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Chuck Todd Called a ‘Dangerous F-ing Imbecile’ for Booking Election Deniers on ‘Meet the Press’

What Chuck Todd sees as good old-fashioned bipartisanship by booking election deniers on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” many critics are expressing their disdain for his laissez-faire approach to enabling the spread of misinformation.

“Chuck Todd is a dangerous f—ing imbecile,” one Twitter user said.

On Thursday’s installment of “The Interview,” Mediaite’s podcast, Todd defended interviewing politicians from the other side of the aisle, including Republicans who supported former President Donald Trump’s attempts to contest the results of the 2020 election.

Saturday, NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen tweeted a quote from Todd’s interview: “You don’t know when somebody you think deserves to be banned is suddenly somebody that you’ve got to deal with. Because you may not like them, but they have the power.”

Chuck Todd on whether the Sunday shows should refuse to book election denialists: "You don’t know when somebody you think deserves to be banned is suddenly somebody that you’ve got to deal with. Because you may not like them, but they have the power." https://t.co/FLWgPk58a5

— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) June 19, 2021

That revealing quote — which was Todd’s answer to Mediaite’s Aidan McLaughlin when he was asked whether such politicians should be banned from “Meet the Press” and other Sunday shows — led to the NBC host trending on Twitter and receiving some considerable pushback.

“I think you’ve got to be careful of absolutes,” Todd said in the interview. “I feel like I have a compact with my viewers that they expect me to deliver them the information they need…You don’t know when somebody you think deserves to be banned is suddenly somebody that you’ve got to deal with. Because you may not like them, but they have the power. They’re the elected speaker of the House or something like that.”

Todd went on to say that he has no interest in catering his show to “fringe-y” Americans on Twitter.

“If you worry too much about the social media and you start to cater to the social media critics, you’re catering to 7% of America and you’re catering to probably a fringe-y version,” he said. “I mean, it’s not just the 7% of America on Twitter. It’s this smaller percentage of [those] who think their opinions — who are so narcissistic that they think all of their opinions matter so much more than anybody else’s.”

When Rosen’s tweet was posted Saturday, the criticism about Todd’s style of journalism began to flow in… and it wasn’t pleasant.

“Yes, that sounds like a totally reasonable justification for giving election denialism access to your large platform while simultaneously legitimating them,” one Twitter user said sarcastically.

“They mostly get that ‘power’ by being handed a media platform and attention,” another tweet echoed.

Not that Todd will see them, but let’s sort through some of the journalist’s most vocal critics anyway.

Chuck Todd endorses spreading misinformation on his top-rated Sunday show simply because the people telling the lie wear a flag pin https://t.co/iD4QzFX6nT

— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) June 19, 2021

My beliefs are that journalists shouldn’t see politics as a game or treat elections as horse races, and that they should challenge politicians on their claims rather than acting as a dimwitted stenographer, so yes, I am upset @chucktodd never puts my beliefs into action. https://t.co/k1tPDW5S3y

— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) June 19, 2021

They mostly get that “power” by being handed a media platform and attention. https://t.co/bYvUWbgy2q

— Cheri Jacobus (@CheriJacobus) June 19, 2021

The big lesson of the last year is that Republicans can demonstrate pretty explicit anti-democratic preferences with no discernible long-term costs. They keep their positions, donations, and platforms. https://t.co/VsrentKPbY

— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) June 19, 2021

Yes, that sounds like a totally reasonable justification for giving election denialism access to your large platform while simultaneously legitimizing them @chucktodd https://t.co/MAgvO8a8f5

— Rachel Bitecofer 📈🔭🍌 (@RachelBitecofer) June 19, 2021

What a stupid yet powerful man Todd is and the rest of the press will never criticize him cause they desperately want to be on the round table. https://t.co/VkbBdWjZq2

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) June 19, 2021

Chuck Todd is just hedging his bets in case full dictatorship comes. https://t.co/KKjRY2Whb0

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) June 19, 2021

Chuck Todd is a dangerous fucking imbecile. https://t.co/HE7c24dvLQ

— Scott Weinberg (@scottEmovienerd) June 19, 2021

For many months now, Todd has been consistently criticized on social media about the guests his show books and/or his lack of following up with tough questions to some of their dubious answers, with many critics pushing for his replacement.

Todd took over as host of “Meet the Press” in Sept. 2014 replacing David Gregory.

Read original story Chuck Todd Called a ‘Dangerous F-ing Imbecile’ for Booking Election Deniers on ‘Meet the Press’ At TheWrap