You do realize you're looking for an outcome, not the facts. There have been four or five different entities, they have found nothing here."
Kennedy kept asking Todd to list the people and organizations who have investigated the accusations, and Todd finally gave up. "Maybe you're right, maybe there's magical missing information here," he said, adding, "If what Hunter Biden did was wrong, there are a lot of people with the last name of Trump who have some answering to do about their foreign work and their foreign entanglements." Todd didn't end there, also telling Kennedy that he was engaging in whataboutism and was trying to "gaslight" viewers. Catherine Garcia
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says


