NBC's Chuck Todd Blames Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Drudge for Mainstream Media Woes
Conservative media is to blame for all the ills suffered by the mainstream media as it battles with President Donald Trump, according to NBC’s Chuck Todd.
Todd, writing in The Atlantic, claimed that major figures voicing conservative opinions are, in fact, misleading Americans.
“Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge, and the trio of Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Laura Ingraham have attained wealth and power by exploiting the fears of older white people,” the “Meet the Press” host wrote.
He also heaped heavy doses of blame on former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who Todd believes was the creator of the antagonistic tone Todd argues underlies conservative media.
“The American press corps finds itself on the ropes because it allowed a nearly 50-year campaign of attacks inspired by the chair of Fox News to go unanswered,” wrote Todd, whose theory is that the media is not fighting back when attacked.
“If you hear something over and over again, you start to believe it, particularly if the charge is unrebutted. The Trump team now keeps pounding this message, compounding the challenge. And the president faces little penalty with his voters, no matter how disparagingly he talks about the press corps; it’s precisely what Ailes conditioned them to believe,” Todd wrote.
In a Twitter post Tuesday, Trump responded that Todd simply dislikes losing.
“Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake NBC News said it’s time for the Press to stop complaining and to start fighting back,” Trump wrote. “Actually Chuck, they’ve been doing that from the day I announced for President. They’ve gone all out, and I WON, and now they’re going CRAZY!” Trump tweeted.
Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd of Fake NBC News said it’s time for the Press to stop complaining and to start fighting back. Actually Chuck, they’ve been doing that from the day I announced for President. They’ve gone all out, and I WON, and now they’re going CRAZY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
Todd insisted he did not have a political ax to grind.
“I’m not advocating for a more activist press in the political sense, but for a more aggressive one. That means having a lower tolerance for talking points, and a greater willingness to speak plain truths. It means not allowing ourselves to be spun, and not giving guests or sources a platform to spin our readers and viewers, even if that angers them,” he wrote.
Todd has been vocal about blaming conservative media for American’s distrust of the mainstream media.
As reported by The Washington Post, Todd lashed out at the conservative media last month on “Meet the Press” when David Brody, White House correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network, noted the current historic mistrust of the media
“The conservative echo chamber created that environment. It’s not — no. No. No. No. It has been a tactic and a tool of the Roger Ailes-created echo chamber,” Todd said.
The two later crossed swords again about distrust of the media.
“But those Independents also distrust media. This is not just Republicans. It is many Americans across …,” Brody said.
“Oh, no. No. No. I take your point. I’m just saying it was a creation — it was a campaign tactic,” Todd said. “It’s not based in much fact.”
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