Chuck Todd Still Doesn’t Get Donald Trump

CLAY: One of the big topics — maybe the biggest topic, to be frank — as we get ready for the midterms. We’re roughly six months away from the voting that’s gonna go on in November, and that obviously will have a big impact. And we want and encourage everybody out there to make it a consequential election in terms of it being a reckoning on the failures of the covid policy, particularly being implemented by Democratic politicians and mayors as they have failed epically on all of those fronts and need to be held accountable for them.

But in the wake of the midterms will come the next big decision. What is going to happen with Joe Biden? What is going to happen with Donald Trump? Buck and I feel like Donald Trump is going to run. We would be very surprised if he does not run based on what we have heard in our conversation surrounding that. But it’s idiotic to argue that Trump wouldn’t run because it’s too much work to run for president or be president.

So that probably makes complete sense that that would be the argument that was made over the weekend. Believe it or not, if Trump doesn’t run — according to Chuck Todd on Meet the Press — being president is just too much work and he doesn’t think Trump’s gonna run because he doesn’t want to work that hard. This might be the dumbest argument by someone making millions of dollars on television. For the weekend, at least, Chuck Todd is certainly not the dumbest person. There’s way dumber people.

BUCK: He’s like medium dumb.

CLAY: Medium.

BUCK: He’s medium dumb.

CLAY: Medium dumb.

CORNELL BELCHER: If he runs, he’s going to be the nominee. If he runs, he’s going to be the nominee, but also I think —

CHUCK TODD: I don’t buy that he runs, but —

CORNELL BELCHER: Why wouldn’t he run? It’s a money-generating —

CHUCK TODD: It’s work.

CORNELL BELCHER: It’ll generate money, publicity. That’s what he’s for.

CHUCK TODD: It’s work.

BUCK: I mean —

CLAY: Too much work?

BUCK: I mean, first of all, it’s amazing, some of the people who are paid to opine on Trump still don’t understand him at all.

CLAY: At all.

BUCK: A lot of them. A lot of the big names, they don’t get him at all. They don’t understand. Nothing fires that guy up… Okay, maybe a hole-in-one.

CLAY: (laughing)

BUCK: But other than a hole-in-one — which he just got last week, by the way; we didn’t mention it on the show. This isn’t like a Kim Jong-un hole-in-one which he did 18 times. This is apparently a verified, real hole-in-one.

CLAY: Yes.

BUCK: And here you go with them saying that Trump wouldn’t have the…? Their analysis of him is always horrible ’cause they just hate him so much they can’t think straight about him. That’s always the deal.

CLAY: Yeah, and look, there are lots of reasons why Trump could choose not to run. Foremost of them is his age. He could just decide, “You know what? I have implemented incredible policies. There’s a huge contingent of people that are excited run. Joe Biden, maybe doesn’t run. Maybe Hillary is not running, and then it’s a brand-new generational election.” He could make that choice.

But to argue that Trump, a guy who works as hard as pretty much any politician we have ever seen in terms of the hours that he is willing to spend, the effort and energy and intensity that he is bringing to bear? That he would not run because it’s just too much work, is crazy. There are lots of reasons he might not run. The guy who’s not gonna run, by the way, in my opinion — I think you’re starting to agree, Buck. I don’t think there’s any way Joe Biden runs.

BUCK: We’re gonna have to have another bet, but I’m gonna go broke buying Travis steaks if this keeps up, so…