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?"
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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
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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.
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