On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” host Chuck Todd called President Donald Trump’s political talent “the art of distraction and manipulation.”
Todd said Trump used that to get his supporters “focused on something that’s totally irrelevant,” which he said was the so-called whistleblower.
Todd said, “Tonight, I’m obsessed with the same thing the president is obsessed with but not for the same reason.”
Todd played a montage of Trump mentioning the whistle-blower.
Todd continued, “Where’s the whistleblower? That’s what the president and many of his supporters really want to talk about. Let me ask you what’s more important, what happened on the president’s call with the Ukrainian president or who made it public? Especially when you consider all the other people corroborating the whistle-blower’s claims are under oath. And therein lies the president’s true political talent, the art of distraction and manipulation. The tactics are not hard to spot. That’s why it’s sometimes frustrating to watch because if you know what to look for, it’s right there. Step one, come up with a message that’s quick and punchy, and don’t let the facts get in the way.”
After playing another montage of Trump mentioning the whistleblower, Todd said, “Step two, he already did it there, repeat that message. And then just repeat it some more just to repeat it.”
Before playing a clip of Republican lawmakers asking about the whistleblower, Todd said, “Of course step three is get your friends to repeat this message as well.”
Todd concluded, “Suddenly a whole bunch of Trump supporters are focused on something that’s totally irrelevant. Not what the president did, what he did in the lead-up to the call, what he did after the call, but who claims he did it? Where’s the whistleblower? It’s not magic, people, it’s just a bit of linguistic misdirection.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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